Påske kommer!

Well it's been a good one. Elder Hager and I have stayed busy and had a lot of fun.

On Monday we kind of just walked around. We were in a store and spotted some chocolate bunnies that were around 1 foot tall. So we bought them.

We had soccer on Saturday and it was fun. Our ward mission leader's family was visiting from Norway so they were all speaking Norwegian and it was super confusing.

We met with our new investigators Jan and Maria on Saturday as well. We talked about the plan of salvation and baptism. They accepted the invitation to be baptised! We don't have a date, but they are on their way! They also came to church again on Sunday which was great. 

The secretary in the bishopric called me on Saturday night and asked if I could share my testimony because one of the talks backed out, it went pretty well and I didn't mess up too bad on my Danish. 

That's about everything exciting for the week. Yesterday evening we had an eating appointment with some members and we shared a spiritual thought about the scriptures. Think of a scripture you like a lot, maybe your favorite, and then why you like it. Then we shared 1 Nephi 19:23. Almost every time you have a scripture that you like or learned from, it is because you applied it to yourself. If we apply the scriptures to our own lives and situations, they will become more meaningful and understandable. Here is the invitation. Think of a scripture that you have applied to yourself and learned from and think of those around you, member or nonmember. Pick out one who may be in a similar situation, who could use the same guidance you have received from a special scripture and send it to them.

Well I love you all. Thanks for being you. I hope you all are preparing for conference. I am really looking forward to it. Have a good week!

Elder Smith

Hi Super Mom!

I'm sorry I don't do more with my musical skills. I will look for more opportunities.

That's a good joke haha.We were eating with a member on Sunday and one of the members was pretending to speak Japanese for some reason and then she started laughing. She has the funniest laugh ever and we all just died laughing haha. I guess you have to hear it for that one to be funny. I'm really bad at this funny story game.

The sent from a library was me haha. I did it because yours said from your iPhone.

You guys always do stuff with Aubrey haha. I can't believe you got ice cream without me. You can't eat any ice cream until I get home. Is this Rockwell's place amazing? I think I recognize the name Sydney Moon. Was beauty and the beast good! There are posters for it everywhere.

I remember craters in the moon. That was crazy.

I will try not to grow out of my pants, but I am looking for another pair. Two of mine are starting to fall apart. I sewed one up a bit though haha.

That backpacking trip sounds super fun. Why are you doing that now? I thought we were going to do that a really long time ago with me. I will pray for you. I'm sorry about that one day too. I think we both had different trips in mind that day.

I love you mommy. Have a good week.

Love, Elder Smith

Hi Dad,

I'm doin' swell. It has been good. The weather is getting better finally. Thank goodness. The neatest thing I saw all week. Hmm. No cool buildings or anything but Elder Hager played an awesome arrangement of Ye Elders of Israel on the guitar and it was awesome. We took the train out to a little town and there were a lot of fields and that is always good scenery. 

It would be cool if you had an odometer that said how far you've driven in your entire lifetime. What is Cooper going to drive when he gets his license? 

That skype session sounds fun. I am excited for May. I am also excited when we can play a good game of Settlers together. 

I don't think you will ever run out of things to burn on that little farm. I miss our yard work bonfires. Milk and Cookies is fun. I miss mountain biking a lot. I like to take little bike trails to places if I can because it feels a little like mountain biking. You are turning into a crazy runner like mom haha.

I love you lots dad. Thanks for the advice and love and support. Have a good week.

Elder Smith

9 pounds of cookie dough

Well, it has been a good week. It might be starting to warm up (probably not), but the days have definitely been longer and the sun has been out. We had a lot of fun this week and did a lot. 

On Tuesday we went to a little town called Blokhus out by the coast to stop by some people. They have a beach so we had to take some pictures even though it was cold and windy.

On Wednesday we had a zone training and talked about how we can most effectively and spiritually share and use our testimonies and personal conversion stories.

Thursday we went out to a little town called Ulsted. It was not as nice as the beach town and smelled like poop. And the people were not very nice.

On Saturday we played soccer, which I haven't played since I was in Holbæk, and I remembered that I am not very good. It was still fun. We also had a lesson. We taught a man named Jan and his girlfriend. They were both really nice and he said he is ready for a change in his life. We are really really excited to start teaching him and actually having an investigator.

