Email ochenta y nueve

May 7, 2018 

Hey y'all. Tried to send this last week on the way back from Little Rock, but the signal on our hotspot wasn't strong enough. Enjoy!

Well folks this email isn't going to be super long. Believe it or not, the longer you're out on a mission, the harder it gets to email every week. My motivation is just about shot, but for my mother's sake, because she actually reads these and emails me every single week (usually several times), I shall endure to the end.

And on top of that we've been in Little Rock all day. I went to my last musical tribute last night. I had a speaking part where I recited the 11th and 12th paragraph of Jesus the Christ:

"We declare in words of solemnity that His priesthood and His Church have been restored upon the earth--“built upon the foundation of … apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20).

We testify that He will someday return to earth. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5). He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts."

I absolutely love the power of those words.

The week started out with a bang, and by that, I mean, President Hansen and the Assistants roasted us at Zone Conference. Apparently, there has has been a lot of issues in other parts of the Zone that we had no idea about, so President went off for two hours talking about how we need to stop being casual and support our leaders. Then we took turns, sitting in a circle, as every single member of the Zone expressed what they thought was wrong with the Zone. It was pretty intense, with a lot of tears. Like I said I had no idea any of this was going on. Sister Hansen came up to our District after the meeting and told us we weren't the problem. But the whole time, I was thinking "Lord is it I?" I realized that I have been way too casual lately. In the way I talk with other missionaries, and my attitude towards the work. I have some repenting to do.

On Thursday, we had exchanges with the Russellville Elders, I was with Elder Bybee. Elder Bybee is Guatemalan, but was adopted by old white people and grew up in Arizona. He came to the mission not knowing a lick of Spanish, and he's been out 8 months and his Spanish is still pretty rough. It's hilarious because everyone expects him to speak perfectly, and then they get so confused once he starts talking. He's hilarious and I love the kid to death. He also knows my friend Megan Thomson from the MTC so that's neat. Anyways he sprained his ankle so he's been in a boot for a minute.

He and I spent all day in Ola, a pretty small town of about 2 thousand. We talked to everyone who couldn't run away from us, and met a lot of cool people. Missionary work is easy when you simply have the guts to open your mouth. Yes, you will get rejected by some, probably most, but who cares, so was the Son of God.

We met with Kenny at a park in Ola and saw some kids playing basketball. There were 4 of them, so I asked Kenny if he wanted to to play 3 on 3. He was reluctant at first, he said he didn't really feel like it, surprising because he loves basketball, but I convinced him, and we ended up having a blast. All of them were 15 or 16. They were playing full court and listening to not very appropriate music, but two miracles occurred. One of them was that one of the kids had to go home, so Elder Bybee jumped in with his boot, so we played half court in accordance with mission rules. Also, they turned off the music. I played a lot of basketball a lot growing up, and I'm not half bad, so we whooped 'em pretty good. They asked which high school I played for, and I said I'm from Utah haha. I was able to share a quick Restoration message with them, and one of them, named J, who happens to be Hispanic, seemed pretty interested, so we got his contact info and hopefully he will answer his phone so we can meet with him again! It was a really cool experience using non traditional methods to share the Gospel!

Anyways everything here is going good. Unfortunately R said we are welcome to come by anytime, but he will not allow us to baptize his mother, M. We have been praying the Lord will soften his heart.

The Lord truly has borne me up on my mission. He's made me strong when I feel weak. He's been there when no one else could understand what I go through. I know Jesus is the Christ, the very Son of God. I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve Him. I'm certainly grateful for the time I have left to do it better than I ever have before.

Have a wonderful week, love y'all!


Elder Jonathan Spencer Smalley
Arkansas Little Rock Mission