August 27, 2018

From Dad - LYR Week

Dear Sam,

What a busy and amazing week we’ve had. LYR was amazing. After lots of stress, planning and worry, it went of amazing. We had amazing counselors and the youth were all in. I’m not going to send you a bunch of pictures cause you can go to the LYR Google Drive and see them, hopefully. Steph did an amazing job on the video and photos.

LYR Counselors

The final compiled video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zZcBf--aKU&feature=youtu.be. Let me know if you can’t get to it and we can post it on your google drive folder.

I was privileged to be able to be one of the speakers and spoke about the 3 books I’ve been recently reading: Grit, Essentialism and Deep Work.  It went really well I think.

The response after the retreat has been amazing, both in reports from parents as well as people re-registering. We were over at Tad’s place for Benson’s going back to Vancouver BBQ and Tad said that Cody came back fired up about reading books. Sound familiar? LYR is a great catalyst for taking ownership of your own learning and we are so pleased it worked out so well this year. Your Mom was amazing in leading it all up. She was the heartbeat of the whole retreat. I’m so proud of her.

Josh has some challenging experiences leading the Education group this year. Much different than his experience with the Character group last time. They are all trying to look cool and it was a good learning experience for him to learn to work with a different age group. He still was amazing, just had to work harder and pray harder to make it happen.

One of the things we talked a lot about during and after the camp was the value of being “All In” when it comes to participating in the retreat and how when you do that, you get so much more out of it. I think the same holds true for the church. Being all in makes all the difference to how much you get out of it.  Auntie Liz gave me a book for my birthday called “Whatever Happened to Faith”. In it, Robert L Millet comments on this saying

“I have heard it said that in some cases falling away from the Church is a lot like falling out of bed. One usually falls out of bed  when one is not fully in the bed, close to the center. One who falls asleep on the edge of the mattress should not be surprised to wake up on the floor.”

It was really fun getting to know Denny. I know you and Ben have long looked up to him, and now I see why. He was the mission age counsellor with Ben and it was an amazing group of 7 boys and 1 girl (Ashlyn White). Denny is actively trying to get his Sherlock play to Broadway and is an inspiring example of going after your dreams. He’s also getting married in 2 weeks. His fiancé was a counsellor as well. She is super nice and very pretty. We’re happy for Denny.

Elizabeth Francis and Kylan were also Counsellors. Kylan was an amazing Character counsellor. Lots of energy and he was all in! We loved having him there with us.

Mom’s friend Joanne McLennan sent her 16 year old son out to LYR. His name is Max and he is Steph’s friend Sidney’s brother. He was amazing. Ben and I picked him up from the Calgary Airport on Sunday and we loved having him. He really got into it and was part of Ben’s “Band of Brother’s” mission group. He did break dancing for the Talent show. You would have liked him.

On Friday we went to Calaway Park in the rain and stayed for just 3 hours, but there were no lineups, so it worked out fine.

Life is good. Started to get some garden produced and enjoyed some amazing garden meals at Grandma Smith’s this week as well as a wonderful trip to the temple with both Steph and Josh with us along with Kylan. Such peace and perspective in the temple.

Keep being “All In” on your mission and you’ll get the change and growth the Lord has in store for you as well as be a blessing to the people of Zambia.

Love you lots, son.

Dad.

 

From Sam - The Power of Study

Hey everyone!

This week we had Zone Conference and the reading material was Jacob 5 in the Book of Mormon. As soon as I found out I wasn't too excited, it was going to be the first time I actually studied Jacob 5, every other time was just a read through with me not really getting anything out of it. 

So, for zone conference I made it an effort to study it completely, I used the Book of Mormon study guide and lots of prayer to understand. As I actually studied, Wow, It was so cool to see it laid out so clearly. It's the allegory of the olive tree. The cool thing about an allegory is it used symbols that you can apply anywhere else. In Zone conference we talked about how Jacob 5 can talk about missionary work, Planning, working, reviewing. revisiting old plans, then trying again throwing away what's bad and keeping the good.

It was pretty awesome.

