Happy Birthday Andrew!!

In honor of Andrew's 20th Birthday, Let's do a quick blog post!  I still remember they day mom and dad went to the Dr. to find out if it was a boy or girl.  It was the first time I got to babysit my baby sis.  I remember when they came home and told us it was going to be a boy,  I was SO dissappointed! I was 10 years old, what were we gonna do with a baby........fast forward about 5 months to when he was born, I loved him and carried him and cuddled him all the time, It's still so hard to believe. 


I am so glad that Andrew was sent to our family, he truly was meant to be here.  We all just love him so much and miss his guts!!  He has been out 11 months, thank goodness it is going fast!

  
Here are some recent pictures, wherever he is, It's gorgeous!!

Word is he has been transferred to a new area: closer to Mexico (hey, I DO know where that is!) in a place called Tecun Uman, which is a little more prosperous area than where he was before.  It is on the Mexican border so there is lots of good mexican food there (jealous!) 

They actually have a ward, whereas before they only had a branch and the missionaries were primarily responsible for running and facilitating church meetings including blessing and passing of the sacrament. Now, Andrew has expressed excitement in having a bishopric and a ward mission leader, and a priest quorum!  He says he enjoys going to church and being able to sit in the congregation and enjoy.  

He now lives in a "super nice 3 story home" with 3 other elders, all from the US and says they are really great to be with.  He seems relieved to be in an area where there are always 3 square meals, as people are always feeding them and taking care of him: his mom and sisters are relieved as well.

He has a laundry lady again (really? maybe I need to go on a mission) who will does his wash once a day, but says if she sees him in dirty clothes, he will be in trouble! (thanks laundry lady!!)

More to come, he did really explain this pictures, but they are beautiful!!

Thanks for following and stay tuned!

Long Awaited Update

 Our life has been a little hectic the last 6 months and I have been horrible at updating this blog.  Well We are all still here, alive and well, and we just got some AMAZING pictures of Andrew!! He is SO SKINNY!  It looks like he is really busy and just doing such a great job and spreading the gospel.

 More info to come, but for now I thought I would post some pics so everyone can see that he is doing well and losing weight.  He is still in the same area, I believe he well be transferring this fall sometime!

Please write him letters through dearelder.com if you get a chance, and he LOVES pictures!! thanks everyone for your continued support!

Andrew's sister is a FLAKE!

I have been horrible about updating this, going to try and catch up the best I can.

I think Andrew's baptism count is up to 6, not that anyone's counting but it does seem like he is having some luck and working hard (which we don't doubt!). He FINALLY admitted that he has been thinking about home some. He has been getting some letters also which is nice. He LOVES the bodega (market, and who wouldn't?) he has been getting some really cool stuff there, even said he has seen some 'Roy Rec' T-shirts running around down there!! There is also the Mega Paca, which, in Andrew's words is 'The DI on steroids!' hahaha....

CHRISTMAS

Here are some pictures from Christmas down there. He has sent us some GREAT pictures, we decided we would like to protect the privacy of those on his mission and not post them though, until further notice. This is such a great picture, Andrew and I are a lot a like and I know this so humbling and such a comforting place at the same time for him!


It looks like he did finally start to receive packages from us, and I think his mission president held them all for him until Christmas day. Merry Christmas Andrew!!
He says that Christmas down there was all fireworks and tamales, I personally am very jealous. It's still very hot, but they shoot off fireworks all night and all day and everyone makes huge batches of tamales, so he was well taken care of, and about the same went for New Year's as well.

IT's amazing how different their culture is, Andrew has been dealing with a lot of drunks lately, as he puts it, and its sad. Him and his companion have embarked upon several situations all within a few days of each other, of passed out or drunken men. He knows in his heart and believes they want to change, but is discouraged when he encounters them and knows they have not changed. Sometimes Satan is stronger than we know. But they are being true servants of the lord, helping those at their lowest points, they went to visit a friend and found him passed out for several hours, and helped get him to a safe place and made sure he had food to eat.

