NICE!!! OH LA! LA! OH LA! LA!

You people are mutiplying like rabbits! Congrats Alicia and Aaron and Ben and Tanelle, I can't believe this at all! When I get home there will be more smiths that I don't know than I do know! I want to know names soon so that I can start to pray for these little ones, and Alicia and Tanelle will now be getting a little bit more prayer power so these babes are NICE and safe. I hope that easter was fun and that everyone had a NICE time as well.

I guess you are wondering why I keep capitalizing NICE as well, it is because I just got transfer to a city called "Nice" pronounced (Niece), I think that it is appropriate that is is pronounced "niece" as well seeing that, there might be some nieces on the way, (This email is fun of puns, and I am chucklying pretty good in my NICE cybercafe, ha ha ha ha)

I don't know what to tell you about NICE because I just got here, I am now next to Italy and I spent a NICE 11 Hours and 53 minutes in the train today, 8 hours and 32 minutes of that was in the same train, so I am pretty NICE and tired and I feel in a daze, I am in a new team of 3. Elder Brough, who was in my district in Périgueux ( he is from West Valley and I love him!, we get along so good and we used to always talk about how we could be companions, I freaked out when I got the call) and Elder Duncan ( he is from missouri and super NICE as well). Nice is said to be the prettiest city in the mission, the bishop lives in Monoco and we eat at his house every wednesday. We also will be here for the Monoco grand prix that is in Iron Man 2, it starts in 3 weeks. It is a pretty big city and has a very NICE ward, it is the center of the stake and has been baptising like crazy this year. We have 5 missionaries in nice, 3 Elders and 2 sisters. I am a District Leader again, we have Cannes in our district, there are 4 missionaries in Cannes. So it is going to be pretty crazy, I am really really excited to be here and I was very sad to leave Périgueux. I loved our amis and our members, they threw a crepe party for me when I left, I took tons of pictures but my camera is in my bags.

I hope that the easter hunt went well, we did a little easter egg hunt as well, after we ate with a member on sunday, she had hid eggs all over her house and we went on the hunt, it was great and it kept my finding skills NICE and refined for the easter picnic 2013. I hope that everybody is safe, and sound and that those of you that are traveling are have a good time as well. I will send pictures next week. It is looking kinda of shaky for skype for Mothers day but I will give you more details next week.

Love you lots and have a NICE week, ha ha

Elder Smith

FAB-ulous!!!

Yo this email is going out to all you back in Zion! As my companion would say, this week was "smashingly good"! The highlight was by far the baptism and confirmation of Fabiola Payé, I will thus recount the story to you.

The baptism was on Friday night at 7 o'clock, Elder Bennallack and I headed off to Fabiola's house to walk with her to the baptism with her two cousins, Kevin and Yolaine. We got to her house at 6:15 and started off to the church, usually a 5-10 minute walk from her house, we got to the church at 6:50. (gotta love walking with Africans, always keeping it chill and there are no worries). We got the church and started the font, because it only takes about 45 minutes to fill up. She got changed and was really excited for her baptism, we got settled in the chapel and I was at the piano, there were the talks given by some members and as I hopped out to see if the font was filled, we still had a little bit to go so, I came back into the chapel and gave the speaker the "high sign" he stalled and talked for an extra 10 or so minutes. When the time came, we filed out into the baptismal area and Elder Bennallack took her into the water. After she was baptized she started to laugh in the font because she was so happy (it is just the kind of person that she is). The Branch President kind of shot me a look like "is this person really ready to be baptized?" Her being the "brown sugar attitude little lady" that she is took a good 10-15 minutes to get her hair looking good. The Branch President again shot me the same look. She came back into the chapel and she had wanted to bear her testimony, she started out a little giggly and again I got the look, she then started to really talk about the change that had happened in her life since I had talked to her on the street 2 months ago, she bore a POWERFUL testimony of her baptism, of the power of prayer and her gratitude for the Savior Jesus Christ, as I looked at the Branch President he had tears in his eyes and had been deeply touch by the words of Fabiola. The spirit was very strong and I was very grateful to have been a part of her conversion. At the end of the testimony she invited her cousins to be baptized and again it was a powerful moment. At the confirmation on Sunday I had the chance to give her the Holy Ghost, it was very uplifting and I felt the spirit confirm to me that she had done what was necessary and that her sins were forgiven her. Fabiola is great and I am so happy and grateful to have met her.

There are lots of things happening in Périgueux and I will be excited to see what happens this week as it is the end of transfers, her cousin Kevin will we baptized the first weekend of next transfers and we have about 5 or 6 baptisms lined up for next transfer!!!! I feel that the Lord has sent me to Périgueux and I hope that I can continue to move forth his work no matter where I am. But I wouldn't mind a little bit more time in Périgueux. We will see :)

LOVES and HAPPY EASTER SUNDAY!!!!

Elder Smiss

Playing around with the Valentines Card


Fountain in Perigueux


Fabiola's Baptism


Fabiola and cousins, Kevin and Yolaine

Rollercoaster

Missions are a rollercoaster!

