November 26, 2018

Hey fam-bam!

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving! Gratitude strengthens the heart! Ours was great, we had transfers all day :) Sister Stevenson left me (SO saaaaad!!) and went to Twin Falls with Sister Gossling (she's the happiest, most wholesome person I've ever met in my life) and my companion Sister Bryan just came from Twin! She is from Indiana and came out a transfer after me - we're both dying soon! It's crazy that we're both so close, and I don't think I like it very much...

The very most wonderful and exciting thing that happened this week is that Jenna was baptized!! She is my favorite 9 year old (she is SO sassy!) and I am so proud of her. Being here with her along this process and seeing her grow has been such a privilege, and I can't over state how proud I am of her!! The baptism was beautiful as was the confirmation.

Other than that, we've been eating, living, and breathing Light the World. I am SO excited for this initiative!! You guys,December 1st is THIS SATURDAY. We have no time to lose in preparing and planning how we'd like to participate in LtW this year! There is so much to do in so little time - get those calendars out (or downloaded), watch those videos, and get together with your family and plan how you are going to come together and light the world, light your community, light your family, and light your faith. Talk to the missionaries too, they may have some good ideas too!! Let's do this!!!

Love you all!!

<3

Sister Carlson

1) Jenna's baptism!!!!!!!

2-3) I need to preface my ugly picture with a cute one... :) The park next to our house is putting out all their Christmas decorations and we HAD to go take some pictures! I love Sister Stevenson SO much (she's my bean)

4) We were walking on Saturday because we're sharing the car with the other sisters, so here is Sister Bryan and me preparing to brave the cold (it was so so cold)

November 19, 2018

Hello beautiful family of mine! The internet in our library has been cut, so I'm currently writing to you from my smart cellular device :^)

The lesson I learned this week (and that I'm continuing to learn) is that Satan literally hates us and wants us to be miserable, he wants us to fail and doesn't want us to get back to our Heavenly home. Uplifting, I know. But I also know that our Father in Heaven loves us and that He wants us to return home to Him (changed and strengthened and improved). I know that Jesus Christ loves us too, and He's eager (definition: "having a strong or impatient wish to do something") to assist us in our journey back home. But He won't force us to take His hand. We need to reach for Him, trust Him, and let Him lift us back up so we can continue forward on the path back to God. This act (leap) of faith is the first step to healing and progression. No matter how scary it can seem, Jesus Christ is the most reliable friend in the whole world. He will ALWAYS catch you!!

I love you all so so many! I have a lot to be grateful for, having all of you 💕 Have a good week and Happy Thanksgiving!!

💕

Sister Carlson

PS - district picture this week (our last district council, saaad)! Sorry that's the only picture I have, I'm super lame ;)

November 12, 2018

Wow hello! What a week it's been! I'm still reeling from all the things, I'll outline just a few:

We had zone conference! Yay! And I saw some of my favorite people, Sister Holland and Sister Cook! Sister Cook updated me a little bit about my last area, and our friend Jason was baptized!! I am so excited for him! Now he's preparing to go to the temple this Saturday and I am so so happy for him :')

Then yesterday we had MLC! It was like drinking from a fire hydrant. I am so overwhelmed with all the things that we need to do! Speaking of that, I would like to invite all of you (if you have computer access) to go onto the website lighttheworld.org or https://www.mormon.org/christmas to start preparing for Light the World, which will be starting December 1st!! There is a calendar for themes of every week leading up to Christmas, lessons for Home Evening, videos, and just general excitement and happiness! There will be so many opportunities to serve, love, and Give as He Gave (which is our theme this year). There are so many amazing opportunities to reach out this Christmas season, friend to friend and neighbor to neighbor, and this campaign holds so many suggestions and ideas for you to #LighttheWorld this year! 🌟

Then (I'll finish up here), Sister Stevenson and I were blessed to meet 3 new people who are interested in the gospel. This happened through our amazing ward members and my observant and perceptive companion. The Lord has been blessing us so much, but I think this is one of the most poignant and obvious examples of it. I feel so blessed to be part of these people's eternal progression back to their Father in Heaven. I am grateful that God can use me, an imperfect vessel, to bring this message of peace and joy to His children in this part of the vineyard! What a privilege this is!

I love you all so much! I hope you have a great week and don't forget to fan your flame of faith so you can light up those around you 🌟

💞

Sister Avery Carlson

So idk what order these are all in, so this may be a little messed up...

1-4) A mix of zone conference and MLC pictures! You'll notice that 3/4 of these pictures have Sister Holland in them....I just love her a lot, okay??? Then the box collage is Sister Reisinger (another fave)...she is going home next week and isn't having it LOL!

5) My tiny companion's first icicle!! <333333

6) Funny Walmart sweater from this morning (my personal favorite was one that had a unicorn popping out and it said believe but the picture isn't saving, so I guess you'll just have to use your imagination lol)

November 5, 2018

Okay! Wow! We're already in November, time is flying by too too fast!

This week was fun. I am grateful for the wonderful members that we have the opportunity to work with here in these wards - they take care of us and nurture us and, more importantly, they are always looking for opportunities to serve and teach. They are eager to be involved. I love being here in this area, and I love these people (especially the amazing people we're teaching!). I love Sister Stevenson and my district and Sister Borgelthaus and Shadow. I love this opportunity I have to grow and be a missionary. I'm grateful that God has given me this opportunity to strengthen my testimony BY sharing it with others.

I love you all so much! Have a great week!

<3

Sister Carlson

PS - next preparation day is on Tuesday, so it will be a minute before I talk to you again. Love you!!

