Stitches

I would like everyone to know right up front that I am currently writing this email in the hospital, if you want to know the full story you'll have to read the entire email to understand why!!

This week has absolutely been one for the books, not even kidding.... it's been the most wild week of my entire mission.

To start it all off I sprained my ankle last Preparation day... now you may be worried that it might be the reason I'm in the hospital but alas, that's not the reason... you won't get out of it that easy. But this sprain was pretty intense. Like my ankle was swollen and mega bruised and it STILL HURTS, I don't know how a sprained ankle hurts this bad... I was an idiot a few days ago and walked around without my ankle brace on and now it actually hurts worse than the first few days!! Lesson learned, keep your ankle wrapped even if you hate it.

Thursday rolled around and it was time to pick up Sister Harris' new companion Sister Osbourn... I WAS SO SAD TO LEAVE HER. We went to the mission office and saw all the reassigned missionaries and their companions, it was actually kind of fun to catch up with a few people I hadn't seen in a while before heading back to Fort Collins.

After dropping off Sister Harris and Osbourn, Sister Robinson and I were starting to plan when we got a call from our Sisters and we ended up being put into an emergency trio. It was all a very crazy day and by the end, I was ready for a huge nap. So we are having one of the sisters stay with us *back in trio yet again* and another companionship took the other for a few days until everything got worked out *spoiler it's only kind of worked out at this point* The next day, I picked one of them up to go to their apartment and grab clothes and food and right as we walked out we realized that she had locked the keys in the house.... yea.... mega awkward. After 30 minutes of my companions trying and failing to break in and me constantly saying, let's just call the office in the morning, and them ignoring me until they REALLY knew they couldn't break in, we went home.

Then on Saturday we called the apartment complex and they gave us a spare key *thankfully* and we got into the house and gave the car to Warren Lake who was one of the sisters was staying with. Throughout the day we were getting some messages that Sister Gibson (one of the Warren lake sisters) wasn't feeling to well but we figured just letting her rest would help. Then all of a sudden we get a call saying that they are taking her to the emergency room but they only allow one guest so we drove on over there so I could stay with the companion while the other one goes in with her. It was slowly getting later and we still hadn't found out what was wrong. Finally around 9:45 they said that she had appendicitis and needed to have surgery. So we drove from the ER to the hospital, and she just had to walk in by herself because visiting hours were over. It was the weirdest feeling to watch one of my sisters just walked away without a companion or anything... *motherly stress* that night I slept in the Warren Lake Apartment in what I am affectionately calling "Mega Trio" which consisted of a companion from every district in the Zone, there will be legends about us.

It ended up that her appendix burst the morning before her surgery so she has had to spend the last 3 days in the hospital. Which is why I am currently sitting on a chair next to her in the surgical unit. I bet you didn't see that coming!!

On Sunday I was able to watch the baptism of someone in Mountain views area. It was so precious even though we weren't able to be there in person I could still feel the spirit so strong. It was amazing that during all this craziness I was able to witness someone coming closer to Christ via technology. She was an 11 year old girl and she was SO excited to be baptized!! Her little heart grew so much and after she was baptized she gave a little testimony saying that when she got the Gift of the Holy Ghost it felt so good she had a tear in her eye. SO TENDER!!!

All and all this week was the most hectic week of my entire mission, not even exaggerating. All I know is that God is taking care of us. If there hadn't have been an emergency with Mountain View,  Warren Lake wouldn't have had a car to take them to the ER, if Sister Harris wouldn't have gotten her companion we wouldn't have been able to help them when they were going to the ER. If God wasn't real there is no way that everything would have worked out the way that it did.

I cannot tell you how much stress I have had in the past couple of days, but it made me realize how much I love the Sisters that I cover. I just want to care and love for them so when they hurt, I hurt. This week was wack and a half for sure, but there is also no doubt in my mind that God was there in every moment.

There are so many other things I could say, because so much else has happened but just know that I have had to turn to God so much more this week than ever before and I know that He will, has, and does take care of me.

I'm so grateful for this week, even if it was the hardest week I've had on my mission, it has taught me so much more than I could ever learn at home, for example, I know what the signs are of appendicitis, I also know how to pick a lock unsuccessfully, and I can also coordinate a lot of messed up companionships in a matter of seconds!! Miracles do happen!