We found a family that came to church the same week that we found them. And that was the week President Kupu came to the ward and gave a talk and me and my companion(E.Odukoya) also gave talks about member missionary work. This past week has been really good, we've been finding lots of people that are more serious and are progressing. My mission has set a goal to baptize 100 people in a month and continue to baptize that much and more in the months to come. And being a Zone Leader I have a part to play not just in my companionship but in helping the other companionship.

Yesterday I was invited to go to a missionary farewell for Kay Seibert, who is leaving this Thursday for South Africa Durban mission. While we were there, because they were an American Embassy family, they had Root-beer floats. And all those who know me, I love Root-beer floats. It was soooooo goooood. Family, take note, I want Root-beer floats when I get home.

I love you all, the church is true,

-Elder Smith

P.S.

I forgot to take pictures this week. I thought about what I was going to say this morning and I checked my pictures and I didn't take any. Sorry.

August 20, 2018

From Sam: The Power of Humility

Hello Everyone,

This week has been very humbling. It's like I said when I first started my mission, Pride is something that sneaks in and you don't even realize it. I started seeing it in myself when we went of exchanges with the Assistants. My companion left and an Elder Oguguo came with me. I was able to learn so much from him. The biggest thing that I learned was that missionary work is about thinking, not just about doing. I also saw that I have a one track mind if I am not careful. I've been doing a lot of thinking inside the box, which allowed pride to enter into my life. I learned so much about missionary work on that day. Because I saw the pride/one track mind in my life it allowed me to focus on being more humble and start thinking outside the box. It also allowed my companionship to become better.

I'm so grateful for that day.

For zone conference this week the reading assignment was Jacob chapter 5(The longest chapter in the Book of Mormon) It talks about the allegory of the Olive tree. It was the first time in my life I really studied that chapter and I learned so much from it. Not only did I learn about the scattering of Israel and then the gathering of Israel, but I also learned lots about planning and putting that plan into action. When you read your scriptures you really do need the spirit because it's some intense stuff. My testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon also increased because Jacob 5 is so intense that a man and the learning of men could not have written it. Especially Joseph Smith.

That's all the major events that I could think of and some of the smaller ones. I love you all and if you want any specific stories, ask, because I don't know what sort of things you all want to know about me, my mission and about Africa(Zambia). 

Stay Awesome and be Humble,

-Elder Smith   

Pictures:

-My first anti-mormon doctrine(And also some anti-Jehovah's witness doctrine)

-Some pictures of a heritage parade.

Videos:

 MVI_0169.MOV

Dinner with the Kapema's (Videos from last week)

 MVI_0170.MOV

Bean-Boozled

 MVI_0171.MOV

More Bean-Boozled 

 MVI_0176.MOV

Elder Harmon eating Two chili peppers because he lost the last game

 MVI_0177.MOV

Elder Robbins eating 3 chili peppers for the "family ritual"

From Dad - At LYR

August 12, 2018

From Dad - Hot and Cold Week:

Dear Sam,

This week we've had some of the hottest days yet this year (between 30-35), yet as I sit here typing, it's rainy, cloudy and about 12 deg C. I can even see a few leaves turning in our forest. Hard to believe summer's drawing to a close, but its been a great one! 

We're really excited and a little nervous for LYR coming up next week. Last minute details and simulations to plan and counselors to replace. Any chance you can get a week off and come be a last minute counselor :) Just kidding. I've been preparing to present at LYR and have loved thinking deeply and reading about the topic of "GRIT" and what it is that drives and sustains us in our pursuit of meaningful long term goals in spite of disappointment, setbacks and challenges. I'll send you some of what I came up with in a couple of weeks once I've given the talk.

Monday we decided to have a campfire for FHE and roast hot dogs and wieners. It's been fun to have Josh home and we enjoyed a quiet family evening together. The Bonnells came by (Jordan and his Mom) for a pop in visit. They are building a house on the acreage the other side of Bro. Milner's old house.

This week Sister Rice came and helped Mom re-finish the dining room table. It was getting pretty worse for wear and Sis Rice loves to refinish things. So in typical Mom style, she asked her to mentor her in the process. It was so nice to have the garage space to do it and it turned out amazing!

