March 27, 2017 - Loving and Learning

From Mom:

Dear Josh,

Great Grandma's 90th birthday went off without a hitch. The Smith family went all out, of course. The church had long tables of food, a little platform with comfortable chairs for Grandpa and Grandma to sit so well wishers could congratulate them for living so long, and there were three tables set up in the corner with a display of Great Grandma's legacy. As I viewed the display, I saw quilts she had made, favourite recipes, clothes she had sewn, pictures of family playing games, etc. but the overarching legacy was the love and acceptance she has always shown to each of her family members. This was echoed as each child (and a few grandchildren) gave tributes to her; a legacy of love and acceptance shown through food. Haha. It inspired me though. I hope to live to a grand old age to witness such a thing in my own life. She rarely bears her testimony but on Sunday she stood up in the Glenwood church and bore a powerful testimony of living a life with the Gospel at the center of it.

I'm really so grateful you have such a strong heritage. Lucky boy. You were mentioned several times along with Tane, who are the two missionaries of the family right now.

Anyway, I'll attach that paperwork to get your license renewed. You have to print it off and initial each line in section E, as well as sign and date the bottom.

Also, we received a $800 cheque for you in the mail. I'll deposit it into your account, but would you like me to send you some? I had the idea of sending you nine $20 bills, which represent the nine months left of your mission. Maybe it will help supplement your stipend? I don't know. What do you think? I have a new phone now, so I'll try to pay attention to when you send your email and maybe we can go back and forth.

Anyway, as always, sending our love to you. And reminding you that we pray every day for our brother and son.

Mom

From Josh:

Life is good here in the San Fernando Valley it is in the mid 70's (20's in Celsius) Nothing to complain about, a few things I have learned though that are good life lessons. 

First not doing the dishes all week makes me feel like trash, when you have to dig in the dirty dishes for the dish you want and then you have to clean it above a sink full of gross cups and plates is not that desirable, will definitely be doing better on doing dishes from now on. 

Second, It is important to be without Hypocrisy and Guile, I recently learned what each of those meant this week and my whole life has changed. Hypocrisy means to act, or to pretend, to put on a mask or to play a part. and guile is another word for deceit and lying. How I have decided to be better at avoiding both of those is being open and honest, being who I am, I have learned that it is also important to do that within the companionship, me and Elder Nelson's relationship have been getting slowly better over time, but something I have learned about Elder Nelson is that he gets caught up in a thought or a project and won't stop until it is done, which is super amazing and I need to learn to be better at that, but it gets a little frustrating when its past 10:30 and there is a project he is working on and I want to go to bed, a few nights I kind of have been just laying in bed until he comes but it always is better when I speak what is on my mind, because he loses track of time and not telling him results in me creating feelings of resentment for no reason when i can just ask if we can go to bed and there the problem is solved.

I went of exchanges with our district leader on Friday to Saturday and we discussed the easiness of the gospel and the straightness of the way how when we live the gospel the things that are hard in life are cleared up with a better understanding of why and how we can face it, like being completely open with people, when we express ourselves and our feelings clearly people can trust us more easily. 

We also discussed what we believe in comparison to the world, and we drew a few comparisons, to a few titles.

Leader (world) - Above others, strong, smart, in control, has power.

Leader (gospel) - Follower of God, meek, submissive to the Lord, humble, learner, kind, loving.

Teacher (world) - Needs to know more then students to give knowledge, teaches, directs, disciplines when class in unruly 

Teacher (gospel) - Comes to learn, asked questions to help people to come to the conclusion on their own, nourishes discussion, encourages and uplifts. 

those are a few examples of some of the things we talked about, we are truly a peculiar people when teacher = learner and leader = follower, it seems completely opposite from the world but that is the attitude we should all have in those positions. 

Story of the week,

We knocked into Evan a young man who opened up and was really open with us, he told us that he had read many religious books and was seeking to find truth and learn from many different opinions, so we asked if he had read the Book of Mormon, and he told us he had read a few bits and pieces of it, and so we asked if we could share a message of the fulness of the Gospel and he got pretty excited, we shared with him the restoration and he asked a few questions once we got to the Great apostasy we asked if he had any questions and he said he didn't, then he stopped and said " wait, so no other church has the authority from God to baptize?" and we said yes, and shared the story of Joseph Smith and how Jesus Christ said that all other churches were an abomination in his sight, it went really well and he accepted a return appointment as well as a Book of Mormon to read. 

