Hello Fam!
It was so fun to get to hear from you!! I hope the call wasn't lacking in any way. You all seemed to have a super Christmas, and Stacey and Shauna told me about the fun they had :) I don't know if I'll have much to say in this e-mail since I talked to you on Saturday! It's crazy to think I've already served 1/3 of my mission. The MTC kind of seems like a long time ago, but it doesn't feel like I've been away for very long. My first Christmas away from home was hopefully one of my last, ha ha ha! It was rather boring, but we reminisced a lot about family traditions and Christmases past, made some yummy food, and burned through a lot of candles :D
The Christmas lights were a nice touch, but they only lasted until a few days before Christmas because they all burnt out. The high-voltage doesn't let them last a long time, but it was very enjoyable for the short time we had them! It actually starts getting dark around here by 4pm. I think that causes Estonians to want to go to sleep earlier because it's just dark, hehe. Sister LeFevre actually e-mailed me last week with just a little update that she's going to school in January and is looking for a job, but they still can't figure what's with her legs and they're still trying a lot of things.
I went to church with Geidy-Ly who was down here visiting the branch. She's from Pärnu and was baptized last March, but now she lives an hour from Tallinn, but she travels down here often to visit. The other sisters stayed inside on Sunday so I feel bad since that was the second Sunday they've had to miss in a row. Like the missionaries, now all the members in Estonia (and probably all throughout the mission) have been asked to do a Book of Mormon reading challenge from the 1st of January until April 30th because May 1st is a district conference and there will be an added spirit for that. I'm excited to have the members joining us in reading, although it's not at a faster pace like us. After church, the Elders came to see how we were doing and they gave a blessing to Sis. Aitken. Sis. Dance called to talk to us last night to see how we're all doing. She's going to call Sis. Aitken again later today. Transfers are coming this week, so I wonder what they're going to do with her... We keep praying for her and her family told her that her brother's entire mission is doing a fast for her (he's nearing the end of his service in the Scotland/Ireland mission).
I hope you like the goodies I sent to you. They should be getting there this week, I'd guess. I'm really thankful to have a few new things in my wardrobe! It's nice to have a little more variety :) Only the turtlenecks seems a little big, but maybe they'll shrink a bit. As for socks, it doesn't really matter what they're like. I'll try looking for some. If the others are feeling up to it, I may look around at some other boots too. The past few days, my boots seem to be fine. I think some furry insoles I bought last week might be helping a little more now.
What are you doing for New Year's? Going to try to go out shooting or hiking and biking again? People are already practicing launching off fireworks nearby our apartment. Elder Barney told me that if we're here for New Year's we'll get to see tons of people firing them all around our house, so that's something to look forward to. Sorry there's not much else to report on this week! I love you a lot, and I'm thankful for all the support!
Love,
Courtney
Monday, December 27, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
December 20, 2010 One more week
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! RÕÕMSAID JÕULE!! HÄID PÜHI!!! FELIZ NAVIDAD (jk, lol)
I checked the weather forecast for the week and it looks like we'll have a snowy Christmas day! We've been long overdue for a good snowfall. It's like, been a week, ha ha ha. The streets are clear from snow, so that's just boring (plus they've been dumping truckfuls of it on a dirt patch just across the street from our window view). 'Twas a lazy week last week since we had to sit in to let Sis. Aitken rest. (president's orders) We even had to miss church yesterday :( But now we've finally got some members lined up for the next few days to help us out by babysitting/proselyting. Boy, oh boy, do we have all the old ladies worryin' up a storm now!!! They're all calling us now "is she still sick? Does she have a fever?!?" (everyone asked that x) No, it's not a fever (probably a good thing too. Who knows what they do for homemade fever remedies...) One of the old sisters tried to come visit us Saturday night, but there were tons of miscommunication on how to find our apartment so she ended up further down the street from where we were. Um yeah, BIG mix-up that made us feel terrible, but that's all I'm allowed to say about that now. My companions don't want me to speak about it, ha ha ha!
I've seen some Christmas lights, but I've seen a lot of these almost menorah type things in windows celebrating the advent of Christmas. Päkapikks (pron: pack-a-peekk They're little elves/gnomes? Sounds like a pokemon name too, haha) put candy in children's shoes starting the 28th of November until Christmas. We've got 'em in our apartment too~ It's really just Sis. Aitken, though :) Maybe now Estonians are getting Christmas trees, but I don't know where they buy them... There aren't corner Christmas tree lots like in America. We had our branch Christmas party on Friday night, so we had a Christmas concert and the missionaries sang a few carols in English. Afterward, we watched some stick-pull, tug-of-war, type matches as we waited for Jõuluvana (Santa Claus lit: Christmas..old...?? I dun get it..) Everybody brought a small gift and put it in a bag and wrote our names on a list before the party. When Jõuluvana arrived, we read the names down the list and the person was summoned to come receive a gift. I don't know if this is an Estonian thing, but each person had to recite some poem or sing a song to Jõuluvana before they could receive their gift. I sang a boisterous "Santa Claus is coming to town" with a little help from the other missionaries in the back of the room :D Nelly loved that~ Aili brought her granddaughter, Kadri, who's taken quite a liking to me. Unfortunately, that meant that she unceasingly tried to poke and tickle me and any chance she could. Not cool, but she's pretty fun :) For Christmas eve and day, we're supposed to be out serving, and spreading Christmas cheer until about 6 when we have to be back in our apartments where we just get to study about Christ and do the phone calls for the rest of the night.
I was actually wondering when the ward would be sending some missionary love :) As for the phone call, I guess I could have a little privacy, if needed. I was just thinking most of the time it'd just be on speakerphone so my companions could join, but I could step into one of the rooms if need be. We have a 3 room apartment. One room's the office/study, the other is sorta Sis. Aitken's closet, hehe. We all have to sleep in the same room so we have our beds mushed into the largest bedroom. It kinda looks like we have sleepovers every day :P
40 weddings in a single day at the temple, shoot! That's ridiculous! Totally sounds like Stacey to go at the decorating like that. She's a champ~ Hopefully, now that the decorations are finished, she'll finally send me that letter that she's been postponing since October... >.> Oh yes, I'm callin' you out, sis. The cornish pasties and nut rolls sound scrumptious. I sorta botched some fried rice last night, but Sis. Aitken says I'm learning to cook, ha ha ha. It was still good tasty though :)
Looking forward to talking to you on Christmas!
Love,
Courtney
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
December 15, 2010 Christmas Party
Wow, 10 day until Christmas already! And tomorrow marks my 6 month mark :O Unlike the summer-like weather you're currently experiencing, I on the other hand, feel like I live in a snow globe. Once you think the snow is about to settle and everything's all nice and pretty, the darn kiddos gotta shake the thing up again, hehehe (I wanted to save that phrase for a while, but it was totally appropriate this week ;). We had some big snow storms last week, but it hasn't snowed for the last few days. I think the temperature is supposed to dip down to about -20C (4ish in fahrenheit, methinks) on the weekend.
And yes, I did receive the packages last week! Did you send one to the mission home so you wouldn't get in trouble? Ha ha. I think they just do that to make sure that all of the missionaries at least get something for Christmas. The lights were way cute, but we haven't put the window clings up. It's cute that you wrapped all the gifts too, and no, I haven't opened them yet, although Sis. Aitken's been tempting me. I finally got my package off to home on Friday and I airmailed it so it may show up just before or just after Christmas. It's not much, 'cause I figured I could bring home some better things next time around ;)
Sounds like you had fun for Ryan's birthday! I've been thinking about him lately. What a great brother :D Love you lots!! The baptism on Saturday was beautiful and one of the Elders' investigators attended, The Dances (on their way through to Tallinn for conference) and surprisingly a lady from one of the English classes showed up. We sisters have actually eyeing to teach her a lesson, so we talk to her
about it tomorrow. Aili is so good and she was grateful for everyone who attended and who've welcomed her into their branch family. The RS President, Nelly, had me translate to President Dance that she she's praying and begging that the sisters won't be transfered on the 31st(kind of an odd day...). He tried to comfort her and tell her it's God's will, but she's so afraid, lol. She's afraid of everything,
hehehe, but it's good to feel so loved~ The branch is having a Christmas party on Friday and we're hoping the members will bring friends along. We have some ideas for spreading some Christmas cheer and to "go about doing good".
Zone Conference in Tallinn was super. We had to get on bus at 7am, so that left us rather tired for a full day of training, but it went well. We have some new focuses in the mission that I'm excited about. President Dance has asked that we start teaching active members and helping them to fulfil their missionary duties and rather than having English class every Tuesday and Thursday night, we're switching to
Saturday afternoons for 2 hourse so as to free up some prime proselyting time. I was a little worried at first when he started to talk about it, but I could see some good reasonings for it. That'll start after the new year. President also said how the mission will start a Book of Mormon reading challenge on Jan. 1st for 3 months and he asked in every prayer to pray for those "who know not God" (Alma 6:6), that the hearts of the people here will be softened. It was also good to not be the only sisters at conference too, because now there are 2 Russian sisters in Tallinn. There haven't been any for quite a while. Sister Hoggard came in the same time as me, and Sis. Gotchek (sp? dunno, her nametag was in Russian x) is from France and
got an extension so she can stay until February. We stayed at their apartment, but it was coooooold. It's a new missionary apartment, so it's not fully outfitted with enough blankets and things for extra guests, but I managed to be somewhat ok by sleeping with my coat on. The traveling and fatigue did a number on Sis. Aitken so she went with the missionary couple Tuesday morning to get tests done at the
hospital to see if they could find out what's going on. I don't know if they really found anything, but she didn't really want to talk a lot about it, so I didn't pry. Not cool since she had to miss the actual fun things we did on Tuesday. For example, we acted out a Nativity, which was absolutely hilarious, and so was the gift exchange. One of the assistants wrapped up an Elder's bible as a gift and what were the odds, I ended up with it AND I WAS SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO HIM, HAHAHAHAHAHA. That was a riot! Elder Jenkins said "I was lookin' all over for that!" After Tuesday's festivities, we taxied on back to the bus station and had the Elders watch our things so we could walk to the immigration office or whatever and pick up my visa ID card. Yay, now I'm official~
Yes, I'm staying pretty warm. I think my boots let in a little bit of moisture so I'll have to try and spray them with some waterproofing stuff to see if that helps any. Sometimes if we're walking a lot, my feet will warm up and it's no problem. I have some big wool mittens that were left by other missionaries and they seem pretty warm if I have some little cheapy gloves underneath. I'm excited to see what you
sent me for Christmas. I like clothes :) Thanks so much for all the love and prayers. You're the greatest!
Love,
Courtney
And yes, I did receive the packages last week! Did you send one to the mission home so you wouldn't get in trouble? Ha ha. I think they just do that to make sure that all of the missionaries at least get something for Christmas. The lights were way cute, but we haven't put the window clings up. It's cute that you wrapped all the gifts too, and no, I haven't opened them yet, although Sis. Aitken's been tempting me. I finally got my package off to home on Friday and I airmailed it so it may show up just before or just after Christmas. It's not much, 'cause I figured I could bring home some better things next time around ;)
Sounds like you had fun for Ryan's birthday! I've been thinking about him lately. What a great brother :D Love you lots!! The baptism on Saturday was beautiful and one of the Elders' investigators attended, The Dances (on their way through to Tallinn for conference) and surprisingly a lady from one of the English classes showed up. We sisters have actually eyeing to teach her a lesson, so we talk to her
about it tomorrow. Aili is so good and she was grateful for everyone who attended and who've welcomed her into their branch family. The RS President, Nelly, had me translate to President Dance that she she's praying and begging that the sisters won't be transfered on the 31st(kind of an odd day...). He tried to comfort her and tell her it's God's will, but she's so afraid, lol. She's afraid of everything,
hehehe, but it's good to feel so loved~ The branch is having a Christmas party on Friday and we're hoping the members will bring friends along. We have some ideas for spreading some Christmas cheer and to "go about doing good".
Zone Conference in Tallinn was super. We had to get on bus at 7am, so that left us rather tired for a full day of training, but it went well. We have some new focuses in the mission that I'm excited about. President Dance has asked that we start teaching active members and helping them to fulfil their missionary duties and rather than having English class every Tuesday and Thursday night, we're switching to
Saturday afternoons for 2 hourse so as to free up some prime proselyting time. I was a little worried at first when he started to talk about it, but I could see some good reasonings for it. That'll start after the new year. President also said how the mission will start a Book of Mormon reading challenge on Jan. 1st for 3 months and he asked in every prayer to pray for those "who know not God" (Alma 6:6), that the hearts of the people here will be softened. It was also good to not be the only sisters at conference too, because now there are 2 Russian sisters in Tallinn. There haven't been any for quite a while. Sister Hoggard came in the same time as me, and Sis. Gotchek (sp? dunno, her nametag was in Russian x) is from France and
got an extension so she can stay until February. We stayed at their apartment, but it was coooooold. It's a new missionary apartment, so it's not fully outfitted with enough blankets and things for extra guests, but I managed to be somewhat ok by sleeping with my coat on. The traveling and fatigue did a number on Sis. Aitken so she went with the missionary couple Tuesday morning to get tests done at the
hospital to see if they could find out what's going on. I don't know if they really found anything, but she didn't really want to talk a lot about it, so I didn't pry. Not cool since she had to miss the actual fun things we did on Tuesday. For example, we acted out a Nativity, which was absolutely hilarious, and so was the gift exchange. One of the assistants wrapped up an Elder's bible as a gift and what were the odds, I ended up with it AND I WAS SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO HIM, HAHAHAHAHAHA. That was a riot! Elder Jenkins said "I was lookin' all over for that!" After Tuesday's festivities, we taxied on back to the bus station and had the Elders watch our things so we could walk to the immigration office or whatever and pick up my visa ID card. Yay, now I'm official~
Yes, I'm staying pretty warm. I think my boots let in a little bit of moisture so I'll have to try and spray them with some waterproofing stuff to see if that helps any. Sometimes if we're walking a lot, my feet will warm up and it's no problem. I have some big wool mittens that were left by other missionaries and they seem pretty warm if I have some little cheapy gloves underneath. I'm excited to see what you
sent me for Christmas. I like clothes :) Thanks so much for all the love and prayers. You're the greatest!
Love,
Courtney
Monday, December 6, 2010
December 6, 2010 It's December
You know you've been here too long when 22 degrees Fahrenheit sounds like a lovely warm day, ha ha ha! I think I'm starting to acclimate a bit because I was sweatin' like crazy on the way home from the store this morning. Well, we were carrying a lot of food and trekkin' through fresh snow too, ha ha. Today is not as cold as it was at the start of last week. I finally starting busting out my "Hot Chilly's" thermal pants this past week and they're working like a charm so far. I'm crossing my fingers I won't have to double up on them half way through January :P
And yes! I finally got that package last Thursday and everything was accounted for. Sheesh, it took a month to get here, but it was well worth the wait. I could definitely feel the love radiating from the box :D The scarves and hats were adorable and they're warm, so send my thanks along to those who made them :) I'm guessing the 3 corn bags were for each of us so I gave one to each of the companions as part of my Christmas gift to them. They were also thankful for the Brite Crawlers, measuring cups, and the Peanut Butter M&Ms, but they haven't dug into those yet! The U.S. post has some restrictions on foreign mail coming in for Christmas time, so I can't send stuff over 500 grams until the 9th or something, so my gifts to you may be late :/ Not cool. Probably terrorist warnings. As far as shipping food, I asked Sis. A and she said call her mom, lol.
Bye bye Kroon. Euro's coming to town at the start of the new year. Should I even bother bringing some kroon-age home? I've got a couple of coins which are pretty much worthless anyway. Meh, I guess I could look at pictures on the internet. That's so cool that you get to watch Rachel directing Westwood's Canticle in Carols this year. I used to watch her sing in it! I'm glad Annessa is going on a mission! I always thought she'd be one to go :)
Aili's all set for her baptism on Saturday! The branch hasn't had a baptism for 3 months, so this is a boost for morale. We're doing a little family home evening thing with her tonight, so I'm happy for that :) We escorted Liidia to and from game night on Friday, so that was fun. She asked us for her help in moving some wood from her shed into her house since her son or whoever was sick with a bad cough. We always were ask her if she needed help with anything after we teach her lessons, but I'm glad she finally took us up on our offer! I took that as a sign that her heart is softening ever so slowly :) We tried inviting an "eternal investigator" to baptism too, but she kept trying to divert the conversation and kept making the same ol' excuses, so that was disappointing. She's totally ready, but is too afraid to act. Heck, she's been coming to church since it was started here in Pärnu like 6 years ago. She's known about the church longer than practically all of the other active members. Oh well. We keep trying. Silly old people...
