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Lost Backpack and General Conference

Hey Everybody!

It was a long busy week, but it was good. We did get a bit of time to find in our area despite that we had a lot of meetings and splits this week. Unfortunately it has been a little slow as far as new investigators, but we set a high goal this week and we are determined to find some new people throughout the week.

A little miracle for the week. We were on a bus and I had an extra bag because we were going on splits that evening. When we got off the bus I realized I had left my backpack on there. The backpack had my camera, my journal, notes from general conference and zone conferences, and a bunch of other important stuff. I thought it was gone forever. But then we had splits in Birkerød on Wednesday and that was pretty good. I was with Elder Lex. He is a funny guy and we had a good time. While we were there I called the bus people and they had my bag! So we had to travel all the way into Copenhagen to get it because the place was about to close for like a week. I was pretty happy to get the bag back though.

We had a zone conference this week and I really enjoyed it President talked about the plan of salvationa and it was really good. What a cool thing the plan of salvation is. It amazes me how perfect it is.

General conference was great. This conference really gave me a strong testimony of a living prophet and a living church. The things Russel M. Nelson said and the changes that were made felt so right and so great for this time. I am looking forward to it all. 

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

Elder Smith

Some pictures from this week and last week.

To Dad: 

 It has been a good week. Pretty busy. We had zone conference and general conference in the same week so a lot going on. It was great though. I really enjoyed conference. I agree. I definitely felt that everything was just so right and I am excited for the new changes. I haven't seen the last session yet, but I think we will do that tonight.

You did some fun stuff this week! Not just work and running haha. I'm glad you were able to spend some time with Cooper. That sounds like a lot of fun. 

Everything is good. I can't believe there are only 4 weeks left. I have a lot of mixed emotions and my motivation goes on some roller coasters, but overall I am doing really well and enjoying these last weeks. We are working hard and life is good. Well. I love you lots. Thanks for everything you do. Have a good week.

Hi Mom!

I can't believe it is only one month! I feel the same way as you. It is very bitter-sweet. I can't believe Aubrey is engaged! That is so crazy.

It has been hard with the new area for the last transfer, but it is getting better. As far as I know my purpose here is missionary work :) haha I haven't found any specifics yet. 

We use public transportation like busses and trains and we bike. No we just had to give the car to another area because it was their's originally. This area just needed it the transfer before I got here.

I also really enjoyed conference. I am excited for the new changes. I haven't seen the last session yet, but the ministering sounds really cool.

I love you mommy! I can't wait to see you in 4 weeks! Happy Easter!!! Today is second Easter in Denmark :) Have a good week!

Rubbish

Well it has been an adjustment this past week. After the unexpected transfer and the black and white difference between Aalborg and Ballerup, it has been a somewhat stressful week. We should have a much better week this week and we have some great goals and plans.

So when I got here to the area we had a car that they had been using last transfer, but a couple days into the transfer President called and said that the car would be given to another area, so multiple days got a bit ruined trying to figure things out our new way of transportation and getting the car to it's new area.

I have had a great time with Elder Woodforth. He has been helpful in the transition and he is always willing to get things done. He is trying to teach me that the proper word for garbage or trash is actually "rubbish" but I don't know if it is going to stick. We seem to work well together and I think it will be a successful transfer.

I am looking forward to general conference this weekend. It is always so great to recieve council from our prophets and leaders. I know that these men receive direct guidance from the Lord on what we need to hear, so it is probably important. I invite you all to prepare for conference with questions and prayer so you can get something great out of it.

I love you all. Have a great week!

Elder Smith

To Mom:

Haha I can't believe Elder Hunsaker has sent that video to everyone. It's okay though Elder Maready actually cleaned it up. The story is that I asked Elder Maready to cut my hair and we were at our apartment so he didn't have his own clippers. The numbers are different on ours so when he used the same number and started to cut it was way shorter than expected. It isn't bad though. It is a tiny bit shorter in the back, but it's not bad at all.

I'm glad your wrist is healing up. I'm sorry it is going so slow, but I'm sure it will be done soon. I'm so glad you can play the violin, that's a miracle! Does it hurt really bad to play?

