Aug 28

Hello, family!!

I have been missing you so much this week. I think it's because Sister Aquino is going home so soon, and we've been talking a lot about her family. I love you all so much, I feel like my heart is going to burst!!

I don't have a ton of time, so here we go!

Monday: The eclipse was fun. We had about 96% coverage, so it was really fun. Sister Aquino and I went to a members house and watched with them and some of their kids and grand kids. It was awesome! But when it was covered, it got so cold that we had to get blankets! It was really funny.

Tuesday: Sister Aquino had MLC in Boise, so I spent the day with Hermana Pulido in the Burley area! It was super fun to go around with her and make visits even though I don't speak any Spanish. When we'd first meet someone, I could tell when they were asking Hermana Pulido if I could speak Spanish. It was a fulfilling day!

Wednesday: Really full day. We were out walking, and a mail woman came over and stopped right next to us and talked with us for a bit. Her name was Suie, and she told us "I know this sounds stupid, but I'm divorced and I can't have the Elders over, so will you take these $15 and use them to buy lunch?" She was literally so cute!

Thursday: Weekly planning! Then we have the Heyburn first ward party, which was so fun. A ton of the people we invited came. Our investigators Denise and Destiny really enjoyed themselves, and we ended up playing volleyball at the end of the night. So much fun!

Friday: District meeting and exchanges! I was with Sister Gainer in the Rupert area, and it was awesome to meet the people here. And I love Sister Gainer so much. She's from Ohio, and she came out with my first companion Sister Ely!

Saturday: We exchanged back midday, and Sister Aquino and I tried some part member families in Heyburn. On the second one, we got lost. We literally couldn't find the street. Insane!

Sunday: All of our ward councils were in the morning (so busy!). We stayed for the Heyburn 1st ward block in hopes that our investigator Denise would make it, but she didn't come :( We visited her later that evening and found out that she woke up with a really bad headache. We talked to her about the adversary working really hard on her right before baptism because this is such an important step in her eternal progression.

So that was this week (for the most part)! I love Heyburn and I love love love Sister Aquino! She is very honest, and she's such an effective missionary. I feel so blessed to have her as my companion!
I hope you all have a wonderful week! I'll attach some pictures that I did (not) take!

I love you all with my entire heart! <3
Sister Carlson

Aug 21

Hello, everyone!

This has been a crazy week because of TRANSFERS! I am now serving in Heyburn, which is super tiny and way out in the country. I'll tell you more after I talk about my last days in Meridian.

So Meridian was such an amazing place. I am so grateful to have served there. Working with the Green Valley, Locust Grove, and YSA 4th wards was such a blessing and such a wonderful experience. On Tuesday, Sister Ely and I had the opportunity to go to the temple with Sister Rauchman to do baptisms for the dead. I've talked about her before, but she's a reactivated member who is in her seventies. She is one of the spunkiest ladies that I've ever met, and I love her so much. Going to the temple with her on Tuesday and seeing her be baptized was such a great experience. When was asked how she felt which waiting to do confirmations, she said "sleepy" which is such a classic Sister Rauchman response, but she texted us later and said that she felt so peaceful and wonderful for that day. Such a blessing.

We got transfer calls on Tuesday night, and when we read that Sister Ely was staying in Meridian and I was being transferred after just one transfer, we were literally both screaming. The newbie never gets transferred after just six weeks! But I was really excited to come out to Heyburn. Because I was leaving I look a lot of pictures of the Meridian scenery and we took a few pictures together. In some of them, we are doing #FierceSpock . Good times :)


My new companion's name is Sister Aquino. She is from Manila, Philippines, and she is leaving this upcoming transfer (so sad!!). I was told by LITERALLY everyone that I was the luckiest sister in the mission to be companions with Sister Aquino, and that she was the best missionary out here. And they're right! I got here on Thursday, and we have been work work working! She is so completely dedicated to the work, and she works diligently to be effective and exactly obedient. I love her so much and feel so blessed that I have the opportunity to work with her for her last transfer. She leaves in three weeks (because she came out early, in the middle of a transfer), so I am going to work hard to learn everything that I possibly can from her. As Sister Aquino says: "I am so pump up right now!" (And I apologize for not having any pictures with her - I'll be better about taking more pictures with her this week).

Also, here is the first experience I had in Heyburn: We are teaching this boy named Mason. His grandma and mom and members, but they are less active. Mason is at baptizing age, so we are teaching him the lessons. Sister Aquino and I are sitting on the couch that is facing the window, and across from their house is a huge field with the irrigation pipes. Total farm land. As we are going through the lesson, I look out the window and a huge semi truck loaded with hay passes by. It was the most surreal experience - I just kept thinking "wow, this is the polar opposite of Meridian." It was so funny! But I am so glad to be here in Heyburn. The people are so humble and ready to work hard, and Sister Aquino and I have a lot of work to do here!!

