Hey Momma.

Well.. I'm in a terrible mood right now.  We just went to district meeting, and we took the train.  We were late, so Elder Houghton and I took our bikes on the train, and just locked them up at the station when we got there. Then we walked with everyone over to the chapel from there.  District meeting was really good, and then we walked back to the station. To find that my lock had been cut and somebody stole my bike.  Awesome. So. Awesome. I love thieves so much.  So. That's my news.

I reported it to the cops and the station, and they're going to get some one to look at the camera footage around the bike rack, but, probably I wont be getting my bike back.  Thieves are sons and daughters of God though.. Really stupid sons and daughters of God. I'm not the happiest person right now.

So.. this week.

This week was good.  Elder Houghton is still Elder Houghton, but I'm getting used to that.  I call him the Hound Dog now, I also told him that I was going to jump on him in the middle of the night and fart right in his mouth.  Yumm yumm. I even wrote it down in my planner in the "Personal and Companionship Goals for the Week" section while we were doing weekly planning.  Fart in Hound Dog's Mouth.  We'll see if I actually do though.. When I sleep, there is little to nothing to convince me to get out of my bed.  But.. Farting is almost just funny enough.  Mom.  If the rule about being a man is that I can't laugh at farts anymore.. I'm never going to be a man.  So much for that.

This week has been good though.  We've gotten a lot done.  We had two exchanges, one with the District Leader and his companion (Elder Prosman from Holland, and Elder Paton from Adelaide, Australia)  And then another one with our Zone Leaders (Elder Wilde from Scotland, and Elder Chardon from the Netherlands) (On a side note, Holland and the Netherlands are two different places.. kind of.  Holland is like the main state of the Netherlands.  They're not synonymous.)  But they both taught us some really good things, and I feel like our finding is really taking off now.  I've been a total wuss at doors when we go tracting, and Elder Wilde definitely showed me how to man up.  I think it's kind of fun now.  I don't want to say that it's kind of a game for me.. but it's kind of a game for me.  The game is to see if we can invite ourselves in and teach a lesson, and then get a return appointment.  It gets really interesting, cause we basically have to get to know the person, tell them why we're here, and why they should listen to us, all in about 45 seconds or shorter.  It's kind of a challenge.  But it's a fun challenge.  You have to be a little pushy, but I think that the most important message in the entire world is one to be a little pushy about.  Elder Wilde even tried to invite us into some one's home for dinner at one of the doors.  She didn't really like that.. Haha oh well.

But this week we have learned a TON about finding, and now are numbers are just going up and up.  We got something like 20 potentials this week.  We have a lot to do the next few days, and it's going to be really good.

Funny story.  We have to call in and report all our numbers every Sunday night, and so Elder Houghton and I were in town centre just talking to people on the street, and about fifteen minutes before we were supposed to call in, we decided to sit on a bench and tally up our numbers.  So we did, and as we were doing that, this Indian (dot) man came up and asked if he could sit next to us.  Of course we said he could, and then he looked at us doing our numbers and asked us what we were doing, we told him that we were doing missionary work here in Leamington, and then he asked us in somewhat broken english (not that broken, but sort of) he said "Well, do you think I could do missionary work with you? Maybe on the weekends?"  Elder Houghton and I just looked at each other.. We were like "Uhhh.. Yeah! Totally! But we're going to have to teach you a little first."  He asked us how, and we set up an appointment to meet him in that park again last night. When we saw him, we taught him the Restoration and challenged him to be baptized on September 14.  He said he would.  We're going to be teaching him again tonight.  Crazy. I'm not quite sure how solid he is, but he's still listening to us, and keeping his appointments and commitments, so.. it's pretty awesome!  So pray for Rajeev (Rah-Jeev). (Get this, he's our second Rajeev that we're teaching right now too, so I told Elder Houghton that if he really does end up teaching with us that I'm just going to call him Geeves, cause he'll be like our Missionary Butler. Haha)  But definitely pray for him and for the rest of our investigators (Laura, Brian, Patrick, Michelle, Laurence, Becky, and Dermot) We met most of them this week.. So not a ton of them are solid, but I'll tell you more about them next week.  Pretty cool though!