He has also found that he is a staph carrier, which means he has to be careful about breaks in his skin, they get extremely infected. He is in very good hands, aside from the Lord, he has an amazing medical staff looking after him.

They had a family that they have been working on to get baptized since he has been down there, and the family suddenly started avoiding them, his zone leaders decided to bring the sister missionaries up to see if they could help, and they aren't sure what happened but the family showed up and was baptized on Saturday!

He is going to get a new companion this week, and thinks it will be a latin Elder and he is really excited for that....
Ok well this cute little guy is not his new companion, and I know I said we were not going to post pics of them, but maybe one won't hurt. Plus I CANNOT resist this adorable little guy, I could squeeze him!!! He is of the family they just baptized, and they bought him this tie and he is wearing Andrew's nametag. This photo completely melts my heart, and is proof what Andrew is doing is right!

One last fun little story, Andrew and his American companion made french toast for a family on New Year's day and they were completely amazed and keep asking when they are going to make it again. Isn't it funny to think some people have never had something has simple as french toast?!

**Address Error** PLEASE READ!

IT WAS RECENTLY BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT I HAD AN OLD ADDRESS POSTED TO ANDREW'S BLOG AND I AM SOOOO SORRY! BELOW IS THE MOST ACCURATE WAY TO GET CORRESPONDENCE TO ANDREW AS OF 1/18/12, THANKS!

For letters through the church pouch service: Letter folding instructions: Lay the letter blank side down. Fold the bottom of the letter about one-third of the way up the page and crease. Fold the top of the letter to the bottom of the first fold and crease. Secure the long side with two pieces of tape about one inch in from each end, but do not seal the ends. In the top left corner write your name and complete return address. Affix first class postage in the top right corner. In the middle write the missionary address as follows.

Andrew Todd Smith

Guatemala Retalhuleu Mission

POB 30150

Salt Lake City UT 84130-0150

Direct to Guatemala for packages or letters: Be sure to find out the postage rate at the post office.

Andrew Todd Smith

Guatemala Retalhuleu Mission

Iglesia Mormona, Boulevard Centenario

Salida a Coatepeque,Zona 2,Apt Postal 26

Retalhuleu

GUATEMALA

Baptisms!

It has been awhile and I'm sorry!! We are SO looking forward to hearing from Andrew on Christmas day.

He is doing great. He has already had two baptisms, and they were done in a RIVER! Here is their story in Andrew's words :


About three years ago, the oldest kid got kicked out of the house for joining the mormon church and the parents were really against it. As a branch about 2 weeks ago we went to the temple open house, and she came. We started teaching her after that, and placed a fecha to be baptized. Later on we realized Olgas sister thomasa was listening in and we decided to invite her to listen. The district leader and my comp placed a baptismal date with her and we taught them and they were baptized saturday! Before baptism, each convert has to have an interview with the district or zone leader. When the zone leaders showed up to interview them, all was well and the dad gave permission for them to be baptized, since they are under 18 and they need it. He asked us if we would baptize his other two kids!

What a cute family! They have set a goal to complete 5 baptisms this month, including the two they have done already, and it sounds like he has 4 more scheduled within the next couple of weeks!! There hasn't been a baptism in his area in months. Sounds like Andrew was definitely meant to go there and is fulfilling his duty!

They have a branch down there and he said on Sunday there were 77 members there, which is a ton!

He is still on his cleaning trip, sanitizing and scouring every alst bit of their bathroom it sounds like. He is even asking for fitted sheets! That's Andrew all right!

He is doing SO good, we only get bits and pieces of info from him, because he is SO busy that he hardly has time to write. He briefly mentioned that he has received 4 packages, so thank you to all who have sent them.

-Teresa

Before I end this novel, I just wanna share the words to my favorite hymn. Its number 88 in the Himnos (spanish hymns).

