Read the Book of Mormon by yourself and pray about it. Please!

Ok well those were long emails!! Ha!
Well there really isn’t too much to write about this week. But I sent some letters yesterday instead of today. It’s because there is the Holy Week here and the whole country is shut down. I hope that my letters got out in time. Anyways nothing really happened this week and the spiritual things are in the letters I sent out yesterday.

I did get your package mom! Thanks so much! I have already eaten almost all of the snacks. We get hungry here because we have a lot less food here. Oh well. I think I have lost some weight!! I have also been lifting in the gym, with universal weights. I can bench 190 again. Hurray.

My knee kills me here some days. But it’s usually ok, as long as I am not kneeling too much for group prayers. I just stand for those cuz it is too painful to stand back up and also to put pressure on it by kneeling. Praying while kneeling in bed is working out though. So I am still going strong with my personal prayers.

I have almost finished the D&C! I only have 60 pages left but I might not finish it till Sunday because I have to finish looking up scriptures for lesson 4.

That is so cool about everybody’s mission calls! Tell them all congrats!! That stinks for Tanner though. I hope it gets worked out for him soon.

Well I think that is about all for this week unless I think of something in the next 15 minutes.
(Thank goodness he thought of something because we got a second email a few minutes later.)

Well I figured I might as well tell you my schedule. It’s practically the same everyday...

6:30 - I get up
6:30 - 7:00 Gym
7:00 - 8:00 Showers and Breakfast
8:00 - 9:00 Study Time
9:00 - 12:00 Class
12:00 - 12:45 Lunch
1:00 - 5:00 Personal Study, Language Study, and Comp. Study.
5:00 - 5:45 Dinner
6:00 - 9:00 Class
9:00 - 10:30 Plan, get ready for bed, write in journal etc. lights out at 10:30

Just grand huh! Ha ha. We have teaching opportunities and things of that nature during class time. And we usually get some of our study time taken away by some meeting, but it’s all good.

I miss the last group of latinos that we had. I will send home a picture of everyone that was here that the Pres. gave us. I don’t know why but I was a lot closer with a lot of the latinos of the last group than this one. This group will be great missionaries as well though. I am nervous to go out in the field in only 2 short weeks it is crazy!! But I am so excited!! Well I sure hope that you get my letters and the package that I sent will get there soon!! I put plenty of pictures of Christ in it and on it so it should be safe!

I love you all so much and you are always in my prayers!

I want all of you to read the Book of Mormon by yourself and pray about it. Please! I didn’t pray about it until the 2nd week in Provo. And I know without a doubt that it is true and you can come closer to Christ by reading it than any other book. Will you tell everyone in the family to read it again or to read it if they haven’t already?

Well time is up!
I love you all!
Keep the Faith
-Elder Smith

Field Trip

First of all....HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! Missed it by one day..but I do what I can I guess. I love you!! Thanks for everything you have done for me. You're the best Mom a son can have.

HEY! We get to email today...probably not tomorrow....there are no latino elderes here today. They all left this morning to their missions. Guess what that means....FIELD TRIP!!

Nothing too much really happened this whole week. It was just regular study times and what not. We are being able to teach in Spanish a lot better. The understanding part is still really hard, but it will come. I sure hope I get your package tomorrow and that it didn´t get sent back or stolen. I will write some more letters for you all. I am going to send some pictures home as well. Over 300!!

The one eventful thing this week is that Elder Winkel was running on top of this house for cleaning/service that belongs to the CCM called Casa de CRE. So he was running and didn´t see the wires that were about neck level for clothing or something. Anyways, he was almost at full speed and he slammed right into one!!! There is a small cut on his neck from it. It is crazy! I didn´t actually witness it so I can´t write too much more about it, but it was a funny experience.

This last week I started reading Jesus the Christ and the Doctrine & Covenants. It is so great. I have learned so much about church history and have found many scriptures to help me understand things about being here, and other deep doctrines. Its way sweet. Tell Grandma Angie thanks for telling me about D&C 31...I think it was 31...anyways, it has really helped me a lot. If any of you ever have any advice for me with scriptures please send them my way. I love it!!