I enjoy being with Elder Woodforth. It is hard adjusting to the new area, but it is okay. It has been a little harder than the typical area change, I think mostly because it was so unexpected and Aalborg is so different from Copenhagen. It has been hard this week, but I think things will be calmed down this week so it will be much better. I just want to be effective and do missionary work.

I will be all alone on the way home. It won't be too bad. More time to think and ponder. Thank you for praying for me. I'm sure the Lord has been transferring me a bunch for some reason so I guess I need to figure it out.

I'm glad you had some good runs with Toni. That is an awesome comparison. It is amazing how God teaches us so much through his creations and parables. Super cool.

Well I love you lots. Thanks for being my mom. I hope you have a super good week and enjoy general conference.

Love Elder Smith

(photos sent to mom from Elder Hunsaker's mom)

Hey Dad!

Things are going okay. It was hard moving here to the new area. I miss Aalborg and things are so different here. It's not so bad it was just so unexpected. It is a little like Taastrup, but less muslims. My companion is cool. He does speak with an Australian accent. We get along well and have fun. He has been in the area for a transfer and this is his 5th transfer on the mission. We have one investigator that I was supposed to meet today but he canceled our appointment. He is pretty positive though so I am excited to meet him. That is about all we have right now. The ward is big and there are a lot of great people. I am excited to get to know them.

I usually don't have anything special to write about either so it is okay that most of your weeks are the same. Is it not too muddy out there at McCoy Flats? I remember it being so muddy in early spring.

Keep working hard with school. Are you learning stuff?  What kinds of classes do you have?

That sounds like a great talk you gave. I really love the one from Jeffrey R. Holland. I am pretty excited for general conference this weekend. It will be my last one as a missionary. Our week will be pretty busy this week because we have zone conference and general conference.

It was quite the surprise to get transfered again. I didn't get so moved around the first part of my mission but these last few transfers have been crazy. I feel like I know some of the reasons I have been where I've been and been with who I've been with but I don't know all of the reasons. I feel happy about my mission and successful. I have had a lot of ups and downs on my attitude towards myself but in reality I think things have been a steady uphill most of the time. I have grown a lot in many Christlike attributes and my testimony is so much more real now than it was before. I feel like the hardest thing at home will be finding time for things at home. I'm not as worried about being idle as I thought I would be but I feel like I won't have time for everything I want to do, especially scripture study. It has been hard for me to find time for it on a mission so I don't know how easy it will be at home.

For when I get home I don't have any specific feelings about it. Whatever works best for everyone else.

I love you dad. Thanks for everything you do for me. I hope you have a great week.

Love Elder Smith

Weird Week

Hey everyone! It has been an interesting week for me, but a lot happened.

Last Monday I had my friend Nicklas from Copenhagen come visit us in Aalborg. We had a great time and went and saw a few of the random things around the city.

The middle of the week was pretty normal, we had quite a few teaching appointments and one was with our investigator Ryan and it went really well. He accepted the invitation to read in the Book of Mormon and pray about it and he is so humble and willing to learn. I hope all goes well with him.

On Saturday we received transfer calls and I got quite the  surprise. I found out I was leaving again. I got transfered to Ballerup which is in Copenhagen not too far from Taastrup where I have served before. My new companion is Elder Woodforth from Australia. I was sad to leave Aalborg for my last transfer, but it will be good. 

On Sunday we had stake conference and that was really good. I was able to see a lot of missionaries and members from past wards and it was really weird because I realized I will not see most of them again before I go home.

Yesterday (Monday again) is where it got interesting. When I come home in May I will be coming home alone so this week I went to President's house with all the departing missionaries for their final meeting and night in Denmark, then this morning we took them to the airport and said goodbye and I came to my new area. It was pretty weird saying goodbye especially since one of them was an old companion and the rest I have served around a lot and gotten to know. So that was a weird part of the week, but things are hopefully back to normal for now.

