When will my life begin

Hey everyone!! Sorry this is late and is going to be super short but I just wanted to give yall a quick update!!

Everything here is lockdown and we are no longer able to go outside for anything expect exercising and grocery shopping so everyone is going a little stir crazy. I'm staying positive about everything because for now we are still seeing a lot of success! We even found 2 new people to teach on Sunday!! It was an insane miracle and was exactly what I needed to push me through these next weeks weeks of quarantine!

Our mission sent home a lot of missionaries last week and it broke my heart because I knew how much they wanted to be here but it made me realize how grateful I am to still be on my mission and to keep learning and growing. I know that God has kept me out for a reason and I'm going to do everything I can to work until I cant anymore.

We've had lots of virtual conversations which has been actually kind of fun! We even had an online MLC yesterday, it was incredible to see how we can still feel the spirit through a virtual meeting. God works through mysterious ways!!

I've actually had a lot of fun this last week and even though we are lockdown right now I know the moment everything comes back, it will make church, and temples, and baptisms that much sweeter!!

I love you all and hopefully next weeks email will be a little better!

Sister Carter

Savanna unboxes Quarantine package from dollar tree

The Climb

Hello everyone!!

I am so sorry this email will be short but I just wanted to send a super quick update on missionary life here.

As of right now we are only partially quarantined, which means we cant go into peoples homes but we can still go outside and meet with people. But everyday something new happens or changes!

It's been a rough adjustment and it feels like a lot of the sisters I cover are struggling with the status of missionaries being constantly in the air. It's almost like everyone is collectively



drowning and it's hard to help them when we are still trying to learn to walk on water too. But I am praying a lot and trying to do everything I can to help them turn to Christ during all of this too.

The upside of everything is that I am learning how to turn things over to the Savior so so much more. I've had to flip the way I do things so often and it was time for me to flip how I rely on the Savior and ultimately change the way I pray and go to Him. I am so grateful to have the gospel as my stability during all of this. I could not do this without it.

Sorry this is super short and sweet but I love you all and don't worry about me I'm still having a BLAST on my mission and I'm learning how to be better everyday!!

Remember God is in the details!!
Sister Carter

Sick of You

Hello Savanna's friends and family,

Now before you get concerned thinking I've has been taken by the Corona Virus and my fingers are gone, I'm 100 percent alright. Don't freak out, grab a paper bag or something and breathe into it. I'm alright. This is your absolute favorite missionary in the Colorado Fort Collins mission, the one and only, Sister Carter.

I don't really even know where to begin so i thought I'd update y'all on how the virus is doing over here. We've received numerous emails from our Mission President and the Missionary Department for our area and they've been doing a super great job with keeping us all updated on everything. The virus so far hasn't caused too much trouble over here except for if you feel sick even a little, they're having us stay in our apartments up to 48 hours or 2 weeks.. I know CRAZY!!

But enough about me. Let me tell you about the inner workings of the mission now that the Covid19 virus epidemic is going crazy. The biggest news, which I'm sure you all are fully aware of is that Church has been cancelled *gasp* what a weird adjustment it has been. Missionaries were told to turn to the ward for the Sacrament and that in order for someone to be baptized they have to go to a members home for Sacrament 3 times and they are good to go. Which honestly is a plus for those with social anxiety. There is also no more proxy work in the temple *mad bummer* but living ordinances in most of the temples still continue! (Yay people can still get married!!) Just yesterday they also said that once Elders reach their 21 month mark they have been asked to return home early.... like literally they are going home in 2 days. Crazy things have happened. I'm still in shock. Missions around the world are shutting down and telling missionaries to stay inside. As of now we are only allowed to meet with people we know, and we aren't allowed to tract at all. (That last part was big for me because I'm a HUGE advocate of no tracting at all) Honestly that was a lot of information in one paragraph so let's all take a 3 second mental break

...

...

...

Nice

This week was also the much awaited Transfers!!

