Hello Family! and everyone else getting this :P
I am in Prince Edward Island! And my area is Montague. So, just to clarify. It is not, unfortunately, where Anne of Green Gables lived, but it is on same Island. So I call that awesome.
I left the MTC Tuesday Morning:
Travelling was fun... not. We had 3 flights which meant we left at 4:30am woke up at 2) and got to the mission home at 9:30pm. Bleh! What a day! But we made it through, and now I'm in Canada! Crazy eh? My Mission President is super cool, I've learned so much already. We stayed at their house for two days and then we left for our areas. I had to drive 5 hours on Thursday to get to my area. Woof! Sister Sharp picked me up from Moncton and took me to Prince Edward Island and we went right into the work. I'm not even all the way unpacked yet, we've just been so busy.
I've already helped teach five or so lessons and I extended a soft baptismal invite to one of our investigators. She said yes! ah man! I was SO excited :D I didn't even know what to say next hahaha. She and her family came to Church on Sunday. It was such a good feeling.
Our branch is TINY! There were 24 people counting us and the investigators on Sunday. And that's a typical to high turn out. Wow! I told Sister Sharp that by the time we leave this area the number of attending members will double! And I'm sticking to it.
It's really cold out here, but we are only in the weather to hand out hot cocoa, knock on doors, or shovel driveways. Other than that we're in appointments, or driving (trying to find where we are going. For such a small island we get so lost!).
So here's a short synopsis of the days in the Field.
Friday: Weekly planning, (hard to plan when you don't know who anyone is :P) shovelling and visiting passing around flyers for an upcoming concert. Then we finished planning (had some lessons fall through which worked out because we didn't get time to finish our planning session) So we knocked Belmont Street. We met the most amazing little family! I just wish they were interested :( They would be so great in this branch and with the gospel. Unfortunately, no dice. Then had a lesson with a woman. Then we had our first meeting with our other investigator. It went really well and we set a return appointment for the next day. We also invited her to bring her kids to the concert.
On Saturday! We went to the Concert, she and her kids came!! They loved it. They are missionaries who performed by playing instruments or singing and they did family themed songs. It was a lot of fun. But took for-ever to get to in Charlottetown. We visited a member in the Hospital who slipped on ice and broke her ankle. She had to crawl for almost an hour before a car came by and got her! Luckily she's okay. then we stopped by some investigators who moved out of our area, to tell them the Elders would teach them,. then we went straight to our next lesson where she accepted my soft baptismal invite. YAY! it was so much fun.
Fast Sunday. Oh, how I love fasting. :) Church is at 10 and we had a meeting with the Branch Presidency at 9:30. One good thing about Sundays is we don't have to do our weird exercise routine. it's not that bad though only 11 minutes. The meetings were great, I was the Chorister because Sister James was in the Hospital. And after that we went to French Creek Lodge, an assisted living place and held a service there, where I chorister-ed again and gave a short talk. (which was written frantically on the short car ride over there) and after that we went to the DeVries house to break our fast and eat delicious home cooked food. Yum. We had a lesson with another friend, who isn't progressing very much. we might have to drop her. And then we got some return appointments with potentials before calling it a night.
Things are a little hectic now because we're trying to figure out our rhythm as a companionship. But it's a good hectic.
Being a missionary is in some ways exactly like and completely different from what I imagined it would be. It is HARD! But but it is also rewarding. Count your blessings. Realize that you have so much freedom you don't take advantage of (Mission rules for me means no music other than Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Which I like anyways) and be a missionary every day! Just try to cheer people up. Leave a positive footprint on the world in every place you go! Life is meant to be enjoyed!!! So look outwards, look at what your friends and family need, and help them! Spend more time playing games and going on walks with those you love, and less time on facebook or watching netflix by yourself. (you know who I'm talking to ;) haha just kidding) and breathe in the fresh air! Post a Mormon message on your facebook, tell someone about a cool scripture you found. Build each other up! Be the strongest people you can be! There is so much more to life than gossip and drama and wasting time! There are so many people who don't have hope, who your experiences and love can reach and change! If I had one wish it would be that everyone made one effort just one! Every day to bless the life of someone else.
Go out and get to work!
