GRINGOS

So heres a little funny experience.  8:55am, five minutes before church starts and a huge bus rolls in and out walk 26 giant white people.  Yup a giant caravan from utah who was taking a tour down the amazon river decided to take a stop sunday morning to go to church in  28 de Julio ward. haha it was so funny they filled up the whole stinkin church.  Geez laweez seriously gringos are humongous.  They were so great tho.  Only a few spoke spanish and they were all worried about the water in the sacrament cups.  "is this water sanitary? it looks questionable to me?" haha we assured them it was fine. They all wanted to take pictures of me it was kindof weird.  One guy took my moms name and phone number and said he was going to call. haha so just be expecting that soon mom.  This week was awesome.  I think a few weeks ago i wrote about Miguel Angel and how he is struggling to find a answer.  How the Lord sometimes just makes us work for a while.  Well this week another guy Germano only had to pray one time after reading the book of mormon and bang!  He told me his whole chest filled with emotion.  He couldnt describe it but said he knows the book of mormon is true.  Very interesting how the Lord works in answering peoples prayers.  Anyways more on the Miguel Angel story.  We taught him last night and i shared a scripture with him that says we dont look for Christ or believe in him because we have seen a sign, but because we have partaken of the bread and it filled us (i think... thats translating it from spanish) He told us how his faith has grown and how hes happier and this good stuff but still thinks when he prays an answer doesnt come.  So thats why we shared that scripture.  Then we knelt down and prayed together and he ask the Lord if he should be baptized.  He didnt stand up for a few minutes after his prayer and we left him with the spirit to ponder for a while.  well see how he feels tomoro.  The work is being hastened! We all got to do our part. Hope everyone has a good week

Always

Elder Smith

SEEING MIRACLES

wow this week was awesome and i want to write about all of it but i dont have much time.  First, one of the elders i live with thought i had an ingrown toenail and tried to pull it out but couldnt.  I was screaming bloody murder.  We went to the doctor and she laughed and said "thats not ingrown, you were trying to rip the nerve out of the bottom of your toe nail." yes it hurt. 

 

we had so many spiritual experiences this week and there all in my journal so all is good.  But i will just say this, that spiritual power is proof of a divine calling.  Its nothing special what we do for ourselves, but yes my companion and i have been called by god through a living day prophet and we do what we should.  Then He works through us and does the rest.  We are seeing miracles in our area.  I love this this place and i am happy

Elder Smith

NUTS BUT COOL

This week was a strange one.  So theres been some problems with some oil companies down here in Loreto.  so guess what?.. STRIKE!!!! ah it all made me think of newsies so much.  Strike is called paro down here.  And everyone marches down the street chanting.  Un pueblo, unido, jamas sera vencido!! (one people, united, will never be overcome) In the streets theres people comissioned or paid by the public companies (who started the paros) basically just to cause havoc.  If theres a store open or if someones driving there moto they stop it and pop there tires and stuff.  There were five motocars burned in the plaza in front of our house.  It was nuts but cool. we proselyted with only the book of mormon in our hand because we didnt want to carry a bag where anyone would think they could rob us.  But ya all the normal people and families were just chilling at home because there was no work so they were good days to teach.  and the paro worked.  Loreto got what they wanted and now there wont be any paros anymore.  so that was good.  Anyways,  this last week was a good one.  we had a buch of people investigating the church in the chapel this sunday.  one whos name is miguel angel.  we call him the arcangel.  He is super rad and is trying very hard to receive an answer to his prayer if the book of mormon is true or not.  Hes stopped drinking which was very hard for him but i know that with all of his efforts he will receive his answer.  Its really interesting how the Lord works.  Some people receive there answer almost immediatly and others it just takes a while.  Im not sure why the Lord works the way he does but yes i do know that sometimes his blessings do require a little bit of patience.  I hope miguel stays patient and keeps searching as well as i hope for all those at home searching for something from the Lord.  Patience is a divine virtue almost always required to receive something from the Lord.  have a good week all

always 

Elder smith

REFINE, PERFECT, CHANGE

the pictures of me eating aguaje ( everyones favorite fruit down here) 

Simply put we do good things because we love God.  Following Him refines us, perfects us, changes us.  But only through His grace is this process of refinment possible.  I love the grace of God.  Its my favorite topic.    This week i learned a big lesson .  People have their agency.  Ive been teaching a man and his wife for about 3 months now.  Hes very intelegent says hes very catholic but doesnt believe much in the catholic doctrine.  Before we visited them for the last time she mentioned that all churches are good and we all worship the same God.  Which is true.  I shared with them a story in the bible that shows a more excellent way.  Or a more exact path that leads to Christ and helped them to understand that yes it is very good that other churches talk and preach of Jesus Christ.  i told them the FULNESS of his doctrine and authority exists in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I then shared with them a few things about eternal families because they had a kid who receintly passed away at 14 years old.  I testified with every bit of strength i had that they needed to get married and form an eternal family here on the earth.  That the authority that peter received from Christ to bind things on earth and in the heavens exists and funcions in the Church of Jesus Christ.  She wanted to get married and keep investigating but the man said it was enough. That he likes the way he is and will not change.  It hurt to be rejected like that.  But i truly felt like i did my part in giving him the opportunity to accept the gospel.  I pray he will receive another chance one day.   I love you so much.  You and Dad are unreal.  I love discovering how good you guys really are as i study more and more of the gospel.  I could not have asked for a better family.  I love you mom
 

Elder Smith

86 YEARS OLD AND FINDING TRUTH

Sorry i dont have much time this week to write but these pics are a couple from my time with portocarrero with menos activos we brought back to church.

