Wk 63 - Pasándola bien:)

Companion: Elder Regis
Area: Talchuano

sorry this is the only new pic i got this week

i am feeling better now so no worries!!;) it was a thing that lasted a few days but now i am good!! 

i am loving it here. It is just so awesome to see elder regis start his mission and see the changes he is making. Last night we had a funny experience here. As i am sure you know mom there are a TON of dogs here that are wild and some dogs just bark at you look like they want to kill you. my comp and i were walking home last night and it was dark and there was a black dog that started coming at us but i just take my back pack off and it just stays there but my comp just took off running and it was so funny! i could see how scared he was and i just couldnt help but laugh. he kinda broke down a little saying stuff like i am so sick of dogs!!! and some other things but i just couldnt help but laugh. it is just some things that you will go through as you start your mission. but i am enjoying my time with elder regis. 

another time we were walking we have to walk through valleys to get to parts of our sector so in this part of this valley there are dogs that just dont like missionaries or i dont know what it is but it gives me a chance to practice my aim throwing rocks to keep them away. its just like every time we go by that place my comp gets behind me and i pick up a rock and this time we were walking and a dog that had bitten a missionary before started coming up on us and i chucked this rock and drilled it right in the face and the dog ran away crying. it was a sick! i thought to myself (strike!!!) haha 

reading the letter matt wrote me made me remind myself about some things my comps have said to me. i have had some comps tell me that when i sleep i say things in spanish and its pretty funny! one time my comp told me i was like teaching a lesson and another time i just said bacanpo. which is like cool with po at the end. i have found myself like forgetting some words that you dont use all the time in english. It is kinda weird at times but i will get it back no worries!! 

i love you all and be sure you guys are reading those scriptures every day because they are so cool!!! seriously! 

have an awesome week!!!!!!!!!!!

elder smoot

Wk 62 - puro ponerle

Companion: Elder Regis
Area: Talchuano

chillin with some ponys

this past week was sick. it rained on wednesday alot and on saturday. the winter is starting to end and the sun has finally come out a few days so i guess thats a good sign. On saturday it rained the whole day and i got super wet because it went through my jacket and sunday after church i started to feel really bad. today i still feel kinda bad but its all good!! i think i just got a fever. i have the chills at times and heat flashes. i am just gonna go home and sleep it off. that is what the mission nurse told me. we had a zone activity today. some kids played soccer but i just played ping pong in the church because i dont feel too good. 

this past week we had a conference from all the missions that are close to concepcion and sister briggs was there so we got a pic! it still is weird to see people you knew before your mission in your mission. 

i talked to a sister missionary today that knows mark sheffield. i feel really close to him but i still havent seen him!! maybe one day!! 

I really am doing good i just need to feel better real soon! haha love you guys and i will see you all soon!!;)

elder smoot

questions/answers:

*when does it start getting warmer for you? this month it will start getting warmer and it did this past week!

*what do you teach every week in district meeting? 

 i choose the topic and i just see what was the weak part of the week and prepare a class

*how many elders are in your district? how bout your zone?there is my comp and i and 6 others. 2 sisters there. there are 10 in the other district and our zone leaders so like 20 in the zone

Wk 61 - LOvin la vida de la misión

Companion: Elder Regis
Area: Talchuano

Elder Smoot and Elder Regis

 Talchuano Norte Zone with Pres. and Sis. Arrington right before transfers.

So as you guys know i got my new comp elder regis from bountiful utah. he is way chill. this past week just went super fast to be honest! it has been way cool. 

so monday last week a story happened that was so funny!! so when my old comp he was saying bye to some members and one of our zone leader finished his mission last week so the other zone leader was with us. elder gonzalez was with us and so we were in a trio and we went to a house and the while we were saying bye she gave a meat and elder gonzalez ate it and started choking like it was stuck in his throat. i was freaking out and i hit him in the back and the meat came flying out and stuck and the side of the table cloth. i didnt know whether to laugh or like check him if he was all right. it was crazy like he was like almost dieing it was crazy. he like turned to me and i just smacked in the back and that made him cough it up! it was an experience that you see in the movies a lot but i actually lived it! haha you guys will get to know elder gonzalez i think one day! you will think back on this story too!! haha

so with one of our investigator alejandro, he went to church this past week and has baptism date for the 22nd of agosto. which is pretty cool! as well there is a lady that has been coming to the church for a long time and i thought she was a less active but it turns out she is an investigator and i didnt even know who she was. she wants her 2 kids to be baptized so my comp and i are going over there to talk about that today. she cant be baptized because she isnt married and is living with the father of this kids. so hopefully we can help her understand what she can do to be able to be baptized too. so we have some good people that have good desires to follow christ. 

this past week was way sweet and i am excited for this transfer.

elder smoot

questions/answers:

*did you see Caitlin Briggs? (a friend from high school that arrived in Concepcion this week)

yes i thought she was gonna hug me at first!! haha it scared me and she said JAADE! i was like yeah my name is elder smoot! haha it was pretty funny she is pretty cool!

