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!

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

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)

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

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

Letter - August 4, 2010

8-4-10

Armas pere!

Our branch goes to the 10:20 session at the temple and then usually have lunch right after, then e-mail time. I think we’ve finally figured out an efficient way to get things done on Preparation days. At least, I hope I’d be a pro at this after being here for 7 -8 weeks already! My photo predicament is now solved. I went to the bookstore this afternoon and the machines are back up and running. I’ll send the pics as soon as I can.

I’ve gotta say, doing laundry at the MTC is kinda awesome. You can use as many washers and dryers as you want (or can find during busy times). We just put a couple of loads in, go eat or study for a bit, then transfer the clothes to the dryers and you’re done in like, 3 trips! Some missionaries stay in the laundry room to write letters and e-mail but it gets miserably hot and stuffy down there with the machines going all day long. It’s also funny to see Elders stuffing all their clothes in one huge load. My only complaint about my laundry experience is that there is no plug for the sink there so I can’t wash some of my things by hand very easily. Whoa, I just wrote an entire paragraph about laundry . . . WUT. Moving on……

How’s the Relief Society responsibilities going, Mom? How’s the tunin’ and family history, Dad? Ryan and Mark, I’m sure you’d be happy to know I’ve recently started playing football (soccer) with some sisters during morning gym days. How is Dallin doing with Kindergarten? Any interesting news from the singles’ ward? How’s that going for ya, Stacey? That’s about all the questions I have at the moment. You seem to all be doing fun things in the e-mails so that’s just “tubli”!

I haven’t seen Brian Gashler for a while, but that’s prolly since I sit at the other side of the cafeteria. I see Dallin Stone and Dallin Larson usually multiple times a day, so that’s fun. I’m glad they’re leaving roughly the same time too so I can still chat more : ) Boy am I happy I’m not serving in Mexico or Argentina. There have been a lot of missionaries who are delayed in their departures because of visa issues. Some of them have had to stay here a few extra weeks, or else be temporarily reassigned to the Salt Lake City South mission until the visas come through. Apparently, Sis. Aitken never received the letter I did from Pres. Dance asking for passport photos and information for visa applications. The mission finally contacted her through e-mail here and it was a headache to get it together since our e-mail time is so limited. I just hope we got it sent in on time because I would hate to be delayed or have to leave without her. I s’pose we’ll find out in a few weeks!

Last night’s devotional was pretty great. Sister Anderson was asked to give the closing prayer so I had to sit on the stand as her companion because there was not enough seats for Sis. Aitken to join us too> (Sis. Anderson is a sister going to Finland so we’re in a trio now!) We we’re hoping for an apostle, but got yet another emeritus member of the Seventy. It’s all good though. The Brethren must be especially busy this summer. ;) Anyway, L. Lionel Kendrick had some good advice to share with us. He admonished us to not simply “serve time” but to serve the Lord. He also said how we cannon judge whom the Lord has prepared for us to teach. Bro. Kendrick never could have imagined his high school Agriculture teacher (yup, he’s an old-timer. : ) Love it!!) even being interested in the church because he was ornery and mean. He later received a letter from his teacher while serving his mission that explained he joined the church. In addition to that, there are no hard areas or companions. They become what you build them up to be. I’ll only have a chance to serve with a handful of companions, but I have a feeling I won’t run into too much trouble. : ) One of the last things Bro. Kendrick mentioned was never ever ask yourself “what should I do today” while on a mission. Instead, the question every single day should be “How in the world are we gonna get it all done today?” (He grew up in Louisiana). As long as I’m doing my best and working my hardest, then I know I’ll be a successful missionary because that’s all that Heavenly Father asks of me.

Tomorrow night, we’ll be teaching the Plan of Salvation in Estonian. Somehow on Monday, we managed to teach Bro. Conway the lesson for over an hour, but that’s ‘cause we had to go back a little to the Restoration for some clarification. It was pretty fun to be able to teach for so long in the language. Having scriptures to reference definitely makes it easier because they can do a lot of the talking for you. Yay~! Yesterday, Õde Luik said my accent was pretty god. Hearing that from a native Estonian is certainly comforting! I think this week’s language focus will be grammar review. The mistakes I make are just very minor so I hope that’ll be a quick fix.

Noh! (Well!) That’s all I got for now! I am so happy that I pretty much have the coolest family ever. Tõsiselt, (seriously) like, I can’t even handle it. The same goes for my friends too! ; ) I love you all so greatly and I’m thankful for the support and prayers. Have a suurepärane week!

Hugs and kisses!