They actually came to church on Sunday and really enjoyed it. Things might be starting to pick up in our area after such a long time. 

Well I don't have much else to say but that was the week. Oh yeah!!! Earlier this week we were walking home to have dinner and we decided to eat Subway because Aalborg has one of the only ones in Denmark. We really enjoyed the cookies and were trying to decide whether to buy more or not. Then we had the idea to make a massive amount of cookie dough and eat it. So we made 9 pounds of it. Don't worry we didn't eat all of it, we still have some left, but it was definitely the most cookie dough I have ever seen in one place.

Well I thought I would just tell you all about my conversion since that is what we talked about at zone conference. Well like many others, I grew up in the church and was taught when I was young, but it didn't always mean so much to me. I never had a big experience or receive a vision that this was true, but step by step and one small experience after another, my testimony has grown tremendously. The little things I had faith in slowly became knowledge. Something I knew rather than just hoped for. That is why I am a member and why I am here on a mission.

I love you all. Have a great week and be happy!

Love, Ældste Smith

Dear Father,

I'm excited to talk to you in 2 months.

I am doing good. It has been a good week. We got to teach a lesson this week finally! Some of the other Elders in the district got a referral and he was in our area. We are going to be teaching him and he came in church yesterday. He is the first investigator we have had for like a month. His name is Jan.

Haha I guess accidentally running 10 miles is good if it's the only run you get. We played soccer on Saturday and I thought I was going to die from all the running.

I have been learning about personal financial management for sure. It is much easier when my companion is good at it and much harder when they aren't good at it. I get better at it every month though. 

I miss doing yard work with you believe it or not. I hope you miss me while you are out their every Saturday. I don't know when it is going to warm up here. It has been lighter longer though so that is a plus.

I'm glad all the animals are doing fine. I'm pretty surprised Storm is still alive too. That rabbit is a tough one. You should send me pictures of the new chickens. 

Have Cooper go long boarding with some of his friends first to see if he likes it. He does have some short lived interests. That's crazy that he is 16 in a few weeks. How tall is he now? Is he still a little guy?

Things have been up and down all the time. Missions are hard. But I am happy and I love it. Things have been good. I am still learning.

Well. Have a good week. I love you dad.

Love, Elder Smith

Dear Mother,

Well the one that showed up in church hasn't showed to anything else or answered his phone, so that's a bummer. But we found another new investigator that I told dad about and wrote about him in my big email.

I forgive you for giving me bowling skills. I am pretty average at a lot of sports. It is fun that Elder Hager and I have stuff in common. We don't play guitar at the same time. And he is way better than me. I haven't done anything publically with my music talents. I just play on a piano or something sometimes.

I'm sorry I never have anything really funny. I will do better at finding something and writing it down so I don't forget. You can have the joke that Lisa Labrum sent me.

Late one night, a burglar broke into a house that he thought was empty.  He stealthily crept through the lounge and was stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a loud voice clearly saying, 'Jesus is watching you!'

Silence returned to the house, so the burglar crept forward again.
'Jesus is watching you', the voice rang out again.

The thief stopped dead again. He was frightened out of his wits. Frantically, he looked all around. In a dark corner, he spotted a birdcage and in the cage was a parrot.

He asked the parrot, 'Was that you who said Jesus is watching me?' 
'Yes', said the parrot.

The burglar breathed a heavy sigh of relief and asked the parrot: 'What's your name?' 
'Ronald', said the bird.

'That's a stupid name for a parrot, 'sneered the burglar.' What idiot named you Ronald?' 
The parrot said, 'The same idiot who named the Rottweiler Jesus.

I'm excited to get the package. I think if you send it today then I will most likely get it at the next zone conference in like 3 weeks. I sent you guys a letter in the mail today. I hope you like it.

That sounds like a really good sacrament meeting. I love the sacrament meetings where at the end you actually feel like you got a lot out of it. I have had a few here. If I focus. It's hard with Danish sometimes.
I have probably seen the new restoration video but I don't know what is new or what is old. Have you seen either of the 2 new temple videos? They have temple information in our mission email and it said something about them. 