So, yesterday I ended up going over to Warwick Castle with some of the missionaries in my zone.  It was really cool, but maybe a little expensive.  They tried to make it into like an amusement park, but without any rides.  It was pretty cool though, and I got a bunch of pictures that I'll send to you.  I also got a chance to look up our Family Name and Crest and stuff.  It was cool.  Our family motto is "Virtue is more desirable than money"  Kind of funny.  I forgot what it really was in Latin.  We have a couple ancestors that were criminals though, that got shipped off to Australia.  Haha.

This week, the other elders working in our branch are leaving.  Elder McKechnie is going home to Scotland for a month for a surgery (hernia) and his companion Elder Kagle is getting reassigned somewhere else in the mission.  That means that for the next three weeks we are in charge of all of our area, which is most of Warwickshire. We have the southern half of Warwickshire starting just underneath Coventry.  So pretty big.  We don't get out to a lot of it unfortunately.

So that'll be crazy.

So, from your message.

Shanny's real name is Shananne (Shuh-nan).  But Elder Lewis and I decided that her real name is Nard.  That came from a chain of nicknames, and now she goes by it.  It went from Shananne to Shan to Shanaardvark to Nardvark to Nard.  The whole family calls her that now, and she'll tell you that's what she was named at birth.  And yes, I love that family.  They always helped us any way they could, and fed us at least once a week, most of the time twice a week.  I got really close to them.

I don't believe you came right home from church.  That's an extremely rare anomaly that I just don't think I can bring myself to swallow.

The sight and sound rule is that companions should always be within sight and sound of each other.  It seems really strict, but it's not.  If you're near your companion and know where he is, you're good.  But new missionaries think that if they break it, even a little, their companion is going to run away and break the law of chastity or something.  Haha

I forgot to tell you.  I promised President that I would tell you, for him, that you have one of the best missionaries in the mission.  I don't believe him, but he made me promise to tell you that.  He told Elder Houghton to do the same, and probably a lot of other missionaries.  But, I'll just take this time to gloat a little. And maybe ease your anxiety, I'm not a new missionary anymore, and I'm actually getting pretty good at it.  Even President says so.  I feel like a child saying all of this.  "My mom says I'm cool!"  Use your whiniest argumentative kid voice.

I'll tell him you like him though.

The flat's nice, I'll get my trousers altered. Aaaaaand...the extra seat on the toilet is a mystery.  That's why we think a grandma lady lived there before us.  Cause I definitely can't use that extra seat.  Maybe it's just for me to get a little better aim.  Maybe I should throw in some cheerios or fruit loops to help me out.

Elder Houghton falls out of bed.

No, he doesn't.  Our beds are supposed to be bunk beds, but we don't trust them to be bunk beds.  I'm pretty sure his is the top bunk, but we just separate them cause neither of us want to be smashed by a flimsy bunk bed falling on us in the middle of the night.

I thought you'd like the elephant.  And I'm pretty sure I've secured the favorite child spot if I've made computer background status.

Jeff Colemere is definitely the man.  I miss him.  Try and get his address or his email address off him for me, so I can send him a letter.  He's the best guy ever.  Definitely somebody that's worthy of the priesthood he bears.

Bountiful.  Ouch.  Yeah, invite them over!! I bet they get Dinner Appointments like nobody's business, but I'm sure they would love to eat some of the best cooking on Earth.  Ken and Rose? Sure! The message that the missionaries bring to them is literally the most important message that there has ever been.. so.. I'm pretty sure they would hear it.  Maybe just tell them about all the people on the street and let them decide who they would like to go to talk to.  Our street is very un-mormon, considering it's Utah.

I hope everything works out for Adrienne and Brooke.  Stress is no fun.

I haven't seen Aaron's tattoo.  Take a picture and send it to me so I can get a matching one.

Teeth suck, and Remy is too old.

I think that's it for this week. I've taken the whole hour at this library to write you, and you've already emailed me impatiently to see where your letter is.

I spoil you.

I also love you.

And miss you.

A lot.

But I'm here, and I'm serving diligently and effectively, and I'm not coming home for about eighteen months.

Today I've officially been out five months.  Crazy.  It's flown by.

Alright. Ange needs a letter too, and maybe some other people. I'll do my best.

I love you!

Mind the Gap,

Elder Smart

Helllllloooooooo Mom!

