What a Week!

Hello again!

It feels like I just wrote you...Time is just going faster and faster these days. I didn't think it was possible but it is. Elder Wendt describes the time on your mission like climbing a house. The first six months are straight up, slow going. The second six are a slight uphill, faster but normal. The third six speed up, down the hill now. The last six you just fall off the roof and its over. Haha. He is a funny guy. Lots of fun to work with.

We had a great week. It was cut a little short by the holidays/read-a-thon and then P-day but somehow we managed to get a TON done. We have mission wide goals for finding new investigators, having members at lessons etc, called Standards of Excellence, and the point is to try to hit them every week. It is a huge focus and the overall goal is to get every companionship to hit them. We worked really hard this week and hit Standards of Excellence and even far exceeded them in some areas. I've only hit standards once before and so this week was awesome. It is really gratifying to see hard work and effort pay off in tangible ways. The best part is that the numbers represent people and when you hit standards it means that the work is progressing and you are fulfilling your purpose as a missionary. It was a great, great week.

Wednesday was P-Day and so not a lot got done but still a good day.

Thursday was CarFast/Finding day. Lots of tracting and making calls to potential investigators, which paid off with two appointments for Saturday. 

Friday was Zone Training Meeting and it was awesome. We left with the missionary fire and with a lot of ideas for the area. The second half of the day was an exchange with the Zone Leaders. So Elder Kenning (my trainer) spent the day with us while his companion was with another set of missionaries. It was fun to be with him again. We taught Linda and Al and had a grand old time. Al is doing great and is coming to church every week and is making progress as fast as a 70 year old can. :) Linda is doing great spiritually. She is learning and growing and loving the visits we are having. She was in the hospital this Sunday and we haven't heard from her how she is doing. Something to do with a nerve in her leg. She said she should be fine and we'll meet with her again this week. 

Saturday was SUPA stressful. (Supa=super. E. Wendt is rubbing off on me) We had four lessons back to back to back to back. We were running all over Windsor and the only reason everything worked out is because God is very good. Could not do this without Him. The lessons went well. Steph and Samson both agreed to meet with us again, David accepted the 10th of February as a Baptismal Date and Abdul...He is still willing to meet with us. He is a Muslim and was a referral from missionaries in........MARKHAM!! I actually contacted him in Markham and sent his information here and now I'm here so now I am teaching him. It is basically just an exchange of beliefs with him and we're not sure how much longer we'll keep meeting with him.

Sunday was great. Church was awesome. The ward is great and very welcoming. They do a great job fellowshipping and all without us asking. That makes our job SOOOO much easier. The rest of the day was pretty great and was capped off by finally getting a hold of this sweet couple that they found right before I got here and setting up an appointment. That made them new investigators and it was sweet. Such a blessing and such a good week.

I am so so grateful to be a missionary. This truly is God's work and His hand is in it in every way. I feel so blessed to be His servant and to be able to be an instrument in His hand and to see His miracles everyday. This church is so true. This is God's kingdom on the earth everyday I become more and more converted and my testimony grows. What a wonderful blessing to be here at this time, in this place. There is a fire in this gospel and when it catches there is no stopping the progression of the work. I have felt the fire and I hope you will too. Study your scriptures. Pray with faith. Never give less than your best. Do good things!

Love,

Elder E. Smith.

Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life. 3 Nephi 5:13