                                                             Our pensionista

and the baptism of this 86 year old lady....The 86 year old women is maria.  She absolutly rocks.  She gets to church an hour and half early every sunday while we are still in ward council...

She is the bomb digity.  I love you sooo much mom

Elder Smith

THE WAY YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE

Bueno... all is well in iquitos.  I have a new companion named Elder Jimenez.  He is from Columbia.  Im not sure what language they speak in columbia but it certainly is not spanish.  hes the only columbian in the mission and even the latinos struggle to understand him... so just imagine us gringitos. jaja but its all good im starting to understand him more and more every day.  Hes super rad and a crazy good soccer player.  Last monday after i wrote home i went back to the michigan state clinic down here in iquitos to translate.  This time i was in dermatology for half the time and in pediatrics after.  In dermatology i saw some nasty stuff...  Ayaya everyones skin and nails just goes bad when you sweat a ton and your in the sun all day.  One girl had a huge cyst behind her ear and the doc used all this fancy termonolgy to say that they were going to surgically remove it and was just like "wulp ya they gonna cut the thing off right here right now" haha she was a little frightened but i told her she wouldnt feel a thing and they were going to take her to the little surgery room.  Then i went over to pediatrics and literally every person came in with the exact same story.  "My kid wont eat anything!" carumbus.  we gave everyone vitamines and all was good.  Except for one baby who had a gnarly hernia.  And it was like coming out of her belly button.  That was pretty interesting.  But hey all was a good expierence.  One of the students commented to me that the head doctor that he works for in michigan is mormom and has a big family and that there all "Just such good people"  People see the way you live your life! i promise, Be an example of the believers.  Do good in the world today

Siempre

Elder Smith

BE A SHIBLON

Ok super cool week with a bunch of cool stuff.  First I have this investigator who is entering into the marines.  His name is socrates.  Hes still not baptized because being a marine has limited him from attending church.  Anyways 2 weeks ago he had an awesome experience.  He was standing at attention in line with all of class or promotion or whatever you call it waiting to go to lunch when there sargent called out "who here is catholic?" and about half of the kids stepped foward.  Then, "where are the evangelicals?" and another big group stepped forward. "Protestants?" some more kids.  "Any mormons here?" And socrates stepped forward.  He said his sargent stared at him for a while, smirked a little and said "he will say the prayer over the food"  I was so pumped about this story when socrates told us.  Sounds familiar?? The talk the profet gave about his time in the Navy? Theres a cool mormon message about it that i showed socrates and was stoked to see it.

I got a letter form Grandma this week and heard the family is growing.  Nikki and Rachel both had kids??? whaaaaatt! awesome thankyou for the letter grandma.

Also yesterday i got to do something awesome.  Pay attention please Andrew Kent Smith.  Yesterday a  clinic of about 40 med school students from michigan state university came down to iquitos to treat everybody who needs help in iquitos as fast as they can.  Only problem was that nobody spoke spanish except for like one or two doctors.  But never fear there was a mormon boy is this group of students who had the bright idea to call the mission president in iquitos Peru.  Thats right me and like 7 or 8 other missionaries got to go to the clinic and translate for the doctors yesterday. And were doing it again today!  I was in the part of the clinic that delt with eyes, ears, nose and throat.  all things sinus.  I was with one doctor and 2 med students and was translating for all of them all the same time.  It was so cool we treated like 60 people in 3 hours.  And the doctor let me take a look in the peoples ears and look at there tonsils and stuff.  It was super rad.  Except for that it was so confusing.  Before we started the doctor explained everything to the students.  They were like 3rd and 4th year med students but he was basically just quizing them about all things mouth eyes nose and ears.  Ive never heard so many medical terms so fast in life.  I was seriously just like wulp im never going to become a doctor because that is just way too much to learn and we were only talking about a little part of the body.  Ayaya im so happy i get to stay away from college for two years.  It scares me.  Anyways a little about my personal study this week.  I read a talk this week called truly good and without deceit ( ithink would be the translation) it was a talk about good people who magnify there calling and dont look for anything in return.  He talked about Shiblon. (Shiblon is a missionary in the Book of Mormon that suffers great persecution and continues to serve his people.) it made me think about the Shiblons i know in my life and made me want to be like him.  One shiblon i remember in my life was my sophmore year seminay teacher Brother Sanford.  Theres a lot of shiblons i know that i want to go back and thank.  One day i hope to talk to all them again.  Be a Shiblon!

Always 

Elder Smith