I don't know who said it but he was a wise man and if I ever meet him I will shake his hand and tip my hat to him.

The golden Jonathan Richard, the one that was the best thing since sliced bread and was so so ready for the gospel is now the infamous "less active Jonathan Richard". I don't know what happened or where satan got him but after talking to him, he has lost so much of the spirit that he had before, and has lost his testimony of Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. 180 degree turn. I still love him to death but we finally saw the opposition of satan in his conversion process. We don't know what happened, but he has changed. He says that it is nothing against the church and the members or the message that we carry, but simply he has taken a different path. I think that he is struggling with the Word of Wisdom and it has shaken his faith, it is so sad to see the difference in him. President Carter told me this week that 70% of the members in France are inactive, and it breaks my heart to hear that our recent convert has headed down that path. We are not going to give up on him and I hope that I will be able to still work with him to help him refind the spirit in his life. Transfers are in 2 weeks and if there is a change in the companionship it would most likely be me, so we will see what unfolds in the up coming weeks, but I hope and pray that I don't leave with this situation all in a mess.

We should have another baptism this week, Fabiola, we wanted to have Kevin as well but he is looking less and less ready, and he doesn't have a solid testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Church. I hope to see Fabiola in the waters of baptism this Friday, she is so great, so kind and so happy. She is the exact copy of Lafonda from Napolean Dynamite, and I love her, she is african and she has.got.some.attitude.girl! She is honestly so funny and I love to teach her, we also have a mongolian family that has asked us several times if they can be baptised, but they are not married and they can't get married because they are not citizens, they will have to endure and let the lord sort things out for them, so they are super kool and they have simple yet powerful testimonies of Jesus Christ and they are going to have to wait. We also have Diane, she is 15 and from the congo, she loves YW and she is schedule to get baptised this transfer but because of parent problems I don't know what will happen in these last 2 weeks.

If I am headed out I think it will be interesting to see what happens, the work has changed SO much since I got here, and there are still many many lose strings that I don't know that I will be able to tie up in 2 weeks, we will see. Never the less I am grateful for Périgueux and for the chance that I have had to be here.

Now for answering questions and making comments.

I am so shocked that Ben is graduating in like 2 weeks, I don't know where I have been but for some reason I thought that he was graduating right before I got home (I must have been out of the country or something....oooohh punny) but either way CONGRATS!!!!! that is super rad!

I am sorry to hear that the Tahoe got a lickin, but I am much happier to hear that Aaron is still alive! I want to make this clear NONE OF YOU ARE ALLOWED TO DIE WHILE I AM ON MY MISSION, I repeat NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO DIE WHILE I AM ON MY MISSION.

Thank you so so so much for the package mom, I have wolfed down the oreas and am well into the peanut butter and I just want to tell you that I love you. and I also love peanut butter :)

my cold is all but cleared up and I am pretty much recovered, so there is no need to worry

This week with the little hiccup of Jonathan, I was really brought to my knees and to the scripitures and more and more my testimony of Jesus Christ is becoming a surety, knowledge and witness that he is the Christ, the only begotten of the Father in the flesh, and he died and he lives for us. I know, that he is my Savior and that it is through him and only him that I can return to be with my Father in Heaven. I love the Lord and I will never leave him. I love you all and I love the blessings that are offered to us all by a loving Father in Heaven, that we can be united as families forever and that death is not the end.

well that is all she wrote for this week!

Love you all

Matt

Seigneur, Merci Pour Le Prophete!!!

Well I absolutely loved conference. I really loved priesthood session because it was the only one that I watched in english, I love to hear the voices and the conviction in the voice of our beloved prophet and apostles. I am honored to be able to have the same title as "ELDER" as they do. I was able to watch the saturday afternoon, the priesthood and the sunday morning sessions. We were really trying to get Fabiola out to the conference, because she hasn't been able to come church the last 2 weeks because she got sick and she had family things. We called her up and she told us again that she wouldn't be able to come church, this time she had a much lamer excuse that her feet hurt and that it was too far. I didn't except and we went and found her with a member. she is still on schedule and should be baptised this friday.

The cybercafe guy just told us that he is closing up for the night, so I am sorry that this email is super short and that Jen is not going to get a separate email. forgive me?

This week was a little crazy

Tuesday - exchange with the zone leaders in bordeaux
Wednesday - the only normal day of the week that I got to work in perigueux
Thursday - exchange with brive and my elders in bergerac got attacked and peppersprayed ( that ain't kool)
Friday - a special leadership training with pres. carter, it was just 5 missionaries and president teaching us leadership skills he wanted us to us AFTER the mission in our wards and families. it was so so so cool
Saturday and sunday, conference mixed with service projects and random stuff

I love you all and I know with out a doubt the thomas s monson is a prophet and i am so grateful to have heard this prophetic cousil and love this weekend. the lord lives and he loves us!!!

Love elder smith


ps i dont know if you have this picture already
pss i have had a cold for the last week, so pray for me?

loves hugs, don't do drugs