pictures from her companion

At temple!

At ward party

Email Oct 20 and 21, 2013

On Sun, Oct 20, 2013  Christy Smith wrote:

The mail was very interesting this week. Got your postcard one day. A few days later got the family mail, then the next day got mail for me and Jennifer. I don't really care when they come, I just love it when they come. You should get your winter package today. Hope you aren't picking it up on your bike. It's huge. Cass did get her card and Rebecca Denney got hers at church today. You are so awesome.
I'm doing really good with my goal to read an ensign article every day. There really are some great stories and good counsel given. I'm so glad I decided to do it. Have you read any of the October articles? There are two great ones. How can I be a successful missionary, and hastening the work of salvation. The second article has a cool website, maybe you have been there. It is hasteningthework.lds.org. So I went and checked it out to see what it was about. So good. We really are all in the work together. This site just shows us all the ways we should work together and what our responsibilities are. I love the short videos, you can really feel the spirit watching them. Have you made a profile on Mormon.org or wherever it is? I know you told Jamie to and I see that Nic has made a profile too. I think I will have everyone do that for fhe tonight. I will send you a conference ensign as soon as they come out.
So Jerry (Gerald) Arkadis Smith our new relative and I are having quite the time exchanging info. I did send your our conversations with your winter package so you can understand it better, but Dan and Anna were divorced, and she remarried, which explains the name change for Nick's mother on some of the paperwork I have found. Jerry is very open with his life and stuff he has. I don't know what religion he is, but I will have to go there with him this week. If Nick's work needs to get done, Jerry will have to approve it. I did reserve it, but will wait to get permission for sure. Maybe this will be a great missionary opportunity for me, who knows.
I told our local elders if I could help fellowship any investigators to let me know. They jumped on it and are coming for dinner Tuesday. We were told to pray for them by name and their investigators, so I am following that council. We don't see them much like the elders before. I hate it when I have to start over with new missionaries. Just when we get to know them, bam they are gone. Oh well that's life right? I love you and hope you are doing well. I know Heavenly Father is watching over you and keeping you calm. I thank Him every day for that. Can't wait to hear from you. Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox. Love, mommy

EMILY'S reply to mom:

That is weird that the mail came on all different days! haha! The mail kept you on your toes! I got the package on Saturday but we didn't have time to go to the post office and pick it up yet so that is the next stop on our P-Day adventure! I felt so bad that I was late for Rebecca's birthday hers was one that I really really wanted to be on time for. Oh well, ya gotta put the past behind ya.
I love the Ensigns Sister Fink used to read them to me during meal times! We are all in the work together! yes I do have a mormon.org profile. But it is hard to find me because how many other Emily Smith's are there in the world? but you can find me by searching Emily Smith or by searching Sister Smith.
I am so excited about this Jerry Arkadis! I will pray that this will turn into a missionary opportunity for you!!!!
You are awesome! I was just going to tell you today in this e-mail to tell the Elders that you want to help them and to not just wait for them to ask. It makes it so you are on their mind and they know you are willing to help instead of just guessing but you are already one step ahead of me!!!! Do they only do Spanish work? They still are Spanish Elders right?
I am doing well and I get to go to the temple this Wendesday so I'm really excited to go there and hopefully recieve more guidance!
Your guess was closest about what my new companion looks like, the only thing different was that she has long blonde hair instead of short blond hair!
Thank you so much for all you do for me. I really don't know how I can show you how grateful I am to you, and for you.
With Love, XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Sister Smith

Thank You so much for my balance. So I just found out that we are supposed to have $100.00 cash for emergencies so could you put an extra 100.00 on my card so I can go to the ATM and have my money for emergencies? Thank You so much!
yes We do still need the GPS. I get SOOO lost in St. Paul. the only place I can make it to without the GPS is the grocery store, Aldi, and the church. The only other thing I can think that you could send is any long sleeve shirt you can find that is mine. It is SO cold here! Thank YOU so much for all you do. you really are the best.
With Love, Em

Oct 21, family letter

Well tomorrow marks 17 weeks that Emily has been gone. She is growing so much and is so happy. What a great decision this was for her. Things have been a little crazy since the transfer to St. Paul. Their apartment wasn't ready when the got there so they lived with the English sisters for a week. Now we can get back on a schedule of letters and photos!

