I Don't Understand Why I Am so Happy!

October 13, 2014 

BUENO BUENO BUENO!
    Is anybody else excited for Halloween, I'm looking forward to it. Granted, when we knock on peoples doors they will think we are fakes, but to their surprise we will be the real deal!  It'll be awesome.  "Trick or treat, nice costumes!" "Thanks for the candy, can we treat you with a message of happiness and joy?"
    The Lord has given us another week of fun adventures and lots of missionary work.  Warden, Washington is just the place to be I guess. The empty farm fields, the great people, and the crazy occurrences which we see daily. This past week, we taught more lessons than we ever had before.  We are seeing the tender mercies and miracles of the Lord every day.  It goes to show that the Lord truly is leading and guiding this work, we simply have to be humble enough to give all the credit to him. When we do everything "Because of Him" we notice ourselves become spiritually strong.  Only He makes weak things become strong. "But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance" 1 Nephi 1:20. It all comes from exhorting faith and acting upon that faith.
    All of our investigators are taking small steps towards progressing in the gospel.  Although we don't have any "golden" investigators at this point, we will strive and push to get more people into the waters of baptism.  Our mission really struggled last month as we only had 16 baptisms. Our goal was 60.  Just shows that we have to keep acting in obedience and diligence. We are currently teaching two families which we are hoping will progress forward.  Every night, you can only pray that your investigators will follow-through with the commitments you leave with them.
Our mission is also implementing a new service website called Just-Serve.  This website allows all members, missionaries, or citizens to participate in service opportunities that are already organized.  Our Mission President told us that we need a minimum of 10 hours of service every week! WOOOHOOO!  "If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, HELP SOMEBODY." I love this quote because it truly does have so much significance. The act of providing service is one of the best ways to demonstrate Christ-like love to one another. The scriptures tell us that, "When we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are in the service of God."    
    Providing a helping hand and looking for opportunities to help another should be applied daily.  When pride overwhelms ourselves, we don't have anytime to love anybody else.  I love being on a mission because I can serve.  I would encourage everyone this week to find someone who is in need, and provide a helping hand. I can promise that as we do this in a united effort, our love for our fellow beings, ourselves, and our Savior will increase dramatically. I love you all so much and send all the love in my heart from Washington!

Love Always,
Elder Smith


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