Placentero nos es trabajar-Pleasant is our work
en la vina del gran rey jesus-In the Vineyard of our grand King, Christ
y honroso nos es predicar- We preach with honor

Oh hermanos adios pues adios- Oh brothers goodbye, goodbye
el momento de ir vino ya- The moment to go has arrived
si guardar nuestro fe en el gran dios- If we guard our faith in the grand King
We will see you on the other side!
I love you! I pray for you!
Remember, were all in this together, and until next time....
Keep your stick on the ice! -The Red Green Show
Love Elder Smith

He is officially in the Mission Field!

Well Andrew is officially in the mission field. No more training center for him, all though I think he'd prefer to stay there. I am so proud of Andrew, he just seems to be doing so well, picking up on everything really easily and it has to be because he is doing what he is supposed to and following the spirit.

His new companion is actually from Utah also (small world? or small mormon community?) He is from Riverton, and is and entire foot taller than Andrew at 6'7"! Anyway, where he is now is called Chicacao, he says there are lizards, bugs and dogs everywhere. Sounds like Boy HEaven to me. Anyway, hahaha, he says his apartment looks like a crime scene. orange toilets and sink, and really dirty. Mom will be so proud, because of him the sinks and toilet are now white again, and he is planning on working on the floor and shower. He is going to make a GREAT husband some day!

The have a little lady in their ward who does their laundry and cooks them lunch and dinner, HOW NICE!! He says she is super sweet and takes good care of them. His sisters and mother are already very grateful for her.

He says everyone lives in cement houses with dirt floors, but they are all so humble there, and everyone is willing to listen to their message. Here is an excerpt from his last email and then you can see his pictures below!

"We were teaching a family, Luis and Sylvia. They are so so amazing. Here s the thing, there becoming eternal investigators, or dry members (members without baptism) Luis wants to be baptized so bad. He knows its true and has recieved a witness, and wants it. He knows with all his heart. Loved the temple, and wants to be sealed and be with his fam forever! However, his wife is evangelico and shes been baptized, and will not change. She has felt the spirit time and time again, and she knows it. She loved the temple, but she keeps in a way denying it. Its so frustrating. I was almost crying in the lesson. I was so choked up bearing my testimony about when we were sealed. The other thing is Luis wont be baptized without her. He´s waiting, and were frustrated so were gonna be patient and do what we can, and let the lord do his thing."



The 'NAcho Libre' bus he keeps talking about....She has a name, Andrew, Esmeralda!Here is the temple he gets to go to, it is soooo beautiful! It's in a city called Quetzaltanango (try saying that!) oh, and their currency is called a Quetzal!

If I HAD to guess, I'd guess (and hope) the bed on the left is Andrew's!
Here's my cute brother and his companions!! He already looks so much older!!
Andrew being, well, Andrew!

First health ailment and more!

we got some more e-mails from Andrew over the past couple of weeks, you can tell he is more and more focused on his mission and less about what is going on at home.

Apparently, he is suffering from a condition called cellulitis on his face right now, which is basically an infection in the fat under your skin and gets really swollen. He didn't say how big it got, but that it might have had something to do with the unsanitary water down there and possibly washing his face with it. Thank goodness they have Dr.'s down there to take care of our missionaries!

He is starting to get nervous about entering the actual mission field, where he will be full-time and without further formal training, it's all spiritual guidance from here! make sure to keep him in your prayers especially during this time.

He wanted me to share a story, which is a weird story to share, but that's Andrew!

The night before we got here, they hear some chick screaming at the top of her lungs, then 5 gun shots and a car peeling out. The next day on the way to the temple there was blood on the parking lot! Were in the hood! But im in the lords protection and as long as im obeying the rules I will be okay!

He also said that he is starting to get letters from 'Dearelder.com' so thank you everyone, and keep it up!

For those who want to send him a package he suggests getting together with others and sending him on big one, it is really expensive to ship there.

He finally got a new companion, he was in a trio for awhile as his first companion came back to the United State because he was having trouble with the language. He was paired with another Elder who was also in a trio, and Andrew says his current companion also speaks Spanish well so that is a relief to him.

I am so surprised to hear how well he is doing with the language, usually you hear that the biggest struggle for new missionaries is the language, and I am so proud that he has picked it up so easily!