Hello!
Quite the week!
I'm just going to start with the highlight :)
J's BAPTISM!
J's. J'! Ah, she is fantastic. I can't even put words to how
I feel. So I won't. HA! The service itself was great. The black
mountain sisters did a fantastic job coordinating it all so that R
could be baptized that same day. Two birds, one fount. Sister Stewart
had a baptism in her new area that same day so we used my iPad (oh
technology) to Skype her in so she could watch!
Spiritual? Yes.
Hilarious? Also.
J lost one of her contacts so when she came back up out of the
water, the first words out of her mouth were "I lost my contact!
Nobody move!!" -Mark (the man performing the baptism) threw his hands
up in defense. I laughed. So hard. And so did the rest of the room ;)
President Schmitt and his wife were there.
All in all... It was one of the happiest moments. Ever. I cried and
cried and cried the car ride home. "Remember the worth of one soul is
great in the eyes of God"
Amen.
"And if it so be that ye should labor all your days and bring but one
soul unto me...how great shall be your joy."
These scriptures have come to life for me as I've served a mission and
seen people change as they've stepped into the waters of baptism.
Again. I can't even out words to it.
J did better at explaining this then I ever could. This is what
she texted us the night before her baptism:
"I haven't been this excited since.. Ever. Wow, that's so weird, I
don't remember the last time I was this excited honestly. Like it's
not just happiness, it's pure joy."
..... J THOUGH! 😂
This week was also accompanied by an amazing MTE (mission training
exchange... Experience... Something like that). Sister E went back to
La Jolla with none other than the incredible Sister Wilson. I took her
companion she's been training, back with me to Poway! SISTER ESSYMBA
IS HER NAME. Again... I can't seem to find the correct words for my
feelings right now. I LOVE Sister Essymba. She is from Africa. She
speaks French. And oh my goodness I love her a lot a lot a lot. Those
two... Sister Wilson and Sister Essymba.. My heart might just burst
with how much respect and adoration I have for them. Sister Essymba
came to America (not a member) for medical school. While learning
English in Texas, she received a phone call from her uncle informing
her that both of her parents had passed away. She stayed in America. A
friend of hers invited her to church. She new it was true. So of
course she hid from the missionaries. Long story short, she was
baptized, then came on an exchange with me! When asking her why she
decided to serve a mission, she said it was because she loved the
lord. What? I know. Respect. It's fun though because she is a convert,
she doesn't know a lot about missionary life. Like transfers for
example ;)
She loves be still my soul. We probably named out to 30 different
versions of the song during our 24 hours together.
Sunday's Mission President Devotional was fantastic. Here's why:
So it was in Chula Vista right? (40 minutes away) so we car pooled
with 2 other sets of sisters in our zone (Sisters Pilkington,
Cortello, Larson, and Marz) with Debbie in GV Ward driving. We were
graced to hear Debbie's story (involving sister Saedan and Cava, AH!)
then, of course, we were able to see the other sister missionaries
rehearsing for the devotional. My favorite part.
THANK YOU SO MUCH SISTER WHITCOMB.
Whitcomb pride. World wide.
She did a great job accompanying me. As always. And so did Elder
Cello. That's not his name... But I forgot it and he plays the cello.
There ye be.
I CANNOT (will not) get over Mission President Devotionals. Seeing the
other missionaries, (again....it makes my day getting to see others.
Sister Stew... Sister Purcell... The list goes on. I have so many
emotions that YET AGAIN I can't explain that I have for the people
I've met here) ok tangent. Ready? Real quick. I'm sorry.
So the ride home from the Fireside, *cough* devotional, excuse me, Sis
Pilk was beside me and we were fantasizing being on an actual road
trip. She, as was I, were both overcome with how much we were loving
that very moment in time. So many incredible sisters in the car. So
many emotions. No explanation in words ;)
Oh. And then Sister Pilkington and Cortello were literally on top of
me. I smiled. Didn't want to road trip to stop ha!
Ok. Tangent over, back to the Devotional. President Schmitt................
Why. Can. I. Not. USE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE! That man. He's beyond
words. So. Just won't even try.
Also. There's not enough time in the day ha!
Hmmmmm... So much else happened. No time.
Our last few district meetings have been attended by future mission
president's. One going to Russia. The other going to the Philippines.
Intense.
We street contacted another guy and I jammed out on his guitar! But
this time, he was interested :)
He accepted the invitation to be baptized. AND IT WAS IN RAMONA. We'll
be going up there more often.
Sister E is still teaching me Tongan. It's fantastic. I'm still
teaching teaching ASL.
One of my trainer's best friend is in the mission from Thailand!
Sister Sanpothorn. SAWADI-KHA!
The Church is true.
