Pics from this week

My mother from Paraguay and our 22 pound turkey :) 

Elena's Baptism!! 

My battle wound 

P-Day bowling fun :) B3 vs. B9

The district and our ward mission leader 

Zone conference feast!

Food, Elena, and #ILUMINAelMUNDO

Well HHHHEEELLLLLLLLLOOOOO my dearly beloved ones :)

Let me tell you, we had such a fantastic week! Holy cow if we keep having weeks like this I might never come home. The title of the email basically explains all that went on, we ate a lot of food, Elena got baptized, and the church came out with the DOPEST SICKEST MOST BORDERLINE GROTESQUE CHRISTMAS CAMPAIGN known to womankind! So I'll explain all that stuff with more detail now :) 

So thanksgiving was incredible. We had a zone conference that day and learned a lot of stuff about like how to begin teaching and the new Christmas initiative that the church came out with. We will get into that later :) but it was fun. We had a big feast after as a zone and had some nice chatting with other missionaries! Then later that night, we went over to my Paraguayan mother's house and she cooked us a 22 POUND TURKEY HOLY COW it was soooooo good and definitely a Thanksgiving I'll never forget. Being with the people you love and some good food is definitely the best feeling in the world :) We have had sooooooo many eating appointments this week.... I have never eaten so much in my whole life. I need to start running again haha. SOLID THANKSGIVING!

ELENA GOT BAPTIZED :):):) it was a marvelous day. All her family came to support her and she was glowing with happiness! It took her and her son a few times to get the baptismal prayer right and for her to go completely under, but after all, she went under :) her non-member husband was there and when her son got up to bare his testimony, the husband started to cry! He went and talked to the bishops wife and told her that he was gonna be baptized next. We are making some serious progress with them guys so I'm really pumped to see what the future brings with them! And of course Elena got confirmed yesterday so it was just the cherry on top :) SOLID WEEKEND! 

I sure hope you have all seen the new Christmas video called #LIGHTtheWORLD. if not, stop reading this and go look it up. Seriously. It's fire. We have been out in the streets contacting this week and we have been able to share the video and talk a little bit about the acts of service that we can do. I honestly am so hyped to start this puppy up! The members are all on board, the mission, the whole world is gonna be lit up with the light of Christ! So I invite all of you to give your all this Christmas season and light the world with the light of Christ! This is going to be a memorable Christmas if we do it right, I mean there is a freaking giant billboard in NYC's TIMES SQUARE so that means it's super important. It's gonna be a SOLID CHRISTMAS SEASON FOLKS! 

That was my week. Oh and this morning I got in a fight with a grizzly bear and he scratched my forehead really bad! Haha actually it was just the clip on my name tag. It looks bad and kinda stings but I should live. Maybe people will want to talk to me and ask me what happened and I'll get more references! Haha ;) but I'm so happy. And today for p-day we went bowling as B9 and B3 missionaries!! Good stuff :) I love thanksgiving and Christmas so much! I hope you all had a great week and get into the Christmas spirit this coming week :) LOVE YOU ALL!! 

Con Amor,

Elder Brady Smith 

Pics from this week

Outside the Atlético Madrid stadium just before

Atlético played Real Madrid :) 

TURKEY BOWL CREW

TANNER look out for her, she lives in Fuengirola :) 

The Pit today where we played real football  me, elder kiser, elder Gearig, and

elder Reese were definitely the MVP's 

Turkey Week!!! Woooo Hoooo!!

Hola familia :):) 

Well I don't have a ton of time today because we were playing basketball and having the 1st Annual  Spain Madrid Mission  TURKEY BOWL  haha it was so much fun. I have pictures attached at the bottom. But this week was incredibly fun! Kinda slow but things are moving along :) here's the summary!

So, elder Johnson is probably the funniest person next to bryson Gallagher and GHam. I seriously am laughing my butt off 24/7 and he is a really hard worker too. Every night I have to call all the members of our district and do like a check up and then after, I just hand the phone over to elder Johnson and he tells them a joke and all I hear is the people through the other end of the phone laughing their heads off haha! We have been getting along really well and have set our goals and sights high for this transfer. We've got 5 more weeks to make some magic happen here! 

