September 25, 2017

Hi, everyone!

My goodness has it been a hard week! It's been good for growing and learning personally, but the area hasn't progressed a ton since being in a trio. I guess that's just what happens in trios!

But I do love Sister Holland and Sister Gainer. They are both wonderful people, and they're very very different. It's been great to work with each other and learn empathy, patience, and flexibility.

I feel so blessed to be on a mission. I think about how much the Lord trusts us, his imperfect children, to do this work. "After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the gospel." -Joseph Smith. We have the responsibility to bring our brothers and sisters unto Christ. It's our job to invite them to repent and to lead them to the straight and narrow path. Heavenly Father could do this all Himself - He is all powerful. But he allows us to. He gives us the opportunity to preach the gospel. He knows that we will benefit from this, and He gives us that chance to grow and change (sometimes at the risk of other souls). I am truly humbled by this thought, and I am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who gives us these opportunities. He wants us to progress and feel joy. I have a firm testimony of this. I know Heavenly Father loves me and all of you. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

On a side note, there was a baptism in the sister's area, we hit a bird with our car, and General Women's Conference (especially Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk) was the highlight of my week.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!
Sister Carlson

P.S. - Mom, could you please start sending out warm clothes? It's been really cold, and I don't have anything lol. Cardigans, light coats, and my kitty hat would be appreciated :)

September 18, 2017

Hello, everyone!

This week has been crazy, crazy, crazy! It has been so fun and rewarding, a little sad, and all busy.

Sister Aquino left this week. It was really hard to say goodbye, but whenever I want to be sad about it, I can't because I'm so excited for her! She left on Thursday, the day of zone conference. When zone conference was winding down and the presidency and departing missionaries were baring their testimonies, both of us were crying. We hugged and cried and hugged and cried. But then her parents came, and it was all joy. We were able to see her two timed before she left Idaho, so it was really wonderful. I'm so thankful for the opportunity I had to work and serve with her.

So now I'm in a trio for the next two weeks (until transfers on the 28th)! I'm with Sister Holland and Sister Gainer who are working in Rupert. Now we're covering six wards, and boy is it a handful! Sunday was so full of bouncing back and forth, but it's been so fun! My ward mission leader in the Heyburn first ward is going to get splits arranged so we can get more work done, and I'm trying to work out splits with Heyburn second ward (because we currently don't have a ward mission leader - ah!) At first, I was so scared to be leading the area because I've only been working over here for a month, but it has been really good for me. I've gained a lot of confidence in the Lord and in myself, and I know that as I'm always striving to improve and get know new people in my area, I will be an effective missionary. 

Speaking of being an effective missionary, zone conference was awesome!! It was such an uplifting experience, and I was able to learn and make goals for myself on how I need to improve. What a blessing it was to attend zone conference!

Also this week, we committed Isaac and Darlene to baptism! We were teaching the Plan of Salvation, and at the end of the lesson, there was an opportunity and a feeling. Isaac immediately committed, and Darlene was a little bit more hesitant. But they both committed to October 21st, and we're going to continue teaching them. They are such a wonderful family, and I can just see the potential and the plan the Heavenly Father has for them. What a blessing it is to work with them!

I just wanted to take the time to invite everyone to the Meridian Temple Open House. This is such a wonderful missionary opportunity - I like to call this the "golden ticket to missionary work". Everyone is curious about LDS temples. They're beautiful, and because they're scared, we don't talk openly about what happens in the temple. Open Houses provide an opportunity for every kind of person to experience the special spirit of the temple and to learn more about the temple from the correct source. The open house is happening from October 21 to November 11, and you can reserve a free tour at TempleOpenHouse.lds.org . I can promise you, as a special witness of Jesus Christ, that as you pray with real intent about who you can bring with you to the Meridian Temple Open House, Heavenly Father will answer you. Because this is His work, and He wants all to come unto Him and feel the peace and joy that this gospel brings us. I can also promise you that as you do this, you will be blessed, and the person you invite will be blessed beyond what you can ever imagine. Will you invite someone to attend the Meridian Temple Open House with you? I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a wonderful week! :)

Sister Carlson

P.S. - Ivy, I did get your letter!! Thank you so many, I was so so so happy when I got it!

P.P.S. - Inin, we wear our CTR rings (which are identical) on the same finger! Twinsies!

P.P.P.S. - Mom and Dad, I laugh every time I see your snapchat pictures! Y'all are so dang cute :')

P.P.P.S. - I don't want to you feel excluded, so I love you so so so much, Eme!! <3

Next email ----

I forgot something (what's new)!  In the sisters' area, there's someone we've been trying to visit. They have a husky puppy that roped up right outside their door, and it's always there. He is so beautiful too! We knock on the door, but no one answers. The puppy has no place to run (its lead is very short), no water or food, and it's so sad!! We went over last night and filled his empty water bowl and he drunk it down in like a minute. They live relatively close to us, so we ran home and grabbed some food that we had. We made a big batch and brought over a little bowl because we didn't know if he would eat it, but he scarfed it down in like 30 seconds. So we went back home and grabbed the rest and gave it to him. We decided to name him Eskimo because he has a little plastic igloo to sleep in. We went back this morning and gave him some eggs and a blanket to put inside his igloo, but he was so sad when we left. He was crying and crying and it broke my heart! We saw someone open the blind and look out at us, so we know that they're home. We're assuming that they don't want to talk to missionaries though. So, the three of us have decided to keep coming by with food for Eskimo and we'll keep knocking on the door to see if we can talk to them. Hopefully, we'll be able to get into contact with them!

