Elder Calvin B. Smith email 01/04/10

Dear Family,
Thankyou for your email, I really enjoy hearing from you all! I want to know everything about Cameron learning how to drive. Today's email will be a bit short because we have planned out our p-day so that we can go sight seeing with a member, we plan to hit up a bunch of historical sights in Charelston, I am really excited. I am bringing my camera, hopefully it will work and I will be able to get a bunch of pictures for you all.

I am being transfered again. I don't know where, but I was just in this area for 6 weeks, thats it.

Story time:
Ok, so among the missionaries here there is a steriotype/joke that goes around about missionaries who part thier hair. The idea is that "aspiring" missionaries / brown nosers part thier hair and suck up, hoping for leadership positions. Most of the leadership in the mission parts their hair and strongly encourages those who don't part their hair to part their hair. (leadership meaning district leader, zone leaders...) My companion and I have been joking the whole transfere about those who part thier hair. We both didn't part our hair at the beginning of the transfere, but as the transfere wore on, I desided to part my hair for one zone meeting, just for laughs and because my hair was getting a little longer. I got all into it, and had some fun, joking that after I parted my hair for this meeting I was going to be called to be a zone leader or something, just for parting my hair, hahah. So I parted my hair and showed up to the meeting, and a few people made comments about the hair. One of the assistants the president said something along the lines of "I like the part, thats sweet", and then he repeated the saying "act the part, wear the part." HAHA. ("part" having two meanings) So transfere calls started coming around and Saturday night I find out that I am being transfered. I don't know where, but I find out that I am being transfered. Later Saturday night the assistants to the president called, but we missed the call because we were praying when they called and the phone was on vibrate. So Sunday morning we realize that we missed a call and my companion calls them back. I was in the bathroom PARTING MY HAIR, when my companion hands me the phone, and the assistant tells me that I am going to be serving as a district leader in my next area. haha... I thought it was pretty funny.

I really don't think there is an coorelation between the parting of hair and leadership positions, but I think its funny that the standing joke happened to enact itself that way.

Well, I look forward to hearing more dirt in your letters. I don't think I will have time today to write you all a letter, but I will make up for it in pictures later. I hope the pictures turn out ok. The flash doesn't work on my camera, but most of the stuff I would imagine taking pictures of are outside, so I hope it will be fine. I haven't had a chance to buy a new camera yet, we didn't go to walmart for food last week, we went to a place called Publix. (publix doesn't have cameras)

I am really going to miss the Summerville ward, I hope I go to a really cool new area, but from what I hear, the wards don't get much better than Summerville. Summerville is a very missionary minded ward! I have noticed that if the bishop is missionary minded, the rest of the ward is, so its all really up to the bishop and what he emphasizes. Bishop Lima, the Bishop in the Summerville ward is always talking about missionary work to the ward and works hard to help us out.

I am sorry I don't have anything for Brother Gubbernick to read. I think the best thing I have seen out here that a ward mission leader can do is share positive experiences, either personal or from other people, with the ward about how members have worked to share the gospel. Sharing those positive experiences encourages other people to be more missionary minded. I don't know what I would share, if I were in Brother Gubernick's shoes, I guess it depends of the situation. He could share about Lehi and the tree of life, and how members have partaken of that fruit and should be like Lehi and want to invite others to partake. OR if he could talk about how when we are baptized we covanant to take upon us the name of Christ and part of that is sharing his gospel.

I love you all!

Love,
Elder Smith