Everyday's a Holiday

Maligayang Pasko!!  (Merrry Christmas....hehe)

I just love walking into people's houses and seeing Christmas decorations up haha, there are quite a few these days!!  Haha, so picture of Alec and the little white shirt....HILARIOUS!!  Had me rollin around a little haha!  Thanks for all the updates mom, I am very excited for all the pregnancies goin on these days!  And as for the package....don't know if its here yet...could be sitting at the mission home, but I wont get it until Interviews this transfer.  And didn't you say a while ago that the YW sent me a package?  cause if so...i never got it.  As for the ward in which i will be reporting....undecided, i was also thinking about how much it will have changed and maybe it will be better to do it in the home ward.  But how will that work though?  Will I be released by that stake president or my singles ward stake president??  I don't know what to expect really.

So all is well here.....there is no transfer among us 4 sisters, YAY!!!!  Its so fun with us four, lots of energy and excitement and of coarse the usual struggles but those only make us stronger right!  I LOVE my job so much, I hope you all don't get tired of hearing me say that...or I guess reading it, but it's always true!  Yesterday we had 9 investigators come to church!!  WOOHOO!!  I can honestly say for all of them that they are "honest seekers of truth" they genuinely want to follow God's will and I am seeing such great blessings in their lives and so are they!  The gospel is truly amazing.  It is the ONLY thing that can change us for the better and bring us unto Jesus Christ. 

We are teaching 2 kids right now who really want to be taught--they were a referral from a member--and we've tried getting a hold of their parents so we can teach them as well.  Well, the other day we found their mom and she wouldn't give us 2 seconds to share with her our message.  She kept saying how embarrassed she was because of her husband who is always drunk and she is okay with her kids being taught but she doesn't have time for us.  She started crying too as she talked about her husband.  We tried telling her that there was hope for their family to live a better life and for her husband to change..she immediately shot that down and said there was no hope and then left.  Gosh, my heart was broken....here is God dangling happiness right before her and she is turning the other way and running.  Why do we reject the goodness that the Lord offers us?!  Why do we think that there is "no hope" ? Why do we settle for less than complete peace and joy?  Because I want to testify that the promises of the Lord are unto all, not just a select few....stop throwing away and "setting at naught" the blessings of our loving Heavenly Father.  Please, let Him in and stop doubting.  I can't stand to read of the wickedness of the people in the Book of Mormon and then look up and see it happening all around me.  I love all of God's children and know without a doubt we, each one of us, deserves to feel His love and joy in abundance in our lives.  If we feel anything less....its time for a heart-check...is it humble and soft?  Or has it grown hardened and cold. 
"Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of me, if it so be that they exercise faith in him?  Wherefore, let us be faithful to him."  1 nephi 7:12

Sorry, I get a little passionate sometimes, I just want everyone to enjoy life and be happy and accept our Savior into their lives.  So, that's about it....out of time, I LOVE YOU with all that I am, stay strong...."look to God and live"

Sis Carroll

Another week down...

Naimbag nga aldaw (Ilocano) Good afternoon!

Haha, like i really know Ilocano, but its fun to say the phrases I know! Alright, whats the news this week.....First of all, our old tatay who is 87 and came to church last week, came again yesterday!!! AND he now has a baptism date :) :) Who says you're too old to humble yourself and accept the will of the Lord?! As long as we're living, there's still time.....He is SO cute! The work is going really well these days, I am very happy with the growth I am seeing in the area. I am so grateful that there are 4 of us, huge strength! As far as Sis Francia and I, I feel like we are friends, I feel like we can talk and enjoy one another's company and there haven't been any contentious feelings or problems, it's just all too good! Next week is transfers.....holy cow, time gets faster and faster, I feel like we just became comps...most likely nothing will happen because of the new curriculum which now is 2 transfers with your trainee, but the zone leaders said there could still be a transfer....hope not cause I love it here too much!