Haha I told Shananne to friend you on Facebook.  She's great.  She's fourteen and was part of one of the families that I love so much back in Tamworth.  The Youngs.  She has three little brothers, and Elder Lewis and I got really close with the whole family.  They called us both Uncle.  I cried when I said good bye in Tamworth.  I love them so much.  No, Shananne, doesn't have a thing for me, she just somewhat craves an male role model.. Her mom is single, and Shananne doesn't have any grandfathers either.. Her father is a douche, and really missionaries have kinda fit the part of "the man" in that house.  It's not weird, they just don't have any good influences from men, and the whole family really craves it, even if they would never admit it.  Most of them call me Smartie Pants, and they're definitely definitely a family I need to see when I come back to visit my mission.  Which means, you will see them as well, if everything goes according to the plan we had when I left.  They're awesome though, and I love them. And she came with her mother, and grandmother.  They would never let the kids go alone.  A lot of parents here might though..

By train, it takes about an hour to get to Leamington from Tamworth.  If there was a train that went straight here, maybe half an hour though.  The problem is that you have to go through Birmingham, which is kind of out of the way.   But it's not too far.

Oh yeah! I totally forgot about that guy we met.  He was cool, and he was just checking out the gardens in town centre when he saw us.  He and his two sons ran us down and we had a quick, but good chat, and they took our picture and sent it to you!  That was fun, and I was really disheartened with the finding at that point, so it was a really good pick-me-up.

By the way, finding.  Tracting falls into the category of finding.  But finding is exactly what it sounds like.  We go out and either tract, or talk to people on the streets, or go to former investigators, or people that we have recently talked to, and gave stuff to.  It's the grunt work of missionary work, and it's the hardest part.  But, you have to find if you want to teach.  That's why in the broadcast, they stressed member missionary work so hard.  Instead of us blindly talking to people on the street, members know so many people that we could go talk to, or meet with, or whatever, and that way, if the person does want to hear about the gospel, then they already have a friend, the member gets to do missionary work (a responsibility that every member has as a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), and we don't have to listen to the ninth person say they're too busy to listen to us or take a card, as they step into a pub.  It's a win-win-win.  Before my mission, I was always afraid of referring missionaries to talk to people, but we really aren't as pushy and scary as I thought missionaries were before my mission.  So, think of all the people you love, that don't have the gospel in their life, and write their names and addresses down, and call the missionaries over for a dinner appointment.  If they impress you, give them the names.  If they don't impress, don't give them the names.  Easy as that.  Sorry, that's my plug for member-referrals.  They're the best, and most efficient way for missionaries to do missionary work.

Back to your list of questions:

My companion does look like a child in real life as well.  And yes, I'm having troubles with him.  We have some things in common, but his whole life he's played it very very safe. He doesn't say the words crap, or butt, or shut up, or dang, or suck.  I, on the other hand, do.  He even got mad at me the other night for saying 'fetch'. It was straight out of The Best Two Years, except after I said "Fetch, fetch, fetchity fetch fetch." He didn't chase me down and hog tie me, nor did President walk in.  In fact, had he even tried to do anything to me, I probably would've hog tied him.  He is a robot though.  I really don't think he's done anything fun his whole life.  We get along fine enough, but he's one of those people that you only write letters to every ten years to stay in contact.. He's going to make an excellent father, and husband, and chemist, or whatever when he's older.. he just is probably the most boring person.. ever.  But whatever.  You're right, I'm generally very easy going, and can get along with pretty much anyone, and I do get along with him, but it just might be an eternity of a 6-12 weeks with him.

CHAVs.  I thought I explained them to you in one of my emails.. oh well.  A CHAV is Counsel House And Violent.  Counsel houses are subsidized housing, and are filled with a few different kinds of people.  Poor people down on their luck, single mothers, or lazy people that want to ride on benefits.  CHAVs are a product of the last.  Usually CHAVs are descendants of two or three generations of fatherless, non-working families that feel entitled to benefits to make their way in life.  If that was it, I think they'd be okay.  But they think they're really cool, and really tough.  In reality, they're usually petty-thieves, who basically disregard hygiene, and smoke weed all day.  They especially love fire insults at missionaries, but not until missionaries have completely passed them and it would be an absolute hassle to go and confront them about it.  They're huge wusses.  In reality, they're just nuisances.  They walk around in full track-suits (sweats) and their sweats have to match their trainers (sneakers) and they usually have a shaved head and they walk around flexing their traps, which they don't actually have.  Basically, they'd be beat up anywhere in the States.  There are plenty of fun stories about CHAVs in the missionary life.  I think the ultimate being when CHAVs decided to try and steal from a small brazilian missionary, who they didn't know was also a professional kick-boxer.  Haha, stupid CHAV.  The elder ended up knocking him clean unconscious, and walked off.  Anyways, there's not many of them in Leamington.  There weren't many in Tamworth, but there is a whole lot less, here.  Ask Ange about it.