-Sister Carlson
Quite the week!
I'm just going to start with the highlight :)
J's BAPTISM!
J's. J'! Ah, she is fantastic. I can't even put words to how
I feel. So I won't. HA! The service itself was great. The black
mountain sisters did a fantastic job coordinating it all so that R
could be baptized that same day. Two birds, one fount. Sister Stewart
had a baptism in her new area that same day so we used my iPad (oh
technology) to Skype her in so she could watch!
Spiritual? Yes.
Hilarious? Also.
J lost one of her contacts so when she came back up out of the
water, the first words out of her mouth were "I lost my contact!
Nobody move!!" -Mark (the man performing the baptism) threw his hands
up in defense. I laughed. So hard. And so did the rest of the room ;)
President Schmitt and his wife were there.
All in all... It was one of the happiest moments. Ever. I cried and
cried and cried the car ride home. "Remember the worth of one soul is
great in the eyes of God"
Amen.
"And if it so be that ye should labor all your days and bring but one
soul unto me...how great shall be your joy."
These scriptures have come to life for me as I've served a mission and
seen people change as they've stepped into the waters of baptism.
Again. I can't even out words to it.
J did better at explaining this then I ever could. This is what
she texted us the night before her baptism:
"I haven't been this excited since.. Ever. Wow, that's so weird, I
don't remember the last time I was this excited honestly. Like it's
not just happiness, it's pure joy."
..... J THOUGH! 😂
This week was also accompanied by an amazing MTE (mission training
exchange... Experience... Something like that). Sister E went back to
La Jolla with none other than the incredible Sister Wilson. I took her
companion she's been training, back with me to Poway! SISTER ESSYMBA
IS HER NAME. Again... I can't seem to find the correct words for my
feelings right now. I LOVE Sister Essymba. She is from Africa. She
speaks French. And oh my goodness I love her a lot a lot a lot. Those
two... Sister Wilson and Sister Essymba.. My heart might just burst
with how much respect and adoration I have for them. Sister Essymba
came to America (not a member) for medical school. While learning
English in Texas, she received a phone call from her uncle informing
her that both of her parents had passed away. She stayed in America. A
friend of hers invited her to church. She new it was true. So of
course she hid from the missionaries. Long story short, she was
baptized, then came on an exchange with me! When asking her why she
decided to serve a mission, she said it was because she loved the
lord. What? I know. Respect. It's fun though because she is a convert,
she doesn't know a lot about missionary life. Like transfers for
example ;)
She loves be still my soul. We probably named out to 30 different
versions of the song during our 24 hours together.
Sunday's Mission President Devotional was fantastic. Here's why:
So it was in Chula Vista right? (40 minutes away) so we car pooled
with 2 other sets of sisters in our zone (Sisters Pilkington,
Cortello, Larson, and Marz) with Debbie in GV Ward driving. We were
graced to hear Debbie's story (involving sister Saedan and Cava, AH!)
then, of course, we were able to see the other sister missionaries
rehearsing for the devotional. My favorite part.
THANK YOU SO MUCH SISTER WHITCOMB.
Whitcomb pride. World wide.
She did a great job accompanying me. As always. And so did Elder
Cello. That's not his name... But I forgot it and he plays the cello.
There ye be.
I CANNOT (will not) get over Mission President Devotionals. Seeing the
other missionaries, (again....it makes my day getting to see others.
Sister Stew... Sister Purcell... The list goes on. I have so many
emotions that YET AGAIN I can't explain that I have for the people
I've met here) ok tangent. Ready? Real quick. I'm sorry.
So the ride home from the Fireside, *cough* devotional, excuse me, Sis
Pilk was beside me and we were fantasizing being on an actual road
trip. She, as was I, were both overcome with how much we were loving
that very moment in time. So many incredible sisters in the car. So
many emotions. No explanation in words ;)
Oh. And then Sister Pilkington and Cortello were literally on top of
me. I smiled. Didn't want to road trip to stop ha!
Ok. Tangent over, back to the Devotional. President Schmitt................
Why. Can. I. Not. USE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE! That man. He's beyond
words. So. Just won't even try.
Also. There's not enough time in the day ha!
Hmmmmm... So much else happened. No time.
Our last few district meetings have been attended by future mission
president's. One going to Russia. The other going to the Philippines.
Intense.
We street contacted another guy and I jammed out on his guitar! But
this time, he was interested :)
He accepted the invitation to be baptized. AND IT WAS IN RAMONA. We'll
be going up there more often.
Sister E is still teaching me Tongan. It's fantastic. I'm still
teaching teaching ASL.
One of my trainer's best friend is in the mission from Thailand!
Sister Sanpothorn. SAWADI-KHA!
The Church is true.
-Sister Carlson
