"It is just another week and I am really ready to just leave. Every day is the exact same and nothing new really happens. I feel that I have grown so much over the last month and I know a lot more than I did the first day for sure. The language is super hard still. I do try to find something good in every day to keep me moving forward. I've met a lot of people that I know. I've run into Kyle Nordhagen and David Ju. Kyle has already left for Columbia and David actually lives right below me in the residence hall. I talk to him a lot at the end of the day. Tyler Newland still emails me and tells me all about his experience so far. His companion's name is Elder Larson."
"I really like the package you sent. It had a lot of stuff I needed. I really liked the horn! I used it to scare some guys taking showers. They jumped so high. haha It was funny! I found the card reader, so no need to worry about that."
"I don't like the food here too much, but I need to make it through another month before I'll be eating the best food on earth! I don't know if I am losing weight. I am feeling healthy, but I feel like I don't have much energy lately. I have been sleeping good because the branch president came and told everyone that he wants us in bed at 10:30pm and that we'll receive many blessings. My district is trying really hard to keep that rule. Everyone is doing fine and no one is really struggling I think. We are all moving at our own pace and trying the best that we can. We got chewed out by Brother Phan the other day. He told us that our companionship study wasn't where it should be and we got a big lesson on it. He said it was out of love for us though and I do think that we could do a lot better as well, so I was fine with it."
"I taught a cool person in TRC the other day. Her name is Sariprapa and she has only been in America for 2 years. She is from the Udon area of Thailand. Let me just say that.., I can not speak Thai! haha It was mostly because of her dialect. We couldn't understand her and every time we said something it seemed like she was either answering or telling us how to really say it. It was so intense! I sure hope the Lord will give me the gift of tongues because I am going to need it. It would be cool if Uncle Jeff came to do the TRC, but it would be hard for me to teach him when I just want to talk to him. haha We have to teach a 40 minute lesson next Saturday, so I'm freaking out a little."
"We don't really get any feedback from the branch presidency because there is just too many of us. They don't have time and I don't talk to them that often. I shared a story about the first time I jumped off a bridge and related it to being on a mission. President Jackson got up and used my story in his comments and I was honored. haha The story was about how I was afraid to jump off the bridge my first time. I didn't know what was ahead of me. When I finally jumped, I fell and hit the water and it really wasn't that bad. I got use to the water and everything was alright and I was glad that I did it. I related it to the MTC experience. At first we are nervous about what we are getting in to. Then we take the leap of faith and find out that we really are alright. We will have struggles, but we will get use to "the water" and be glad that we did it. It is like what Richard G. Hinkley talked about in his devotional this week."
"I participated in a blessing for one of the sisters in our district. Elder Crump gave the blessing and it was his first. I stood in and I could really feel the power of the Priesthood. The cool thing about it was that I felt it even when I wasn't giving the blessing. I could really tell that the Lord was speaking through Elder Crump. It was a cool experience!"
"Next Wednesday I was asked, along with the zone leaders and district leader, to help with a bunch of new missionaries coming in that will be going to Italy. We will give them their first day orientation because there aren't any senior Italian missionaries. They all left, so they trusted us with these newbys. The branch president of Branch 33, said that they will look to us as their senior missionaries. haha I can't wait! It is going to be so fun."
"I'll try to record my testimony in Thai, but I'm still not that good at it. It will be short and simple and really that is what a testimony really is. We learned that we must teach the simple doctrine and not really go into deep detail and stuff."
"I got a bunch of packages this week. My friends, Sariah, Grandma and Grandpa Capps, and you guys. I felt so awesome. haha I loved everything! Well, I love all of you so much. Sometimes when I'm thinking about you, my heart starts to pound rapidly. I really miss you and wish you were here with me."
Elder Jacob Smith
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| Elder Smith with Elder Ju (Taiwan Mission) |
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| Elder Smith with Elder Claflin (Taiwan Mission) |
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| Elder Weaver with Elder Smith |
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| Brother Olsen |
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| Brother Booth |
