We had a really good week

Hey guys how are all y’all doing? And the hurricane hit the other side of the city that I live in, they got some damage but live on the other side so we didn’t get much. It’s weird that everyone is back in school and football has started again. It’s really weird not knowing what in the world is going on in football. It looks like it is way hot there, I bet Jacob is dying. But today we went to Santiago for p-day and not really anything interesting there. I'll send a photo of my comp and me next week when we go to the beach.

But this past week as been rather hot as well, I am just glad that I was in the MTC during the month of August. But we had a really good week and are having one right now. Monday and Tuesday together we had 12 lessons so we are working hard and trying to meet as many as new people as possible. We are working hard with the families that we have and we had an awesome FHE with the Polanco family with another family in our ward. But we have a guy named Felix that we contacted last week that is the most golden investigator that you can have. Every time we leave him something to read he reads it and figures out the theme and studies it with the index in the Book of Mormon. So when we show up he pretty much knows everything. He isn’t married but that is what the topic is next lesson. But we are doing really well.

I hope that everyone is doing well, and I hope that BYU has a good team. Good luck in school and sports guys! I hope that y’all have a good week!

Love, Elder Smith

I did survive the hurricane

Hey what’s up guys? And yes I did survive the hurricane. I have never seen it rain for 2 days straight like I saw Monday and Tuesday. I love how I didn’t even know that a hurricane was hitting until it actually started hitting us. Monday Elder Feliz and I were out teaching and contacting and getting drenched when we got the call that had to go to the house and that a hurricane was hitting us. So we had to stay inside the house Monday night and all of Tuesday so that sucked. Yesterday we had 2 references to go contact with members and had appointments but we couldn’t leave. Oh well at least we have a house of 4 and we could play dominoes as the storm passed. Yeah we didn’t have power most of the storm but we have it now. So it ruined our plans to go to the beach today, so I was bummed out.

But my new comp Elder Feliz is a stud and sometimes acts a little childish but is a good missionary. We pretty much have to start from scratch this transfer, we left a lot of the people that we were teaching that stopped progressing. So we are contacting a lot which is hard seeing how we have the smallest area in the mission. It gets old contacting the same houses. But we are finding some people here and there. We are still working hard with the Polanco Family to complete it, we had a sweet Family Home Evening planned with them Monday night but thanks to Irene we didn’t get to do it. All of the baptisms are doing awesome, Engher and Carlos have the priesthood and help in the sacrament.

Yeah I won’t be able to imagine a 25 hour car ride when I get home, to get from one side of the island to the other here it is only like 3 1/2 hours. Enjoy some good pizza and Chipotle for me. I hope all is going well with football for Jacob and work for dad. Take care guys, love y’all!

Elder Smith

Our 3 baptisms went down this past week

Hey what’s up guys? I’m glad to know that y’all enjoyed y’alls trip to Florida. Here it is hot and humid like none other right now and I could use a trip to the beach to cool off. Here I am just constantly sweating, my scriptures have sweat stains from when I am studying to when I am out teaching and it sucks because the pages stick together. I’m glad to hear that Kirk is back in the game, and yeah the Astros are just sucking this year. Dude Jacob you got to pick up the slack man, where are the sports updates man. Football is about to start and I know nothing, and I heard John Beck is starting for the skins, dude hook me up!

But on to more important things, our 3 baptisms went down this past week as y’all can see from the pictures. It was a really good service and the room was packed with members and we had a good turnout. I did one of the baptisms and one of the confirmations so it felt good to get into some cool water in this heat. I love it how in my first 11 months I didn’t have a single baptism and in these last 2 months I have had 6! But the baptism was a good experience for the parents and for the family in whole. I’m hoping to get them married this transfer.

But on the other side Elder Montepeque got transferred and I got a new comp that is named Elder Feliz (he is always happy). He is from Santo Domingo and is energetic which is good. Supposedly he is a baller at basketball so we will find out soon. We have a lot of work to do this transfer. We have to stop teaching some people and find new people to teach. We are both new in the area so we got to start knocking iron railings. Yesterday we had a sweet ward activity and we did an open house for friends of members and investigators which turned out really well! We showed them around the different parts of the church and different groups and quorums and had food. I ate Mexican food for the first time in about 5 months last night with soft tacos with guacamole and it was amazing! We met some new people last night so that was good.