It's harvest time and our garden has been pretty good this year. We also planted a bunch of beans and potatoes over at the Patrick's garden too. Enjoying the garden  fresh meals.

On Wednesday, Mom went on her yearly hike with her besties (Sioban Westropp and Jamelyn Stephan). They ended up going into Glacier National Park in Montana to climb mount Reynolds. She was sore but loved the views and the renewal of friendship.The girls ended up sleeping in my room on the floor while Mom was gone. Nice to have company :)

Yesterday was a really fun family day for us. Last week they announced a Stake Softball tournament on Saturday and Ben ended up signing us up. So we dug through our boxes and found our old gloves (many of which were yours that you used playing baseball!) and headed out to the Stake Center. At first, the girls especially weren't thrilled to be there, but as they began to try and exert a little effort, they found they could do it and actually enjoyed it a little. There were some disappointment when they didn't make it to base or hit a foul ball and had to come back and try again, but by the end, they were enthusiastically practicing and enjoying themselves. Mia and Abby are now asking us to buy a bat and balls (no idea what happened to the ones we used to have!). 

This week I was able to teach the story of King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18, 19 and repeated in 2 Chronicles. He is one of my favorite Old Testament characters. Despite the terrible example of his father and grand father (idle worshipers), he chose the Lord, cleansed the temple, exercised faith to save hit people (I love the verse where they all wake up dead)

Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.  

I'm grateful for the temple and for the scriptures that teach us to turn to the Lord in our trials. I have found time and again that when I'm seeking to learn of him and follow his ways, his covenants are sure and he blesses and watches over me and my family. Praying and hoping for you to be watched over this week too. 

Love you lots, 

Dad

From Sam - The Power of Study:

Hello family, friends and everyone else,

This week has been a blast. This week was the official transfer week so I was driving a lot. 7 New missionaries(Elders) came in, mostly from the Tongan Islands, and 1 Sister, It's always great getting new missionaries because there is a feeling of freshness that you can't really explain in the air.

Then with the new missionaries, an Elder Mabala is now waiting to be transferred and is currently with us in a threesome for now. He's from South Africa and has been moving around his entire mission. But he's a good missionary and is trying to be better.

Last Monday after emailing and other things we went out to an American/Indian restaurant called Spur. It had a deal for buy a burger get one free for only 65 kwacha. Which is a commitment but still cheap. It was nice to be with other missionaries talking about missionary stuff. 

Besides that I did a lot of walking. We have a place in our area called Komwala South that is far from the church, but we went to meet an investigator there and walked from the church for 30-45 minutes to find out that she wasn't able to meet us, so we tried all the other contacts that we had, but we ended up going back to the church so we can make it back to our coordination meeting with the Bishop. That was a long walk just for nothing to happen. The good news is I learned more of my area.

The other highlights of the week were going to Sister Kapema's for dinner and dessert. She cooks the best food. I took some videos but I can't upload them this week. But we played Bean-boozled with them from the one I gave them from my package. i got some pretty gross ones. And on Sunday someone(Mwazanji) invited us for a dinner appointment without us asking. I love it when we get Dinner appointments, it means that I don't have to cook. I just have to eat then teach. It's the best.

This week has been truly amazing. I was just reading about Joseph Smith and I became real to me how God is really wanting to answer our prayers. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God" All we have to do is cleanse ourselves from sin and humbly ask God willing to except his will and be willing to get to work afterwards. I have a testimony of prayer, so many of my prayers have been answered and i'm still working on becoming converted to prayer. 

I love you all,

Elder Smith

Pictures:

-A movie that I wish to see.

-I just need a Bomb and I will find a secret passage

-My threesome and our flower pictures

-Elder Mabala is tuckered out

-You know you are a missionary when you can study and cook at the same time

-A spider got into the eggs

-A funny sign to tell people there is no road

-Picture of us at Spur(Sorry for them being blurry)

August 6, 2018

From Mom 

Dear Sam,

I've really started to miss you lately. Like, a lot. I know my emotions are usually delayed but seven months is taking it a little far, don't you think? Haha. Anyway, I've been listening to your playlists while I run and it's really helped. I like your rules about listening to music; upbeat, good lyrics, good message. (When Sia came on and sung "I've got stamina," I started to believe it. Lol!) On Saturday, I ran 8.3 km and it felt great (although I am sore today). It's really fun to train with Shannon and Stephanie because we send encouragement to each other and let each other know how we're doing. It helps to have encouragement along the way.

