Right around where I am at right now is where most missionaries get really missing home... and don't get me wrong I do miss home I am super excited to see everyone when I get back, but I am not really feeling it effect my mission, I love being here and love serving and working with so many good people.
I recently had the opportunity to help with two baptism's one for a lady named Ashleigh and one for a lady named Shelby, it was one of the more stressful weeks on my mission trying to set everything up in such a ways as to help them best... but with working with the ward and helping them keep strong we were able to bless them very much with that ordinance, I am grateful that I was able to be part of it. This whole transfer has been an interesting turn of events from the missionary that came out that I was meant to train going home, to those baptisms to getting a are companion, to general conference to zone conference and back to the apartment, its been a rush and I can hardly even keep track of all that has been going on, I am so blessed to be here and I am grateful for being able to see so many tender mercies of the Lord in this service.
I have been trying to be deep in the scriptures, Preach My Gospel talks about how your ability to teach by the scriptures is dependent on how much time you spend in them, and with the prophetic inspiration to read the Book of Mormon I have been finding continual peace in its pages, when I have missed a day or have not been as deep into the Book of Mormon I have felt a lot more week during the day, and I can't describe how easy it is to fall into my shortcomings after not reading, but when I take a few minutes during a lunch break and delve into them I can feel that steady spirit come back into my life and I am a lot more confident.
Elder Rather is my companion at this time, he is waiting for his Visa to go to India on his mission so I get to work with him during this time, he is pretty fun and we are having a blast! I love serving with a person I can be myself around, transfers are hard when a companion is struggling.
I am still in Seco Canyon! I have been here for five months and I am facing the prospect of going home from this ward, I definitely love being here, the people here are fun to be around and work is definitely getting done. That being the case I still miss the Tarzana ward that was one of my favorite area's because of the ward members there, the things I will miss most on my mission is all the wonderful people that I have met and developed relationships with.
I love you all so much, everything in my life is so amazing, God has blessed me so much with an amazing family and friends to help me in my life, I am truly grateful for all that i have been through.
love
Josh
-Ashleighs baptism
-Me and Elder Rather
-Elder Rather doing the dishes.
-Us in front of our apartment
From Mom - Thanksgiving:
Dear Elder Smith,
It's Canadian Thanksgiving today! Happy Thanksgiving to you, my good son. You are definitely one of our big Thankfuls in more ways than one. We're thankful for your unwavering commitment to serving the Lord, for your kindness to so many people through letters and actions, for setting a powerful example to your siblings and for being such an integral part of our family. We love you so much!
Sam said while attending Conference, you felt strongly about staying until the very end of the mission. We support you in all your decisions and know that when you do your duty, blessings will follow. This means we shift to Plan B, if you still desire to attend BYU-Idaho, which is to bump your application to the spring term, which starts in April. This gives you three months to be at home, adjust to normal life, brush up academic skills to write the ACT on Feb 10, get a new wardrobe, be put to work around the acreage (haha), etc, etc. Plus, BYU-I will give you a much needed academic record for your future plans, whether you attend there in September or not. It's a good plan, I think, unless you have another one? And it takes pressure off so can can finish a focussed mission, which is important.
Also, just an FYI ... you have over $4000 left in your mission account, plus whatever you have in your school savings, plus over $3000 in a RESP savings account Dad and I started for you when you were little ... so you're in awesome financial shape for when you get home. A great start, really. It will pay for one spring semester and another year of school.
Accountability ... I have faithfully spent time in the scriptures every morning and dedicated myself to communicating with heaven since we emailed on September 5. What a difference it makes!! The biggest evidence I see that seeking out and connecting with the divine every day is the effect on my attitude. I'm absolutely more positive, less prideful, make better decisions, care more about people, serve better and more effectively, am receptive to and act better on spiritual promptings. I love it!
One quick experience ... I had the strange thought to stop at Wendy Francis' and offer to do some laundry for her. I did. She cried and explained her washer died, laundry was piling up and she was so discouraged. The washer fix has turned out to be complicated and expensive so I've been doing a load of laundry for her every time I go into Calmar.
1) I don't think I would've had the prompting if I had neglected my study.
2) I don't think I would've had the confidence to knock and offer such a strange service without the extra light and knowledge from the morning prayer and word of God.
3) I don't think I would have the energy or stamina to add another chore without the added boost that scripture study and prayer gives me.
Wendy is tearfully grateful. I've lightened her load, literally. It matters.
And that's just ONE example.
I adore and absolutely appreciate the cushion of the Gospel. A force field, really. A spring board for the day. A magnifier of sight, an expansion of talents, a stretcher of patience. I can't live without it, nor would I want to. It's an antidote for bitterness and cynicism. Much needed in today's world.
As for the week, we finished off our garden preservation by pickling beets, making delicious pumpkin soup and creating a huge Thanksgiving feast yesterday.
We had the Rectors, the Francis' and the Driessens ... 28 people packed in and it was delightful. We had our first snowfall (it didn't stay) and are busy buttoning up our property before the big freeze.
