Good Tidings of Great Joy

Luke 2:10 "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Thought I'd begin my email this week with my ponderize scripture! Such a classic Christmas scripture, but I've just been thinking how as missionaries we are also bringing the GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY. Sometimes I just want to shout to the whole world that we have such happy news. That a Savior was born for each one of us!  And that we have His church here again on the earth. As a mission this Christmas during the "A Savior is Born" initiative we have set a goal to get 1000 new investigators - kind of seems like a lot! But as we break it down by companionship it's only 3 new investigators per week (aka our standard of excellence) and it's so doable! We've been seeing so many miracles come from this goal. Last week we found 4 new investigators (3 we ended up passing off to other areas). And already this week on Monday Sister Fink found 3 investigators (she was on a split while me and Sis Smith went to a returning missionaries meeting) - SO AWESOME. There is a special spirit that comes to missionary work during Christmas!  So this week we spent a good amount of our time tracting and finding to reach our goal, but there was also other good things too! One of the new investigators we found was a referral from the Lopez familia (the adorable children from last week's pictures). Her name is Lily and we had our first ever lesson with her on Thursday. She even accepted a baptismal commitment if she comes to know the things we teach to be true. Member referrals are the best! Thursday was also a day of service. We started out by helping with the food pantry here in Stamford. Missionaries have been helping for years. It's connected to an African American church and they are just the greatest. Always something exciting happening, this week we almost had a huge fight break out and nearly ran out of bags. We also got to help one of our Ward members edit an English paper she wrote. Even the simplest service just brightens your day! Saturday was one of those days as a missionary when you realize how weird and crazy New York and Connecticut and missionary work truly is. We started off pretty normal, we went with the Ward to sing Christmas songs and give out little gifts at a nursing home. They were all so happy (and you know me and old people- I love them) needless to say it was a highlight of the day/week. But then later on that day we were trying to coordinate the devotional we're having next Sunday (missionaries are doing a second performance for instigators and members) and had to try and figure out if we could still do it because another Ward was having a musical program - in Spanish. For deaf people & English people....and they aren't really doing church approved hymns either. So that was pretty funny to us and then we walk into the church for the Ward nativity practice and the elders are in the kitchen cutting Hermano Chinchay's hair...while the English Ward party is going on....and then we proceed to practice the nativity which is always just so funny (I'm a shepherd with Sister Fink now) and then as we were leaving the church we had to help jump Hermano Chinchay's car. I know it probably doesn't make quite as much sense to you, but just the entire day was the oddest combination of strange things happening to us. Sunday was a really good day!         First we had a miracle because Marie Carmen (the investigator of like over 8 years) came to church AND THE CHRISTMAS DEVOTIONAL. The Yorktown stake hosted a Christmas devotional/concert and so we went early to help Hermana Garcia set up refreshments and then we were planning on leaving to go do some finding because we didn't have any investigators show up. But then Marie Carmen came with her good friend (another member) and even helped with refreshments, it was awesome. And the music was really incredible. There is some really incredible talent in this stake.         Carmen Chica also came to part of church this week which is really good. We were able to see her two more times after originally refinding/meeting with her. And then she came to church! So happy.         Before the concert we were on our way to see magnolia....but she canceled while we were in the parking lot. So we decided to go to still go to Henry street (where she lives), just planning on going tracting but then we decided to lookup Lubia AND yet again she was a "magical referral box". Her son and we started off by showing them the Christmas video and then started to talk about the Book of Mormon, he was really smart and stubborn - BUT he was interested in learning more so we set up an appointment for the elders to meet with him! Well that was our week, so crazy to think that Christmas is NEXT WEEK. I hope everyone is getting in the true Christmas spirit and has such a fun happy week! I love you all! Con Amor, Hermana Smart

Trio para Siempre

¡FELIZ NAVIDAD!

I hope y'all are getting so excited for Christmas and have watched all
the incredible videos on Christmas.mormon.org. Especially the one with
Lindsey Stirling (#NYNYNM), we watched it today at transfer meeting
and wow it was so touching. I just love Christmas and the spirit it
brings. Being a missionary during christmastime is just so magical and
I love it! And the overwhelming invitation to DISCOVER WHY a savior
was born for each one of us. Going along with that invitation my
ponderize scripture for the week is in John 18:37 "Pilate therefore
said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that
I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into
the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that
is of the truth heareth my voice."

This week was a busy week for us! We dropped Herm Vicino off at the
mission home this morning, she goes home tomorrow - and the last week
with any missionary tends to be a little crazy. Add in a split and an
incredible MLC....it was a busy week but it was also really good and
happy! OH so transfers. Me and Sister Smith are staying here and we're
getting Sister Fink (since sister smith goes home mid cycle a trio is
needed) Yay for more trios :) I'm really excited (Sister Fink is like
6'3", blonde, and from California.) It's going to be an awesome cycle!

Friday we finally decided to randomly stop in on one of our less
actives, Angela. Who we used to go help clean and different things but
we haven't been able to contact her for weeks. And she was home! We
were able to share the A Savior is Born video which helped her to open
up about a lot and it was just incredible. Christmas really brings
miracles and open hearts!

