Smythe, Jackson PT

Hi! We had another good week. I'm currently living on borrowed time, so we are working harder every day. This week was so humbling and one of my favorites. Our sweet family of four was baptized. The day before the baptism, someone tried to kidnap the mom and the 14-year-old girl. It was a traumatic situation for them, but they were able to make it to the baptism, and when they received the gift of the Holy Ghost, they said they'd never felt peace like that. Omar is continuing to do well. He called us the other day and reiterated to us that "the call" was for him, and not people in his family. He said his girlfriend didn't feel the same call and was hesitant about getting married and beginning to live in accordance with the gospel. He told us that it's his life, and nothing will get in the way of his call and his progression on his path to returning home with his Father. With zero hesitation, he said he will sleep in his car if she doesn't change her mind b...

Hi everyone! Things have been going well here. We have seen a lot of miracles and I have felt so much gratitude for the opportunity I have been given to serve a mission. We had our last zone conference with President Collins, which was hard but also inspiring. Our friend Omar is doing well. Last Thursday, we met with him at the church and showed him around. As we sat by the baptismal font, he kept reiterating a phrase to us. He was sharing his story and how committed he is. He said, over and over, "God has called me. I will accept the call." He called his girlfriend right there and told her they're getting married before June 12 and they've already made the arrangements. He brought everyone to church and approached us as he was leaving. He said, "What's my next step?" We taught him on Tuesday and he expressed to us how he doesn't like to be on 'level 1.' He said he wants to take it to the next level and he's willing to do whatever it take...

Hey everyone, We've had a really good two weeks here. Our friend Yajaira is doing awesome. Since she got baptized three weeks ago, she has been bringing people to church and can't wait to go to the temple. She brought her 20-year-old daughter to church on Sunday. We were able to have a lesson with her right after. We didn't even really have to teach. Her daughter asked us if she could be baptized in two weeks. We have a sweet family of four that we are teaching as well. They are from Puerto Rico, and we found them a month ago. We briefly talked to the mom at the door for a couple of minutes, got her phone number, and then left. We tried to go back, and we tried calling her a few times. She reached out and said that she was dealing with a lot, was really depressed, and simply couldn't meet with us. We decided to go over that evening. When we got there, she was sitting outside waiting for her groceries. She told us that she had been abandoned by her husband a month earlie...

Hello everyone, I apologize for not writing last week. I will do my best to be better at these emails as I'm finishing up. We have had some of the most miracle-filled two weeks ever. We had a couple of amazing families be baptized. I'll share a couple of the experiences. Bridgett, Aliyah, and Felix were all baptized last Saturday. A month ago, Elder Johnson and I prayed for a family of 4 with a mom and 3 kids. We specifically prayed that only 2 of the kids would be able to be baptized. That very same day we found this family, and they loved their baptism and love coming to church. On April 1st, we found a family from Venezuela that had been here for only 10 days. We were able to help them set a goal to be married and baptized at the end of April. It was chaotic and stressful, but we were able to help them get their marriage license, and this last Sunday they were married and baptized with their kids after church. There were a few more people baptized these last couple of weeks,...