Nachstenliebe (I wish he'd stop writing German!)

Dear Familie,

I am glad that all is well at home and that everyone is alive and well. Thanks Erik and Tanner for your emails-letters. I´m glad that the two of you are having fun and enjoying life and doing well in school. That is very important, otherwise I would think that something was wrong! Also, thanks Dad for your letter as well, I really do appreciate it. You always know what to write when you write.

Well, this week has been a pretty cool week. A little slow for Elder Melum and I, but for everyone else it has been pretty amazing. I absolutly love the ward up here, especially the bishopric! They are some of the most amazing men I have meet so far. They really love the missionaries and try anything they can to help us. Last Sunday for example was really cool because everyone who has been baptized this year was there, and one of them gave their first talk in Sacrament meeting and did very well. Daniel too has been progressing very fast, and has now blessed the Sacrament for two weeks in a row now. Alex the other investigator from the other Elders is also progressing very fast as well and they just set a baptismal date for the 24th of October. I think I did mention that he had a smoking problem, but he has not smoked for almost a week now. According to Elders McGowan and Lyman, he only smoked about 5 cigarretts a day, so compared to most people here that is nothing! He continues to listen to his MP3 Book of Mormon all the time, reading conference talks, and absorbing everything he can get his hands on! Honestly, I have never seen anyone like him before! He also tries to read about 3 Chapters a night from the Book of Mormon. Then, the other set of Elders got a call from a lady who visited church on Sunday and referred a friend to them who they will be meeting tonight or Wednesday who has been to the temple tour in Frankfurt and has basically already read the Book of Mormon and is just excited to meet with members and missionaries as soon as possible. She loves the temple from what I heard, so we will see how it goes. It sounds like a lot is going on, but the Lord has prepared these people.

Elder Melum and I have a lot of finding time on our hands as of late, but so does everyone else. That has just been the story of the mission. But, as I have experienced, if I do my part, which is usually very little when I look back on it, the Lord does the rest. It works based on attitude and faith, and doing, or working your hardest. Of course a love for the people also comes in there as well. So basically Charity when you look at it.

I believe that I have said that I have not seen too much success as far as numbers go. That is true, but I feel that my time has been successfully spent here. I love it, I love every minute of it! Life doesn´t always end up the way I want it to be or the way you want it to be, yet, if that were not the case, I would learn nothing in return, and I would ony be gratifying myself in the end. I also enjoy seeing the success of others, and as a whole. Because of their success, I too can joy in the work of the Lord as Ammon and Alma did after their missions. It is because of others success that we can really see the work of the Lord progress. I have also learned that those things that I have listed all need to be present for the success to come. Patience is also a key element, but often we have to show the Lord that we are patient before he will bless us. There are soooo many things that I am grateful for that I have learned while I have served out here. These are just a few. I don´t think that I could write them all or even think of them all! I do my best to pay attention to new things that I learn or promptings I recieve, but often they just go unrecorded. I am also grateful for the examples that you all have set, especially Mom and Dad. I hope I have learned enough! I hope I have paid enough attention over the years! I am also grateful for the influence of great friends who are also doing this work or who are now finished with missions. They all inspire me and I couldn´t think of anything better than to have that thought go through my mind. So thanks to all for your examples!

I love this work and I love the Lord. He has been good to me, and I have seen him help me and others through the course of my life. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that He lives! I know that “his arms are extended still” and that “he is full of mercy and Love.”

pray that you all have a great week. I am so grateful for all that you do and for your thoughts, prayers, emails, letters and such. I am so sorry that I don´t say it more often! I Love you all!

Ihre Sohn, Bruder und Freund im Arbeit,
Elder Jaren Smith

This letter brought tears to my eyes. I have been so worried about Jaren not having any baptisms on his mission and how that might affect him, but I think I know the answer to that question now. I think he is more mature about it and is full of more charity than I would be. Oh, I have so much to learn from him!