Baptism!

Family and maybe friends/anyone else because I'm not sure who all gets my emails...Hi...Its great to be a missionary.

This week was really great! I just don't know how to express what I am feeling in words. This gospel is just so true and this is truly Christ's work. It is absolutely incredible to see his hand in it everyday. It is truly overwhelming. I feel so blessed to be a part of this work and to be on a mission. I love it.

Shawna's baptism went well. The water was cold, the service was poorly planned (our bad) and poorly attended. Disappointing in those regards but the Spirit that was there made up for everything. It was really great overall. She was very excited and was very happy afterwards. She was very nervous going in but she was seriously a new person after the baptism. It is so incredible to see lives change. I love being a missionary! :)

Our new investigator from last week, Eddie, is doing very well. He wasn't at church but he came to the baptism and said that he liked it. He is great. He has lots of questions and is really studying this out. He went over the first four or five chapters of the Book of Mormon word for word and had a lot of really specific questions about rivers flowing into the Red Sea, steel being mentioned 200 years before the earliest archaeological evidence of steel, the travel times and all sorts of little details. The surprising thing is that he listens to our answers. Most people refuse to have their questions answered but he listens and agrees with what we say. Its awesome. So he is doing really well. Our other investigators are doing alright. Everyone is getting busy after the holidays again so its frustrating. I also wish I spoke Chinese...again. I thought I was over this when I left Markham, but alas. We have a sweet Chinese investigator, Dave, who doesn't come to church because he likes his Chinese church for the social aspect. He doesn't like their doctrine or the pastor and he thinks we are right but he still goes there. Grrrr. Agency. Everyone else is doing great and we are just having a grand time of things here is Windsor. I love Windsor!

Elder Binford is great. He is from California and is just giddy about the snow. Every time he brushes the snow off our car he just giggles to himself and says "This is awesome." Its kind of hilarious. He always wants pictures of him in the snow and just loves it. He is so much fun. He is really into soccer/all sports but he played soccer in High School so that is "his thing" so it is nice to be able to talk sports every once in a while. We get along well and are working really hard. He is a great missionary and I expect great things from this kid. He has such a great attitude and has a sincere desire to be obedient. The only problem is that all the success is kind of going to his head. Haha. He just has the "green fire" and it is totally working miracles in Windsor. I love my companion!

The week is good but I don't feel like going through everyday. Just know that it was awesome and super fun. Friday, Saturday and Sunday really made the week so I will talk about them. Friday we taught all day minus some contacting time downtown. It was awesome. I really love teaching. It is why I am a missionary. We taught all of our main investigators and were super busy and it was great. Then the Zone Leaders blitzed our area for an exchange from Friday night to Saturday night. Saturday was great! I was with Elder De Moura who is from......drum roll please......Fortaleza!!! That's where Megan is going on her mission. Weird eh? He was born there, grew up mostly in Rio but then moved back before his mission. Crazy. He is an INCREDIBLE missionary and I learned a ton. We talked a lot about how to be a successful missionary and what he had seen work in the past. He helped me set some goals and make plans for how to reach them and I left the exchange uplifted and inspired. He also taught me a little Portuguese which was fun. :) With E. De Moura we had Shawna's Baptismal Interview and then tracted for a while. We set one return appointment, got sworn at very heavily and then found a less active member who had disappeared for a while. She was on the phone with her friend two hours earlier saying that she needed to come back to church and then we showed up. She was happy to see us and glad to have a reason to come back. Its crazy how we are directed to those who need us. I love being the answer to prayer. I love being an instrument in God's hand. I love being a missionary. Meanwhile, while we were doing that, Elder Binford and Elder Gedelmann were helping a non-member family move from Leamington to Windsor. The family is super sweet and was really impressed with how helpful the church was and that we practiced what we preached. Elder B and I went back after the Zone Leaders left and helped unload the last load and then set an appointment to drop by on Wednesday. :) In addition to that Elder B and Elder G found another guy who we also have an appointment and we also talked to the neighbour of the family we helped move. Four solid potentials in one day. Crazy. Sunday was good, long and stressful. I passed out (figuratively) last night and was reluctant to get up this morning. I need a nap. :) Two years.

It was a super fantastic week and we are looking at another great one this week. I truly love being a missionary and I would not trade this experience for anything. This church is so true and it means everything to me. I am so happy to be sharing it for these two years. I love you all and I hope all is well! Do good things!

Love,

Elder E. Smith

Pictures

1:This picture pretty much sums up how awkward the baptism was...and every time we meet with Shawna. :)

2:Walking back from contacting downtown.
3:Me with snowy hair.