On Wednesday, we were treated to a buffet lunch at a hotel with some wealthy Finnish members. They came to church for Sacrament meeting and always invite the missionaries to eat with them. They come to the hotel and spa here like twice a year because it's much cheaper than in Finland. Sister Tomson (sp?) spoke English well and told us of her travels all around the world. We definitely ate our fill and were very grateful. They know we tend to eat a lot because we never know when we'll get our next warm meal, ha ha ha! The man that was with us is actually one of the sealers in the Helsinki Temple. Cool!
I'm getting excited for Zone Conference next week in Tallinn. I wonder if they'll have us stay with the Russian-speaking sisters they just put up there... We've been coming up with some ideas to help spread the Christmas cheer and the gospel this holiday season. Been prayin' for some Christmas miracles, especially since we need to build an investigator pool. Maybe we'll sing some carols as a branch out on the street or near the shopping areas and hand out pamphlets as a part of our Christmas party next Friday. I'd totally be down for that! Well, that's pretty much all the big news for this week! Thanks for the love and prayers. I feel it :)
Much love,
Courtney
And yes! I finally got that package last Thursday and everything was accounted for. Sheesh, it took a month to get here, but it was well worth the wait. I could definitely feel the love radiating from the box :D The scarves and hats were adorable and they're warm, so send my thanks along to those who made them :) I'm guessing the 3 corn bags were for each of us so I gave one to each of the companions as part of my Christmas gift to them. They were also thankful for the Brite Crawlers, measuring cups, and the Peanut Butter M&Ms, but they haven't dug into those yet! The U.S. post has some restrictions on foreign mail coming in for Christmas time, so I can't send stuff over 500 grams until the 9th or something, so my gifts to you may be late :/ Not cool. Probably terrorist warnings. As far as shipping food, I asked Sis. A and she said call her mom, lol.
Bye bye Kroon. Euro's coming to town at the start of the new year. Should I even bother bringing some kroon-age home? I've got a couple of coins which are pretty much worthless anyway. Meh, I guess I could look at pictures on the internet. That's so cool that you get to watch Rachel directing Westwood's Canticle in Carols this year. I used to watch her sing in it! I'm glad Annessa is going on a mission! I always thought she'd be one to go :)
Aili's all set for her baptism on Saturday! The branch hasn't had a baptism for 3 months, so this is a boost for morale. We're doing a little family home evening thing with her tonight, so I'm happy for that :) We escorted Liidia to and from game night on Friday, so that was fun. She asked us for her help in moving some wood from her shed into her house since her son or whoever was sick with a bad cough. We always were ask her if she needed help with anything after we teach her lessons, but I'm glad she finally took us up on our offer! I took that as a sign that her heart is softening ever so slowly :) We tried inviting an "eternal investigator" to baptism too, but she kept trying to divert the conversation and kept making the same ol' excuses, so that was disappointing. She's totally ready, but is too afraid to act. Heck, she's been coming to church since it was started here in Pärnu like 6 years ago. She's known about the church longer than practically all of the other active members. Oh well. We keep trying. Silly old people...
On Wednesday, we were treated to a buffet lunch at a hotel with some wealthy Finnish members. They came to church for Sacrament meeting and always invite the missionaries to eat with them. They come to the hotel and spa here like twice a year because it's much cheaper than in Finland. Sister Tomson (sp?) spoke English well and told us of her travels all around the world. We definitely ate our fill and were very grateful. They know we tend to eat a lot because we never know when we'll get our next warm meal, ha ha ha! The man that was with us is actually one of the sealers in the Helsinki Temple. Cool!
I'm getting excited for Zone Conference next week in Tallinn. I wonder if they'll have us stay with the Russian-speaking sisters they just put up there... We've been coming up with some ideas to help spread the Christmas cheer and the gospel this holiday season. Been prayin' for some Christmas miracles, especially since we need to build an investigator pool. Maybe we'll sing some carols as a branch out on the street or near the shopping areas and hand out pamphlets as a part of our Christmas party next Friday. I'd totally be down for that! Well, that's pretty much all the big news for this week! Thanks for the love and prayers. I feel it :)
Much love,
Courtney
Monday, November 29, 2010
November 29, 2010 Thanksgiving
It's been a super week! Haven't really had any luck or opportunities to find new people to teach, but Aili has accepted baptism on the 11th of December! She's very willing to learn about the gospel and I'd say the members have taken the responsibility of doing most of the teaching :) The Elders also have a baptism for the 18th. This'll be exciting for the branch! We made a companionship goal 2-3 weeks ago that we wanted 2 baptisms within a month span. We remembered this goal last night and we've planned to confront some "eternal investigators" this week and challenge them to baptism after we have a small testimony meeting with them. That's definitely the optimal way to invite the spirit to touch people's hearts. A lot of testifying has been softening Liidia's heart a little bit at a time each time we go back to visit. She's opened up a lot to us and is reading a little bit of the Book of Mormon at a time, but I don't know if she's keen on continually coming to our church each week. We keep inviting her to events though.
We celebrated Thanksgiving on Tuesday since Elder Hortin was flying out on Thursday to go back home. It's crazy to think he's home now. We miss him already, haha! Sis. LeDuc had the pleasure of cleanin' the innards while I held a flash light and Sis. Aitken was making the pie crust early in the morning. Sis. A chronicled the whole life of the turkey from cleaning, brining, cooking, basting, and eating, lol. It took a lot of time preparing the meal, so it made us even more thankful for our dear mothers back home. Sis. A also invited her friend Kätlin to come and feast with us since she had lived in America for a bit. Sis. Aitken's mom sent a can of pumpkin pie filling, but the pie wasn't ready to eat until after we got back from English class that night. We shared some with Merit and Janeli and they enjoyed the pie greatly! (Although, it sure doesn't touch your homemade squash pie, Mama!)
It snowed from Tuesday to Thursday so we had a "white" Thanksgiving! It's been clear and sunny this weekend, but it's certainly a wee bit nippy out now!! I checked the weather report on the newspaper rack in the post office this morning and it's like, 7 degrees fahrenheit today!!! As we went to the grocery store, my breath froze to my hair and gave it a lovely frosted look so the companions had to take a picture, haha! I also had my first casualty of the season the other day (i.e. I slipped and fell on my bum). I guess the missionaries like to keep a "fall" count :D Friday was game night and we played some way fun tag game that I'm going to have to teach you some time! Aili even brought her granddaughter, and I know they enjoyed it :) The kids kept wanting me to play tag with them and they WORE ME OUT! We always get such a workout after game night, ha ha ha!
On Saturday was some sort of Relief Society enrichment activity where there were two short talks about the Word of Wisdom and then the rest of the time was filled with singing songs and eating lunch and chatting around a big table. It was really fun to just listen to them tells stories and laugh :) Oh goodness~these ladies are just the cutest!
I got a letter from cousin Chaz this week since I sent him a postcard a few weeks ago. He seems to be doing well, so I'm proud of him! Still no package though!! Sis. Aitken could've sworn it would have been here on Friday because her packages senses were tingling. I'm pretty sure it'll turn up finally this week... Mom, I was thinking about how I should handwrite some more letters. Now that winter is coming there's no real good reason to stay out for Preparation Days, so I'll try to repent and send some handwritten love your way! I'll be sending home a package, but it might be a little late since I'm only sending it this week :/
We're finally going to go to McDonald's today. Yup, that's right! Pärnu is now a legit town since there's a McD's. They built it about 2-3 months ago, but I haven't gone there yet since it's at the edge of town on the Elder's side of the river. Today's e-mail from President Dance reminded us of the upcoming Christmas phone calls from home! You can call our cell phone between 7-10pm (our time) and the phone calls are to last 30-40 minutes. We'll probably have to create a family call list with the 3 of us, so let me know which time is optimal for you and I'll let you know when to call exactly ;) Also, we have training in Tallinn again on the 13-14th of December, so P-day is going to be on Wednesday that week.
Well, I think that's it for this week! It sounds like you had a splendid Thanksgiving, as usual. I know being away from home has definitely caused me to ponder a little more about all that I have to be grateful for ;) I love you all so dearly.
Much love,
Courtney
We celebrated Thanksgiving on Tuesday since Elder Hortin was flying out on Thursday to go back home. It's crazy to think he's home now. We miss him already, haha! Sis. LeDuc had the pleasure of cleanin' the innards while I held a flash light and Sis. Aitken was making the pie crust early in the morning. Sis. A chronicled the whole life of the turkey from cleaning, brining, cooking, basting, and eating, lol. It took a lot of time preparing the meal, so it made us even more thankful for our dear mothers back home. Sis. A also invited her friend Kätlin to come and feast with us since she had lived in America for a bit. Sis. Aitken's mom sent a can of pumpkin pie filling, but the pie wasn't ready to eat until after we got back from English class that night. We shared some with Merit and Janeli and they enjoyed the pie greatly! (Although, it sure doesn't touch your homemade squash pie, Mama!)
It snowed from Tuesday to Thursday so we had a "white" Thanksgiving! It's been clear and sunny this weekend, but it's certainly a wee bit nippy out now!! I checked the weather report on the newspaper rack in the post office this morning and it's like, 7 degrees fahrenheit today!!! As we went to the grocery store, my breath froze to my hair and gave it a lovely frosted look so the companions had to take a picture, haha! I also had my first casualty of the season the other day (i.e. I slipped and fell on my bum). I guess the missionaries like to keep a "fall" count :D Friday was game night and we played some way fun tag game that I'm going to have to teach you some time! Aili even brought her granddaughter, and I know they enjoyed it :) The kids kept wanting me to play tag with them and they WORE ME OUT! We always get such a workout after game night, ha ha ha!
On Saturday was some sort of Relief Society enrichment activity where there were two short talks about the Word of Wisdom and then the rest of the time was filled with singing songs and eating lunch and chatting around a big table. It was really fun to just listen to them tells stories and laugh :) Oh goodness~these ladies are just the cutest!
I got a letter from cousin Chaz this week since I sent him a postcard a few weeks ago. He seems to be doing well, so I'm proud of him! Still no package though!! Sis. Aitken could've sworn it would have been here on Friday because her packages senses were tingling. I'm pretty sure it'll turn up finally this week... Mom, I was thinking about how I should handwrite some more letters. Now that winter is coming there's no real good reason to stay out for Preparation Days, so I'll try to repent and send some handwritten love your way! I'll be sending home a package, but it might be a little late since I'm only sending it this week :/
We're finally going to go to McDonald's today. Yup, that's right! Pärnu is now a legit town since there's a McD's. They built it about 2-3 months ago, but I haven't gone there yet since it's at the edge of town on the Elder's side of the river. Today's e-mail from President Dance reminded us of the upcoming Christmas phone calls from home! You can call our cell phone between 7-10pm (our time) and the phone calls are to last 30-40 minutes. We'll probably have to create a family call list with the 3 of us, so let me know which time is optimal for you and I'll let you know when to call exactly ;) Also, we have training in Tallinn again on the 13-14th of December, so P-day is going to be on Wednesday that week.
Well, I think that's it for this week! It sounds like you had a splendid Thanksgiving, as usual. I know being away from home has definitely caused me to ponder a little more about all that I have to be grateful for ;) I love you all so dearly.
Much love,
Courtney
Monday, November 22, 2010
Email November 22, 2010 Thanksgiving preparations
Sorry to say that I don't have the package, yet! Methinks it'll arrive tomorrow. I know Sis. Aitken likes using flat rate boxes so she can stuff as many items in a box that she can. We did find a turkey last week, so we'll start baking it today for tomorrow's feast :) We're going to invite Sis. Aitken's Estonian friend Kätlin to come.
We actually had a snow storm on Thursday, but we we're inside a car and buildings most of the time since we had to go to Tallinn for Zone Conference. We rented a van for the day since we had to drive up really early in the morning to get there by 8am. Halfway there, the driver's music changed from soundtracks to some Fleetwood Mac, so that kinda woke me up, haha. Sis. LeDuc and I sorta jammed out quietly in the back seat to classic rock. Prolly shouldn't have done that:P Elder Scwitzer of the Seventy taught us about all the convincing evidence that proves that the Book of Mormon could not have been written by an uneducated young man in the 1800s. Also, we should use it as our main source for handling objections that people might have about the church. Our investigator Aili is progressing pretty well I think. We'll try to get a baptismal date for her this week when we meet. The best thing is that she has made good friends with the members, so they'll be a good support when we invite her to come unto Christ.
Last week, the landlord had some guys take away our fridge because it was leaking stuff in the back. The next day, they brought a brand new Whirlpool. It's so nice and big~ Last p-day we went to Pärnu's "mini zoo" which is pretty much a a reptile house in a basement. I got to hold a boa constrictor until he started getting tangled up around me so I had the owner hand it off to the other missionaries. There were lots of poisonous snakes and he even had an alligator too. Fun stuff! Sis. Aitken's been sick since Thursday so we didn't venture out to do much finding this week. I had to have Merit come be my temporary companion so I could go help at English class and game night.
As far as Christmas things....I dunno know what I would like! The problem is that I don't know what I need since it isn't freezing cold yet and it takes like 2 weeks for packages to get here so by that time, it'll be after Christmas :P I guess some blouses would be nice. Or maybe you could just give me some money and I'll go do the shopping. Sorry, I ran out of time for this e-mail! The others are getting hungry for some lunch, plus it's Elder Hortin's last p-day so we'll have to find something to do.
Thanks for the love and prayers!
Courtney
We actually had a snow storm on Thursday, but we we're inside a car and buildings most of the time since we had to go to Tallinn for Zone Conference. We rented a van for the day since we had to drive up really early in the morning to get there by 8am. Halfway there, the driver's music changed from soundtracks to some Fleetwood Mac, so that kinda woke me up, haha. Sis. LeDuc and I sorta jammed out quietly in the back seat to classic rock. Prolly shouldn't have done that:P Elder Scwitzer of the Seventy taught us about all the convincing evidence that proves that the Book of Mormon could not have been written by an uneducated young man in the 1800s. Also, we should use it as our main source for handling objections that people might have about the church. Our investigator Aili is progressing pretty well I think. We'll try to get a baptismal date for her this week when we meet. The best thing is that she has made good friends with the members, so they'll be a good support when we invite her to come unto Christ.
Last week, the landlord had some guys take away our fridge because it was leaking stuff in the back. The next day, they brought a brand new Whirlpool. It's so nice and big~ Last p-day we went to Pärnu's "mini zoo" which is pretty much a a reptile house in a basement. I got to hold a boa constrictor until he started getting tangled up around me so I had the owner hand it off to the other missionaries. There were lots of poisonous snakes and he even had an alligator too. Fun stuff! Sis. Aitken's been sick since Thursday so we didn't venture out to do much finding this week. I had to have Merit come be my temporary companion so I could go help at English class and game night.
As far as Christmas things....I dunno know what I would like! The problem is that I don't know what I need since it isn't freezing cold yet and it takes like 2 weeks for packages to get here so by that time, it'll be after Christmas :P I guess some blouses would be nice. Or maybe you could just give me some money and I'll go do the shopping. Sorry, I ran out of time for this e-mail! The others are getting hungry for some lunch, plus it's Elder Hortin's last p-day so we'll have to find something to do.
Thanks for the love and prayers!
Courtney
Monday, November 15, 2010
Email November 15, 2010
Howdy friends and fam!
