UPs and DOWNs

Bonjour! P-Day is tuesday this week because we had a District Metting on monday.

Its so good to hear from all of you and I'm glad that there is still a party at the Smith Residence! always :) It sounds like it was great! I loved seening pictures of all the grandkids and everyone. So many cute faces covered in cupcakes and kids on the swings, I'm definitly looking forward to the 3rd sunday meals in 2012.

My sunday dinner was a little bit different than our typical smith sunday dinners last week. Tomatoes. Tomatoes. Tomatoes. Rice. Liver Paste Stuff. and Green Beans. I hate to say it but I actually enjoyed it. We ate with some members and it was meat stuffed in to tomatoes and baked and such, it was really good. I think something is wrong because every time I eat a tomato, mushroom, or onion. I like it. You know me. This isn't normal. As I read all the emails I remember how great kaysville and the fall is. Here it is still hot and humid and not nearly as green as all these pictures that I'm seeing. WOW it is super green in utah.

It was a little it up and down this week. We taught a good amount, 25 or so lessons but all of our babtismal dates got pushed back in the process of the week and we now only have 1 babtismal date set. A week of super high exciting times and times of disappointments as well. It is a rollercoaster ride, but I'm enjoying it. It was a good week.

I played basketball one on one with a 16 year old investigator and won barely :) but after we talked about the Book of Mormon and he had read and he prayed and he felt the spirit. It was really cool, because when we invited him to read and pray the week before he wasn't very receptive and wasn't very mature. But after talking to him, We could definitly see the sparks of a testimony in him. It was really cool and a lesson to me to not judge so quickly and to let the gospel and the spirit do the teaching not me.

We also had a DTR (Define the Relationship) with one of our investigators. We had set a babtismal date and worked really hard towards it. We taught him about 8 lessons in 10 days. We were really trying to get him ready for babtism and working hard. And we asked him about the Book of Mormon and his testimony, and he was totally opposed to all our teachings. He started to tell me that an 8 year old can't decide on babtism, and that the book of mormon doesn't have answers, and that weak people pray. I was getting really frustrated because he was insulting my entire life. He was insulting my decision to be babtised, my family, my testimony. There was a piece of me that said -turn the other cheek - and other part of me that said - defend the faith defend your family. I was about ready to stand up and call him to repentance and send him to weaping and wailing and gnashing teeth and fire and brimestone, and then Elder Magnan wispered in english "calm down" (its nice that we can secretly commincate in front of investigators cause he speaks english) and he was right. I remembered a scripture in Alma that says something along the lines of "when hearts are hard just bare a stong testimony" So thats what we did. He didn't change his mind, but I learned a lesson that love is ten times stronger than anger. and that people can't argue the things that I have felt and learned for myself. Like I said it was a week of ups and downs

We also had a zone conference with President and Sister Carter in Montpillier, It was SOOO good. It was awesome to work with them and all the missionaries in the zone, we talked about the best ways for our investigators to gain a testimony through personal revelation. Prayer. Reading. and Coming to Church. It was really good, and we learned some awesome ways to teach these priciples. I think that thus far on my mission, I've learned the truthfulness of these things. "It is by small things that great things are brought to pass" I've realized that a lot of my own testimony has developed my the small things not big experiences. "waxed strong in the lord" not dumped on all at once. If the people we would teach would do the small things like this they would progress so much better and could gain their testimonies, and the ones that listen to us and do these things are progressing faster.

Questions:

1. How do exchanges work?

We do them after district meetings, because everyone has come together, and then after the meeting you just leave with someone else. You travel to the other city or stay in the same place, depends on the assignment and then the next day, one of the companionships comes to your city and your switch back and either return to your city or you send the other companionship off to their city. I hope that makes sense, I feel like I explained it very vaguely

2. What kind of a town was Beziers from the map it looks like it was close to the Mediterranean Sea?

It was hot, but I didn't see the mediterranean at all I'm not even though it is close. We were in the city contacting and teaching lessons.

3. Are you going to experience seasonal changes in Carcasonne or is it pretty much the same all year?

Yes. It will start to get cold in about a month, cold as in, put on a sweater. and in January it will snow a little bit, nor more than an inch or so. But appartently it gets pretty cold because the humidity. All the rumors we heard were false, I'll be buying a winter coat and sweaters with in the next month or so.