Anyways I will tell you what we did today...
We got on a charter bus and went out to a big relief map of Guatemala/Belize. It was pretty sweet! I dont really know how to explain it, but i am sending pictures from it.

Then we went to the Mercado Central and on the way there I saw Grandma's cousin Edwin. I'm pretty sure he's going to call grandma about it. (Except that grandma is on a mission in Chile and doesn't have a phone....can't wait to hear the details about it from them) Anyways....we went there and just shopped around, talking to people for a few hours, it was so great. I bought some cool things. I am not gonna tell what they are either....it will be a surprise when you get the pictures, but it does include a machete heehee. Then we ate at WENDY`s!! It was so nice to have some american food. The food here is good and all, but nacho´s and/or black beans for breakfast is getting old. Everything was pretty much the same, only like a dollar cheaper, except the Sprite tasting funny....we aren´t allowed to order coke...I dont know why, but I was told not too. It is sort of a higher standard type thing for missionaries I think.

After we got done there we went to a modern art museum and then to an archeological museum about Guat. That place was amazing!! There were so many carvings from temples there and also some cool little miniatures of Tikal and other big cities. I took lots of pictures of those.

After all that great fun we came back home and played soccer....YES I PLAYED SOCCER! (Jordan plays football. In high school, soccer was almost a swear word for him.) We had all bought jersey´s from the Mercado Central and we happened to have an even number of white jersey`s and blue jersey`s. You will see in the pictures. For a break the President´s wife, Sister Steimle, made us smoothies...They were so good. I can´t really remember what the fruit is called. But cashew nuts grow on trees that are attached to the tops of these fruits, it is very weird. I don`t have any pictures of that fruit, but they are quite interesting. They tasted great.

For dinner this caterer made us this delicious cordon bleu thing, the best meal thus far since I have been out here.

Mom, way to bear your testimony ;)! I bore mine too, partly in Spanish. Then I told the story of how grandma came to the gospel and to the U.S., but that was in English and the Branch President translated it all to Spanish.

I wish so bad that I could just speak Spanish already. It will come I guess. It is getting a little easier though which is nice. Elder McPhee is with Elder Morrow in a different district. Elder Morrow is the best Spanish speaker by far. He is amazing! English missionaries have it easy. jk!

Have you heard anything from Jordan Dew? I want to know how he is doing.

I still haven't seen rain yet....Upsetting.

Dad, thanks for the scripture. I am always looking for those throughout the week so thank you! I love you Dad, thanks for everything! That's way sweet about Lehi basketball. They better take State!

The more and more I am here, the more and more I love this place and the people. AHH I just wish I was fluent in Spanish so that I could just go out in the field. I cant wait!
Well that is really all for now. The letters I might get from you all tomorrow I will write back about.

"Le gustaria leer el Libro de Mormon? Yo se que a traves de oracion sabra que el Libro de Mormon es verdadero."

I love you all.
Keep the Faith
Elder Smith

No complaints

By Leslie (followed by a letter by Jordan):

After that last email, Brendan said, "It's kind of weird that we're not even worried or freaked out about all the crazy stuff that Jordan experienced last week." I think I can safely say that Jordan has never been approached by a "legit crazy person," seen children use whips to herd goats on the streets, hung out at a park full of homeless and drunk people, or held on to dear life while traveling dangerously on a bus packed with people literally jumpin on and off of it!

