Our News This Week

Hola Elder Smith!  Thank you for the wonderful letter last week and the amazing pictures! They made me so happy!  We were at the Tiki Room at Disneyland when I got the email alert on my cell phone.  Haha!  Best part of the day! Disneyland was fun, we hit all the good ones:  Space Mountain, Star Wars and Pirates of the Carribean to name a few. After a lunch break we went over to California Adventure for all the fun stuff over there.  Good times!
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In other news, Sacrament Meeting was awesome today, mainly because the three of us were the speakers!  Haha, we did pretty darn good with our talks!  Between the three of us your name was brought up several times!  We were assigned to speak on the subject of covenants.  I spoke on the blessings that come from keeping our covenants.  Here is a little exerpt from my talk…

President Henry B. Eyring in a fireside address at BYU spoke of the covenant a man makes when he receives the Melchezedic Priesthood.  He said, "The Melchizedek Priesthood is offered with an oath and covenant.  When we honor that priesthood, we have heavenly hosts and angels who are watching over us.  Some of us know how literally that is true.  There are returned missionaries who know that they have walked down streets and been in places and faced danger and opposition where they have felt protection and being watched over by more than human power."  

As a mom of a missionary in a foreign and often violent and dangerous part of the world, I find a lot of comfort in that promise.  

In Doctrine & Covenants Section 84 it reads, "Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.  By mine own voice out of the heavens I have given the heavenly hosts and mine angels charge concerning you."  

What a powerful promise that is."

Guess who my newest primary teacher is??  Michael Campbell!  He was sustained yesterday, he is Dad's teaching partner in the 10-year-old class.  He decided to attend our ward instead of the singles ward, and needed a calling until he leaves on his mission.  I am so glad to have him in primary, he will be great!  Dad said the kids in his primary class love him. We love Michael too!

Friday night was the basketball banquet for Lehi High.  They served Cafe Rio and afterwards the coaches talked about the season and gave out some awards.  Dad did a great job and came home with a bunch of thank you notes from his JV players and parents, and some really nice gift certificates.  The moratorium is over, so Dad spent a couple of evenings at the school this week for open gym.  They have some spring tournaments coming up soon, and a bunch of summer camps.  Hopefully they will have a more successful season next year!
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You have a new cousin!  Billy and Josette announced the arrival of their new baby girl, Lydia.  Mom and baby are doing great.  We will probably go for a visit later this week.
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That's all our news for this week!  We love you so much and excited to get another letter from you today.  You are constantly in our thoughts and prayers.  

Love, Mom

p.s.  It is official…Stefanie has passed me up in height.  We did the back-to-back thing yesterday, she has me by about a quarter inch.  Haha, she is so proud. :)

Las Angeles Temple

On Saturday Stefanie's cheer squad didn't have to compete until later in the afternoon, so Kent and I had most of that day free.  We decided to drive to the L.A. temple.  It was a gorgeous day, and the temple is so beautiful. 

Disneyland

Of course, you can't go to Anaheim without spending a day in Disneyland! Super fun!

National Cheer Competition

So proud of Stefanie and her Utah Peak Academy cheer squad, team Peace.  They were absolutely amazing at nationals in Anaheim. 

Letter from Dad to Elder Smith

HOLA!

Greetings from sunny southern California. We are here for Stefanie's National Cheer Competition. She did great but had to compete the second day with a hyper-extended elbow.  She was a trooper and got through the whole routine. Mom and I had some free time so we went to the Los Angles temple.  Very beautiful temple in the big old city. We will go to Disneyland tomorrow and play all day so that should be a blast.    

Other interesting things going recently...track meets start this week and that will keep the spring busy for me. Mom is gearing up for the interview season vying for a new full time teaching position. And Stef has a week off  before cheer tryouts start again.  Life is just non-stop motion.  But it keeps us out of trouble.  How is life as District Leader? Is your comp a DL as well?  My mission had DLs with junior companions and zone leaders with other zone leaders. I had experience with both and loved both of those opportunities. 

