Week 6 June 27, 2016 First week out in the field in LIMA!

FIRST DAY IN THE FIELD

AT THE CCM WITH THE HERMANAS

The wedding! 

Me with The Mission Presidents who are leaving soon! Ericksons

MY DISTRICT

The Baptisms! 

THIS AMAZING CUTE FAMILY ARE RECENT CONVERTS. SO CUTE! THE PEOPLE DON'T SMILE IN PICTURES AND I DON'T KNOW WHY! HAHA

Oh my goodness! First week in the field and I relized that I dont know like any Spanish. But poco a poco - little by little - I will learn. My new companion is Hna Chiguano and is amazing!! She is from Ecuador and knows a little english so we are teaching each other, but she knows enough to tell me what is going on haha. The days are long and I am still getting used to everything here but the families and people we teach are truly amazing! I love them already! Some of them are so funny and even though we can really talk, they still make me smile and laugh! And the kids here are so adorable!!

In my district, I am the only american aka Gringa but in our zone made up of us and another district, there are 2 elders and a sister who speaks english. So thats fun. I love my zone though they are so fun! a couple times a week we wake up at 6 and play futbol in the morning together! They have random soccer fields here kinda like the basketball courts back home except instead of hoops they have goals, but its all cement.  its so much fun and its good to refresh the little skills from when I used to play.  

On Friday our mission held a big wedding cerimony for people who cant get baptized without getting married do to law of chastity. but it was in a chapel and 16 couples got married!! it was crazy! and amazing. And then on saturday, 3 of our investigators got baptized!!! Even though I wasnt the one who found them and I only kinda tought each of them twice, I was still so happy for them! One of them was one of the people who got married! So exciting. 

President Erickson leaves this week and its weird because i just met him and now hes leaving! haha but I am excited to meet the new president.

Food. For breakfast we have a pensionista who makes food at her house and then brings it over in the morings. Usually a sandwich/role with jam or meat or like this morning, AVOCADO!! YUM. and then a warm drink like milk or some sort of herbal tea in a class bottle.

For lunch we go to a members house for a huge meal, which is sometimes interesting and im still getting used to the food, but President said we are aloud to not eat it all because they dont want us to be sick so I can just eat till im good and not overstuff myself like in allys mission, right? haha anyway

then for Dinner, well its not really a thing. I bought some granola bars and so I eat that at like 9 or 9 30 at night but because luch is so big we are usually set. haha so crazy. but sometimes we do get a tiny dinner from a member or something.

Well the field is really different from the MTC with room temp water and dogs and dirt, but the toilets work but yes, you do have to throw most of the toilet paper in the garbage. gross but its the only way to not clog the toilet. 

I love you all so much and I am so greatful to be here!! I will keep learning and growing.  I know this church is true!!! 

LOVE, Hna Smoot

Letter from Mission President: Elder and Sister Erickson

We just received this letter today! Megan is officially out in the field. AHHHHH GO MEGAN

Dear Smoot Family:

We are pleased to inform you that we picked up your daughter today at the Lima, Peru MTC.  She is happy and ready to serve.  We have spent much of today interviewing and training your daughter, and she was assigned to work with a trainer.  We know that the mission experience will be life changing for your daughter, Megan.  As we often tell the missionaries, “Of all the converts you will have during your mission, you will be the best convert.”  

Thank you for helping to prepare your daughter to serve a mission.  We are very excited to serve with Hermana Smoot.  

Sincerely,

President John Richard Erickson                   Sister Annette Erickson

Peru Lima North Mission                              Peru Lima North Mission

Peru Lima North Mission

Avenida Carlos Izaguirre #124

Independencia

Lima 31, Peru

oficinampln@gmail.com

0051-1-715-3572 (Office)

Here is the letter she wrote upon arrival to the mission field after the CCM! 

Week 5- June 15, 2016

Hola!


Well this week, as always, had its ups and downs, but it has been good
here! I have less than one week until I go into the field and it truly
is crazy how fast its been here. Time flies by and so I have to make
every moment count.
Elder Rasband came and Spoke in a big devotional and we all got to
shake his and sis Rasbands hand but we weren’t allowed to say anything
beside a quick hello so I shook his hand but it was good to see a
slight familiar face.  I wanted to say how much I love the Chase
family, but I couldn’t :) But it was still an amazing opportunity to
shake an apostle of the lords hand and hear him speak.  He spoke on
missionary work and how if we have a sparkle in our eyes with the
light of Christ and a smile on our face, we will be able to do great
things.

For physical activity we play soccer almost everyday for 45 min and
seriously it is so much fun. We mostly play scrimmage games and when
we play against the Latinos, let me tell you, they are insanely good.
I am going to miss my district so much! They are so fun, and so
amazing!

Hna Richardson, my companion and my friend on fb from before, is in my
same mission so we will be heading out together, and apparently there
aren’t a ton of sister missionaries in my mission so we will most
likely be living in the same apt! so exciting! And she has truly been
an amazing help with me and Spanish. She taught me different tricks
and songs to learn Spanish and I am so greatful for her! Oh I also
made flashcards which will help a ton to learn it faster. My Spanish
is still small but I have hope and know I will learn it eventually!