That's just about all I have time for! Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers. I am praying for every single one of you too!!

Have a wonderful week :)
Sister Carlson

8-14

Hello, everyone!!

This has been quite the week - and the craziest weekend. 

We have a new investigator, who I talked about last week. We met with Sister Maisey on Tuesday, just to get to know her better and see where we should focus in our lessons. Then we had our first actual lesson on Friday, which was very exciting! I felt a little shaky as I taught, but we had the bishop there with us (because he's their home teacher), and it was good. The awesome stuff with her happened on Saturday. There was a baptism at the stake center, and we invited her to attend and she accepted. She was so excited to be there, and I think she really felt the spirit as we were there. The missionaries who taught the family who was baptized taught the restoration as they were changing, and it was great to go over that again since we had just taught it the night before. The we had our open house that night, and she came and took a tour of our church building. She asked a lot of questions and it was a really wonderful experience. Sister Ely and I have another meeting with her tonight, and we are so excited. It has been such a blessing to get to know her and teach her.

As I said, we had an open house on Saturday. It went pretty well, but our turn out wasn't fantastic. There were a few investigators that came and Sister Maisey was there, so I think it was all worth it even if just those few people were effected. 

In the morning on Saturday, Sister Ely and I had the opportunity to help out with an Eagle Scout project with someone in our Green Valley ward. It was a free yard sale - people donated clothes, toys, decor, cribs, table sets, and all sorts of things - and people just came and took what they needed. Everyone was invited at 9 am, but families in the ward who were in need could get a pass from the bishop and came earlier so they could get what they needed. It was such a wonderful idea, and Sister Ely and I got to greet people and even give out a family history and gospel of Jesus Christ pamphlet. It was wonderful!

Then on Sunday, we taught the follow up lessons with a recently baptized youth and his family. We went over with our ward mission leader, and the lesson was really cohesive and well balanced, and I think the family got a lot out of it. It was an awesome experience to get to participate in that.

Transfers are this week! We find out where we're going tomorrow, and the actual transfers are on Thursday. We have 30 new missionaries coming in and only 17 leaving. It's going to be fun to see where everyone's going - I have a hunch that I'll be staying in this area. We'll see!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support! I pray for every one of you every day, and I love you all SO much!! <333

Have a great week!

Sister Carlson

A month in the field!

Hello, everyone!

This week has been crazy, but I think I'll only get to a few things because I'm super crunched for time. Friday was my month mark in the field! Woohoo, I'm so old now :)

After I hurt my ankle - elevate and ice!

We also had exchanges this week which was wonderful. Sister Rees (our Sister Training Leader) came to our area and I stayed here. I was "in charge" which was a little scary, but we only got lost like twice. I'm counting it as a win.

On Friday, we had Zone Conference which was so amazing. The lessons and the training were so inspired, and I felt so blessed to be able to be there. One of the things that was talked about was being brave like a dragon. We were talking about the first few chapters of Alma, and it says that the people fought like dragons for their wives, children, lands, etc. So that is my goal for this upcoming week - fight like a dragon. I'm going to work hard to talk with everyone and be very forward and unapologetic when I share the gospel because I've been very timid so far. I'm excited! Also at zone conference, I met Elder DeSimone!! Please tell the Condies, because I was so excited. He was so funny, I told him I knew the Condies, that they were in our home ward, and he thought I was playing. It was so fun to get to meet him!

We also have an investigator - all through the efforts of our ward. Her husband is a member, and she hasn't joined for years. Her visiting teachers have been really diligent, and she asked the bishop on Saturday if she could be baptized. THAT'S the power of member missionary work!

That's just about all I have time for! I love you all so much, and I'm praying for you always. 

Love you all so much!! <333333333333

Sister Carlson

P-Day at Chick-Fil-A

What happened to my ankle?

Hello, everyone!

Heads up, this is going to be really short.

I sprained me ankle last Monday. Oops! During our district activity, an Elder and I ran into each other and I fell over and apparently sprained it. It felt totally fine right after, but as the night went on, it was hurting so much! I'm glad it was Preparation Day because we had to stay in that night so I could ice and elevate it. We went to the clinic the next day and did some x-rays. Nothing was broken, but they gave me an air cast so I could walk around without a ton of pain. It's healing up nicely!

Sister Ely and I had a wonderful experience this week. We've been struggling with finding people to teach, and I was becoming a bit discouraged. Mama sent me the story of Alma and challenged us to fast, pray, enter in through a different way, and be immediate in that course of action. We fasted on Thursday and had been thinking about it at the beginning of the week, and our answer was service. We're going to be using the just serve app and getting out members, less-actives, and anyone else we get into contact with to get out into the community and serve. In some cases, we're hoping to join them, but Sister Ely and I both felt very strongly about this answer. We'll be taking this into effect this week, so I'll tell you how it goes!

Thank you so much for your constant love and support.

I love you love you love you all!! <3

Sister Carlson