I didn't have a chance to check the post office before coming to the library, but we will stop by there after I write this :) I got a letter from Heather and Noel this week. Noel even wrote her's on some mighty T-Rex paper from like, Spencer's 6th or 7th birthday party. Yes, they still kept it around, ha ha ha! It was fun to hear some news about friends like Maureen Davis and Caitlin Porter getting mission
calls :)
As far meeting the young man from the stake who's Latvian-speaking, if there's a Russian-speaking sister who's been switched to Estonian, then maybe they'd come to the mission at the same time and I could meet him when we pick her up from the mission home, but who knows howsoon we'll be able to get another sister here. We think it won't be until April :P
Sis. Aitken is still pretty sensitive to some foods, or at least just dairy (which is so prominent here x). Pretty much all she eats now is chicken, tomatoes, and pears. We went to do some service at Saima's house on Saturday and she cooked us some rice and veggies. There was probably some butter in it because that made
Sis. A's tummy a little upset. Sis. LeDuc is actually from New Jersey, she just goes to school at BYU. She studies marine biology and dreams of living in
Australia :) For being out in the field most, she has the most problems with the language, but I'm sure Heavenly Father needs her here for her sincere love for people, even people she's just met!
Next week, we'll try cooking our own Thanksgiving meal, but it'll be on Tuesday or Wednesday since Elder Hortin is leaving the mission on Thursday. Sis. Aitken's mom sent her some cans and spices and things so we could make a decent meal. Now we just need to figure out where to get a turkey... If you send me recipes, it'll be easier through e-mail. We do most of our own cooking, but people we visit often try
to feed us little pastries, tea, or pancakes (Estonian pancakes are a little more like crepes). One member, Vilma has invited us over for dinner a few times though. Her son (just turned 40 :) is the branch secretary and he's the only active member with a car. . everyone else uses buses or bikes. Every time we come, Vilma fills the the little table with too much food :) I'm sure she'll have us over one last time before Elder Hortin leaves.
At Friday game night, Nelly interrogated me and the other missionaries about who rang her doorbell and left socks for her a week ago. Oh my goodness, it was sooooooo DIFFICULT to keep my mouth shut about it!!! xP "Ütle ausalt, ütle ausalt!" ("say it honestly!") she repeatedly told me! Her cute little squeaky voice and eyes~ Oh it was so hard!! xD We finally got to chat with Aili and her member friend Tiia a little after church. She's come 4 times to church already and we
haven't even taught her a realy lesson yet! We have an appointment with them tomorrow morning. Liidia also came to church, but had to leave immediately after sacrament meeting so we didn't get a chance to talk to her about it. We have Zone Conference up in Tallinn on Thursday, so I'm getting excited for that. Pres. and Sis. Dance and the Tartu Elders came to Pärnu last Thursday to have some training
about goal setting and planning.
I'm still thinking about what I could really use for Christmas. Hopefully I can figure it out soon for ya! Thanks for the prayers family. I know there are people who are being prepared to hear this message, it's just a little more difficult to "hunt them out of the holes of the rocks" ;) Not quite like the "fishing" work in Latin America, Philippines, etc. (think Jeremiah 16:16.) We're still not very experienced at this stuff, but we're learning together.
Love,
Courtney
I didn't have a chance to check the post office before coming to the library, but we will stop by there after I write this :) I got a letter from Heather and Noel this week. Noel even wrote her's on some mighty T-Rex paper from like, Spencer's 6th or 7th birthday party. Yes, they still kept it around, ha ha ha! It was fun to hear some news about friends like Maureen Davis and Caitlin Porter getting mission
calls :)
As far meeting the young man from the stake who's Latvian-speaking, if there's a Russian-speaking sister who's been switched to Estonian, then maybe they'd come to the mission at the same time and I could meet him when we pick her up from the mission home, but who knows howsoon we'll be able to get another sister here. We think it won't be until April :P
Sis. Aitken is still pretty sensitive to some foods, or at least just dairy (which is so prominent here x). Pretty much all she eats now is chicken, tomatoes, and pears. We went to do some service at Saima's house on Saturday and she cooked us some rice and veggies. There was probably some butter in it because that made
Sis. A's tummy a little upset. Sis. LeDuc is actually from New Jersey, she just goes to school at BYU. She studies marine biology and dreams of living in
Australia :) For being out in the field most, she has the most problems with the language, but I'm sure Heavenly Father needs her here for her sincere love for people, even people she's just met!
Next week, we'll try cooking our own Thanksgiving meal, but it'll be on Tuesday or Wednesday since Elder Hortin is leaving the mission on Thursday. Sis. Aitken's mom sent her some cans and spices and things so we could make a decent meal. Now we just need to figure out where to get a turkey... If you send me recipes, it'll be easier through e-mail. We do most of our own cooking, but people we visit often try
to feed us little pastries, tea, or pancakes (Estonian pancakes are a little more like crepes). One member, Vilma has invited us over for dinner a few times though. Her son (just turned 40 :) is the branch secretary and he's the only active member with a car. . everyone else uses buses or bikes. Every time we come, Vilma fills the the little table with too much food :) I'm sure she'll have us over one last time before Elder Hortin leaves.
At Friday game night, Nelly interrogated me and the other missionaries about who rang her doorbell and left socks for her a week ago. Oh my goodness, it was sooooooo DIFFICULT to keep my mouth shut about it!!! xP "Ütle ausalt, ütle ausalt!" ("say it honestly!") she repeatedly told me! Her cute little squeaky voice and eyes~ Oh it was so hard!! xD We finally got to chat with Aili and her member friend Tiia a little after church. She's come 4 times to church already and we
haven't even taught her a realy lesson yet! We have an appointment with them tomorrow morning. Liidia also came to church, but had to leave immediately after sacrament meeting so we didn't get a chance to talk to her about it. We have Zone Conference up in Tallinn on Thursday, so I'm getting excited for that. Pres. and Sis. Dance and the Tartu Elders came to Pärnu last Thursday to have some training
about goal setting and planning.
I'm still thinking about what I could really use for Christmas. Hopefully I can figure it out soon for ya! Thanks for the prayers family. I know there are people who are being prepared to hear this message, it's just a little more difficult to "hunt them out of the holes of the rocks" ;) Not quite like the "fishing" work in Latin America, Philippines, etc. (think Jeremiah 16:16.) We're still not very experienced at this stuff, but we're learning together.
Love,
Courtney
Monday, November 8, 2010
Email November 8, 2010
Courtney Smith Mon, Nov 8, 2010 at 3:25 AM
It snowed a wee bit last night so that there's some crunchiness to your step on the sidewalks, but it's mostly melted now.
Is there anything you want for Christmas? The other sisters have been picking up things to send home, but I don't know what to get for ya'll. I'll look for a nativity, but I doubt they'll put those out (if they have them at all) until it's actually close to Christmas :)
Things with Liidia might be ok now. We paid her a random visit to drop off some cake and she insisted on serving us some tea and snacks before we left. She told us she's coming to church on Sunday, so we'll visit her again this week to make sure she's set for that commitment. We've been helping Maive with English tutoring for a while now. She's a mother of 9 (yeah, that doesn't really happen in Estonia) and comes to church but is not a member because she's actually not married. We've read 2 Nephi 31 about why baptism is so important and invited her to be baptized and she said yes! However, we didn't set an actual date because the lesson ended awkwardly because she had to get going :/ I'm not sure what her "life partner" thinks about marriage so that's something that we're praying can happen as we try to set a baptism date. The marriage papers have to be in 30 in advance and the church can pretty much pay for the whole thing and do it really cheap, we just need to get them legal. We want to start teaching some of the kids too. Plans to teach Maria fell through last week, so we need to teach her this week.
At game night, we had a doughnut eating contest where the contestant had to eat a doughnut on a string that somebody else was holding in front of their face. Sis. Aitken was holding, I was eating...and I came in dead last, HAHAHA!!! Sis. Aitken was laughing so hard that the doughnut kept moving too much that I couldn't get a solid bite at it :P Oh, the frustration, hahaha! At the party, Sis. Aitken also noticed the RS president's socks were quite hole-y so she felt compelled to donate some socks that her mother just sent her. So how'd we do it secretly? Door bell ditch, of course! We placed the socks in a bag and put it in front of the door, rang, and then ran around to the neighbors apartment. We heard her say something, but she never came to the door. So, attempt numba 2. Failed. As I went to check and try again one last time, the neighbor's lamp came on and they started to come out of the door so I quickly darted around a wall. Boy, was I scared!!! If they actually stepped out 15 ft from the doorway they would have found me guiltily hiding in a corner! They came out yelling "Who's running around out here?!?!?!" Apparently the walls are very thin or something :P They shouted angrily in Estonian and Russian for a minute or two, and then Nelly FINALLY opened her door to see the ruckus. They talked about how the doorbell rang, and she asked who it was, but nobody answered. And then the neighbor noticed the socks and the voice changed as they realized it was a gift. Nelly asked if the neighbor saw a man or woman, and the neighbor said it was a man. Oh goody. I'm glad I look like a man in a dark coat and skirt! :D Maybe door bell ditching is best used in America, hehehe.
On Wednesday, we got a phone call from a young man who has been selling books in America for several summers and actually knocked into Sis. Aitken's family back in September. That girl's got the oddest connections to Estonians! He promised her mom he'd visit us one day, so while he was in Pärnu for the day (he's from Tartu), he gave us a phone call, picked us up in his BMW and took us to the church for a nice chat. He's quite a young businessman, but he was able to give us contacting ideas. He seems open to learning about the church and knew a lot about Mormon culture from selling books in Utah. He just travels around world a lot, so it'd be hard to pin him down for some lessons. I'm hoping for some more little miracles this week!
Love you lots,
Courtney
It snowed a wee bit last night so that there's some crunchiness to your step on the sidewalks, but it's mostly melted now.
Is there anything you want for Christmas? The other sisters have been picking up things to send home, but I don't know what to get for ya'll. I'll look for a nativity, but I doubt they'll put those out (if they have them at all) until it's actually close to Christmas :)
Things with Liidia might be ok now. We paid her a random visit to drop off some cake and she insisted on serving us some tea and snacks before we left. She told us she's coming to church on Sunday, so we'll visit her again this week to make sure she's set for that commitment. We've been helping Maive with English tutoring for a while now. She's a mother of 9 (yeah, that doesn't really happen in Estonia) and comes to church but is not a member because she's actually not married. We've read 2 Nephi 31 about why baptism is so important and invited her to be baptized and she said yes! However, we didn't set an actual date because the lesson ended awkwardly because she had to get going :/ I'm not sure what her "life partner" thinks about marriage so that's something that we're praying can happen as we try to set a baptism date. The marriage papers have to be in 30 in advance and the church can pretty much pay for the whole thing and do it really cheap, we just need to get them legal. We want to start teaching some of the kids too. Plans to teach Maria fell through last week, so we need to teach her this week.
At game night, we had a doughnut eating contest where the contestant had to eat a doughnut on a string that somebody else was holding in front of their face. Sis. Aitken was holding, I was eating...and I came in dead last, HAHAHA!!! Sis. Aitken was laughing so hard that the doughnut kept moving too much that I couldn't get a solid bite at it :P Oh, the frustration, hahaha! At the party, Sis. Aitken also noticed the RS president's socks were quite hole-y so she felt compelled to donate some socks that her mother just sent her. So how'd we do it secretly? Door bell ditch, of course! We placed the socks in a bag and put it in front of the door, rang, and then ran around to the neighbors apartment. We heard her say something, but she never came to the door. So, attempt numba 2. Failed. As I went to check and try again one last time, the neighbor's lamp came on and they started to come out of the door so I quickly darted around a wall. Boy, was I scared!!! If they actually stepped out 15 ft from the doorway they would have found me guiltily hiding in a corner! They came out yelling "Who's running around out here?!?!?!" Apparently the walls are very thin or something :P They shouted angrily in Estonian and Russian for a minute or two, and then Nelly FINALLY opened her door to see the ruckus. They talked about how the doorbell rang, and she asked who it was, but nobody answered. And then the neighbor noticed the socks and the voice changed as they realized it was a gift. Nelly asked if the neighbor saw a man or woman, and the neighbor said it was a man. Oh goody. I'm glad I look like a man in a dark coat and skirt! :D Maybe door bell ditching is best used in America, hehehe.
On Wednesday, we got a phone call from a young man who has been selling books in America for several summers and actually knocked into Sis. Aitken's family back in September. That girl's got the oddest connections to Estonians! He promised her mom he'd visit us one day, so while he was in Pärnu for the day (he's from Tartu), he gave us a phone call, picked us up in his BMW and took us to the church for a nice chat. He's quite a young businessman, but he was able to give us contacting ideas. He seems open to learning about the church and knew a lot about Mormon culture from selling books in Utah. He just travels around world a lot, so it'd be hard to pin him down for some lessons. I'm hoping for some more little miracles this week!
Love you lots,
Courtney
Monday, November 1, 2010
Email November 1, 2010
We think Sis. Aitken just might be lactose intolerant, or just
allergic to food. Pretty much anything else besides chicken, veggies,
and fruits makes her stomach upset now. The poor dear. We don't
really understand why, but it was a factor in our lack of work
accomplished last week since we couldn't be far from a bathroom. :P
Being inside meant that I had to do a lot of entertaining since I can
beatbox, tell really random stories, etc. We've had a lot of good
laughs :) I think we have Sis. Aitken's diet all sorted out this
week, so now we can get some work done 'round these parts!
I was sort of reminiscing about that (Alma 4th Ward) carnival the other
day... good times! I haven't had to use my boots besides that one day
it snowed. I bought another coat last week since it was on sale. I
already checked to see that it fits under my other coat I brought with
me :) I think I should be set with that. Thankfully, our apartment
here stays pretty cozy so I haven't had to bundle up at night.
Yesterday, President and Sis. Dance came to speak in the Pärnu branch.
It was splendid, and the attendance seemed a little higher than
usual. Afterward, he took the time to interview us individually and
talk to us together as a district to give us pointers to help move the
work along. We couldn't make it to game night, but one of the ladies
from the open house went to that and even came to church yesterday
too! I think Maria's golden, because she's already made good friends
with the members and she seemed to understand everything we discussed
in Sunday School about the 13 articles of faith. We're finally going
to get that appointment with Maria this week and we'll probably invite
her to baptism too! We met with Liidia last week and I think she's
trying to distance herself from us :/ I merely asked her if she'd
pray to know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and she went
off on how the Bible is all she knows and names in the BoM are so
foreign, etc. So, I think we'll give her a little space, but we may
go drop some treats to her this week, or have a member call and invite
her to church and see how she reacts. Her testimony of our Savior is
amazing, if only she'd just try applying her faith to ask and actually
read.
President Dance encouraged us to focus on finding since we don't have
a good sized pool of investigators. He gave us some tips to help us
practice Estonian with the Elders and members since we feel a little
inadequate with the language (me,not so much, but I could use
practice) I finished reading all of Mormoni Raamat (Book of Mormon in
Estonian) last week, yay! Time to start reading it again!
Love you bunches! I can't wait to see what surprises you have in
store for me ;) Thanks for the prayers. Here's hoping for some
miracles this week!
Love,
Courtney
allergic to food. Pretty much anything else besides chicken, veggies,
and fruits makes her stomach upset now. The poor dear. We don't
really understand why, but it was a factor in our lack of work
accomplished last week since we couldn't be far from a bathroom. :P
Being inside meant that I had to do a lot of entertaining since I can
beatbox, tell really random stories, etc. We've had a lot of good
laughs :) I think we have Sis. Aitken's diet all sorted out this
week, so now we can get some work done 'round these parts!
I was sort of reminiscing about that (Alma 4th Ward) carnival the other
day... good times! I haven't had to use my boots besides that one day
it snowed. I bought another coat last week since it was on sale. I
already checked to see that it fits under my other coat I brought with
me :) I think I should be set with that. Thankfully, our apartment
here stays pretty cozy so I haven't had to bundle up at night.
Yesterday, President and Sis. Dance came to speak in the Pärnu branch.
It was splendid, and the attendance seemed a little higher than
usual. Afterward, he took the time to interview us individually and
talk to us together as a district to give us pointers to help move the
work along. We couldn't make it to game night, but one of the ladies
from the open house went to that and even came to church yesterday
too! I think Maria's golden, because she's already made good friends
with the members and she seemed to understand everything we discussed
in Sunday School about the 13 articles of faith. We're finally going
to get that appointment with Maria this week and we'll probably invite
her to baptism too! We met with Liidia last week and I think she's
trying to distance herself from us :/ I merely asked her if she'd
pray to know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and she went
off on how the Bible is all she knows and names in the BoM are so
foreign, etc. So, I think we'll give her a little space, but we may
go drop some treats to her this week, or have a member call and invite
her to church and see how she reacts. Her testimony of our Savior is
amazing, if only she'd just try applying her faith to ask and actually
read.