I think I'm going to get the trousers a bit tweaked, and make them a little less American-baggy.  Whether or not that happens in the near future, I'm not really sure.

We don't really work much with the other elders in Warwick, basically because Elder Houghton doesn't like them.  I tend to like them a lot more than my own companion, but the sight&sound rule makes things awkward, so I've just given up on having a good time here, and instead I'll just mush into robot missionary work.  It'll be good.. or whatever.  I'm just going to be very very bored.  Yes, I think the Warwick elders are a little bit lazier, but they're also about one million times more human.  Elder Houghton seems to think they are very lazy, and I think he thinks I'm less of a missionary for liking them.. Oh well.  Only four and a half more weeks.. I hope.

The branch is very cool, and very intelligent.  I like them.  It's small, but fun.  The chapel, however, is about the nicest I've seen.  It's small, but it has two full stories.  It's really cool.  Limhi is the man.  We found out yesterday that he is one of 13 children in his family, and all of them have BoM or Bible names.  Haha.  He's really cool though, but he's moving to Chicago for a year, in a few months.  The branch is really cool though, I like them.

I haven't been to Warwick Castle yet, but it's on the list of things to do while I'm here.  There's also a castle (ruins) in Kenilworth, that is in my area, as well as Shakespeare's birthplace, which is all in my area.  It's a really cool area.

And that's all of your questions.  Are those ever going to die down?  I was hoping after that first email when you terrorized me with questions that these would get less and less. I should have known.  I bet it takes you years to get home from Church still.  Tell Brooke I'm sorry.

So this week for me, and this is going to have to be fast, cause I've taken an hour to answer all of your questions, we have found two investigators, one is named Brian and the other is Patrick.  Brian is more solid than Patrick, but if Patrick converts, he'll have a way cooler story.  I'll tell you more about them, when I find more out about them. 

Other than that, a lot of finding again. Fun.

This week will be cool though, it's my first interview with President since I got here.  He's been busy.

Well, Remy sounds amazing, I know people are looking out for me, I'm doing my best to not get hit by a car, or stabbed by a homeless person.. but no promises.  Tell everyone in the world sorry, because I can't get to their emails when my mother expects a solid ten page email.

I like talking to you though.

Oh, and I love you.

Mind the gap,

Elder Smart

Good morning.   My name is Ian Houston. I am traveling with my family through England and Scotland from Washington DC. I am LDS.

My mother is originally from Leamington Spa England. We had just visited my grandfathers grave and had been walking in the park called Jephson Gardens. My son saw elders walking in the distance. I called out "Elders." They stopped.   We talked for some time and had a nice visit. 

I want to let you know that your son looked well and was happy and very friendly. I thanked him for what they both are doing and noted their was a purpose for every encounter including the one we had. 

Here is a picture of your son and his companion with two of my sons who are 15 and 17. It was a special moment the possibilities of the encounter at that moment a million to one. I was grateful for the blessing of encountering your sons. 

I hope you enjoy the picture and the story. 

God bless,

Ian Houston and family  

Ello Mumsy,

Haha it sounds like you're more trunky than I am.  I guess I could've assumed that.

Other things that I did assume:

You would want a picture of me and Elder Houghton

You would want a picture of my flat

You would want a picture of Leamington

They shall be on their way immediately following this email. You know the drill.

So, Leamington.  AKA Royal Leamington Spa.  Doesn't that just scream posh?  Well, it does.  And it is.  There are about zero CHAVs, which is awesome.  But I'll tell you why it isn't so awesome in just a moment.

Your questions:

Leamington is rich. And beautiful. And my flat is new and shiny, and only slightly smells like old lady.  All of the buildings are very interesting and colorful and clean.  I really love how clean it is here.  It's not even that Tamworth was that dirty, but man is it clean here. So far.

I didn't know about this statue of Queen Victoria, it sounds like she has a pretty cool story, and we're kind of looking for things to do today, so I think I will go and view Her Royal Tiltedness.  I'll take a picture if I do. For you, Mom, for you.

