Smythe, Jackson PT

Hello everyone! I don't have a lot of time today, but here's a quick update. Henry and his 8-year-old daughter should be baptized this Sunday, so keep them in your prayers. Christmas was a lot of fun. It's a special experience on the mission. It caused me to reflect a lot on my mission and my faith in Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for my Savior and His example. I am so thankful for my mission; there is nothing as good as this. The scriptures say: "For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receives not the gift?" To receive something is an action. Do we show our gratitude for Christ by receiving His great gift? Do we act and do as He asks us to do? If we want to be truly happy, we must act and do all that lies in our power. Love, Elder Smythe

Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't write last week. I'll give a quick update. Things are going well here. Elder Hess is doing awesome, and we have seen a lot of miracles lately. Henry and his family are still looking good for their New Year's Eve baptism. His wife and daughter went to Fayetteville Sunday morning to visit a friend. He showed up to church by himself and then drove up later. He said he promised God he would be at church every Sunday. A couple of weeks ago, we prayed as a companionship so that we could find a family of people from an island so that Elder Esera could teach them before he goes home. After a few days of praying for this, we had a free hour in our schedule. We drove to a street that Elder Hess wanted to tract. When we got there, I realized I had knocked on it 4 weeks prior. We decided not to and began to drive away. At the very last house, we saw a family get into a car and leave. The mom was still on the porch, and I noticed her dress. We slammed on our...

Hello everyone! Time is flying, and we had another good week. I love Elder Hess and wish I was as prepared as he was at such a young age in the mission. We had zone conferences this week, and it was great. Had a couple of awesome experiences this week. I was in Rogers with Elder Fife last week on an exchange, and we found this Venezuelan family that had just gotten here 2 weeks prior. They fed us lunch, and we taught them and invited them to church. They immediately accepted the invite, and I told the Spanish Elders there. I stayed in touch with her, and she told me how much she and her family loved church, and they all want to be baptized in a few weeks. Last night around 8:30, we went to a lesson with this tiny family we have been teaching. They are also from Venezuela and have not been here long. They have been to church every week since arriving and have fallen in love. They said, "Even if we have to walk, we will be at church every Sunday." As we were teaching them last ...