Finally here!!

Wow you would never believe how crazy it is to be in Argentina!! Truthfully it is really crazy!! I don't even know where to begin! Well the first day we got here it was morning because our flight was over night and so it was possibly the longest day of my life!! Really it is so long! We got here around 9 in the morning and went straight to the church offices in Argentina which was cool it is where all of the seventy work and stuff! It was cool to be there! We stayed there for like 6 hours and just ate and talked with the people there! After all of the people that were headed to Salta and got on another plane! Which we almost missed haha it was so funny! And we headed to Salta! The flight was about 2 hours! Not to bad! And When we got there our mission pres. and his wife were there right outside waiting for us! with the APs! We got all of our stuff and got on a bus and headed to the mission home! Left our stuff there and went and ate dinner at the mission pres. house! It was a different meal but it was good! Then we stayed in a hotel that night! Which was really nice! The next day we had to go do some stuff at the police station and then everyone else went back to the church for training but one the sisters in the mission needed to update her visa so they asked me to go with her! It was pretty interesting! haha then back to the church for training! It was a really long day because all that we did was sit and listen but it was still good! Later that night we got our comp. mines name is Hermana Pari she is from Peru and that is about all that I know about her because she only speaks Spanish... super hard but good! She is super nice and is a great missionary! then we got on a bus to go to our areas I am in Jujuy Perico.  It is really nice! We meet the elders in our district at the bus station and they took us to our apartment! Our apartment is super nice... well for here it is really big and just super nice! Then off the bed! The next day off to work.. it has been really hard because honestly I don't understand anything... but I am able to feel the spirit! The first person we talked with her name is Melani she wants to be baptized but her mom won't let her right now which is so super sad! She is great though, she loves the gospel and wants to learn more about it everyday! That night when we where walking home a man man called at us and called us hermanas so we knew that he was lds.   He was the bishop! He is such a nice person really one of the nicest people that I know! The next day we had a meeting with him in the morning about an activity that they had the next day! It was good! That day we talked with a boy named Jesus he is super great but hard to get a hold of because I don't understand him at all! He was baptized like 3 weeks ago but still hasn't been confirmed because he doesn't think that he needs it because he is ¨clean¨ now.. but I think that he will be next week! We are able to talk to a ton of people! The people here are really ready for the gospel! Our mission pres. says that most all missionaries get one baptism a week... crazy! And most make that goal! It really is crazy! The activity was really good that just explained what we do in the church! There was like 8 people that came that weren't members! Which is really good! Yesterday was really good to be able to go to church and partake of the sacrament! It was the primary program so it was really fun! yesterday we taught a family that I just had this feeling to go to this house it is crazy what the spirit will tell you! And they are so ready for the gospel the lesson was great the spirit was so strong! Really! And I talked to her about how pray is such a huge part of my life and that I love praying in Spanish because I know that even if I mess up God knows what I mean! She asked me how long I had been learning Spanish and she was shocked that I only had 6 weeks.. Which is super great but at the same time I am super upset because I just want to talk and I never understand so I don't know what I say! But the spirit is so amazing really it is great! It is so different here, I never realized that it was a blessing to have even a pair of shoes.. really I have been humbled so much! We are so blessed to live where we do and to have the gospel in our lives! Really... I can't tell you how lucky we all are! It is just so different here and I will never take anything for granted again! Thank you for the support the work is great but man is it hard... I am so happy to be here even though it has been hard I know that this is where I need to be! Thank you for the prayers and support.  I feel them everyday! love you all so much and I will talk to you soon! The church is true and God is always there for you whenever you need him!!  