My companion.  Like I said, the picture will be on its jolly old way as soon as I get this email sent.  He is nineteen, like me. (Weird, right? I'm nineteen.) But his birthday is in March, so he's slightly older than me.  He is also my mission-nephew.  Elder Lewis is currently training for his third time.  Elder Sun is his current boy, who unfortunately sounds like he's making Elder Lewis's life very hard right now, but that's another story, I was the middle child, and, like Brooke, the favorite.  And about six months into Elder Lewis's mission he trained another missionary called Elder Wood.  I've only met Elder Wood once in real life and it was the day I got to England, so I was not actually sane, but I've talked to him on the phone quite a bit, and I like him a lot.  Well, the transfer after I came, so half way through my training, Elder Wood was called to be a trainer.  His boy was.. wait for it.. Elder Houghton.  So, Elder Houghton and I are family.  Well, mission-family.  But it's cool.  He's been somewhat of a struggle, to be honest, not in a lazy or bad missionary kind of way, just in a somewhat less-than-personable kind of way.  But I think I like him.  And he's the right kind of companion to have right now.  We have just about zero in common.. but I said that about Elder Okuonghae, and that turned out to be completely false.  Elder Okuonghae and I will be bros forever.  I love that guy. (and miss him a bit.) But, what can you do?  Anyways, Elder Houghton is six foot, and  trained in Stroud.  It's near the south end of my mission.  He liked it, but was glad to be transferred.  (He and Elder Wood didn't get along.. that's why I was nervous I wouldn't get along.) I don't think he's said the name of the city he's from yet.  He always says "near Yosemite, in the mountains."  So if that helps.. then.. good.  I'm not really sure where that is.

I know, Mother, I'm just fulfilling all your dreams of me as a missionary.  I'll probably be AP in  a couple of transfers. (PS I'd really rather die.) But it'd be pretty cool to train.  And I think I will next transfer.  I kind of hope so.  It would be fun.

Yeah. Transfers are really fun, but when you're the one transferring, and you have to haul your luggage everywhere (and your companion's thousands of bags) it kind of stinks.  We definitely were a safety hazard on the trains.  Have I told you that I take trains a lot? I take trains. A lot. So much that I have a rail pass with my face on it.  It's not a very good picture, cause they wouldn't let me smile, but it's not bad.  Anyways, yeah.  Travelling was a nightmare.  We were supposed to have a coach (bus) to take us to the Coventry train station, but there wasn't enough room, because it was going to Nottingham and another place too... I forgot the other place.  But we were closest, so we had to just take trains.  Which really sucked.  Luckily we got me luggage that has four wheels on the bottom, so one hand takes care of the two bags, and one hand takes care of the bike.  Still a nightmare though.

I'm not sure about the suit Mom.  I'd really like to get one, but I really just don't think I need one and my bags were packed as they were.  I only wear the full suit twice a week.. to church and to district meeting (or zone meeting, or zone conference, depending on the week.) So, I really don't need one.  I wear trousers, a white shirt and tie, and when it's hot, that's it, and when it's raining I have a rain jacket, and when it's cold, I have a coat that Elder Lewis gave me.. so another suit would throw some diversity into my meeting attire, but I just don't think it's worth it to get it right now.. In fact, not offense, but I feel like I have one million pairs of trousers.  And they're all dry-clean only! That's hard to do! So, a lot of the time, I wear the trousers you sent to me in the mail.  They're more durable, less baggy, (everything is tighter in England, especially the suits) and I can wash them. (In our washer/DRYER!!!!!) Sorry, I was really excited when I found out we had a dryer.  Fresh warm underwear is about the nicest feeling ever.  But really, I don't think I need another suit.  I really really don't. I know I'm killing you right now. I'm sorry.

I'm much more rambly on these computers.  I think it's because of the keyboards, they have the less sticky-outy keys as the old keyboards.  Think old keyboard vs. basically the mac ones we have. These keyboards are much easier to type on.

So, I'm sending you a novel.  Let me get on to my part of the email.

We got here on Wednesday, to find that the other set of missionaries over Warwick were on the other side of the area.  We're in Leamington, they're in Warwick.  So, we go into our new flat, got settled, went to ASDA (Walmart) that's just a short little walk from our house (Hallelujah.) Then, realized we had absolutely nothing to go off.  So, the next day, Thursday, we decided to go take a visit to the other elder's place.  Which turns out to be a house.  Pretty cool. Until you go in.  Elder McKechne, who is really funny and Scottish, is also a huge slob, same with the previous couple of missionaries.  So their place is a trainwreck.  It really is disgusting, and rumors are that there are rats.  No thanks. I'll take old lady over rats any day.  But we went and stole half their area book.  While we were there, he informed us about coordination meeting with the Branch Mission Leader (a once a week meeting, we had it in Tamworth too, but I don't know if I ever talked about it.) So we went.