Who do you keep in touch with on a regular basis besides the family? I quit keeping in contact with all others besides Mom and Dad about the year mark because they just became a distraction to the work and had to go.  I sure love hearing your letters, I can tell from the tone and message that you love the people and love serving the Lord which are the key ingredients of a great missionary and that's why you are succeeding  in your personal growth and bringing people to the truth. Keep up the good work and never let anything come between you and the mission you envision for yourself.  You and the Lord are the only two who know your full potential. So don't let either one of you down.  I an proud of all your accomplishments but none more than the success of your mission.  Keep us up to date who we can pray for and we will help all we can on this end.  We love and pray for you out loud each and every day. 

Love you,

Dad

Missionary Letter to Dad

Dad! 

That's awesome that Stefanie's team is doing so well! haha I thought your out-of-state sport related trips had ended when I left, But I guess that's not true! And you guys get to go to Disneyland! I'm a little jealous.

Dang! I can't believe that spring sports are already starting! How's your team looking this year? Anyone looking at a chance to medal at at State? It's the same thing here. DLs have Jr comps but ZLs have other ZL comps. So it's just me. But my companion is a really obedient, hard worker too! So far its been good, more work, but I like it!

I keep in touch with Maggie, my cousin more than anyone else!!! She writes me every week, she´s getting pretty excited and nervous for her mission so I think she likes hearing from me. But besides her I just get group emails from other friends who are serving their missions too, Joe Adair, Tyler Staten, Tyler Richens, Spencer Adams, buddies from around the mission, and occasionally Michael will send me an email. That's about it. haha E mailing gets old after about week three anyway!  

Thanks for everything you do for me Dad.  Sometimes when it's hot and nobody's home and we have already burned through three hours of planned appointments in about fifteen minutes and we just wanna quit, I think about you serving your mission, I think "You gotta work as hard as Dad." and it keeps me going. Your example to me throughout my life has been like a standard that I strive for! Thanks for that! 

Enjoy California!!! Eat some good food for me! haha And watch every March Madness game for me! haha

-Elder Smith

St. Patrick's Day

Hola Elder Smith!  Happy St. Patrick's Day…hope you have a green tie to wear today!  

Well, another week has flown by.  I agree with what you said last week about someone pressing the fast forward button on your life, it feels like that to me too!  How is your health this week, did you recover from your terrible cold?  I have been praying for you all week.  Thursday Dad and Stefanie went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead, they put your name on the prayer roll.  We hope so much you are feeling better.

How are your GOLDEN contacts?  Glenda and the sister whose name you don't know, haha.  What a blessing to find people who are ripe and ready for the gospel.  

We are excited for this week, Thursday we will leave for Anaheim!  We will stay that night in Vegas, then arrive in California on Friday afternoon.  Stefanie is excited and ready to perform at Nationals!  Her team is awesome, we have high hopes for them. 

I forgot to tell you last week that we are back on Daylight Savings time, so now we are again on the same time zone as you. Also, I wondered if your zone is still doing your "Hour of Power"?  It is now a habit for me, I love the Hour of Power.  My personal scripture study has really improved because of it.

Here is a sports update from Dad:  The NCAA tournament starts Thursday, March Madness has begun. Today was Selection Sunday, BYU got in, 10th seed. They will play Oregon in the first round and have a decent shot at winning.  The preseason high school soccer season is over, region play begins this week.  Lehi won all three of their preseason games, even without Gui and Leo.  RSL has one win and one tie after their first two games.  Both of them were on the road in California, so they are off to a good start.

That is all from us.  We love you!  Hope you have a great week.  ~Mom 

One Year Ago

Hola Elder Smith, how are you today?  How was your week?  Did you get the baptisms you were hoping for?  We tried to pray for them all week, but every time we said the words "Eber and Yarvin" we busted up laughing.  So sorry!  I'm sure they are wonderful people, we are just not used to those names.  We take full responsibility if their baptisms fell through, and we will try to do better this week. :)

Do you remember what happened one year ago this week?  On Thursday, March 14th, 2013 a big white envelope arrived in the mail. You came home from school during lunch time, checked the mailbox, found the envelope and hid it so nobody would open it before you!  haha  That evening a room full of family and friends gathered together to hear you read these words:  "Dear Elder Smith, you are hereby called to serve as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  You are assigned to labor in the HONDURAS TEGUCIGALPA mission.  You should report to the MEXICO MISSIONARY TRAINING CENTER on WEDNESDAY, JULY 24.  You will prepare to preach the gospel in the SPANISH language."  Wow.  What a year it has been.  I'm sure you could have never imagined the experiences you have had since that day.  Such an amazing journey for you and for our whole family.