Another experience this week happened when we knocked on this door and through the door we heard "Who is it?!" we said "its the missionaries!", "Hold on let me get my gun, I am going to shoot you!" he yelled back. 

I looked at my companion who looked ready to run for the hills. 

"Are you still there?" we heard from the other side of the door.

"Yes sir" I said, and the door whipped open revealing a man in a dirty wife beater holding a heavy meter long ruler and a sheet of paper. "read this paper!" which said no soliciting of any kind and it started listing off everything that counted as solicitation, the thing is under California state law we are not solicitors. but he basically told us that he should beat us with his stick and that he felt threatened by us, we simply told him we didn't want to cause any harm we were just sharing a message of God and left. The interesting thing was I didn't feel a speck of fear when he said he would shoot us, which was interesting to me. 

I know that I am in the Lords hands and that he loves all of us so much, something I realized in a deeper level this week was that when we put Christ as our main focus everything falls into place, when we are intently focused on Christ then questions such as who we will marry and how we can make a difference are answered because the people we choose to hang out with and date will emulate Christ like attributes and also be looking towards Him in their life, I know that if you will make Jesus Christ your center then your life will infinitely improve, I can promise that as you do that you will be able to live up to your eternal potential and become all that God needs you to become. All that is good will become better and all that is bad will melt away. 

I love you all, hope you have a good week.

Josh

P.S. I will try to get that paperwork to you sometime today, and that idea of nine 20 dollar bills sounds like a good idea. Lets hope it doesn't get me too trunky ;) JK 

Reply From Mom:

I love your story of the week!!!! Do that every time. :)

And yes, keeping up with the dishes is a small act that has long term blessings. I support your decision to do the dishes. Just make it a part of your routine! You won't regret it.

So, Sam has a tough decision to make. He was just offered a job with Peter Rector's company that pays $17/hr, 60 hrs a week, starting next week, which will go a long way helping him save for his mission and education, etc. BUT, he's scheduled to do his SAT, ACT, GED as well as going to Ontario this summer. If he works, he won't have time to study and might miss out on family activities. What is your advice from your experiences? You worked a ton before your mission and you have a lot of money (there will still be $4000 in your mission account when you get home), but was it worth it to you? Any advice?

Also, I can sense your maturity in your letters. I'm anticipating seeing you again and having long conversations about the Gospel and life.

I'm thinking that being trunky means you think about home so much that you can't be an effective missionary. I don't think that will happen to you, but I think you SHOULD start considering a plan of when you do come home.

Things to think about...

Do you want to stay home and explore options here? (Institute, community classes, university, etc?)

Or, do you want to work? (It's a tough time of the year to find a job but not impossible, then go to school in Sept?)

Or, do you want to go to school in Jan? (You could, you know. You have the money. A semester at BYU-I could be a good option..)

Don't stress about it or let it be a distraction, but you might want to start making a home plan. Just saying. :)

Love you forever,

Mom

March 19, 2017 - Life

From Benjamin:

Hey Josh. Just wanted to give you the update on life. The second semester of school is interesting. I have Brother Kruk as a social teacher and he has a very interesting personality. The first day of school he said "Who is Ben Smith? Because whoever he is, He has the whitest name I have ever heard of in my life!" I get targeted by him often and I find it absolutely hilarious. Drama class is just pure fun, it's a class of ten people and all we do is drama related activities (improv, made up skits, random acting games) Science is a little tricky because I went in without any knowledge on the subject whatsoever, but I am getting through it.

Me, Sam, Cody, Benson and Grandpa decided to go down to Langley BC to watch Tyler's basketball finals, and we had a great time! But on the fourteen hour road trip to the finals, after a rest stop I didn't close the door all the way, and so when we were driving down the road I opened it and slammed it- but unbeknownst to me, my/our iPad flew out the door in the process of doing so! So RIP iPad. It is probably good for me though, less distraction.