 Sister P and her sister. Sister P is teaching us the new "Kuh ran" language. 

 We got invited to a Karen wedding. These were the flower girls. They loved us so we got our picture taken with them.

 Sister P was a bridesmaid at the wedding. My companion Sister Riley was wearing a traditional Karen dress. That is so cool!

My first Karen meal! They like their food very spicy.

I have a chicken foot on my fork!!! I even ate it.
It just tasted like chicken, but there was a bunch of
bones in it. ICK!

I got to talk in sacrament meeting this week about reflections from General Conference. A theme I picked out that was super important is that we need to put God first in our lives. I loved Elder Ballard's talk about we need to stay focused on our ultimate goal which should be the celestial kingdom. I also loved D. Todd Christoffersen's talk for obvious reasons. It is always important to be reminded of the effect we can have on people. But it made me think of times when I have put God first and times when I haven't and the outcomes of both, and by far putting Him first ALWAYS yields better outcomes. I know as we put God first in our lives we will be blessed, because He knows what is best for us. With love, Sister Smith

Family Letter received Oct 15, 2013

What a crazy week! So sorry I'm still trying to figure everything out here in St. Paul so no pictures. :(
But you get a postcard! Anyway, I am working now with Karen people and English people. Karen is said Kuh-ran. The people are from a country called Burma and their government decided to go crazy and start killing all of their people. So they all fled to Thailand and then came to Washington State, Utah, and Minnesota. There is a branch of Karen people in Utah!! But right now I am trying to learn the alphabet. (From Christy: I wish I could somehow show you all what it looks like,  but I don't think there is any way to type it. You will have to google it) Like I said in the post card the Karen members of the ward give all the missionaries a Karen name. There are four sets of missionaries in our ward. My name means love, special/good, first, flower. said Eh blu cho Paw! We are learning phrases but not much. We know how to say nice to meet you, my name is, how are you doing, Thank you, and yes. I can also count to 10!
I love it here. I feel so calm and peaceful. I know the Lord is helping me learn and He is protecting me from my own stress. I love you all! Be safe. Love, Sister Smith

Email to Mom Oct 14, 2013

I love getting lots of e-mails, never apologize for that! I am so glad that Dan is done! I love chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel. I studied it this morning about prayer and how we can feel the spirit stronger in our prayers. I am so excited to go to the temple soon. I haven't gone yet but we will before the transfer is over definitely. I love the peace you get to bring home too. Thank you so much for always going to the temple. Your example always gave me the desire to go there myself one day and I see all of these converts who do not have a desire to go to the temple and it is so sad.
I did get the link for the website but I am not allowed to look at it because we can only go to like 4 websites and that is not one of them. Why did 16 boys end up at the genealogy library?
So I may be confused about the whole Dan Situation. . . Dan has a son named Nicholas who had a son who was adopted out and that is who you wrote to about his family? Is that correct? Do you have what you said to the one who was adopted out? I did see 2 messages that he wrote to you but none that you wrote to him. Did you write him first? Sorry I have tons of questions but this is a cool experience and I want to make sure I understand what is happening with it.
I love you tons Thanks so much for all you do. If you haven't sent my winter stuff out yet will you please do that ASAP! my new address is
55 Hyacinth Ave W. #305
St. Paul Minnesota 55117
It is getting pretty chilly here and I think it may snow this week and if not this week soon. Also do we have an extra GPS around the house that you could send to me Sister Riley's died and so we are borrowing Elder Newton's until we can get one for us to have.
I have lots of fun stuff to tell you in my letter. Also Sorry I have been taking so long to send the letters so they haven't been getting there on Saturday. Sister Riley and I are the first Karen Sisters so we are opening a new area and our new apartment wasn't ready for us yet so we were living with the English Sisters in North St. Paul but we moved into our new apartment last Tuesday and the letters I wrote on Monday got lost in the move until Thursday or Friday so they are coming soon! I love you!!!!!!!
With Love Sister Smith.


