Tuesday, January 27, 2015

January 21, 2015


Hey Family!

Another week has flown by, and it’s crazy how fast time is going right now.  Right now I am just chilling in a library that I chilled in a year ago.  It’s right across from Canutillo High School.  Canutillo is just down the road, and the old place we lived is 5 minutes away.   The past 24 hours my mind has been racing, and it feels like I am home.   I am serving out in Sunland Park/ Santa Teresa area.  I am the Zone Leader over Canutillo, and Sunland park borders Canutillo.   I am chilling here with Elder Folsom.  We are back together again for another adventure.  It’s been weird to be back again where I started and see the sights and smells.   Elder Folsom and I have been retracting our memories together and laughing.   It’s a blessing to be here, and I am happy to be home once again.

This week seems like a blur.  I had a feeling I was going to be leaving, and I was sad.  ABQ has become my home, and I have left a lot of memories there.  The South Valley is awesome, and the ward is super awesome.  Elder Chamberlain and I worked super hard last week, and we gave it our all.  Sunday and Monday were pretty much goodbye days, and the rest of the week we worked hard.   I love the people there, and they are so awesome.  It was a great area, but I am happy where I am right now.  This is going to be an awesome transfer.

Claudio our main man is doing great.   He is going to be baptized on February 7th and that is awesome.   He is a changed man, and he is not the same person I met when I first stepped into that house.  Crystal was telling us how when the sisters used to come by he would go hide in their room and not talk.  He wouldn’t want to come out and talk about the gospel.  Now he is the person who is seeking and finding wonderful knowledge.   He told us he has been off of coffee for a month, and it’s been the hardest thing for him.  But he tells us he feels so much better, and he is seeing the blessing from it.  He is a stud, and I am sad to leave him and not make the baptism.   There is a reason why I left him, and probably he needed another missionary to help him progress more.  He is a stud.  

We finally saw Jamyll this week, and he is doing well.   The hard thing about him is that he can’t get baptized.   He asked his mom if he could get baptized, and she shot down the idea.  She told him that it is too soon and he will have to wait.   He wants to progress but he simply can’t due to his mom.  His mom closed the ceiling to his growth, and it’s sad.  Hopefully he will get baptized soon, and his mom’s heart will be softened.  It was great to teach him, but I am sad that he can’t progress.

I think the biggest news of the week is with Aaron Gallegos.   When I first got to the South Valley he was struggling a lot.  He had hit rock bottom in his life.   Sunday night we went over to say goodbye, and he told us he had good news for us.  I was like what could this be?  He told us he talked to the bishop, and they had a 3 hour interview.  But at the very end the bishop told him that he could receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and be ordained an Elder.   He also can receive a patriarchal blessing.   He is a changed man, and it’s crazy to see how much change happened to him.  I am so happy for him and that he has changed to fully dive into the gospel again.   He is super excited, and I am really excited for him as well.   He is going to do great things and go places.   He is changed forever, and I am so grateful to the Lord that I saw him progress and change into a better person.  I am really excited for him, and I promised him I would come back and see him again and take him to lunch.  He is a stud, and I am going to miss him.

Yesterday was crazy.  I woke up at 4:45, finished packing, and then we had transfer meeting at 7.  I was the travel leader going down south, and we got to Las Cruces at 12 and had the transfer meeting down there.   I was able to drive down in a Frontier, and it was crazy.  It was a long but really fun drive.  I enjoyed the 3 hours in the car and the time on the road.  We had transfer meeting down here at 2, and then Elder Folsom and I went to our area, planned, and had some dinner.   We then went out and worked that night, and we saw some pretty awesome people.   I don’t really know their names yet, but I am working on that.   They are super cool, and it was cool to see the people we are going to be teaching.  We stopped by the Canutillo and the Anthony Elders at night.  Elder Folsom and I went down memory lane as we were driving around in Canutillo.  We got our favorite popsicles and just had a blast.   We talked for a while last night, and it feels just right being with him.  You already know how much I love him, and I am so grateful that we have another transfer together.  We are hoping that we will have at least 2 more.  He is an awesome Elder, and I think this area might be my last.  I love Sunland Park, and I am happy that I am here again.  I am home!

I am bummed to hear the Packers lost.  I heard about that during the week, and I was kind of depressed.   I hope Craig Metcalf’s Seahawks flag gets torched by the Packer Gods.  If not, I am fine to fly up there and take a tinkle on it.  I would spend that money!  I hope your week goes good this week, and I am happy.  Also, besides a new camera, I need shoelaces for my Eccos - the same shoes that the shoelace broke on in Chaparrel - the square ones.   I am sorry everything is breaking on me!  I feel terrible!  I love you tons, and I hope your week goes great!  Don’t worry about me because I am happy!  I love you tons, and you’re in my prayers!  Have a great week!

Love,

-Elder Smith

Address:

Elder Weston Smith

1210 Country Club Rd Apt #7

Santa Teresa, NM

88008

Love ya’ll-Elder Folsom

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