We have had a fun weekend, Friday we drove up to Kaysville for Kaitlyn Florek's wedding reception.  Yes, she is married, sealed in the Bountiful temple.  They are the cutest couple, even though he is over a foot taller than her! haha It was fun to be there and visit with good neigbors and ward members. 

Saturday we went to the Huntsman Center for the high school state championship basketball game. Boring game, Lone Peak crushed Pleasant Grove for their fourth title in a row.  The high school season is officially over! Next year will be a little more interesting because Lone Peak is losing most of their best players and will be on more of an even playing field with the rest of the state. 

Your zone conference last week sounds awesome.  I read both those talks you mentioned, "Becoming a Consecrated Elder" and "The Fourth Missionary".  I included a link on your blog, so everyone else could click on it and read too.  Both talks are outstanding, I am so proud of you for striving to be the best missionary you can be.   Your last letter brought tears to my eyes. Stefanie said you are "getting weird" but I see your growth and testimony shining through. What a great example you are to us and to everyone who knows you.  We love you so much!  Hope you have a great week! 

Love, Mom

March!

Hola, Elder Smith!  

Happy month of March!  We are so relieved to put the winter months behind us and move on to SPRING!!  We think you are very lucky to get a break from winter for a couple of years!  So how is your new area?  How is your new companion?  How do you like your new responsibilities as District Leader?  We were so happy to get your letter last week and learn about all your exciting changes.  It must have been really hard to say goodbye to everyone you had grown to love in Choluteca, you had been there for a long time!  But we are looking forward to hearing all about your new home and adventures.

So...the basketball season is officially over!  It was Senior Night on Tuesday, and we lost by 26 points to Lone Peak. Even Dad's JV team had a rough night and lost by ONE!  This has been a miserable season, I think Dad is glad to put it behind him.  It is not an ideal situation to teach at one school and coach at another, he is hoping to find a single school next year where he can do both! 

Soccer tryouts were last week!  Coach Preisendorf posted the final list on facebook, we were happy to see that Landon Jacobson, Tanner Munson, and Tyson Hancock made the team.  But we were shocked that Gui and Leo were not listed.  What??  We couldn't figure it out.  So Dad did some research.  He looked on the RSL Academy team website from Arizona, and saw that they both had made the team!  Gui is on U18, and Leo is on U16.  Wow!  Dad says Lehi has a very slim chance of a repeat state championship without those two.  Poor Jerry!  What a disappointment for him!  But what a great opportunity for Gui and Leo.

Skiing at Sundance last Monday was so fun!  Stefanie didn't end up going, she had a math test she couldn't miss...but Dad, Rachel, George and I had a fabulous time.  Kevin joined us during his lunch break, and we stopped by Bryan's office to chat for a few minutes.  I didn't think I would have cell phone service up there, but surprisingly, I did!  So I checked my email every hour or so, and read your letter while riding up the mountain on the ski lift!  Made me so happy!

I have had a wonderful, spiritual weekend!  Yesterday three of my primary children were baptized.  It is always such a great experience to attend baptisms, the spirit is always very strong.  Afterwards I came home and spent the afternoon preparing my Sharing Time lesson, all about the life of our Savior.  Dad and I started a fast, then we went to the temple.  This morning I started my day with a primary presidency meeting, followed by Fast and Testimony Meeting, and then primary where I gave my Sharing Time lesson, it was great.  And this afternoon we broke our fast, had Sunday dinner and a relaxing afternoon, writing to my missionary son and spending time with family.  What an amazing weekend!  I have felt the spirit multiple times, and just felt grateful for my home, family, church calling, and many blessings.  I hope you have had a good weekend too!  I love you! 

Love, Mom