Hey Momma!

Brother Dowling is great isn't he!? I think so. We got to do some service in his beautiful backgarden this week, and then they served us some lunch and we had a chat.  I told him that I did know Ron Smart, I didn't know if he did WonDoor though.  I told him about his house burning down, even.  I guess he didn't catch that.  But yeah.  He's a great guy, and thinks that England does everything the proper way.  I should've asked him about peanut butter.  They don't do very well with peanut butter.  Or lawn mowers.

That's awesome about Elder Lewis's Mom.  I'm glad you got to talk to her!  Yeah, I'll have some of the members here throw up some facebook pics.  The members are awesome here.  There's only a few of them that we really have no interaction with.  But they love us, and we love them.  they're great.

P Days.  We do a lot on P days.  Some Mondays go by, and we feel a little more busy than rested.  Today, we're going to Lichfield Cathedral, and then playing some football (soccer) after, with a bunch of missionaries from our zone.  It should be way fun, and I'll get some pictures for you.  Sorry about the lack of pictures.  I'm getting it figured out.  There's not a whole bunch of time to be on computers.  Then, we also need to clean our flat, and buy food today.  And then do some proscelyting at night.  So P days are usually kind of busy if you want to do something fun.

Some answers.. I think:  Our district has three teams of missionaries.  Ours in Tamworth, elders in Walsall, and sisters in Wylde Green.  Then our zone has three districts, with just about as many people in each district.  I really don't know how many zones there are.. maybe like.. fifteen? That's a hundred percent a guess.  But our district is really cool, Elder Eldredge and Sister Vance are both in my district, and they were in my group coming out here too.  so that's pretty cool.  I'm having a good time here, I've gained some weight.. but hopefully I'm also gaining some muscle, haaaa.  Cross your fingers.  Cause I've gained nearly a stone, since I weighed myself at home for the last time.  I'll let you figure out how much a stone is.  What else?  It's hard for me to answer questions that you don't ask, and telling you "Everything about England" is hard, because I forgot what I didn't know about England.  Ass, damn, and hell aren't swear words here, but they have like a million swear words that I accidently use without knowing every once in a while.  That usually gets a giggle.  Trousers are pants.  Pants is underpants.  There's roundabouts everywhere, and that's a way better system than lights in my opinion.  the roads are really narrow.  My legs are getting really strong from riding my bike everywhere.  People are difficult to talk to, cause most of them act like I'm not a real person.  But we did get 13 potential investigators this week.  So that was really good.  Elder Lewis walks really really fast, but I can keep up. 

Aaaaand.. I got a hair cut.  Actually I got them all cut.  Short.  Like really really short.  I'll try to send a picture.  I think I kinda look like a lamanite.

Oh.  The scriptures are cool.  Especially the Doctrine and Covenants.  I've been reading the Old Testament too, and that's really weird.. but entertaining.

Tamworth is pretty small.  But I like it.  and we've got a big castle.  I haven't taken pictures yet, but I will.  And we have the Snow Dome, where people can go snowboarding, I haven't been in it yet, but I will.

Ben sent me a picture, and it looks like it's greener in Utah right now, it's definitely warmer over there.

I fall asleep super fast here, and I have dreams.  I never used to have dreams, so that's cool.  I'm really into that.

Uhh... Everything is good here.  I've officially been on a mission for over a month now, and it feels like I've been out here a lot longer, but also it feels like you dropped me off at the MTC like yesterday, so.. time runs weird here.  The trees are starting to flower though, so that's pretty.  Pictures to come.  And I got my priesthood line of authority today!  I'll attach it to this email, cause it's super cool.

Anyways, the work is going well, and I love and miss the heck out of you!

I hope this week goes well!

 

Love,  Elder Smart

April 22, 2013

Y'alright Mum!

That's what they say.  They don't usually say Hi, or hey, they say Y'alright.  It's not a question.  It sort of is.  But usually you say it more as a statement.

Everything is going okay over here!  I'm learning a lot, and I'm glad that I made computer wallpaper.

