New Companion, New Mission Boundaries, New Investigator!

There were some adjustments this week! 

First I got a new companion.  Sister Davis.  She is super fun and a really great teacher.  She is from San Clemente, California and has been out for 10 months.

Second, the mission boundaries changed! It didn't effect me in my area, but we lost some of my great missionary friends! Crazy things....

I didn't manage my email time too well today, so I'm just going to talk about key highlights of the week.

On Tuesday evening, Sister Davis and I were in our driveway and I was showing her my whip!  There was a kid walking his dog down the street.  After a second, I realized that I knew him! I said, "Hey I know you! Elijah, right?"  The fact that his name popped in to my head that quickly was a miracle itself.  Elijah is the step son of Alexis, an investigator we found in February who allllways cancels her lessons on us.  He's 16. We asked him his beliefs--he said he believes in like energy....If you die, your energy goes into a tree or something kinda weird like that.  Okay... We then asked if he would be interested in meeting with us to learn more about the church.  He said sure!  So we set up an appointment for the next day.  We taught lesson one.....IT WAS SO AMAZING!  I could feel the Spirit so strong.  He absorbed what we taught him like a sponge.  He just...got it.  He understood it and loved it.  That was probably the highlight of my week.

We also met with Jezrael and Elliott.  On Sunday, Jezrael taught the Sunday school lesson for his first time! I was so proud of him. :)  He's great.  

Okay, I'm drawing a blank for this week.  Also, I forgot my SD card converter, so I don't really have pictures. :(

Quote of the week:

"I saw a chicken video on Facebook.  It reminded me of you." ~Elliott

I'm glad I remind people of chickens. haha

Ponderize: Galatians 6:9

...Let us not be weary in well doing...

Pretty simple... We can never tire too much in doing work for the Lord! It's important to be diligent in keeping busy doing good!

From Idaho to you,

XoXo

Sister Carling

These are just some random, silly pictures we took on a members phone. Featuring: Elder Burgess and Sister Davis!

Sister Richards is Gone!!

Hello y'all! 

How's AZ weather? Hot? That's what I hear. haha This week it was in the 60s and 70s here...Aaaah so nice. :) haha I love Boise.

Okay.  This week is going to be short, with lots of pictures.

Last Tuesday we helped our YSA ward mission leader propose to his girlfriend/now fiance.  It was adorable.  I took pictures for him, which I haven't done any photography like that in a looong time, so it was fun!!!  Later that day we met with Jezrael, Elliott, and Jeremy at the library for Sister Richard's last time.  THOSE BOYS ARE MY FAVORITE!  Then we met with Crazy Dave.  Our dinner appointment that night took us out to eat, but also took us to the Nike store to buy whatever we wanted because they get a discount! Oh my gosh, that was SO nice of them!!  

Wednesday we said goodbye to some people for Sister Richards.  Thursday we saw Rosselyn in the hospital.  She is doing WONDERFUL!  I think she should be leaving the hospital soon because she is walking around all by herself.  That night was Sister Richard's LAST lesson as a missionary! We taught the Fluckigers the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Then....Friday came......I had to leave my best friend! :(  I was crazy sad to leave her. I still am sad she's gone! For the weekend I stayed with Sister Kappel and Sister Marsh.  We had a good time.

Saturday night was one of the happiest moments of my mission.....THE OSUNA FAMILY WAS BAPTIZED!  We were able to go to the hospital and FaceTime the baptism.  Afterwards, Rosselyn said, "When I got baptized I felt so much joy and all I wanted was for my family to have it. The Lord answers prayers so fast sometimes. I can't believe it actually happened."  She is AMAZING.  Then we went over to the church building where the baptism was and said hola to the family.  Even though there is a language barrier, I have so much love for them.  You can see a difference in their countenances too.  The gospel brings JOY!!!!!

Today is transfer day...............

I'M STAYING IN THE BOISE MISSION aaaand I'M STAYING IN MY AREA!!!!!! Happy day! My new companion is Sister Davis.