*hows being a trainer plus district leader?

it was a little stressful the first week because he doesnt understand spanish yet so i had to translate some things at times but it was kinda fun too. i have to teach a class for an hour too every week as a district leader.

* tell us all about your new companion! 

His name is Thomas Regis and he is from bountiful utah and he is like 6 4 and a half and he graduated in 2014 too his birthday is in May like mine!

Wk 60 - transfers

Companion: Elder Duarte
Area: Talchuano

so my comp is gone and is going to chillan and i am staying here in the sector and i am going to be training so i dont know who is my comp yet until tomorrow. but as well i have the chance to be district leader too. it will be a great transfer! a lot of thing to do but it will be great! 

we have found a ton of less actives that havent gone to church in a long time and we are finding some investigators too through those less actives. I will let you guys know next week who is my comp. 

Oh yeah i have some cool news for you guys. Remember my friend Darwin that is a member here? he is going to move to utah with is brother. Darwin is super cool and funny. He will be moving to utah hopefully in september. That will be pretty cool to see after the mission too. 

well i love you guys and I am sorry mom my letter this week isnt too long my mind is just blank! haha but just know i am good and happy and i love this work!!! 

elder smoot

Wk 59 - Last week of transfers

Companion: Elder Duarte
Area: Talchuano

the past week was pretty good and i am glad that my comp and i can work normally. his foot seems to be doing better. it is pretty cold over here especially in the morning. i am sitting trying to type fast and it isnt working out too well. haha 

but anyway we received bad news from our investigator. i was kinda frustrated on what she said. i was sitting by a recent convert in church and a less active and so i told my comp to go sit by margarita and her family. all was going good and she told us this past week that she wont be able to be baptized this weekend because she recently started having some issues and so we are going to have to push her baptism to august. it was a bummer and i was so kinda frustrated a bit. but there is nothing you can do.

this is the last week of this transfer so we will see what happens next monday! i really dont have much to say but it has rained a lot this past week so i have been getting pretty wet!!

i love you all and i am glad you all had a good time in estes park!! have a great week!!

elder smoot

Wk 58 - Broken foot

Companion: Elder Duarte
Area: Talchuano

Power was out...

My comp has been struggling with a hurt foot. what happened was a couple weeks ago when we were watching a chile soccer game and we had to run home to get home on time and we have to run through a valley with rocks and stuff but my comp and his church shoes that are really thin on the bottom so he stepped on a rock and ever since then his foot has hurt him. so now we got to stay in the house so he can rest his foot. i did give him a blessing this past week as well. it isn't all that fun to stay in the house but i have been doing some sweet studying though. i have fell in love with reading the scriptures. i was studying the importance of forgiveness and reading the liahona of july and it honestly is sweet. oh by the way mom we get liahonas in english here just so you know. haha but those messages in there were awesome. my comp was laying in his bed for his foot and I was sitting on the couch thing crying because i was feeling the spirit so strong. it was awesome the whole time i was studying i just felt the spirit super strong. i love this gospel and i know it is important to read the book of mormon every day. i hope every single one of you are reading it every single day! it is the key to feed your spiritual side and stay strong in the gospel. 

today as well we went to a church that has a court inside the church. it is like the only church that has it here in chile but we went and played volleyball, soccer, basketball, and football as well!!! and we had a bbq and the activity was way sweet!!

I am grateful for you guys and it is pretty cool that you are in the estes park hanging out as the family!! i love every single one of you and have the best week there!!

love, elder smoot

(do you get cold?) this past week as well we had the power go out at our house, and that was when i got a little cold hahah

 (church attendance?) like this past week was 64 which was way low but it was raining and the members dont understand that you still got to go to church!!!

(flea bites!?)  no right now i dont have a huge problem. it is like spurts where i get bit one night and the next week i dont get touched it is weird but i bought a spray at lider to kill the fleas and it seems to help a bit

Wk 57 - Copa América

Companion: Elder Duarte
Area: Talchuano

and a selfie:)

ripped a hole in my pants

a little chilean firework! haha!

this week was way cool!! i dont know if you guys knew that on Saturday that chile won the championship of the american cup. it was crazy!! it was at 5 in the afternoon and we got to watch it all and it was insane!! chile won in the end against argentina and it was a sweet game! after the game we had to go straight to the house because the people went crazy!! there was some fireworks that people set off and people driving in their cars going crazy and honking their horn and it was just a lot of noise. it was pretty crazy all that happened. 

Just to give you an update with the investigators we got margarita who will be baptized on the 25th and possibly juan too. juan couldnt go to church this past week because he went out of town with his family. We will have to talk to him about his baptism this week. but margarita is way cool and her daughters are all baptized but she is not. she knows that the church is true and she has a strong testimony. 

one thing that stuck out to me yesterday in church was a member that stood up to bare his testimony and mentioned something like god doesnt take away our load that we have but only makes us stronger to be able to lift the load. it was way cool what he said and so i thought i would share it with you guys.

thanks for all you guys do for me. I want you guys to know that i love you all. have a great week!!!!:)

elder smoot