President Dance encouraged us to focus on finding since we don't have
a good sized pool of investigators. He gave us some tips to help us
practice Estonian with the Elders and members since we feel a little
inadequate with the language (me,not so much, but I could use
practice) I finished reading all of Mormoni Raamat (Book of Mormon in
Estonian) last week, yay! Time to start reading it again!
Love you bunches! I can't wait to see what surprises you have in
store for me ;) Thanks for the prayers. Here's hoping for some
miracles this week!
Love,
Courtney
Monday, October 25, 2010
Fall is almost here 10-25-10
That's good to hear that Heather and Todd finally set a date. I was wondering if they would do it during the Christmas break or else wait until she graduates.
Oddly enough (or miraculously :) Sis. Aitken's Estonian friends she met in America (they lived with her fam while she finished school) now live in Pärnu and they cooked us dinner on Wednesday night. It was so fun being around them, plus they speak English. I hope we can meet with them again this week and teach them some stuff now. Kätlin actually told Sis. Aitken that she wanted to be baptized back when she lived with them in America, but the missionaries they had in were
really poor missionaries :/ I guess we're here to fix that!
"It was even down in the 60s..." Wow, Mom, that sounds like the life right now. On Friday, we had our first, legit snowfall. The week before, the weather had teased us a little by snowing for only 10 minutes. Thank goodness the snowing only lasted until noon on Friday, so it melted away by the afternoon after we helped the members
do a little setting-up for the open house on Saturday. We woke up that morning and were just staring out the windows during our study that morning, dreading about having to don our boots. While setting-up for Saturday, the branch president asked us to perform some songs for the concert that was happening after the open house, so Sis. Aitken had the idea of renting a violin so she could play. We went to the concert hall just right around the corner, but the cheapest violin they had for sale was a piece of junk, but the saleswoman suggested we could go around to the music school on the other side and ask if we could rent one. After going back and forth between various floors, talking to various ladies and teachers, we got to borrow an old violin from a really nice violin teacher! It was just the violin she uses as
she teaches because she has a much nicer, concert instrument at home. We asked if we could pay, but she insisted that we didn't. :D I accompanied Sis. Aitken on the piano with a 2 page rendition of "I Stand All Amazed" since it was quick and easy to learn. We took home one of the keyboards from the church to practice at home with. Lo and behold, the demo song was none other than Rick Astley's "Together
Forever". WIN.
At the open house, only 3 non-members showed up, but they have really good potential! Although, we only got phone numbers for 2 of them. One lady said she actually grew up on the plot of land where the church building is so she wanted to see what it was like. 0_0 I don't think anybody actually invited her to come either, but Janeli immediately befriended her and we'll call her about setting an
appointment later this week. The other lady was a co-worker of one of our recent converts and she actually came to church yesterday too!
I did buy some boots, but not some really nice gloves yet. I haven't really needed them yet, thankfully. I asked my companions if there was anything they wanted from America and they just said peanut butter M&Ms, ha ha! I think I might prefer Reese's pieces a little more, but it's all good :) I can't really think of something specific because the chocolate here keeps me pretty content, ha ha! Popcorn (only have indiv. packs here), red vines, mike n'ikes, psh! I dunno! Did I leave any warm sweaters at home? Probably not :P I guess you could send some tights, leggings, socks, etc. Sis. Aitken says I need to let her mom know what I want for Christmas though, ha ha ha! If for whatever reason, the value of goods is over 100 dollars, they'll charge tariffs when I pick it up :P
Gotta run now! The language is coming along just fine for me, and I think now we'll finally have some people to teach this week. Thanks for the love and prayers!
Love,
Courtney
Oddly enough (or miraculously :) Sis. Aitken's Estonian friends she met in America (they lived with her fam while she finished school) now live in Pärnu and they cooked us dinner on Wednesday night. It was so fun being around them, plus they speak English. I hope we can meet with them again this week and teach them some stuff now. Kätlin actually told Sis. Aitken that she wanted to be baptized back when she lived with them in America, but the missionaries they had in were
really poor missionaries :/ I guess we're here to fix that!
"It was even down in the 60s..." Wow, Mom, that sounds like the life right now. On Friday, we had our first, legit snowfall. The week before, the weather had teased us a little by snowing for only 10 minutes. Thank goodness the snowing only lasted until noon on Friday, so it melted away by the afternoon after we helped the members
do a little setting-up for the open house on Saturday. We woke up that morning and were just staring out the windows during our study that morning, dreading about having to don our boots. While setting-up for Saturday, the branch president asked us to perform some songs for the concert that was happening after the open house, so Sis. Aitken had the idea of renting a violin so she could play. We went to the concert hall just right around the corner, but the cheapest violin they had for sale was a piece of junk, but the saleswoman suggested we could go around to the music school on the other side and ask if we could rent one. After going back and forth between various floors, talking to various ladies and teachers, we got to borrow an old violin from a really nice violin teacher! It was just the violin she uses as
she teaches because she has a much nicer, concert instrument at home. We asked if we could pay, but she insisted that we didn't. :D I accompanied Sis. Aitken on the piano with a 2 page rendition of "I Stand All Amazed" since it was quick and easy to learn. We took home one of the keyboards from the church to practice at home with. Lo and behold, the demo song was none other than Rick Astley's "Together
Forever". WIN.
At the open house, only 3 non-members showed up, but they have really good potential! Although, we only got phone numbers for 2 of them. One lady said she actually grew up on the plot of land where the church building is so she wanted to see what it was like. 0_0 I don't think anybody actually invited her to come either, but Janeli immediately befriended her and we'll call her about setting an
appointment later this week. The other lady was a co-worker of one of our recent converts and she actually came to church yesterday too!
I did buy some boots, but not some really nice gloves yet. I haven't really needed them yet, thankfully. I asked my companions if there was anything they wanted from America and they just said peanut butter M&Ms, ha ha! I think I might prefer Reese's pieces a little more, but it's all good :) I can't really think of something specific because the chocolate here keeps me pretty content, ha ha! Popcorn (only have indiv. packs here), red vines, mike n'ikes, psh! I dunno! Did I leave any warm sweaters at home? Probably not :P I guess you could send some tights, leggings, socks, etc. Sis. Aitken says I need to let her mom know what I want for Christmas though, ha ha ha! If for whatever reason, the value of goods is over 100 dollars, they'll charge tariffs when I pick it up :P
Gotta run now! The language is coming along just fine for me, and I think now we'll finally have some people to teach this week. Thanks for the love and prayers!
Love,
Courtney
Monday, October 18, 2010
Email: Figure 8 races 10-18-10
Wowerz, it's been a bit of a crazy week. Lots of changes, but I'm still in Pärnu. Sis. LeFevre did in fact choose to go home, so I got a phone call from President Dance on Monday night saying that Sis. LeDuc and Sis. Aitken were transferring down from Keila to Pärnu the next day and that we are in a trio now. Pärnu sure is lucky. They have all the sister missionaries in all of Estonia ;) And with the time is takes to call a new sister missionary and train in the MTC...well, I'm sure we'll be spending the next 6 months together. It's a pleasure to be back with Sis. Aitken so soon, and Sis. LeDuc is great too. Let's hope we can keep up the greatness! At least we'll all be enduring the winter together, so we should have fun stories to share, ha ha!
Sis. LeFevre and I traveled to Riga again on Tuesday night, then we stayed at the mission home for the night and then dropped Sis. LeFevre off at the Riga airport at about 5:30 for her 7am flight to Brussels. The Jacques droves me back to Pärnu to find Sis. LeDuc and Sis. Aitken all muddy and dirty from exploring near the beach and helping an old lady raking leaves. So they showered up and then it was off to
Steffani's for lunch, paid for by the Jacques :) When we got to the apartment, the whole place was in disarray because of all the stuff the sisters brought with them, plus they were in the midst of DEEP CLEANING. It puts me at ease knowing that our apartment is finally up to suitable living standards. The great thing is that Sis. Aitken and Sis. LeDuc like to clean and cook so that helps the place stay happy and orderly. They bring a great fire, spirit and work ethic, so now that we're finally settled in, we'll get started on those miracles ;)
On Friday, for our service project of the week, all the missionaries met up with Merit and Janeli to go to a dog shelter and walk some of the beasts around. I say beasts because most of them were rather large. I paired up with Janeli and we took big, but peaceful Donovan for a spin around the block. It was kinda fun just walking around and chatting with Janeli. We helped the Young Women make some signs since it was Saima's birthday, which we celebrated at game night. My companions really grew to love Keila, but they're quickly warming up to Pärnu. It's cute to continually hear them say how nice people are on the buses. :)
The open house for the church is actually going to be this Saturday, so maybe tomorrow we'll be helping do some stuff for the Relief Society presentation. I'm not exactly sure about that... Sis. LeDuc had to travel down to Riga with Elder Barney, our district leader for some sort of leadership training until Wednesday night. She nearly missed her bus because we had to taxi back home supa-quick because she forgot her passport xP Turns out our taxi driver actually lives a floor below the Branch President. He was a nice guy :)
The "Hang 10" idea is so cute!! It's funny to hear that it's still prime swimming weather. Saturday was very cold~ It probably didn't help that we walked a bunch outside because we missed some buses or just didn't want to wait for the next one to come :P Today seems like a pleasant autumn day, though. I'm glad the Figure 8 races were a blast!! I had been reminiscing about those good times.
As far as stuff in the package, how about some measuring spoons? I have a feeling Sis. Aitken wants to do a lot of baking. That's one way to get into peoples' hearts! I wonder how they'll take to American style cookies... like if they're too sweet, haha. Yesterday, the Kõivs from the Tallinn branch (he's the branch president) came down to give some excellent talks about living prophets and missionary work. Sis. Kõiv even made this really yummy pumpkin stuff. It was pretty much like pumpkin pie, just more of a cake form rather than a pie. That was a real treat :) I think Sis. LeDuc wants to carve pumpkins next week. I don't really care to make a mess, but she seem really pumped for it. Whoa, I only just realized now that I unintentionally made a pun. 0_0 Anyway...
Yeah, it's still weird thinking that Sis. LeFevre actually went home, but I think she'll be better able to recover. Being with Sis. Aitken and Sis. LeDuc is a blessing though. They're excited to work. Although their Estonian isn't quite as pretty, there's still plenty I can learn from the two of them. :D Things are finally lookin' on the upside!
Much love,
Courtney
Sis. LeFevre and I traveled to Riga again on Tuesday night, then we stayed at the mission home for the night and then dropped Sis. LeFevre off at the Riga airport at about 5:30 for her 7am flight to Brussels. The Jacques droves me back to Pärnu to find Sis. LeDuc and Sis. Aitken all muddy and dirty from exploring near the beach and helping an old lady raking leaves. So they showered up and then it was off to
Steffani's for lunch, paid for by the Jacques :) When we got to the apartment, the whole place was in disarray because of all the stuff the sisters brought with them, plus they were in the midst of DEEP CLEANING. It puts me at ease knowing that our apartment is finally up to suitable living standards. The great thing is that Sis. Aitken and Sis. LeDuc like to clean and cook so that helps the place stay happy and orderly. They bring a great fire, spirit and work ethic, so now that we're finally settled in, we'll get started on those miracles ;)
On Friday, for our service project of the week, all the missionaries met up with Merit and Janeli to go to a dog shelter and walk some of the beasts around. I say beasts because most of them were rather large. I paired up with Janeli and we took big, but peaceful Donovan for a spin around the block. It was kinda fun just walking around and chatting with Janeli. We helped the Young Women make some signs since it was Saima's birthday, which we celebrated at game night. My companions really grew to love Keila, but they're quickly warming up to Pärnu. It's cute to continually hear them say how nice people are on the buses. :)
The open house for the church is actually going to be this Saturday, so maybe tomorrow we'll be helping do some stuff for the Relief Society presentation. I'm not exactly sure about that... Sis. LeDuc had to travel down to Riga with Elder Barney, our district leader for some sort of leadership training until Wednesday night. She nearly missed her bus because we had to taxi back home supa-quick because she forgot her passport xP Turns out our taxi driver actually lives a floor below the Branch President. He was a nice guy :)
The "Hang 10" idea is so cute!! It's funny to hear that it's still prime swimming weather. Saturday was very cold~ It probably didn't help that we walked a bunch outside because we missed some buses or just didn't want to wait for the next one to come :P Today seems like a pleasant autumn day, though. I'm glad the Figure 8 races were a blast!! I had been reminiscing about those good times.
As far as stuff in the package, how about some measuring spoons? I have a feeling Sis. Aitken wants to do a lot of baking. That's one way to get into peoples' hearts! I wonder how they'll take to American style cookies... like if they're too sweet, haha. Yesterday, the Kõivs from the Tallinn branch (he's the branch president) came down to give some excellent talks about living prophets and missionary work. Sis. Kõiv even made this really yummy pumpkin stuff. It was pretty much like pumpkin pie, just more of a cake form rather than a pie. That was a real treat :) I think Sis. LeDuc wants to carve pumpkins next week. I don't really care to make a mess, but she seem really pumped for it. Whoa, I only just realized now that I unintentionally made a pun. 0_0 Anyway...
Yeah, it's still weird thinking that Sis. LeFevre actually went home, but I think she'll be better able to recover. Being with Sis. Aitken and Sis. LeDuc is a blessing though. They're excited to work. Although their Estonian isn't quite as pretty, there's still plenty I can learn from the two of them. :D Things are finally lookin' on the upside!
Much love,
Courtney
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Email: Fall is in full swing! 10-11-10
Holy cow, this coming Saturday marks my 4 month as a missionary (and Stacey's b-day)!! O_O Alrighty, so transfers actually happen this week. It's very much up in the air at this point.
We decided to tromp out to the beach this morning. There is a bunch of brush next to the beach, so we were wandering around, avoiding random cow pies as we tried to find a pathway around the plants that led us to the sea. It was so beautiful since it was about 9:30 this morning. We had a pleasant little jaunt. I only dipped my hand in the water and we took a few pics and then walked back to the bus stop to come to the library.
Last week, we went to visit with some of the old lady members in the branch. They just wanted to invite us over to eat and chat. It was typical Estonian food, but simple and tasty and the company was certainly pleasant. In order to protect their privacy, (and myself from legal complexities) I'll only use their first name if I'm sharing pictures of them. Vilma insisted on showing us ALL her photo albums of previous missionaries and even some of those missionaries' wedding pictures via Facebook, hahaha :P These old ladies are the cutest things ever~ They worry that we're going to get sick because we don't have hats yet!
Next weekend in Pärnu is an open house, so the branch is getting prepared for that. Last year, it miraculously led to the baptism of one of our best members, so we're hoping more miracles come from it. We have 2 investigators now, but we've got to get them to read the Book of Mormon and come to church now so we can get them progressing. Janeli has come out to do a wee bit of contacting with us this last
week. Her peppiness is contagious and we definitely need to figure out how to utilize her more since she helps us with our Estonian and she can relate better to the people, obviously. She's thinking of serving a mini-mission, but's she's not sure how soon she can, just yet. The girl's a missionary machine~!
That's some mighty, crazy weather you've got down there! It's actually been rather pleasant fall weather, just nippy at nightime. Thankfully our apartment is cozy. Usually, weather equates to Christmastime for me, so thoughts of Christmas keep popping into my head even though it's not for another 2 months!
Have fun at the Figure 8 races! I've been reminiscing about the fair lately :) I think I found a pair of boots that I like. They're about 80 smackers (I just hope they still have my size xP) I've seen some nice, leather gloves too, but those are about 20 or so. I may or may not get those today... The country is getting prepped to switch to the Euro come January 1st. Yay~ less bills in our wallets! The only session we haven't seen in English yet is the Relief Society and Sunday Afternoon session. We watched the sunday afternoon session yesterday after sacrament meeting.
Well, I think that's about it for this edition! I'm so grateful for my support team, cheering me on back home. Y'all are the greatest. I think about you all the time because your influences are what have helped me get here.
Love,
Courtney
P.S. Mom, we're missionaries. Of course we have a microwave! ;) Wouldn't a cornbag be pretty heavy to ship though??