Alright, I'm about out of time.

This weekend I lost my phone.  I still haven't found it.... I don't know if I will find it, but I'm relying on the Lord and praying so hard that a miracle might happen.

Ponderize: 3 Nephi 18: 20

And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.

It was really cool because during sacrament meeting I was stressing out about the lost phone and I opened up to this scripture.  I just gotta have faith!!

From Idaho to you,

XoXo

Sister Carling

PS. I have LOTS of pictures from this week.

Last group picture before transfers.

Elder Adkins and Lamb are going to the Nampa mission.

The Rotz took us out for breakfast... They are the awesome people we live with!

I LOVE THESE BOYS SO MUCH!!!!!

Nate took us out for Slushes before Sister Richards left.

Rosselyn! <3

This is the last picture I have with Sister Richards...right before I had leave her! :(

The Osuna family after their baptism. <3

 

Last Week of the Transfer...Last week in Boise?!

I swear when you have a companion that is your best friend and is also going home, the transfer just blows by.  I've got 5 more days with Sister Richards! 😶😭  And I might even have only a week left in Boise!! There is a highly likely chance that I could be moving to the Nampa, Pocatello, or Idaho Falls mission... Weird. Sad. Scary. Or maybe I will stay in Boise! But! All of these changes are done by the guidance and influence of the Spirit, so whatever happens is supposed to happen.   It' scary though.  I've made a commitment to myself that no matter where I go (or if I stay) I will keep a positive attitude.  Iss all gooood. :)

This week has been a whirlwind of an adventure!

Monday: Last P-day Sister Billy Jo Hess, one of my favorite members, took Sister Richards and I to bike the Greenbelt!  It was a warm day, but the heat didn't really phase me, because....well, I'm from Mesa, Arizona! haha  Anyways, The Greenbelt is a trail along the Boise River that people can walk, run, bike....It's gorgeous!  We made a pit stop to cool off by stepping a little bit into the river.  It was cold! But so nice. :)

We also went to the Boise Aquarium because a guy in our YSA ward that we teach works there, so he got us in!  We got to pet sting rays, sharks, fish.... And we held bearded dragons and got to feed a chameleon. Super cool!  We make the most out of our P-days and have lots of fun. :)

Tuesday was very special.  At our dinner appointment on Monday, Cheryl told us that she got her temple recommend back! I have been working with Cheryl since the beginning of my mission.  Her goal was to go back to the temple....and she made it!! She wanted to set up a time for us to go with her for her first time back....So we went the next day!!!! It was a beautiful experience. And while I was in the temple I ran in to Sister Terri Riggs!!!!  Ohhhh it's the coolest thing to see people you know in the temple, especially when they are from home! 

We got to visit Rosselyn a couple times, again.  She is doing SO well! She looks better and better every time I see her. :)  One time when we stopped by, the Spanish elders happened to be there too.  Right after we walked in, Rosselyn's grandpa told the elders that they decided they want to get baptized!!!  Aaaaaaah!!! It was so exciting to hear that!  Rosselyn's love for the gospel was felt by her family and they felt the Spirit and now want to be a part of the gospel. Happy happy day! 

We had a lesson at Subway with a YSA investigator that we found a while back.  We taught the Plan of Salvation. This guy, Sean, thinks about things a lot.  I like it... But believe it or not, we were there for over an hour and a half and didn't even get past "the veil"! He was so hung up on why we had to have a veil after Pre-earth life.  That was different than normal.  Usually we explain the veil in a couple sentences, but an hour and a half is a looong time to discuss that.... haha

That night we taught the Fluckiger family (I love them!) the Plan of Salvation.  It was very nice and much simpler to teach it to parents and a four year old. (They didn't get stuck on why we have the veil;)

Jezrael came in to town from Spokane! We met up with him.  It's always great to teach him.