Courtney

Email: Hey Howdy Hey! - August 4, 2010

From: Courtney Smith courtney.smith@myldsmail.net
Date: Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 12:24 PM
Subject: Hey howdy hey!'
To: Leta Smith

Hiya family!

You must be busy today! 'Tis quite all right though since I know you're sending a package soon anyway ;) I didn't have any e-mails except from my old pal Aubri Wilson. It was short, but good to hear from her! Now that I'm not responding to your e-mail, I don't know how well I'll be able to fill this e-mail up! I just finished lunch which was right after our trip to the temple. Yet another lovely day~ Now that the temple is open again, this is probably the time I will be e-mailing during the day. Only a few more ettevälmistustpäevad (preparation days) left at the MTC! [I finally figured out how to do Estonian characters on this computer :]

I'm stuck in a little predicament with the pictures for the plaque back home. I took a pretty good looking picture last Wednesday and when I went to go get to process later in the week, both of the photo processing machines were out of service. Nii...(So...) you'll either have to wait a bit until they fix or replace 'em, or I can send home my 2gb memory card early. Let me know whatcha think.

Yesterday, I received a cute little "How you doin'?" sort of card from Grandma Smithson. Oh, she is just so precious~! She feels bad that she's keeping up with my updates but not writing enough. Oh, whatever! I've at least received several cards during my stay here and Carol has sent me some e-mails too. I think they're doing just fine. Much better than Stacey anyway >.> *ahem*............ Nah, I'm kiddin'! I got Stacey's letter last week, and boy oh boy, did I laugh really hard! Thanks so much lil' sis! I hope you keep writing me back. I need those lulz~ Oh, thanks for the Morgan update! She seems to be so busy with the move, but I'm glad she enjoys her new area.

Not much new has happened except that I'm counting down the days until we're bustin' outta this place. I do like the MTC, but I've been here to long and I want to get to Estonia a.s.a.p.! We got some new roomates last week and I like them a lot. In our room is Sis. John and Sis. Soolefai from Hyrum, Utah and Brisbane Australia. Awesome. They'll be serving in Billings, Montana and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania respectively. The sad thing is that we'll have to bid farewell to another set of roomates before we even depart ourselves. Wow. Ha ha ha! I can't wait to see Rebecca Crowe and cousin Chaz show up on August 18th though!

One of our teachers is getting ready to go to India for service for 3 weeks and probably won't be back before we leave. Much of our class time with him has been just story time, but it's great because he's been sharing the many miracles he experienced there.

Well, I think that's about all I've got for now! I love you all so much. Thanks for the love and prayers!

Much love,

Courtney

_________________________________________________________

From: Courtney Smithcourtney.smith@myldsmail.net
Date: Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 12:30 PM
Subject: Re: A new month
To: Leta Smith

Mama! I just missed you! Sorry about that. I should have tried saving a draft and then check the inbox again. Love ya!

Courtney

Letter - July 28, 2010

7-28-10

Tere Fam!

I pray you’re all doing well at the moment! The weekly e-mail seems to indicate that you are, so that’s just grand. I’m happy that the blog is up now! I think it’ll be a real treat for all my friends and loved ones to read. Thanks for your dedication for putting it all together!

So, now for some random things. I think I’ve eaten more bananas (and cracked wheat!) in the MTC than I have in my whole life. Sis. Aitken is starting to get me hooked on hocolate licorice since her friends and family keep sending it.

One of the Large Group Meeting (how original?) presenters here is like a Bill Murray impersonator. No joke. He looks and sounds like Bill Murray and I’ve heard a few others express that thought too! Too bad he’s not quite as funny. I think he tries a little too hard sometimes, he he he. I know I’ve mentioned our awesome Branch Presidency and their wives before, but this next bit definitely proves it. Sister Stice kept telling us how she was determined to sneak in some Café Rio salads for us. Well last night, she totally came through. My, what a miracle that was! Sister Stice is a Saint. Compared to the cafeteria food … I can’t really describe how happy it made me. Our leaders and teachers aren’t supposed to give us goodies for fear of upsetting other missionaries, but since we have been at the MTC since Bro. Stice just started as one of the branch counselors, we’re just a little bit special. ; )