It was scary.

The BML seemed like a really cool guy, his name is Limhi (haaaaaa) and he's probably about thirty.  He was very professional and it sounded like he really wanted to help us.  Well.. here's the scary part.  He pretty much just told us that Warwick was a crap area, and that it was dead, and that the previous missionaries here did absolutely nothing.  (This was confirmed through pictures of them, and.. it's pretty obvious with Elder McKechne, unfortunately.)  So the area is dead, the members don't trust us, and they were expecting sisters.  Everyone is expecting sisters.  England needs to get over it.  But, that wasn't a real challenge, the other two parts most definitely were.  We're coming to an area, as new (ish) missionaries, where we're going to have to absolutely prove ourselves, and show the ward that we're here to work, even if the other missionaries weren't.  It'll be good, but it's going to be freakin hard.  So, since then, we have been finding. And finding. And finding. And finding. No teaching. No nothing.  But we'll get there.  I have a trust in the Lord that we're going to find some one who has been prepared by God for the gospel.  Until then, six hours of talking to people every day, with at most, so far, two people even seeming remotely interested.  It's definitely a test to prove our diligence, but we'll get through it, and we'll be on the other side with the whole city of Leamington baptized in a few weeks.  Cool. Til then, please pray your heart out for me, even more than your usual heart-felt prayer.  We can use all the help we can get.

It'll be good for me.

I love you, and miss you, but I'm where I need to be, doing exactly what I need to be doing.  So, fortunately, unfortunately, I will not see you for about fourteen more transfers.  (One transfer = six weeks.) (I used parenthesis a lot this email.) (I like them.) (I love you.)

From the Lemmings with love,

Elder Smart

(Your little baby boohoo)

Hello Momma!

Hey, I made it here to Warwick.

I'm actually really over in Leamington Spa.  It's east of Warwick a little ways.

My new address is:

7 Ryland Close

Leamington Spa

CV31 1HU

England, UK

Everything is good here.  We came to a brand spankin new flat, we're out on our own, opening a new area, just doing the Lord's work.  Pretty cool, but pretty crazy that I'm already the "Senior" companion.  I've been in England for just over four months.  I don't feel senior to anybody.  But it'll be good.

Leamington (Lemming-ton) is a pretty posh area.  There's not as many CHAVs as there was in Tamworth, and even Tamworth was pretty good for that.  But it seems like a very safe area.  It's much more diverse than Tamworth, which was about the same diversity as Draper. (One black person for every bazillion white people.)  We're still figuring everything out in our new flat, because it has everything we need, but we have to kind of get things going in the flat.  It'll be good though.  There's a couple more elders here in Warwick (War-ick) but they're a little ways away, so basically we're on our own.  My companion's name is actually Elder Houghton, and he's not bad.  He's kind of boring, but I can get over that.  He's ready to work, and so that's what really matters. He thinks he's going to be a chemical engineer, but I think he'd make a great accountant or notary (sorry Adrienne, you've got some competition.)  But he's from California, near Yosemite, he said, and he went to BYU.  He's a ginger, almost.  But he doesn't seem too bad.  And this is going to be an adventure.  There's a large wolf spider (I'm not really sure if it's a wolf spider, little body, large legs, and fast as lightning) there's a large wolf spider that lives in our bathroom, in by the water heater.  He came out and I tried to squash him, but he's wily (wiley?) So I didn't catch him, and he's currently residing in the dark recesses of the water heater closet.

I was really sad to leave Tamworth and it was really hard to say good bye to all the people I love so much, but basically they're all going to come down and visit in the near future, so I'm not too distraught.  There's a mega castle here, and apparently they do jousting and knight-fights there.  so that'll be cool to go see.  But.. That's about it.  This is supposed to be a short quick email, so I'll be back on to send another email on Monday and tell you how church went in our little branch.  I love you! and I pray for you and Brooke and Remy and the rest of the family every morning and night.

I'm a lemming,

Elder Smart

Mummay!