I am

*drum roll please*

*pause for dramatic effect*

STAYING

I personally feel blessed to be staying in Fort Collins because I get to be around all my favorite people for another 6 weeks!! (Maybe more if the whole world just shuts down for like 5.67 months)

Here is my spiritual thought for all of you:

Right now my favorite phrase from the scriptures is, "By small and simple things do great things come to pass" which is found throughout the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and referenced in the Bible. You might not all know me, but if you did you would realize one very important thing about me, I am very loud, and extremely outgoing. In all honestly the last phrase I would use to describe myself is "small and simple" okay, I am small (5'5") but simple? Not at all. I am, to quote my mother, "A lot" but even with all my "a lotness" I am very small in terms of the world. I can't reach many people, I can't help many people, I can't do many things. I think about my work as a missionary, and even throughout my life, and how I will only be about to touch a handful of people. I may never be something great, but it brings me so much comfort to know that I can be the "small thing" which can bring to pass great things. You can be that too. Our world is hectic right now. There are people panicked about their health and the health of those they love. They are searching, grasping, and begging for and anchor to secure themselves to. That anchor is Christ. How blessed are we to be able to hold onto that anchor? It is now our job to beckon those who are drowning in sorrow and the craziness of the world to come and grab onto the anchor with us. Christ will always and has always held us when the whirlwinds of life come. Today is not any different. He loves us. Help others to feel of that love too.

Thank you all for joining me on this little adventure. If you have any questions, comments, or advice for me feel free to email me. Or if you are stuck inside for the next few weeks and you are bored out of your mind, shoot me an email. I'll get back to you within the next 1-2 Preparation Days.

 I have no doubts that the Lord knew of this coming virus and the impact it would have on the world. I believe that our prophet’s recent implementation of the home-based, church-supported study was partly revealed in preparation for this event which is literally *epic* ! I know we can expect more difficultly and confusion in the days ahead as we witness additional signs of the Savior’s 2nd coming, but don't freak out because I'm doing enough of that for all of you ;)

I love you all *even if I have never met you*

Remember God is in the Details!

Sister Carter

Blame It on the Stars

So just so everyone feels comfortable... I did title my email BEFORE writing it this week... no need to worry... I stepped up since last week.

This week was a ROLLERCOASTER... so really nothing new.

We started with an epic District Council. Sister Robinson and I had planned a training that heavily involved cookies but we absolutely ran out of time so instead we just handed the cookies out afterwards and I'm happy to report that my moms recipe did well in the eyes of the Elders. A few of them asked how they were so good.... massive success in my opinion.

I also had the opportunity to go to mutual again this week! Our Zone Leaders are telling us how crucial it is to get in with the youth so we will now be going on a regular basis. Which is exciting!! This week we did a service scavenger hunt where we went to the store and smiled at people and helped them carry out their groceries, then we went to the park and drew hearts on the ground, stuff like that. It was actually mega fun. Not to flex too hard butttttt my team won.

I had 2 different exchanges this week, one mini one and one full exchange. It was a lot but I'm gaining so much love for all of these sisters. It's insane how much getting to interact with them makes me love them even more. No wonder God has such unconditional love for us because He knows us the best, why wouldn't He?

I was teaching a member who is trying to come back to church and while we were talking he mentioned that while he was trying to talk to God about why God allows bad things to happen in our lives he said that it became clear to him why God doesn't just intervene all the time. He said that God just wants people to hang out with, and He needs people who have lived live and had experience so that He can enjoy it more. That here on Earth you want to be surrounded by people who have had life experience because they get it and it's the same thing God wants. He wants to be surrounded by people who get it.

We also had an impromptu chapel tour with Jana after women's conference and she is absolutely incredible. She wants so desperately come closer to Christ. We went into the chapel to talk about the Sacrament and while we were there the Spirit was so strong. We invited her to be baptized and she said she definitely would!! So that's a massive success!! We don't have a date yet but it should be coming soon!!

Then Sunday was full of miracles. I had been feeling down because we had spent so much time in the week caring for the sisters we hardly had time to care for our area so I was sure our key indicators would be suffering. So Sunday rolls around and we go to church expecting Jana to come. But as time passes she doesn't show, but right before Sacrament Diana and Martin walk in. We were ABSOLUELY blown away. We thought for sure they wouldn't come. A member has even said he had tried to text them but they said they wouldn't be there but they walked right on it. It was incredible. THEN later that day Jana messaged us and said she ended up going to a different ward for Sacrament and Relief Society. It was a huge miracle!! Then Sister Robinson and I went out to contact a few potential people to teach and while we were out we passed an older woman and a young boy sitting on a patio. We start to drive away and all of a sudden I just knew we had to go talk to them so I tell Sister Robinson we needed to go back and we pulled a classic missionary u-turn. We go back and start talking to her and it turns out she actually had a Book of Mormon in the past and she loved it but her house flooded and ruined it. We gave her another copy and invited her to read it and set up a time to follow up on how it went and she said yes which means.... WE ARE TEACHING A NEW PERSON!! It was an eventful day for sure. All I can say is that these miracles could not be me, God has to be in charge of the work. There is no doubt in my mind it was all His work and push that got us those miracles.