I love you all and I'll try to send the pictures again! Love you!

Elder Smith

OH LA LA!!!!

Bonjour Tout le Monde! J'espere que tous est bien! Je vous aime!

So I just figured out how to change the keyboard into english! Last week was ridiculously difficult to type!

All is well here and I still don't speak French, but I'm starting to understand French. I hope eventually I can speak it. It is kind of hard to learn, because my companion can speak french obviously but he can't explain why he says things the way he does. So when I learn it goes like this....."zay it zike zis .....blah blah blah" I ask how it translates and he says "I do not know, just zay it zike zat". Its kind of funny and I love him teaching me but I can never remember how to say things because I don't know the translation and the grammer. I'll keep working and I know eventually it'll click :) i hope.

CARTER STERLING PACK!!! I love it! I'm so glad I now have a name to put with the face. Welcome to the family and in 2 years you get to meet the Favorite Uncle! for now you'll have to settle with the others. haha

So I have a piece of advice to all the members of the family and to all of the nephews and nieces.

LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHERS!!!!!!!! Mom you offically can say I told you so. The first week I led the music in sacrameeting and the second week I played in sacrameeting, I wish that I would have listened to you and practiced the piano and learned the hymns, it went well but I'm not gonna lie the opening hymn was pretty choppy. All those ours of my complaining and all the years of practicing and warning me "you're going to have to play the piano on your mission" has finally come true. Oh you are so wise! Dad you are wise too.....LISTEN TO YOU DADS AS WELL haha

This week we worked a lot but one of our babtismal dates has been pushed back because he is struggling with the word of wisdom. And our other one is flirting with getting pushed back as well because the word of wisdom. I keep praying and I hope that they can really dig deep and over come this trial! The word of wisdom is the thing we face the most. Everything closes here on sunday and people don't have any problems with that, The Law of Chasity is an issue but not everyone struggles with it. But almost EVERY person has a struggle with the word of wisdom. Its pretty gross how much people smoke here.

Teaching is going well, we taught 28 lessons this week, the most that Elder Magnan has seen while he has been here. I went on an exchange this week and I went to Beziers. It was good but I'm a little bit partial to Carcasonne. In Beziers we found a family of 5 at the very end of the night that was very interested in our church and the book of mormon. They even approached us and asked us who we were and were interested in the restoration. I know know if they are still teaching them, because I'm not in Beziers, but it is a definite testimony to me to keep working hard because we have found about 5 people at the very end of the day. And sometimes when I get tired and just think, wait for the end of the day and the last contact will be interested, I think its funny but I should have more faith through out the day as well.

Questions of the Week:

How is the food?

Fantastic, the rumors that we heard that I would get skinny here were all lies. If I don't keep doing my exercises here in the morning I'll weigh 500 pounds in 2012. At the same time because we walk all over the place I'm usually pretty hungery and burn off all the food by the end of the day. Last week I had the sterotypical french meal. It went like this, Sit down and eat cheese and bread with pepsi (sorry a typical mormon french meal, usually it would be wine) for like 35 minutes, then I thought that it was time for the meat or the potatos or something, more bread and different cheese for 20 minutes, then for sure I thought it was time for the real deal......a salad....... then more cheese and a Tarte au pomme(french apple pie)....more pepsi and then I was POSITIVE it was time for the meat and such. and we were done. haha It was very very french, the whole time we just talked and laughed and ate bread and cheese. It was delicious, yet very french

Can you remember how to cook?

Not really all the ingredients are different here

Did you take your college cookbook with you?

Unfortunately No

Do you live above a flower shop?

Yes in deed and i live on 3rd floor with the tiny window

What kind of fruit can you get?

All the same stuff, I really like the nectarines the most

Life is going well, and I love you all. I'm definitly jealous that I can't hold Carter for 2 years but when I get back he'll be running around and talking. I'm excited. I get pretty tired through out the day and then I think about all of you and realize I need to work how you would expect and want me to. I put back on my smile and keep going. The gospel is true and I'm so grateful for the knowledge it gives us and I hope that these people can come to that knowledge as well!

Love you all

Elder Matthew Sanders Smith

Ps. Mom in the package, send Peanut Butter!!! it doesn't exist here and I almost came back home when I found out. Ha Ha