Things are great in Mexico this week!!!!

Cody Smiley

Well we had changes (about time) and I am with another Elder Guerrero.  

He was in the CCM with Mark, that is really cool  

As far as the week goes, I did not do anything because Elder Ortiz and his nose,  again but now things should get rolling again.   We should start teaching a lot more people!! He will be my new jumpstarter in the mission after all that time in the house!! ​

 

Twin Elders!!

Elder Mark Smiley

I know you sent a text out to the rest of the family telling them to say happy birthday to me, and I appreciate it.  Apologize to all of them for me.   I can´t get to them because time is short today:(

I am glad to know you are enjoying the temple, because I cannot wait until I get to go back and enjoy the serenity.  We are able to go to the temple if a convert is getting their endowment and they want us to go with them.  I think I found the family that I’m going through with.   They are called the Ascension family and one day I will spend the whole two hours of email time to just talk about how incredible they actually are, but right now I have too little time.

It sounds like you and Dad are quite busy with dad´s calling, but it sounds like you´re enjoying it, which is good. 

We are going to go get churros with grandma and grandpa Smiley´s birthday money and share them with the family that you are sending packages to.  They are the most dope, and I can´t begin to explain how much they matter to me.

Wow! 19 years of being Mark Smiley sure is tiring isn´t it?  Mom I really appreciate that you put up with my crap all the time.  I am not worthy of parents like you and Dad.  You guys are so caring and patient with us.  Please realize I thank God every night that he sent me to people that would care for me like you two have.  

I´ll never repay you for the man you´ve helped me become and I’ll never be able to realize just how blessed I am to have a mom like Chris Smiley.  I owe you so much and I love you

Being a trainer and district leader is really nice because I have so much to do and I don’t have to focus on myself as much, but it´s also really hard because my Spanish is not nearly where I’d like it to be with the positions I’ve been given.

My trainee is super cool.  He knows Spanish already, but is from Texas.  He loves the work already even though all we´ve been doing this week is walking a whole lot.  I hope his enthusiasm stays strong.  He has this incredible talking ability though.  We went and visited a less active who didn´t budge or give us anything to work with us the last 3 months and then the first visit we have with Elder Guzmán, and he talks with us about his life on the ranch for 2 hours without stopping!  He was so excited!  It was so cool to see.  The truth is there is a lot of work that has been buried by members and others, and we are uncovering it.   We are discovering a lot of less actives and finding a new rhythm with this area.  

We had an investigator that could´ve been from the training film, The District.  Literally he tells us he sees a light in his friend in the church and wants that, so we start with lesson 1, right? The first lesson my trainee has had, and we get a baptismal date! Feb. 17^th here we come!  They could´ve filmed us with how incredibly bright his desires were and how readily he accepted everything we taught him.

Mark's volcano, it is active!!

Nice week in Mexico second week in a row one of the boys have baptized

Elder Cody Smiley

I am so excited to tell you that I baptized Norma on Saturday. You won’t believe what happened either.  So, I told her how I was going to baptize her and she said ok.  We went in the font and I said the prayer and she closed her eyes and began to go into the water before I could plug her nose.  I lifted her up waaaay fast!!!!!!!! I said, “You need to close your nose”!!!! Then I baptized her again, correctly this time.  That water was by far the coldest water I have ever baptized anyone in.  It was so cold for me.  I could not imagine how cold it was for her, gosh.

Nothing else has happened this week.  Elder Ortiz will need to go home because he needs surgery on his nose.  His doctor says that we cannot work. 

Love you

Elder Smiley

New Mexican suit

The only mustache Elder Ortiz will ever have 

Norma got baptized!!!

So this week was interestingly quick and long at the same time.  

Lots of citas and walking and re-scheduling because the zone leaders have plans we don’t know about until the day of usually.

We had a zone conference this week that lasted 7 hours!  Good to know when the assistants ask the sisters to teach, we will be in for a good 2.5 hour lesson on baptismal dates.  It as all good though because AFTERWARD WE GOT OUR PACKAGES AND INSIDE WAS MY BELOVED IPOD THANK ALL THAT IS HOLY.

A couple of dope miracles this week.  One of them is that our investigator who has a fecha (baptismal date) for this week explained to his catholic wife about our church meetings, and she is now much more open to us.  She thought we went to church and screamed and ran around and acted crazy.  Not gonna lie I have no idea where she heard that.

We got to teach a whole family! Bulmaro and Lucía and their kids about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They are so ready, but when we asked about baptism they got apprehensive, saying they didn´t want to put a date on anything, they wanted to see a sure ¨sign¨ that they were ready to be baptized.  AHHH THEY ARE SO READY.  But yeah we got a bit of work to do with these guys. But they love us so much its incredible.  I will legit cry when I gotta say goodbye to them.

