Pics from this week

Elder Jones and I! His first time seeing the Madrid Temple :)

Raul's birthday this week :)

About a year ago... Year agoooo lol I miss elder hammond and the MTC

A family we found who just barely moved here from 

Saratoga Springs,Utah in the metro! They were nice enough 

to send my mom a "text" hugfor me :)

A ward activity that we did on Saturday... Little waterfall hike :)

Lanzado hacia el amor :') jajaja

Sup guys :)

Well first week has come and gone with my son :) his name is Elder
Jones and he is from Gilbert, Arizona! He is the 9th of 9 kids but has
a twin brother who is 5 minutes older than him who is serving in Chile
right now. He's a machine at basketball and we get along so well. He
pretty much carries his own weight when it comes to Spanish and is so
excited and enthusiastic about the work! I'm super excited for these
next few weeks with him and hopefully we can see some miracles in B3
:) he came from the Provo MTC and so he has been really thrown head
first into the Spanish culture this week as well as trying to keep up
while dealing with all the jet lag. He got lost in Madrid when he got
off the plane and ended up at the mission home after a 2 hour taxi
ride and then lost his luggage too for a few days so that was fun :)
hahaha but all is well now and we are finally settled in. Here's a bit
about our week!

So first and foremost, Alexander won't be getting baptized this week
:/ something came up last minute and he still needs to get some stuff
figured out before he gets baptized. I'm really sad but more proud
than anything because he understands what type of commitment he is
making with God and he wants to do it the right way. He will still
continue coming to church and we are going to help him with his
problems until he is all cleared and ready to get baptized! It
shouldn't be too much of a delay but we shall see. So there's the news
on him, keep him in your prayers please!

We visited a less active girl named Brenda from Bolivia this week who
is like easily one of the coolest people I've ever met. She cut my
hair (it looks good) and then after, Elder Jones prepared a little
lesson for her on the sacrament. We talked about the importance of the
baptismal covenant and why the sacrament would be so crucial to
partake of every week and at the end she told us, "Elders, I really
want to come to church on Sunday." We were hyped and she actually came
and brought the rest of her less active family as well! It was so
awesome to see them all there and it helped me realize the power of
just a simple invitation. So we are gonna keep on meeting with her and
hopefully help her keep coming every week! Never be too timid to
extend an invitation to a friend, it might just work :)

Last night we had a lesson with another less active guy named Calixto
who was baptized not too long ago but got hurt in an accident so he
lost his memory. He doesn't know what happened and neither does
anybody else, he just said he woke up in the hospital and didn't
remember anything that had happened. It's super sad because he is so
awesome! He doesn't like to come to church anymore because he doesn't
remember any of the members and he feels a bit scared so we invited
him to come with us and he accepted! We warmed up to each other
quickly and had a nice lesson with him about the atonement. I am
quickly coming to realize just how much love our Savior has for each
and every one of us. He wants us to be happy and that's my job here as
a missionary, to share the happiness that this gospel brings! Pray for
Calixto that he can start to get feeling better and that he'll come to
church with us :)

GREENIE FIRE IS REAL GUYS like holy cow. My companion is a beast. I
got so lucky :) Even though he doesn't speak fluently, it doesn't even
matter because he still talks to everybody. It's awesome and has
pushed me to be even more outgoing than I was before! I'm really
grateful for this opportunity to train because it's been my dream
since day 1 of my mission. We Just gotta keep pressing forward and
doing what we know is right and the Lord will take care of us. I'm
having so much fun and I know without a doubt that this is the work of
the Lord :)

That's all I got, thanks for all the love and support and extra
prayers especially this week! They don't go unnoticed and I'm
extremely grateful for every single one of you in my life. I wouldn't
be anything without my fans ;) have a great week, enjoy school, watch
some American football, and keep being the greatest family and friends
in the whole world :) LOVE YOU ALL TO PIECES!

Con Amor,
Elder Brady Smith

Pic from strangers in Spain!!

Pure love….. what you feel toward the strangers who take a picture of your son and his new companion at the train station.  And send it to your cell phone!
There is a lot of good in the world J

Pics from this week

Fattest dopest bulldog I've ever seen hahaha

We saw the Hermanas on the other side of the metro this week going
home haha they were banging on the windows like maniacs trying to get
our attention then it finally worked!