The only downside really to having another set of missionaries in the area though is that I have the tendency to compare myself to them....I know, not good, it's a weakness and I don't like it, but it still happens. I can get discouraged at times and that's kinda what I felt this last week on and off, it's rather annoying. But last night ended really well and today we had a district activity so it was a good time to just chill and not think about work and walk around in clothes that aren't skirts that you are sick of :) Oh man, I can't wait to just give away all these clothes at the end of my mission and start fresh! And I am happy to report that I still fit into my jeans....first time I've worn them since the MTC....just a tad tighter than I'd like but they still fit thank you! I have gained weight though just these last couple weeks, its really hard sitting for 4 hours before lunch and not eating, plus you have a filipina who makes awesome food in the house.....i gave in though and told sis. Francia I needed to stop eating like crazy and so she's gonna help me....gotta at least look a little better than this when I go home! And yes mom, I am with you, my hair is super long and I wont even recognize myself without a ponytail.....actually the other day my hair was pretty tame so I decided I wanted to leave it down....after about 5 min I put it right back into a pony....for one, its hot, for two, I feel super weird with my hair down...like I'm trying to impress someone or something, it's just not right!

Sometimes I still have realizations that I am living in the Philippines, can understand the people, and have this HUGE love for them when just over a year ago I couldn't say any of that. That happened the other night as we were teaching one tatay who is like 70+ and also has a baptism date and really wants to follow Christ but has a smoking problem and we catch him sometimes smoking. As we were teaching him Saturday night (after finding him smoking) I just saw him as this little innocent child who doesn't know much but knows he wants to see his wife again (who has passed away) and make it back into the presence of Heavenly Father. I couldn't help but realize how merciful the God is.....He truly looks on the desires of our hearts, if we really desire to serve him to the end and are trying our best, it doesn't matter to Him what we keep messing up on. He is not going to make judgements just based on what He sees, but what He knows about who we are. I am truly grateful for that knowledge I have. We have to allow Him to love us and forgive us along our way.
I am so blessed that the Lord has allowed me to be apart of these people's lives, My heart is so full of joy because of them!

My testimony of fervent prayer and relying on the Lord has been strengthened once again as I gave a talk in sacrament yesterday! Gosh, I get so nervous to give talks in sacrament just cause I still don't feel like I am awesome at the language and want to be able to fully express myself as I speak to a group of people. I also want to make sure that even though it's in Tagalog, I am still completely following the promptings of the spirit to be able to meet the needs of everyone in the congregation....member and non member alike. So when the 3rd Sunday roles around I start praying mightily to know what to say and to be able to say it. I feel like the weakest person ever when I stand up in front of them.....but every time I do with a humble and sincere heart, a miracle happens and I deliver the message God wants me to deliver. I always FEEL my words, and not just say them. Yesterday especially, I spoke about missionary work and even the days leading up to it I felt inspired then when I gave it, I definitely had feeling behind my words which made it more powerful. I was so very grateful for the Holy Ghost at that moment....it is Him who works in us when we ask for help, we don't have to do it alone! I just have the biggest passion for missionary work (obviously) and want everyone to feel that as well....this is the ONLY way the world will know of God's plan and He wants EVERYONE to make it back to Him, not one soul left behind. We have a responsibility...lets not take it lightly.
So yes, when we ask we will receive, i know that to be very very true! I love prayer and I love Heavenly Father.

Okay, that's about it....I feel like my letters aren't exciting anymore haha, things are just happening and going by so fast I don't have much time to think about them....hope you don't get bored reading my emails! Haha, its mostly just my feelings. If you have any questions or specific things you want to know about....just ask and I'll be happy to share. But no, there have not been any bathroom blowouts I'm sorry to say....things are pretty normal in that department :) as normal as they can be here!

Love you all, keep on keepin on!

Sis Carroll

1 Nephi 14:14 "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory."

Sisters Plain and Tall

Mga mahal ko,

Musta?!  Hope life is treating you well :)  It sure is giving me everything I need these days haha!  Sometimes good, sometimes bad!  First off I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas!!!  Looks like it's that time of year again....we sang 2 Christmas songs yesterday at church :) gotta love this place!  Tis the season.