Sunday night’s fireside featured Bro. Stephen B. Allen, the Managing Director of the Missionary Department. He also used to be the Tempe Mission President back in good ol’ 1993 and one of the producers/directors/some important person for the old “Homefront” church TV ads. His talk featured several of the commercials which made the meeting hilarious, yet meaningful. My personal favorite was the “Conference Call” Australian ad because the jingle at the end just blew me away with sheer magnificence. I want to make it my ringtone when I get back, ha ha ha! I wonder if you can find it on the Internet somewhere… Anyways, the commercials were a lot of fun, and Bro. Allen is a really funny man too. After each clip, he would explain the message of the ad. His message was focused on choices and how we can change our poor habits and weaknesses. Becoming perfect is a long process. Bro. Allen said following the promptings of the Holy Ghost is the greatest fun you can have! Let a member of the Godhead be your senior companion. He reminded us that we can do missionary work because a prophet of God called us. There’s a reason why I’m needed in Estonia. I can’t wait for when I discover that myself. : )

Our farewell with our Finland-bound roommates this week was rather bittersweet. We grew so close, but obviously Finland needs them more than we do now! Their departure is just making me more antsy to get out into the mission field! Just a month now, WOW! Vaga ponev! (very exciting) This week, Bro. Andre was joking with the possibility that President Dance will keep Sis. Aitken and I together when we first arrive. Wha-ha-ha-ha-hat?! True, our future trainers have only been there 2 months now, but the thought of the two of us, fresh outta the MTC just makes us roar with laughter. The idea is frightening / hilarious at the same time. Actually, it would seem daunting, but also rather adventurous too. Sounds kinda fun, ha ha! Although, I doubt that’d really happen. (just watch, it will : P)

I’ve finally reached Helaman in my reading of the Book of Mormon. I want to finish before I leave and I think I can at this pace. I actually want to finish it as soon as possible so I can start reading it again! I’m learning so much, and I want to see what principles stand out to me now that I’ve been a missionary for 1 ½ months. Now I truly understand why the Book of Mormon is so very important. If it were proven false, everything would collapse. But I’ve learned for myself that it’s truly the Word of God. Many have tried to disprove it, but it will always stand as a true testament of our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, prophets, and Christ’s restored church on the Earth. I know the gospel blesses families because I’ve witnessed it myself. My family is so wonderfully happy because of this knowledge. Attending the temple this week made me miss having you all there with me, but before you know it, we’ll be back together again! ;) Thanks for the love, support, and many prayers. I’m praying for you all too. (Yes, that means you blog-readin’ folk too!) Stay happy everyone!

Armastusega, (with love)

Ode Courtney

P.S. If anybody actually leaves funny comments on the blog, please share ‘em! I’m always looking for laughs : )

P.S.S. Just got your letter through DearElder.com Thanks! Stacey’s made me cry so much from laughter, idek..! (I don’t even know ...!)

Email: Summer Rain - July 28, 2010

From: Courtney Smith
Date: Wed, Jul 28, 2010 at 12:49 PM
Subject: Re: Summer Rain
To: Leta Smith

Hiya family! I just got back from lunch which was right after our trip to the Provo Temple! It finally reopened this Monday and I'm glad I'll get to attend a few more times before I go to Estonia. That's great to hear about a little bit of rain! It only spit on us for maybe 1/2 an hour Monday evening, but the cloudy skies and cooler weather made Monday night gym time very enjoyable. That's "tubli" (pretty much every word to describe something awesome in one) that you had a splendid time with the fam camping! Morgan's blog is morganrp.blogspot.com. I'm glad to hear the blog of my adventures is finally established! Veronica sent me a DearElder letter yesterday and she mentioned that she already has it bookmarked ;) I was SO HAPPY to hear from her and she gave me some updates on my former co-workers and how the Tempe Town Lake dam busted. lolwut? That's exciting news for you folks down there! I also receieved a letter from Kristin today so after this, it's letter-writing time! (a.k.a. wrist pain, hand cramp time! w00t w00t!)

Sis. Aitken's birthday was Monday, and probably the most boring she's ever had, but that's because she didn't have her family to spend it with. Not to mention, that's when our roomates left, and we grew very close in those 5-6 weeks. It left her a bit downtrodden and we tried to cheer her up throughout the day. I don't know if Bro. Conway's "MORMONI TORNADO!" (Estonian accent) dance move helped her feel better, but hey, it made me laugh! Bro. Conway is the bestest teacher in the whole wide world!!!!!!! He is so quirky and animated when he teaches, not to mention very patient and a has a great love for all people, and a powerful testimony of the church and missionary work. I wish everybody could be in his class for just one day~

The MTC does have caffeine free Dr. Pepper, Coke (and Diet!), and Mountain Dew ;) I'll see what I can do about a picture on Sunday. I think the guidelines on shoes are the same, i.e. closed-toed and all, but color is encouraged! They're trying to accomodate to what can actually be found in stores. Mid-calf skirts are practically extinct. I should ask Sister Luik what's currently in style in Estonia. She says that Estonia does really believe in sales so the clothing may be a little pricey, but she said there is a little more improvement in being able to find skirts nowadays. I scheduled a tutoring session with her for tomorrow so I'll ask her some more later.

