PLEASE SEND BUBBLE WRAP!

HELLO MY FRIENDS! How are you all doing?? I love and miss you all. I pray for you every day.

Well...I've officially been a missionary for ONE MONTH! I'm so humbled and honored to be here. Time sure does fly when you're having fun :)

The Work:

• BY FAR one of my favorite parts of this week happened last p-day. Õde Austin and I wanted to play in the snow, but the snow was too powdery to build a snowman. So we decided to write a message in the snow instead! We wrote, "Trust in Him, Proverbs 3:5-6" SUPER HUGE in the snow. Well, little did we know how much attention that little message would get! As we were writing it, missionaries started gathering in the windows watching us, and we kept waving and having the time of our lives hahaha. Afterward, some people even recognized us on the MTC campus -"Hey, you're those sisters that wrote in the snow!" AND THEN we heard that many missionaries had been taking pictures of it and sending it home, so apparently it has gone semi-viral on Facebook!!?? I told Õde Austin that if there is one thing I'd like to help make viral, it is that message. So I'm so glad we had the chance to be a part of that. 

• For today's p-day, we wrote, "Declare his word, D&C 42:6-9" above the "Trust in Him" message! WE LOVE THIS GOSPEL AND WANT ALL TO KNOW ABOUT IT!

• On Monday, Õde Austin and I did an English fast. That means we talked to each other only in Estonian! It was AWESOME! Ma armastan eesti keel NII PALJU. 

• BYU Men's Chorus came on Sunday for our devotional!! It was so fun to see many of my friends in the choir (special shoutout to Nik, Bryant, David, Jarom, Matt, and Johnny). Some of them saw me in the audience and waved!!

• I also had the wonderful opportunity to see my dear brother and cousin this week! They both work here :) LOVE YOU GUYS.

• Our two investigators are doing well! Õde Austin and I love to sing in our lessons, and we had the opportunity to sing "I Am a Child of God" (in Estonian) to both of our investigators at different times this week. I know that hymns sung in a proper spirit are prayers unto God. I love singing the Lord's hymns every day.

• ALSO this week, Estonia celebrated its 100th anniversary of being recognized as a country!! MA ARMASTAN EESTIT!!!

The Funnies:

• Some of you may be confused by the title of this week's blog...well, the sisters in our room pop bubble wrap as a therapeutic exercise everyone once in a while (not kidding). After a particularly busy day this week, we were all a little tired and delirious, so naturally, we stood around in a circle, each took some bubble wrap, and just went at it. Since the popping sounded like firecrackers were going off, we kept saying things out loud like, "So pretty!" "That was so bright!" "Oh no, is the bed on fire?" "STOP DROP AND ROLL!" Hahahaha the other rooms must have been SO CONFUSED. Hahahah it may not seem that funny, but let me tell ya...4 sister missionaries at 10 pm with bubble wrap is a dangerous combination. ;) 

• I wanted to say, "mulle meeldib sinu kleit" (I like your skirt) in a role play, but instead i said, "mulle meeldib sinu keelt!!" (i like your tongue) hahah classic. 

• WE MADE A SNOWMAN TODAY! When Õde Austin asked, "What should we name him?" I said, "Hea küsimus." So, his name is Hea Küsimus ;) (Look up that phrase in Eesti keel if you're interested ;) )

• *Day after P day* Me (dead serious): "Man, it already feels like p-day was yesterday."

• Elder Hunt threw a blueberry muffin at me, then proceeded to eat his blueberry muffin in one bite. So that happened. 

Spiritual thought:

I thought of a fun exercise I'd love to share with you all! It's something I call the "charity check."  Corinthians 13:4-8 talks about charity. 

I invite you to read it through first the way it is written. Then plug in Christ's name for every time it says "charity." Read it again. The message still rings true, right? He is all of those things because He is our greatest example of charity! 

Now, plug in YOUR name every time it says "charity." Read it again. If you’re imperfect like everyone else on this earth, not every description of charity will still ring true. But some descriptions will, hopefully! 

I invite you all to try this exercise every Sunday. It gives you an opportunity to figure out what you need to work on and what you are doing well. Then you can start the new week determined to work on one or two of the aspects of charity that did not ring true when you plugged your name into the scripture! Once you set that goal each week, pray to Heavenly Father and ask Him sincerely to give you a portion of His charity. We cannot become truly charitable without His help.

I promise that as you seek to work on developing Christlike charity for other people and yourself, things in your life will begin to fall into place. You will see the Lord's hand in your life more easily. You will have the increased faith and ability to love those that are hard to love. 

I love you all! Heavenly Father loves you all! CHRIST loves you all!! He understands you!! 

Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you! I live to serve :)

Trust in the Lord. Choose joy. Find peace.