So this week we met up with Nancy's daughter, Violeta! I'm sure you all remember Nancy from Venezuela who left the country last week. Well we talked for a bit with Violeta and she was super cool! She believes a lot in God and really liked the fact that 2 young people would dedicate so much time to serving other people. She has been through a lot of trials in her life and is really open to learning more. So good things will be coming with us and Violeta! And speaking of her mom, Nancy, she called me yesterday! We were eating with some members and the phone rang and when I answered it, I knew immediately who it was! It was so good to hear her voice! I love Nancy so much and she said that she found the missionaries in Venezuela so she is continuing with them :) they are some great people! 

Elena's baptism is this Saturday!! She's so excited for it that it's making me excited too! Her happiness is contagious. For someone that has waited so long for this special day, she is so calm and content. She has taught me a lot just by her example and willingness to follow the Savior. Her son Angel is going to baptize her and it's gonna be the greatest day of all time! Hopefully next week I'll have more to report on the baptism and how it went but for now, keep her in your prayers :) 

With this week being Thanksgiving, I want to give you all a special thanks for the influence you have had in my life. Especially my parents and sisters! The longer I am out, the more I realize how important family is. I would not be here serving or even close to the same person I am today without you 4! I love and miss you guys so much. I am grateful for this Thanksgiving season and all the things my Heavenly Father has blessed me with. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to serve as a full time missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I love the people I'm serving with my whole heart and I love this country too. I know God sent me here to find my long lost family and friends and bring them closer unto Him. I invite all of you to think about the things you are grateful for and THANK YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER :) all that we have comes from him and isn't it wonderful that we have someone who loves us so much?!?! 

Love you all. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and go play in a turkey bowl for me! And stuff yourselves full of food, of course :) Oh and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send me your Christmas cards! There is nothing I love more than a good Christmas card :) talk to you all soon! 

Con Amor,

Elder brady smith 

Pics from this week

The last meeting with nancy!

Dropping the nino off at the train station for 

VALLADOLOD this morning!

Zone Conference J

One of the eating appts we had yesterday!

Sweater twins.. a parting gift from Elder Jones to me!

Crazy Semana!

Hello all :')

Well it was a crazy good week with an even crazier finish! Keep
reading to find out more :) :) :)

Okey dokey... so remember how last week I said that President always
has a card up his sleeve for transfers? Well folks, he played it :) I
was so surprised when transfer calls came in hahaha it was about the
last thing I was expecting. So, I'm staying a 4th transfer in B3 which
means I'll be here for Thanksgiving and Christmas! But, Elder Jones is
leaving! Normally greenies are in their first areas for about 6 months
so it was really surprising! But guess where he's going?!?! Yep :)
VALLADOLID!!! He will be serving in the exact same companionship that
Elder Peña and I opened just over a year ago! He'll be in my same
piso, he'll be there the exact same time of year as me, he will meet
all the people I know, everything the exact same! I was so blown
away!! I seriously am so excited for him haha he is going to the
greatest place in the whole mission. My new companion in B3 will be
Elder Johnson! He is from Nampa, Idaho and has been out for a year! So
now I will have had 2 Johnson's and a Jones :) he's a great guy so I'm
excited to see what happens these next six weeks! So that's what
happened with transfers :) now here's how the week went!

So Elena passed her baptismal interview :) WOOO HOOO :) she wants to
be baptized on 26th of November in the morning so that all her family
can come to support her. She is kind of a gift that fell from the sky,
but we are still really excited for her. She has been waiting for over
10 years to be legally married and now finally can be baptized! She's
been preparing for a while and I'm just glad we can be here to help
her move on to the next step :) I'll keep y'all updated on how
everything goes with her!

So probably the saddest part of the week... Nancy left Spain :( she
went back to Venezuela! We called her on Thursday (elder jones
birthday) and met up with her, and while we were sitting in a park
talking, she told us that her daughter bought her a ticket back to
Venezuela. Her youngest daughter lives here and Nancy came to try and
help her out, but things didn't end up turning out too well. So, it
literally came as a complete surprise. Right when she said that, i was
like immediately shocked. I am going to miss her soooooo much, when we
said goodbye, she pulled us both in and gave us hugs and besos ;) she
made us sign her Book of Mormon and kept telling us that it was her
most prized possession. I have no doubt that she will be baptized in
Venezuela one day. She lives by the church over there. She has had a
crazy hard life. Her husband was a journalist and one day, some people
didn't like an article that he wrote so they went to his house and
killed him and put a gun to the youngest daughter's head and
threatened to kill her too but didn't. She is one of the strongest
people I have ever met and I am going to miss her sooooooo much.
Change is hard but for her its going to be the best thing right now!