Saturday we went on split and Sister Dunford came to be with me and
Sister Smith, it was a really good day and we were able to see a lot
of our people which was awesome! We had some pretty fun adventures
showing sister Dunford the spanish program....like accidentally
tracting into Hermano Chinchay (which is the most hilarious but
awesome member/high priest leader....haha oops) Also our Ward made the
decision that the missionaries would be the actors in the nativity for
the Ward party.... So that was hilarious trying to play all the parts
and being directed what to do in Spanish....kind of hard to explain
but just imagine all us gringo missionaries trying to figure out
what's going on in a nativity play. Too good.

We had two miracles with less actives this week that I want to share -
Monday night we had about an hour in between two member appointments
so we went to look up Carmen, someone we've looked up before but
haven't been able to get a hold off. BUT this time she was home and it
was just perfect timing. After showing her the Christmas video we felt
like we needed to talk about the Book of Mormon. So we did, and she
opened up about a lot of doubts she has and how she's come across so
much anti literature. We were able to bear testimony and we're going
to start going over almost everyday to read the Book of Mormon with
her! Also. Tuesday morning we got to go see Crisitina (a recent
convert/less active) she randomly texted us and told us to come over
we were able to talk with her about the 3 basic things that will help
her (read, pray, church) she's struggled with change but we just
testified of working in baby steps. So we're starting with the Book of
Mormon and hopefully we'll help her to start reading every night!
We're seeing so many blessings from focusing on the Book of Mormon -
it just goes hand in hand with the Christmas message and discovering
why our Savior was born!

Well I'm sure more happened this week but mostly just know that we had
an awesome week and I love this area so much. We got to see a lot of
members this week because of Herm Vicino going home and they're all
just so incredible and loving. We even went tracting with a girl in
our Ward preparing to go on a mission and it was so fun! She's so
ready and it will be exciting to hear where she goes. Sunday night we
also went over to Hermana Garcia/our WML's house for dinner and ended
up getting to watch most of the Christmas devotional in Spanish. Such
a special moment. Our Ward mission leader and his wife are just
amazing people. Words can't even express my gratitude to them both!

I hope you all have an awesome week and continue to enjoy this
wonderful christmastimes!

Con Amor,
Hermana Smart

DICEMBRE

Happy December Everyone :) it's still unreal to me that we were able
to start our advents yesterday...but also so happy because Christmas
is my favorite time of year! Especially as a missionary. There is just
a special spirit, magic, in the air and everyone is more open and
receptive. We also have the incredible opportunity to have the church
initiatives. This year's video "A Savior is Born" is so different yet
so powerful. The first time we watched it at the last zone conference
my first thought was that it wasn't super "Christmasy" but then as I
watched it for the second time and have continued to watch it - it is
incredible. The simple message of the Savior's birth coming from the
mouth of children. I love too that even though Jesus Christ has so
many names they focused on Savior. And as you go to
Christmas.mormon.org there is another video talking about what if we
didn't have a Savior? We ALL need the saving grace of our brother
Jesus Christ. Such a special gift we can celebrate every day and
especially during Christmas.

I chose my ponderize scripture for this week to go along with the the
Christmas mood. It's in Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and
his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

This week was a pretty normal week of seeing people we usually see,
but as always a few miracles occurred. Also I know I've mentioned it
before but I just love the people here in Stamford so much. Eating
dinner with members like Hermana Arenas or Hermana Garcia just make me
feel so at home and happy. They are just incredible example of
magnifying callings and Christlike love. Also they're incredible
cooks. And we got to help Hermana Garcia with some of her Christmas
decorations which was so so happy. I loved it. Christmas is just the
best.

We also met for the first time with what we call and "Eternigator"
this week. Her name is Marie and she has a lot of member friends and
has been visited by missionaries and been coming to church for the
past 8-10 years but still hasn't been baptized and everything hasn't
really clicked yet. It was and interesting lesson and hopefully we'll
meet with her again and in time she'll be able to come to know the
truthfulness of our message.

Sunday night we had an awesome Noche de Hogar with our Barrio all
about testimonies. It was so good. And after we had some time before
we needed to go home for the night so we went to lookup a less active,
Magnolia, she let us in and told us her sister who isn't a member was
coming over too! So we waited a minute and then were able to teach
both of them. We showed them the new Christmas video and read from El
Libro de Mormon. It was so special, and she seemed sincerely
interested in learning more about her sisters religion so hopefully
they will both be at church this week! Gotta love last minute member
present lessons and new investigators on Sunday night.

Friday night too we were trying to do some lookups and couldn't find
parking, but we got to this one lookup and there was a spot right in
front of house. Perfect! But then they weren't home. So we knocked the
door next to them and Teresa answered! She let us in, we shared last
year's Christmas video and talked about the Book of Mormon. She was so
excited and said she's heard of our church but didn't know anything
and sincerely wanted to read the Book of Mormon. So incredible. I have
such a strong testimony of God's timing.

Also! Do you has remember Stevie and Adelyse in Monticello?? They're
getting baptized on Saturday and even though I won't be there it just
makes me so so so happy. It's such a blessing whenever we get to see
lives change as missionaries, even after we've left areas :)

I hope everyone has the best first week of December, eat a few
chocolates in your advent calendar, and just be happy realizing that
it's CHRISTMAS and a Savior truly was born for each of us.