Õde Smith-Driggs

P.S. My dear sister Olivia finds out this week if she gets into BYU!! My baby is growin' up so fast... Everyone please send a prayer her way!!

"Angels to beckon me . . ."

TERE MU SÕBRAD!!! (Hello my friends!!)

How are you all doing?? I hope you are all doing well :) If there is anything I can ever do for you, please do not hesitate to reach out. I love studying and praying for all of you, so if there's a certain thing you'd like me to study or pray for specifically, PLEASE ASK!

The Work:

• Our first investigator, Mari, dropped us this week. That means she said she didn't want to take lessons from us anymore. That was really hard. AGA ("but"), we have TWO new investigators, so the work goes on!!
• Sunday was one of the best days ever. I gave a talk in Estonian during Sacrament, then Õde Austin and I performed "Be Still My Soul," then we taught the Sunday School lesson, THEN we taught the Relief Society lesson!! SO INCREDIBLE. The Spirit was the teacher in all four of those teaching moments. I felt so reenergized by the end of the meetings. I love the Spirit with all my heart. 
• It was really hard to say goodbye to the wonderful elders from our zone leaving the MTC this week! Good thing we Baltic Mission Sisters will see these Baltic Mission Elders in the field soon!

• A miracle happened this week: So in the MTC, if you are called down to the Information desk, it typically means you have a package OR something terrible has happened back home. I know - the two extremes haha. Well, I got called down to the information desk. The sisters around me gave me wide eyes and remarked, "I hope no one has died." Anyway. I went to the information desk and Stephanie, a woman I had never met before, asked me to come into a back room with her. I was so confused. She sat me down and said, "So, how are you doing?" I was speechless. Had she just called me down to the information desk to see how I was doing?? Well YES, friends! How could she have known that was a hard day for me and I just needed to talk to someone? How could she have known anything about what I was feeling in that moment? Well, she didn't. God did. And I know He told her to "call Sister Eliza Smith-Driggs down to the information desk to simply see how she is doing." God is so aware of us, my friends. 

The Funnies:

• We were teaching a lesson to our new investigator, Piret, and in the lesson, she was trying to make hand gestures in the shape of a boat (we were talking about the prophet Noah). I said, "Hanukkah?" HAHAHAH I thought she was making the sign for the menorah.
• We watched a movie called "The Testaments" as a group of missionaries, and it was SO GOOD. There is a love story in it and all of us missionaries were DYING OF LAUGHTER...hahah who knew a hand touch and a couple kisses could be so scandalous??? 
• The word in Estonian for "bring" is "tooma" and the word for "chair" is "tool." In a lesson, Õde Ausitn said, "The gospel chairs me happiness." HAHAHA classic.
• "Does February end next month??" - The legendary Masa Bruner 
• Õde Austin made snow angels when it snowed here, and by the time we came back to that same spot, her 5 snow angels had turned into like 20!! Who knew missionaries loved making snow angels so much? ;)

Spiritual Thought: 

Elder Holland from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came and spoke to us last night. I wish I could describe in words how mission-changing and LIFE-changing last night was. I am not exaggerating. Every single word he said was impactful. I wish I had time to tell you all about it. 

At the end, we sang, "Nearer My God To Thee." While we sang the line, "angels to beckon me," I literally heard the very angels of heaven singing with us. Õde Austin and I talked about it later, and she heard them singing too - at the very same line in the song. When the song was over and everyone stood as Elder Holland left the building, no one said a word. Even after he left the room, everyone stayed standing for a while, silent. No one moved. No one dared let that moment end. Tears. Chills. We all knew we had just heard the very words of God. 

Afterward, Õde Austin, Õde Christensen, and Õde Bruner and I went out the side door and ended up walking past the door Elder Holland came out of to get in his car. Tears welled in my eyes as we waved him goodbye and he waved back. In that moment, I knew he was an Apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Friends, I wish I could describe in words how much this gospel means to me. I wish even more that I could describe in words how important it is to love and follow Jesus Christ. He is the only way to happiness. Loving God and loving others is THE most important thing you will ever do. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING! 

If you do not have a testimony of this gospel, please start gaining one today. Plead with God to help you. He will. I promise He will. If you don't have enough faith that He will help you, please lean on my faith. 

As Elder Holland said last night, "Have joy in the good days and hard days. Because in the end, they're all good."

Trust in the Lord. Choose joy. Find peace.

Õde Smith-Driggs

Choose Joy!

Another great week in the kingdom!!! I hope you all are doing well! 

To my BYU friends - I hope midterms are going well! I pray for you!