Man I just love the dances! There was one time, I forgot a loonie (I still need a dance card) and no one else around had a loonie, so we did the math and minimum wage is 12.50 per hour, and so five minutes of work equals one dollar. I made a deal with the guys up front that if I worked for five minutes (whether it was help with the food or help cleaning up after) that they would let me in, and they agreed! I got in the dance without any loss of money.

Being the teacher's quorum president is challenging; half of the teachers lack maturity and I am not sure how to help them with it. I realize that I am the one that is supposed to receive revelation on how to improve the quorum, but I am not quite sure how to go about doing that.  I also know that If I am going to lead the quorum to the best of my abilities it will be with the help of the spirit, but I don't know how to invite the spirit in, when it almost seems that most of the teachers are trying to disrupt the lesson! Not to say that they aren't awesome guys, they are just a bit immature and have very short attention spans.

I had a dream not to long ago. And in this dream, I woke up in the morning only to realize that that Second Coming had begun! As soon as I realized this, I started to repent about every sin I had ever committed, and in this dream I knew that it was too late. I hadn't repented soon enough.. I was absolutely terrified because I knew I had let God down.
When I woke up I was SO relieved. Really makes you think of how the second coming will actually be like. Hopefully we are ready for it, the consequences are eternal!

Love you Josh, be safe in California! :)

From Mom:

Hi, Josh.

I went to the registry to see what could be done about getting a new license for you. They gave me a form to fill out, which I did, but since my phone was stolen, I don't know how to get it to you in an electronic copy. Watch for it next week, I guess. You'll need to print it, sign it and scan it back to us. We'll bring in the form once we have it, they'll mail your license to us and then we will mail it to you. If we get on the ball, you could have it in about 4- 6 weeks. I'll need a photocopy of your passport and any other photo ID you may have. Plan to get that to us next week. I think we can take care of the rest. 

So, in summary for next week ...

1) plan to scan us a copy of your passport

2) plan to print out the form we send you to be signed and scanned back to us.

I think that's it on your end and we will do the rest.

In other news . . . today is the Spring Equinox! Whoop Whoop! We woke up to a new blanket of snow and freezing temperatures. Haha. But at least we can look forward to longer and warmer days as old man winter tries to keep us in his grasp. 

We'll also be attending Great Grandma Smith's 90th birthday this week-end. If you have any well-wishes for her, send it in your email today and I'll make sure she gets it. I think I'm going to print out our pirate family picture for her; the one we took at Koocanusa the summer you got your call. That is the most recent picture we have of all of us together and she's been asking for a family picture from us for 20 years. I guess it's time. :)

My new calling in the church is Sunbeam teacher and I love it. Yesterday, I was in the church bathroom helping my little class wash their hands after using the toilets. They're too little to reach the soap dispenser so I was getting the soap for them and putting on their hands. Sis. Edith Hartmann came out of one of the stalls and said in a joking way, "Sister Smith? Can you get some soap for me too?" I laughed and said emphatically, "Oh, yes, Sister Hartmann, I can get some soap for you!" and I did and we laughed together. Suddenly, Elsie Michelson looks at me and I explained that Sister Hartmann was my friend. She says very seriously, "I love her." It was so cute! I smiled and said, "I love her, too." Well, Edith couldn't have been happier. She said, "This is the reason why I come to church."

Human connection is so powerful. It changes peoples lives! I recently listened to a podcast where a Jesuit priest was explaining about living a life of purpose regardless of the cynicism of the day. He quoted Aristotle, who said, "The highest thing we can do is to discuss the Truth with our friends." It seems that human connection is the thing we crave the most. I think about you trying to find people to teach, how so many don't recognize the life changing message you have. I think a lot of that comes from not trusting other humans generally and why just plain old service (without any expectation of reward or response) to others softens hearts. Love and service opens the door to crusty, hard-hearted people, who really are just craving to have a meaningful human connection. Then if a connection is made, the truth can be discussed. It was this Jesuit priests' humble opinion that as we personally strive to be better, then reach out to others to form meaningful connections, than the cynicism and hostility of our era could be cured. This is true for Edith. She said that she wouldn't know what she would do if she didn't have the gospel, the church and the people in our ward. She was tracted into from missionaries and had been prepared in her own life to receive them. The missionaries are long gone and she is still here, living a changed life from their service. 

