Letter - June 23, 2010

6-23-10

Dear Family,

I’m quite saddened I wasn’t able to answer all of your questions! I know you were wondering about my schedule. First of all, I’m in residence hall 17M, the LeGrand Richards building. I believe most of the sister missionaries reside there and we have to use little blue access cards to get in. Now that we’re on our 2nd week, we finally have a regular schedule. It’s tweaked a little bit everyday, but it’s usually wake up at 6:30, personal study at 7, breakfast at 8, companionship study at 8:30ish, the class at 9:30 until maybe 1 when we have lunch. Then usually more class for 3 – 4 hours, maybe a little Missionary Directed Time, daily planning sessions at 9:00 and after that, then it’s time to get ready for bed. 10:15 is quiet time and then 10:30 is lights out. I usually only have time to write in my journal during quiet time and I almost never finish what I intended to write. Perhaps I should carry my journal to class when I have person study or MDT. By the way, just about everything at the MTC is shortened to initials. Rather funny I think, but whatever. : )

Honestly, our schedules change a little bit everyday, but I’ll have the same weekly schedule for the next 8 or so weeks. Gym periods for us are usually first thing in the morning or in the evenings. Because of Daylight Savings, having it be 9 and still seeing sunlight kinda throws me off. Last week, 2 days after I arrived, I received a package from Heather and Cherish full of smooshed candy but it tasted like love. I was so surprised to get something so soon!

And yesterday, I got a card from Grandma and Carol that sang “I Say a Little Prayer For You!” when opened. That definitely made my day! For some reason, that song always makes me giggle! I thought it was an epic card. : )

Did the girls set up a blog or are you just forwarding e-mails? Or both…? You know, e-ail time should be the most enjoyable time of my week, but it’s actually the most stressful! As soon as you log on, the 30 minutes starts ticking down. Not cool. I think I only had enough time to skim through your 3 e-mails you sent me, reply to 2 and only have a minute to spare! Not to mention the particular keyboards we were using were retarded. : P The enter key didn’t work and the period key always put 2 periods instead of 1. We’ll try some others next week. I hope in the mission field, I’ll have more adequate time to reflect and write to you. Snail mail in Estonia takes several days. :\

Oh yes! Estonian Studies! I think they’re going great so far. My companion keeps saying she’s terrible at it, but we’ve only been learning this language for a week. Brother Andre is being an EFY Counselor this week so it’s just us and Brother Conway, but that’s okay. Brother Conway is already my favorite! He makes learning fun plus he’s mastered the ability to invite the Holy Ghost and testify with conviction. I hope to learn a lot from him. Apparently we’re learning much faster than our Finnish roommates did. They are all so much fun, thankfully. My companion, Sister Aitken and I have, have already learned how to testify and pray simply and we started to learn how to contact in Estonian yesterday. It’s a bit shaky since we still have to use notes, but knowing how to do all that within a week is oh so exciting! Väga põnev! (Very exciting) Now I’m just wondering how long it’ll be until I start complaining about it, hahaha! We shall see!

I hear so much Spanish spoken around here, and most of the time, it’s just terrible. The other day, I joined some sisters walking around the field who were only speaking in Spanish since one was leaving to the field in a few days. I explain, in Spanish, that it was ok since I studied some. Sadly, I think I spoke better, more confidently, and actually tried speaking with an accent. Most of the missionaries don’t try hard enough, but oh well. It’s not for me to judge. I guess I’m just spoiled with a couple of years of study and coming from AZ with tons of Spanish-speakers. :P It’s kinda fun getting some of that practice here anyway.

I’m surprised I’ve seen all the people I knew would be hear. Leslie Jordan, Suzanne Tutt, and Dallin Stone. It’ll be fun to see Brian and Chaz over the next few months. The food here is ok, but certainly can’t come close to Mama’s. My taste bugs have been spoiled, ha ha! The salads are actually pretty good, and if nothing else seems appealing, there’s always cereal. I think the menu rotates every 2-3 weeks so I wonder if I’ll have it memorized by the end. I want to go to Estonia right away now. Brother Conway and one of the Latvian teachers keep talking about how awesome pretty much all the dairy products are from sour cream to ice cream. YAY.

I do apologize that you have to read so much of my handwriting. It kinda hurts my eyes to look back at it all. (my eyes: @_@ ) This letter is extra long since we have several extra hours this P-Day since the Provo Temple is closed for cleaning for 3-4 weeks. It’s a little bittersweet, but I’ll have time to get acquainted with it! Somehow, I got a stuffy nose over the last few days, but I think I’m getting over it no. And no, it’s not from crying. : ) I do miss you all terribly, but I can’t get myself to cry. At least not yet. : ) However, Sister Aitken, Brother Conway and I had a flat-out bawl fest on Saturday night. My companion already had frustrations over the language and so Brother Conway switched to the Preach My Gospel part of class and eventually started testifying about the great work we are going to do for the people and the land that he loved. By the end, we were all bawling and in hysterics, laughing for how ridiculous we must look. A very tender moment. :D I’m in for the LONG HAUL here at the MTC, so I’ll need those little fun moments to keep me going. They do say time starts to go faster after the first week. Let’s hope so! I’m a wee bit envious of English-speaking missionaries since they’re only here for 3 weeks. But they don’t get to learn Estonian like me! Then again, I’m learning Estonian…a supposedly difficult language…Well, time will tell! Hahaha!

Every day, I learn how to be a better teacher and exemplar of Christ. Inviting the Spirit to teach in our lessons is vital. We’ve already done a few practice lessons and evaluate ourselves afterward. I need to remember to use more scriptures and personal experiences when I teach. Because Sister Aitken had struggled a little with her faith in the past, I think her stories of doubt and how she overcame them leaves an impression on the hearts of our investigators, even if it’s just mock situations. We’re trying our best to treat them like real life investigators, and we’ve made some goals to improve on that. Being at the MTC has definitely taught me a think or two about schedules and planning! It makes me a little sad knowing just about every minute of my day is scheduled out, but then I don’t have to wonder what’s next. Having only 30 minutes in the morning to wake up and get ready is still rather short. :\ I’m sure I’ll have the kinks worked out by the end of all this.

Well, I think that’s all I have to report on right now. My brain seems to get a little fuzzy after lunchtime here. Time for me to leave some personal notes for ya’ll and then I’ll write to you next week after I see some General Authorities! (Technically I’ve seen a Seventy member last night and former RS president Bonnie D. Parker J ) Thanks for the prayers. I’m sure I’ve seen the blessings every day. : )

Love always,

Courtney