I'm excited to talk to you on Mother's day too. That is super weird. Time is going by waaaayyyyyy too fast.

Everything is okay. My clothes are holding up pretty well. I am going to keep an eye out for another pair of pants. I am working super hard.

Jeg elsker dig tusind gange ti!

Love, Elder Smith

Hmmm

Well I guess I have a few things this week. I mentioned last week getting a new companion Elder Hager. We have had an awesome time together. He comes from St. George and is a swimmer. He is also way good at guitar. We have a lot of fun.

We did a lot more knocking this week and it was good. We found more people to meet with. We haven't had a chance to meet with a lot of the ones we already found, but now we have more! Yay!

Sunday was cool! We were in church and I was holding the door and this guy I have never seen before came in and asked if he was allowed to stay. I said of course and he stayed all of church. Turns out he has talked to missionaries before and he wants to be baptised. He is homeless and has some smoking problems but we are way excited to start meeting with him. Hopefully all goes well.

That's about all I have this week. Today we went bowling and that was super fun. I don't have much to say about that though. I lost every match. It's okay though. I learned from it. Sometimes life is like bowling. You may not be so good at it but you can still have a fun time because you're bowling with your friends. 

I love you all! Have a great week! 

Love, Elder Smith

Dear mother,

Haha I love called to serve. We sing it at every zone training or conference.

I like whatever reese's. Yes the small cadbury eggs. :) I don't think there is anything else I need. maybe a bag of flamin hot cheetos haha. I got a package this week from my friend John and his mom! It was awesome. They are so nice. They said it was a delayed christmas package full of candy and ramen noodles and a couple ties.

Elder Hager is awesome! He is from St. George. He is also a swimmer and is really good at guitar. He has been out for a year and a half. We have had a lot of fun so far.
Knocking on doors has been good. Slow but good. We have a lot of potentials. It has just been hard to meet with them all.

I have a funny story but it might not be that funny. You will smile though. Our apartment is really big and we have a little basketball hoop with like four small nerf basketballs. I was shooting hoops and Elder Hager blocked one and it hit me in the face so it turned into a war. It was fun. I guess it's not that funny.

Most Danish people speak Danish to us. Some switch but most of the time we speak Danish. I feel like I understand almost everything that is said. Depending on the person who is speaking. Almost every Dane knows we are american. It is almost impossible for an american to sound Danish even after being here for a long time. Some danes like americans and some don't most of them are fine with us though haha.

We were all cooking together when we had 4 missionaries in the apartment, but now it is 2 again and we like to get stuff seperately. So unless we plan a meal together we just make our own stuff.

That's crazy that Todd got his call. There are a lot of missionaries coming over here to Europe.

I'm glad you got to do the wedding. It sounds fun. It is really sad that a lot of girls have that problem. I can't really imagine how it feels to be in their position, but it makes me sad. I don't hear a lot from Kelsey Sims, but I hope she is doing better with all of that.

Haha I like baby kyllinger. I hope they all live. I'm glad they are cute.

I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love, Elder Smith

Hey Dad!

Things are good. It was pretty nice and sunny this week. I think it might be on the uphill, knock on wood. I like my new companion a lot. He is from St. George and has been out a year and a half. He is a swimmer and we get along great. We have been learning a lot from each other.

I'm glad you finally got spring after all that snow.

The chicks sound fun. I hope they all live. If 2 are roosters do you have to get rid of one?

You have been doing good with exercise. I will admit I have been slacking recently. I wish I had more time and better means of exercise like a pool or a gym, but I guess that's not important. I have been eating alright. I just eat a lot. I should probably lose some weight before I go home so you aren't so much lighter than me.

I'm glad I am serving a mission. It has been the best thing ever for me. It is like a roller coaster of ups and downs. I have never counted in a week how many times I have thought I want to go home and how many times I have thought how much I love my mission, but I'm sure it's a lot. It's pretty weird how fast it can switch. I love it though. Even when it is hard and we can't find a single person to teach. I know I'm doing the right thing. If you have any suggestions on how to have a better study that would be awesome. It seems like at the beginning of my mission I was so much more focused and learned so much more, but now I feel like I never have enough time and I don't get anything done. 