Con Amor,
Hermana Smart

Grateful.

¡Feliz día de acción de gracias!

Wow. I can't believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving. This week I don't have
much time to write because we had the incredible blessing of going to
see Wicked on Broadway. we are super lucky and blessed to have
cultural experiences in our mission. I am so grateful for the New York
New York North mission :) I truly have been changed for good.

This week I just wanted to express my gratitude for some of the things
in my current area and also some of the miracles we had this week.

I'm grateful that last Wednesday we didn't lose our phone...that as I
left a lookup we were doing I randomly ran over the curb...and that
when we to the church in Stamford and realized we'd lost the phone we
were able to drive back to Norwalk, Praying the whole way there and
avoided all the traffic. We went back to the street we had parked on
and called the phone. By some miracle we heard it ringing and we end
up finding it under a pile of leaves one inch away from a huge jeep
SUV's tire. The same spot that if I hadn't run over the curb I would
have also run over it. Such a miracle we found it and it wasn't
crushed I'm so grateful for small miracles in my life.

I'm so grateful for our recent covert family from Chile that are so
faithful, and their little girl who understands the gospel so deeply.
That they love us, and love the Lord and are so incredible.

I'm so grateful that we were finally able to go back to Waveny this
week. And see all those adorable old people that I love dearly. I'm so
grateful that the window we painted brought them joy during the
holidays (we won cutest window picked by the residents).

I'm so grateful that Friday night we decided to do one last lookup
before going home and we were finally able to meet with a recent
convert, Pia.

I'm grateful that we were able to do service as a Ward this weekend
and wear ridiculous but awesome mormon helping hands vests. I'm also
grateful for the Eagle Scout in another Ward who let us take part in
his service project and deliver food for Thanksgiving to people in our
stake who need it.

I'm incredibly grateful for the priesthood in my life. That we were
able to bring the elders to our lesson with Carmen and they were able
to give her a blessing in preparation for a surgery she's having this
week. She was able to recognize the spirit and her neighbor she'd
invited, Jacqueline, also felt the spirit so strongly. I know they'll
never be able to forget that experience.

I'm grateful for the members in this Ward. That give us snacks after
church, and let us use their bathroom when we've been out doing
lookups all day. And mostly just that they love and trust and adore us
just because we're missionaries. I love them all so much.

I'm so grateful for the split we had on Monday when sister green came
with me and sister Vicino and we were able to see so many split
miracles and have 4 awesome lessons.

I'm grateful for Consuelo and Ryan. That Ryan is starting to really
remember and apply the things that we have taught him.

I'm even grateful for the 3:45 fire alarm that made us exit our
apartment into the cold with the rest of our complex. I'm also
grateful it was just a false alarm and we were able to return to our
warm apartment.

And most of all I'm grateful for each one of you and the huge roles
each of you have played in my life. Each of you have helped me,
comforted me, been examples to me - and I wouldn't be who I am today
without you.

I love you all dearly and hope you have an incredible Thanksgiving and
remember that more than just saying thank you we should be living in
an attitude of gratitude.

Con Amor,
Hermana Smart


PS - my ponderize scripture for this week is D&C 11:12-13. "And now,
verily, verily I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which
leadeth to do good-yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge
righteously; and this is my spirit. "Verily, verily I say unto you, I
will impart unto you of my spirit, which shall enlighten your mind,
which shall fill your soul with joy."

La Obra Misional

Hola todo :)

¿Cómo están? Espero que todo fue increíble este semana para ustedes!
This week was mostly normal and missionary work as usual! But as usual
we did have a few mini miracles that continue to build my testimony
that this is the Lord's work!

First off last Wednesday the other sisters had a baptism....and they
had forgotten towels. They called us just as we were getting out of a
lesson that happened to be two streets away from our house. And we
were on our way to the church for correlation. So the timing was
perfect. The problem was that we only had one spare towel in our
apartment. So we prayed. And when we went to check there were TWO
towels in the closet, such a blessing - small but just another
confirmation that the Lord is watching over His work.

Thursday we were able to meet with a Dominican family that was a
member referral :) I just love the Dominican people so so much! And it
ended up being a really good restoration lesson, Carmen's two boys
were so excited to start reading the Book of Mormon! Friday we had
zone conference which was fantastic as usual and also we had a member
dinner appointment where we had really yummy shrimp.....except we had
to un peel the head and skin off haha. An experience for sure!

Ryan entered the waters of baptism on Saturday and it was so special.
His mom was recently reactivated and even brought another less active.
It was a special day for Ryan! He's a hilarious little 9 year old but
I know there are great things ahead for him!