I love you all lots and loads!
Remember God is in the Details!!
Sister Carter

True Colors

Everyone, I want you to be fully aware that by the end of this weekly you will find out that my true homie Sister Harris is leaving for permanent and I'm a bit sad about it. It's okay though, she's still in my district.... but I'll go into that more later, I just wanted you to have a spoiler right up front *evil laugh*

But before the ending gets too spoiled lets jump back a whole week. To start it off, if you remember last email I talked about how much my Zone Leader hated me *in a joking manner of course* so to egg on the meme I did the unthinkable... I made them a "Don't Hate Us" Cake. Now you must be thinking.... well what does that mean for anything? It really doesn't but I thought it would be hilarious, and it definitely was. I brought it to them and what do you know, they think I messed with the cake. To be fair..... it sounds like something I'd do but I'd really just wanted to make a cake. Why do they gotta doubt me??

The next day was epic we had district Council but because our district only has 5 people.... we did it outside and it was GORGEOUS. Literally it was amazing. My watch tan is REALLY coming in. It was honestly one of my favorite district councils ever. Not only because it was outside but we talked about how to more effectively study and it really helped me to refocus my studies. I also had a moment when I realized, I needed more time to study in the day. Like one hour is not enough. There is just so much I don't know and so much I can learn about the gospel that there's no way to fit it all in before I go home.... think about it... if I have 6 months left and there's 4 weeks every month and 7 days in each week and only 1 hour a day I ONLY HAVE 168 hours left of studying..... that's not enough.... I've resulted to reading the Book of Mormon on the toilet... trust me, I literally do.

We had some major bumps this week and by major.... I mean HUGE. So I asked for a Priesthood Blessing. Without going into much detail, I gained such a powerful testimony on Priesthood blessings. During the blessings I received so many answers to prayers that I needed and guidance to my life that brought peace to my soul. There is not a doubt in my mind that God led that blessing and was speaking through the Priesthood holder that gave me one. God is real, and He is doing anything He can to reach out to me, even when I don't think He will.

I also had the first Zone Conference since the shutdown. The whole meeting was centered on how to receive more personal revelation. I have been really trying to develop my own personal revelation and during that conference I realized that I should be trusting that God won't let me do anything wrong more. I need to be more confident in walking forward with the revelation I have received and if it is wrong, He will stop me. It was exactly what I needed to get through the week.

And now we have arrived at the already spoiled ending. Starting this Friday, the trio of my dreams will end. I honestly am really sad about having to say goodbye to Sister Harris but I'm blessed that I still get to be her STL. These past 3 weeks with her have been incredible. Without a doubt it's been such a blast but I know she will THRIVE with her new companion!!

I hoped you enjoyed this update from the land of Colorado!! I love you all!!

Remember God is in the details!
Sister Carter
6 Attachments

Air I Breathe

Alright everyone, so as we all know I missed last weeks email, I've repented for it, I'm trying to be better, I just was jammed packed last week with Preparation Day activities, and all the excuses but I'm back again to give everyone the update!!

So it's been a wild 2 weeks let me just tell you, I'm in a trio, which is lowkey the BEST. I literally am obsessed with Sister Harris, y'all have NO idea how much I needed her. She literally is making my entire life a party. I CANNOT express how much I love her. I'm laughing almost all day everyday, she just GETS my humor and language, it's almost like a breath of fresh air.

So starting 2 weeks back we had transfers!! It was such a weird day because I got to see a TON of missionaries, which was definitely illegal, like I'm pretty sure we broke the law.... don't tell anyone. While I was there I got to see all my homies! Elder Smith, Sister Jenkins, Elder Williams, Sister Brown, and a bunch of other names your probably don't know at all, but Elder Smith even gave me a dog mask, which I consistently use all the time. It was honestly a weird feeling because we all were there but we were very aware that we shouldn't all be there but we couldn't not be there... ya know?

After transfers we started back on the missionary grind. The next day the Zone Leaders asked us to help/be in the weekly live video for Facebook, which we accepted. It was actually insanely frustrating because there was always interruptions, whether its from boats or people or water. There was always something that went wrong. By the end one of the Elders, Elder Ufland, who is the Zone Leader, was UPSET. Like visible annoyed, needless to say I was mega uncomfy. But my trusted companion got a picture of his red anger face, you'll have to check out the pictures to fully get the vibe.