That's what little Alfie calls Kirsty.

 

Kirsty did get baptized! The devil really played his hand well, though.  I think Kirsty must be going to marry a general authority or something, because the devil reallllly didn't want her to get baptized.  So, last time I talked to you, she had just gotten back from a holiday to Wales.  Apparently that was hell for her, because her family wouldn't lay off about her joining a cult.  But they ended up apologizing for that, and things were good last time I talked to you.  Things went very very downhill from there.  So the week of their baptism, as missionaries, we're supposed to meet with, or at least call, the investigator every single day.  So we did that.  Well, we went over Tuesday to just go over the baptismal interview questions with Kirsty, and to just see how she was doing.  We just went, thinking it would just be a quick on-the-doorstep conversation, so we didn't bring a priesthood holder with us.  Well, when we knocked on her door, she opened it and was absolutely bawling her eyes out.  Now, Mom, I'm sorry that this week I wasn't completely obedient with mission rules, but if Christ were to knock on Kirsty's door that day, I don't think He would've said, "Could we step outside and talk about this where everyone can see you?"  We went in, and she was feeling extremely stressed because there is a member in the ward that has been pretty much telling her that she wasn't ready to be baptized and telling her how to raise her child and being a total brat to Kirsty, but this member thought that she was helping.  It was destroying Kirsty.  Absolutely eating at her.  So, we talked her down, told her that if Alfie (her little boy) is hot outside, that it's not immodest or immoral to take his shirt off and let him run around in a vest (wife beater?).  He's four years old.  But apparently the member she was having trouble with was just being extremely strict about little little rules, like she told Alfie to go to time out for eating some food before they had said a prayer.  Alfie has been part of the church for about a month.  He doesn't get it yet.  AAAAAH.  So we went in, told her that we aren't an extremist cult, Kirsty was questioning whether or not God even existed at this point, and feeling more stress cause her family decided to be the devil this week.  (Kirsty, apparently, has never had a good relationship with her family.) But they were just making fun of her and pretty much telling her that she was stupid.  Like her Mom told her that she didn't care if she ever saw Kirsty again, as long as she could see Alfie.  And when Alfie goes to his grandparents they tell him not to listen to his mom cause she's stupid.  So that's fun.  But we got it sorted out, it took us a couple hours to talk her down and answer all her questions and get her feeling good about everything again.

 

And that was only Tuesday.

 

But Wednesday we went back over, and Elder Shepherd gave her her baptismal interview and she passed.

 

Thursday is our busy day as well as Kirsty, so we called her and she sounded a bit stressed out.  We didn't completely find out why until friday when we went over.

Apparently Kirsty's family were just being all out nasty to her, telling her that she would never go anywhere in life, and that she was going to waste her life in this "Muslim Cult" and that they wouldn't be coming to the baptism, well, except for her brother, who was threatening to come and disrupt everything.  By the end of Friday night, Kirsty's family had made it clear that she was no longer part of the family and that they wouldn't care if she died in her sleep.  How supportive, right?  So we ended up having to move the baptism to a different time and call the entire ward to tell them, but, everything went really really well.  Kirsty asked me if I would baptize her, and I did.  It was perfect.  (It only took once this time!)  And Kirsty has decided that she would rather have the ward family over hers any day, so she's doing okay. In fact, after she was confirmed, and after church, we spent most of the day at different celebration esque things with her, and she seemed to be very very happy.

 

Unfortunately, because her family got so nasty about it, Kirsty's little sister, Lucy, got scared and we're not teaching her anymore, but I really think that she'll come around to it in the future.  Especially when Kirsty's family calms down about the whole thing and realizes that she's just happy now, and everything else hasn't really changed. 

So that was basically our week, dealing with a stupid member, calming Kirsty down, and getting stuff ready for her baptism.

 

Kirsty is absolutely amazing though.  She's had many miracles happen since we started teaching and helping her build her relationship with her Father in Heaven.  She's given up smoking, other substances, she's come out of clinical depression that has pushed her to trying to commit suicide in the past, and she is one of the strongest, bravest people that I have ever met.  She is an elect spirit, and the Lord has amazing things in store for her and Alfie.  I'll try and write you a letter with the whole story, but wow, Mom, the church is sooo so true, and Heavenly Father and Jesus really do love us and want to do everything they can to help us. 

 

I love you, and I'm going to include pictures in another email.  I miss you guys!

-Elder Smart