May 12 Update

Right after our email time last P day, we went to a mexican restaurant called "Chuy's". It was pretty good, but we were all sad that It would be our last time to see Elder Simmons, who went home this week. The next day after that, because our Cruze was in the body shop, we rode our bikes all around town. I went to ride my bike after lunch and the tire was flat. I got pretty upset about it, but for some reason I wanted to say a prayer (as we were walking across a crosswalk) and tell the lord that I'm not upset about what happened and am happy to be doing his work. I pushed my bike to walmart and bought a tube for it. As soon as i went to put it on in the walmart parking lot, I realized it was the wrong one and I needed one that walmart didn't sell. We decided to call one of our ward members, Brother Wallen, to come pick us up with his truck. He was already driving so he stopped by and picked us up. We sat down in his truck and he handed me $20 saying "hopefully this will offset the cost to fix your bike". He really made my day. What a great guy! The best part was realizing that my prayers were answered. Even though I didn't really ask for anything but just said thanks, the lord blessed me as he does all of his missionaries. We volunteered at the "Emergency Preparedness Fair" Saturday. That was a lot of work, but it gave our church a really good name. They got to see missionaries dressed in casual cloths and realize they are normal people and part of society. We are loving the opportunity to serve in Tennessee and are looking forward to another great week!

Mother's Day Skyping!

 Today was a great day because we got to Skype with Elder Smith! I think it is so great that we are able to Skype and see our missionaries faces now!!! It is good to see him and it was great being able to talk to him for a good 2 hours. He told us a lot about Tennessee, the things he is experiencing, and being able to share fun stories with him about what is going on here at home. He loved seeing his nieces and nephews and even a few animals were smuggled into our house to say hello :)
He looks and sounds great and we can tell he is happy and doing a great job as a missionary. I felt that I could feel his light and spirit and enthusiasm through the screen!! We sure are proud of him and can't wait until we get to see his face again on Christmas!!! Keep up the good work Elder Smith!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!! Here are some pictures from the day!

May 5 Update

This last week was pretty scary due to the weather we've been getting. A few nights ago, we got a text from the church system telling us that a tornado warning was in affect and that we had to be inside by 8. It's pretty cool how organized and thought out the church's warning system is. There was also a hail warning as well, so just as a precaution we took the Chevy Cruze we have and ran it over to the hospital parking garage to make sure it was tucked in and safe from hail. Haha. We watched the storm on our front porch as long as we could. My companion showed me a few instances where a tornado was starting, but didn't escalate. We were well taken care of by the lord and didn't worry all that much about it. We're still working with some investigators from the last few weeks, but they are all understanding the lessons. It's kind of hard because the average education level is low, so some of our investigators can't even read. It takes a lot of time and patience, but it's all worth it! One of our members gave us a couch that was much better than our ant infested one in the living room, so we moved it out on the porch. It really blends in with the neighborhood! Haha. We got our hair cut this week by a recent convert that is so strong in the church. She'll be a great missionary! We were walking to dinner the other night because our appointment with a member fell through. My companion insisted we go to McDonalds because he had a $5 giftcard he wanted to use. Half way there, a member from another ward drove by, stopped and told us she was taking us to Applebee's. #missionaryblesssings. We've done a lot of service for them and they are highly involved with missionary work. I love the Hansens! We actually did a service project that they set up on saturday for an old lady that needed her back yard "overhauled". It took place from 7AM to about 4PM. There was a pretty cool devotional last night given by Elder M. Russel Ballard. It was all about the youth of the church. Awesome!

April 28 Update!

We started this week off with a goal to tract as much as we can. I got a pretty sweet picture next to Mary on someone's porch while doing so. It was amazing how many dogs barked at us. I decided to take pictures of every dog that barked at us. I just sent one of them, but I probably have at least 30 pictures of threatening dogs. Haha. My companion thought it was pretty funny. The picture of the stop sign is pretty cool because my best friend Braden's last name is Orchard. He's on a mission in Africa right now and I can't imagine he'll be able to find a street named Smith! We volunteered at the Ecumenical Storehouse which is pretty much D.I. here in TN. It was a lot of work but well worth the time! We have a ward member here named brother Blaylock. He's one of the most awesome people I've met here in Oak Ridge! He takes such good care of us as missionaries and is always willing to help out with anything we need. I got a good picture of him with my companion Elder Brown in one of his neighbors back yards. The picture of me wearing glasses is pretty cool because Elder Brown bought those a few weeks ago and thinks they look so cool...He told me I look like Peter Parker when I tried them on! They aren't nearly as cool as the orange and pink suits they had at JC Penny's! It was pretty cool to see those and I kept thinking to myself as I tried each item on "only in the south". We had dinner at one of our ward members house that has a pretty sweet gun collection. Guns are my forte' so of course it was a good night for me. My companion was almost bored out of his mind. We had a referral given to us on my first day as a missionary in TN. Their names are Danny and Cassie. They are such amazing people and I'm so lucky to be able to share the gospel. It's amazing how humble and willing they are to hear our message. That's pretty much it for this week. The work continues!