Then after that week we had lots of random miracles. Since we are now covering 2 wards we had someone from the other ward who was looking to get baptized but we hadn't been able to contact her for a week and we were starting to get worried that she just dropped off the face of the earth. We knew she was staying at a motel on the other side of town so we did just decided to drive over there in hope that she would be outside walking around? It was a far stretch but we all felt like it was a good idea. The entire time, I just knew that we would catch her outside, i don't know why, or how but I was completely sure that she would be there. So we drive across town and then we drive around the motel and.... there was nothing. She wasn't there. So Sister Robinson says, "We should pray" we all nod our heads and Sister Harris says a simple prayer asking to be able to find her. We finish the prayer and I look up to see a Corgi walking out from one of the rooms. Now if you are familiar with me, you'll know that I'm obsessed with Corgis. Immediately I say, "That's a sign from God" almost joking but also acknowledging that the odds of seeing someone who could afford a 4,000 dollar corgi staying a a motel 6 were extremely low so it had to be from God *I'm actually serious about it being a sign from God* Both of my companions just look at me sideways thinking, "Mmmm seems fake" but they suggest we drive around the building one more time. So we do.... and immediately after we turn the corner, SHE WAS WALKING AROUND THE CORNER. Not even 30 seconds later, we found her. God is literally SO real. Who honestly would have thought we would happen to see her outside walking around. Also the fact that I saw a Corgi, that was God just having fun, what a guy.

Also sorry this email might be long.... you can just skip to the end and look at the pictures if necessary.

THEN just yesterday we had another MAJOR hurdle. So we have been working with someone named Brandon for a few months now and he is going to be baptized on the 25th. We are so excited but yesterday he sent us a text saying that he wasn't sure he wanted to go through with it *big stress* so we immediately call him to try and talk him through whatever was going on. We got on the phone and he started listing all of the reason he didn't want to be baptized and holy cow.... I was so sure this was the end, so I did what and good missionary would do... I prayed like I was about to die and I needed forgiveness. I ask God to do 2 things, soften Brandon's heart, and help me to say the things God needed me to say. At first he was unresponsive, and just ranted for 20 minutes, and I was stressing out. Then finally I said, Brandon, can I tell you a story? He says, sure. I say, it's from my life if that's okay, he agreed and I started to tell him about an experience I had in my life. While I was telling the story I noticed that my words were flowing much easier than I thought, and I felt such genuine strong love for him. All I wanted was to help him see that being baptized is the best thing for him. I wanted him to feel how much I loved him and how MUCH God loved him. We spent over an hour with him on the phone just slowly talking him down from the ledge. He had a lot of concerns and I can honestly say that if this wasn't Christs church, there would have been no way I could have said or done anything to change his mind, but because Christ is in charge. He guided me and my companions on exactly what to say to calm his troubled heart. We decided to also start calling him for 15 minutes every day and read the scriptures with him, so he knows that we love him and want the best for him. It was the most humbling experience to get to feel of such Godly patience and love for one of Gods children, I hope I live worthy enough to keep that going.

This week we also had a lot of speed bumps concerning the Facebook live video. *deep breaths* so basically we asked a member to do a musical number for the live video on Sunday but by Saturday we still didn't have it. And the Zone Leaders were yet again UPSET, except this time... he was so upset he was silent... I was MEGA uncomfortable. I don't like it when people are upset. I remembered reading somewhere they when something is stressing someone out putting a physical barrier between it and them helps to calm their brain. So I stood behind a tree. No I'm not exaggerating, or pretending, I literally stood behind a tree. At first it was just slightly but when that wasn't enough I stood like 7 feet away from them behind a tree. Even though I'm  very emotionally secure sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do so a tree was it for me.

I also just wanted to quickly say something I've come to terms with this past week. I have realized that the gospel means more to me than I originally intended. I came on my mission as a passive learner, who never took the time to dedicate my concentrated effort to the gospel, but now a year into my mission, I realize that my heart has changed. Everything in me wants to be better, not because I want it for my own good, but because God wants it for me and I want to be with God again. I realize that the stupid things that didn't bother me before, like having people swear around me, now makes my heart hurt whenever I hear it. It was a change I honestly didn't expect. I did not think that serving a mission would 100 percent change the way that I felt about the world. This past week I have been out on my mission for a whole year. And entire year just dedicated to learning, teaching and growing in the gospel. Looking back, I realize that my progress in the gospel was slow, but between you and me.... I have a completely different testimony now than when I walked into the MTC. I know with more strength and conviction that God does and will lead me. He does and will love me. And He does and will push me to be better, and it can only happen in His Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.

I am so grateful I chose to be on a mission. This year has absolutely changed my life.

I love you all lots and loads!
Remember God is in the details!
Sister Carter