P.S. I want you and Cass to guess what my new companion looks like again! I will send a picture with this week's letter!
XOXOXOXOXOX

On Fri, Oct 11, 2013  Christy wrote:

So for our anniversary I got dad to take me to the temple! It was fun. We finished Dan up. I am so happy. I figured you would be too. Anyway I was having a hard time feeling the spirit. I listened to conference talks on the way over, but apparently they didn't help me. Anyway so I said a prayer for Heavenly Father to help me feel the spirit. Then as Adam and Eve were leaving the garden, I was just thinking how grateful I am for their faithfulness. They had to do some hard things for us. Then when Satan was tempting them, all they wanted was more knowledge from Heavenly Father. You know Satan is real and he is right there so close waiting for us to mess up or have a weak moment. Then when Adam and Eve do get their messengers, none of them are afraid to stand up to Satan. They just give him those looks of total disgust. I want to be like that. Heavenly Father has given us messengers too. Especially with conference being last week, we have so much fresh stuff to study to stay strong. I'm so grateful for our devoted prophet and church leaders. I could feel my Heavenly Fathers love for me as I walked into the Celestial room and looked into His eyes. He knows ME! I am going to try so hard to have more meaningful prayers. I need Heavenly Father to know how much I love Him.
I hope you get to go to the temple soon if you haven't already. I love the peace I get to bring home. I just wanted to write you tonight while all this was fresh in my mind. Sorry for another email. It's midnight now so I'm going to turn in. Love you so much, <3 mom

First letter from St. Paul

This will be short, because I only have 15 min of Pday left. I am adjusting so well and I am confident that the Lord is helping me so much. I could be so stressed out, but I am not at all. I love the area, I love the members I've met, I love trying to learn a language! I LOVE my companion.
I love you all so much. Thanks for all you do. xoxoxoxoxoxoxo ttyl. With Love, Sister Smith

Email to Jamie Oct, 7, 2013

They did talk a lot about missionary work in conference, because it is so important! We seriously can't do anything without members help. We can teach but no one will ever stay active without the members, most people will not even be baptized if we don't get members involved. I know that as you pray and follow the spirit you will know what to do. Even just introduce yourself to the missionaries in Duchesne. We often need people to go with us to teach so we can have the rule of 3. I am sure the elders there have the same predicament! Do you have a mormon.org profile? If not you should create one, and if you already have one you should go updated it or answer more questions. The Lord has put you through things for a reason, for you to learn and so you can help others learn and come closer to Him. There may be someone on mormon.org as well as one of your friends who needs to hear your testimony and your experiences. I know that missionary work often seems big and scary, but you can share in so many ways! Follow the promptings and you will be blessed!
I loved the focus on women and the power we have to affect the world for better or worse. It really made me think about how I act, things I say, and the goals I have for my life. Thanks you for your prayers. Sister Smith

Email to Grandma and Grandpa Oct 7, 2013

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

I LOVE St. Paul. Normally when I leave Waseca I am nervous and scared and I feel so out of place but I never felt like that here. I instantly felt at home. I know the Lord is blessing me and helping me know that this is where I need to be, and Karen is the language I need to be speaking. We also do English work, we are kind of half and half, which is nice. We can still do some teaching while we are learning the language. Sister Riley and I are the first Karen Sisters in the mission so she doesn't know the language either.

I loved conference so much! We visited a less active member before conference and she is from Idaho Falls! So of course I was thinking about how much I love that place and then we started talking about how we have so many traditions of the General Conference weekend that I could probably tell you exactly what my family would be doing at what time this whole weekend. I was sad to be away but I also really liked being in the chapel. I was able to be less distracted and I didn't fall asleep at all!

With Love, Sister Smith

First Transfer

First transfer, North St. Paul. Karen speaking. 