The following paragraph is from a letter that Jordan's companion, Elder Winkel, sent to his family:

"My companion, Elder Smith, and I were nealy killed twice coming back from the temple this morning. Pedestrians do not, repeat, DO NOT have the right of way here. People drive down the street hanging out of their cars, honking, and the lanes are close enough to reach out and touch the next car without even trying! Crazy, eh? . . . . The kids there... Wow!!!! I have never seen such beauty before! I´ve never seen such innocence and love in anyones eye. They were all so eager to shake our hands and to tell us there names! Some of them would try to show off by doing a summersault, or showing us that they could roll down a hill. One of the small boys there stopped us as he were going out the door. He had Elder Smith put out is hand and he poured some sugar into it. He waved us good bye and as he left he tossed some sugar into his own mouth! "

Somehow we have been blessed with peace in our hearts and excitement in our house for all of Jordan's mission adventures. It's a great feeling being able to turn him over into the Lord's hands and have the reassurance that all will be well. Wednesdays are like Christmas each week! To see Jordan's testimony grow and his excitement to share the gospel come through each week in his emails has blessed our home and our family tremendously. We catch ourselves counting our blessings every single day and have been blessed to even see the good in the adversity and trials that have come our way as well.

Below is a snail mail letter that Jordan wrote on March 10th but just barely came this week. It was written to Nicole, but she was so wonderful to share it with us and now with you:

"Well today I sent that email and said I wouldn't write letters but I found out that I can use U.S. stamps so I will send some every now and then. Everthing is going good like I said. I took some very beautiful pics today. You will see them soon when I send a CD home. It is blazing hot here. I couldn't fall asleep last night because of it. And the latinos in my room like to wake me up...they will learn not to ;).

It's great down here. The temple is about 100 yards away! I think that is all I didn't already say in the email. Oh...the food is good. I want some good cold milk though. And maybe a sandwich or something, or even better, a nice soft chocolate chip cookie! Ha! But no complaints. (Any ideas how I can preserve my homemade cookies long enough to be fresh for the 7-10 days it takes for packages to get down there?)

Dios es nuestro Padre Celestial. Dios nos ama. Dios restauro su Evangelio a traves de Jose Smith. Jose Smith fue un profeta de Dios. Tomas S. Monson es un profeta en la tierra hoy! Jesucristo es nuestro Salvador y Redentor. Si orara a Dios y Jesuscristo, ellos bendicira su vida mucho. "
Elder Smith

We taught the former VP of Guatemala

Answers to Questions first:
Did you get the package I sent on March 5th? For sending packages,put a few pass along cards with Christ on it or something like that. It is less likely to be thieved. (Hmmm...not really the answer I was looking for, but ok.)

Grandma's cousin would like to meet with you maybe on Easter. Is that possible to get permission or meet her on the temple grounds? I’m not sure if that meeting can happen mom. Maybe out in the field but not here. It is stricter here than Provo and everything is so disorganized. I never really know what is going to happen until the day of or day before.

How do you like the food? The food is alright. Not quite like Grandma's. And I am getting sick of warm juice and black beans for breakfast. But other than that it is pretty good!

Anyways...now for my stories of this week.

On Saturday we went contacting in the real world, with real people. We went to a store about a block away, so we just walked there. Elder Winkel was still my comp so we were worried about our Spanish. So when we got there we were kind of just looking around and hoping that we would be able to speak to people correctly. Then one of our teachers who was with us, Hno. Samayoa, told us to contact a certain man....This man happened to be the former vice-president of Guatemala!! We were so nervous but decided to contact him anyways. Our first real contact here, ever! We approached him and thanked him for the service he gave to Guat. and starting telling him about us in really bad Spanish. I was so worried. When we started trying to tell the story of when Christ came here to the America’s he said, I speak English by the way!!! We were so relieved. We then explained all that and he was super interested. His words, "I was unaware of the happening"....he was excited to learn more about Christ and also his ancestors. He was a practicing catholic and almost turned us away until I pulled out my Book of Mormon. I gave it to him and asked him to read 3rd Ne. 11. I was so happy that he accepted it and he even asked for a number he could call if he had questions. Because we can't really have the address of a former VP of a country...security. Then on Sunday we fasted for him...breakfast was cereal, and lunch was hamburgers. Haven’t had good American food in forever. Yet I know that he will be blessed for our sacrifice.