Today we went on a hike at Bogus Basin.  The Idaho foothills are so nice, and the weather was gorgeous....I think it was in the high 60s. :)

And I think that about wraps up my week in a nutshell.  Here goes one last week with Sister Richards!!

Ponderize: Exodus 14:14 (Sister Richards favorite scripture:)

The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

When times are tough, if we are doing what is right, all will be well! The Lord is always on our side!!

From Idaho to you,

XoXo

Sister Carling

When we biked the Greenbelt and dipped our feet in the river!

 Our hike at Bogus Basin this morning.

6 Months a Missionary!!

Alright.  This week.....What exciting news do I have this week? Hmmm.

Well here's a realization...... In two days, I'll have been a missionary for 6 MONTHS!! 1/3 done?? Whaaaaat? This is crazy. 

We have an investigator, Sameayah, who has met with TONS of missionaries before, but has not been baptized yet.  She got into some anti and texted us telling us that she can't meet with us and she can't be baptized.  We still wanted to meet with her to resolve her concerns, but she said she can't...  Then later that afternoon, we were meeting at a church building for a lesson with our less-active member, Dave.  The elders were going to be a part of the lesson too.  All of a sudden Sameayah pulled into the parking lot and said, "Sisters! I was wrong! I need the lessons!!" Aaah yay!! She also said, "I was driving home and something told me to pull into the parking lot. I didn't even know you were here."  That's the Spirit!  We ended up teaching her lesson 1.  She has lots of questions, which is good, because she is trying to find for herself if these things are true.  She also came to church with us on Sunday for ALL 3 hours!!!!  I love her.  She is hilarious.

We went to the hospital several times this week to go visit Rosselyn.  She ended up having surgery on her neck.  On Friday she was in a lot of pain, but yesterday she was outside on the balcony! She is recovering and doing very well. :)  She loves when we come and give her spiritual nourishment.  She also told us that her parents and grandpa are thinking about getting baptized!!!! So exciting!! 

Elliott has not really been progressing.  We asked him what his desires were.  Elliott is just so precious and sweet, so even though he always no to invitations (to church, or baptism) it's so hard to say anything against his answer, because he replies so politely! He told us that he would like to meet less, because once a week is a lot.  And he said "Your church is pretty booooring.  You guys aren't boring though." haha Oh Elliott....I just love him. Even though he doesn't have desires now, I hope in the future he will gain a greater understanding. 

Robert.  Robert.  Robert is the less-active guy who called his PO in the middle of our lesson.  He has desires to change.  It's great.  But he's always super vague in our lessons, so we can't tell where he's at with his life.  Apparently his phone was broken, and he really wanted to get a hold of us to tell us he won't be coming to FHE....I'm gonna skip the details, but I guess he was telling people that he needed to get a hold of us because was going to date us.  Date the sisters.  Both of us. Well....... We're not gonna do lessons with him anymore.  We're passing him off to the family ward elders.   

Highlight of my week:

We went to the temple as a zone on Thursday! It was the neatest experience because last transfer we each found our own temple name to take through the temple all the way: Baptisms, confirmation, initiatory, endowment, and sealing!  A long, wonderful day in the house of the Lord. :)  I found it extra special, because my sister was just sealed to my new brother-in-law a few days before.  Even though I wasn't there for her sealing, I was able to listen to the covenants and promises that were made. :)  I love the temple so much. 

Ponderize: 3 Nephi 11:10-11.

Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning. 

The moment when Jesus appears to the Nephites is one of my favorite parts of the Book of Mormon.  He is the light.  Because He is light, we can be light when we follow His example.  I love my Savior!! 

From Idaho to you, 

XoXo 

Sister Carling

After the temple! <3

Hey, it's still not too hot to be outside here in Idaho!

It's much better than the 118 degree AZ weather. ;)

Sister Richards and I went to get the mail. She ran inside and locked me out.  With her face pressed up against the window like this, she told me (in an Australian accent) I had to guess the password.  We are very good at entertaining ourselves.