MTC Week 5

I AM GOING TO ARGENTINA!!!!!!!!!  I GOT MY VISA!!! I am so so so so so so excited!! And so so nervous!! We leave Monday morning at 6:00 our flight is at 11:00 to Atlanta GA! Flight number 1912! We get there 4:45 I am thinking that that is GA time but I don't know for sure! And then our flight for Argentina leaves at 7:51 and we get to Argentina at 7:55 a.m.! Flight number 101 both on delta! It is going to be such a long day and then we have to get to Salta because we fly into Buenos Aires! I still can't believe that I am going straight to Argentina but I am so excited! We don't know how we are getting to Salta all we know is that we are going to the MTC and that is where they will pick us up! Might be a bus might be a plane might be a train we have no idea! But I am so pumped! This week has been good it has just been normal! Teaching is so much fun now because I can talk so I can actually but input into the lesson! I don't know a lot of Spanish but it is for sure coming! It is so great! I am pretty sure that I only have a travelers visa which means I will have to leave the country every six months! But hey another adventure! And I am so excited! There is about 8 of us that are headed to Salta but about 50 of us going to Argentina! A plane full of missionaries! Yesterday L Tom Perry came and talked with us it was super good and it was so much fun to be with a prophet of God! He talked about the importance of always being with our companions! It was super good! Last night after the devotional week and a devo review with our branch president and it was so good! He talked about how we can all do a lot more then we think that we can! Honestly we are children of God! Our heavenly father is a God and he can do anything and we can do anything with his help! Everyone keeps asking for more info about my district so I will talk a little bit about them! We have 4 elders and 4 hermanas! It is so much fun we all get along really well and have the best time! Elder Delgato is from Cali! He played volleyball in high school which is so much fun! Elder Holmes and Elder Correy are both from Utah! And they are super funny really they make me laugh so hard! They call everyone perro susio haha which means dirty dog! Haha just our really funny joke! My comp Hermana Hanks is from Bountiful Hermana Rallison is from Arizona and Hermana Stuaffer is from Sandy! They are all so much fun! Our district can have so much fun but then we can all be so spiritual at the same time! Really we are so close! I am so grateful for all of them because we really have become a little family! Just all cute brothers and sisters! We always play volleyball during gym and we have a ton of good volleyball players so really it is like the best think of my life! Haha I love volleyball way too much! Haha I almost forgot one of the elders, Elder Anderson is from Idaho Falls he is super nice! Haha a big nerd but great! We have two teachers they are both great teachers one is better then the other but they both have such a great view of the gospel I love it so much! I am so grateful for all of the learning that I have gained here! Really it is crazy how much I have learned about the gospel and about myself! Both of our teachers are an investigator for us! Their "names" are Rolando and Daniel.  Rolando doesn't believe in God but we have gotten him to pray and he says that he really feels the love of God while he prays! And Daniel has had a hard life recently his family has moved out so he lives alone but he is committed to baptism! We are the only companionship that has gotten though to him everyone else has been dropped so it is a really good feeling!  I really can't believe that I will be leaving Utah for 17 months in 5 days! It is so crazy but I really can't wait to get out and serve and teach! Really it is the coolest thing ever! Thank you all for the prayers I feel them everyday! You are all so amazing! Find the missionaries and help them! You don't realize how much the members help the work! Love you all so much!! Talk to you when I am in Argentina!!!:)

 My zone!!

 For veterans day we dressed up in red white and blue! 

 My favorite teacher Hermano Fonda! 

Hermana Ricks in my zone! My family - She is related to Thomas E Ricks!


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Not a part of Courtney's email, but once she jetted off to Argentina this week we got this fun surprise picture! The person sitting next to her on the airplane text it to us! It was a fun surprise to see her and know that she was on her way! :)