This is His church, He guides it every moment of every day and He wants us to bring others to him.

Thank you for tuning back in to my crazy missionary life!! I love love love you all!!

Remember God is in the Details!

Sister Carter

Never Grow up

Welcome back to another lengthy email from your favorite Fort Collins missionary. Thank you for joining on my journey thus far, if you're still here, give yourself a pat on the back, I couldn't have made it without you.

So this week was another week full of well..... insanity. To start off with a bang I had to give yet another training in Zone meeting *silents applauds* the Zone Leaders yet again crushed their training and hopefully ours went just as well. We talked about how important the Book of Mormon is in our conversion and in the conversion of the people we our teaching we invited them all to liken the scriptures to someone they were teaching and promised that if they did they would strengthen their testimony of it. I've really tried to apply it myself this week as well, and everytime I do, it's like the ideas or thought about the stories come to my head without any problem, God just takes care of me when I try to do what He wants.

This week started with a WHOLE lot of cleaning. I'm not talking about eh just sweep a little cleaning but DEEP cleaning. Our housing coordinators called us and said that we had to gi clean an apartment for them and HOLY that apartment was janked. Like oh my goodness... it was so nasty. It took us 5 hours to clean... no joke. And by the time we were done we were completely disgusted. There was moldy towels in the washer, old cheese in the fridge and throw up on the walls.... nasty. The good news is that I fulfilled my womanly duty and cleaned all day, bad news is that I hate that womanly duty lol

There was a lot of other random non missionary but very much STL responsibilities that came up this week and we had to take a lot of time to not only address what was happening by try our best to resolve it/soften it for the sisters we are over. I never realized how much went on behind the scenes from an STL point of view until I became an STL. You just develop so much love for these sisters and you want to do everything you can to help them love their mission so you end up helping them more than helping the people in your area. The Zone Leaders said something though that we found so true, he said, "The more you focus on the missionaries you are over the more your area will thrive," it sounds kind of backwards but the principle is true. God assigned me to help these sisters in anyway I can, so when I fulfill that calling, God will help me to fulfill my calling as a missionary too. We havent had any insane miracles yet but we had someone come to church for the first time in 4 transfers for this ward. It was a miracle to say the least. The members were so amazing with her too and invited her for dinner and into their home. It was like they just adopted her into the ward without question. It was a tender mercy for sure.

I've been actively trying to deepen my conversion this past week. After going to MLC I realized how much room for growth I had and I want it so bad. I want to be the missionary who comes back so strong in the gospel, I want to be the missionary who grew so much spiritually that everyone can just tell I'm different, I want to be the missionary who is powerful and diligent and all of those things and so I've spent this week trying to do that every chance I get. I can feel the difference. I read a Conference talk called, What Lack I Yet and in it he challenges us to ask God what we are lacking and He will direct us on what we can do to be better, and it wont be something we cant do, it will start small until we can do that hard stuff. So i did that, I asked what Lack I Yet? The answer was, I needed to be more purposeful with my prayers. So I hit my knees, quite literally, and I can say that everytime I try and be more diligent and honest about my prayers, I feel the Savior around me more and more.

There were a lot of small tender mercies this week that gave me a lot of hope and happiness. For example, I saw a Corgi this week WHILE WEARING CORGI SOCKS. It was insanely epic. I also had a lot of people compliment me when I felt the most down, and I even got an email when I really needed it. God just gives me little nudges to push me forward. He probably is up there thinking, "Shes going to see a Corgi today, she's going to flip" and just gets so excited to watch it all happen. I'm so blessed to know that God loves me so intensely to give me simple moments like those to make me happy.

Well this was a heavy spiritual weekly email this week but I hope you all loved it just as much as my funny ones! My testimony really grew and I'm hoping it will continue to grow for the next little while at least.

I love you all!! Keep growing you spiritual giants you.

Remember God is in the Details!

Sister Carter