Email October 7, 2013

Last week was total madness so I didn't write anyone except the family and you. But I am doing my best to write everyone that I can. I will write Cass back soon but I still haven't written Jenn back!
I did get to play bingo for conference I had one space left on both of my bingo sheets. I had Heaven left on one and Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy on the other. One person gave a talk completely about Sabbath day observance but he never said Keep the Sabbath day Holy. . . ugh! But I loved my bingo prize! I am so excited to go to the temple! I watched conference in the chapel at our meetinghouse. I can't believe I grew up in Utah and I have never been to a general conference session. That is a new goal of mine. I want to be there!
There was a really strong emphasis on families because so many people don't understand. My mind is blown about how many members here don't have a desire to go to the temple or how many people marry people of different relationships. We need to have people that are going to go to the temple!!!!! Families are important! The world needs to know that!
Mom, you are a great teacher! I have been there for your lessons before and they are always so good and you follow the spirit really well, don't let Satan discourage you! You are incredible!
Yes we are getting cold weather. I know I will be staying here for a long time so if you could send all my winter stuff (Boots, Coat, Wool Socks) that would be great! I want to be ready when it hits, I don't want to be in the snow without boots and a good winter coat. Mostly it is rainy but I don't think snow will be too far behind. . .
I do still have oils but the headaches have ceased once again. I KNOW that Lord is taking away my stress because I should be a total disaster right now. This transfer brought so many changes: Small town to big city, English to Karen, Sister Hansen to Sister Riley, branch to big ward, etc. Also there has never been Karen Sisters, so we are opening a new area, and both learning the language. But I know that this is where I am supposed to be and who I am supposed to be with and the Lord is blessing me A TON already. It is a huge blessing to be with Sister Riley, I love her already so far we get along really well. When President Clements gave me a blessing this week he did say that we will be together for a long time and we will be blessed to get a long well. I love North St. Paul. I immediately felt like I was at home as soon as I got to the area. This feels so right. I know that my Heavenly Father Loves me so much and he knows where I need to be, and what I can handle. I am excited to learn Karen and to learn to love these people. They are so great Mom!
I love you very much and I hope you get this e-mail. remember to send my mail to the mission office!
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Sister Smith

Letter to mom Sept 30, 13

Great goal, to read the Ensign every day! They are amazing! Emma the girl we found on the short street, had us over for one appointment but it was not a restoration lesson it was more of us answering her questions. She didn't want to learn more, but the Spirit was so strong, it is just not her time yet.

Family history is tricky, especially when you are trying to teach it to someone who doesn't know how to use a computer!! That's what we have been doing. What an adventure! Brother N is a member. We got him signed up finally and he has gotten going. We always pray before we start. I am going to miss working with him. He just got ordained to a priest, and he has a calling teaching the Gospel Principles class. He really is incredible.

President Clements won't be my mission president for my whole mission because they serve for three years and he has already been out for two. He will be my mission president for a year of my mission.
The baby announcements ended up very cute! I am carrying it around showing it to everyone!!!

News of transfers is so crazy! The feeling is so weird. I am so excited, confused, nervous, stressed, and faithful. North St. Paul, Karen speaking, Crazy!!! Well I need to go pack. TTFN, XOXO Sister Smith

Sept 30, 2013 family letter

No photos this week. The printer was down. This week was the General Relief Society Broadcast. I was so excited to go. Last week I was having those bad headaches again-like the ones I had before my mission. Not good. We are working with a less active member who is struggling a ton right now and I have been thinking a ton about how I can help her. The ward fed us dinner before the broadcast and there were Dove promises on the table before hand that I shoved into my bag. Then I started my fast and forgot all about the candy until ending my fast. When I opened them they said, close your eyes and relax" and "Do what feels right" I thought it was ironic that they said that because I need to relax so I won't get headaches. And Do what feels right...follow the Spirit, which was the revelation I received during my fast. I know fasting can bring great revelation if we do it and focus on our fast not on how hungry we are. I am so excited for conference. This is my last letter from Waseca....Here I come North St. Pau! I love you all! With love, Sister Smith

Pictures September 27, 2013

Found this super AWESOME old car that I love
Paint it up nice and that is a sweet ride!

Me posing in New Richland

First Minnesota souvenir

Things are going really well for me. This morning I got a call from President Clements telling me that I am being transferred to St. Paul, Karen Speaking. . . he told me that He felt it was right and that I will be able to do this. and I can go to the temple again! I am terrified and calm all at the same time it is a weird feeling. . . But I am excited none the less! So SEND MY MAIL TO THE MISSION HOME!! I WILL NO LONGER BE IN WASECA!!!!!!!


A lot of people here are sick too, I have been taking my vitamins like crazy, I do not want to be sick! But yes I do love Sister Hansen as well I learned a lot from her. I needed her positive attitude specially now that I am learning a language, i will need to be positive about that!