I just sent an email to Ange, and I put an average day in my life in hers. So I'm just going to copy and paste. Here it is:

England is great! The people are always sad and grumpy. But the members are fun, and they feed us a lot of food.  A typical day for me is waking up at 630, praying, then eating breakfast in my grey hoodie and grey shorts, and it's almost always a huge bowl of frosted flakes.  Then, when Elder Lewis gets out of the shower, he comments on how much of a zombie I am in the mornings, then I take a shower, and get ready.  Then I usually play a bit of piano, get dressed in my proscelyting gear.  (Sunday shoes, socks, and trousers, a white shirt and tie, and when I leave, a black rain coat, and my backpack)
Then I pray, do a personal study where I'm currently reading the Doctrine and Covenants (which is sooo cool.) Then prayer with Elder Lewis, and comp study, which begins by reading three pages of the white bible, then we talk about what we learned in personal study, then we plan out our day.  then we do my training, which is like watching the district and reading scriptures and talking about them, and we finish that at about 11:00.  We pray before we leave. Then we go out and try to do some finding, or visit a less active or something, and we're back at about noon for lunch for an hour.  Then at one, we're back out, after a prayer, teaching investigators, finding, visiting people and whatever we have to do for the day.  Then back to the flat around six to eat dinner, or we go to a member's house for dinner.  Usually a member's house.  then we give them a spiritual thought, and usually have an appointment to get to at like 7:30.  We teach or whatever, then head back to the flat.  We're supposed to be back at 9:00, and we've only been late once.  then since elder lewis is DL, he does call ins, where he talks to each team in the district about their days, and then reports all of it to the zone leader.  Meanwhile, I write in my journal, play piano, plan the next day, and update the areabook.  Then, I pray for usually like ten or fifteen minutes. Get in bed, and then I'm out.  I sleep so hard here.  Then I wake up and do it again.

Yeah. Piano. I guess I can still read music.. and we have a keyboard in the flat. So. Yeah. Piano. Gross. But maybe I'll get good at it.  Anything can be done, through the Lord.

I've definitely caught on to the language, and I find myself using it more and more the longer I'm here.  Which hasn't been long.  But it has.  The best way to describe is that the days go by like weeks and the weeks go by like days.  On wednesday, I'll have officially been out for four weeks.  How crazy is that? I feel like it was yesterday that you were dropping me off on the curb, but also I think about everything that's happened since, and that's a lot of stuff.

Tamworth is a little city near Coventry, kind of.  It's a twenty minute train ride to the mission home, and a fifteen minute ride to Birmingham. Look North East of Birmingham.  I think that's where you'll find me.

I'm glad you hung out with Ange! I bet that was way fun!  You should keep doing that. For maybe.. Like, two years?  That'd be nice.  Then I'll come home and take her off your hands.

I definitely feel bad for everyone still at the MTC.  The field is much, much better.  I love it out here.

I think I figured out pictures too.  but I'm going to send them to you on a different message, because it might be hard.

Also, I bought an external hard drive so that I could store all the pictures from you guys and all my pictures somewhere.  I hope you don't mind.  It'll be useful for like the next million years.. so I don't think you'll care.

Anyways, the mission is hard.  Nobody wants anything to do with the gospel.  but we're going to find some one awesome to teach really soon, I just know it.  I think the Lord is just giving us a trial.

But hey, we've got Sue, and she's hopefully going to be baptized (possibly by me, Elder Lewis wants me to do it) on June 8th.  Happy birthday to me! and Sue. Her birthday is the 11th.  So i hope with all my heart she's still ready then, cause she's had a few other baptismal dates. But I have a feeling this is the one.  She's going to do it.  We also visit a few less active people, and some, well, long time investigators named Alec and Karen.  They're awesome and they're humor makes me feel like I'm home.  But they have this massive dog.  I'm going to take a picture of it tomorrow and send it to you.  But it's a great dane, and it's 17 stones.  which is like 250 lbs? 17x17lbs I think.  something like that.  either way, you'll see a picture of Charles.  Ha. Charles.  He's humongous. 

But I should go if I want to figure out the pictures. I love you!

Elder Smart

PS.  You should be getting some mail from me.  It's just some stuff that I want to save, I think.  Just throw it in the UK box. Thanks Mum.

April 15, 2013

Dear Mum,

Okay crazy, let's see if I can answer all of your million questions.  Here goes.

Elder Lewis is the man, I love him to death already.

He's great, and 6'6" so yeah, he's huge.

I only live with him.

The flat is tiny, but we don't need much, so I don't really care.  It's kind of a piece of crap, but the beds are nice (and squeaky), and the showers are warm.  I don't need anything more than that.

I can't remember where Elder Eldredge was standing in the picture.  He's got blonde hair, he's a bit bigger, and a little bit shorter than me.  I think he was standing next to me though.