Then on Monday and Tuesday we went out contacting again with native companions. We rode on buses to the central park of Guatemala. I think that is what it’s called. Anyway...the buses are crazy there. We are all jam packed and I swear the driver barely knows how to drive. The buses are practically a roller coaster ride and people are jumping on and off at the so called stops. It is nuts. I will have a monster grip when I get back from holding on to the rails so hard. I stood up the whole time. It takes about a half hour to get there from the CCM.

The first day was really hard. I didn’t understand hardly anything and my comp taught like 35 min lessons to the contacts so we only got 2 contacts. So that was kind of disappointing.

Let me tell you some funny stories that were experienced. Elder Lusty, a north american, was teaching a man, when another man woke up next to them and took all the pamphlets that elder Lusty had. Then the man they were teaching pulled out a knife on the man who stole the pamphlets!! He said, RESPECTO LOS ELDERES!!! It was crazy. But that situation got calmed down. Next Elder McPhee was walking and a man came up to him, felt his pockets, took out his wallet, and took the 10 quetzales that were in it, gave back the wallet and walked away! Nuts huh!

Then we see guards every where, about our age with huge machine guns and shotguns ready to shoot at any second. I even saw one in the back of a truck guarding the transportation of some coca cola!!

Then there are 14 year olds that guide goats every where with whips that make the sound of gunshots. It smelled horrible too. There was pee everywhere. I don’t know if it was from the goats, or from all the homeless and drunk people that were in the park.

The second day was better...same smells, same sights, but I understood more and I even taught a little bit. It was great!! And we got 6 contacts with 5 copies of the Book of Mormon placed. I loved it. I was so so tired though! Hopefully I will last out in the field doing the same things. However, we got approached by a legit crazy guy and he wanted us to sing in English to him and he kept pulling out random scriptures in the bible that made no sense for what he was saying....

Guatemala is definitely a different place then the U.S. It is great here though. I just can’t wait for the day that I can speak Spanish so I can share my feelings about the gospel in such a way that the people will understand what I say.

Today was a good week.
I love you guys and I can’t wait till next week when I talk to you again.

Guess who's district leader?

Hey there! Thanks for the email. That might be the only thing I will be doing since letters take around 10 to send. Just send me letters or email me and then I will email back. We can only write, send, and receive letters on Wednesday's, so it will be so much easier and cheaper for me to do it that way. I will probably send a letter before I leave though.

There is so much to write about I don't know where to start. The latins here are so great and fun. Me and Elder Winkel...we are comps by the way....are pretty good friends with Elder Martinez and Elder Velarde. They are way funny elders and Elder Martinez is a legit ninja! They are the latin assistants to the president.....Me and Elder Winkel were made district leaders last Sunday. They didn't even tell us before hand. It was crazy.

This place is fun and beautiful but it is also super super disorganized. We even have to tell our teachers what to teach us!!! That is very frustrating because how am I supposed to know how to do that when I dont know the language. I will have to learn more patience I guess.

The language is coming a little bit quicker. Not by too much. It is just frustrating because of the big communication barrier, but it will get better.

The people in my district are:
Me and Elder Winkel
Elder Bronson and Elder Ririe
Elder Dixon and Elder Crapo
Elder Anhder and Elder Anderson and
Hna. Parker and Nelson.

It still hasn't rained yet and it is always super hot at night and cold in the mornings. I don't get it. There are ambulance and police sirens every 5 seconds. It's so crazy.

There is a man who comes every p-day with numerous goods. I bought 3 ties today for 5 bucks each. They are way sweet and handmade. I will probably buy a bag out in the field though.

Gym stinks here. The president said on the first day that the rules were the same as Provo...NOT EVEN CLOSE. Ha! We only get a half hour for gym instead of an hour and then we have 45 min to get ready for breakfast, including showering...imagine 8 showers for about 25 elders.. Most of the latin elders think it is just fine and dandy to change completely into their church clothes in the stall of the shower. The line takes a good 35 min. It is no bueno nada!!