Early morning soccer this week! Elder stout pulled the cover off a
soccer ball and put it on his head and now he looks like MegaMind
hahahahaha

Noche de Hogar last night!!

Bye elder stout :(( oh and matching suits and ties

Lighting the match for the 1 year mark!!

It's a BOY!!!!!!

Hola Fam :)

Sooooooo I've got some good news for y'all.... I'M GONNA BE A DAD :)
boy oh boy I've been waiting for this moment literally my whole
mission! Forget district and zone leader, AP and everything else...
Training is where it's at :) so I'm pumped. My freaking hijo is gonna
be so swaggy and I'm really excited to see him! I will be picking him
up tomorrow afternoon by the temple and then the fun will begin :) so
pray for me that I don't mess him up too bad haha! Tonight there are
like 6 elders sleeping at my Piso because transfers mess everything up
so they need people to bunk with. Also.... It was really hard saying
bye to Elder Stout :(:( he was such a fun companion and I'm gonna
freaking miss him. He is headed up to Ovideo to be in the León zone
where I started my mission and his new companion is Elder Wright!!
That's what I'm talking about!! Haha they'll do great together.
President shook a ton of stuff up this transfer so we will see how
everything plays out :) well I don't remember hardly anything from
this week but here it is!

Well Alexander is all ready for his baptism and we actually moved it
up to Friday the 2nd of September. So my son is gonna have a baptism
his 2nd week in the field and that's dope. Not that numbers matter but
it will be a cool experience for us both! He has such a strong
testimony and tells us every time we visit him how happy he is and how
excited he is for his baptism! He had an interview with the bishop
this week and things are just looking good with him. I love that guy
:)

Um Thursday was HUMP DAY so we went and played soccer in the morning
(we have actually been playing soccer every day for the past 3 weeks
for morning exercises with the other elders) and then got a dozen
Dunkin' Donuts to celebrate :) we didn't have any candles so I just
shoved a match in one and then we lit it and ate them together.

Yesterday was spent saying goodbye to members cuz Elder Stout is
leaving but it was really fun. I hate transfers so much but I love
them so much more. It's the ultimate love/hate relationship. We had a
huge Noche de Hogar with a brand new family that another member
brought to introduce us to and they loved the things we shared with
them! So we were thinking this was gonna be a golden family to get
baptized and all and then they told us where they lived and it's super
far out of our area. So that was kinda a sucker punch to the kidneys
but hey, they'll get baptized somewhere else and that's all that
matters :) I really am enjoying my time here in B3 and it will be fun
to see how things go this next week with introducing my hijo to the
members and stuff :)

That's literally all I can remember from this week. Sorry it's not
that spiritual or interesting but hey I'm just excited to train :') I
seriously can't get that off my mind that I'm going to be a father. I
had a great trainer in Elder Peña and so hopefully I can do the same
for my new greenie. We will make it a great first week and hopefully
have a lot of fun stories to share in the next few transfers to come!
I'll try not to tease him too much ;) LOVE YOU ALL, TALK TO YOU IN A
WEEK :)

Con el amor de un padre nuevo,
Elder Smith

Pics from this week

CINNAMON ROLLS 😍 I ate 6

This is Ana, the one who asked me to come back and baptize her :)

A Bolivian food called Salteñas that are soooooo good

The Madrid East Zone this week!

Me with my new purchase of the week... A Dominican Flag!!

Us with Raul :) he is the one that just rents one bedroom and we
eat on his ironing board!

Hump Week and Finish Strong!

