Zone Conference, etc.

Hey everyone!

So this has been a pretty cool week. Not a lot of progress to report but it still felt like a good week.

We had an awesome zone conference this past with the Laie Zone and Mililani Zone. Sadly none of my buddies are in those zones so I didn't get to have an emotional reunion like every other missionary that's been out longer. It'll come though. But yeah the main theme of that was teaching repentance which is something that Elders gloss over or just lightly cover. It really is a major part of conversion. I think that a lot of us focus on the big things and that's it, but repentance should be a daily thing because we aren't perfect. We can't be hard on ourselves for our flaws, but we do need to recognize them and always strive to be better. I say this because repentance was also brought up in a world wide mission conference that was broadcast by members of the Quorum of the Twelve this week. They emphasized the importance of calling others to repentance as well as making sure we have repented for our past transgressions.

Anyway I had a cool experience this week. While Elder Boyd and I were walking we ran into Malia's mother Kahau (remember Malia is the girl we taught and she was baptized) and she told us that things have been going well since they moved to west side. They also told us that Malia has had her baby and that she is doing well. I saw pics of the baby and she is adorable and a mix of basically every Polynesian ethnicity under the son. Plus the child's name is...deep breath...Tifa'imoanalelaleleiosamoa Aaliyah Eletisa Tuitupou and as of yet she does not have a nickname so it's just a mouthful. But seeing that baby made me so darn happy, I guess it was the first time that I realized that this mission isn't for me and it isn't even really for the people we teach, it's the ones that come after them. The work we do here isn't just important in the here and now. It was important in the days of the Book of Mormon and it will continue to be important and relevant in another 2000 years. It also helped me realize that my mission is going to affect people in ways I don't always get the chance to see. Doesn't give me an excuse to be loose about it, but it is a comforting thought.

Anyway thanks for all the prayers and all the kind letters, you guys are the best and I think about you all the time. Send my love to everyone especially Brother (Patriarch) Bullard! He is the greatest.

Love you all!!
Elder Smith