Yesterday we had a mini split with a Sister Standage, who is serving
in Danbury, while her companion and Hermana Vicino went to a meeting
at the mission home - it was such a fun morning doing lookups and
finding an investigator we haven't gotten to meet in Norwalk yet (she
even accepted a baptism commitment)! We saw so many little blessings -
it's so fun to have a new perspective on an area even just for a short
time :) also yesterday after a meal appointment ALL our plans fell
through....and we tried everyone we could think of... But then we
decided to lookup Myra, who we've tried a few other times this week
but she's never home. BUT miracles happen and she was home. She
apparently has been in Boston for almost a month, but now she's back
and she's prayed and knows the things we've taught so far are true!
And she feels the spirit. We had a really incredible plan of salvation
lesson and it helped to answer a lot of questions she had. It was such
a tender mercy after having al. our plans fall through. Heavenly
Father is so aware of his children and where we as missionaries need
to be to help others!

One thing I've gained a testimony of over and over again is the power
of learning and growing "little by little" it is a principle of the
gospel that we can learn so much from. This week I chose 2 Nephi 28:30
as my ponderize scripture : "For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I
will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon
precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who
hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they
shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and
from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken
away even that which they have."

I hope everyone has an incredible week! I love you all!

Con Amor,
Hermana Smart

Bautismos y Milagros

Hola familia y amigos :)


How was everyone's week?? I hope y'all had an incredible week! Our
week started out super crazy, and packed and a little stressful.....it
kind of hit us how many things we were doing to cover both areas. So
we paused. And took a minute to simplify, to really focus on the
things and the people that are the most important - it has helped so
much! Simplifying to achieve the goals that you desire really does
work! Just like President Uchtdorf was talking about this last general
conference - simplify :)

We are seeing SO MUCH success in this area, especially in the Stamford
part, which is so happy. So the rest of this email I'll be talking
about people in Stamford BUT last Wednesday we did have a really cool
lesson with Johanna. We brought a member with us, Consuelo, who had
been to some lessons with her in the past. And it was just perfect.
They've become friends and Consuelo was pretty much teaching Johanna
exactly what she needed before the lesson even began! Fellow shippers
and member presents really do make a difference, sometimes it can be
hard but it was just and awesome to see it come together.

We had a meeting Thursday that was kind of like an MLC. But Brother
Donaldson (mission president from the District 2, on the missionary
board) came to instruct us alongside President & Sister Smith. They
introduced a new standard of excellence for the mission - 3 New
Investigators a week, 1 baptism every other month, invite to baptism
on first lessons, invite to a baptismal date on second lessons. So
simple and so achievable! Yet with this we can double baptisms in our
mission :) they also gave a lot of good training on planning and
overall just such a good meeting.

There were 3 miracles this week that we're all a result of either
timing or following through with our plans. The first was super
simple. We had planned to lookup a less active. So we did and her
sister was the only one there, and about to leave. But we talked to
her and she's a member too - she said she just hasn't been able to
come because she can't get work off so she asked us to pray for her.
We did. AND both her and her sister showed up at church on Sunday!!
The second miracle was that we were invited over to Hermana Baltazar's
house this week for lunch. She makes amazing food. We were talking,
and she just shared experiences and things going on in her life that
we all needed and it was so spiritually uplifting. We then proceeded
to share a part of a conference article we had planned to share and it
ended up being one that her and her daughter had watched together and
it was just the PERFECT thing to share. Sometimes Heavenly Father
inspires our plans so much and it's so cool when we are able to see
the immediate results of it!! The last miracle is my favorite. It
starts on Friday night. We finished a lesson in Norwalk and we looked
at the calendar and we had planned to go find Jeremias a potential
investigator we'd met the week before at our investigator Lubia's
house. We were thinking of changing the plan, but decided to stick to
the plan. We get to Lubia's house and Jermias isn't there. But the mom
of the little boy Lubia watches is. We started talking to her and find
out her son is a member of our Ward and she has sons in Peru that are
members. And a brother. We had a very simple lesson and Sister Smith
sang a hymn. The spirit was just so strong. So Jeovana (that's her
name) said we could come over Tuesday night. So we go over and it was
INCREDIBLE. Her son randomly didn't have work, so we got to meet him
and we realized he's an active member we've definitely seen before. We
asked her how she's been feeling and if she had the opportunity to
pray about our message. She says she did and she couldn't describe it
but it just felt good. Then her son bore such a powerful testimony of
the spirit. We were then able to teach about the restoration. She just
soaked it all in, especially about the prophets. And then at the end
we invited her to be baptized, and then invited her to be baptized on
Dec 12th and she said if she finds out El Libro de Mormon is true she
would be baptized that date!!!!!! She is SO PREPARED. It was such a
tender mercy. And her son is the perfect fellowship per - they should
even be at church this week.

Saturday Genesis entered the waters of baptism! It was such a special
event and we are so happy for her decision to be baptized. She is such
an amazing little girl. The morning before e baptism we had a lot of
random opposition but e baptism ended up going so well and her part
member family came (her mom is reactivating and her brothers aren't
members) and it was such awesome. We should be having the baptism of
Ryan (another 10 year old) this Saturday so that should be fun too!

My ponderize scripture for this week is Alma 37:37 "Counsel with the
Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when
thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch
over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy
heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall
be lifted up at the last day."

Well I think that's all for this week! Sorry it got a little bit long
- We had so many miracles and I am so grateful for every single one of
them! OH also I did eat some pig ear this week.....not my
favorite....haha gotta love missionary life :) I LOVE YOU ALL!!