I think the highlight of the week was surprising Dad two days before his birthday. Steph was going to be here and I secretly invited Grandma and Grandpa Smith and Liz and kids to come. So last Monday, I took Dad for a walk when Gma and Gpa told me they were close. While Dad and I were gone, the travellers arrived and Steph, Josh, Ben, Abby, and Mia quickly put up decorations and blew up some balloons. Gma and Gpa hid their car in the garage, so we came home through the front door and Dad didn't know. We walked in and everyone jumped out and yelled "SURPRISE!" And he was surprised. We had an old fashioned birthday party for him. He is 48 years old and the years keep getting better and better.

We've been spending time on LYR, which is in two weeks. Wish us luck. Dad is talking on GRIT, or the ability to persevere especially when times are hard. This means we've been having lots of conversations at home about it. Other words we've used is "gumption, determination" and "mental toughness." We watched the movie "Cinderella Man." It's an older one but you should put it on your list of movies-to-see when you get home. It's about a boxer in the 1920's who's in line to win the heavyweight championship and he's making a lot of money but he breaks his hand and declines in ability until they revoke his license. Then the Great Depression hits and he and his family have to move to the slums. He tries to get work as a labourer but essentially him and his family are starving and they're barely hanging on. He's doing all he can to keep his family together and finally he is reduced to getting welfare and begging people for money. Anyway, his manager gets him one last exhibition fight which will earn him $250. It's not a good match but he's so desperate for money that he takes it, knowing the opponent is going to beat him to a pulp. Against all odds, he wins and starts professionally boxing again and what happens to him after. It's a good movie about GRIT. His only goal was to keep his family together and suddenly he becomes the best fighter he's ever been. He fights with broken ribs, he fights with an empty stomach, he fights when his opponent is taking low blows because he knows these fights are keeping his children from starving. It was a good example of GRIT.

Another highlight of the week is our garden (well, it's my highlight anyways although it may not be for anyone else), which is starting to produce. Beans, zucchini, carrots, peas and the Patrick's raspberries (they asked us to pick them while they were away on holiday). On Saturday, I had to ask everyone to come help pick beans because there were so many. They wanted to complain but didn't. Haha. We have beets, squash, corn, cucumbers and potatoes to still look forward to. It's really nice to have Josh home and he is willing to let me boss him around. We've been raking and planting grass seed to the final bald areas of our yard. He also dug up a substantial boulder on the corner of the new garden, so I'm glad he's around! Hopefully when you get back from your mission we will have the yard mostly landscaped. It's taking awhile. 

Yesterday, I was talking with Kalli Rice, who works at Classic and knows Meg Wilde, who you know from Zambia. Apparently, when Meg tells people she just got off her mission to Zambia, everyone asks, "Do you know Sam Smith?" She said if she had a dollar for everyone who asks her about Sam Smith, she'd be rich. Hahaha. So no one has forgotten about you in the Classic world. Oh, and Meg has a boyfriend already so you can't set her up with Josh (although I know you tried.) Josh is following in your footsteps though, by setting up Ben on a date with Sarah Driessen. Sarah just returned home from a visit with family in Spain and Josh was talking to her. He asked her why she hasn't gone on a date with Ben yet and she said she was just waiting for him to ask, so Josh said, "Well, why don't we just set it up right now?" I'm not sure if Ben liked it too much but apparently they are going to the movies on Saturday. Ha! 