Hola loved ones :)

Another week has come and gone :) and you guessed it... I'm still
loving every single second! How could you not love it when you are in
the greatest country in the world with the most awesome people of all
time?! Haha I do miss all of you though so don't worry :) we had a
pretty good week, there are a few highlights I'd like to share as long
as some thoughts I've been having recently. Here it is :)

First off, on Tuesday night we had a lesson with our friend Raul. He's
a less active who we have been working with for a while now. He has
been coming to church which is really good and also going to marriage
classes with his wife! During our lesson, we were just chatting a bit
and then Raul told us that he had something to say. About 2 weeks ago
we taught Raul about tithing and how when we pay it, the Lord will
bless us for showing our faith. During the lesson a few weeks ago, I
shared a personal experience with him and he really liked it. So, Raul
decided it was time to pay his tithing! The day after he paid it, his
boss called him into his office and basically praised him for his good
work and told him he would be having more opportunities to work and
make more money! Raul was crying as he told us about how happy he was
that the Lord had answered his prayers to keep his job and thanked me
for the experience I shared. I was so happy for him! It was so
perfect. It strengthened my testimony that when we are willing to keep
the commandments, the Lord will do his part and bless us for trying.
We got to see a miracle first hand this week and it was all thanks to
Raul and his faith :)

We taught Alexander again this week about the law of chastity and it
went really well. Once again, he already knew what it was and hasn't
had any problems with it. He told us that he went on Facebook and
liked the Book of Mormon page and a few of his friends from other
religions started to bash him super hard. So I asked if I could see
what they were saying and holy cow, these guys were going so hard on
him trying to keep him from reading and talking with us! But as I was
reading Alexander's comments back to them, I was so surprised at the
way he responded. He was calm and testified of the spirit that he
feels when he reads and he feels when he is at church with us. And he
also said that the words are bigger in the Book of Mormon so it makes
it easier to read ;) I don't think I would have kept my cool as well
as he did! I was really proud of him and we are coming up quickly on
his baptismal date :) I love Alexander!!

Some other interesting things that happened this week were...

- We were out contacting this week and a guy from Mali named Mundo
came up to us and was super friendly. He was speaking to us in English
and it turns out that he has met with sister missionaries in Barcelona
before! He only ended up asking us for money but I didn't want to give
him any so I took him into a sandwich shop and bought him a sandwich
instead :) we got his reference and are going back to teach him this
week!
- I cut 4 more people's hair this week :) I'm getting better!
- Some old Spanish lady started to hit me with her little Asian fan
thingy on the bus because I was too close to her. We were on the most
crowded bus I have ever seen/been on in my whole mission and I was so
claustrophobic haha. I told her to calm down and that I was sorry and
she didn't like that so she just continued to swear and glare at me
until I got off. I was getting shoved around by everybody though so I
don't really know what she wanted me to do!
- I ate real Mexican Food and Cinnamon Rolls this week 😍 heavenly stuff
- My little GF in the ward, Ana, asked me if I was going to be here in
February and I said probably not and she said "no not this February,
the next one in 2018" and I said that I would be at home in Utah. Then
she got all sad and said "I want you to baptize me but you can't right
now because I'm only 6. Will you come back and do it?" I wanted to die
hahaha she's so cute! Heart = Melted

I can't and don't want to believe that this week I'm hitting my 1 year
mark. It feels like just yesterday I was getting set apart! The one
thing that I have really learned and come to appreciate on my mission
is love. I now realize that without it, you have nothing. Missionary
work is love. You need to love everybody. Everyone who knows me knows
how big of a people person I am and so the mission has taken that and
just blown it out of the water :) I love these people so much, I love
every one of my companions, and I love my Savior. Before my mission I
don't know if I could say he was my best friend and the one I would
turn to, but without a doubt now he is my numero 1 :) I know I can go
to him and my Heavenly Father for anything and everything. Even though
I love you all so much and these people in Spain, they love us even
more. I am so grateful for the things I have learned and am excited to
keep on spreading this marvelous message of the gospel with everyone I
meet for another whole year!! FINISH STRONG :)

Sorry it's a long email but it was a good week :) thanks for your love
and support guys. 1 down and 1 more to go. HOLY COW! I'm excited,
nervous, happy, sad, just a little bit of everything. Today for P-Day
we went to Móstoles to play fútbol with a bunch of missionaries and it
was super fun :) oh and a BIG thanks to my wonderful mother and family
for the awesome hump day/year package!! I've got the greatest family
in the world :) I'm looking forward to this next week and the next
year! I'll talk to you all soon and you'll be hearing from me in 1
short week! Adiós :)

