Sincerely Sister Smith

Dear Loved Ones, My first baptism in Kansouri! I keep rolling up to an area when someone is already on date to be baptized (shout out to Taylor Fish!) and get to take credit for it without doing a whole lot. Luvlee's baptism took some small miracles. It was scheduled for 6 PM Saturday and at 6:05 PM, we remembered (or rather, were reminded) that we need Luvlee's parents' permission to baptize her. Both parents. Her parents are divorced and her mom signed for her, but her dad lives out in New Mexico in the middle of a Native American reservation. Which means he doesn't have great cell service. Everyone was already there, the font was filled, the chapel was full, and Sister Crandall was trying to get a hold of a man who had the power to stop the whole thing.  Miracle number one: We got a hold of him. Miracle number two: He said yes! And then proceeded to thank her profusely for teaching his daughter. I'm so happy this all worked out. Luvlee is moving to New Mex...

Dear Loves Ones, This week, we went to seek out a man who had been taught by missionaries previously. We found him in his driveway. He wore a bandanna holding his long, gray hair back and had saddlebags around the front of his waist with a machete dangling from the back. He told us that he didn't have time to talk to us because he was off to go feed his 28 feral cats. My neighbors back home kept a reasonable amount of feral cats, like three or four, and I got paid to feed them whenever they went out of town. But I've never met anybody who had enough cats that they needed to carry a machete to fend them off with. Or maybe he's not afraid of his cats and just feels safer with his machete when he's out for a walk. In broad daylight. In a reasonably safe area. With twenty-eight fluffy bodyguards.  He built a little picnic table out in front of his house, just the size for cats. He has one for squirrels, too, complete with corncob holders. Luvlee, an eleven year old gir...

Dear Loved Ones, After all my hype about being called to Missouri, they stuck me in Kansas. I'm not disappointed about not being in Missouri yet because I know I'll get there. In Doctrine and Covenants Section 52:10, God told Joseph Smith to organize missionaries to go to a conference in Missouri and to have them preach en route. "Let them go two by two, and thus let them preach by the way in every congregation." Kansas is just en route to Missouri. Also, Hyrum Smith was called to go to Missouri by way of Michigan and he was in Ohio at the time, so poor him. That's not geographically logical at all.  Arial View of Kansas I thought Kansas would be flat and gray, but there are low hills, pretty green grass, blossom trees, and lovely little ponds in our apartment complex and by the park, so I have things to look at. I crossed paths with a drug dealer yesterday, and a lot of people have hard pasts, but other than that, everything is great. People here ...

Dear Loved Ones, On Wednesday, we were halfway through a workshop when an older man with a nametag that said Missionary Department stepped in. I asked who he was and found out he's the director of MTCs. I told him I was a former two-transfer missionary and asked why two-transfer missionaries don't go to the MTC. He said they're actually reconsidering that right now. I told him that starting a mission without the MTC first made me feel like I had to prove myself backwards and in heels (in ballroom dance, the woman moves back as the man steps forward, so even when they're doing the same steps, the woman has to work harder to prove she's as good a dancer as the man). He said that was great feedback to hear and good timing. I'm glad I went over and talked to him at that moment because he was only in the room for a few minutes. Him being in our room was a blessing I was grateful to seize. Maybe my comment can pave the way for future missionaries. I love change in ...

Dear Loved Ones, In the summer of 2017, the MTC had an open house. I didn't want to tour it because I'd been barred from serving a mission and having to live down the street from the MTC and look it at everyday was bad enough. But then I had an interview with LDS Family Services, the organization that bars missionaries from serving, and thought it went well and I would be serving soon. So I went on the tour. I was wearing a ring that day. I usually hate hand jewelry, but I put one on that morning. It's a nail from the blacksmiths' shop in Nauvoo, Illinois, twisted into the shape of a ring. I went on the tour that day as a show of good faith that I would serve a mission. I wanted to leave something there for myself to find later when I went on a mission. I put a note for myself behind a painting, but I wasn't sure how well it would stay, so then I hooked my ring around a stud in a wall panel. I am wearing that ring as I type this. It has a few rust spots aft...