Never for one moment doubt that your time serving a mission is the best thing you could be doing right now. We know that one heart will be changed for sure, and that will be yours, but you may be surprised at how much of a difference you are making. Keep going, keep striving. There are so many people craving for Truth and not knowing where to find it. Look for the hand of the Lord in your life because He is always there, whether you recognize it or not. And when in doubt, serve.

Have a great week! (And don't forget your paperwork assignment for next week.)

I love you!

Mom

From Dad:

Hi Josh,

How goes the battle for good and evil in California? We are praying for you and your success daily. Learning to get along with your companion is great practice for marriage :)... When people ask us how Italy was going as a couple, we have to honestly tell them that we had a couple of days of getting synched up again. That involved a couple o f hard conversations about underlying tensions we had built up and not talked about. As hard as they are, we have to have those conversations that allow us to get our honest feelings out. That's not to say it can't be done skilfully and with the spirit of love and mostly with a desire on each other's part to understand the other person's point of view. Mom and I are getting better at this and it only took us a couple of hours to recover and were of course even stronger and more harmonized after.

It's been a good week despite trying to recover from jet lag. Just meant that I was up by 3 am every morning and couldn't hardly function after 8 pm!  Good way to get lots done in the morning, though!

We watched the face to face for youth with Elder Holland and Elder Eyring for joint activity this week. It was fun to watch them together and we were well instructed on the process of revelation and prayer. One of the answer's struck me quite strongly regarding how we approach God in prayer. Instead of seeing it as a casual chat, Elder Eyring warned that we need to approach the throne of God very respectfully and with reverence and awe at the greatness and glory of the Lord. He is a personal God, but also an all powerful all knowing God to whom we can petition for blessings.

I want you to know that through all the thick and thin there is a bigger plan. The Lord is aware of us intimately and he knows what experiences we need to help us grow. I encourage you to look for ways to lead out in your companionship, district and zone. As Mom mentions in her letter, look for ways to serve and lift burdens both with your fellow missionaries and with the people you meet and work with.

Over the past couple of days, Ben has been analyzing an interesting article about Globalization vs. Nationalism and I listened to a TED talk about the same topic this morning. The key take away for me is that there is a lot of unease and disconnectedness in the world today. People are struggling with identifying with something and trying to find their centers. The problem is that they are seeking it more often from the worldly answers which are never fixed and stable for long. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ gives is that rock we can build true peace and growth on. And you are sharing that every day. Stay strong and know that you are right where you should be. 

Love you lots.

Dad

From Josh:

This week we were able to find a new investigator, we had recently had a zone conference where we learned how we can magnify our calling as missionaries, we learned about how we can begin teaching more effectively, we were admonished to spend as much time in Preach My Gospel as possible during personal and companion studies. So I really delved into it, and I have been really trying to improve on my prayers because my companion downloaded the Elder Holland and Elder Eyering Face to Face and like you dad the thing that Elder Eyering said about prayers and being in the attitude of approaching the thrown of God really made an impact on me, so all these combined, better studies with more earnest prayers has brought a greater spirit into my life, so when we met with Melonie we really taught her in unity with the spirit and it definitely directed the conversation, so through that we were able to help her to understand why we were there and how we could help her the most, My favorite feeling being a missionary is when the spirit gives me exactly what to say, I speak with a confidence and power that I know comes from a being way greater and more powerful then me, though the power of the Godhead far exceeds our comprehension I am awed more and more by the mercy and love of God, and though the Holy Ghost has power to shake the earth it speaks in a still small voice, I am so thankful for the mercy of him who is mighty to save, he has blessed my life so much. I am so imperfect and I am learning more and more everyday that I need to trust in God. I have realized a little bit at least that this is Gods work, I mean I could say that before we have been told that all our lives but I haven't really realized what it means and I am still trying to figure it out, but I know that the Lord guides this work, that I can't do anything of myself. 