I hope y’all have a good week and enjoy the last week of freedom, and also luck to Jacob on his talk. Take care guys, Love y’all!

Love, Elder Smith

The Contreras Polanco Family



This is the little Contreras Polanco that Matthew baptized..I need a name for him



We had a dry weekend

Hey family how was y’alls vacation in Florida? I liked the photo on your blog, nice! Thanks a lot I love y’all a lot too! Ah dang it, I was hoping that Javier would come to this mission, but I'm glad that he is going to Chile. I think my roommate from college is serving in that mission. The summer went by way fast, I think it is has been one of the fastest summers that I can remember. It looks like there will be a lot of new members of the family when I get home. Keep working on that flying dad, it will come soon. It’s just like driving a car right?

But we had a dry weekend this past weekend, but we are going to have 3 baptisms this weekend. We have a family that we are teaching that we were going to get married this week, but in the process we found out that Otoniel is already married to another woman and he has to get divorced first which makes the process quite a bit more lengthy. So that was an unwanted surprise that wasn’t expected. So we are working with them to get everything figured out so they can get married and baptized. We were going to baptize the whole family this Saturday, but the parents still want their kids to be baptized so we are baptizing Angel, Ruth, and Israel this week if everything goes as planned. Otoniel finally got motivated this past week to put things in action, so we hope his desire keeps going. Also we were going to baptize Marcos this week but last week when we went to his house he had some friends over with beer so that baptismal date failed. We are still fighting to find some new people, but it is kind of hard right now.

I hope that y’all get home safe and sound. I can’t believe that Brittney is already heading off to BYU already, dang time passes fast. Enjoy the last part of summer and take care!

Love, Elder Smith



The picture from the family blog.
This was our response to the message he sent us in the sand.
I think the sand where we were at was a lot whiter, but the beach there in Puerto Plata looked much nicer than our sand.



I'm ready for a good ole tropical storm, bring it on!

Hey guys, how are y’all doing? And yeah I'm ready for a good ole tropical storm, bring it on! And yes our baptism did go down this past week, and it was legit. Carlos with some other kids from the ward got baptized this week so our ward had some fun Saturday. I also got to do my first confirmation Saturday with a girl in our ward that wanted me to do it. And finally I got a letter from Andrew so he is off the hook for now. But yeah I'm glad y’all got the DVD and I hope everything works on it. I'm praying that Javier comes to this mission that would be legit!

Well the past week has been a little rough in trying to find people, so on Monday Elder Montepeque and I went to the coast and started contacting people on the beach so that was fun. Next week we could have a possibility of 5 baptisms, but we have some barriers we have to break first. We have the Contreras- Polanco Family which has 3 kids that have gone to church for over a year straight and really wants to get baptized next Saturday and the mom with them. But we have to get the Dad convinced, and there is a good chance that we get them married by next Saturday. The Dad is kind of the stumbling block of the rest of the family. Also we have a guy named Marcos that is almost ready to get baptized, and we are hoping he pulls through soon.

Well I hope y’all enjoy your vacation in Florida, hoping that it doesn’t rain. Take care, and have a great week!

Love, Elder Smith

Carlos with his parents

Matthew, Carlos and Elder Montepeque

Carlos with kids from the Ward

Decided to buy some machetes and go hike up the mountain in Puerto Plata.

Hey how are y’all doing? I am glad to hear that Grandpa Brink is doing well, and I hope Grandpa. Smith is well too. Also I bet y’all are glad to have football back.
But yeah we got hit with a wicked storm Saturday morning. We got woken up like at 6:00 in the morning from a lightning strike that struck near our house.
Yeah Kirk would be a pretty good body guard; (in reference to him shadowing Brittney at BYU if he doesn’t play in the NFL this year) I would keep my distance.