I don't have a lot to say for this week but I want to share a short thought on Charity. Charity never faileth and if ye have not charity ye are nothing. Charity is one of the most important attributes we can have and it is a gift we must receive from God. Without his help we cannot achieve true charity like he has for us. I have learned this lesson well on my mission as some days it is even hard to love everyone around me, yet it is so necessary. I love all of you and I hope you are seeking after this charity and developing the same kind of love God has for us.

Have a great week!

Love, Elder Smith

Hey Mom!

No no St. Patricks day here. I guess it is more of a kids holiday all around.

I'm glad you were able to go for a trail run! Yay recovery! how is your wrist doing anyway?

That is good that Aubrey and Caden are doing well together I can't wait to meet him.

We unfortunately haven't completely gotten spring yet, but it has been a lot warmer these past few days I hope it keeps up...

I'm glad you are going to the temple more. I hope I will get to go another time before I go home. I am closer too it again after all.

Well I'm sorry for the short choppy email. We have a lot of work to do and I haven't unpacked yet! I love you lots. Thanks for being the best mom ever. Have a good week.

Hey Dad!

It has been a good week. A different one, but good. Transfers did not go how I expected. I did not think I was leaving and most of the mission thought I would be training a new missionary for my last transfer, but I know that I am in the right place at the right time and it is going to be a great transfer. It was a great week and Elder Hunsaker and I saw a lot of success.

You have had a busy week haha. Glad things are improving in Salt Lake. It has not been too cold here the past couple of days but actually pretty nice and sunny, it snowed last night though so that was a little surprise. I don't know if we can ever expect consistent nice weather.

Thanks for keeping an eye out for a job. I know that is going to be important if I am going to go to school...

Well thanks for everything you do. I have to keep this one short because we have missionary work to do today :) I love you dad.

Love, Elder Smith

Elder Hunsaker's Email and Photos

Hey everybody!

We got transfer calls on Saturday and Elder Smith is leaving Aalborg and I'll be getting a new companion named Elder Ellis. He got here three transfers ago so it'll be fun having a younger companion. His mom is actually from this area so it should fun being around his family i.e. free food.

We were all pretty surprised that Elder Smith was leaving because he only has two transfers left and now he's been one and done in his last three areas. If there's anybody that can handle it though it's Elder Smith. we had some late nights this week trying to get everything packed up for transfers so I had a weird amount of late nights this week so I feel kind of wrecked right now. Thank goodness for p-day.

This week was way busy. We had two splits, one in Aarhus with the zone leaders and one in Nørre Sunby with Elder Maready and Elder Erickson. We talked to some really great people on both splits. It's always way cool to learn from and be around other missionaries.

One of the Aalborg sister's investigators had her baptism this week. Her name is Tina. She's pretty quiet but she has a real strong testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel. It was amazing to see how happy she was after she came up out of the water. 

We got this years Easter initiative during district meeting this week. It's called 'altid  der' which means always there. The whole thing is about Christ (of course) and how he is always there for us no matter what. It's pretty awesome and should be a great tool for us to use over the next few weeks. I've really seen this over the past 8 months or so. He really is always there and the time when it feels like there is some distance between us and him it's only caused by us turning away from Him.

Have a great week everyone! Sorry for the weird email but I'm way tired. I think I'm gonna spend the rest of the day sleeping.

Ældste Hunsaker

Pictures: 

Limfjorden and some pictures around Aalborg.

 

Snow!

Hey everyone! Happy Monday :)

It was a good week here in Aalborg. Elder Hunsaker and I are beginning the last week of the transfer and then we will find out if we are both staying here or not this Saturday. Pretty crazy to think I am starting the last 7 weeks of my mission right now.

Well the week started off with a very very snowy Monday. We didn't do anything too exciting, but we made a giant snowman outside the church building. It was a very snowy week, which is pretty uncommon in Denmark.

We found four new people to work with this week and one of them is from Ireland so that is fun. We actually have a lot of people from different countries we are working with. We met with one of them, Liv, on Wednesday this week. This was our second lesson with her and she is really solid. She said that she just felt something different while she read the Book of Mormon. She is super cool. She also wants to take us to Rebild, a way pretty national park  here in Denmark.

Nothing else too exciting for this week. It was a good filled week though so we are happy. We have another busy week this week so hopefully we can keep things going.

