My name is Hope...

Musta kayo!!

Well fam and friends, don't have too many exciting things to talk about in this email....all has been pretty normal for the most part--at least normal to me anyway haha! Life is beautiful and part of that beauty is the trials challenges I face everyday....those times are opportunities to search harder for the Lord in my life and diligently work to learn His will. It's always accompanied by growth and understanding, Of that I am truly grateful. If things were easy, I would never learn to find answers from God.

I am seeing LOTS of weaknesses these days....it's my own fault, I prayed to be shown my weaknesses last transfer and here they are, all right before my face, but I remember something President Odgers told us....when we start to see more of our weaknesses it doesn't mean we are growing farther from God, it means we are coming closer to Him. I worry about the times that I feel things are all going well, I don't want to stop growing and learning! So don't worry, I feel this week ALL my weaknesses have been brought to my attention--I am not in the comfort zone haha!

I sure do love this work, amazing things are happening....actually they are always happening. But this week was awesome because for the first time an investigator that I found and began teaching has accepted baptism and has started preparing herself and understands the importance and truly wants it, and I will be here to see er get baptized! Usually I walk into areas with people already being baptized, or I leave before my investigators are baptized....this time, I will actually get to see the fruits of my labors and how sweet that is! She gets baptized on Oct 1! Another cool thing....We found an 87 year old man on Thursday and taught him, then on Saturday we went back and he had read (he can still read w\o glasses!) the whole Restoration pamphlet and had really good questions and really wanted to learn....then he came to church yesterday!!!! It was the most precious thing ever!!!

On to the subject line.....We have found more less actives this last week and in teaching them along with our investigators I am feeling more and more like there is no more hope in the world!! My heart breaks when I hear the reasons people are less active...it all goes down to them losing their hope and faith in Christ. They are people who were active for many years but because life got too tough and they weren't seeing blessings, they just gave up. We have promised to endure to the end, that implies hard times ahead once we are baptized.
It is not a smooth road--quite bumpy actually. Everyday is a test of our faith, trials that seem to last forever are for a reason and maybe we need to change our outlook on them before considering giving up.

Maybe our questions and pleadings need to change before we will see the silver lining. While we are here on earth, there is still hope in that Christ who has brought redemption to us all---that is only through faith on His name. And the only way we show faith in Him is by obedience and endurance. He will heal us, He has promised to...but it is us that must continue to go to Him everyday. We can do it, I know we can! Don't lose hope, that is the worst thing we can lose in this life and that is exactly what Satan wants. "The right way is to believe in Christ....and serve him with all you heart, might, mind, and strength" That scripture is in 2 Nephi somewhere haha, can't remember....but we have a wonderful promised blessing from our Father...that is ETERNAL LIFE. Who wouldn't want that? Who wouldn't want to work for that? My challenge to you all is to study hope and ask God what you need to do today to obtain His promised blessings now and in the eternities.

Love you all, Keep on chuggin along, life is too short to worry!

Sister Carroll :)

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!!!!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!!! ( I was gonna send a pic of the four of us holding a happy birthday sign but the computer is stupid, bummer but it was Sis Francia's idea, she's awesome!) And you can just send the books of Mormon in one box, its okay, we all live together and they know you're sending them!