Happy Easter ""He is Risen"

Well, the only thing the Lost Bread has to do with is the fact, we bought bread on Monday...and searched for it throughout the week and could not find anything...it was quite disappointing.

Sorry, I do not have very much time this week, so it will be quite short, however I have one really cool story to share with you!

We were waiting outside a library waiting for people to talk with, then we decide we need to give one of our investigators a call (His name is Kevin we have been meeting with him for about 3 weeks) so we give him two calls, no answer to either...then we look down the road, and in the darkness of the night we see Kevin!!! We yell his name(maybe too loud...but we were excited) then we end up walking and teaching him while he heads back to his apartment. Earlier we had taught him the Word of Wisdom, so we were kind of following up on that, asked him how that was going. Then he shared an experience where one of his "friends" tried to get him to denounce Christianity, and smoke some sort of drug with him, so he turns to his friend, and roughly says, No way man! Then leaves the apartment made me really happy to hear about him doing that and standing up for what he knows to be right. It was really cool.

But yeah, that was one of the many highlights this week of being a missionary! Another was definitely Easter, it makes me think of the hymn "He is Risen" probably one of my favorite songs, I VERY, much suggest that you check it out.

Love you all!
Happy Easter!
Don't ever forget about Christ!
As well prepare for conference!(think of questions, ex: What does God want me to do in life right now? How can I better do...)
Again Love you all!
-Elder Smith =)

Photo fun text

Hello! My family is visiting UVA and we just met your Elder.  
He was nice and friendly and we thought we would send a picture.  
My husband and I both served missions and our tall son currently
 has his papers in. It was a real treat to for us to
 see the missionaries.  I hope you are having a great day! 
Love, Stephanie Nelson (sugar house, Utah)

Photo

Teach all the World

Sweet Power of Prayer

Hello,
This week was really great, my companion is amazing, the area is
great, and yeah. Everything is wonderful. Had a really amazing miracle
this week.
So a little background last week we walked past some people speaking
Chinese, Elder Snow stopped them, asked if we could sometime practice
Chinese with them, one said ok! Then we meet with him next week,
practiced Chinese discussing different things, then got to the end, talked
about when we can meet again, what we will discuss, and he asks if we
can discuss religious things next week! We of course said ok!
We meet this past week, start talking about the Bible, the beginning
of everything kind of. We explained that a bit, then he wants to know
about the New Testament because he doesn't really know about it. We
explain that, then get to the end, and ask him if he is willing to say
a prayer. We first say an example prayer for him, then he thinks for a
long while...then he says he is ready to pray. Then he proceeds to say
one of the most heartfelt prayers I have ever heard. Especially from
someone who doesn't really have a belief in God, and for his first
prayer. The Spirit was so strong. It was an amazing miracle, so
grateful that Heavenly Father let me be a part of that experience.
Then a little added bonus, it was all in Chinese.
And there you go for my week!!
Love you all!
Elder Smith

Transfers and new companion but move wasn't far

Well, not sure if I told anyone, but I don't really get transferred
being a Mandarin missionary here, however things have changed!!! I
didn't get transferred, however my companion did, he just went to the
other ward here in C'Ville, and Elder Snow came over with me to the
YSA ward. So things are kind of different. I moved over to the other
side of our apartment! Other than that...not much change....also one
of our Zone Leaders that is a great friend(Elder Albrecht) got
transferred and is now an Assistant. Real sad to see him leave....but
that is the story of transfers.

The week was real good, we talked to lots of sweet people, it was a
little slow because of Spring Break...but still really good! Met this
really cool guy named Mike, he doesn't have any belief in God, but he
is super willing to look into it! We is willing to put in the work to
be baptized April 9th!! It was super cool...met with him twice this
week, he has a lot of questions seeing he doesn't have a background
with God, but he is super sweet!

Other things that happened during the week...were filling up our water
in a library, some guy stares at us and says..."you know you could
come back to reality" Elder Snow:"why would I do that?" Guy walks off
without a word....comes back stares at us...says "ever find an
arrowhead?"...."No"....."Ever find a sword?"...."No" man walks
off.....so that happened.

Also were about to stop two ladies on the street they say "oh,
hey....well we won't try to convert you today...." Yeah weren't really
sure what that was about. But one of them Used to be a Mormon...then
changed her mind I guess...it was weird.

But other than that it has been a great week! One cool spiritual thing
thing, President Wilson came to our sacrament meeting and said
something like "The way we eliminate the unnecessary distractions in
life defines who we really are" James E. Faust said "We need to learn
how to filter out the static generated by Satan." In this modern world
so many voices compete for our attention. However, because we can have
the Gift of the Holy Ghost. This Gift can always lead and guide us in
our life, if we are listening. And one suggestion I have found that
helps us hear that voice, is setting aside specific time for Heavenly
Father each day, through prayer and scripture study. As we set aside
time for the Lord, we feel the Spirit more abundantly in our life,
which can lead and be our guide in decisions in life, that we need a little
extra help on. The power of the Holy Ghost is real, this Gospel is
real, you can feel the power of it in your life ever day. So grateful
to be a missionary right now, spreading this message here in C'Ville
Virginia.
Love you all, keep doing good things!
-Elder Smith

6 month mard

Well I hit my 6 month mark this week, and all I can say is I am so
grateful to have had 6 months to be a missionary. It is truly a great
experience.

This week was good, one cool thing that I will mention is we were
about to meet with this kid named Brendon, but he gave us a text
pretty much saying, that "nothing really has changed since we last
met, and I am not quite sure what I am looking for, so I don't think
it would the best if we met today"(this initially got me sad...he went
on to say)"I am heading out to Utah to visit so,e of my Mormon
relatives over arming break, I will see the Temple, talk with them,
and hopefully that will give me a better idea of what I am looking
for. When I come back the we can hopefully meet." Then I got quite
happy. So this week while he is in Utah, we will be praying for him a
lot. What made this special to me was he was very sincere, and honest
with us, which is kind of rare around UVA. This kid, his name is
Brenden, is really sincere and seeking out what God wants for him. I
see a lot of potential in him, it makes me really excited for how his
week in Utah goes.
Other than that the week has been normal, so it is quite great! =D
Love you all hope all is well!
The only thing I have to share is a quote from Preach My Gospel
"Enjoying the gifts of the Spirit should be one of your most earnest
desires." We need to look at our life, are we seeking the gifts of the
Spirit in our daily life? The Spirit is in a foretaste of eternal
life, as we seek the spirit, we can taste a little bit what eternal
life will be. What a great gift Heavenly Father has given us. We can
have that with us always. If we keep our covenants to the best we can,
always remember Jesus Christ and His Atonement for us. We can never be
grateful enough for that. How ver, as we do our best, the promise is
that we will always have his spirit with us.
Love you all! The Gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored! Look for
opportunities to share this message in action and by mouth!
斯密长老

Elder Smith