Elder Alvarez told me that he convinced the zone leaders to say that I am ready to train this next change and that he heard talk that I might be a trainer this next change, which terrifies me, because I don´t know if he´s joking.

love yall.  It has gotten extremely freaking cold these last couple of days so that´s  been a change.  I love to hear from you guys and the pictures are always appreciated! Stay solid and bear your religion with pride this week

-elder smiley

Just like Spain, colorful letters for the town

Big baptism font in ancient ruins

Mark and his companion

Here is some info from Mexico

Elder Cody Smiley

This week was so hard for me! I had no energy what so ever I literally felt like I was going to pass out.  Well, I did when I fell in my bed jajaja but I am so tired!   

Well this will be a big email (well for me it will be jaja).  Yeah, so just bare with me!!!!!

Well Norma is ready for her baptism.  I asked her questions about her baptism.  We talked about how are a lot of people who can baptize her.  I suggested that her husband, son or bishop could perform it. I thought she might prefer to have her son or spouse do it.  So I asked her,

“Who would you like to baptize you?” 

She said,  “Well, out of everyone you listed, you did not say your name.  I want YOU to baptize me Elder Smiley.  Can you?” 

My jaw just dropped. I said, ”Are you sure?  You know that your husband or son can baptize you.”   But, she said, “No, I want you Smiley”.  Dumbfounded, I said “Ok, I will do it”.

On Sunday we got a new mission leader in the ward. It turns out that he is my favorite member! We sat down with leaders of the stake and they explained to Jonathan Elder Ortiz and I everything they would like us do.  Jonathan was so pumped up to get to work.  He said, “Let’s get to work! Jonathan is a convert to the church and does not know a lot but he is ready to get things done! Jonathan sat down with us and he said, “Anything you guys need you tell me.  ANYTHING -day or night- I am here for you guys! LETS GO!

Today I played fútbol with Elder Cornejo like old times!  It was so dope!  I scored 8 goals against the all star Mexicans of our mission!! At first Elder Cornejo was like, “Oh, its just Smiley.  He cannot play that good.  I immediately proved him wrong. I was so pumped! Elder Cornejo said to me, “You play different Smiley but in a good way.”

I also talked to a missionary who knew Mark in the CCM.  I am so popular in the mission with the new missionaries thanks to Mark jajajajaja!

Prayer List:  Norma

Cody & his President

After Soccer

I thought only tourists bought those!!

Monday 8 January 2018

Elder Mark Smiley

So, what we got here is a long week.  Lots of walking to appointments where they wouldn’t have time or wouldn’t answer.  So, it was a couple of long days not gonna lie.  

-STILL DOPE THOUGH

-We got a call from Rodrigo, who told us that he missed us, so we invited him to church, and he was like booyah see you guys there.  And, there he was!  I really think he is so ready to be baptized but the son of a gun has his reservations.

Yeah, the honest truth is that it was a long week full of walking and lessons.  Not a huge amount of interesting things happened.  It was a week of lessons, which were fantastic, visiting members, and getting stopped by drunks by the dozens.

Thank you all, I appreciate ya’ll

The church is true

Prayer list:  Rodrigo

With a great family on Christmas Day

After the baptism

That is one tall gringo!!

One good letter, one bad week!!

Cody Smiley

Cody’s letter was short, his companion was having some troubles with his nose, so he just wrote and said his two investigators are ready for baptism, and that other than that they were not able to do anything

Mark Smiley

ok sorry if I wasn’t able to respond to your emails, we had a family that invited us to eat and didn’t let us leave until super late in the day so we are at another family’s house right now and they are so graciously allowing us to use their computer.

ok several stories that are funny

First.  we had this Christmas ward activity where they asked the hermanas in the mission to sing, and none of them wanted to because they had their own activities. Then we told them that the president was coming and they dropped everything and even showed up early.  freaking hermanas!!!

A man we tried to contact ended up giving me life advice on how I should never marry a Latina because she will come with me to the US, have a kiddo, and then divorce and steal everything.  He did this for 45 minutes, and any time I let my eyes wander, he would wave his hand in front of my face and tell me to pay attention.

We got three baptismal dates this week, and one kid that is gonna get baptized this week asked me to baptize him! I felt bad because he has an older brother who can do it but asked me.  I don’t feel like its my place, but it is his choice.

We also got 3 investigators to church! The past 8 weeks literally no one new has been coming so this was an awesome turn of events.

We went to visit a less active family and found them outside, and instead of wanting to talk, they just wanted to watch their youngest son swear at me, and light fireworks with a cigarette that he got from who knows where.  viva Mexico.

I have been giving lessons in my sleep.  Elder Alvarez tells me every morning that I talked again, and one night it got so bad that he yelled at me to wake up, but he  ruined a perfectly good lesson on baptism.

Christmas and new years were fun, but not too different, the only difference was all the freaking food they gave us.  Elder Alvarez got sick on Christmas because he ate so much, and I wasn’t feeling too swift either.

Now that is the way to celebrate Christmas Eve!!

Playing with the kids

Somebody had to make the Tamales, wouldn't you know it it was the American!!!

Oh, that looks safe.  the iron does not work so they heat it up and iron their clothes.