Holding Buffy, the cutest dog in the world (+ the first day of sweater weather - thanks Sister Gainer for letting me borrow your sweater!)

Eskimo, he looks very upset, but I promise he's even cuter than this :)

Service for Sister Neiworth :D

Sister Aquino's farewell photo with us! <3​​

Sister Holland, Sister Gainer, and I today!

Sept 11, 2017

Hi everyone!

I literally have four minutes, so I'm going fast!

This week has been crazy and very emotional. Sister Aquino is leaving on Thursday, so it's been 1) bittersweet because she's being released and 2) super chaotic because everyone wants to say goodbye and take pictures (which is understandable because she's the best).

Yesterday, we were asked to speak in out Heyburn 1st ward, and I literally spoke for half an hour. Half an hour!! When I sat down, I asked Sister Aquino how long I had gone for and she told me 30 minutes, and I said: "that felt like 10 minutes!!" I wasn't even the anchor speaker haha.

Two of the women we've been working with have been faced with really hard, scary trials this week. It's been hard because, as a missionary, we're not allowed to council people. We've been talking a lot with these two, and all we can do is encourage them, pray for them, and direct them to someone else who can help. But I know that, as we all trust in the Lord and work at our goals and endure to the end, he will buoy us up and support us the entire way. I have been taught a lot of patience this week, and it's been a wonderful opportunity.

That's about all I have time for! I hope you all have a fabulous week :D

Love you love you love you!!

Sister Carlson

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

Busy Week in Boise

Hi, everyone!

It feels like so much has happened since last preparation day! I'll try my best to get in a few things that happened this past week, but I'm sure I'll miss a lot :)

On Tuesday, we had the opportunity to go to the Boise temple. It was such an amazing experience. Being able to learn and feel so peaceful was such a blessing after the first week in the field. We got to see other missionaries in the area, and it was such a pleasure to be able to reconnect with my friends from the MTC. 

Going to the Temple!

We did a lot of tracting and visits this week which was a wonderful experience. Sister Ely and I are working really hard to find new investigators, but we're still working on it. We've talked a lot about how we can avoid becoming discouraged and how we can be more effective in our work with members, less actives, and non-members. It's all a process, but I know that this is the work I need to be doing. I also know that I would not have been sent here if there was no one to teach. So we're just chugging along. There have been little tender mercies and encouragements along the way, and I know with all my heart that Heavenly Father is mindful of His missionaries here and the people here.

Reading the Book of Mormon during personal study has been such a blessing. I find myself really feasting on the words and trying to understand what I need to be taught each day, and it's exciting. I've started marking passages of scripture that can be used to teach - a goal of mine that I made at our last district meeting. During that meeting, our district leader taught about how we can effectively use the scriptures as we teach and why it's important to back what you're saying with the scriptures. That's something I've struggled with when I teach, and I think it's because I'm not familiar enough with the Book of Mormon to know what I can share. So as I've worked at this goal, I've found that my daily scripture study has been enriched and all the more wonderful.

Sunday was the best. It is a lot with three wards to visit, but it's so, so good. During our YSA Sunday school, our teacher talked about the priesthood. As we talked, broke down, and analyzed the concepts, I felt so much understanding and joy as I learned. Question after question popped into my head and I didn't want to stop our discussion. Sister Ely and I stayed at least half an hour after the class was over and I kept asking questions and asking for resources. Our teacher and another priesthood holder stayed and talked with us, and promised to give me more talks and books about the priesthood. It is such a fascinating topic that I've never had the opportunity to delve into, and I felt to filled and uplifted. I think it's safe to say that that Sunday school class was the absolute best one I've ever had. I still have a few questions to study, but I'm so thankful for the opportunity I had to participate and be spiritually fed in that class.

Then today, we were going to get our nails done at a member's house, but Sister Ely and I had to get our tire fixed which took a solid hour. There's always too much to do on preparation day! But it's good to be busy :) That's just about all I have time for! 

I love all you so SO much! Keep me updated with everything that's happening and send me pictures! I think I'm going to start sending physical letters and we'll see how we like it. 

Have a WONDERFUL week!

Sister Carlson

Pictures from Boise Mission President

We got a nice note from the Bosie Mission president with pictures they took on her arrival.  See below!

Sister Carlson and her companion, Sister Ely

President and Sister Bartlett and Siter Carlson

The group of arriving missionaries 

Group of arriving Sisters to the Boise Mission

Group of arriving missionaries at the Boise Airport