Smythe, Jackson PT

I cannot figure out how to add pictures to this, so you'll have to wait another week, my apologies. Finished another 7 days in Berryville. Never have been so focused or worked so hard. We had a lot of our  friends come to church. It was special to see them love to take the sacrament for the first time. Last Monday evening, we had a special experience. We have been teaching a family where the wife is a member, and the husband isn't. She approached us in Casey's one day and asked for us to teach him. After our lesson, we all knelt in prayer. I asked her to pray about the truth of the Book of Mormon, and after she closes the prayer, we are to wait until the spirit gives us an answer. 30 seconds went by. 1 minute. 1 ½ minutes. 2 minutes went by, and the husband looks up at me and smiles for the first time. I asked him how he felt. He said, "I know. I know it." These have been some of the harder weeks of my mission. A wise friend of mine once said there will always be ...

Hey everyone! We had another good week. Working as hard as I possibly can. I want this area to maximize its potential so bad. We found some amazing people this week, and some of them accepted baptismal dates and came to church. There was a training for all of the Elders and Sisters that I came into the mission with. We went to Bentonville and had a day with President and Sister Collins. I got to see all of my favorite missionaries there. We are still teaching Jesse. He is doing awesome and is extremely excited for his baptism in a couple of weeks. We are teaching an awesome family of 4 who came to church this week as well. Psalms 30:5 reads: "weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Joy (Jesus Christ) will always come. We must endure the 'nights' of this life. I'm loving life. I love Jesus Christ so much. I love my mission more than anything. Nothing is better than this. Love you all, Elder Smythe  

Well, as sad as it is, my tour came to a close in Springfield. I was heartbroken to hear that I would be leaving. I haven't felt the spirit that often as I did the 4 and a half months that I was there. It ended on a high note with saying bye to everyone and obviously winning in basketball one last time. I have been transferred to Berryville, Arkansas. It is a lot different. Smaller, and with a lot of farmland. Not anything that I am used to, and I miss the sense of urgency that the ward in Springfield had. Nonetheless, I am excited to get to work. I noticed a 14-year-old boy who was sitting in the back of church with his older sister. He has been to church multiple weeks now, and nobody ever approached him. His sister was baptized just over a year ago and has been bringing him to church. We taught him after, and he is going to be baptized on August 5th. A much-needed moment and feeling of light in his life, and mine. I have spent a lot of time studying the book of Ether. It never f...

Hi everyone! Just a quick update because I struggle with this, but I'm still in Springfield, Missouri. Transfers are next week, so we'll see what happens. This week was one of the hardest of my mission. We began the week with 13 people on date, but quickly fell to 2. Satan worked hard. However, we did have the baptism for the sweetest family: Adriana, Paul, and Asella were all baptized. It was such a special moment. Their entire family are members, and they are from Samoa. Their mom and grandma drove 3 hours from Independence, Missouri to speak at the baptism of their oldest daughter after all these years. They spoke in Samoan. It was amazing. Our 1st counselor in the mission presidency was there to speak. When he talked, he said the Holy Ghost brought to remembrance words he knew. He gave the first part of his talk in Samoan too. It was a moment I will NEVER forget. I had exchanges with Elder Holland, who played basketball at Skyridge. I heckled him for 4 years and had no idea...