Hi everyone,

It has been a good week; we have been staying busy. Something really exciting is happening this Sunday but I'm not going to tell you guys until next week :) But to give you a hint, I'm going to a "concert" on Sunday and it's one of my all time favorite musicians. He is really talented, I've always wanted to see him play, and I've even tried playing his music but I'm not that good. I'll give you all the details next week... :)

Something really exciting happened this week. We were at church this Sunday, and it was just about to start when a family of our new investigators walked in. We have only taught them twice and only once a week because the father works all week. We were so surprised to see them. The father said that the week before, he was working on Sunday (driving) and almost got in a wreck. He said after that he knew he needed to go to church like we had invited him to do. Later that day we invited them to be baptized, and they accepted! :) There is something really special about this family. I love seeing people here who want to follow the Lord. It is an amazing feeling to share the truth with my brothers and sisters and see the joy it brings them. I never thought that I could love people that I've only met once. But I really do love them as my brothers and sisters and really desire for their salvation. I love this gospel and the endless blessings we receive as members; I know this is the Lord's true church. I love you all and you are in my prayers.

Love, Elder Smith

Hi everyone,

This week has been really busy as always. We have been doing really well here in Maragondon. It's amazing to have the spirit with us to testify to our investigators and lead us where to go and what to teach. We were teaching a lesson this week to a new investigator. I was teaching the first vision of Joseph Smith. When I finished, she had tears rolling down her face. I know it was nothing I did. It was the Lord testifying to His children that this church is true. It is so great to be a part of the work. I know it's true and I know it's the Lord's work.

We were doing some finding this week but weren't having much success. My companion decided to just go down a random alley. We weren't finding anyone but decided to try the last house. The guy we found says he has been looking for a church for years but no one can answer his questions. He asked a lot of hard questions but it is amazing how the spirit leads me and my companion. There have been countless times where I would be speaking and my companion would open to the perfect scripture, or if one of us doesn't know what to say the other one easily continues where the other left off. I've had so many ideas and scriptures come into my head that I've never used or thought of before. It is a great experience having the spirit teach through us. One time I just opened the Book of Mormon and felt like I should read a verse, and it was exactly what we needed. Even with my bad Tagalog, our investigators understand. Then after teaching for that day the spirit tells us what we should teach the next time. It has been a great experience.

I love this gospel and I'm so happy to be a part of it! I love you all and pray for you everyday.

Love, Elder Smith

Hey everyone,

It's been a busy week. My companion and I are staying really busy and finding a lot of new people to teach. The Lord has really been blessing our work as well. In five days we found 30 new people; the standard is 20 for a week. It's great seeing the Lord direct us to the people He has prepared. There were many times this week where my companion or I randomly went to a house or a talked to someone and they let us teach them.

We found a little girl this week and she is so ready for the gospel. When we came to teach her the second time she came running to us and hugged us because she was so excited. It scared me so bad because I haven't had a girl hug me in 5 months. She is only 11 years old but when we go to teach her she tells us about Joseph Smith and that he had the priesthood. We asked her to read Moroni 10 in the Book of Mormon. When we came back, she had read that plus she started reading the first few chapters of 1st Nephi. We almost need to teach her two times a day to keep up with her. One day we came to teach her and she started crying. We found out it was because she accidentally spilled a little water on her Book of Mormon; she loves the Book of Mormon! She sleeps with it and asks for a reading assignment in it even though we have a different reading assignment for her. But of course, Satan does all he can to stop the work. Her parents aren't too sure about her being baptized, but we will pray about it and we are working on that.

I'm so happy to be a member of this true church. I know it is true and I see so many blessings from the Lord everyday when I take the time to look. I love you all and you are all in my prayers.

Love, Elder Smith

Hello everyone,

It's been a short, fast week. Things are good; I really like my new companion, Elder Velasco. We get along really well and work good together. It's teaching me a lot also because I know the area and he doesn't. So, I plan all of our days and keep track of our work which is teaching me a lot and getting me more involved in with our investigators. I'm really excited about this transfer. Sorry there isn't a lot to talk about this week; we have just been working a lot!

I want you all to know that I know this is the Lord's true church. So many people try to find happiness in other ways but the greatest happiness is in the Lord's true church. I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father. I know that Jesus Christ really did atone for all of our sins. I know it is only through Him that we can return to our Father in Heaven. I know there is a reason we are all here on Earth. I know we willing came here to follow the Lord's plan, and if we do our part, we will receive the righteous things that we desire most in our lives.

I love you all and you are in my prayers. I know the Lord blesses us everyday and I hope you all see and feel how blessed we truly are.

Love, Elder Smith