Other than that, all is well. I'm still getting the hugest kick out of the kids in Primary. Yesterday we had a sharing time about prayer and I told them a series of scripture stories about Jesus and what we could learn from him about praying and getting answers to prayers. I told the story of Jesus rebuking the wind then shared your Helaman's Camp story of your group praying, then the storm splitting around you. I shared my story of losing my van keys in the wilderness while picking blueberries in Ontario and praying to find them and then miraculously finding them. Then one little five year old put up his hand and said, "Yeah, like that guy who had 20 rocks and Jesus lit them up to bright shining lights!" (It was the story of the brother of Jared and 16 stones, but those are minor details, haha). I was just so impressed that this little kid was listening so intently then made his own connection about getting prayers answered. We then talked about getting our own answers and what they might look like. I shared the story of Enos who had to pray for a day and a night before he got his answer. "You gotta want it," I told the kids. There is one little boy who recently moved into the ward and when I told the story of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane asking God to make it so he didn't have to suffer for everyone's sins and explained that God said "no" but then sent an angel to comfort him instead, this little boy looked so intent with his eyes just shining. He said, "I know that! Sometimes God says "no" but then he makes it okay somehow." It really made me wonder about what kind of children are being born in this generation. They just seem so much more spiritually aware than any children I've ever known. It's fun to teach them. And I think they know how important it is to figure out your own connection to Heavenly Father. That guiding principle in my own life is vital to my well-being but it seems I learned it a little later than them. Anyways ...

I love you, Sammy Boy. So proud of you. Good luck with your new companion! We pray for you every day. We miss you, but know that you are where you need to be. I'll send pictures through Google Hangouts because I'm typing on this Chrome book and have no idea how to attach pictures. 

Love,

Mom

Questions:

Do you find it to be very different with a Nigerian companion?

How long did the cold season last?

Exactly what area are you in?

What is the best thing about your ward?

Can you give us a typical day?

Reply from Sam:

Hey all,

Thanks for the amazing email Mom. I love hearing about the details

-It's not that different with my new companion. He's a really hard worker. That's my favorite thing about Africans, they are almost all really hard workers. Sometimes I have to work a little harder to keep up with him. 

-Cold season lasted about a month. Then ended in a day. Now that i'm getting used to the heat. When I go home I'm going to die.

-I'm in Libala and I'm covering the whole ward boundaries because we are short of missionaries.

-And my favorite thing about my ward is the members. They are really fun and they feed us more then in my old area.

-A typical day is: Wake up at 6am, work out for 20-30 minutes while listening to talks or music, Breakfast of cereal made in Zimbabwe and yogurt as well as taking my Doxy(Anti-malaria pills) Then shower, get ready and study for 60 minutes, then plan for the day/companion study and leave the flat by 9am. We either have appointments almost every hour and lunch for 30-45 minutes. And if we don't have appointments we are street contacting, following up with other investigators/referrals, knocking gates or visiting members. We don't knock off from our day until 19hours(7pm) until 22h(10pm) we have lunch, update our area book and get ready for bed.

Hope this answers your questions. If you have anymore, let me know,

-Elder Smith

From Sam - The Joy of Driving

Sorry everyone I accidentally sent my other email early.

But this week has been busy. Transfers happened early and I started driving the truck. And with everything happening, my companion got transferred to become the new AP. And my new companion is finally an African. I had 3 white companions before so it's about time. His Name is Elder Odukoya from Nigeria. He came from Malawi so we had to go pick him up from the airport.

Because of early transfers I've been driving the truck lots and I have to admit, it's really fun to start driving again. The only difference is that I'm driving of the left hand side of the road and i'm shifting gears with my left hand. It's kind of funny how my body is automatically thinking i'm of the right side of the road. On my first day driving I would start driving on the right side then move over when my companion would tell my I'm on the wrong side. and I would automatically turn on the windshield wipers when I would start to turn. But, it took me about a day to adjust and now it's normal.

That was pretty much my week. I'm loving Zambia so much. and this week it went from cold season to Hot season in one day. Now it's too hot and I'm now complaining about how hot it is instead of how cold it is. I'm learning everyday that if you complain about your circumstances you will always be complaining. The two things we can always control is our Attitude and our Effort. Everything else we can't control, maybe we can influence it but never control it. The only thing you can complain about is your Attitude and your Effort. But if you complain about those things you are the one at fault and should stop complaining.

I love you all,

-Elder Smith

Pictures:

-Me and Elder Odukoya

-Flat tire that we had to fix. The one in blue is a recent convert that I let help us so he can have a good experience with the missionaries

-Nshima with the district leader

-My motivation to work hard

-A gift from my old companion