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