Another Transfer?? Look at this volcano!

Monday June 25, 2018

Elder Cody Smiley:

Well dad if you were surprised I got changed this will just blow your mind!  I got changed on my birthday.  I am with the zone leaders.  One of them is from Spanish Fork as well!  I love him to death.  He is Elder Leishman. Do you think there is a Kate & Cody relationship??????  He and I just talked about SF and Mapleton. He went to MMHS.  it is so funny to talk with him!  Also Elder Perez my other comp is hilarious!  We played soccer today! I have not played in a long time!  To dad, Uncle Lew and Josh:  I totally should have listened to you guys when you said I should have played soccer.

Mark welcome to having a latino comapañero! It is the best! Play soccer with him I bet he is really good! 

Well that is like everything that has happened because of the changes so ya.

I am pretty sure I will be able to write next week.  This will be the plan: Monday its P day.  I will probably say bye to everyone in SLP. Tuesday in the morning I will go to Aguas to do last minute shopping and goodbyes. Mièrcoles I will go the airport at 4 AM. Then Houston to hug BRACKEN ARCHIBALD (remember that video jajajaja) then Salt Lake City here I come.

I hope everyone can visit me before it gets too crazy with work on the house but we will see!

I hope I can get better English before my homecoming but if I don’t that’s a bummer for you guys and it will be embarrassing for me!!!!!!!!!!!!  

If you have questions talk to my mom jajajaja 

PS:  Please pray for our friend Euosebio.  He has been interested in the church in the past and at one time was going to be baptized.  Now he is unsure.

Elder Mark Smiley:

Mom if there is something i am glad you did for me and forever will be indebted to you for is... to not complain, to be responsible, and to be respectful of other people. That is something that not everyone around me has not yet learned, and it has taken a toll on me this week. But it is all right; these are the people where i really find out what I need to learn.

The house sounds like it is in good progress. Kind of sad I can’t help out with it but life goes on.

Being old fashioned is so awesome.  I loved that iPod that you guys sent me until it got stolen. Speaking of which, could you guys find an iPod with the charger that everyone is now using? I would love another one, but the old one did not connect well to be charged.

But yes old fashioned is awesome. Also that John Bytheway cd you guys sent me was SO SICK. I loved it. I want to listen to it all the time.  

I am SO worried about Smiles.  High school heartbreaks were nothing compared to what I feel like he is experiencing, but I still didn’t like how I felt when that happened.  Make him some roco rectangles and watch mega mind or something with him please?

Also when Cody comes home get someone recording please I want to see the video.

You are an amazing mother and papa bear is the best papa bear around.  I love you guys so much

Hawaii is not the only one with activity!

That is a great P-Day activity

Photo in the ruins

Member's home

Mark, front and center!!

Three more e mails to 2 Smiley missionaries...then we go down to 1

June 11, 2018

Cody:

Well here in Matehuala it is hotter than all get out…

This week was a little hard to get going in a new area for my last month in the mission.  This place is in the middle of nowhere! 3 hours from SLP and this next week we will be in SLP for a meeting with a 70!

I met our mission leader here in Matehala and he is hilarious he has this thing called SWAY!!! When you kick one of your feet out! He also caught on to QUE????? When you look in the air and act like you did not hear anything! 

Does that pass building codes?

Now that is cool!!

Anything to break up a day of "finding"

Cody & his District

And I thought the Mexican Missionary shuffle was hurrying to the toilet!!!

​

Mark:

I am trying to get fat.

Just so you know.  

Not like super large, but my body has lost a lot of weight and therefore I have dropped pretty low, and with the Mexican food here and the lack of washed hands, I need to get some more fat on these bones for the sake of my immune system.

Don’t worry I am back in the city now so the pounds are sure to be coming on anytime soon. 

I loved Cody’s email, that was so good to hear that the Lord is gonna help him get his English back a bit. Who knows.

This ward is so cool, but something I have learned is there is a lot of gossip going around, as always.  They love hating on other members with us, and we try to let them know they probably should not be talking like that but they don’t care. Oh well.  It really makes me think of all the gossip that has probably gone around about us as missionaries and motivates me to try and not be that shallow.

I am currently downloading exercise videos so I can get some muscle back as well, so I’m sorry if this is short but I love you to death and I will talk to you next week.

-Elder smiley

Krispy Kreme Donuts!!!

Good letters from Mexico. Can't believe Cody had a transfer with one month left

Elder Cody Smiley:

I AM GOING TO HAVE AN AMERICAN COMPANION!

I will be in trio just like Marissa and Carson! I just call the calls for cambios and no manches it is nuts!

I am going to Matehuala! 8 hours of driving!

I will be the district leader of 8 missionaries.

Everyone thinks it is crazy that I have cambios when I have one month left in the mission, but who cares I will be with Elder Lozano from Puelba! I will also be with Elder Vick who was in the CCM with Mark!

I said goodbye to Elder Jacinto.  That was pretty tuff.  He was on of my favorites!!!!!!!!!!! It was not that hard to say bye to Valparaìso. I gave the president one of my suits and he was just lit up like Mark and I on Christmas day!!!!!!!!!! 

We had a crazy day we went from Fresnillo to Valparaìso and went back to Fresnillo.   3 hours of traveling! It was pretty stupid because president didn’t tell me to pack my stuff, so I had to go back. 

I am just reading my letter from my president and he just quoted Sean Dixon!

Well that’s all I got for now!!!!!!!!!!! I will talk to you guys in a week and see you in a month!!!!!!!

Elder Mark Smiley:

I decided to put the majority of my responses here, because we are short on time, but I love you all!

Don’t worry dad this new area is amazing!!! Its not as hot as it was.   My last area got absolutely unbearable.  The nice thing was it was all dry heat though.  Here it is a little cooler but not by much.   Everyone here complains about the heat, and then asks where I was before, and when I say Izucar, which is infamous for how blazing it is, they all just go oooooo, wow that sucks.

My companion is good.  Not as good as elder gates.  Elder gates might have been my favorite comp of the mission.  We´ll see, I still have plenty of time.  Elder Camacho, like I said is good, but he is really immature.  He looks and still acts like a 14 year old, so I get pretty frustrated.  He is always trying to flatter the members or stay close to the zone leaders, which gets under my skin just because of how unnecessary it is, but he works hard, and we are finding a lot of people right now.  Like I said this area is incredible.  We have already gotten around 8 references, and the members are always out and about with us.

Investigators should be rolling in real quick.  We are gonna be getting some work here, Smiley style!  One of my biggest struggles on the mission is fear. I just get scared of getting another awesome investigator who reads anti Mormon, or being direct with my comp or a member.  I still have a hard time, but i am starting to get out of my comfort zone more and more and it is really fun.

Mom the package you sent is waiting for me in a members house right now, and I am praying and hoping against hope that you put muddy buddies in there, but if not its ok that was super short notice.  We literally visited these members on Tuesday, and they were like you’re from Utah? lets get your parents to get a package to you because our daughter is coming this week! Write their number here!´ super short notice but super cool

I really absolutely love this.  It took me until Izucar to realize I would rather be doing this than anything else, but I am so happy I have so much time left.  There are lots of days where I feel so crappy, but then I just give it my all because its the only smart thing to do, and I just fall in love again with the spirit and with my mission.  I feel great here. I’m learning a bunch of Spanish too. Like conversational stuff too, so I will not be quite as good as Cody, but I will be up there with him!

Love you guys.  Stay sweet fam

-Elder smiley

The Puebla volcano

Always a Smiley standing out!!

New Zone

Neat photo with everyone's name tags