I love you lots. Thanks for everything you do for me. Have a good week!

Love, Elder Smith

Staying in Aalborg!

Well the transfer ended this week and I will be staying here in Aalborg, but my companion Elder Halling left the area. I get a new companion today, Elder Hager. He seems like a fun guy and it should be good. I am glad I get to stay here though because I really like it.

It hasn't been too exciting this week. We met with Eniko on Tuesday and she dropped us so now we don't really have any investigators, But we also have done a lot of knocking and have found tons of people who want to meet with us so that will be great.

That's about all that happened this week. Sorry it hasn't been too exciting.

Just want you all to know that I have a testimony of God's plan for us and that he knows what we need and when we need it. Have faith in His knowledge and trust Him. Everything happens for a reason. As well as having faith in His plan, strive everyday to understand it. It will be a bigger blessing and you will have more gratitude towards it. 

Have a great week! I love you all.

Love, Elder Smith

Hey dad!

It has been a pretty good week. Sadly E. didn't make it to church this week and she dropped us. It was pretty hard. We have been doing a lot of finding but still haven't found any new investigators. A couple people have listened to us, we just haven't gotten any more appointments quite yet.

I really like those scriptures from Jacob. There are so many good things from those chapters. President O'Bryant shared something from chapter 5 in his email the other week about how God knew what he was doing in the vinyard even though things seemed hopeless at times. It was awesome. I will be sure to study 1 corinthians 13 sometime this week and tell you about it.

Things are good here. We may be in a bit of a rut, but I'm not discouraged right now. I know that things will pick up. It is sometimes hard to have charity and love. I have days where I don't want to talk to another Danish person, but then I know that so many of them are just raised in this culture and don't understand why it is we are trying to tell them to change. So I love them, it is just hard sometimes. I will keep working hard. 

Thanks for the scriptures and the uplifting thoughts. I love you lots. Thank you for being a good example. Have a good week.

Love, Elder Smith

Dearest Mother,

I am doing pretty swell. Thanks for thinking about me and praying for me.

I really dislike mud. We have had a lot of rain and wind. Not a good combination. Sorry that the amount of snow was a terrible inbetween. Remember when you and Coop and I went cc skiing? That was fun.

Yeah it sounds like a lot of missionaries are going to be coming to the mission in the summer. There are so many who are going to be leaving. 5 are coming to the mission tomorrow. Transfers was a surprise for me because I am staying in Aalborg but Elder Halling left the area. It was weird because he has only been here for a transfer. But it looks like I'm staying for a while longer!

I never got any results back for the test. Probably will sometime soon.

I don't have any funny stories this week. I probably have some but I can't remember anything when it is time to email. I will try this week. I will make it a goal.

If you have more questions about the area or Denmark I will answer them for you but I'm not good at coming up with stuff.

I could use some Fiji deodorant. I can't think of anything else that I need. You can definitely send the continuous atonement book. I have had tons of questions about the atonement that I can't find answers too. I have had some good studies and learned a lot, but I keep finding more questions.

I don't have a favorite area so far. Every area has it's challenges and every area has it's pros. But I love both Holbæk and Aalborg.

I usually eat stuff like sauce and meat and vegetables. We actually have had a good variety lately like Burritos, homemade mac and cheese, mashed potatoes with tons of stuff. A while ago we made frikadeller, the danish pork meatballs. It was pretty good. I try my best to eat fruits and veggies. I don't use the meal cards that much but I have looked through them a few times for ideas.

So I'm not sure what his mission is like as far as what they wear is but most people just want to buy new clothes when they get to Europe. I'm fine with everything I have except the pocket on the CTR pants always rip. The socks are fine. The shirts are fine. It might be good to find stuff like suits at a non "missionary outfitter" store. And just find a good suit and stuff other places. I guess I don't know that much about it though. I just don't care about looking too american as long as my clothes hold up.

It is pretty crazy that people are starting to get mission calls again. And that my friends are getting married. That's just weird. 

I love you sooooooooooooooooooo much! Have a good, happy week.

Love, Elder Smith