We're getting into our learning routine for the year, which means the ongoing screen battle is revived. On the days we eliminate screen time, life is infinitely better and more productive. It's a process.
Life is pretty darn good, in any case. So happy.
Questions for you to answer ...
•How is YOUR personal study going?
•What is your relationship like with your mission president?
•What happened to the bike you bought?
•Are you eating your veggies?
•Did you get the article I sent about The Fourth Missionary? Thoughts?
I love you forever!
Mom
It's Canadian Thanksgiving today! Happy Thanksgiving to you, my good son. You are definitely one of our big Thankfuls in more ways than one. We're thankful for your unwavering commitment to serving the Lord, for your kindness to so many people through letters and actions, for setting a powerful example to your siblings and for being such an integral part of our family. We love you so much!
Sam said while attending Conference, you felt strongly about staying until the very end of the mission. We support you in all your decisions and know that when you do your duty, blessings will follow. This means we shift to Plan B, if you still desire to attend BYU-Idaho, which is to bump your application to the spring term, which starts in April. This gives you three months to be at home, adjust to normal life, brush up academic skills to write the ACT on Feb 10, get a new wardrobe, be put to work around the acreage (haha), etc, etc. Plus, BYU-I will give you a much needed academic record for your future plans, whether you attend there in September or not. It's a good plan, I think, unless you have another one? And it takes pressure off so can can finish a focussed mission, which is important.
Also, just an FYI ... you have over $4000 left in your mission account, plus whatever you have in your school savings, plus over $3000 in a RESP savings account Dad and I started for you when you were little ... so you're in awesome financial shape for when you get home. A great start, really. It will pay for one spring semester and another year of school.
Accountability ... I have faithfully spent time in the scriptures every morning and dedicated myself to communicating with heaven since we emailed on September 5. What a difference it makes!! The biggest evidence I see that seeking out and connecting with the divine every day is the effect on my attitude. I'm absolutely more positive, less prideful, make better decisions, care more about people, serve better and more effectively, am receptive to and act better on spiritual promptings. I love it!
One quick experience ... I had the strange thought to stop at Wendy Francis' and offer to do some laundry for her. I did. She cried and explained her washer died, laundry was piling up and she was so discouraged. The washer fix has turned out to be complicated and expensive so I've been doing a load of laundry for her every time I go into Calmar.
1) I don't think I would've had the prompting if I had neglected my study.
2) I don't think I would've had the confidence to knock and offer such a strange service without the extra light and knowledge from the morning prayer and word of God.
3) I don't think I would have the energy or stamina to add another chore without the added boost that scripture study and prayer gives me.
Wendy is tearfully grateful. I've lightened her load, literally. It matters.
And that's just ONE example.
I adore and absolutely appreciate the cushion of the Gospel. A force field, really. A spring board for the day. A magnifier of sight, an expansion of talents, a stretcher of patience. I can't live without it, nor would I want to. It's an antidote for bitterness and cynicism. Much needed in today's world.
As for the week, we finished off our garden preservation by pickling beets, making delicious pumpkin soup and creating a huge Thanksgiving feast yesterday.
We had the Rectors, the Francis' and the Driessens ... 28 people packed in and it was delightful. We had our first snowfall (it didn't stay) and are busy buttoning up our property before the big freeze.
We're getting into our learning routine for the year, which means the ongoing screen battle is revived. On the days we eliminate screen time, life is infinitely better and more productive. It's a process.
Life is pretty darn good, in any case. So happy.
Questions for you to answer ...
•How is YOUR personal study going?
•What is your relationship like with your mission president?
•What happened to the bike you bought?
•Are you eating your veggies?
•Did you get the article I sent about The Fourth Missionary? Thoughts?
I love you forever!
Mom
From Josh Re: Thanksgiving
Mom,
Just to answer your questions real quick I will expound more upon my life in my other email.My personal study is amazing, I can't get through my day without being centered on the scriptures, the other day I was sitting in my bed at the end of the night and I was reading from the old testament, and I just felt an emptiness almost and a craving to just read from the New Testament or the Book of Mormon because they put things a lot more simply and straight forward doctrinally than anything else, I am truly grateful for the restored gospel.I love my mission president, president Henrie is pretty connected to the spirit and I have finally humbled myself enough to see that, I used to not like him very much but he has grown on me a lot.I am still using the bike that I bought, especially since president is encouraging using bikes more and more. I don't know what I will do with it, probably try to sell it to a missionary coming in or give it to the mission. I am unsure as of yet.I am eating my veggies as much as I can, I usually have two salads a week for lunches and eat every vegetable available in member meals, I am still working on eating better but I think I have been doing pretty well as of yet.I did get the article about the fourth missionary, sadly it is banned from the mission, not so sadly I just read the highlights and definitely felt a lot of inspiration for my missionary service.I love you so much mom, and I am excited for being able to come and start life, but I in no way feel trunk at all.Josh
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