Con Amor,
Hermana Smart

COMPLETOS & Halloween Milagros

Happy November everyone! The Holiday seasons are starting and it still
seems so crazy that it's already time for that. But holidays are such
an exciting time to be a missionary, everyone is just so open - so I'm
really excited :)

We had a really busy week! It's been fun to be a trio again. But
combining two areas has kept us busy, and my areabook was acting up
the beginning of the week (areabook is on our iPads) so I didn't have
access to my investigators. But we got it all figured out and figured
out how to plan with two areas and finally organized our apartment
today so things are settling in a little more which is good!

We also got to go to MLC on Friday and it was just such a cool
reflecting moment, because last year on Halloween I went to my first
ever MLC when I was companions with Sister Baker and it was just so
cool to see the differences of my spirituality and mission presidents,
I just learned so much and love being spiritually fed during the week!

So Halloween was this week too! I hope you all enjoyed your day. You
may think...well what do missionaries do on Halloween? Well we still
do what we do every other day except we had be back to our apartment
by 6:30....and not as many people want to see us haha. We started of
the morning helping a less active with some service. And then we had
the incredible blessing of having a BAPTISM! One of the members we
work with, Rosa's, little girl Sofia's 8th birthday was on Halloween
so she made the decision to be baptized on her birthday and Halloween!
It was such a special day. And after we had to quickly help set up for
the joint Ward Halloween party. So much excitement! And Rosa got a few
pictures....but I forgot to get them so I'll have to send them next
week. The Halloween party was really well put together, we got to talk
to a bunch of our members and a lot of less actives came which was
awesome, and also Sister Brower came back with her parents which was
fun! We didn't stay the whole time because we headed out to an
appointment.....but then said appointment canceled....and we still had
a little over an hour until we needed to be home....so we decided to
park the car and pray. We ended up at a lookup and she let us in and
one of the guys who lives in the same apartment/house thing was
sitting at the table. We ended up have a HALLOWEEN MIRACLE and
teaching them both the restoration and about the BOM and the spirit
was so strong. We even ended with a kneeling prayer. It was such a
special experience.
^so that's what a missionary does on Halloween. We serve, and baptize,
and teach and then come home and weekly plan. It was an awesome day.

Sunday was so focused on fasting it was really cool. Without realizing
that's what we had planned, we ended up teaching 3 lessons about
fasting. AND it was fast Sunday. We just had such special experiences.
The power of fasting is so real and I've continually been able to
build my testimony of fasting while on my mission, especially when
I've focused my fasts on others.

One more miracle of the week is we went clear to Norwalk yesterday
morning because we had an appointment. But then we couldn't find the
lady we had set the appointment withs house....so we decided to knock
all the doors in the building we thought she lived in (come to find
out later we got her address wrong) but we had a lesson about the BOM
at the door with another woman who had actually been given an El Libro
de Mormon in the past so we were able to testify and give her a new
one. Sometimes the Lord knows exactly where we need to be to do his
work, we just don't realize it until we keep working hard.

Well that's the highlights of the week! It truly has been an awesome
week. We've even had a few days that have been so busy that we've
taught 5-6 lessons. Which is really good for us especially with travel
time and studies and everything else a missionary does in a day!

I love you all and I hope you have the best week ever!
My ponderize scripture for the week is 1 Timothy 4:12 "...be thou an
example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in
spirit, in faith, in purity"

Con Amor,
Hermana Smart

Trio Número Tres

Hola :)

First off Happy almost Halloween! (That just means we can start
listening to Christmas music right?haha ) Well today is TRANSFER day
and I really never can believe how fast 6 week cycles go! And as you
may have guessed from the title there are a few crazy changes
happening. So because of a shortage in Spanish speaking sisters our
areas are being combined. I've been covering the Norwalk part of the
Stamford Ward the past 6 weeks and now I'm going into a trio with our
current STLs, Sister Smith (who I was in the CCM with) and Sister
Vicino, who were in the Stamford area. So just a move to a new
apartment! But I'm still over the Norwalk area according to our area
books....kind of confusing but it should be fun! Just means we can see
everyone in the Ward :) Sister Brower's parents will pick her up
tomorrow, and Sister Marriott is heading to an area called New
Rochelle (near the mission home) we were kind of hoping to be together
longer....but I know transfers are so inspired and directed by the
Lord and I'm looking forward to what He has in store for us this cycle
and how we can be his hands in moving the work forward!

I don't have a ton of time to write because of transfers....but I just
wanted to share a few things. First off we had stake conference this
past weekend and it was so incredible. Our stake presidency decided to
tell everyone to not prepare talks. But instead come prepared to be
led by the spirit. And both the adult session and Sunday session were
absolutely incredible. There were many personal stories shared, and
inspired scriptures. And overall it was just an overwhelming spirit
felt. As missionaries we rely so heavily on the spirit every single
day but it was cool to see the spirit leading meetings like Stake
Conference too - the power of the spirit is incredible!

