Czechsplosion!

Holy Moly Canoli..... Travel/flight plans are in and....drum roll......... I will be flying from Salt Lake City Airport to.................DFW Airport.... I am not even pulling your leg right now. This is real life. I am flabberghasted. Out of all the airports...... what???!! But it is also super hard because I am torn whether it is alright to see y'all.....ahhhhhh!!!!!!! I will be able to call you when I am there...we have a 4 hour lay-over. 

 

Holding her flight plans!

 

 

I am torn whether or not to see y'all! I would want to see you, but it isn't so fair that I can see you when my companions can't see their families. Toughy! I will be able to call you there though which I am super grateful for!! 

 

Then we go to London!!! Woop Woop!!! It will be rather dandy. Pip pip cheerio. Then to Praha/Prague!!! Yuuuuu!!!! (supposedly how they say "yay" in Czech?) 

 

This week has been great! I know I prolly sound like a broken record....no. Broken czech-ord! Ha! (Insert Courtney's note: I wonder if she attempts her silly puns with the fellow sisters/elders, and if she does, I hope they appreciate her...because everyone in her family misses her corny-ness).  

 

I am excited for some new terrain to roam on though. I know this place like the back of my hand. I'm getting a bit stir crazy. But only T-Minus 10 days!!!!! Wooooh!! Semi-surreal. I'm getting used to this happily-hectic state. There's something exciting and exhausting about it, wonderful mixture. 

 

So you know how I had asked when Hunter Conley was coming in? (Insert Courtney's note: Hunter is a friend of Dallas', we used to cheer him and Dallas on at the same middle and high school basketball games! The Conley's were in our home ward for years!) Well I have been searching for him since then, to no avail. And even though there are a ton of missionaries here, I would have seen him by now at some-point. 

 

With the sisters before choir practice.

 

 

Anywho, I just decided he was likely at the West Campus (a new addition, used to be BYU housing). Only at the Tuesday devotional at the Marriott Center are we combined with the missionaries from West, so that was my only opportunity to see him. I went to choir practice (with Brother Eggitt, the best Choir director ever!!! He's hysterical.) and scoured the crowd for Elder Conley. Nowhere. It was like the largest most impossible game of Guess Who? or Where's Waldo ever...and quite discouraging.

 

Looks like a suits version of Where's Waldo to me, too, Carley.

 

 

Yes, definitely an intense version of WW.

I just wanted to see him, he kinda symbolized Dallas, and the rest of the family. They gave us 10 minutes after choir for a break so me and Sister J. went to the outside hallway. She was kind enough to go with me :) Love her! We traipsed (sp? prolly wrong) up and down the outside hallways as I made weird, awkward eye contact with everyone with that concentrated glare on my face y'all can prolly imagine. Still nothing, but I did see Aubree S.!! That was great, I had already seen Paisley in the cafeteria but it was great to see her too. 

 

Ran into Sister Aubree S. from our home stake!

 

 

So I thought, eh, guess that's what I was supposed to get. Maybe I already missed him. They had started singing the prelude songs before the devotional started so we were about to walk back in but something (aka the Spirit!) held me back. I asked my companion if we could get some more water. As we were waiting behind a sister for our turn I look up and lo and behold: Elder Hunter Conley is walking towards me! I walked up to him and when he recognized me he was like "Oh my gosh!" and went to hug me, lol. 

 

Sestra Schoen and Elder Conley

 

 

I ducked--no worries (Insert Courtney's note: missionaries aren't allowed to hug members of the opposite sex, regardless of age, situation, etc.) and we appropriately shook hands. Sister J. took our picture, we exchanged congrats and encouragement and had to quickly go in. It was a very small thing, but I KNOW that God answered my prayer to find him. It was like finding a needle in a haystack. That was the only time we would have been able to cross paths. Crazy right? Not by accident, but by answer. I have attached pics of some of the crowd of missionaries so you know what I was dealing with...(also because if I tried to guesstimate it, my head would very well explode.)  (Insert Courtney's note: She never was good at estimating sizes, quantities, time, etc.) The Lord really does answer prayers, even semi-petty ones. He loves all His children and desires our happiness, but in His time. If we learn to rely on Him and trust that he has your best interest at heart then there is no real reason to fear anything. <3

 

Richard G. Hinckley spoke at our devotional and we took the third EVER panoramic picture of the entire MTC. They broadcast the devotional to all the MTCs in the world (Insert Courtney's note: there are currently 15 operating Missionary Training Centers world-wide: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, England, Ghana, Guatemala, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Utah/USA). Awesome how the work is progressing and broadening!!