I was reading a talk from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland talk called "For Times of Trouble". It was a great talk and I really enjoyed a part where he talked about repentance and how sometimes we tell ourselves we can't change and "that's just the way I am", but in the talk he says this: "You can change anything you want to change, and you can do it very fast... It takes exactly as long to repent as it takes you to say, “I’ll change”—and mean it." We don't have to work and work and work before we can repent. We can change now. There will obviously be corrections to make and thinks to work through, but we can change a lot faster than we tell ourselves we can. We can make the decision to repent now and not delay the blessings and help that God has for us. I know this is true and I hope we can all make the decision to change for the better now.

Well I love you all. I hope you have a great week. Thank you for all the love and support!

Love, Elder Smith

Hey good morning Mom!

It is morning for me and it will probably be morning when you get this haha.

I'm glad Aubrey and Caden could come. He sounds like a good guy. Do you think they will get married?

It is supposed to warm up here over the next few days so I am pretty excited for that. I am tired of freezing my buns off. It does get very pretty here in the spring it has been an abnormally cold and snowy march though so I don't know when spring will come haha.

Here is a funny/weird story from the week. There is a member from the ward named Pia. She is like 3 feet tall and shaped like a ball. She is super funny and has the missionaries over for a FHE type of thing every couple months. We went over there and the food she prepared for us was mushrooms and cream. Then we watched Pres. Nelsons press conference from when he became the prophet. Anyway, Pia is just way weird and has creepy dolls everywhere and inappropriate pictures of marilyn monroe. She is a funny lady though.

I got the letter from Grandpa and Grandma. Super good! It is awesome to see so many little evidences in our lives of God.

I do feel sad that my mission is almost over. Every day seems to go by too fast. I'm just enjoying every minute I can.

That is cool that Emma got her call! Bishop Hyde actually emailed and told me. It is so cool how many people are getting their calls and going!

I love you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much! Have a good week :)

Love, Elder Smith

Hey Dad!

This week has gone fast for me as well. Some days go somewhat slow but the weeks are going by faster than minutes it feels like. It was a good week though. Elder Hunsaker and I are seeing lots of successes.

I'm glad you work hard. You have been a good example of hard work for me because I see your emails each week of consistent work, running, and church/scripture study. I want to be as diligent as you all the time. 

I hope you can get things going in Salt lake sorry it has been slow.

Haha I'm glad you had a good time with Aubrey and Caden. The daddy daughter date sounds just like a Jared Bigler thing to do. I remember when he wanted to have a date night as a priests quorum where we could bring a date and the leaders would bring their wives. I'm kind of glad we never did that one haha.

Prayer is awesome. We read 2 Nephi 32 with a less active this week and talked about prayer and scripture study. It is one of my favorite chapters in the BOM because it is so short yet powerful. In order to receive guidance we need to read in the scriptures and if we don't understand what they are telling us we are forgetting to pray. The adversary teaches us that we don't need prayer, but the spirit says we should always pray. Awesome chapter.

I love you lots dad. I think these next 7 weeks will be some of the best of my mission. Good things are happening everyday. I thought of something you could do for me, could you maybe ask a couple people, maybe some ward members if there is anywhere I could work for the summer? I need to make a lot of money and I don't think life guarding will cover all I need to earn. Paying for school is going to take a lot of work...

Thanks for everything dad. Keep working hard and have a good week!

Love, Elder Smith

I have pictures this time!

Hey everyone! Well it has been a pretty good and busy week. Elder Hunsaker and I have had some good time to work and find people.

Nothing too exciting for Pday, we kind of just walked around Aalborg, but hey! I found some cool streets and took some pictures! Haven't sent many of those in the past while.

We have been delivering cookies to members and stuff like crazy these past couple weeks. It has resulted in a ton of biking and a lot of happy members! We tried something cool on Wednesday. There is a member who has been stuck at home for the past little while because she broke her foot. We brought by some cookies and shared a message with her about miracles. We invited her to pray with us and for us before we went out to knock and for her to help us exercise our faith in miracles. She agreed and we went out to knock and found 5 potential investigators that we are going to be visiting throughout the next week. It was cool! We usually don't find so many. After that we went back and told her what happened. Good experience. Others we have visited have been sick or have needed our help for a little task so it has been pretty cool visiting all these people.