PPS - My actual favorite picture of the week <3

1) So this was Halloween night :) I saved this silly kitty face set thing from Christmas last year (thanks mom and dad!), so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to use it! I was trying to model with our house cat, Shadow, but she doesn't really want to be held...like ever :)

2) On Saturday, we helped rake some leaves (it was Sister Stevenson's first time!!) and Sister Noyce kindly took some pictures for us. This photo was taken right before a leaf fight ensued... :)

3-5) Last preparation day - we went to a corn maze and then carved pumpkins!

 6-7) This preparation day - we went onto the military base here in Mountain home and did some bowling and mini golf! Just for your information and entertainment, our names in bowling were Abish, Ruth, Eglon, Huzzab, Helawoman, and Lubim :D

October 29, 2018

Just pictures this week!

1-4) Exchanges this week! So fun, I love these sisters! <3

5) They had unicorn heads at service :)

6) Spooky!

7) I burned my finger with the flat iron :(

8) I fell asleep on the floor last night and my lovely companion took a picture <3

October 22, 2018

So surprise! I ran out of time to write anything about this week. Oops!

But the most important thing I think I can say about this week is that I am in love with Mountain Home. And I LOVE Sister Stevenson SO much!!! We have had such an amazing week - with the work and in our companionship - and I am so happy that the Lord put me here :)

Love you all! Have a great week!

Sister Carlson

1-3) We did comp study at the park with a ton of ponds and many many duckies :) I didn't get enough ducky pictures, but just trust me when I say there were SO MANY!

4) I had MLC (leadership meeting) on Tuesday, so Sister Stevenson was with our beautiful Sister Manuia and Sister Foth. In an unseen turn of events, Sister Stevenson and I were stranded in Glenns Ferry (45 minutes from Mountain Home), so for the remainder of the evening we spent time with the sisters! Their dinner appointment was very gracious about feeding 4 instead of 2 missionaries...

5) Shadow, Sister Borgelthaus's kitty :)

6) One of the girls we are teaching told me that I needed to come to our next lesson in jeans and a t-shirt, no glasses or name tag, with an afro and with my nose cut off (among other things). Instead of that, I drew a picture of the 2 of us together looking very silly! :D

7) We met a lady who wasn't really interested in hearing our message, but she gave us a tamale...woot! This picture goes no where else, though.....

8-9) Sister Stevenson and I found this wooden horse by the dumpster at out church building and we obviously had to take pictures with it.... :)

10-11) And last but CERTAINLY not least, our t-rex friend :) Watching her fun around the house was SO funny (all of us were busting up laughing) with the suit on, but as you can see she was not very happy about taking a picture with us... :/

October 15, 2018

Good morning all!!
What a wild week! Transfers were on Thursday and you guessed it, I was transferred away from wonderful downtown Boise! I'm now serving in Mountain Home Idaho which is so fun! It's smack dab in the middle of Boise and Twin Falls...but there's nothing in between the three other than dead grass and cows! It's a little like an island :)

Isolation aside (haha), Mountain Home is adorable. It's super little and everyone knows everyone and their mother. The people here are so lovely. It reminds me a lot of Heyburn, my second area (where I was a year ago)! I already love it here. My new companion is Sister Stevenson. She is from Tucson, AZ (so she's suffering from the cold - it was 27 this morning!!), the oldest of 5 (she has 2 sets of twin brothers!), and she's been here in MoHo for 3 months. She is so funny and so wonderful, I'm looking forward to this transfer with her!

This week I learned (or gained a stronger testimony that) God knows each of us, and that we've been given different experiences for a very specific reason. This is something I've been pondering since last transfer, and I know that God puts us where we can serve best. He matches our talents and abilities to certain people where we are so we can effectively and powerfully minister to them. I know that it's very easy to feel like we're not qualified or helpful enough for these tasks, but I know that's the adversary trying to dissuade our influence and purpose. As we trust in Him, have faith in the numerous promises that He's given to us, and follow the promtings that we receive, we will be unstoppable, capable, and trustworthy instruments for Him. We are here to act as His hands. To serve and love as He does.

Love you all so much! Have a great week! <3

Sister Carlson

October 8 2018

Good afternoon lovely family of mine!

Conference was so incredible and I'm so happy for the opportunity was had to listen to the loving counsel of the Lord's servants. My favorite talks were Elder Rasbands and President Nelsons. What a time to be alive, where the Lord can help us to tighten up the little habits we have so we can be better, holier ministers! We've moved onto the higher law, and it's a privilege!

Love you all so much! I hope you have a fantastic week!

<3

Sister Carlson

September 24, 2018

This week was a pretty good one! One of the really cool things that happened was that we found a family to teach on Sunday night through tracting! There's the dad, pregnant mama, two little boys and a tiny dog. He was so nice when he answered the door, and they said we could come back a different time (since they were just about to put to kids down to bed). They are so cute and lovely and I am so excited to teach them!! I know the gospel will bless their lives!

Love you all so much! I hope you had a great week this week, and that this upcoming week is even better!

<3

Sister Carlson

PS - Happy birthday Grandma Joanie!!!! 💞🎂🎉

1) This family, the Mackelprangs, have similar dietary issues as Sister Cook, so they asked her what food she missed the most and they made gluten, dairy, and cooked tomato free pizza! (Well, they provided the ingredients and we all made personal pizzas!)

2) Spider deviled eggs we made with our friend Laura :)

3-4) Laura has been getting rid of some of her stuff and she was giving away these shoes...and we happen to wear the same size.... :D I'm always in for sparkly rainbow shoes! And yes, I'm sitting on our washer to you can see them xD I tried to hide that fact in the first picture, but I gave up haha

5-6) We had an appointment with our friend Justice, but she had to step out right before we got there (but she left a cute little note for us) so we entertained ourselves by taking pictures!