We are doing super duper good with our family from Honduras, we
visited them 3 times this week and the dad was a bit sick, so we gave
him a blessing and he has started to feel a lot better. I think i
mentioned it in my last email, but they finally got married civilly!
And the wife who is catholic, she has been reading so much every day
on LDS.org and the Book of Mormon as well. We take the kids to church
every Sunday and i think we could see some possible baptisms with them
in the coming months. They are literally the greatest family of all
time, they make us the best food in the whole world every time we go
over and i feel so good helping them out. I just love missionary work
so much wooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwww.

MY SON IS GONE! I am so glad i had the chance to serve with elder
jones. He is a machine. Honestly some days it feels more like he
trained me than i trained him. He was only here for 2 transfers, but
he left his mark in a good way. We had like 3 separate eating
appointments yesterday just so the people could say goodbye to him! I
learned so much during our time together and consider him my little
brother who is a lot taller than me haha :) Valladolid needs him right
now and im so sure that he is going to have so much success! Go North
Chaval!!

This morning we went on our final breakfast trip, and as we were
walking in the street, we passed a guy from New York and he was with
his daughter. We started to talk with him and he has a lot of friends
that are mormons and he wished us luck and told us to pray for him.
Then, his 5 year old daughter looked up at him and said "no daddy, we
should pray for them. They need it!" It was the cutest thing in the
world and got me thinking about all the people who have been
supporting me throughout my mission. I promise not a single prayer
goes unnoticed. I am so grateful for the family and friends that all
of you reading this are and have been for me my whole life, especially
during my mission. Things are sooooooo very good right now. I love
this church with everything i've got!

Elder Johnson and i are gonna tear it up this week and you'll hear
from me soon :) have a great one familia y amigos and stay safe!! LOVE
YOU ALL :)))))))))) ❤️❤️

Con Amor,
ELDER smith

Pics from this week

Toledo :)

Toledo :)

The wedding for Elena! 

An sweet couple that me and elder kiser found in the metro a few weeks ago :)
 they are from utah! What great people and small world! 

Toledo :)

Holy Toledo it's Cold!

Good day FAMILIA :)

Last week of the transfer has arrived!! Super excited to see what happens :) honestly I have no idea what to expect, President always has a few cards up his sleeve! I'm happy  where I'm at and whatever happens will be great. Today for P-Day we went to Toledo so I'll put some pics of that at the bottom! Here's a bit about the week! 

We had the wedding celebration for Elena on Friday! She was so happy and when we met up with her this week, she was getting all ready for the celebration. When she went up to talk at her wedding, she exclaimed to the crowd... "I will be baptized next week!" Haha it caught us off guard but now we definitely will have a baptism within the next few weeks! She has taken the lessons a long time ago so we just need to go over all the doctrine, have her interview, and get her dunked! It was kinda a gift that fell out of the sky but seriously she is so awesome. We are working on her husband as well :) then when he gets baptized, their goal will be the temple in a year! CHAA HOOO!! 

Next thing cool thing to report would probably be that we had Stake Conference yesterday. It was super awesome, we had an area seventy visit us and he talked to us about how converted we are unto the Lord. And our stake president talked to us about different ways that we can show the Lord that we will do anything to serve him. And i got to see my friends from Talavera so that's obviously a plus :) we took our friends from Honduras with us and had our friend Erik come too! It was a huge success. After stake conference, we did weekly planning and had our correlation meeting with our new ward mission leader! It went super well then had a Noche de Hogar with one of our favorite families in the ward. Solid Sunday :) 

We got this new app called Area Book Planner for our iPads which is supposed to make things a ton easier but honestly has just added to the stress pile haha. Im not the biggest fan of it yet but hopefully with more time and practice, i'll get the hang of it. Some weeks i feel like there is more to report than others, but yeah. There's the basic summary of all that we had :) lots and lots of contacting and failed lessons too which always stinks but just part of life. In order to teach, you gotta find :) 

As i was reading this morning in Helaman 3:35, it says "Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God." It stuck out to me big time and I don't know why. Wouldn't it be so awesome to sanctify our hearts unto the Lord? And show him that we love him with everything we have got? When we give him our all, he promises us so many blessings, he just asks us to devote all we have to him. I hope that we can all look for more ways this week to sanctify ourselves and come closer unto our Heavenly Father who loves us so much :)

So yeah, there you have it :) sure do love and miss you all! Have a fantastic week and we will be talking before we know it again!