We decided to tromp out to the beach this morning. There is a bunch of brush next to the beach, so we were wandering around, avoiding random cow pies as we tried to find a pathway around the plants that led us to the sea. It was so beautiful since it was about 9:30 this morning. We had a pleasant little jaunt. I only dipped my hand in the water and we took a few pics and then walked back to the bus stop to come to the library.
Last week, we went to visit with some of the old lady members in the branch. They just wanted to invite us over to eat and chat. It was typical Estonian food, but simple and tasty and the company was certainly pleasant. In order to protect their privacy, (and myself from legal complexities) I'll only use their first name if I'm sharing pictures of them. Vilma insisted on showing us ALL her photo albums of previous missionaries and even some of those missionaries' wedding pictures via Facebook, hahaha :P These old ladies are the cutest things ever~ They worry that we're going to get sick because we don't have hats yet!
Next weekend in Pärnu is an open house, so the branch is getting prepared for that. Last year, it miraculously led to the baptism of one of our best members, so we're hoping more miracles come from it. We have 2 investigators now, but we've got to get them to read the Book of Mormon and come to church now so we can get them progressing. Janeli has come out to do a wee bit of contacting with us this last
week. Her peppiness is contagious and we definitely need to figure out how to utilize her more since she helps us with our Estonian and she can relate better to the people, obviously. She's thinking of serving a mini-mission, but's she's not sure how soon she can, just yet. The girl's a missionary machine~!
That's some mighty, crazy weather you've got down there! It's actually been rather pleasant fall weather, just nippy at nightime. Thankfully our apartment is cozy. Usually, weather equates to Christmastime for me, so thoughts of Christmas keep popping into my head even though it's not for another 2 months!
Have fun at the Figure 8 races! I've been reminiscing about the fair lately :) I think I found a pair of boots that I like. They're about 80 smackers (I just hope they still have my size xP) I've seen some nice, leather gloves too, but those are about 20 or so. I may or may not get those today... The country is getting prepped to switch to the Euro come January 1st. Yay~ less bills in our wallets! The only session we haven't seen in English yet is the Relief Society and Sunday Afternoon session. We watched the sunday afternoon session yesterday after sacrament meeting.
Well, I think that's about it for this edition! I'm so grateful for my support team, cheering me on back home. Y'all are the greatest. I think about you all the time because your influences are what have helped me get here.
Love,
Courtney
P.S. Mom, we're missionaries. Of course we have a microwave! ;) Wouldn't a cornbag be pretty heavy to ship though??
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Email: September is over! 10-04-10
Hiya fam!
I can't believe September is over now too. I don't know if I've accomplished much in the last month either. Next week is already the end of the transfer, so I'm wondering where I'll end up next week. I still think I'll be in Pärnu though, but who knows! Good luck family, with the house cleanup! You all seem to be keeping yourselves really busy, but happy :D WOW, Dad's truck still lives!!! That's quite a feat!
I happened to see the Sunday morning conference session in English. We'll be watching the rest later this week. Watching conference in Estonian made it kinda rough to focus on all the time, but well, I tried to be attentive and be an example to the members. The max we had for a session was about 10 people. We watched the translated version via internet which was wirelessly transmitted from the computer upstairs to the tv downstairs in the tiny chapel. It was a little rough to get a good signal, but well, we tried. On Saturday night, we were watching a session and there were only like 4 members there and then the 4 of us missionaries. The signal was freezing so they decided to go up to the branch presidency office where the computers are and then watch it there since there were so few of us. All the brethren went upstairs and just when Sis. LeFevre and I were thinking of just going home, but we saw Sis. Lashenko (sp?) sitting on the couch, looking rather sad. We asked her if she was going to go up the stairs to watch but she said something like she was afraid of going up, I think because of her health or she was afraid she'd fall. So, I went up the stairs, asked the Elders to turn up the speakers a bit more and then we listened to conference on the couch in the lobby with her. She pulled out a bunch of photos of missionaries who served in Pärnu and some who came back to visit after their mission. She told us how she keeps in contact with them through Facebook. I told her I'd do the same. I'm really glad we stayed, and I think she was too :D
Most of the appointments we had set up cancelled or didn't show, so we're praying for a better week. We have one tonight, and hopefully we can finally contact a referral that a member gave us a few weeks ago. We've gone over there 3 times and they haven't been home xP That's so amazing to hear about the Kiev Temple open house and dedication. I wish we had the same in Estonia! I heard it was kinda like that when the Helsinki, Finland temple was finished a few years ago. Watching conference has given me some new courage though. Heavenly Father has ordained me to do this work and has promised blessings if I just get out there and work. Gotta get going now!
Love,
Courtney
I can't believe September is over now too. I don't know if I've accomplished much in the last month either. Next week is already the end of the transfer, so I'm wondering where I'll end up next week. I still think I'll be in Pärnu though, but who knows! Good luck family, with the house cleanup! You all seem to be keeping yourselves really busy, but happy :D WOW, Dad's truck still lives!!! That's quite a feat!
I happened to see the Sunday morning conference session in English. We'll be watching the rest later this week. Watching conference in Estonian made it kinda rough to focus on all the time, but well, I tried to be attentive and be an example to the members. The max we had for a session was about 10 people. We watched the translated version via internet which was wirelessly transmitted from the computer upstairs to the tv downstairs in the tiny chapel. It was a little rough to get a good signal, but well, we tried. On Saturday night, we were watching a session and there were only like 4 members there and then the 4 of us missionaries. The signal was freezing so they decided to go up to the branch presidency office where the computers are and then watch it there since there were so few of us. All the brethren went upstairs and just when Sis. LeFevre and I were thinking of just going home, but we saw Sis. Lashenko (sp?) sitting on the couch, looking rather sad. We asked her if she was going to go up the stairs to watch but she said something like she was afraid of going up, I think because of her health or she was afraid she'd fall. So, I went up the stairs, asked the Elders to turn up the speakers a bit more and then we listened to conference on the couch in the lobby with her. She pulled out a bunch of photos of missionaries who served in Pärnu and some who came back to visit after their mission. She told us how she keeps in contact with them through Facebook. I told her I'd do the same. I'm really glad we stayed, and I think she was too :D
Most of the appointments we had set up cancelled or didn't show, so we're praying for a better week. We have one tonight, and hopefully we can finally contact a referral that a member gave us a few weeks ago. We've gone over there 3 times and they haven't been home xP That's so amazing to hear about the Kiev Temple open house and dedication. I wish we had the same in Estonia! I heard it was kinda like that when the Helsinki, Finland temple was finished a few years ago. Watching conference has given me some new courage though. Heavenly Father has ordained me to do this work and has promised blessings if I just get out there and work. Gotta get going now!
Love,
Courtney
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Email 9-29-10
This has been a pretty fun week. I actually had to travel to Tallinn last Tuesday to do visa/living permit whatever stuff last week. Sis. Lepp from the Tallinn branch helped us with paper work which was splendid, but they were remarkably slow that day and we were there for at least 2 hours. Anyway, I got to see a little bit of Tallinn, but we didn't wander far from the bus station. It takes just under 2 hours to travel from Pärnu to Tallinn by bus. That's how most people get around the country, I think. Thankfully, we checked the mailbox before our bus ride up there, so I received a letter from Mark and fam with some drawings and pictures of the kiddos. Precious~♥
District conference on Sunday, in Tallinn was certainly interesting. Our branch rented a small bus to take up the members who signed up the week before. The branch leaders went up a day earlier for the Saturday training. I had the privelege of sitting next to Jana, a very energetic 9yo on the way up to Tallinn. Tickle attacks, funny faces, etc. She couldn't keep her hands off, lol. That was fun :P Hearing conference in 3 languages is sort of a brain overload, ha ha! Back and forth between Estonian, Russian, and English (since President and Sis. Dance spoke). It was fun meeting some of the other members and missionaries though. The Dances brought up mail from the mission home so I got the DearElder from Veronica. She seems to be doing super and I was so excited to hear from her~!!!! We had a few hours after the conference until our bus left for Tartu so we just chatted away. Then it was off to Tartu Sunday evening. We sisters got to stay at a hotel while the Elders had to fit in the other missionary apartments ;) We had training all day on Monday and then Monday night we met Tartu's oldest member, Helmi. Helmi is 90 years old and LOVES the missionaries. I think she was baptized about 7 years ago or so. She insisted on feeding us even though she is a very very poor pensioner. I only ate a piece of bread and some juice to show my thanks. After that, we each took turns playing her in chess. Apparently, she was some chess champion when she was younger, but of course some of that skill has faded with time. Technically, I beat her, but when I went to take her King, she could've sworn that he was one space to the left and not in check. So yeah, after that, then she beat me pretty good :P I'll let her have the victory this time. I think the Elders usually beat her so that should boost her confidence :D Helmi was so so sweet and thankful for missionaries. She certainly thanked Heavenly Father for sending us. She was sad when we had to leave to catch our bus back to center.
Walking around the center of Tartu is really cool. The old town hall plaza is really neat. It's also a lovely time of year to be driving around Estonia since the trees are starting to change colors. Unfortunately, a cold spell came in on Monday and Tuesday and it was quite nippy all throughout the country! Down to like 7 degrees Celsius which is somewhere in the high 30s I reckon. I had to bust out my big coat! And my legs and feet were chilled from the wind. Gotta start layering... Thankfully, today's not as bad.
I'm excited for General Conference this weekend. We'll watch the Relief Society session Saturday evening and then the Saturday morning session after that. Then we watch several sessions on Sunday, and then the last session we'll watch the following week. Maybe that's when we'll finally watch it in English too, I dunno.
Sis. LeFevre is from Draper, Utah. She is studying Journalism at the University of Utah. We receive copies of the Liahona from time to time. I think they just gave us the September issue at our district conference. I believe they try to get copies to each companionship when they can.
Last night on our bus ride home, I actually met some Italian kids who said they were singers in some choir with kids from Denmark, Estonia, etc. Random. I chatted only for a little bit about where we were from and what we were doing here and the guy I talked to was really nice. Even more random is that I think I remember seeing Italian Book of Mormons at our church building... I'll have to check again, but I'm hoping that the Lord will place them again in our path before they leave Pärnu on Saturday.
Ooh boy I'd love a recipe for mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits, and soup. Yes, we can find some tortillas here. They only come in wimpy 8 packs though :P
Gotta run! Thanks for the love and prayers!
Courtney
District conference on Sunday, in Tallinn was certainly interesting. Our branch rented a small bus to take up the members who signed up the week before. The branch leaders went up a day earlier for the Saturday training. I had the privelege of sitting next to Jana, a very energetic 9yo on the way up to Tallinn. Tickle attacks, funny faces, etc. She couldn't keep her hands off, lol. That was fun :P Hearing conference in 3 languages is sort of a brain overload, ha ha! Back and forth between Estonian, Russian, and English (since President and Sis. Dance spoke). It was fun meeting some of the other members and missionaries though. The Dances brought up mail from the mission home so I got the DearElder from Veronica. She seems to be doing super and I was so excited to hear from her~!!!! We had a few hours after the conference until our bus left for Tartu so we just chatted away. Then it was off to Tartu Sunday evening. We sisters got to stay at a hotel while the Elders had to fit in the other missionary apartments ;) We had training all day on Monday and then Monday night we met Tartu's oldest member, Helmi. Helmi is 90 years old and LOVES the missionaries. I think she was baptized about 7 years ago or so. She insisted on feeding us even though she is a very very poor pensioner. I only ate a piece of bread and some juice to show my thanks. After that, we each took turns playing her in chess. Apparently, she was some chess champion when she was younger, but of course some of that skill has faded with time. Technically, I beat her, but when I went to take her King, she could've sworn that he was one space to the left and not in check. So yeah, after that, then she beat me pretty good :P I'll let her have the victory this time. I think the Elders usually beat her so that should boost her confidence :D Helmi was so so sweet and thankful for missionaries. She certainly thanked Heavenly Father for sending us. She was sad when we had to leave to catch our bus back to center.
Walking around the center of Tartu is really cool. The old town hall plaza is really neat. It's also a lovely time of year to be driving around Estonia since the trees are starting to change colors. Unfortunately, a cold spell came in on Monday and Tuesday and it was quite nippy all throughout the country! Down to like 7 degrees Celsius which is somewhere in the high 30s I reckon. I had to bust out my big coat! And my legs and feet were chilled from the wind. Gotta start layering... Thankfully, today's not as bad.
I'm excited for General Conference this weekend. We'll watch the Relief Society session Saturday evening and then the Saturday morning session after that. Then we watch several sessions on Sunday, and then the last session we'll watch the following week. Maybe that's when we'll finally watch it in English too, I dunno.
Sis. LeFevre is from Draper, Utah. She is studying Journalism at the University of Utah. We receive copies of the Liahona from time to time. I think they just gave us the September issue at our district conference. I believe they try to get copies to each companionship when they can.
Last night on our bus ride home, I actually met some Italian kids who said they were singers in some choir with kids from Denmark, Estonia, etc. Random. I chatted only for a little bit about where we were from and what we were doing here and the guy I talked to was really nice. Even more random is that I think I remember seeing Italian Book of Mormons at our church building... I'll have to check again, but I'm hoping that the Lord will place them again in our path before they leave Pärnu on Saturday.
Ooh boy I'd love a recipe for mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits, and soup. Yes, we can find some tortillas here. They only come in wimpy 8 packs though :P
Gotta run! Thanks for the love and prayers!
Courtney
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Email 9-20-10
Goodness, it's still that hot there?!?! It's been very windy and rainy here this week, probably 50 degrees or so. Next week, we have Zone conference in Tallinn on Sunday so we're riding a bus with our whole branch up there. Then on Monday and Tuesday, we have training meetings down in Tartu so I get to do some traveling next week! Preparation Day is temporarily bumped until next Wednesday when I'll be back in Pärnu. We ride the bus about 10-12 minutes to get to the downtown area where the library is and where we e-mail. You should probably send me this e-mail a bit earlier so you can get to bed and so I'll have more time to write news home. I think the other missionaries get a bit annoyed that I take like 2 hours to write all my e-mails :P Oh well, it's not like there's much else to do in Pärnu on Preparation day! There are about 30 really active members in the branch, most of which are women, but we have some really great priesthood holders now. There are a lot of inactive members, so that's something I'd like to see change while I'm here. ´
This morning and last week we went shopping at the Baltic equivalent of Wal-mart: Rimi's. It doesn't have nearly all the different departments like Wal-Mart, but there's a bit more than what's available at Selver. I think Rimi is about a kilometer from our apartment. A short, brisk walk away, but it's not so fun to carry the groceries all the way back. However, it's worth it for this awesome cereal that's only at Rimi's. It's a chocolatey granola with raisins, banana chips, lil' chocolate chunks that turn your milk nice and chocolately very quickly. It's yummy stuff, so we decided to buy more this week since we like eating it for breakfast and sometimes as a late night snack. That means that we have to buy a lot more milk though, ha ha ha. The cooking is all right. Mom, I'm thankful I at least watched how you cooked sometimes, because it's come in handy a little bit. I could use some recipes though. Sis. LeFevre has used some recipes that have been passed down to missionaries, but they don't seem to taste, or satisfy quite like they do at home. We only have hour long meal times, so we need some quick recipes, but sometimes, we'll just take both our meal hours if we have English class or appointments that fill up our evenings. I made some awesome quesadillas the other day. Sis. LeFevre made some deep-dish pizza in a casserole pan, but it was sorta, meh. Last night, I cooked spaghetti (of course it wasn't as fancy as your sauce ;) , and I attempted to make some French Toast the other day. I think I'll try making fried potatoes this week. That should be interesting since it's all sort of a guessing game, ha ha! Another odd thing, it's been hard to find measuring cups here. We only have one in our apartment, but we haven't really seen any good ones at the store.
We do have a washing machine, but it takes like 2 plus hours to wash stuff. I think because it's really compact or something... Unfortunately, dryers are not in existence in Estonia so we get to use big drying racks. Only one room in the apartment has carpet, but Mom, I'll bet you'll be proud of how I've been good about cleaning the dishes and sweeping and vacuuming! This week, Sis. LeFevre's legs have been aching a lot. She played soccer for years, so it left her legs pretty messed up. This has really impacted our work this week since we were put under house arrest for Friday and Saturday. I felt sooo useless... but there's no use limping around all over the place. It's a problem she had before the mission, so we still don't know if the resting does a whole lot. I guess the days we rested were all right since it was rainy most of the day. We ventured out to family game night on Friday. It's so fun being with the members because they love us so much. They're like a really close family and I really admire that about them. Since we were cooped up for so long I didn't have much else to do. I don't have boots, a hat, new gloves, or many new scarves yet. They're kinda pricey here :/ But, they are necessary so I'll have to do some shopping. I don't think Sis. LeFevre cares for it much, hehehe.