The weather is England.  It's raining but not too hard, Elder Lewis says it's gotten nice, right in time for me.  It's perpetually grey, but I don't really mind.

It's spring here.

The trees aren't blooming yet.

I got a sweeeeet new bike.  It's very nice, so i got some very nice locks, as well.  haha it cost me 300 quid (pounds) but Elder Lewis said he got a crappy bike from the get-go, and he's spent like 500 quid just fixing it, so he said it was worth getting a good new bike.

The money issue is fine.  I had to pull out money to buy my bike, because most places don't take swipe-cards, and it wouldn't let me pull out more than 100£ at a time, so that's why there were three charges.  Don't worry about it.  I may have to do it again if I get some other expensive stuff.

The $120 dollars was money that didn't make it to my bank.  It's yours/mine.

Thank you notes are a huge hassle.  I don't want to do them if I don't have to.  They'll take ages, and I don't have ages.  If you think I really should do them, I will.  But if there was an alternative way to thank people, I would absolutely love that.

I'm very sad about the Brintons and the Colemeres.  I love those two families, and I'm sad that they aren't in our ward anymore.

I appreciate you sending letters on to the family.  I'm trying to write them, and if they email me, it'll be a million times more likely that they'll get something back. 

Thanks for the post, especially at the MTC, it really helped me.  And I'll look forward to email every week from you.  Tell everyone that I love them.

We go to the library to write, and no.  I'll probably not print them off, unless you don't want me to respond to you in my email.  By the way, emailing me Sunday night would probably be the most effective because P day is Monday for me.

I almost am a spy, because this country is completely run by Satan himself.  Everyone smokes weed, I've already seen children as young as like ten smoking cigarettes, everyone gets drunk on the weekends and on Sunday and Monday there's barf all over the pavements, and there's porn... everywhere.  Oh and people don't believe in anything.  We talked to a man the other day that had lost his wife, and he told us no one can believe that God actually exists, because there is no proof, and that he would never see his wife again.  We testified that there is a God, he loves us, and told him about the Plan of Salvation, but he wouldn't have it.  What a sad life. I feel bad for the people here.  Oh well.  I guess that just means there's more for me to do.

Tell Aunt JoAnne, that I'm sorry and I love her.  Losing your dad sucks.  Even if it was for the best.

People are awesome at getting us dinner.  We have it made for us almost every night.

Church was great, I'm in a teeny tiny ward of like fifty people, but they're all wonderful and I love them, and we had an investigator show up, so my first day was good.  They made me bear my testimony, but for once, I was very happy to do just that.

I haven't gotten another suit, because we don't wear them, like, ever.  I usually wear trousers, a white shirt and tie, and then a rain jacket that I bought here.  I also had to buy water proof trousers.

Elder Lewis is the man, he's from Plain City, Utah, and he's been out for 15 ish months.

My interview with President was good, I like him, he's very to the point, and I really like his wife a lot.

Remy is the cutest. Even when she's naughty.

We look hot. Our family is beautiful.

I love you.  I think I answered all your questions, I'm sure there are loads more though.  I'll tell you more next week though. I hope Ange gets a hold of you when she gets home.

You're the best Mum.

I love and miss you.

-Elder Smart

PS I haven't figured out pictures on this end. But when I do, you'll be the first to see them.

March 28, 2013

Dear Momma,

Hey!  I made it!  The MTC is rad.  Elder Hagge was way cool and showed me around and got my tag for me and stuff and my first companion's name is Elder Eldredge.  He's originally from Washington, but about five years ago, he moved to West Jordan, and now he's off to Birmingham like me.  He's pretty cool, kinda quiet though.  I'm in an apartment (room?) with two other elders headed to Birmingham as well.  Their names are Elder Higham (who went to U State, go Aggies) and Elder Allred.  They're pretty cool, too.  I've been doing a lot of studying and we did some role-playing with actors and real investigators.  It was way cool.  I like it here, but I'm glad I'll only be here for a little while.  The food's decent.  Not bad, not great.  I've seen a bunch of friends though.  That's way fun.  I even saw Breea, who leaves on Monday for France.  Crazy.  I'm getting super pumped about the work.  I'm going to love being a missionary.  I'm only allowed to write a letter to you before P-Day.  Well, I only had a few minutes to write this.  I've got to go.  I love you, Mom!  I miss you!  Don't kill my dog.

Love,
Elder Smart