Friday, August 28, 2015

Friday Surprise

Today we received a wonderful surprise via email:
Hi there,
I'm the mtc teacher, I share the room with your kids, I just took this pic, I thought you would appreciate it. 
They're doing wonderful, being very brave and working hard.
Take Care,
Pedro Duarte
What a thoughtful guy that Pedro is.  Made our day.  Go Ducks!!


Thursday, August 27, 2015

Week One

hello friends and family!!! so first thing is first... there is no
enter button on this computer so it is going to look like a really
long bad paragraph... i am so sorry because i don´t like those kinds
of emails so bare with me. and if you are reading this.... i love you
so much!! thanks for taking the time out of your day to support me. i
feel all your love and support and prayers!! okay... so here´s 9 days
into a 20 minute email...... the plane rides were really long but
good. i didn´t sleep a whole lot but i read the book of mormon a lot
and the missionary hand book and other stuff. once we got to dallas i
called my parents which was much needed... i love my family so much!!
then we got on a huge plane unlike anything i have ever seen before
with beds and stuff!! So we got to london and I HUGGED ELDER TANNER
FREAKING HAMMOND HOLY COW that was literally one of the most special
moments of my life. two young boys just exploring the world on the
lords errand... oh not to mention that they are lifelong best
friends!! so anyways that was cool. we landed in madrid and we looked
like an army coming off of the plane... we are the biggest group to
ever come through this mtc and you can tell because it is packed
here!! so a bus drove us to the mtc and then we got right to it... so
my district is made up of 4 elders and 4 sisters... i am the only
elder in my whole zone going to madrid and there is 1 sister...
strange but whatever. my companion´s name is Elder Garrard and he is
from riverton, utah and he is headed to malaga. he knows more spanish than me so that´s a plus. elder hammond and elder walster are both in zone 1 and
im in zone 2 so i don´t have the same eating schedule as them or
sports with them... but we see each other all the time in the hall and
inbetween classes. it´s awesome!! i have made it a habit to hug elder
hammond, walster, and others before bed because it reminds me of home.
i have cried a lot while being here... whether from homesickness which
sucks haha or i feel the spirit so strong or i think about my family
and look at pictures of you guys... i guess heavenly father sent me to
spain to remind me how much i love and miss all of you. the coolest experience i
have had since i have been here was on saturday at the park. we get
paired up with someone other than our normal companion.... so i got paired up with 
elder rosenblike and he is going to the portugal lisbon mission!! but he is from norway... so he
speaks fluent norwegian, english, portugese, and spanish. so we could
pretty much communicate with everyone we talked to which was nice!!
and he is the coolest kid ever. we met this guy named miguel and he
was very interested in the church and christianity... he came to the
park that morning with a grocery bag full of bread prepared to give it
to all the homeless people that me met... because he said that service
made him feel better!! so i gave him a book of mormon and some
pamphlets and he was my very first contact ever!! in return for the
book of mormon and other stuff... he gave me a compass... he said
since i helped guide him that morning he was going to help guide me
through the park and through madrid which was easily the coolest thing
i have ever experienced!! so cool and heavenly father was watching
over me... because all of this was in english :) for sports we can
play dodgeball, go to a gym, basketball, or soccer. soccer is cool
because its in these really dirty places that have beer bottles and
graffiti and tons of trash and old guys smoking with random dogs
everywhere.. its definitely a big and dirty city but its fun. well,
my time is almost out and i love you all so much. the spanish will
come and i know that the gift of tongues is a real thing. oh and every
now and then every hammond and i get to have a heart to heart which is
really good. thanks for the prayers, letters, and support... i think
about home everyday and how much i miss it!! i know that the lord has
people prepared for me to teach in spain... in spanish... and these
next two years are going to be awesome :) well, until next week!!
hasta luego!!! con amor, elder smith



Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Alive and Well from the Madrid MTC

Our first email from Spain on Tuesday morning:

Hello Family! i am alive and well in the MTC! we got off the plane
today and it was quite the experience.  too much flying haha.  quick
funny story... there is this one elder who is going to malaga and in
his carry on he packed two 35 pound dumb bells... he did it so he
wouldn´t have to pay extra in his really big bags!! hahahahaha i
laughed so hard when i tried to pick up his bag.  anyways, i will
email you guys on my next p day which will be august 27th.  i love you
all and miss you so much... i want you to know that saying good bye
was the hardest thing i have ever done!  i felt so helpless as i
walked away but then i said a prayer and i knew that heavenly father
was right there with me and now i am so happy to be here in this
beautiful country!! love you all!!        love, elder smith

Monday, August 17, 2015

Airport See you Later

So the day we couldn't wait for.... and..... hoped would never come at the same time arrived!  August 17 we took Brady to the Salt Lake Airport for the 11:20 am fight to Dallas.  He had a layover there and called us which was wonderful except for the girls who missed the call :( From Dallas they headed across the country and Atlantic to Heathrow Airport in London to meet up with the other Elders who were on the earlier 8 am flight.  After a very long plane ride, Brady was greeted by his best friend Tanner and in his words : "I hugged elder tanner freaking Hammond holy cow that was literally one of the most special moments of my life. Two young boys just exploring the world on the lords errand... oh not to mention that they are lifelong best friends!!"  They jumped on a plane quickly and headed to Madrid... let the adventures begin.



Elder Hammond, Smith and Walster
 Heathrow, London Airport






Sunday, August 16, 2015

Setting Apart~Smith home

Setting Apart Circle:  Gordon Thomas, Bryson Gallagher, Pres. Jeff Anderson, Nate Grant, Garret Grant, Dad, Grandpa Smith, Jed Smedley, Mike Greenhalgh, Grandpa Smedley, Garet Hammond, Tanner Hammond

At 8pm we welcomed family and friends who we consider family to our home for Brady's setting apart.  It was a very tender experience and we were taught many important things from President Jeff Anderson.  Grandparents, sisters and parents shared a piece of advice for Brady to take along with him on his journey to Spain.  There were many tears of joy, anticipation and happiness shed today.  So grateful for the many influences that have impacted Brady and our family. 

WHEN FRIENDS ARE LIKE FAMILY
IT MAKES SAYING "SEE YOU LATER"
REALLY TOUGH!!

Brady and Berklee
 
Grandma and Grandpa Smedley


Greenhalghs

Brady and Luke
One last game of catch with Grandpa Smedley

Brady and Reece



Brady and Garret
Brady, Gordon and Roma

Brady and Rossers




Elizabeth and Tanner

Brady and Garet
Brady and Bryson

Brady and Brock


The Smith Family





Jed, Molly, Brady and twin baby boys!



Grandpa Smith and us

Smammond Family :)

Friday, August 14, 2015

Open House

August 8 brought a cool, beautiful summer evening.  Lots of friends and family joined us at the house for food and visiting.  It was a wonderful time to say "see you later" to many of Brady's dear friends. 
The boys
Jordan, Mr. Hood, Nate


The Fisher Family and Elizabeth Busdicker

Kristin and Tanner




Grandpa Smedley and Aunt Molly

Elizabeth, Makenna, Emily, Berklee and Gretchen

Davis Kendrick


Geri and John Kendrick & June Allred


Allreds, Emily and Tracie

Tracie and Emily


Jamie, Greg, Aunt Karen and Grandma Smedley


Me and Crew

Bailee and Grandma Watson

Keri and Grandpa Watson

Judy, Kyle and Rich Rogers