This week, we've been helping a member with English almost everyday. We've been reading a lot from the Book of Mormon stories since it's easier to understand and has pictures :) Well, technically, Maive is a mother of 9, but she actually can't be a member since her "mees" (man) doesn't want to get married. That's a common problem here in Estonia :( I don't know much about it, so I'll have to ask the Elders.
Elder and Sister Jacques came up from Riga to check our apartments and they treated us to dinner at Steffani's. That's like the only restaurant we've been to in town. Probably because it's more food for your buck (or Kroon, in this case). It's an italian restaurant, and I actually scarfed down an entire small, thick crust pizza by myself. We've gone there every P-day so far. Maybe we'll go again today, ha ha ha!
You're right about how everything starts out with faith. That's why it's the first principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Right now, I'm really trying to build my faith to have courage to find those who are prepared to hear this message. We weren't able to to much at all this last week, so we'll have to make a rebound. Hope you enjoy the pictures and videos! Thanks for all of the love and support.
Love you lots,
Courtney
Airplane food!!
This morning and last week we went shopping at the Baltic equivalent of Wal-mart: Rimi's. It doesn't have nearly all the different departments like Wal-Mart, but there's a bit more than what's available at Selver. I think Rimi is about a kilometer from our apartment. A short, brisk walk away, but it's not so fun to carry the groceries all the way back. However, it's worth it for this awesome cereal that's only at Rimi's. It's a chocolatey granola with raisins, banana chips, lil' chocolate chunks that turn your milk nice and chocolately very quickly. It's yummy stuff, so we decided to buy more this week since we like eating it for breakfast and sometimes as a late night snack. That means that we have to buy a lot more milk though, ha ha ha. The cooking is all right. Mom, I'm thankful I at least watched how you cooked sometimes, because it's come in handy a little bit. I could use some recipes though. Sis. LeFevre has used some recipes that have been passed down to missionaries, but they don't seem to taste, or satisfy quite like they do at home. We only have hour long meal times, so we need some quick recipes, but sometimes, we'll just take both our meal hours if we have English class or appointments that fill up our evenings. I made some awesome quesadillas the other day. Sis. LeFevre made some deep-dish pizza in a casserole pan, but it was sorta, meh. Last night, I cooked spaghetti (of course it wasn't as fancy as your sauce ;) , and I attempted to make some French Toast the other day. I think I'll try making fried potatoes this week. That should be interesting since it's all sort of a guessing game, ha ha! Another odd thing, it's been hard to find measuring cups here. We only have one in our apartment, but we haven't really seen any good ones at the store.
We do have a washing machine, but it takes like 2 plus hours to wash stuff. I think because it's really compact or something... Unfortunately, dryers are not in existence in Estonia so we get to use big drying racks. Only one room in the apartment has carpet, but Mom, I'll bet you'll be proud of how I've been good about cleaning the dishes and sweeping and vacuuming! This week, Sis. LeFevre's legs have been aching a lot. She played soccer for years, so it left her legs pretty messed up. This has really impacted our work this week since we were put under house arrest for Friday and Saturday. I felt sooo useless... but there's no use limping around all over the place. It's a problem she had before the mission, so we still don't know if the resting does a whole lot. I guess the days we rested were all right since it was rainy most of the day. We ventured out to family game night on Friday. It's so fun being with the members because they love us so much. They're like a really close family and I really admire that about them. Since we were cooped up for so long I didn't have much else to do. I don't have boots, a hat, new gloves, or many new scarves yet. They're kinda pricey here :/ But, they are necessary so I'll have to do some shopping. I don't think Sis. LeFevre cares for it much, hehehe.
This week, we've been helping a member with English almost everyday. We've been reading a lot from the Book of Mormon stories since it's easier to understand and has pictures :) Well, technically, Maive is a mother of 9, but she actually can't be a member since her "mees" (man) doesn't want to get married. That's a common problem here in Estonia :( I don't know much about it, so I'll have to ask the Elders.
Elder and Sister Jacques came up from Riga to check our apartments and they treated us to dinner at Steffani's. That's like the only restaurant we've been to in town. Probably because it's more food for your buck (or Kroon, in this case). It's an italian restaurant, and I actually scarfed down an entire small, thick crust pizza by myself. We've gone there every P-day so far. Maybe we'll go again today, ha ha ha!
You're right about how everything starts out with faith. That's why it's the first principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Right now, I'm really trying to build my faith to have courage to find those who are prepared to hear this message. We weren't able to to much at all this last week, so we'll have to make a rebound. Hope you enjoy the pictures and videos! Thanks for all of the love and support.
Love you lots,
Courtney
Airplane food!!
Frankfurt, Germany - Airport for layover to Latvia
We got to stay in the Lenin Hotel, called that because the man himself had stayed there a few times. Here's the lobby of the tiny place.
In Riga, Latvia. This is a large cathedral nearby the church building in town.
Food for the new missionary feast!
The mission home, pre-feast.
My new companion!! Sister LeFerve, who has actually been there 3 months. Learning Estonian with her should be fun ;o)
We got to stay in the Lenin Hotel, called that because the man himself had stayed there a few times. Here's the lobby of the tiny place.
In Riga, Latvia. This is a large cathedral nearby the church building in town.
Food for the new missionary feast!
The mission home, pre-feast.
My new companion!! Sister LeFerve, who has actually been there 3 months. Learning Estonian with her should be fun ;o)
Friday, September 17, 2010
Email 9-13-10
My week went by fairly quickly as well. Thanks for the reminders of cleanliness, ha ha! I've been doing a pretty good job since now I have my own place to take care of. I scrubbed the bathroom this morning while my companion got most of the kitchen done. There's still more to do, but the most important stuff is done :)
I forgot to mention earlier for my friends that DearElder is free for our mission since it's sent by pouch mail through the church. It may take a bit longer for it to reach me from the mission home, but it's a free option if it's not pressing news.
Now I'm like the piano guru in our branch. I already have a lesson set up to teach a member and another man wants me to attend some music festival thing he's putting on in October. Maybe he wants me to perform. WUT?!! They all think I'm like Mozart, or something. It makes me feel loved though :) The humidity from the fog and rain the last few days has killed my hair so I have to wear it back :P I tried straightening it one day and it was destroyed in about 20 minutes outside. I'm trying to look nice though!
Last Thursday we did some service for a member who lives 30 minutes outside of Pärnu. We just hacked away at some old uprooted tree and made a bit fire where we burned all the little bits. I guess we'll go to Saima's every week, so I wonder which day we'll go back and help her out this week. On Saturday I witnessed my first baptism! Eda Rahula was taught by the Elders, but now we get to teach her retention lessons. I think this week we need to do a bit more finding because we need to teach some lessons. I think we have one progressing investigator who committed to baptism when she finds out that this is true, so we just have to make sure we can get her to church this week.
One funny thing Estonians do is occasionally inhale their words. I mostly hear it among old ladies and it's usally some exclamation, or affirmation like "Jah!". It kinda weirds me out every time, ha ha! We cook most of our own meals, and they've usually been pretty basic stuff like spaghetti and tacos. Sis. Aitken is up in Keila with Sis. LeDuc. They are about 2-3 hours away, I think. It took us about 3 hours to get to Pärnu from Riga by bus. There are only 4 sisters in all of Estonia. 16 Estonian speakers and I think about 8 Russians. 2 Elders and 2 Sisters in Pärnu.
Well, I gotta go now. I've been hanging around the computer long enough. I hope to be a little more efficient with my e-mail writing soon :P I love you all and thanks for the prayers!
Armastusega,
Courtney
I forgot to mention earlier for my friends that DearElder is free for our mission since it's sent by pouch mail through the church. It may take a bit longer for it to reach me from the mission home, but it's a free option if it's not pressing news.
Now I'm like the piano guru in our branch. I already have a lesson set up to teach a member and another man wants me to attend some music festival thing he's putting on in October. Maybe he wants me to perform. WUT?!! They all think I'm like Mozart, or something. It makes me feel loved though :) The humidity from the fog and rain the last few days has killed my hair so I have to wear it back :P I tried straightening it one day and it was destroyed in about 20 minutes outside. I'm trying to look nice though!
Last Thursday we did some service for a member who lives 30 minutes outside of Pärnu. We just hacked away at some old uprooted tree and made a bit fire where we burned all the little bits. I guess we'll go to Saima's every week, so I wonder which day we'll go back and help her out this week. On Saturday I witnessed my first baptism! Eda Rahula was taught by the Elders, but now we get to teach her retention lessons. I think this week we need to do a bit more finding because we need to teach some lessons. I think we have one progressing investigator who committed to baptism when she finds out that this is true, so we just have to make sure we can get her to church this week.
One funny thing Estonians do is occasionally inhale their words. I mostly hear it among old ladies and it's usally some exclamation, or affirmation like "Jah!". It kinda weirds me out every time, ha ha! We cook most of our own meals, and they've usually been pretty basic stuff like spaghetti and tacos. Sis. Aitken is up in Keila with Sis. LeDuc. They are about 2-3 hours away, I think. It took us about 3 hours to get to Pärnu from Riga by bus. There are only 4 sisters in all of Estonia. 16 Estonian speakers and I think about 8 Russians. 2 Elders and 2 Sisters in Pärnu.
Well, I gotta go now. I've been hanging around the computer long enough. I hope to be a little more efficient with my e-mail writing soon :P I love you all and thanks for the prayers!
Armastusega,
Courtney
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Email: 1st Week 9-6-10
Oh goody!
I just wrote Shauna a decently long e-mail so that took up enough time for you to finish yours! My inbox said I received in 14 minutes ago :) The earliest I'll be checking e-mails is about 10am, so what, 1am you're time? I just realized that my camera doesn't have a usb port so I'll have to buy a card reader so I can attach some photos for you some time. I asked Sis. Aitken/Sis. Anderson to send the card to you... Sis. Aitken finally made it to Keila yesterday and I think Sis. Anderson should be leaving the MTC in a few hours so I really hope they dropped it in the box this weekend... If they didn't send it, I wonder how you could get it... Perhaps somehow get in contact with the Branch 41 Presidency? I'm not sure how you'd manage that, 'cause I think I threw away the paper with their phone numbers. Let's just hope it reaches you in a few days! Oh, and I did get Grandma Smith's letter :)
Goodness, I can't even imagine what 110 weather is like since it was cold and rainy when we arrived in Estonia on Thursday! Those first few days were quite cold! Today's not so bad, I just need a sweater. How I will survive once winter rolls around, I know not...HAHAHAHA! That'll be fun :P
I believe you spoke to Cinthia at work. I got to know her for a few months before I left. Cute little gal~ That's funny you had Mexican food last night because we made our own soft tacos for dinner! The only thing they have for salsa is this German-made stuff called Texacana that's not chunky like real salsa and it's a tad bit sweeter. Anyway, our tacos were pretty good. A Robot birthday sounds awesome, by the way. I happened to find a cute robot folder in the free bin at the MTC. It makes me happy :)
It was pretty fun traveling in a huge group of 19 throughout the airports. Sometimes we'd have to leave some people behind and hope they'd catch up as we weaved our way around. We all made it here safely though! I don't think anybody was really able to sleep on the Lufthansa flight over to Frankfurt. Everybody around us had their little entertainment screens going, almost the whole flight time so that created some added flashing lights. Right as everyone was starting to really settle down to sleep, it was about 5:30am or so in Germany and they started to serve us breakfast, lol. We all were tuckered out on the plane to Riga so we had a short nap :) Everyone at the mission home says that's was always seems to happen, ha ha. By the way, the mission home is a way sweet place!! They combined two aparments to make one big home. There are some doors so when guests stay, they can make it more private like if they were separate apartments. All of the Elder slept there during our stay while the 5 of us sisters got to stay in the Lenin hotel/museum. Hmm, fascinating name, eh?
I think the story is that Lenin stayed in that same building back in like 1900 so the bottom floor/lobby has a large bust of Lenin and some other little relics like old magazines on the table and some things in a glass case. I don't know why the missionaries call it a museum. There are no signs for it and the only time we saw other people were when we checked in. Other than that, we had the whole place to ourselves and a key to the front door. We stayed in two tiny rooms upstairs. Funny thing was we even had a bathroom, but no sink...? Just a toilet and a shower. So yeah. We had to spit in the shower. It was a really small room, but quiet. Latvians seem to like driving and making as much noise as they can with their cars and motorcycles. Silly kids.
Street contacting was a bit odd since I don't speak Russian or Latvian. I was stuck with 2 Russian-speaking sisters so they did most of the talking, but I tried contacting some younger women and asked if they spoke English. They didn't seem interested in religion, but they were willing to take our pass-along cards and we told them about English classes. President and Sister Dance and the Jacques and the Hardys are all super people. For the short time that I got to meet with them, I love them so much already.
On Wednesday, we split into groups and rotated doing office paperwork, creating lesson plans, contacting and study/nap time. I suppose our group seemed especially tired because the Dances pretty much told us to sleep, haha.
Thursday morning, we met at the Riga center chapel, ate some cereal and things and then waited for our trainers to get out of their meeting. Then we all gathered in a huge circle and President Dance gave a little intro of each of us before he announce where we'd be serving and with whom. And I ended up in.......*drum roll*............PÄRNU with Õde LeFevre!!! It's been a while since sisters have been here, and it obviously shows in our apartment. Actually, I guess we have one of the nicest apartments among the Estonian missionaries, but you can tell Elders have been there for a while. They said they tried to clean, but I don't understand what they meant by that... One of the Elders, Elder Aardema, was being transferred to Tallinn, but he stayed for a few days to help us get a little acquainted since only 1 missionary out of the 4 in Pärnu was staying. The best this about our apartment is that it has a great view of the sea! That's still odd for me to look out and see the Baltic Sea.
We were greeted at the Pärnu bus stop by the Elders and Janeli, a young 19 year old member who's really sweet, cute, and spunky, but she speaks SO FAAAASSSTTTT!! She's so willing to help us out and even did a little street contacting with us on Friday. I think she's wants to meet us all some time today and go to her house out in the country a little ways.
Yesterday's sacrament meeting was interesting. I tried to follow along, but I didn't even catch half of it. Oh well. All the members are very welcoming even though I can only understand a little of what they're saying. It's a really small branch with some 20 members or so, but they just baptized a family last month and they have a few really great priesthood holders now. No more need for the missionaries to be in the branch presidency, so that's a big step.
Everyday, I'm building up a little more courage to speak. It's kinda hard at the moment since Sis. LeFevre has only been here for 3 months and doesn't understand a whole lot more than I do! But, we're trying as best as we can. Yesterday, we tried our first day of knocking at the edge of town, but most people didn't answer their doors. I guess they were all away for the weekend? Anyway, we were able to get into 2 doors and talk to some older ladies. One was wondering what makes our church different so we told her about Joseph Smith but she wouldn't take a Book of Mormon since she has a vision problem. Perhaps we could return back and read some to her... Another lady took us on a tour of her garden before we entered her house and insisted that we take home some chives, tomatoes, a cucumber and some huge pink flowers. Inside we talked with her for a long while, and she had some very... interesting views about God and religion. Some of her thoughts on God's plan were spot on, but others were way off. Like she believes the spirit of her Father is now in her grandson who lives with her... yeah. Odd things like that. Anyway, she was nice to us and she actually took a Book of Mormon to read. I think we'll try to prepare more about the Plan of Salvation if she'll let us come back and teach next time.
We're just getting used to the town because we're both new, but the Elders before us left us a list of potential investigators and people to contact. We already have a handful of lessons set up for this week, yay! Well, I've spent a lot of time at the computer now. I gotta get going so I can do other things. Thanks for the prayers and love! I love you all so very much!!