So for our p day Elder Childs, Guzman, Contreras, and I decided to buy some machetes and go hike up the mountain in Puerto Plata. That was one of the most intense things I have ever done in my life. It was a combination of hacking with machetes, rock climbing and about every hiking skill there is. We didn’t quite make it to the top, but we got about 95% of the way up. We hit a dead end with a huge wall to climb and we decided not to risk it. So we started at 7:00 in the morning and got up and down by 1:00 pm so I am absolutely dead.


The work is doing great here, we have a baptism this week! We have a 12 year old that has gone to church for over a year with his friends so he wanted us to teach him, so we have been teaching him for the past couple of weeks and is getting baptized Saturday. So it was a free gift from some members, which is always nice. His name is Carlos and he is a way smart kid and will help out the Deacons Quorum here. We had a great lesson with a couple that needs to get married Monday night, so we are hoping they can turn the corner before the end of the transfer. We still have our families that need to get married, they do everything other than the getting married part. We are trying to find some new people and have some success. We found a guy that was a stud investigator but just moved to Santo Domingo so we lost him.

Our ward here is pretty cool. I had to give a talk on Sunday so it was my first time to give a talk in like 6 months. Usually members work in construction, farming, cooking, or killing animals.
Well I hope y’all enjoy this last part of the summer that is left! Take care, love you guys!

Elder Smith

View from the hike

We had 6 investigators at church and went to Sosua Beach for P Day

Hey what is up guys? It sounds like everything is going good back home. In 365 days I'll be on an airplane heading towards Houston! It is great to hear that Grandpa Brink is recovering well, and hope every thing goes well with Grandpa Smith. I hope Javier gets called out here and I can train him, it would be easy since he already knows Spanish. Jacob survived some heat and humidity, good job you survived a week. Today we went to Sosua beach for the day, so that was way fun other than we couldn’t get in the perfect water. I know why people pay to come to this country now. We played some soccer on the beach so my comp was happy for that.

Elder Montepeque is pretty tight, we get along really well and he is an awesome teacher. Our ward is pretty tight, there are usually about 120 people in Sacrament Meeting every week so it is pretty consistent. Everything runs well in this ward other than in the gospel principles class the teacher was teaching that we should pray to Jesus instead of Heavenly Father, talk about apostasy! We had 6 investigators at church so I like the numbers here. We are working really hard to get some of our couples married but it is hard when they don’t have their information, or a little bit of extra money to pay for it. One of the people we are teaching is 16 and he is living with his 27 year old girlfriend, talk about awkward. Contacting is a little hard, Elder Montepeque has contacted every house in our area and it’s hard when you do the same houses again. He just tells me to pick cause he already has tracked everything.

I hope everything is going well at home, the summer is passing by fast! Enjoy the new furniture, I can’t wait to sit on a real couch again! Take care, Love you guys!

Love, Elder Smith

Matthew and his companion, Elder Montepeque 

Matthew and Elder Jimenez(he is best friends with Elder Reyes, one of Matthew's former companions)

Matthew and Elder Child, he lives in the house with him

People from his Zone
Which one is the American???

His shirt blends in with the water and sky

They found Bob Marley

Relaxing on P Day

We love you too!

Scenery

Clear water.
We don't see that on our Texas beaches

I wish I could go swimming!

Our area is doing pretty well.

Hey what’s up guys? I survived the strike that didn’t quite make it up to here. That is good to know that Grandpa Brink is doing better, my thoughts and prayers are for both of my grandpas. It sounds like Jacob (who is at scout camp) is just getting ready for his mission call here, its good for him. My new area is awesome, a little small but that means less walking. Elder Montepeque is a stud, we get along really well and teach well together. Santiago was pretty chill today. I got to see Cesar so that was good to see that he is still going strong. But yeah, I am in another 4 man house to make 7/8 transfers in a 4 man house.

Our area is doing pretty well, we have a good number of investigators and for the most part they are families which is good. We had 7 investigators in church on Sunday which was a good sign for my first Sunday here. The Church is true here! Just kidding, but really it is. We actually have a ward here. I got roped into playing the piano for Sacrament Meeting again. The last elder here before me played and they caught me practicing during the week so I was forced into it. We have some legit investigators that always read, pray, and go to church so it makes our job easy. We still have to get some of them married, so that will be the biggest challenge here. I miss that part of La Vega in that everyone was married legally.