The Work:

• OUR INVESTIGATOR ACCEPTED A BOOK OF MORMON!!!! When we walked out of the room afterward, we were so excited and were jumping up and down and everything hahaha. WOWZA, this is what this work is all about. In the lesson, we had planned on getting only as far as inviting her to pray and asking if God even existed. Then BAM! The Spirit had other plans, and we ended up getting a lot farther than we thought :) This work is the work of the Lord! We are simply His tools!

• One thing we are asked to do every week here at the MTC is to write a sacrament talk in our mission language. We don't know who will actually be GIVING their talks until the branch presidency announces the program at the pulpit. Since our zone has 8 different languages, when missionaries got up to give their talks on Sunday, I couldn't understand what they were saying. But WOWZA, I could feel what they were saying. I had always heard before that the "Spirit is a universal language." I didn't realize how true that statement is until that moment. TO ALL MISSIONARIES LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE RIGHT NOW - It doesn't matter what you say, just testify of Christ with your smile and your eyes. People will understand. :)

• This week I learned a lot about weakness. Our job as missionaries is to invite others to come unto Christ. That involves teaching others who Christ is and what He has done for us. Honestly, I didn't realize how hard it is to teach what you know. D&C 50 teaches, however, that whatever efforts you put into the work, God will magnify. I testify of that. That goes for things other than missionary work. Friends, if you are working on something really intently (whether that be finding a job, studying for midterms, going through medical school, or moving homes), I promise that God will magnify your honest efforts. Bit by bit. (And go study D&C 50 if you'd like a little pick-me-up :) ) 

• Elder Nate Anderson, one of my BEST FRIENDS IN THE WORLD is here in the MTC with me! He leaves next week for Japan! And guess what?? We had the opportunity to sing a duet together, "Where Can I Turn for Peace?" to all the incoming senior missionaries! Holy cow I love the Spirit and senior missionaries and Elder Anderson and singing and the MTC and just everything about life. :) 

Funnies:

• We were playing darts in our room (wholesome missionary entertainment), and when it was my turn, I said a silent prayer in my head that it would hit the bullseye (half kidding). Then, I opened my eyes, said out loud, "I just said a prayer," then threw it. GUESS WHAT. It hit the bullseye :) We were laughing for a straight five minutes. GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS EVERYONE.

• Apparently Õde Austin and I sleep talk in Estonian now???

• "If Scotland is the land of Scotts, then Ireland is the land of the Ires and England is the land of Engs! I love me some Engs!!" - Sister  Bruner HAHAHAHAH I love her. 

• In a role play, Õde Austin invited me to be baptized, and I said YES super enthusiastically. She was so surprised, she choked on her spit and couldn't stop laughing/gasping for 5 minutes HAHAHAHA.

• "I'm watching my diet. So I'm only eating ice cream and bread." - Õde  Austin. She was dead serious. I was dead laughing. 

• Õde Austin and I set a timer for one minute and waved to as many people outside the window as possible. THREE PEOPLE from the sidewalk AND the bus driver waved back!!!! I haven't been that excited about something in a while hahahaha.

Spiritual thought:

I was reading, "Plow in Hope" by Elder Neal. A. Maxwell (go study it, friends!!!), and felt impressed to share this quote with you all: 

"As we on occasion “pour” out our souls in personal pleadings, we are thus emptied, making room for more joy!"

I loved this quote because if you think about it, the times when we "pour out" our souls to God is typically when we are having a really rough time. But it is when we have those rough times that we become closer to our Heavenly Father. Missions are rough. I have already had rough times and I’m only two weeks in! But I have grown closer to my Heavenly Father more in these past 2 weeks than in the rest of my life combined. He is my best friend. During my mission, I can't call family or friends when I am sad or need advice. Instead, I have learned to call my Heavenly Father through earnestly praying to Him. Notice that Elder Maxwell said these personal pleadings make room for more JOY. I testify of that!! I have felt it! That it why I have titled my blog, "Choose Joy!"

Friends, please choose joy every day. It is a choice. Especially after those times of personal pleading (whether that time period be one day or 20 years). He is always with you. He loves you. He wants you to be joyful. If you feel like you can't feel that joy by yourself, pray and ask our Heavenly Father to give you a portion of HIS joy to fill your heart. I know if you ask sincerely, He will bless you with that joy. 

Trust in the Lord. CHOOSE JOY. Find peace. 

Õde Smith-Driggs 

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!

HELLO MY FRIENDS!!!! 

I just want to start by thanking everyone for their generous support and wonderful warm wishes as I've transitioned into missionary life. I LOVE YOU ALL!! I can read emails throughout the week, but I cannot respond until P-day (Wednesdays). And I only have one hour on Wednesdays to respond.

BEING A MISSIONARY IS SO MUCH MORE FUN THAN I EXPECTED. BUT IT IS ALSO SO MUCH HARDER THAN I EXPECTED!!! (more on that later :) )

I am going to set up these weekly emails by first talking about the work, then the funnies, then a spiritual thought :)

The Work: 

Every day in the MTC, we have class (the best), gym time (the best), meal time (the best), and study time (the best). If you can't tell, I really like the MTC lol. My companion's name is Õde Austin. 