Con Amor,
Élder Brady Smith

Pics from this week

JUNK IN THE TRUNK CHAMPION RIGHT HERE FOLKS :) twerking pays off

Kebab security camera pic

Me and my buddy Dennison just hanging out on his balcony :)

After our hair cut session!! LOOK HOW GOOD I DID!!! Hahaha still in shock

Madrid sunsets and shotgun ear muff thingys #missionarylife

Someone started a picture line at the bus stop with passport photos
so I said why not?! Hahaha I'm a weird person :)

Going Left

Hey :):):) Hey :):):) Hey :):):)

I can't believe it's time to write again. I had a wonderful week :)
I'd like to share a few random/cool/funny highlights to get started.
First of all, do you remember the family from El Salvador in my last
area? It was Alfonso, Blanca, Kevin, and Josue. Well, they got sealed
together as a family in the Madrid Temple on Friday!!! Kevin called me
and invited me to the sealing but unfortunately we already had a few
appointments scheduled that we couldn't miss. BUT THEY GOT SEALED!!
That just makes me soooooo happy thinking about it :) and the other
funny thing is that Elder Stout let me cut his hair this week!! And
the good news is I found my new future career path hahaha!! It looks
sooooooo much better than I thought it would! I'm not bad at all :)
I'll put a picture of it at the bottom. Ok now for the good stuff :)

Alexander is doing wonderful. We taught him the word of wisdom and
once again he was completely on board with it :) so much fun to teach
someone who is so open to what the gospel has to offer. He even came
to our Minute to Win it activity on Friday and he loved it! He's quite
the character! Another cool thing this week was that we found a part
member family who just recently moved here from Honduras! The dad's
name is Carlos Madrid and he is a member as well as his youngest son
but his soon to be wife and other kids aren't. We had a very cool and
spiritual lesson with them about the importance of reading in the Book
of Mormon and going to church. They liked it so much that they came to
church with us on Sunday!! It was so fun to wake up early in the
morning and go pick them up to take them on the bus to church. I've
actually never picked an investigator up for church before so I can
finally cross that one off the bucket list :) but overall they stayed
all 3 hours and things are looking good with them, hopefully we can
help the wife and kids be baptized while I'm here!

On Friday night we had our huge Noche de Hogar/Minute to Win it
activity and holy SCHNIKES it was insanely awesome! We had some
incredible member support and everyone had a great time!! We made 10
different stations with various games and my station was the "junk in
the trunk" one. We emptied tissue boxes and put slits in the back and
made little belts to tie around a waist and then on the inside we put
8 ping pong balls! The objective was to see who could shake the ping
pong balls out the fastest and obviously I won :) all those years of
twerking and going crazy at school dances finally paid off haha! But
we had a really fun time, a lot of members came that we have never met
before. We split up the 27 page member list and each took 9 pages per
companionship and called every single person that had a number and
passed by everyone else with just addresses. So literally every single
person in the whole ward was invited by someone and it was a HUGE
SUCCESS PEOPLE :)

Sunday was bomb.com. We had 6 investigators at church which is my new
record for the mission! YIPPIE!! And on top of that, we had a
fantastic fast and testimony meeting and the spirit was definitely
present. A couple of the young men and women in the ward bore their
testimonies about EFY and that threw me back a bit, I had to hold back
some tears! The spirit was strong and once again the Holy Ghost
confirmed to me that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. I have
absolutely no doubt in my mind! The rest of Sunday we visited members
and ended the night with another Noche de Hogar in the park :) super
good Sunday and after days like that, I never want to come home haha.

That's the week folks! This upcoming week we have a lot of
appointments and member visits set up so it should be a good time :)
we received a lot of new references this last week too so we will see
how it goes meeting up and teaching those people! I hope to have new
fun things to report next week :) as for today, we were going to go to
Segovia but we missed a bus and there was some confusion so we ended
up going to the center of Madrid called SOL :) I bought some cheap
(probably stolen) authentic fútbol jerseys from my African friends on
the sides of the streets! Haha oh Madrid :) I love this city and this
country soooo much. Thank you all for the prayers, letters, and
support. I love you all and have an excellent week  ❤️  enjoy summer
while it lasts ;))

Con Amor,
Elder Smeeeeeeeffffffff