Another experience that happened to us this week. We were knocking doors as we usually do but we stopped and talked to an African American lady about the gospel sharing with here who we were and what we did as missionaries, she told us she was Jehovah's Witness but was open minded we shared a bit of the restoration with her and gave her a copy of The Book of Mormon and she told us that it was interesting because the night before she had been on Family Search learning about her family history because the Church had made it free, she was so excited about it that she had stayed up all night doing it, and she drew the conclusion that this was no coincidence, that we had been there at the exact moment we needed to be, she didn't want to set a return appointment but said she would read the book and find out more, God is directing his work. So remember to look for his purposes in everything and thank Him for the great opportunity to be part of his work. Especially all those who are planning on serving a mission, know that at times you will be weighed down with sorrow, grief and often feel overwhelmed, you will struggle to accept some leaders that may not seem to care about you, you will feel alone and powerless a guarantee you will, unless you look to God and learn to say "there is a purpose for this" God is preparing you for greater things, there may be times where you may not have any success as in baptisms look for the purpose of God.

Meals this week consist of Beef Jerky and granola bars, my companion and I are still working things out, something I have realized with two of my most recent companions have been very blunt they don't hold anything back, but whereas Elder Blodgett was pretty laid back about it, Elder Nelson is very reserved and holds back his feelings so I never know where I stand with him, its a great learning process and an answer to a prayer, because I prayed to get more patience and I am learning to be a lot more patient with everything. I am glad I can have this chance to develop a relationship better and like those hard conversations I really need to work of not letting things build up. 

I have learned that I love meals in members homes especially members who are open and can just say it how it is. there are a lot of members who just want to give us money and I always feel bad when I get it because I believe a meal is to get to know people when you have someone in your home its not just to feed them it is to get to know and develop a better relationship with that individual, and its kind of hard when its just a quick "Hey here is twenty bucks go treat yourselves to something, good bye..." Which doesn't make me feel good, I haven't gotten to know them better I haven't made a connection. but sadly there are a lot of single sisters in this ward who can't have us in so they give us money anyway. and even though they do every month I am low on MSF, I am definitely needing to work on my budgeting skills. :)

I love you all so much I hope this week is amazing, look for the tender mercies of the Lord and for what he is trying to teach you in this current faze of your life, and remember, "there is no growth in the comfort zone, and there is no comfort in the growth zone." we have been sent here to grow. so don't get comfortable. 

Love 

Josh. 

March 12, 2017 - Interesting Experiences

From Josh:

Well this week was quite interesting a few experiences jump out immediately.

So, we were knocking on doors like we usually do everyday and we knocked into this one guys home and we went off telling him about who we were and the message we shared, he wasn't interested and so we moved on, Elder Nelson commented on how it looked like there were two woman in the backround he had noticed I didn't think much of it and we moved on, quite a while later we were nearly finished knocking on doors when the same guy pulled up in a van and shouted at us that he wanted us to come to a party, that his sister was interested, in our minds we were like sweet someone to teach but when we got there we walked in and he took us right to the back where his sister and her friend were sitting in the back in very revealing bikini's it and it was really awkward but we taught the first lesson looking really intently at their faces and eyes trying to block out the fact of their attire and in the end we were able to give them a Book of Mormon and a few pamphlets and testified it was true, we said that we had some appointments to go to so we couldn't stay for the party (it was his sisters birthday) and we left, thinking about it and their intentions I don't think it was the message that his sister was interested in. and we were just brought in as presents to his sister! it was perhaps the most awkward experience I have had on my mission. 

Being with someone for a few months is very interesting because the first month i feel is fine, easy to get along with but by the end of that month you start noticing small things that just gets on your nerves and if you let them they will just make you so annoyed that you can't stand each other by the end of the transfer, that was how it was last transfer, but the cool thing is when you decide to love someone despite their differences, it takes patience and a little bit of charity at times but when you decide to love someone things get better. It took a while but I am feel like I am warming up to Elder Nelson, he has his quirks and things that tick me off at times but I really am making an effort to move past those things and view him in a better light. 

The other day we got together as a zone and talked about not being casual in our observance of being missionaries, and I think that applies to all of us, we were admonished to find what we were taking casually whether it be the music we listen to or the way we teach, and I would like to extent the same exhortation to you all, find what in the gospel you are taking casually or feel you may be lacking in knowledge in and dedicate yourself to living in a better observance of the gospel, whether it be music that may not be appropriate or exactly in line with our beliefs, the words spoken to each other, the friends we may have, what kind of attitudes we have towards others. Whatever it may be look for what you may be feeling lax on and bring it into line with what Gods will is for you. I will do the same.

