Week 1: July 22, 2013

Week 1: hey everyone sorry that i ddnt have time to respond to all the emails i had like 50 when i got on and there was only 30 mins that i have to do this. i am doing better and better each day! already i have met like 5 people that i know would not talk to the missionaries at all if it wasnt for me because of my laid back approacch on everything! my companions name is elder cook, he has been out 20 months and this will most liekly be his last area here in blaine. it is a really small town an its a really drug controlled town. almost everyone we have talked to (members included) have been addicted or are currently using meth or heroin. its crazy how poor everyone here lives and how almost everyone is into these drugs. each small house that we visit has like 15 people living in each of them. it madde me so grateful for the town we leave in and how belssed we really are. i love so many people up here already i cant wait to further progress with them. i will tell you about one of the guys we met, his name is josh. ok so first off there is this house pretty close to our apartment (were on bikes) and we go there like every day. a lady named Adell lives there. she has two kids, river and daley, who are 14 and 12. Adell is an inactive member, she uses meth sometimes, has told us that she cuts herself, and is currently not working. she loves the missionaries however because she says she wants good examples for river and daley. she gets mad when we dont come over for a day. she so funny and awesome i love going over there even though shes doing a lot of not so good things, she knows our church is true and has an awesome spirirt about her. at her house there is about 8 other people living there. i ahve only gotten to know a few of them because some of them dont want anythng to do with the missionaries but one of them that i have gotten to know really well is named josh. he didnt want anything to do with us the first day, but me and river and elder cook were playing basketball outside and josh came out to shoot. i started being myself and joking around with him (maybe a little innapropriately ;) ) and he openend right up to me. he couldnt beleive that the missionaries were normal people. me and him rreally started talking and he told me he is going to rehab at the first of auguest to try and get clean. he has a little son named JJ that is about 4 that lives at Adell's right now as well. JJ really likes me and he always runs up to me whenever we go to Addels's and gives me a high five and starts telling me what he has been playing with or doing. josh isnt around much at the night times when we go to adells but the last time he was i talked with him alone away sort of from the group and just felt inspiried to bear my testimony to him just about gods love and stuff. he really felt it i could tell and he started tearing up and we talked about what he beleived in. it was really awesome and i was just telling him while hes in rehab to pray and stuff and he would be able to stick it out. hes going to do it for JJ and i think thats so awesome. josh is just one of the many i hadve met so far and they all have a different but similar story. we have so many appointmemnts next week with mpeopel we met out tracting so well see how it all goes! well we gotta bounce this commmputer is oging to turn off but i love you all and i lvoe to hear from you! hopefully i will be able to get on a little later and if not i will have more time to email next week! write me because its a lot easier and i have more time to write! the letter address is: Elder Tanner Smith Washington Everett MIssion PO Box 13390 Mill Creek, WA 98082 much love! namaste tanner