Elder Maready who is in the other Aalborg area has been sick this past week so we went over on Thursday to help them out. Elder Hunsaker went out to work and go to some appointments with Elder Erickson and I stayed in with Elder Maready. I am really grateful I havenøt ever gotten too sick on my mission, because sick days are usually not very productive.

We were knocking on Saturday and met a guy who was willing to talk but not very open to try anything. We really tried to get him to try and read in the Book of Mormon, but he said he already knew it wasn't true. That was sad to me that he would jump to that conclusion without reading a single word of the book. I hope one day he might give it a chance. He was a funny guy and a nice guy so while he was getting something I slipped a Book of Mormon on his bookshelf. I don't think he will be too mad and he might get curious and read a couple pages. Fingers crossed.

Well that is about all for the week. Things have been good. I really enjoy working with Elder Hunsaker. He has kept me motivated and we have had a lot of fun.

I have started reading through the Book of Mormon again and marking power statements or direct instruction from the Lord or His prophets. It is amazing how much there is. The Book of Mormon is not just there for fun. It contains crucial instructions and guidance from our heavenly father. It lifts us and strengthens us through its strong witness of Jesus Christ. I challenge everyone to take an extra thought during their scripture study and ask "What has God asked me to do today?" then apply it. 

I love you all and hope you are surviving winter. Yesterday was really cold and Elder Hunsaker and I thought we were going to freeze to death, I am looking forward to things warming up. Anyway, have a great week!

Love, Elder Smith

Hey Mom!

Snow sounds like fun. It snows occasionally, but it never sticks. It has been really cold though. We thought we were going to freeze this last week.

I'm glad your wrist is healing up. I'm sorry it has been hard, but it sounds like you are taking it like a champ. You are such a great example. I will keep praying for you that it will heal quickly.

That is too bad that the US hasn't done too well. Denmark doesn't have anyone because they don't really do that much. There aren't any mountains here and they aren't too outgoing. I heard they had a curling team but that's all. It's a bit sad because the other Scandinavian countries do so well.

Fixer Upper sounds like a fun show haha I'm glad it helps you feel calm and happy. The sound of tv makes me feel stressed haha.

It's okay that you haven't been too self-reliant the past couple of weeks, because self-reliance isn't always doing everything for yourself. I'm glad you have had people to help you. I like your thoughts on the Atonement. It is hard yet wonderful when we get into hard situations, because although they hurt, we really feel close to the Savior.

I love you lots. I hope you have a great week!

Love, Elder Smith

Hey Dad,

I am doing well. The weather is cold. Waaayyy too cold haha. I live in a different apartment this time around, unfortunately, because the last one is much better. This one works though for what we use it for. We found a lot of potentials this week, but we are still working on finding solid investigators. It has been hard to do that which has been hard for Elder Hunsaker and therefore hard to keep it up. We are working hard though and I know the blessings and success will come soon. I haven't done much with my "My Plan" I should probably pull it out and set some goals, because I know President will ask about it in our next interview.

Sorry about the snow. We have gotten snow a couple times this past week too, but it never sticks.

Mom is awesome. I hope it heals up fast.

I feel the same way as Grandma and Grandpa. The time is going very fast. I feel like I am working hard, but I just feel like there is so much more I could do. We have been working really hard with members the past few weeks. I thought to myself if I want to do something for this area and ward while I am here I want to make it a missionary work focused ward. When I was in Odense the ward was so great at working with missionaries and they were enthusiastic and had a lot of baptisms. This ward has a lot of the same potential, but they aren't as excited about it. I want to help the ward become better in that way. It has been going well and now I just really wish we had more investigators so we could have members with us to teach them.

Well I love you lots. Thanks for everything you do for me. If you can help me figure out what I need to do when I get home that would help. I think I have to figure most of that out myself though. Thanks for being my Dad. I love you.

Love, Elder Smith