I love her so much. We have so much in common, and we both came into the MTC knowing a bit of Eesti keel (Estonian), so we are both progressing together very well! 

The Estonian flag

In our district (11 people), we have Russian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian speakers. 

Õde Austin and I are the only people learning Estonian in the MTC right now, so it's super fun to speak our own secret language around the halls and at meal times lol. 

In our zone, we have Russian, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Armenian, and Georgian speakers.  So there are about 39 missionaries in our zone, and they are a RIOT! We have SO SO much fun together. We laugh ALL THE TIME and just goof around.

They have really helped me learn that we are not expected to lose our sense of humor once we put on this wonderful name tag.

Jesus has a sense of humor, after all!! (Speaking of Jesus Christ, I just love Him so much. Just saying. Anyway.)

Right now, my companion and I are teaching an Estonian investigator. We have only had one lesson so far, but it went well! 40 minutes of stumbling through Estonian!! WOOT WOOT!! Oh yeah and the language is coming along pretty well. It's about as hard as I expected. Which is super hard hahahahaha. BUT WE CAN DO ALL THINGS WITH THE LORD'S HELP, AND THE GIFT OF TONGUES IS SO REAL. I HAVE FELT IT. SO I AM HAVING FAITH. 

The Funnies:

Lol - a lot of the funnies from this week require too much context, so I can't explain it all, but I am going to list out a couple of one liners hahahahah.

1. Elder Hunt (Georgian speaker) at dinner:  "Real question though. How cool would it be to be an owl?" 

I died. We died. 

2. In a get to know you game, we asked a sister if she'd rather eat a dog or cat (don't ask why that was the question lol). She said dog. We all groaned hahahaha. BUT THEN, trying to defend herself, she said, “But I've only killed 2 cats!!" I died. Like on a scale of one to even, I just could NOT (email back if you got that reference ;) ). She proceeded to launch into explanations about why she had killed two cats, and it just made it worse hahahah. It was awful but so funny.

Spiritual thought:

Everyone would tell me before coming here, "Missions are so hard, " but no one would explain why. I think I have finally figured out one reason why missions are so hard. Before putting on this name tag, I was an ordinary person trying my best to love others and do what Christ would do. People had ordinary expectations of me. I tried my best to meet their expectations as well as the expectations and goals I would set for myself. BUT, now as a representative of Jesus Christ (so grateful for the opportunity), and as long as I am wearing this glorious name tag, others' expectations of me and my expectations of myself just got exponentially higher. And that increase in expectations results in growing pains. Stretching pains. And I am in the middle of that. I will be for a while. And that is ok! Christ's life wasn't easy! Why should my mission be? :) But through all of this, I have realized that the only expectations that really matter are GOD'S. 

Friends, we cannot know God's expectations for us if we do not ask Him. I encourage you all to get on your knees tonight and ask God fervently, "What is it you need me to do? What people do I need to help? How can I better be an instrument in thy hands?" I promise that if you ask our dear Heavenly Father those questions, HE WILL ANSWER YOU. You just have to be willing and ready to receive that counsel.

I know with all my heart that Christ has been here with me through it all this week (and throughout my life thus far). I KNOW that only through Christ and His Atonement, I can do all He asks of me. We memorized Philippians 4:13 in Eesti keel (Estonian), and I encourage you all to go read it and memorize it. Put it up on the wall somewhere. Figure out what it means to you.

I love you all. I love this gospel. I love being a missionary. I love the struggle and the joy. I have so so much to learn, and I am grateful for the humbling experience it is every morning to put on the name tag with Christ's name next to my own.

Trust in the Lord. Choose joy. Find peace.

Õde Smith-Driggs
__________________
Note from Sister Smith-Driggs' mom:

I was in Provo today to visit with Abraham at BYU.  Afterwards, I drove him to the MTC for work. We got there a little early and visited briefly across the street in a parking lot.  Just as Abraham was getting out of the car for work, he looked over my shoulder and said, "There's Eliza," and hopped out of the car.  I was so stunned I wasn't sure exactly what he meant.  It was only as I heard him say, "Hi Eliza," and give his sister a hug that I got out of the car and saw my incredible, radiant daughter standing a few feet away from me.  Because I was so surprised and because I didn't want to break any missionary rules, I asked if I was even allowed to talk to her.  She said, "It's OK Mom.  We didn't plan this.  You can hug me!"  I am SO grateful for that unexpected encounter.  Sometimes, God's tender mercies are just what we need. Here is a picture Abraham took of Eliza by the car. She radiated joy!