One other miracle of the week is Sunday night we decided that after
our dinner appointment we needed to do some lookups! So we actually
found a Spanish less active we've tried to get ahold of all cycle. And
then we were lacking in the English side of things for the week and we
felt inspired to go visit a potential, Linda. She let us in and we
were able to have such a special meeting with her. She's had a hard
life full of trials but is just so sincerely seeking the truth and it
was such a tender mercy to meet with her! And now she wants to come to
church....I really hope everything works out for her and she come to
know that the Gospel has been restored and the church is true!

Well I'll definitely miss the Darien English Ward. The people were so
incredible, and some of the investigators and members we were able to
meet and teach really blessed my life. I know it was no accident I got
to spend the time we did in that Ward, and I hope I'll be able to see
some of them again - especially while I'm still in the same stake! But
I'm also so excited to still be here in the Stamford Spanish. Since
Sister Brower started her mission here we were able to go visit some
of the members before she left and it was just so incredible to feel
of their testimonies and just know I'm exactly where I need to be. We
have some amazing people here in Stamford!!

I love you all, hope you enjoy Halloween and I will talk to you in November ;)

Con Amor,
Hermana Smart

Sleepy Hollow & Miracle Finding

¡Hola! ¿Como están ustedes?

This week was really good! And today since Sister Brower went to the
temple with the missionaries who go home next week we spent some time
in Scarsdale and even got to see SLEEPY HOLLOW (I'll include some
pictures) kind of a fun thing close to Halloween we even went to "the
horsemen" diner haha.

 

So we've been doing a lot of finding since we're whitewashing (=
tracting) and a few weeks ago we tracted into this guy named Francisco
who said to come back when his wife was home. We saw him on the street
a few days after, he was really excited. But then when we went back he
wasn't home. BUT we didn't give up so on Monday we were in the area
and we stopped by again and they were both home! It was a miracle too
because his wife, Vilma, was only home briefly between jobs and said
she's usually never home during the week AND she is actually a hidden
less active!! She was talking to us and told us she was baptized in
Honduras as a teenager and then they moved and lost contact with the
church and she eventually lost her Book of Mormon but she still loves
the church so much! So now we have a new investigator AND less active
to work with!! Miracles do come from tracting!

We also had a few other miracles- a less active we've been working
with from the English Ward came to church! And we finally got in to
see a less active from the Spanish Ward we've been trying to see all
cycle. It's hard to explain mini miracles like that but they are just
such huge blessings for us when we work so hard and often don't see
the results of our labors, but every so often we get little bonuses.

Double wards means double the parties too! First we got to go to a
wedding in the Spanish Ward for a little bit to talk to some of the
family and Ward members we don't always get to see, it was super fun.
Bodas (Spanish receptions) are definitely super fun and crazy and
filled with dancing! It was also a miracle because I was able to talk
to one of the girls in the Ward (she's about my age) and she's been
struggling and needed someone to talk to and we just were in exactly
the right place at the right time. Party #2 was that the English
ward's relief society had a fall social. They watched I love Lucy and
it was all set up as an adorable movie theme with concessions and
everything, it looked professionally done. And we had another less
active we're working with come with her little girl and they LOVED it.
Activities are such a great way to have people realize we're normal
people and just feel more comfortable with the Ward!

With the Spanish Ward we got to have breakfast with Obispo and all the
missionaries. He told the story on how he chose to be baptized and it
was church a special spiritual moment. It gives you perspective for
the people we find and realizing how they have that potential to be
future bishops, relief society presidents, etc!

One more miracle is that we've been trying to work on Reverence with
the Spanish Ward. It's been our goal as a district is whole cycle.
We've been teaching all the members about the importance of the
sacrament and reverence and then we brought it up in Ward a Council
and they've started to announce reminders of reverence every Sunday
(since our sacrament meeting is last it can be a little hard) AND THEN
Sunday night they had Noche de Hogar with the Ward and the entire
lesson was on reverence. This Ward is just so so incredible. We have
such support and great leadership.

Well those were the highlights of this week! It was a pretty busy week
with our STL split, our usual packed schedule, and some things to
prepare Sister Brower to go home. There's always something to do as a
missionary!

To end I'll share the scripture I've chosen to ponderize for this next
week! I've been loving studying Ether 12:4 and really going in depth
with all the cross references and seeking to ponder it more fully.
This week I've chosen to ponderize D&C 90:24 "Search diligently, pray
always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your
good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have
covenanted one with another."

I love you all!! Have an incredible week!

Con Amor,
Hermana Smart

Autumn in Conneticut 🍁🍂

Hola!

Isn't Fall just the best time of year?? I know you may not be enjoying
Autumn in conneticut (it is pretty dreamy) but I hope everyone is just
loving Fall because it's my favorite season!

Last Thursday we had a mission tour with Elder Arnold (from the
seventy) and his wife. It was a meeting that lasted most of the day
but it was really amazing. We had a session with Sister Arnold just
for us sisters, and then just so much good training! The spirit was so
strong and we learned so much. Meetings like these are always such a
boost to work harder - and we learned so much about planning, and
working with members, and just being Epistles of the Lord! So much to
apply little by little and slowly become better missionaries and a
more successful mission.