I love the gospel, something that the experience with those ladies taught me was the value of putting restrictions on our minds, when i was going to a counselor to help me overcome pornography he told me of the line of sin, where we need to be as far away form it as possible, and creating stops and checks to help us, the farther we go from the line if we don't establish warning lines then we will just fall. I  thin of the analogy of clipping in, if we never clip in when mountain climbing we will fall all the way down, but when we create those stops we will not fall all the way down but we will be able to catch ourselves and continue climbing to the kingdom of heaven. 

March 6, 2017 - Live from Italy

Dad:

Hi Josh,

Mom and I are in full Vacation mode as we've been wandering around Venice for the last two days and loving it. We saw lots of sights but talked ourselves out of taking a Gondola ride till today. Then I thought of the times I decided not to take in a historic experience (e.g. Like in Sam Francisco when I chose not to go to Alcatraz) and we bit the bullet and took a €80 gondola ride for 1/2 hour. 

Sometimes we have to decide what our money is for. Over the years we've chosen to use it more for experiences vs Stuff when we can. In the end I'm glad we did it. 

I also really loved the leaning tower of Pisa!!

As you can see I got there just in time to keep it from falling over :)

It's been an amazing week in Florence. I've been mostly in training but I had the chance to meet some great people and do some fun stuff, like making my own pizza :)

Mom and I both had dreams of you coming home early this week. Hoping they are only dreams! We are so proud of you for sticking through the hard times!

Inevitably on a holiday, Mom and I end up taking about our relationship and how we can make it better. We find that we go through cycles where we are in synch and feeling in harmony and then cycle to feeling tense and cranky. I suspect you have some of this with companions. We decided to take some time regularly to use a practice we do at my work to give each other feedback using "continue" and "consider" vocabulary. 

E.g. 

"Dear Josh, Continue to share your testimony and scriptural insights in your letters home. Also, Consider sharing some of the smaller day to day moments, good and bad, as well :). "

We will see how it goes. Relationships  are the most important thing we have but also the hardest to maintain and balance. I think that's why marriage and family is so essential to salvation as it allows is to be refined and learn patience and sacrifice. 

We are just waiting for the train to Rome. We have been using Air BnB for our reservations and have loved it so far. We have a nice one set up in Rome again tonight for 3 nights. It is right beside the Roman Coliseum. 

We are pretty grateful for the amazing blessing it is to be able to travel and see the world. We are truly blessed. Grandma and grandpa Bruce are making sure things aren't dull at home. Tyler Bruce and the Sparwood basketball team qualified for Provincials so Grandpa is taking the boys along with Cody and Benson to BC to see his games. 

Abby had her first YW winter camp and loved it. Grandma Bruce is making sure the girls are learning their times tables. Etc. 

We are blessed with great extended family around is to help raise our little nuclear family. 

Mom is keeping Instagram and Facebook up to date with all our travels though you won't be able to see them there. Is there any plans for your mission to eventually use iPads and/or Facebook?

Seeing all the townhouses and apartments here in Venice reminded me of some of my tracking experiences in Montreal. Though it wasn't always super productive, I had some fantastic experiences and saw a few people join the church through those efforts. Keep up the intensity and effort and the Lord will bless you as you ask in faith. 

I read this in 1 Nephi 15:11 and believe it to be true:

"If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you."

Praying for you to be able to find the honest and seeking in heart and that you will be given to know, as Nephi was, what you should do and teach. 

Love,

Dad. 

Mom:

We found a small ward in Venice and went for sacrament. I liked it. Afterward I was waiting for Dad and an elderly woman came up to me and said something in Italian. "Parla inglese?" (Which I'm getting very good at saying and it means, "do you speak English?). She shook her head, no. Then she hugged me, kissed me on both cheeks and said in heavily accented Italian, "We. Love." And smiled and squeezed my hand. I was very touched by that.

Anyway, your writing is getting better and better all the time. We really look forward to your emails.

Rome BnB

We just walked through the sketchiest neighbourhood of my life. Rome is big, stinky and confusing. Plus, it's dark. We were trying to find the airbnb and the address was so confusing. Finally, this guy walks through a dark alley, waving to us, and bringing us to where we were sleeping. I thought we were going to get mugged. Maybe it will look different in the daytime. 