Testimony meeting this week was really awesome and I didn't even know what was being said 99% of the time, but I could still feel the spirit very strongly. It was great.

I want to get out in the field so so bad!! I just wish we could learn spanish through things like they have in the Matrix....that would be nice.

Last week we went to the temple grounds and contacted people....in spanish of course. It went better than I thought but it was still way hard. One guy was talking so so fast!! No matter how much we said ¨mas despacio por favor¨ he just kept right along going super fast. I hope not everyone is like that out in the field or I might have some troubles.

It is windy here all the time. Not Lehi wind but there is a nonstop breeze which always makes the weather feel perfect.

I hope this all makes sense and that it isn't too all over the place and sorry for the spelling errors. I'm not used to these weird spanish keyboards.

I love you all so very much. .... and I saw the family I guess I could say...at the airport when I arrived. It was great! I don't know if you saw all the pictures they took. I will send some pictures sooner or later. How many pictures can I fit onto a disc anyways??

Well i gotta go. Time is running out.
I LOVE YOU ALL
Elder Smith

Guatemala is hot!

Hey Mom,
The internet here is blocking the normal internet site for our emails so we can't log on to them. I will write again when I can, but for now I won´t be emailing very often until it gets fixed.

Ok well, Guatemala is hot! It was so cool to see the family here at the airport. There is practically nothing but Spanish here so hopefully I can learn it soon. It's tough. We only get gym for a half hour a day now which stinks but I guess it's ok. Anyways I dont have much time but I love you!! Give my love to everyone else too, especially Nicole!! I will hopefully talk to you soon...I won't be able to write a letter until next Wednesday. Oh and my companion is Elder Winkel! Crazy right!!

Thats all for now! Bye!

Just a sampling of Provo MTC photos

Elders Smith and McPhee, companions and amigos!

"I got my travel plans! I get to go to the Guatemala CCM (MTC)!


Elder Jordan Smith and Elder Josh Miller
Good friends from high school. Anyone remember the last second endzone winning touchdown at the Lehi/Provo football game? Pass by Smith....Catch by Miller!
They both left the MTC the same day. Josh is headed out to Arcadia, California.

Good luck to all "MY" boys serving all over the world!

Blessing Upon Arrival

By: Leslie Smith

I wrote this as an email to our missionary mom group already so some of you may have read this already, but I added a few more details and wanted to share it with all our family and friends.

Many of you know that my mom was born and raised in Guatemala City even though she has lived in the U.S. since age 13. She still has an aunt that lives there whom she is very close to and 3 cousins and their families. They are not members of the church, but love and support us and the missionary program. They were SO KIND to go out of their way to gather together (even though only one of them has a car) and travel to the airport to catch a glimpse of Jordan whom they don't personally know, except for my mom’s aunt Carmen. They called us at 7:45 pm to let us know that they were there and could see a large group of young men in suits inside the airport waiting for their luggage.

A few minutes later we got another phone call from my mom’s cousin saying, They’re here!! They are all out and seem to be waiting for a bus or something. They counted 24 elders and 6 sisters!

Then about 10 minutes later we got another phone call….this one from Jordan! We talked for only about 1 minute because he said that he might get in trouble but that he was there and that he was standing in front of his “family.” He was able to take some photos with them and gave them a high five when they handed him a paper with their names, addresses, and phone numbers in case he ever needs anything. He said that was easier for him than trying to figure out how to express his gratitude to them in Spanish. Don’t we all know how to say, “Gracias?” LOL. I think they got the message.

That was seriously the highlight of our night. What a great surprise to get those precious phone calls and to hear his voice sounding so excited and happy to finally be in Guatemala!!!