The rest of the week wasn't anything too unusual. We had a few really
awesome dinner appointments in the English Ward, met with people from
the Spanish Ward that we usually do too! On Sunday because of Ward
councils we ended up being in church from 7:30-4:00. Definitely a long
day! Haha but we are seeing so many blessings. Even though it may be
crazy to cover two areas we are being led to those who need us most
and are also growing and learning so much as a companionship. It is
all in the Lord's plan for sure.

Monday we had a few appointments, but one that I especially loved was
a Noche de Hogar (FHE) with a recently reactivated member and her kids
(and some additional cousins). All the kids were like 9 or younger and
it was just so incredible. We were teaching the restoration and the
spirit was so strong as we taught just the simple truths so they could
all understand. The mom continued to bear her testimony, and they just
soaked it all in. The gospel really is so simple and children are such
an example of the faith and humility that we are all seeking.

The scripture I chose to ponderize for this week is Ether 12:4
"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better
world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh
of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them
sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to
glorify God."
We really just need to have faith and hope as an anchor in our lives,
and as we do we can be led to abound in more good works :-)
Well I'm sorry this email is a little short, but I just want you all
to know I love you and I love this gospel so much! It's such a
blessing to be bringing the good news to others :)

Con Amor,
Hermana Smart

A Trio and the Temple!

Hola :)

Well....this week has been a little bit crazy! So our roommate, Sister
Ralston, ended up going home. It was kind of a crazy weekend (I had a
cold too during it all ) and so we ended up having to drive to
Scarsdale immediately following conference saturday night. And now
we're in a TRIO! (Me, Sister Marriott, and Sister Brower) We're
covering both the English and Spanish Ward! Luckily it's the same area
but covering two wards that don't meet in the same building should be
a little interesting....but hey it should be fun! AND we can teach
anyone (always a third female, and both English and Spanish)
Whitewashing just got more interesting :)

We also got the huge blessing to drive with one of the members here
that work in the temple and go to a session today! (And of course got
a Levain cookie and walked back to the temple through Central Park)
I'm convinced that this is the greatest mission in the world!! The
beauty of conneticut in the fall, and the city...I just love it all!!

This week, besides all the craziness, we had a really good week. We
served at Waveny (the care center) and I got to hold hands and sit
with this adorable lady at a musical concert. So precious. I love
those old people so much! AND we got to go over to a few of the
Spanish members homes it's been so good getting to know them all
better. AND we also had a few really amazing lessons. One of which was
with a new investigator, Catherine. She's about 16 and so receptive!
It was one of the best first lessons I've had with anyone. It just
felt so natural and she's so close to our age it was fun- I'm so
excited to see how things go!

OH and general conference!! Wasn't it the best general conference
yet?? I loved how much they focused on the family, and women, and the
sabbath day! I received so many personal answers to prayers. Combined
with our zone meeting on Monday I just felt so spiritual uplifted and
it came at such a good timing! I can't wait to go reread all the talks

The biggest tender mercy of the week too was that Rachel & Luisa (the
first lesson I've had in the mission) GOT BAPTIZED!!! We were going to
skype in for it....but we were at the mission home instead. But it's
just so amazing to hear small stories of the fruits of your labor.
While I was there they weren't super close to baptism, but the members
really embraced them and loved them and now they're members :-)

Well I don't have a ton more time (the member that drove us down is
taking us to get some food before we head back to Connecticut!) But I
just wanted to end with the scripture I chose to PONDERIZE for this
week :-) I hope you all just loved that talk and have all chosen to
pick scriptures to "ponderize" for yourself. This week I chose Luke
9:23 "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."  I just
love that imagery of daily having to chose to follow the Savior. To
forget yourself and realizing that "it's not about me". We talked a
lot about that in our zone meeting and I just love that so much. Daily
trying to do more to turn outward and do things for others, and
ultimately for our Savior Jesus Christ!

Well I love you all so much, I hope you can jump in some leaves, drink
some leaves and have an awesome week :-)

Con Amor,
Hermana Smart

 PS: did anyone catch the shoutout to the New York New York North

Mission by Elder Rasband?? So awesome :) I loved it and was so honored
to sustain THREE new apostles

Apple Picking 🍎

Hola :)

Well this week was pretty warm and then today we definitely started to
get the dreamy east coast fall weather (scarfs and leaves and pumpkin
and just that feeling in the air) AND we got to go APPLE PICKING, even
though I'm not in the "big apple" currently haha. We are so spoiled
here in conneticut- I will be sending lots of pictures because it was
just too fun and we met up with a few other companionships of sisters
so it was just a good PDay.

The work is little by little picking up here in Norwalk too! Last
Wednesday we had an awesome lesson with one of our investigators. We
read in the Book of Mormon with her and she just told us how she knows
it's all true and all the miracles she sees....she just needs to get
some things in order so she can come back to church and get baptized
soon!

We had interviews and a zone study on Thursday and it was so
uplifting! President and Sister Smith are so in tune with the spirit
and it was exactly what I needed to hear at the time. A really good
reminder to keep the end in mind, the bigger picture. The gospel is so
simple and it's all about remembering those primary songs. This Sunday
we were combined with the English Ward for the primary program and I
was just overcome with the spirit. Usually I don't enjoy primary
programs but it just hit me how true and simple those songs they sing
are. If we were all able to remember and internalize those simple
truths...we would be able to always have the blessings the gospel in
our lives!

