Hey everyone,

My companion and I had an awesome week. We did a lot of things differently this week than we normally do, but we were really happy with the results. Monday night, Elder Hernando and I talked about how many opportunities we miss out on if we don't ask for the Lord's help. We decided that we really needed some help to find people that would accept the gospel. So we both prayed diligently to know exactly where a family was that would be ready to receive the gospel. We felt certain that the Lord would tell us where to go.

We began work on Tuesday by searching for the people whom the Lord had prepared. I felt a strong impression of an area we needed to search in so that is where we started our finding efforts. We went to the street where I felt impressed to go, and after walking down the street a ways, I realized that my companion had stopped and was facing a house which he said he felt we needed to go to. This was the first place we tried and we were welcomed into the house.

We began teaching them but quickly realized that they weren't really listening. We were a little disappointed at first until we found out that there were some members there too; members who were struggling with their testimony of the church. We had a really good, spiritual discussion with them, and we realized that they were the ones we had been led to and that they were the ones that we needed to teach.

Throughout the week, we've been strongly impressed to follow the council of the prophet and help the in-actives and those struggling with their testimonies and bring them back to the church. Our mission president has also said he wants us to try and bring in-actives back into the church. By doing this, we have had several spiritual experiences and a lot of success.

Also throughout the week, we have been led to several people who want to come back to the church; they just needed a little push. We noticed that the branch seems happier now and the spirit is a lot stronger during church meetings. This week at church we also saw that the attendance at sacrament meeting nearly doubled. That didn't just happen because of our work. It is pretty cool to see the Lord working through us, the branch president, and the members to bring back His lost sheep. I have learned a lot this week, especially about how important home teaching is; that little effort can really go a long way in bringing people back to the church.

Love, Elder Smith