called to serve AZ a MESAnary: “Mint” a lot to me

So Sister McGee, who was my roommate for a transfer, goes home tomorrow. When we were roommates, her and her companion would always eat the mints I had (I gave permission to them that they could have some). They ate so many that they started buying mints and refilling my bag. Today I left her a pack of mints and a card that says, “you sure mint a lot to me.” Hopefully it makes her laugh.

Anyways, this week was good. We didn’t have a whole lot going on. We did have MLC on Thursday, and on the way there, since it was the last day of the month, we were calculating our miles for the month to see if we could also make it to the temple that night to help with Christmas Lights (since our ride to Christmas Lights told us they were leaving earlier and we didn’t want to do that). After some quick, extensive evaluation and calculation, I may have suddenly, but safely cut across a few lanes to take an exit off of the highway to cut off a couple of miles. We pushed the limit, but we ended up with 8 miles to spare for the month. I have never had this close of a call with miles before, but it all worked out okay.

On Saturday, we got to go to the temple with Nadia since it was her first time to do baptisms for the dead. We didn’t do any baptisms since we didn’t have family names, but it was great to be in the temple. It was awesome to see Nadia do baptisms for her own ancestors, and the Spirit was so strong!

Saturday night, as part of Skyline’s Ward Christmas Party, we went caroling at a care center, and it was a lot of fun, especially to see how much it meant to the residents at the place. They wanted us to stay longer and sing more, but we didn’t have the time. I wish we could have stayed longer though!

We also got transfer news, and nothing is changing for Sister Clark and I.

The other day, I was studying 2 Nephi 4, and I feel like I connected with Nephi and what he was saying. In verses 17-19, he is all sad and down because he feels like he should be better than he is. I was thinking how this relates to me as a missionary. Sometimes, I feel like I should be so much better at things because I have been out for awhile, but then I remember how much I have grown and changed, and those things I feel like I should be better at are still a lot better than when I first became a missionary. Now, I am just more aware of my shortcomings and where I can improve, kinda like Nephi. But like Nephi in chapter 4, I know I can trust God. Verse 26 also stood out to me, “O then, if I have seen so great things... why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow,...and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?” We may not be the best and we may have afflictions, but we have seen great things from Heavenly Father in our lives, and because of that we can have happiness and not “linger in the valley of sorrow.”

I love all y’all! Have a great week!

Sister Smith