Fun Spanish program thing of the week....I ate COW TONGUE. Yep. It was
actually not that bad. Haha one of our less actives gave it to us (she
feeds us every week).

We also started serving at this place called Waveny. It's like this
super cool and fancy senior center. We got to paint the nails of women
in the dementia area and it was so amazing to just feel of Heavenly
Father's love for them - to see everyone there as children of God. I'm
so excited to be able to go back every week and give them much
deserved attention and love!

Lookups ended up being really successful this week too and we are
packed with appointments this weekend so hopefully all goes as
planned! I'm really excited for the people we have met and are
continuing to find :) we have seen so many miracles of being in the
right place at the right time to find the people we need too!

As a district we have a goal to talk about reverence and the sacrament
with all members we meet with (our Ward is a little casual at times)
and it has been so amazing the lessons we have been able to teach at
Noche de Hogar's and with the members we have seen. Being able to
remember the sacred experience of our baptisms and realizing we can
have such sacred experiences every week as we partake of the
sacrament!

I'm so excited for general conference this weekend. The women's
general session was incredible (especially president uchtdorf's talk)
I highly suggest going back and watching it if you missed it!! It was
such a powerful reminder to always be happy no matter what :-)

Well I hope you all have an awesome week, sorry if this email was a
little scattered, but I hope y'all eat something fun and fall-ish and
enjoy listening to the words of our living prophet this weekend!!!
Such a blessing :)

Con Amor,
Hermana Smart

Welcome to Norwalk

¡HOLA!

I hope everyone had a great week and is just loving Fall! It's my
favorite season for sure and I'm excited for more leaves to start
changing color, I just love being able to wear jackets again and
starting to just have that Fall feeling in the air! It's awesome. And
I'm sure Connecticut is going to be beautiful with all the leaves in
the next few weeks.

Well this email will be a little longer than last week ;) haha I'm
sorry we didn't have anytime transfer PDAYS can tend to be a little
crazy... But this week has been an adventure! We've started to get to
know Norwalk a lot better. So the actual city my area is in is
Norwalk. The ward is the Stamford Spanish Ward. But there are sisters
in Stamford/Greenwich and then we're in Norwalk.

Whitewashing has been such an adventure. At times it's so hard, but
most of the time is just so fun. Me and Sister Marriott just look at
each other like "well I don't know" and then laugh a lot since we
really don't know much of anything! I mean there are some moments when
it can feel like maybe his is going to be too hard...like when we
tried to get into our apartment for the first time last Wednesday and
realized they had given us the wrong keys... But then we stop and
laugh because those moments are just even funnier and I love it. And
it all works out! (Don't worry, we have English sisters as roommates
who let us in later that night) I am learning so much about have faith
and trust in the Lord. The principles of missionary work are there,
and you don't have any bias or anything you just get to go and get to
work and talk to everyone and it's AWESOME.

The Spanish Ward here in Stamford is awesome. We have these super well
organized Correlation meetings every Wednesday night. And Sunday it
was so fun being back in a big Ward, I'm used to the tiny Monticello
branch, AND they all speak Spanish. It was a little overwhelming since
I've been in so many English wards on my mission but I'm going to
learn so much!! I'm excited to improve my Spanish. And the members
we've met so far have been amazing. We got to help sis Garcia with a
talk she was giving in another Ward in English, and then (she's the
Ward mission leader's wife) got to have Sunday dinner at her house
with all the other missionaries! And then Monday we were invited to a
noche de hogar at the Guerrero's. And the elders had us come to 2
dinner appointments already too! I just love how involved and active
the members here are!

Thursday and Friday last week we did a lot of tracting (since our
areabook was completely blank until the other sisters sent us a few
people!) We ended up accidentally tracting all the fancy English
areas. But we started to get smart and tract nearby member
appointments that the elders were inviting us to and found a little
more Spanish! So that's good. But it was so fun to just be able to go
out and work so hard. Not having anyone to work with but just sharing
the good news as much as we could! And the people here in Connecticut
are actually really nice to us. And now we have some names to work
with from the sisters and have been meeting a few investigators and
less actives and it's just been slowly getting better and better!

Yesterday we were able to go help serve at a food pantry in Norwalk
and adding service into our schedule and life is just so important -
it's amazing what a difference service can make on your whole week :)
I love it so much!

Our district leader shared this quote I really loved :
"When we try in faith to walk in obedience....the lord opens the way
when there appears to me no way" I'm learning so much about faith, and
how as we have childlike faith and just trust that the Lord will open
a way He really does. He is directing his work and we just have to go
out and trust and obey and work hard! The miracles are endless. A
scripture me and sister Marriott came across on the same morning study
in 2 Nephi 2  says "how great the importance to make these things
known unto the inhabitants of the earth". It's so true! As
missionaries and members we just go and make the truth known by the
way we live and he testimonies we share - I love it!

Well we just about out of time we have to get heading to OUR FIRST SET
APPOINTMENT with an investigator!! Actually it will be the first real
lesson since being in this area. We're super excited.

I hope you all have an amazing week! I love you!!

Con Amor,
Hermana Smart