MTC Week 4

Wow I cant believe that I am here again already! I feel like I was just sitting at this computer! The weeks have gone by so fast! It is really hard to know what to write about in these letters from the MTC because my weeks are always the same... Literally always! But it is great to have a pattern! This week has been a week filled with a lot of crazy things! So many fun laughs and a lot and feeling the spirit! It is so great! I love being here! Last Wednesday at like 10:00 o-clock our toilet in our room decided to over flow... it was terrible!  I was writing in my journal and all of the sudden Hermana Hanks is in the room trying to plunge the toilet! It was so funny! And the guy didn't come until like 11:30 that night.. which isn't that late but for us missionaries we never get a lot of sleep and so we love going to bed right at 10:30!!  And it is still broken so we don't have a toilet that works in our room.. it is so much fun... the next day I woke up and felt terrible and so I went back to bed.. I didn't wake up until 1:30, I don't know if I was really sick or if I was just exhausted! Really it was crazy my companion was in shock! This last Sunday was fast Sunday and so we have mission conference! We were all sitting the a chapel waiting for the broadcast to stat because we are at west campus so we don't always get to watch them on campus.. but it wasn't working so we started singing hymns and we sang for about 45 minutes! When they then told us that it wasn't going to work and we had to go watch it in the lunch room where it was working! Haha so we had mission conference in the lunch room! Mom that is so cool that you guys got to hear from Elder Zwick and L Tom Perry! I bet that it was so cool! Don't worry that last night for Tuesday night devotional Elder Zwick came and talked to us! and he told us that we get to have L Tom Perry next week! That is kinda crazy! There must be something from them that our whole family needed to learn! Elder Zwick talked about how the spirit can not only be a spiritual tool but also a psychical tool and strength in our lives! He told us that if we always follow the what our priesthood leaders are telling us, always follow the commandments, and act and listen to what the spirit is telling us that we will always be protected!! It was really great! It has stuck with me so much!   

           We have two teachers in the MTC one is Hermano Zuzunaga and Hermano Fonda they are both great! But so different! Hermano Fonda has really changed my life he always guided by the spirit, he always tells me just what I need! It is such a great feeling! I love being here! It is so hard but so worth it! I can't believe that I will be leaving.. and going to Argentina! Thank you all so much for the support! It is so nice to have such a great group at home cheering me one! Mom and Dad at the funeral for Grandma Hansen please let everyone know how much I love them! It is really hard to think that she is gone.. but i know where she is I get to teach people about it everyday! I know that she is with grandma and grandma griffiths and grandpa elmer again and that she is happy! I also know that she is right next to me! I know she is watching over me! I am so blessed to have some many people on the other side watching over me also! They can help me in so many ways! Thanks for the support and love! I love you all so much! You are amazing! Support the missionaries in your ward! You don't realize how great it is to have members in the work! Thanks again! talk to you soon! 

Love Hermana Griffiths! 

MTC Week 3

Wow really the weeks go by so fast here! I have had a great week! It has been filled with so many wonderful moments! This week we taught one of our investigators and out of no where I just started talking in Spanish I was able to talk with him and he was able to understand me! It was the best feeling in the world! It is amazing what I can understand in only three weeks! I understand most everything that is said to me, I am still having a harder time talking but when the Lord needs me to talk I am able to talk! It was an amazing feeling to feel the spirit being worked though me! To be able to tell the investigator that God loves him and he will answer all of the prays that he has! Last night we had one of the coolest devotionals ever! It was so good Elder Carlos Godoy from the seventy came and talked to us and told use the story of when he joined the church! It was so good! He talked about how the sister missionaries that converted him are angels in his life, and it is crazy to think that I will be that in someones life! I love being here the spirit is so strong really it is an amazing feeling even when we are just walking around campus we know that everyone has the same standards and that everyone is working towards the same goal! Inviting others to come unto to Christ! It is so weird to think that I am in Provo because I feel like I am in another world! One of the new Hermanas in my zone and I have been getting along so well! It is actually really weird because we are like the same person! Haha I love her so much I am so glad that I have her to turn to because I can tell her anything! Her name is Hermana Condé! She is great! There is so many fun times that have happened in the mtc! It is crazy to think that I just started my 4th week! Seriously it is crazy! I am so happy to be out here serving the lord it is the best thing that I have ever chosen to do because I have learned so much about myself! Really to be able to find my weaknesses but to turn them into my strengthens is an amazing feeling! There is a new sister in out zone her name is Hermana Ricks!! We are related! Thomas e RIcks is like her 4th great grandpa! Haha so it is great to have family here! I thought that you would like that grandpa! I love being here! I love the work! There is a reason that it is called missionary work though it is the hardest most rewarding thing that I have ever done! I love you all so much I know that this church is true! I am so greatful for it in my life everyday! Thank you so much for all of the love and support! Miss you all but I am doing great! love you so much! thanks for everything!! 