Love,
Courtney
Minu aadress Pärnus (My address in Pärnu)
Hommiku 2
P-K 55
Pärnu 80010
Estonia
Addresses here are rather simple. I like it :)
I just wrote Shauna a decently long e-mail so that took up enough time for you to finish yours! My inbox said I received in 14 minutes ago :) The earliest I'll be checking e-mails is about 10am, so what, 1am you're time? I just realized that my camera doesn't have a usb port so I'll have to buy a card reader so I can attach some photos for you some time. I asked Sis. Aitken/Sis. Anderson to send the card to you... Sis. Aitken finally made it to Keila yesterday and I think Sis. Anderson should be leaving the MTC in a few hours so I really hope they dropped it in the box this weekend... If they didn't send it, I wonder how you could get it... Perhaps somehow get in contact with the Branch 41 Presidency? I'm not sure how you'd manage that, 'cause I think I threw away the paper with their phone numbers. Let's just hope it reaches you in a few days! Oh, and I did get Grandma Smith's letter :)
Goodness, I can't even imagine what 110 weather is like since it was cold and rainy when we arrived in Estonia on Thursday! Those first few days were quite cold! Today's not so bad, I just need a sweater. How I will survive once winter rolls around, I know not...HAHAHAHA! That'll be fun :P
I believe you spoke to Cinthia at work. I got to know her for a few months before I left. Cute little gal~ That's funny you had Mexican food last night because we made our own soft tacos for dinner! The only thing they have for salsa is this German-made stuff called Texacana that's not chunky like real salsa and it's a tad bit sweeter. Anyway, our tacos were pretty good. A Robot birthday sounds awesome, by the way. I happened to find a cute robot folder in the free bin at the MTC. It makes me happy :)
It was pretty fun traveling in a huge group of 19 throughout the airports. Sometimes we'd have to leave some people behind and hope they'd catch up as we weaved our way around. We all made it here safely though! I don't think anybody was really able to sleep on the Lufthansa flight over to Frankfurt. Everybody around us had their little entertainment screens going, almost the whole flight time so that created some added flashing lights. Right as everyone was starting to really settle down to sleep, it was about 5:30am or so in Germany and they started to serve us breakfast, lol. We all were tuckered out on the plane to Riga so we had a short nap :) Everyone at the mission home says that's was always seems to happen, ha ha. By the way, the mission home is a way sweet place!! They combined two aparments to make one big home. There are some doors so when guests stay, they can make it more private like if they were separate apartments. All of the Elder slept there during our stay while the 5 of us sisters got to stay in the Lenin hotel/museum. Hmm, fascinating name, eh?
I think the story is that Lenin stayed in that same building back in like 1900 so the bottom floor/lobby has a large bust of Lenin and some other little relics like old magazines on the table and some things in a glass case. I don't know why the missionaries call it a museum. There are no signs for it and the only time we saw other people were when we checked in. Other than that, we had the whole place to ourselves and a key to the front door. We stayed in two tiny rooms upstairs. Funny thing was we even had a bathroom, but no sink...? Just a toilet and a shower. So yeah. We had to spit in the shower. It was a really small room, but quiet. Latvians seem to like driving and making as much noise as they can with their cars and motorcycles. Silly kids.
Street contacting was a bit odd since I don't speak Russian or Latvian. I was stuck with 2 Russian-speaking sisters so they did most of the talking, but I tried contacting some younger women and asked if they spoke English. They didn't seem interested in religion, but they were willing to take our pass-along cards and we told them about English classes. President and Sister Dance and the Jacques and the Hardys are all super people. For the short time that I got to meet with them, I love them so much already.
On Wednesday, we split into groups and rotated doing office paperwork, creating lesson plans, contacting and study/nap time. I suppose our group seemed especially tired because the Dances pretty much told us to sleep, haha.
Thursday morning, we met at the Riga center chapel, ate some cereal and things and then waited for our trainers to get out of their meeting. Then we all gathered in a huge circle and President Dance gave a little intro of each of us before he announce where we'd be serving and with whom. And I ended up in.......*drum roll*............PÄRNU with Õde LeFevre!!! It's been a while since sisters have been here, and it obviously shows in our apartment. Actually, I guess we have one of the nicest apartments among the Estonian missionaries, but you can tell Elders have been there for a while. They said they tried to clean, but I don't understand what they meant by that... One of the Elders, Elder Aardema, was being transferred to Tallinn, but he stayed for a few days to help us get a little acquainted since only 1 missionary out of the 4 in Pärnu was staying. The best this about our apartment is that it has a great view of the sea! That's still odd for me to look out and see the Baltic Sea.
We were greeted at the Pärnu bus stop by the Elders and Janeli, a young 19 year old member who's really sweet, cute, and spunky, but she speaks SO FAAAASSSTTTT!! She's so willing to help us out and even did a little street contacting with us on Friday. I think she's wants to meet us all some time today and go to her house out in the country a little ways.
Yesterday's sacrament meeting was interesting. I tried to follow along, but I didn't even catch half of it. Oh well. All the members are very welcoming even though I can only understand a little of what they're saying. It's a really small branch with some 20 members or so, but they just baptized a family last month and they have a few really great priesthood holders now. No more need for the missionaries to be in the branch presidency, so that's a big step.
Everyday, I'm building up a little more courage to speak. It's kinda hard at the moment since Sis. LeFevre has only been here for 3 months and doesn't understand a whole lot more than I do! But, we're trying as best as we can. Yesterday, we tried our first day of knocking at the edge of town, but most people didn't answer their doors. I guess they were all away for the weekend? Anyway, we were able to get into 2 doors and talk to some older ladies. One was wondering what makes our church different so we told her about Joseph Smith but she wouldn't take a Book of Mormon since she has a vision problem. Perhaps we could return back and read some to her... Another lady took us on a tour of her garden before we entered her house and insisted that we take home some chives, tomatoes, a cucumber and some huge pink flowers. Inside we talked with her for a long while, and she had some very... interesting views about God and religion. Some of her thoughts on God's plan were spot on, but others were way off. Like she believes the spirit of her Father is now in her grandson who lives with her... yeah. Odd things like that. Anyway, she was nice to us and she actually took a Book of Mormon to read. I think we'll try to prepare more about the Plan of Salvation if she'll let us come back and teach next time.
We're just getting used to the town because we're both new, but the Elders before us left us a list of potential investigators and people to contact. We already have a handful of lessons set up for this week, yay! Well, I've spent a lot of time at the computer now. I gotta get going so I can do other things. Thanks for the prayers and love! I love you all so very much!!
Love,
Courtney
Minu aadress Pärnus (My address in Pärnu)
Hommiku 2
P-K 55
Pärnu 80010
Estonia
Addresses here are rather simple. I like it :)
Email: Last P-day at MTC 9-25-10
Howdy everyone!
It's sad to think I won't be able to attend the temple until after a year, but I had a lovely time, like always. Thanks for sending the package! I don't think I really need much else because I figured I should just buy the things I really need over there. I think I'll be able to find most everything. I don't have much time to type it here so I wrote it by hand. Sis. Aitken's illness from last week has not improved :/ She's on hold, but we're waiting to see if she improves by Friday when the doctor will give the final call on whether or not she has to stay another week... Not cool. It's really unfortunate that she's has such a rollercoaster of health while throughout her stay at the MTC, but we're all praying for her and trying to do what we can to serve.
It's been a nice week for letters! People are showing me some love during my last week here, ha ha ha! I got a letter from cousin Jessica on Monday, a DearElder from Lachelle yesterday, and a quick letter from Heather and Grandma Smith today. I'm glad everyone's doing pretty great. :) Wow, Dustin already has another kid! How fun! I think Brian Gashler leaves in about 3 weeks. I'm not sure how much time I'll have to write come next preparation day in the field, so I'm planning to mail out oodles of postcards so you can get my address. You already have the address for the mission home. I wonder how long it takes for them to forward on the stuff to those of us not in Latvia...?
Last night we finally heard from another apostle and it was the good ol' missionary favorite, Elder Holland! He started his talk by mentioning how all the general authorities love us and are thankful for the work that we do, because they wouldn't be able to do it without us. We may have feelings of inadequacy, but this work has to be done. He continually urged us to give it our all, because we have to be perfect every time. Elder Holland's mission changed his life so he just wants us to have the same happen to us. When I think about what challenges lie ahead for me, I wonder how in the world I can do it, but I've got the Lord on my side. Yesterday, Bro. Conway shared with us some of his thoughts about the book of Job and the afflictions that we'll encounter. Even when Job lost everything, he immediately praised God. I'm praying that I'll be able to do the same, because everything happens for a reason. It's a bit unnerving to think if some of the good 'ol Kensington ward may split, but I'm sure Heavenly Father knows what he's doing
My burn is about 3 inches long. It doesn't hurt, though. I don't think I'll worry about it because I'll probably start wearing long-sleeved blouses when I arrive, hehe. Skirts can now be patterned and colorful, yay~ I don't know if I'll have room to take them with me, so I'll let you know if I need some while I'm in Estonia. Sis. Luik says skirts are getting a bit easier to find, but they may be a little more expensive. I'll just wait and see.
Good luck with the planting! It was fun having fresh veggies from the garden. I'm kind of excited to start cooking for myself. Sis. Aitken is dying to start baking again, ha ha! She loves collecting recipes~ I'm going to take a few more pictures and try and get the with the cousins this Sunday at the temple. I'll have my roomate Sis. Anderson mail my memory card back and they do have bubble-lined envelopes that I'll use to send it with. I may send Stacey a little sum'n sum'n this week too.
Oh yeah! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK AND KIDS! I don't think I'll get something in time to you so here ya go!
It's sad to think I won't be able to attend the temple until after a year, but I had a lovely time, like always. Thanks for sending the package! I don't think I really need much else because I figured I should just buy the things I really need over there. I think I'll be able to find most everything. I don't have much time to type it here so I wrote it by hand. Sis. Aitken's illness from last week has not improved :/ She's on hold, but we're waiting to see if she improves by Friday when the doctor will give the final call on whether or not she has to stay another week... Not cool. It's really unfortunate that she's has such a rollercoaster of health while throughout her stay at the MTC, but we're all praying for her and trying to do what we can to serve.
It's been a nice week for letters! People are showing me some love during my last week here, ha ha ha! I got a letter from cousin Jessica on Monday, a DearElder from Lachelle yesterday, and a quick letter from Heather and Grandma Smith today. I'm glad everyone's doing pretty great. :) Wow, Dustin already has another kid! How fun! I think Brian Gashler leaves in about 3 weeks. I'm not sure how much time I'll have to write come next preparation day in the field, so I'm planning to mail out oodles of postcards so you can get my address. You already have the address for the mission home. I wonder how long it takes for them to forward on the stuff to those of us not in Latvia...?
Last night we finally heard from another apostle and it was the good ol' missionary favorite, Elder Holland! He started his talk by mentioning how all the general authorities love us and are thankful for the work that we do, because they wouldn't be able to do it without us. We may have feelings of inadequacy, but this work has to be done. He continually urged us to give it our all, because we have to be perfect every time. Elder Holland's mission changed his life so he just wants us to have the same happen to us. When I think about what challenges lie ahead for me, I wonder how in the world I can do it, but I've got the Lord on my side. Yesterday, Bro. Conway shared with us some of his thoughts about the book of Job and the afflictions that we'll encounter. Even when Job lost everything, he immediately praised God. I'm praying that I'll be able to do the same, because everything happens for a reason. It's a bit unnerving to think if some of the good 'ol Kensington ward may split, but I'm sure Heavenly Father knows what he's doing
My burn is about 3 inches long. It doesn't hurt, though. I don't think I'll worry about it because I'll probably start wearing long-sleeved blouses when I arrive, hehe. Skirts can now be patterned and colorful, yay~ I don't know if I'll have room to take them with me, so I'll let you know if I need some while I'm in Estonia. Sis. Luik says skirts are getting a bit easier to find, but they may be a little more expensive. I'll just wait and see.
Good luck with the planting! It was fun having fresh veggies from the garden. I'm kind of excited to start cooking for myself. Sis. Aitken is dying to start baking again, ha ha! She loves collecting recipes~ I'm going to take a few more pictures and try and get the with the cousins this Sunday at the temple. I'll have my roomate Sis. Anderson mail my memory card back and they do have bubble-lined envelopes that I'll use to send it with. I may send Stacey a little sum'n sum'n this week too.
Oh yeah! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK AND KIDS! I don't think I'll get something in time to you so here ya go!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Letter - August 18, 2010
8-18-10
Teverist Everyone!
I debated on whether or not to write my letter home on plain-ol’ college ruled paper I scored from the free bin. I figured my penmanship is bad enough that the least I could do is write home on lined paper so you won’t have to figure which words go to which sentence. And I apologize for the penmanship. Usually, I’m trying to churn out these letters as fast as I can so I can fit as much information as possible. Thankfully, since things are winding down until my departure date, I don’t have much new information to report on!
The last day to send me something through DearElder so I can get it just before I leave will be Friday 27th. I think the cutoff time is 11AM or 12PM, I’m not sure. The thermals are quite comfy! Sometimes our bedroom gets rather chilly at night so I’ve worn them once or twice to bed. I’m hoping these babies will save my keester in Estonia.
I checked my address book and I am missing Lachelle and Danny’s address. I’d like to send them a postcard when I arrive in Estonia I’m trying to plan out my next Ettevalmistuspäev (Preparation Day) so I don’t have to write any letters (or maybe just 1 or 2 short ones) and then I could do a test run of packing. I’m really curious to see how many pounds I’ve gathered from my grammar books and things. It’s a bit comforting to know that I traveled up here with 10lbs. to spare, and I could easily chuck my blow dryer (already planned on it and shampoo, conditioner, etc.) Methinks I’ll be a bit better off than some other sisters who’ve had issues in the past.
Last weeks TRC was awesome because we had 2 guys rather than the same girl volunteering each week. One of the guys played the role as a member who came to help teach and fellowship. AWESOME. Sis. Aitken and I definitely want lots of member help in the future. When we could explain well enough or forgot to explain, our member chipped right on in and it was fun to watch the two of them rattle on in Estonian. Someday we’ll be able to do the same This week, we’re practicing the 3rd lesson which is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Much of the principles of it were talked about in the previous lessons, but this chapter is much more in depth.
Sis. Aitken and I have started to guess who we’ll end up with as senior companions. Sister LeFevre and Sister LeDuc (kinda funny, huh?) have pretty much been together the entire time except for the 5 or so weeks they were trained when they first arrived in Estonia. We’re also trying to guess which of the cities we’ll end up in. Tallinn, Tartue, or Pärnu. Actually, the sisters are starting to open an area just outside Tallinn called Keila, at the moment. President Dance has a 19 year-old Estonian living with them there to help them with the language. Wow, that’s pingeline! (intense) Makes me even more curious to see what adventures await us when we arrive! WOOEE it sure is excitin’! Of course I have some departing jitters, but I really have no reason to fear since the Lord is on my side.
I’ll mail my memory card from my camera by the end of next week. There are some really random pictures, like a life-size Barbie Jeep that cruises ‘round these parts and one of the oddest/most hilarious cards I’ve ever seen. I’m utterly surprised to have found it in the bookstore. I mailed one to Devin Grimes, so I hope he checks his mail often enough. I have one more but I can’t make up my mind who to send to just yet… I keep debating it. Well, whoever doesn’t receive it in the mail can just check out the pics I took of it, ha ha!
Noh…that’s all I got for now! Not much is different at the moment. Or maybe it just seems that way since my departure date is finally coming up! Bro. Conway is still as amazing as can be. I don’t think I’ve met many who are quite as in tune with the Spirit like he is. Sis. Aitken and I are already talking about how fun our reunion in the mission field will be, ha ha ha!
Thanks for the updates and love! You make me laugh and smile so much. I’ll need plenty of that so I can share some with the Estonians Kõige paremat! (All the best!)
Love,
Courtney
P.S. Interesting Fact – “Booger” in Estonian is “nina keil”. It literally means “nose monster”. Just thought I’d let you know!
Teverist Everyone!
I debated on whether or not to write my letter home on plain-ol’ college ruled paper I scored from the free bin. I figured my penmanship is bad enough that the least I could do is write home on lined paper so you won’t have to figure which words go to which sentence. And I apologize for the penmanship. Usually, I’m trying to churn out these letters as fast as I can so I can fit as much information as possible. Thankfully, since things are winding down until my departure date, I don’t have much new information to report on!