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That was it for this week's mass letter! (She also wrote individual e-mails to everyone in our family, I'll include a few tidbits)
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Ahoj Family!!
Okay, firstly, I mega apologize for not getting your letters out on Friday, I added things to them after I got dearelders from you that night then wasn't able to send them due to this whole "exact obedience" thing. (Insert Courtney's note: Missionaries are only allowed to write and send mail on their designated P-days/Preparation Days, Carley is following the rules to the exact degree in an effort to receive clearer inspiration from the Lord) I am trying to set a good example for the other sisters. But I should have mailed them earlier, I am so sorry! :(

Courtney, I did get the photobook and package! HOLY COW, your class is so darling! (Insert Courtney's note: Sister Anderson and I are team teachers, and she taught last Sunday about missionary work. She had all the kids color a picture for Carley to send in a package and we took a pic of all our 4-year-olds holding their "future missionary" fake name tags). Cam, hope all is going well with work and Young Men's!

Hey Dad, thankyou for the letter :) I miss our banter ever-so-much. But finally I have claimed the title of the Pun-isher here... (that title I made up, its more just understood haa). I pull a good one out here and there and feel closer to you when I do (so it may be a bit over-excessive quite honestly). I love you!! Thank you for the encouragement and letters! Don't learn Czech before I do kay? haha jk...but really. :) (Insert Courtney's note: Dad uses Google translate to copy and paste sentences into his letters, so Carley thinks he is learning Czech. haha)

Mommy, How is Dina's? (Insert Courtney's note: Carley used to work with my mom and her faux finish business, Go Faux It!. This week, mom and her fellow teammate went to AZ to faux the home of a friend who Carley, and all our family, just loves!) Sister F. (Dina's daughter) wrote me back, love that we can communicate still while we are out. Tell her mom, I say hi!! And I miss her too! Mom, I hope you can feel how much I miss you. What's it? Distance makes the heart grow fonder?

 

Dal, so I talk to a lot of the Brazilian missionaries here in the lunchroom and around the campus (some from your mission, hope you don't mind I took the liberty of letting them know you would be there...they will be expecting you :) But many of them are getting reassignments which is super exciting for them to open up another mission call, the visas are just taking longer to process because of the large number. I am so proud of you for jumping on the language, atta boy!! Learn to memorize things in English before you do it in Portuguese, it will help a ton. Also, learn how to ask questions, this is super important because I've learned that the Spirit speaks better to others when they have to process and actively think of why it would be important, etc. then be able to bear simple, sincere testimony of how it as helped you and why it is important to you. The more technical stuff will come later. "God is our Heavenly Father" is the go-to line. Use it. And know it is true, pray to God to feel that confirmation that He is your loving Heavenly Father. I'm sorry your other job didn't work out (Insert Courtney's note: Dallas was hired to work for a company, then they replaced him because he couldn't report to work soon enough). I'm sure there is a purpose, and the time before your mission always has little road-blocks (some of mine were literally ROAD-blocks :P) but all is for a purpose, come to the MTC humbled and willing to learn anything and everything. Don't stress to be fluent in the language. Just do your best. Did you ever find my ipod? I can't remember where I put it, coulda sworn somewhere easily found...guess not! Make sure to cram in as much classic rock as you can, it will be hard not having those classics' lyrics to sing in your head (they have good lyrics!) I try to sing hymns and Disney mostly but...when youre working out, ya need a little umph, ya know. Especially Renegade by the Styx. You'll love it.

 

Cassadia, You know I love you right??? I think about you soooo much here and your sweetness. Make sure to play some fun games with Court and Cam! Especially Scrabble (they will let you win like they did me;) I have been working on Individual Worth too (personal progress), I think we can finish it by this month. I am mailing you some amazing attributes I have seen in you, but getting it out a little here too, you are sooo genuine, youthful, hopeful, uplifting, compassionate, energetic, understanding, sensitive yet strong, and beaaautiful. I didn't tell you that often enough. And talented and courageous!! I am so amazed by your initiative to volunteer for things in front of large groups, solo, without fear. That is something that is very hard for me and I look up to you for that! I love and miss your face (funny faces included;)) (Insert Courtney's note here: Cassidy and Carley shared a bathroom for the last 6 years, they would make funny faces in the mirror at each other as they prepared for bed)

Okay, that's it for her e-mails this week! We love and miss her!