Then our last phone call of the night came from Isabel, another cousin, who called saying, “I am calling you as a mother because I know what it means to have your child far from home and how much it means to know every detail possible. We were so impressed with the light and happiness that was visible from this amazing group of young men and women. They all looked so happy and all were smiling so big! They waited for a while together outside the airport until a huge bus came to pick them up. They were asked to form a line and load their luggage. We yelled to Jordan and he turned around, dropped his suitcases and ran to give us a hug! We started to talk to him in slow easy spanish, but he just nodded his head. So then we tried to speak english the best we could. Another elder from his group who spoke good spanish came up to us and said, "Que Dios los bendiga. Los quiero mucho" (May God bless you. We love you). Then they formed another line to wait to load the bus together. Jordan set down his backpack, got out of line and came back to us and gave my husband a big hug and said, "Mi Mejor Amigo! Muchas Gracias! (My Good friend! Thank you so much!) We stayed at the airport until the bus pulled away and all of them waved and yelled Adios to us.”

I was left with such joy and love and peace. To see the Lord's hand yet again in this marvelous and miraculous missionary journey is overwhelming. Jordan's call to serve the people of Guatemala began much longer than 4 months ago when he opened up a letter signed by our prophet. He has been prepared for this his whole life. I am so thankful that my wonderful extended family took time from their busy, hard lives to welcome my son. My son who left the U.S. for the first time in his life just a few hours before. My son who was nervous and anxious for what was ahead. My son who was given the blessing to feel love and support the minute he stepped off the plane.

It's hard to comprehend that he is not in Provo anymore. But I know that he is safe and in the Lord’s hands and probably in class at the CCM right now. His journey (and ours) has begun in a new land and I am so thankful for his example, his courage, his testimony, and his faith. I am even more thankful for the peace that our Heavenly Father has blessed me with and for His gospel which blesses our lives every single day.

Airport Phone Call

By: Leslie Smith

Our day was long, emotional and absolutely wonderful!

The kids went to school after coming home to warm up from our overpass party and having a quick breakfast. Poor Jake was so tired that during seminary he had quite the funny story happen to him. He was asked to say the closing prayer and said, "Please bless Brother Barney's lesson to nourish and strengthen our bodies."

Our phone call lasted for almost an hour. It would have been longer, but they ended up changing gates and so he had to run and meet up with the other Elders. I will admit that our phone call seemed more like a one sided interview for most of the time. And if I were the boss, he would never have been hired. My boy just isn’t one to “chat” much! He seemed a little nervous to me and very tired. I was left a little worried even though I know he was also excited to go out. Next time we know that it will probably be a better idea to speak to him one on one instead of a large group gathered around speaker phone. He spent the last 15 minutes speaking privately to his girlfriend and she said that he was much more talkative then. He also called his dad (who couldn’t get off work) for a few minutes after changing gates and they had a great father/son talk.

Here are a few highlights of our conversation:

He and Elder McPhee had made a goal to place a Book of Mormon before they called home. They talked to a man for almost 20 minutes and shared many great feelings about religion back and forth, but they found out that he was Buddhist and was not interested in receiving The Book of Mormon. It was a great experience for them and he said they respected each others religious beliefs. After a few more failed attempts, they decided to call home anyway. It was great to hear that story. Missions have their good and bad times so it's good for him to learn and grow from these few failed attempts to make a contact. I'm proud of him for trying and for setting such a great goal

He said the everything in Texas is huge, especially the airport. They taxied for almost 20 minutes just to get to the gate!

He saw a tree being chopped down at the MTC this past week. He said that it was fairly large and it almost fell the wrong way onto the building!

He said that "You become a nerd at the MTC. I totally need a pocket protector!"

Well, after all the complaining that the MTC food wasn't good (which he still claims he didn't like) he left having gained 8lbs! He's up almost 30 lbs. from his football/track days of a year ago! Back then he couldn't gain weight no matter how hard he tried. It's finally catching up. He said he does sit ups every night in his room and plays an hour of basketball everyday, but nothing works. He did say he had a plan for when he got to Guatemala..."I'll just take a big swig of the water down there! That'll make me lose 25 lbs real fast!" Noooooooo!