Last Thursday, I receieved a letter from my mission president, President Dance. He pretty much just said BE DILIGENT with our studies 'cause we're gonna hit the ground runnin' when we arrive in the Riga Airport in a month. WHOA, I'm only a month away!!! President Dance must either be really in tune with the Spirit, or else it's a problem he's finding in the mission, but he specifically mentioned not taking music devices with screens that view photos and videos. Normally, I would think myself an exception to the rule, but since there have been many talks of obedience lately, I need all the blessings I can get from following his council. I'll be sending home my Sansa this week. If we have any old mp3 players without screens, you can send that to me, but I feel bad for all the time Shauna putting into loading stuff onto the Sansa. If it's too time-consuming or annoying to deal with that, don't worry about it. President Dance mentioned that many of the apartments already have cd players with some cds.

Well, that's all the time I have for this e-mail! I'll have mail the rest of the news to ya!

Much love,

Courtney

Letter - July 21, 2010

7-21-10

Hey There Family!

It sounds like you’re having an enjoyable summer! Wow, school starts back up in a month. And goodness sakes, Dallin’s off to Kindergarten! It’s unbelievable how fast those kiddos are growing. I received a post card from Mark & Marily and the fam from their California trip. This postcard was really neat since the San Diego Temple was featured alongside the other pictures of LaJolla. Marily explained that Dallin and Adam had Mac & Cheese “at 2 restaurants, 2 nights in a row! Heaven!” HA HA HA. That would be heaven for kids! I also thought it was adorable that she mentioned that “Owen loves wet sand”. I could just imagine him playing with it. : )

In addition to the postcard, I received a large envelope from “Noel Griffin & guests”. I just knew that meant they were up to no good. I opened it and lo and behold, I find a half dozen pictures drawn with crayons and markers of the oddest things. I snapped some pictures for you since I will kindlasti (definitely) post these ugly things on my wall. Noel must have hosted a shindig at her place because I had artwork from herself, Kristin van Leuven, Heather McRae, Laura McRae, Todd Decker, Devin Grimes, Rachael Griffin, Spencer Griffin, and a nice letter from Papa Griffin. I know it’s early in the mission, but I cannot think of what could top speshul-ness of that magnitude. Seriously. I hope the photos I took do them justice. They really look like a bunch of 2^nd grader drawings, but they’re more like art masterpieces to me. J I know I’ll always have a laugh or a smile when I look at them. I love my support group!

Lately, Sis. Aitken and I have been arising earlier in the day to try out the 6 A.M. exercise classes. Step aerobics, yoga, toning, pilates, kickboxing, etc. It’s a little difficult getting out of bed before the crack of dawn, but I’ve been enjoying it. Now the question is if I’ll keep doing it most mornings until I leave the MTC, ha ha.

Yesterday afternoon, Sis. Aitken and I were feeling rather snackish. Over my time here, I inherited a box of Wheat Thins, a chocolate pudding cup, a granola bar, some licorice and a banana I brought back to class from breakfast. The previous day, we both had the random notion that bananas, wheat thins, and chocolate could be like a S’more substitute at the MTC. So we used the wheat thins, banana, and pudding (I had no spoon so there was no other dignified way to eat it) and we made these odd sandwiches. The sweet and salty taste was actually decent and our little concoction made me feel like a kid again. Obviously, we need to find a better outlet for our creativity and curiosity.

Last night, my branch president, President Thorpe, asked me to be the new Coordinating Sister since Sister Herde is leaving with the rest of the older Finns on Monday. Yay for more responsibilities! Now I get to give tours to the incoming missionaries and go to meetings where I report on how well the sisters in our branch observe Quiet Time and lights out. Thankfully, we had 4 sisters leave today and the older Finns are leaving on Monday so I will only have to worry about the 3 of us left since we won’t be getting some more for at least another week or two. I’m going to miss the older Finns. I feel so blessed to have been their roommates for half of my stay here because now they’re MTC veterans, plus very sweet, and they’re all so hilarious. We’ll definitely keep in touch throughout our missions since it’ll be fast enough to send mail from Estonia to Finland. J Oh, and mail from the U.S. and Estonia may be faster than I mentioned before. That’s comforting!

The soon-to-be trainers for Sis. Aitken and I actually sent us a small package of candies from Estonia last Friday, which happened to be our one month anniversary. The chocolate was sooo delicious. I’m afraid where most of my monthly allowance might end up…. : D Ha ha ha!

