June 17, 2019

From Dad - Father's Day

Hi Sam,

It's Father's Day today and it's been fantastic. I feel loved and I'm so grateful for you and your brothers and sisters. Stephanie and Tyler called to wish me Happy Father's day and give us the latest updates. You all make my life complete and I can't imagine my life without you! 

Mom and the kids made me an amazing meal and afterwards the kids started looking at Mom's Instagram photos and laughing their heads off. Good moment(s).

It's been a busy week and I think the weeks will only get busier. I was grateful to get lots of work done on the garage this week and it is fun to watch the small simple steps we take on our acreage translate our dream into reality. 

We've had some good hot days and some rainy ones, resulting in some beautiful greenery all around us. Our garden is growing well and Mom is loving tending it.

Friday I took Mom on a date to get some Costco supplies for the reunion. We were able to get a playground for the yard for all the little ones and a 3 ft high pool. We'll take a pic when we get them up for you to see. After we went to Original Joe's and had supper. We were a little paranoid about the playground stuff in the back of the truck so we parked close so we could keep an eye on it. 

Ben is done all his grade 12 classed now and is enjoying some time off to prepare for his final exams this week and next. Then he's done, graduated! Hard to believe.

Josh continues to work long days and sock it away for school. We're all listening to a Brandon Sanderson book series (Storm-light Chronicles) together and its fun to discuss it. He puts some good principles in his stories.

Last night we went to the Leduc School of Music seniors concert where Abby and Ben played. They did great. 

Here a video selection of some of their music: Click here...

Come Follow Me this week was the events leading up to the crucifixion including the atonement in the garden, where the Savior bled from every pore for you and I and all of our family. I hope you know how grateful I am for the atonement. It literally saves me on a daily basis. Josh and I were talking about how, practically speaking, we can incorporate the enabling power of the atonement in our lives. It is often an abstract concept for us as we read about it we believe that it happened, but struggle to know how to use it. One thought we had was how important it was just remembering that he did this for us. Remembering regularly (moment by moment even) causes us to act differently. This month's New Era is awesome. One of the articles is about the things we can choose once and not have to revisit every time we encounter them. One he mentions is the choice to repent every time we sin. That small choice invokes the power of the atonement in our lives. Hope you have success this week in teaching people about the atonement.

God bless you Sam for the wonderful work you are doing. Stay positive and remember we are all praying for you daily.

Dad.

From Sam - The gospel of Repentance and Peace

Hello everyone,

This week went by very fast. This week has been spent in preparation for the 22nd of June. The mission is having a mass mission/district baptism. June 22nd is the appointed day for the whole mission to baptise those who we are preparing for baptism. This next week is going to be a big rush and lots of work for this event.  I have 3 people preparing for this day. Their names are Reuben, Linda and Musonda. (The name Musonda means "Wisdom from God") There is also one more person who has potential but we'll see. These three people are miracles from God. Reuben is a referral from Dyness, Both Linda and Musonda are from the efforts of my companion, Elder Kane, during exchanges. Linda used to be a Jehovah's Witness, Musonda used to be SDA(Seventh Day Adventist) and Reuben was a Pentecostal member who went to SDA then found us. I'm so excited for these people and for their baptism. It's a joy I can't describe. There are so many times when writing in my journal that I have a loss for words for my spiritual experiences and feel much like Moroni, I am not mighty in writing as I am in speaking. But I am remaining faithful to writing in my journal just in case someone wants to know about my mission. 

I try to focus on the detail of my day and end up writing 2-3 pages on A4 paper. 

This past week was President Kupu's last zone conference. I will really miss him when he goes. My new mission president is President Brent Whiting. The zone conference was focused of President Nelsons talk "We Can Do Better and Be Better" I have never thought about repentance the same. Repentance has been an hourly thought for me since then. For this small time since Friday to  today I am feeling the difference of daily repentance. I don't know how to describe the difference. The only thing I can say is I feel for worthy and able, if God blesses me I know that I am worthy of it. I just know that it's a feeling that I want all the time. I don't want to be dirtied from the effects of sin. 

Repentance is an essential part of Gods plan, it is the plan. I have learned that everything God does is for our happiness. Commandments are arrows that point to happiness and salvation. Repentance is our pathway to happiness. Repentance is positive and should never be avoided our delayed. 

One funny experience that happened this week. We were walking Linda to a members house so we can teach her. My companion asked her when we met with her " I hope the sun isn't too hot for you." Then Elder Bendixsen said the best comment ever. He said: "What? Are you doing to offer to turn it down or something?. 

That was a highlight of my week because it actually made me laugh.

This is my week,

-Elder Smith

Pictures:

-Maize drink

-I found a knife in the water jug

-Green Apple Drink

-No power, cold season study session

-Giant bags of roasted ground nuts

-Dinner at Dyness'

-I found a Canadian dime on the ground

-Zone conference birthday pics

-Elder Bendixsen

-Pictures with President and Sister Kupu

-President Kupu trying to pick up a missionary going home

-Pictures with Reuben as well as a picture with a giant Elder Bendixsen

-Hungry Lion ice-cream shot(Left to Right:Elder Rakado, Elder Odukoya, Me, Elder Spilker)(I wanted a picture and Elder Odukoya said that "Nothing in Africa is free" then Elder Spilker took the photo anyway)

-Dinner last night(Sweet potato's and brownies)

Video;

Birthday

Choir Song