Their district had a sad experience when one of the Elders decided to go home after a few days. Jordan said that almost everyone wanted to go home the first week. He didn't really elaborate why, other than it's just really hard mentally and emotionally. But that they all got much better after the first Sunday. This one particular Elder did not, however. They were told he had decided to leave and they all helped him pack and take his luggage to the main entrance. He said they were all so sad and were crying for their friend. The next morning their branch president told them that this young man had gone home. Jordan thought to himself, "Ya we know. We helped him pack. Please don't remind us." The branch president continued, "I got a call from him last night at 1:30 am and he wants to come back. I talked to the MTC president and it's been approved. He'll be back later this evening for Priesthood." They were SO happy. They all bore their testimonies about it and feel that their prayers all had something to do with him coming back.

Jordan received a care package from the bank where he worked before his mission. It was full of "bank candy" and snacks that they provide for the tellers along with a couple Gatorades that they always have on hand. It was so nice of them and quite a surprise for Jordan. They included a random fingerprint ink pad. On their paper of well wishes they included a message for "The World's Greatest Ninja!" Jordan and his BYU roommates are obsessed with ninjas and are quite convinced that they are pretty good ones. Jordan decided that he would leave behind the fingerprint pad as a "token" for the new missionaries coming into his room after he left. I guess it's an MTC tradition to leave something behind for the new elders coming in. What did he happen to find left behind for him?......Nothing less than a little yellow Ninja figurine! He couldn't believe it! It became his lucky traveling buddy and I'm sure we will see pictures of it throughout his mission!

Oh and Yes!!! He did see the sign and all of us on the overpass. He told the driver to honk, but he didn't. :( He said he saw someone with a hoodie and someone with a poofy coat. He was on the first bus and Elder Miller was on the second bus but he didnt' happen to see it. A funny thing about the sign was that right after the second bus passed, a big semi truck drove by and the wind from it ripped our sign. The heart ripped right in half. Kind of ironic I thought since our hearts were ripping just a little bit at that moment.

Jordan was tired having been up since 4 am and not sleeping much the night before. He said he was excited, but was honest to say that he was nervous and scared as well. He was worried about his spanish not coming along like he had hoped. He was so thankful to be able to be going to the CCM though and excited to get out to Guatemala.

It was great to hear his voice, but it wasn't the crazy loud confident voice that we are used to hearing. It was much more reserved and quiet. So I was left missing my "boy" because he wasn't the same. I'm excited to see him grow and know that with the Lord's help, he can and will do many wonderful things.

OverPass party

We didn't get an email from Jordan this week because he is flying out to Guatemala today (his normal Pday). We are anxiously awaiting his phone call from the Dallas airport but I had to post these photos of our morning.

It's so sad that families can't go see their missionaries off at the airport anymore from the MTC. So we did our own little thing to send him our love and well wishes. We spent the weekend making a 35 foot sign that he could see from the freeway as he drove past Lehi for the last time.

His bus left the Provo MTC at 5:00 am so we were up bright and early (I should say dark and early). We put the sign up for Jordan and his good friend Josh Miller who is going to Arcadia, CA but left at the same time. My sweet dad left our house at 4:00 am and drove down to the MTC. He parked outside the gates and watched as the buses arrived to pick up the missionaries. We got play by play phone details when they were loading the luggage, when the missionaries came out, and when the buses left. That's when we knew we had about 25 minutes until they would get to us. He followed them all the way back to Lehi so we knew right when they would be coming. My dad is one to follow the rules only because we would get mad at him, but always figures out a way to bend them as far as possible when it involves his family. We're so glad he didnt' get questioned by the MTC Security guards. He's the best! We waved our flashlights, jumped up and down, and screamed as we saw the MTC bus drive by and then when we saw a 2nd one we did it all over again!

It will be fun to hear if he was even able to see it in the dark when he drove by. We outlined the letters in glow in the dark paint, but it didn't work too well out there. Well, on we go with the waiting game for the phone call. Kids have been checked out of school and Brendan will conference call in from work so we are all set. Come on Elder Smith!!!! Call home soon!!!!