Con Amor,

Elder Smith

Pics from this week

Intercambio meal :)

Our Dominican investigator Daniel with the book he just finished writing!

The scariest halloween graffiti that i could find....

Halloween celebration today... Dominos :)

Intercambios with elder liptrott, nancy, and our friend Calixto!

Fresh like Lettuce

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! 🎃

To be completely honest, I don't like halloween that much haha. Its
better at home with family and friends but on the mission its not too
bad either! I remember last year with Elder Peña celebrating halloween
:) i miss that guy. But HELLO to everyone! It wasn't too bad of a
week! Just more work as usual! Elder Jones and I are currently in our
11th week together and that means that next week will be the last week
of transfers! Sooooo anything could happen. We are happy together and
working hard so whatever the change brings, we will roll with it! Here
is a bit about the week :)

I'll just start out with the most eventful thing this week, we had
intercambios with the other B3 Elders and i went with my buddy Elder
Liptrott from England! This guy is a stud. We both got to B3 at the
same time and so we know each other really well. He came with me and
we had a fun day talking and contacting. Basically that was all we did
because we didn't have many lessons set up but we made it fun. We
taught our investigator Nancy about the 10 Commandments and we turned
to Mosiah in her Book of Mormon to read them and they were already
highlighted! So she is doing a really good job of keeping up on her
reading. Then we visited our friends Raul and Nancy who always feed us
like 2 times a week. It was a solid day and a nice little break to
learn from someone else! We stayed up late that night doing some
quality pillow talking haha i love elder Liptrott!

We taught our friend Mike again this Friday and he is doing good. He
has desires to learn more and keeps on praying and reading the
scriptures! He hasn't come to church yet though so that's what we are
focusing on with him. We taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ
which talks about the necessary things we need to do to return to live
with our Heavenly Father again. I love talking about the gospel
because it just makes sense. We have been talking to a lot of people
lately on the streets and they just aren't happy because they don't
have what we do! I am so grateful for all the missionaries in the
world spreading the happiness that we as members of the church have.
But Mike said he would come to church this week. Every time we leave
from the lessons with him he always says "Later Skaters" and winks
hahaha he's a character.

I was contacting this week and started talking to some older Spanish
lady and right when I asked her how her morning was going, she made
eye contact with me and started to sprint away haha. I guess she
really didn't want to talk to me. Elder Jones and I got a good laugh.

We came up with a new little lesson on the importance of the
scriptures and have been sharing it with the members when we eat with
them. We give them each a sheet of paper and 2 minutes to write down
their last words to a loved one, as if it was their last little bit of
advice for that person or group of people. They really put good effort
into it which makes the lesson so much more effective! Then we gather
up all the papers, ask them who they wrote to and why, and then we rip
them up into little pieces right in front of their faces. It comes
across very harsh, i even had a lady start screaming when i did it on
Wednesday haha. Then we relate it to the words of the prophets in the
scriptures, that they wrote the scriptures as their last little bit of
advice for us! And when we don't read the scriptures, we are
disregarding everything that they did for us, all the sacrifice that
it required on their part. Every member that we have shared it with
has committed to reading their scriptures more and sharing them with a
close friend :) super good idea.

Last bit of good news i have this week... one of our investigators has
been waiting for the marriage papers to go through and they finally
did!! Friday is the big day for her and her husband! So we are
throwing her a party that night and then within the next few weeks she
should be baptized! And her son is one of the priests in the ward who
blesses the sacrament so he is planning on baptizing her :) we are
super excited! Her name is Elena so feel free to pray for her and hope
everything goes smoothly!

I love you all and thanks for reading this far! Have a great week and
stay safe on this 👻SPOOKY HALLOWEEN HOLIDAY 👻

Con Amor,
eLdEr sMiTh