How are you, my boy? Really. How are you? I pray and hope that you are holding fast to the lifeline of Our Lord. And finding joy in the service. I'm so proud of you. Keep going. Keep striving.

Love you forever (again),

Mom

Josh:

I don't know if I am very good at relating about myself in the day to day life as much as spiritual thoughts, In the Preach My Gospel manual it explains that if you don't know what to say talk about Jesus Christ. So that is the approach I have been taking, but at the request of family members I will try to be better at letting you all know about my life.

There is a place we give service at called Operation Gratitude, a place where we prepare things to send off to service members serving in the military. We do such things as sort donated foods and small toys, tooth brushes, tooth paste, hats, bandana's and assorted other things. We make quick release paracord bracelets, read letters to make sure they are uplifting and good to send to soldiers. So we usually go there Wednesday's, Friday's and assembly days (assembly days are for the putting together of packages to send off.  My favorite thing to do is make the paracord bracelets there is a quick fun way to do them and I will have to learn more so I can show everyone when I get home, but these are what we do most of the time when we go. 

This week we had the opportunity to l teach a Hispanic family who was really open and receptive. We shared with them the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the spirit was so strong, I love teaching with the spirit, so many times I say things that I don't ever think of myself and its really cool the confidence that comes in when the spirit is present. There are also times when I just keep rambling on and don't know if its me or the spirit, but in the end people will say thats what they needed to hear. It is so important to have the spirit with you always. 

Any way they were really impacted by the spirit and couldn't wait to hear more, the only problem was that the husband only spoke spanish so we felt like the best way to help them was to pass them off to the spanish missionaries covering that area. 

At church yesterday one of our potential investigators came to church, he really loved it, though since it was fast and testimony meeting i was a little worried that someone would go up and bare some crazy deep doctrine testimony on Kolob or something. Luckily it was relatively normal though with a small ward not a lot of people went up and there were long ten minute gaps where no one would come up and it felt a little awkward, it was the quietest testimony meeting i had ever been to, I was almost tempted to go up twice. but after when I asked them what they thought they said they really liked it, of course the reason was that it was perfect for meditation. they didn't stay because they had to work afterwords, but as soon as they were about to leave some of the more forward members pounced on them and struck up some good conversations, since there was only so many people there its easy to recognize who is out of place, they were also wearing casual clothes. It was good. 

This week I have been really trying to be patient, my companion it really great and he is fun to be around but there are those times that get a little hard especially when you have been together for two months. I am learning a lot about working together and of staying alert, there was one day where we nearly died 3 times, one of which my companion looked one direction and said it was good but the other direction a car was going super fast and I had a dad moment where I just started yelling "Woe woe woe!" and in trying to press the brakes my companions foot almost hit the gas, but hit it just in time to stop a few inches from the other car. In reflecting so many of the things I say and do I am so much like my dad, my laugh my expressions, even my caution voice when warning the driver of danger... I now understand how dad felt when I was in the drivers seat at times. 

That was my week, a scripture that I found this week through my personal studies was 2 Nephi 9:49 "Behold, my soul abhorreth sin, and my heart delighteth in righteousness; and I will praise the holy name of my God"

I love this scripture because there are times even as a missionary that I struggle to do or think good things, when I have a desire to sin or do wrong then I will recite this scripture in my mind to help me to remember who I am and what my true desire is, and the is to serve my God, to help other people, and be an example to those who are around me. When I am tempted then I love those words and I love that I can make them my own and say with Jacob, My soul abhorreth sin, and my heart delighteth in righteousness. May we all be able to make those words our own. 

I love you all.

Josh

Dad's Reply:

Glad you were safe! We will look into getting your license renewed and sent to you. We may have to get you to sign something. We'll let you know. 

We just checked into a funky little BnB apartment in the back streets of Rome. Very exciting!

Dad. 

Joshua's Reply

Oh! I forgot to say that its starting to get really hard in this area, there have been a lot of robberies and people walking house to house scoping out houses that would be easy to rob, and guess who walks house to house as well? missionaries, its getting to the point where we need our ministerial certificates at all times for fear that someone will tern us into the police, already we have had our pictures taken and put on a police watch website, and someone called the police on us as we were tracting. but the work goes on. 

To answer your question dad, I don't think this mission will have iPads until way after I come home.