I'm getting a pretty good farmer's tan out here, the only thing that saves me from the heat is the nice ocean breeze that comes in. I hope everything is going good at home and that y’all are enjoying the summer! Take care, Love y’all!

Elder Smith

This is what Matthew calls the Junk Beach in Puerto Plata.
It's still better than Galveston!



Matthew and Elder Montepeque



I’m on a beach! I got transferred to Puerto Plata.

Hey what’s up guys? I’m doing great, we had another baptism this past week and it was awesome! Hey guess what, I’m on a beach! I got transferred to Puerto Plata (Silver Port) and I extend the mission with another Latino comp from El Salvador named Elder Montepeque, I’m going to forget English pretty soon. He seems way tight and says we have some people that are good here, but none of them are married legally so we have to work with that. But I’m stoked that Javier put in his papers, he can come join me out here. Dad finally let go of the Dodge, it will be weird seeing my truck in the other driveway when I get home.

So yeah I was kind of bummed to leave my last area because we had a lot of people progressing and of all of the juice that we got from the members, but I was stoked when I was called to one of the coolest areas in the mission. Seeing the beach today was sweet other than the fact that I can’t go swim. We baptized Edi this past week and I got my second baptism. He was a stud, we started teaching and baptized him in the same transfer. It is awesome Cesar and Edi help each other out a lot, and they have already started paying their tithing! The branch in La Vega was sick and helped us out a lot. Now I am in a ward for the first time in my mission.

My new area looks pretty legit, we have the mountains on one side, and the beach on the other. You can see the mountains behind the photo of my comp and I. I can’t wait to take a gondola up to the top of it and see everything. I hope that y’all enjoy the photos that I sent home. I really don’t have too much to say because I don’t know how things are here yet.

I love you guys, take care and enjoy the summer!

Love, Elder Smith




Matthew and his new companion, Elder Montepeque (pronounced Montapecker)




Mildred and her daughter, they always gave the missionaries juice




Saying goodbye to Edi and Cesar



Matthew found a friend

Matthew, Jose Miguel and Elder Jimenez

Matthew with Dariel who is a RM. Matthew was going to baptize his wife in 2 weeks but got transferred

Matthew, Elder James and Elder Kinney



At a dinner cita (appointment)



Matthew eating in the dark, you know the power goes off all the time



Edi's baptism



Matthew and Edi

Matthew, Edi, Cesar and Jimenez



At the Tourist Trap



We have another baptism this week!

Hey what is up! I am doing well for the most part, I just wish the power wouldn’t keep going out all of the time. The power never used to go out and we don’t have an inverter so when it goes it goes. Sleeping is a little hard without the fan, but oh well. But we got hit by a freak storm the other day, it was hailing here! And we got hit by a tornado! Good thing we were in our house and not in the street when it hit.

But on the good side we have another baptism this week! We are baptizing someone named Eddi who is a stud. We have only been teaching him for 4 weeks and he has already met all of the requirements and has a testimony. We had a sweet branch activity at his house last night which helped him out a bunch. This means our branch is going to have a baptism every Saturday for the next three weeks in a row. We also have some other people that are awesome that are progressing mainly Jose Miguel. He is already going to institute and has his friends for support so it’s a favorable situation.
We have transfers next week, thankfully. I love my comp but we are two different people and are styles of doing things are way different, so we have had some mini clashes in the past week. Its aright I have a good 60 pounds on him. But the Dominicans in our district have paired off with the sisters, so we have had some problems in our district. Our district meeting the other day was Elder Kinney trying to teach and our comps chatting with the sisters not even paying attention and me in the middle of them, talk about an awkward situation! So these problems as been here for a couple of weeks now and the zone leaders and assistants have tried to talk to them, but it has just gotten worse. So I might be staying next transfer with Kinney if they combine the area which is probable.
The weather sounds like the weather here, hot and humid! Well I hope y’all have a great week, Love ya a ton!

Elder Smith



They serenaded the Mission President when he was there




The infamous Kola Real Challenge he talked about previously.
The challenge was who could drink it the fastest, they may be missionaries, but still boys 



Another waterfall picture.