MTC Week 2

Well this week has been so crazy! All we ever do is sit and learn and then eat! seriously haha it is so bad! Good thing the food isn't to good or else I would be in trouble! I cant believe that another week has gone by! literally it is crazy to think I have been here for two weeks it feels like I just got here! Last week we taught an investigator about 5 times it was really cool! In the last lesson I asked if he wanted to be baptized! in Spanish! it was really cool he said yes! it was such a great feeling even if he isn't a real investigator the spirit is still so strong in our meetings and is really helping me to learn! Then the next day our investigator walks into to class and he is now our teacher! My whole zone was in shock! but it is really nice because he really know how to help us because he saw the "real us!" that night he did some one on one coaching with us and we talked in English... which doesnt sound like that big of a deal but we get in trouble if we talk to our teacher in English anyways! haha when we were talking he gave me the weirdest look and i asked him what he was thinking and he told me that because i never talked in the lesson that he thought i just didn't talk like ever... which you all know is not true! haha it was so funny! really he looked at me and told me i was a completely  different person! i just laughed and told him i always have something to say i just cant ever think of it in Spanish! The days here go by so slow! but the weeks fly by. it doesn't really make much sense but it does in the mind of all missionaries! we wake up everyday at 6:30 and we don't get home until 9:30! it is crazy we have two three hour classes a day and them about 3 more hours of either personal or language study! Gym time is my favorite time! and we always play sand volleyball! it is such a great way for me to just let go! Eric i haven't taken my companion out though hehehe! jkjk Last Thursday i had a really cool experience! haha and of course it started with me having a complete come apart! really Eric, Kylie, and kate it was worse then the one week in church! it was bad i said something in english to my teacher i dont even remember what it was and he asked me to say in in spanish which of course i didn't know how to say it so i just said No Say. with means i dont know in spanish haha i say it all the time.. anyways and he wouldnt let the class move on until i said it so i had to look it up and i just felt like everyone was waiting for me to say it and i couldnt figure out how to do it. anyways i figured our how to say it and then went on in class. I had started tearing up but i was holding it in and then all of the sudden my book of Mormon fell off my desk and all of notes and bookmarks fell our and when everywhere and i just lost it! the other teacher that was in the class with us took me into the other room and asked me why i was so upset and i told him that i had just learned that a family friend had pasted and that i having a really hard time with language and i just lost it i cried for like 45 minutes... it was terrible! my mustache started growing.. that is a joke for you kylie sorry for the rest of you that wont understand that! anyways... he then talked to me about his mission and what helped him and asked me to offer a prayer for comfort and to be able to learn the language. it was amazing really after it i have never felt so calm in my life. I instantly stopped crying and was able to just talk with him and it was amazing! honestly the MTC is just such a roller coaster of emotions but it is amazing the learning that has come from all of it! i have learned so much about myself and I wouldnt change this for the world! It is amazing what the lord does for his missionaries seriously i have been blessed in so many ways! I am so glad for the opportunity to serve the lord! really i am so blessed to be able to be a tool in his hands as he prepares for people to learn the gospel! I feel his love in my life everyday! I am so thankful for the wonderful opportunity that i have been given and i am so blessed! Thank you all so much for the support i feel your love in my life everyday it is so weird to not see you all. i just think that you are coming to walk into the classroom one of these days! it is a weird feeling! Kylie tell your mom that i started crying the other day because one of our branch presidents wife wears the same perfume as her and it made me think of her! I love this work so much i have never been pushed so hard but i have never learned so much! i Have learned that Christ is always with us he is on our right and on our left! I have learned how blessed i am to have such amazing parents literally the best parents anyone could ask for! Mom and Dad thank you so much for the support that you give me you are amazing and Dani, Niki and i are so blessed to call such amazing people our parents! Dani and Niki please give Dexter Tag and Ezra a huge hug today from there aunt courtney and let them know how much i love them! Thanks again for all of the prayers and i will talk to you all in a week! l love you all so much and pray for you everyday! 

 Our first Sunday.

 The sisters in my zone! The one in the pink is Sister Shauffer, green is Sister Rallison (also serving in Salta) Then the one right next to me is Sister Hanks my comp.  

My 2 favorite Elders from the zone that just left. Elder Jeffs Gray - Elder Smith.