Smith's Situation: EXPERIENCING THE MANY GATES IN LIFE

I love my mom! It only takes a moment to write thoughts about my wonderful mother, expressing the gratitude in my heart for the life she gave me, yet it took her a lifetime to teach me life's lessons. She helped build my character and took time to listen and encourage. She stuck by my side when things were tough. She helped build my faith....and is helping me still. None of our lives come with a manual, they come with a mom. I love you mom! Thanks for opening my eyes to the many gates in life and helping me experience the good right along with the not so good. Those experiences helped to shape me into the person I am today. I'm on a mission, following the example you set by accepting a call to serve....and now you've been transferred to another mission and waiting anxiously by the eternal gate for the rest of us to enter. I hope to see you there someday with the rest of our eternal family. Thank you for lovingly watching over us and praying for no empty chairs.

So many gates to open, so little time.

Thanks for being the kind of character that shows that anything is achievable, if you put your mind to it. The doors are always open!

There's a classic quote in the wonderful story of DON QUIXOTE. It says "Where one door closes, another opens." Doors, or gates, close and open regularly in our lives. Some of those closings are painful, but many of them are a great blessing, providing new gate openings that may have otherwise remained closed.
We all have preparations to make, gates to open, adversity to face, change to overcome. We often see change as an enemy because change can be hard. Everything about us is constantly changing, new gates are forever opening.
If we approach these gates with the perspective of what God has in mind for us, we will be able to see our lives from His point of view.
We love the oft quoted lines from CS Lewis: "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of---throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace."
So, we open gates to help us experience growth, find new friends and associations, even though we may have trials along the way. One thing will remain constant amid all of the change in our lives.....the Savior Jesus Christ. He stands at the DOOR and knocks, if we hear Him then we will open the DOOR so that He can come in to us and make us better people. We have to desire to open that DOOR. "Enter ye in at the straight GATE....." Matthew 7:13
May we enter through the proper gate to all the blessings that the Lord has in store for us.

THIS WEEK WE HAD TRANSFERS and we lost Elder Larson to Guyana. That lucky country!!!!!

And Elder Dohrman is going home!!!!!

ELDER DOHRMAN'S FLIGHT SCHEDULE!!!!!!! HE'S JUST A "LIKKLE BIK" EXCITED
Elder Dohrman is going through an airport GATE and straight through that terminal to open the DOOR of his home in Washington. He has served an incredible mission in the West Indies. How we will miss this guy as he opens one new GATE after another.

Relationships between friends in the missionfield are ever changing, as new GATES open,
providing growth opportunities. Elders Strong and Larson will always have a unique brotherhood bond! They are the best!

Change can be rough. Elders Hill and Larson saying goodbye.

Elders Loewen and Dohrman

Elders Smith Jr. and Dohrman. There's nothing like a huge bear hug between past companions!

Before Elders Dohrman and Larson departed, we had a breakfast buffet at the church.

What a terrific Zone we have had. Change is difficult, but we tend to get the best here in Grenada, so we are excited for our new Zone and the GATES of opportunity that are waiting to swing open.

Front: Sisters Grigg and Smith, Elders Strong and Dohrman

Back: Sister Smith, Elders Smith, Smith, Loewen, Hill, Larson

Elder Dohrman with us

Elder Larson with us

These 2 Elders exemplify all that is good in missionary work. Love them!!!!!!

Elder's Dohrman and Larson both leaving us to embark on new adventures. One going home to the state of Washington, the other to the country of Guyana. We are excited for the GATES of opportunity awaiting each of them.

Best friends forever!!! Elders Larson and Smith saying goodbye at the airport. What a wonderful opportunity it has been for us to have Elder Larson serving with us here in Grenada from our home Ward in Neola, Utah. Elder Smith was Elder Larson's Young Men's President.

Wednesday was the official transfer day. We picked up Elder Wilson and delivered him to Gouyave with Elder Hill.

Elder Wilson was immediately given a cutlass to help cut down the bananas growing in the back yard.

Kent gets in on the action

Then it's Elder Hill's turn

There's tons of bananas growing on the trees where the church is in Gouyave. It's crazy!

Elder Ramdhanie was transferred to us from Guyana. He is a local from Trinidad, and our new Zone Leader!

Elders Strong and Ramdhanie from their apartment balcony

On Thursday we went to Trinidad for a medical assignment and will be on this island for another week. So good to meet up with our fellow missionaries in this part of the Lord's vineyard

Taking an office break, Sister Bateman and Sister Smith went to the Indian market. It's only open for certain windows of time during the year, so we decided we had better sieze the opportunity. It was very colorful!!!

Trying on an Indian Soree

We are just a wee bit silly

When we got back to our apartments, there was an Indian wedding celebration going on in our parking lot.

The mother of the groom digs a hole in the earth to give back to Mother Earth some of the blessings Mother Earth has shared with us

They put a circle of leaves around the hole and placed saffron/turmeric on the leaves, then light a candle that will burn all night.

The woman in the yellow is the groom's mother

They are dancing to the drum beat in celebration of the wedding couple and Mother Earth, who, according to Indian tradition, gives us all. After the dancing, they go back to the wedding home where the bride is secluded in a room. Someone will rub saffron on her skin. She will keep the Saffron on her skin all night. In the morning, it will be washed off with milk. This is a symbol of cleansing and purity. She will then be prepared for the wedding.