On Sunday we had Book of Mormon study where we get 45 min to just read
the book of mormon let me tell you, I LOVE THE BOOK OF MORMON!! It
truly is an amazing book that can guide and comfort you.  Don’t just
read it, but STUDY it!  I promise you will come closer to heavenly
father and the spirit will be in your life!  It is absolutely with out
a doubt the most true book on earth!

I love you all and I am excited and nervous to go out in the field but
I know, like in 1 Nephi 3:7 one of my favorite scriptures, He will
provide a way! I hope you all not find time, but MAKE time to study
and the book of Mormon this week!

I know this church is true!!
Love, Hna Smoot

PS. I ate Orange Marmalade in PERU!! haha gotta love Paddington.

I love the Temple!

Week 4 - June 8, 2016

Hello Familia y Amigos!
I cant believe I have been here for 4 weeks! Time is flying by! I
think I am finally starting to get the hang of things with being a
missionary, the schedule, etc, but I know I wont be comfortable for
long.

Elder Rasband is coming tomorrow and I am so excited! He is speaking
tomorrow morning in a devotional in ENGLISH! Yay! I hope I can go say
hi and talk to him!
Last Sunday was fast Sunday and here we started our fast right after
lunch on Saturday and then ended it Sunday at lunch. Lunch is usually
there biggest meal instead of dinner so it was interesting to it.
This is embarrassing but I think this was the first time I had ever
fasted for a full 24 hours and surprisingly my stomach only growled I
think once! And it really wasn’t bad. A tender mercy from god.
Fasting bring blessings and I still have a lot to learn.

This past Saturday we went PROSELYITNG!!! We got on a bus and drove to
the Lima South mission, but it was very similar to parts of what my
mission will look like.  Steep mountain sides with houses in them.
Just like the pic on my blog header. I think.  Anyways, we all met up
in a chapel in the mission and then met up with experienced
missionaries there. There wasn’t enough sister missionaries and so I
went with my amazing teacher and missionary Hna Luna. She is a
returned Peruvian missionary who served in Arizona and is truly a
wonderful example to me.  We also went with a member who was about 50.
Her son is serving in I think Guam or something like that.  They
already had an appointment with (I found out later) a less active man
and women living together with the cutest little 2 year old boy.
Reminded me of all of Lillys little friends. So cute. We started with
a hymn and a prayer to bring in the spirit and then I introduced
myself and then Hna luna, due to the fact I know very little Spanish,
taught pretty much the whole lesson and then she had me bare my
testimony at the end.  It was so cool to see her in action.  We then
went and knocked on this womens door and Im still not sure if she was
just not a member or a less active but we taught her that god loves
her. Even though I only understand about 35 or 40 percent, if that, of
what the people are saying, I could still feel the spirit.  We then
went back to the chapel but on the way we stopped and talked to these
two men working on a car and hna luna talked to them about the plan of
salvation and I gave him a pamphlet and the other guy a book of
Mormon! Even though there were a ton of dirt, dogs, flies, and poop
stench, these people are truly amazing and the lord is preparing the
people I will teach to hear the gospel.  I just need to learn a bit
more Spanish and learn some more things but I cant wait.  They are so
humble and loving already.  I know without a doubt this is where the
lord wants me to be!

I love you all so much and I love it here. I know this church is true
and that the book of Mormon is true!  I hope you all have a wonderful
fathers day next week!

Love you!
Hna Smoot

PS. last week they cleared up all the confusion with our companions
and we switched back to our original ones. I love my companions!

Week 3- June 1, 2016

Hola!!
This week has been a good one.  Last week was okay but I feel like I
am finally starting to slightly get the hang of everything. Spanish is
hard but we are trying to speak all the words we can so that we learn
it faster. HSI (speak your language, but in Spanish) also the teachers
decided instead of reminding us to HIS they say Spanglish! Because
they know we don’t know 100  percent Spanish yet.
The older missionaries before us left yesterday which was sad and
exciting but that also means all the new missionaries came super late
last night! The MTC is so small that we can actually get to know the
new missionaries coming in. Its really great.  We got 2 new sister
training leaders, Zone leaders, and a District leader because all the
other ones left and so its been a lot of change but change is good.
We play soccer all the time on this big massive soccer field that is
literally like a fourth of the MTC and its so much fun! Getting lots
of practice in haha.  Its also exciting to take a break for PE (as we
call it) or Physical Activity time.
Elder Rasband is coming next week to speak to us in a devotional which
will be way exciting! I will have to say hi!

Oh funny story, so last week I forgot to mention this but we almost
got in a car accident! On our way to immigration for paperwork in
central Lima we were driving in a big van and the driving here is
insane. Literally its crazy. It kinda reminded me of Paris, but way
closer together and faster.  So we were driving on the freeway/highway
and the car infront of us slams on his breaks and stops and so our
driver slams on his breaks and we were inches from the car. But it was
such a dramatic change from fast to stop that the tires were smoking!
The holy ghost protected us and stopped the car so we wouldn’t crash.
The seatbelts aren’t the best either. So all I can say is THE CHURCH
IS TRUE! And God protects his missionaries!

I love you all and cant wait for the adventures that lie ahead!
Love, Hna Smoot

PS. For those of you who were wondering, the CCM has hot water, clean
bathrooms, flushable toilets, and filtered drinking fountains. (The
showers and bathrooms are Dorm style.) But outside the walls in Lima..
ya I will just have to wait and see.