The last day to send me something through DearElder so I can get it just before I leave will be Friday 27th. I think the cutoff time is 11AM or 12PM, I’m not sure. The thermals are quite comfy! Sometimes our bedroom gets rather chilly at night so I’ve worn them once or twice to bed. I’m hoping these babies will save my keester in Estonia.
I checked my address book and I am missing Lachelle and Danny’s address. I’d like to send them a postcard when I arrive in Estonia I’m trying to plan out my next Ettevalmistuspäev (Preparation Day) so I don’t have to write any letters (or maybe just 1 or 2 short ones) and then I could do a test run of packing. I’m really curious to see how many pounds I’ve gathered from my grammar books and things. It’s a bit comforting to know that I traveled up here with 10lbs. to spare, and I could easily chuck my blow dryer (already planned on it and shampoo, conditioner, etc.) Methinks I’ll be a bit better off than some other sisters who’ve had issues in the past.
Last weeks TRC was awesome because we had 2 guys rather than the same girl volunteering each week. One of the guys played the role as a member who came to help teach and fellowship. AWESOME. Sis. Aitken and I definitely want lots of member help in the future. When we could explain well enough or forgot to explain, our member chipped right on in and it was fun to watch the two of them rattle on in Estonian. Someday we’ll be able to do the same This week, we’re practicing the 3rd lesson which is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Much of the principles of it were talked about in the previous lessons, but this chapter is much more in depth.
Sis. Aitken and I have started to guess who we’ll end up with as senior companions. Sister LeFevre and Sister LeDuc (kinda funny, huh?) have pretty much been together the entire time except for the 5 or so weeks they were trained when they first arrived in Estonia. We’re also trying to guess which of the cities we’ll end up in. Tallinn, Tartue, or Pärnu. Actually, the sisters are starting to open an area just outside Tallinn called Keila, at the moment. President Dance has a 19 year-old Estonian living with them there to help them with the language. Wow, that’s pingeline! (intense) Makes me even more curious to see what adventures await us when we arrive! WOOEE it sure is excitin’! Of course I have some departing jitters, but I really have no reason to fear since the Lord is on my side.
I’ll mail my memory card from my camera by the end of next week. There are some really random pictures, like a life-size Barbie Jeep that cruises ‘round these parts and one of the oddest/most hilarious cards I’ve ever seen. I’m utterly surprised to have found it in the bookstore. I mailed one to Devin Grimes, so I hope he checks his mail often enough. I have one more but I can’t make up my mind who to send to just yet… I keep debating it. Well, whoever doesn’t receive it in the mail can just check out the pics I took of it, ha ha!
Noh…that’s all I got for now! Not much is different at the moment. Or maybe it just seems that way since my departure date is finally coming up! Bro. Conway is still as amazing as can be. I don’t think I’ve met many who are quite as in tune with the Spirit like he is. Sis. Aitken and I are already talking about how fun our reunion in the mission field will be, ha ha ha!
Thanks for the updates and love! You make me laugh and smile so much. I’ll need plenty of that so I can share some with the Estonians Kõige paremat! (All the best!)
Love,
Courtney
P.S. Interesting Fact – “Booger” in Estonian is “nina keil”. It literally means “nose monster”. Just thought I’d let you know!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Email: High Humidity - August 18, 2010
Wow, that is some crazy weather down there. Love it when that stuff happens, ha ha. Just wait until October and November and you'll hear about my own stories with snow~ Sis. Aitken and I are still wondering how we'll survive, ha ha ha! Fun times! I'll have to get on Chaz's case about his food issues. I know the boy never eats anything. I'm sure he'll pick on me for having to be here for so long. Now we both have something to go at each other with ;) Shauna was freaked out about my arm burn, but it's like healed now, but it'll probably turn into a gnarly scar. Good for stories, I reckon! It does look kinda sweet.
I realized this morning that it is one of 2 P-days left at the MTC. OHMYGOODNESSIT'SFINALLYHAPPENING~ I sorta feel like this time would never come, but we now have a tosin (dozen) days left! We'll be getting flight plans either tomorrow or Friday. Oh yeah, several weeks back, we signed up for the "Enhancement Class" which is finally being hosted tomorrow. Basically, they just teach you how to wear makeup. We're just going because they give you freebies, shweet! Back on Sunday night, I think it was, I won the jackpot at the ice cream vending machine on our floor. This has been about the 3 occurrence that something similar has happened. So, I was chatting with my roommates and pals out on the couches, bummed a bag of kettle corn popcorn from one of the Latvians, and then I noticed that the ice cream vending machine said "Enter Selection". That means, somebody swiped their card but never made a choice, and you can't cancel the transaction sooooo.... free ice cream for me! I feel kinda bad, but oh wellz~ Anyway, so I chose an ice cream sandwich and it popped out a Snickers ice cream bar too!!!! I was running around doing a little victory dance. The others were utterly amazed at the luck I have with that machine, ha ha ha! Perhaps I'm being rewarded for my work from above ;) Nah, I'm kidding.
*Cue Kings of the Beach theme music* I've been playing a lot of sand volleyball, but now I'm sad that most of my suureparane volleyball pals have now left for their missions in California. One of them constantly performed ridiculous dives and it was entertaining to simply watch him play. Hermana Petty from Australia is really awesome too. She taught me "cool as" is like the Australian way to say "cool" or something. Why they say "as" I know not, but whenever I say it to her, she laughs uproariously and gets so happy ;) Poor Sis. Soolefai has to stay until we leave for medical reasons, but as least she's really fun to be around.
If anyone wants a postcard from Estonia, give me your address!
Love y'all!
Courtney
I realized this morning that it is one of 2 P-days left at the MTC. OHMYGOODNESSIT'SFINALLYHAPPENING~ I sorta feel like this time would never come, but we now have a tosin (dozen) days left! We'll be getting flight plans either tomorrow or Friday. Oh yeah, several weeks back, we signed up for the "Enhancement Class" which is finally being hosted tomorrow. Basically, they just teach you how to wear makeup. We're just going because they give you freebies, shweet! Back on Sunday night, I think it was, I won the jackpot at the ice cream vending machine on our floor. This has been about the 3 occurrence that something similar has happened. So, I was chatting with my roommates and pals out on the couches, bummed a bag of kettle corn popcorn from one of the Latvians, and then I noticed that the ice cream vending machine said "Enter Selection". That means, somebody swiped their card but never made a choice, and you can't cancel the transaction sooooo.... free ice cream for me! I feel kinda bad, but oh wellz~ Anyway, so I chose an ice cream sandwich and it popped out a Snickers ice cream bar too!!!! I was running around doing a little victory dance. The others were utterly amazed at the luck I have with that machine, ha ha ha! Perhaps I'm being rewarded for my work from above ;) Nah, I'm kidding.
*Cue Kings of the Beach theme music* I've been playing a lot of sand volleyball, but now I'm sad that most of my suureparane volleyball pals have now left for their missions in California. One of them constantly performed ridiculous dives and it was entertaining to simply watch him play. Hermana Petty from Australia is really awesome too. She taught me "cool as" is like the Australian way to say "cool" or something. Why they say "as" I know not, but whenever I say it to her, she laughs uproariously and gets so happy ;) Poor Sis. Soolefai has to stay until we leave for medical reasons, but as least she's really fun to be around.
If anyone wants a postcard from Estonia, give me your address!
Love y'all!
Courtney
Letter - August 11, 2010
8-11-10
Heya family!
Like I said on my e-mail from P-day, I don’t think I have much more to say for this letter! I realized that I forgot to tell you that last Friday, I dropped my curling iron on my arm and now I have a lovely, HUGE burn mark that just looks better every single day! (Not, lol) It does make a pretty cool looking battle scar though. Some folks see it and their faces are like :O and they say "What is THAT?" or "What happened to your arm?!" "Oh, well, the other day, I got into a fight with my curling iron. It got me pretty good". hahaha. It doesn't hurt anymore. Goodness, I'm sure you wanted to know this .... hahaha! For some reason, I have a feeling if Veronica saw it, she'd say I was attaached by a zombie. hehehehe! I took some pictures to chronicle this event.
My friend, Rebecca Crowe wrote to me the other day and I’m excited to see her at the MTC next week! I think she’s only been a convert for less than two years, but she is going to do some amazing work in the Atlanta, Georgia mission! It’ll be fun to have Chaz here soon as well. He’ll probably give me a hard time since he likes to tease, but I have to get a few more laughs out of this place before I go! It’s rather sad that the time I spend in the MTC cuts into my time in the mission field. I will have only about 15 months or so to get so much work done. I better hop to it right from the start! I can’t afford to fear and worry about my lack of communication skills. As long as I try my hardest, the Lord will do the rest of the work. If I ever get really down about that, don’t let me forget it. Why am I saying “if”? Let’s just hope and pray that I won’t succumb to severe discouragement and wallow away in sorrow. Heavenly Father needs me out there so badly. The church is still in it’s infant phase and could probably use a boost right now. These people deserve it.
Let me know if these pics are ok for the plaque. I forgot to do the red-eye reduction with my camera, and the photo printing kinda cut my arm off a bit. Turns out the bookstore here doesn’t have Opti-Free replenish lens solution here. I came up with a travel size that’s less than half full. My eye doctor recommended it, but will any solution do? They said the newer materials of the Oasys lenses needs something a little different…. Who knows if they have it in Estonia. Sis. Luik may or may not know, but I’ll try to ask.
I enjoy making new friends here, but now I feel obligated to visit them afterward! 2 are from Australia, 1 in Hawaii, a few in California, and most from Utah. So, maybe I’ll have some more travel in my futures, or not, ha ha. The other day, Sis. Aitken and I drafted a mission statement for … the mission… :P It was really great and brought us closer as a companionship. In it we wrote what we see ourselves as and what we want to accomplish as representatives of Jesus Christ. I’m glad the Lord trusts me with this marvelous work. Before I left, Mark wrote in a card that I’ll have a front row seat to watch miracles unfold. I’ve already seen some here so I can’t wait to take part in more. : )
Much love,
Courney
(do I have to sign Sister to my own family? Curious)
Heya family!
Like I said on my e-mail from P-day, I don’t think I have much more to say for this letter! I realized that I forgot to tell you that last Friday, I dropped my curling iron on my arm and now I have a lovely, HUGE burn mark that just looks better every single day! (Not, lol) It does make a pretty cool looking battle scar though. Some folks see it and their faces are like :O and they say "What is THAT?" or "What happened to your arm?!" "Oh, well, the other day, I got into a fight with my curling iron. It got me pretty good". hahaha. It doesn't hurt anymore. Goodness, I'm sure you wanted to know this .... hahaha! For some reason, I have a feeling if Veronica saw it, she'd say I was attaached by a zombie. hehehehe! I took some pictures to chronicle this event.
My friend, Rebecca Crowe wrote to me the other day and I’m excited to see her at the MTC next week! I think she’s only been a convert for less than two years, but she is going to do some amazing work in the Atlanta, Georgia mission! It’ll be fun to have Chaz here soon as well. He’ll probably give me a hard time since he likes to tease, but I have to get a few more laughs out of this place before I go! It’s rather sad that the time I spend in the MTC cuts into my time in the mission field. I will have only about 15 months or so to get so much work done. I better hop to it right from the start! I can’t afford to fear and worry about my lack of communication skills. As long as I try my hardest, the Lord will do the rest of the work. If I ever get really down about that, don’t let me forget it. Why am I saying “if”? Let’s just hope and pray that I won’t succumb to severe discouragement and wallow away in sorrow. Heavenly Father needs me out there so badly. The church is still in it’s infant phase and could probably use a boost right now. These people deserve it.
Let me know if these pics are ok for the plaque. I forgot to do the red-eye reduction with my camera, and the photo printing kinda cut my arm off a bit. Turns out the bookstore here doesn’t have Opti-Free replenish lens solution here. I came up with a travel size that’s less than half full. My eye doctor recommended it, but will any solution do? They said the newer materials of the Oasys lenses needs something a little different…. Who knows if they have it in Estonia. Sis. Luik may or may not know, but I’ll try to ask.
I enjoy making new friends here, but now I feel obligated to visit them afterward! 2 are from Australia, 1 in Hawaii, a few in California, and most from Utah. So, maybe I’ll have some more travel in my futures, or not, ha ha. The other day, Sis. Aitken and I drafted a mission statement for … the mission… :P It was really great and brought us closer as a companionship. In it we wrote what we see ourselves as and what we want to accomplish as representatives of Jesus Christ. I’m glad the Lord trusts me with this marvelous work. Before I left, Mark wrote in a card that I’ll have a front row seat to watch miracles unfold. I’ve already seen some here so I can’t wait to take part in more. : )
Much love,
Courney
(do I have to sign Sister to my own family? Curious)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Email: Good Morning - August 11, 2010
From: Courtney Smithcourtney.smith@myldsmail.net
Date: Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 12:42 PM
Subject: Re: Good morning
Date: Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 12:42 PM
Subject: Re: Good morning
Tere family!
I now have 19 days until I leave the MTC on my way to Estonia! Wow, the end is finally in sight! Those of us 12 weekers like to joke around that we were born here, and it sorta feels that way :P Goodness, I think I'll get my travel plans by the end of next week. I will be traveling to Latvia to visit the mission home before I'm either I hop on a bus or train to Estonia. You got the e-mail to be 6 minutes before I logged on, so good timing! We've been having some nice weather up here lately. Warm, but not overly warm, and some days where it's been cloudy, but hardly any rainfall, bummer... Would you be so kind as to send me an Estonian weather update before I leave? The temple was magnificent, as always, and we had Navajo tacos for lunch. Ice cream is served on Wednesdays and Sundays and a good pal of ours suggested we get the taco bread and put ice cream on top. Genius. Now I'm väga õnnelik! (very happy!) The care package from Grandma and Carol was super sweet. I will save the peanut butter for Estonia, but I need to use up the strawberry jam before I go. The cookies and other snacks are very appreciated too!
Sister Aitken is finally off the potential hold list. Ain't no way she's gonna let 'em hold her back after being here for so long. We've also been doing really well with SYL (Speak your language) lately. Right now, the MTC entrance is being torn up, I have no idea why. Thanks for the Morgan updates! The girl's a saint for having to deal with legions of cockroaches! I hope Estonia doesn't have too many crazy critters for me to deal with. Why am I not terribly surprised that Chaz would practically copy and paste his talk...? Ha ha ha ha ha! I'll keep on eye on him when he gets up here next week :P I'm happy I'll see another package soon. Yay for thermals~
I realized Sunday afternoon that my legs are as purely white as the Provo Temple walls. I kid you not. We took some pictures and as I stood by the entrance, I noticed in the picture that my legs literally camoflauge in with the white stone. WUT. Having a robe at the MTC is awesome, just sayin'. I don't think I utilized it enough while at home, but it comes in handy so much here, especially since mine has pockets ;)
Last week, we bid farewell to Bro. Andre who is now doing service projects in India until after we leave for Estonia. He shared with us tons of stories and pictures and made me want to get there even faster! It's so crazy thinking about when Sis. Aitken and I arrive there that there will only be 16 Estonian-speaking missionaries, and that we make us 2 of the 4 sisters total. I think that just shows how special this call is. It seems this week's topic focus from above is boldly inviting people to be baptized early on in their investigation of the church. We learned about it a little on Saturday night, we heard a Devotional on is last night, and Sis. Aitken and I scheduled a workshop to help us with that nearly two weeks ago which will be held this Friday. It's amazing how often that happens around here. Heavenly Father is obviously trying to make a point, and I'm taking notes.
Wow, I think for once, I've finally covered just about everything I wanted to in just 1/2 an hour! That means my letter home will be shorter, although I say that all the time and it is still really long, ha ha! I'm just doing my best to prepare myself for the field soon. I have less than 10 pages left in the Book of Mormon and I think I'll start right back at the beginning when I finish it today :) It is such an amazing book.
Logistics stuff: Some other things I've been wondering out before I go are how much cash I should carry with me, what's the average balance in my account (in case of emergency) and if my Acuvue Oasys contact lenses have to be used with Opti-Free repleniSH? That's what my eye doctor recommended, but I don't know if they sell it here in the book store. I'll be sure to check this afternoon. Haparis?
I adore you all so much and I pray that you are doing well. Thanks for the love, support, laughs, hugs and kisses!
Love ya bunches!
Courtney
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