Over the weekend, I browsed through the revamped Mormon.org. It’s so fantastic! There are featured clips of all sorts of members sharing about why they joined the Church, what they do and love about life. This rendition of Mormon.org really puts the focus on people and it allows members to post profiles for people worldwide to read and connect with through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I think this makes it easier and more comfortable for members to share the gospel through the Internet. I started to make my own profile, but it’s incomplete since I can’t upload a picture yet. Who knows, maybe it’ll come in handy to refer to Mormon.org while teaching in Estonia. I think they’re fond of technology so this is a great resource.

Yesterday, Bro. Conway prefaced his lesson with “Remember July 20^th”. I think he wanted us to remember that day as the day we could capture the vision of what Heavenly Father wants for us to do as missionaries. He shared with us several scripture passages of the amazing miracles of missionary work in the Book of Mormon. He told us to work like we’ll convert thousands like it says at the end of Alma 26:22. Bro. Conway admitted to us that when he left Estonia a few years back, he felt that his work there was preparatory for future missionaries like us. I know the Lord is preparing the hearts of the people. My work as a missionary is to help them draw closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ so that they can do the converting, bring about that “change of heart”. Dallin H Oaks called the change of heart the greatest miracle of all.

I feel my capabilities and potential growing a little each day. Heavenly Father has some amazing things in store for me during the mission and after. Gotta make sure I’m workin’ to earn it! Thanks for raisin’ me right, and for all the love and prayers. I’m curious to see how those “long-distance blessings” turn out. ; )

Armastusega, (with love)

Courtney

PS (on back of envelope) – Correction to my story about my friends! Heather hosted the party. Noel probably had her fam write some things before she mailed the envelope off. Also, I’ve seen Gregory McDowell here but have yet to approach and see if he remembers me : P

Sis. Aitken chowing down on the gourmet fare.

Glamor shot of the wonderful new culinary creation

Nothing goes to waste here!

Email: Surprise, your Father - July 21, 2010

From: Courtney Smith
Sent: July 21, 2010 8:51 AM
To: Fred
Subject: Re: surprise, your Father

Armas Isa! (Beloved Father)

So nice to hear from you! That's so fun that they went camping! It seems like you're all enjoying your summer. Jessica was just over, going camping, having sleepovers, etc. Sounds like a perfect summer compared to being in a classroom most of the day :P We try to take a leisurely stroll around the campus to get our clear our minds almost daily. Tomorrow, we get to teach our entire first lesson about the Restoration in Estonian, WOW. I can't believe it's already MTC week 6. I'm halfway done with this place. It's just coasting from here now, (except not quite such a break since there's still so much to learn, haha!) My Finnish roomates keep reminding me that some little birdy is going around saying how talented I am at the language. I try to be humble about it. I've been slacking a little the past few days on learning more vocabulary so that's what I plan to do with most of my preparation day.

I happened to see Brian Gashler while doing my weekly service early Monday morning. My job was to replace dirty erasers and wipe away all the chalk dust in all the classrooms in one of the buildings. His class was having personal study at the time and I knew it was one of the German classes so I kept my eye out and when I spotted him, I whispered "Brian..?" and then we talked for a minute or two before I had to move on with my work. I'm happy he's enjoying it here so far. What a good kid!

Monday afternoon, Sis. Aitken and I had an appointment with an ENT doc in Payson, just 30 minutes south of Provo. A service missionary volunteer, Sis. Zollinger, was our driver. She was a sweet elderly woman, however, Sis. Aitken is convinced that if we weren't missionaries, we probably would've died. Thankfully, I kept myself occupied by chatting with her most of the way and tried to not focus on her driving. We counted our blessings that we made there and back safely. Sis. Aitken has a fungus in her left ear, real fun stuff. Apparently it's something that's been sorta going around here at the MTC. The doctor said that it should go away soon with her new medications, but we have another appointment on the 6th of August.

Yup, Tilly's living the normal dogs life. Sometimes I see people walking their dogs when I'm out at the missionary field across the street and it makes me miss my silly dog ;) Goodness Dad, you sure are on top with your Estonian info! If I had normal access to a computer, I'm sure I'd be all over that too. Must run in the genes

I don't think I have much more to report on for this week that I'll have to write home about. Things are just cruising along and I'm itchin' to get to Estonia even though I know so little. Heavenly Father has blessed me so much with my companion, roomates, teachers, branch presidency, etc. It's like they were handpicked, just for me. Thanks so much for the prayers. They're obviously working!

Armastusega,

Courtney