We got our first email from Elder Smith yesterday :)  We were all very excited!  He is doing great!  His companion is Elder Crossley from Roy, Utah.  He is going to Chile, in fact there are 11 Elders in Josh's district (turns out saying Elder Smith every time is just too long!) 7 of them are going to Chile, the other 4 are off to El Salvador.  Josh really likes his companion who is a big help with Spanish.  He said it is really neat learning a language and they are teaching someone who doesn't speak English so he is learning quickly.  The language teacher served a mission in Argentina and they are only allowed to speak in Spanish during class which takes up a large portion of the day.
Elder Nelson gave a devotional at MTC on Tuesday which was a great experience.  Fun fact...... One of Josh's roommates is named Elder Barlow who is related to Israel Barlow and turns out to be a very distant relative to our family because Mikes Dad is also related to Israel Barlow.  Cool huh!
the sad news is David Archuleta left the MTC the day before Josh got there, dang it!!!!  :)  I'm sure I will recover from this!  Ending on a good note, Josh sees Chanelle Solorio a lot :)  strange isn't it that two kids from a small town in Newburgh, Indiana end up in the MTC at the same time.  Even stranger is that out of 2000 missionaries they see each other everyday.  Well that is all the news from us today.  Very excited that Elder Smith is so happy!


 

Elder Smith at Evansville airport April 16th 2012, heading to Utah and the MTC.

INTRODUCING ELDER SMITH:

Josh was set apart as a full time missionary on April 15th by President Stanfill.  We went to the Stanfills' home.  Mike and Gwen Olivas came.  Jan Stanfill and her son Mike also shared the memories with us :)  President Stanfill gave Josh a lovely blessing with many promises of which were very comforting.  Mike Olivas and Dad participated with the blessing.  Grandpa and Grandma were on the phone! :)  It's amazing the feeling that filled the room and the special spirit we saw in Josh.  He looked so handsome :) A great night for all of us.  What a wonderful experience for the girls seeing their older brother set such a good example.  Doesn't he look like a missionary!!!!

April 7th, 2012 Josh went through the Bountiful Temple.  He is hidden in the back of the family picture.  It was a lovely day and even though snow was on the ground the sun was shining and it was beautiful.  Josh shared his day with Grandma & Grandpa, Lisa & Troy, Ryan & Torri, Krissie & Justin, Justin, Tori, Cody & Brandi, Bryant Smith and of course Mum & Dad!  Nanny was there in spirit! Thanks everyone for your support and your love.  You all helped make it a very special day for Josh.

Josh left for Utah on Monday April 16th 2012.  He spent his last couple of days as a 'free man' with his Utah family! :)  Grandma and Grandpa took him to the Provo MTC on April 18th.  They said everything went really well.  We spoke to Josh while he was traveling to Provo and he said he wasn't really nervous but very excited.  Grandma said he looked relaxed and happy when he entered the MTC.  We are so excited for Josh and we can't wait to hear all about his first companion and his first experiences as a full time missionary.  Hopefully Josh's companion likes soccer!!  I suppose we should start calling Josh Elder Smith :)  That has a lovely ring to it!  We will try and remember that from here on out.  We have pictures of Elder Smith's departure, setting apart as a missionary and of his first experience going to the temple.  These will be posted shortly.  We are thrilled that Josh has decided to serve a mission and we know he will do a great job serving the people of El Salvador and Belize.  Heavenly Father has already blessed our family so much and for this we are truly grateful!  Go get um Josh ( whoops! We mean Elder Smith).

Farewell Indiana