I love you all, don't forget about me up in the Maritimes ;) I'm still here sloshing around in the snow. And have a most wonderful Christlike week. Love everyone. Just do it, it's good for your health. :)
Love,
Sister Kat Smith
I am in Prince Edward Island! And my area is Montague. So, just to clarify. It is not, unfortunately, where Anne of Green Gables lived, but it is on same Island. So I call that awesome.
I left the MTC Tuesday Morning:
Travelling was fun... not. We had 3 flights which meant we left at 4:30am woke up at 2) and got to the mission home at 9:30pm. Bleh! What a day! But we made it through, and now I'm in Canada! Crazy eh? My Mission President is super cool, I've learned so much already. We stayed at their house for two days and then we left for our areas. I had to drive 5 hours on Thursday to get to my area. Woof! Sister Sharp picked me up from Moncton and took me to Prince Edward Island and we went right into the work. I'm not even all the way unpacked yet, we've just been so busy.
I've already helped teach five or so lessons and I extended a soft baptismal invite to one of our investigators. She said yes! ah man! I was SO excited :D I didn't even know what to say next hahaha. She and her family came to Church on Sunday. It was such a good feeling.
Our branch is TINY! There were 24 people counting us and the investigators on Sunday. And that's a typical to high turn out. Wow! I told Sister Sharp that by the time we leave this area the number of attending members will double! And I'm sticking to it.
It's really cold out here, but we are only in the weather to hand out hot cocoa, knock on doors, or shovel driveways. Other than that we're in appointments, or driving (trying to find where we are going. For such a small island we get so lost!).
So here's a short synopsis of the days in the Field.
Friday: Weekly planning, (hard to plan when you don't know who anyone is :P) shovelling and visiting passing around flyers for an upcoming concert. Then we finished planning (had some lessons fall through which worked out because we didn't get time to finish our planning session) So we knocked Belmont Street. We met the most amazing little family! I just wish they were interested :( They would be so great in this branch and with the gospel. Unfortunately, no dice. Then had a lesson with a woman. Then we had our first meeting with our other investigator. It went really well and we set a return appointment for the next day. We also invited her to bring her kids to the concert.
On Saturday! We went to the Concert, she and her kids came!! They loved it. They are missionaries who performed by playing instruments or singing and they did family themed songs. It was a lot of fun. But took for-ever to get to in Charlottetown. We visited a member in the Hospital who slipped on ice and broke her ankle. She had to crawl for almost an hour before a car came by and got her! Luckily she's okay. then we stopped by some investigators who moved out of our area, to tell them the Elders would teach them,. then we went straight to our next lesson where she accepted my soft baptismal invite. YAY! it was so much fun.
Fast Sunday. Oh, how I love fasting. :) Church is at 10 and we had a meeting with the Branch Presidency at 9:30. One good thing about Sundays is we don't have to do our weird exercise routine. it's not that bad though only 11 minutes. The meetings were great, I was the Chorister because Sister James was in the Hospital. And after that we went to French Creek Lodge, an assisted living place and held a service there, where I chorister-ed again and gave a short talk. (which was written frantically on the short car ride over there) and after that we went to the DeVries house to break our fast and eat delicious home cooked food. Yum. We had a lesson with another friend, who isn't progressing very much. we might have to drop her. And then we got some return appointments with potentials before calling it a night.
Things are a little hectic now because we're trying to figure out our rhythm as a companionship. But it's a good hectic.
Being a missionary is in some ways exactly like and completely different from what I imagined it would be. It is HARD! But but it is also rewarding. Count your blessings. Realize that you have so much freedom you don't take advantage of (Mission rules for me means no music other than Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Which I like anyways) and be a missionary every day! Just try to cheer people up. Leave a positive footprint on the world in every place you go! Life is meant to be enjoyed!!! So look outwards, look at what your friends and family need, and help them! Spend more time playing games and going on walks with those you love, and less time on facebook or watching netflix by yourself. (you know who I'm talking to ;) haha just kidding) and breathe in the fresh air! Post a Mormon message on your facebook, tell someone about a cool scripture you found. Build each other up! Be the strongest people you can be! There is so much more to life than gossip and drama and wasting time! There are so many people who don't have hope, who your experiences and love can reach and change! If I had one wish it would be that everyone made one effort just one! Every day to bless the life of someone else.
Go out and get to work!
I love you all, don't forget about me up in the Maritimes ;) I'm still here sloshing around in the snow. And have a most wonderful Christlike week. Love everyone. Just do it, it's good for your health. :)
Love,
Sister Kat Smith