So, let me just explain the subject line....My "roomies" and I had a funny conversation last night (which I've had before with lots of other sisters) about the Laoag Mission sister missionaries.....we are different from the other mission's sisters lol, let me explain!  We feel we are the haggard-looking sisters who don't take care of themselves haha...and we're not joking either, we look at pictures of the sisters from other missions and they are all cute and done up while we are the plain and simple ones....it's almost impossible here to keep yourself up, I don't know how they do it in other missions.  I guess most of the mission presidents wives teach the sisters how to wear makeup and look presentable, while we are just told to get to work!  No problem there, it's just funny that we all know it.  Definitely gonna appreciate myself more when I am home and can actually get ready for once and take longer than 10 minutes! 

As for my stomach....I don't feel nauseous anymore, but bloated....that's all the time.  I don't like to think about my health really.  I'm just gonna let that take it's coarse and worry about it when I get home!

That tatay who is 87 unfortunately didn't come to church yesterday, he went to his church, The Church of Christ, but we are still moving forward with him, I can see him fully accepting the gospel after he gains his own witness of the restoration.  I'm excited for him!  Another family I am excited for are the Tarampi's....they are a less active family and have been for a while.  We visited them weekly when I first got here up until sis Whitley was here but they weren't progressing :( They said they wanted to go to church (and live right next door to it) but weren't doing anything about it.  The dad would drink at night and their 2 sons were ashamed and it was always kinda depressing walking into their home.  Like hopeless.  Well, we stopped going there until 2 weeks ago I decided it was time to return and due to some current trials they were facing it looked as if they had been humbled and were ready to come back.....and they did!!!!  They went to church last week and when we visited them afterward, the whole mood of their house had changed, it was like night and day difference...they were all together and happy to have us over then they went to church again yesterday!!!  I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!!!!  And please let me emphasize that this is NOT just for missionaries....I really urge you all to be involved more in the activation of others.  There is no greater joy than helping someone come closer to Christ and especially RETURN to Christ...

We had an AWESOME zone conference this last week and what really pressed upon my mind was just how powerful our influence really is on others.  Just by living faithfully the gospel principles that we are all aware of we can show others that this is important and we NEED to be obedient in order to receive God's approval.  We don't need to use words....just live it!  I like the saying "to know and not to do, is not to know"  Let us not be hypocrites, let us live what we know and what we are learning.  In this we will have a fullness of joy because we will experience the sweet promises of God.  I know it's a work in progress and change will happen little by little, let us not get discouraged but trust in the grace of God, not our own strength. 

I truly love you all and only want to see you receiving ALL the blessings of the gospel, let's do it together so we can rejoice together :)  Do you know the meaning of succor?  President said it means "to run to"  so when Christ is referred to as succoring us it means he is running to our aid when we need Him and call on His name.  I've no doubt about that, I can almost picture Him running, it's so beautiful.  They love us so so much, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. 

I challenge you all this week to pray for missionary opportunities....they are ALL around, do not let one pass you by.  All of our brothers and sisters deserve a chance to hear the beauty of the great plan.  Refer a friend or a family member to the missionaries....do not fear what their reaction will be, they will thank you later :)  And go out and WORK with the missionaries....they really need you!! 

Galatians 1:10  "For do I now ^apersuade men, or God? or do I seek to ^bplease men? for if I yet ^cpleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ"

Now let us go forth and serve GOD!!!

Love always,
Sis Carroll

And just a little scripture I seem to be applying quite well these days.......
Proverbs 28:25 "He that is of a ^aproud heart stirreth up ^bstrife: but he that putteth his ^ctrust in the Lord shall be ^dmade fat."

....at least I'm trusting in the Lord right?!

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!

"...without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5

Minamahal kong family and friends!!!

How are you all this week?!  Hope the storms of life are not beating too hard....and if they are, my advice would be that it's about time to get on your knees and pour out your whole souls to God and really find His will in all of it......actually we should be doing that everyday, storms or clear weather.  Let us not grow complacent in life like the brother of Jared who was eventually chastised for 3 hours by the Lord.....doesn't sound too fun!  I hope we will always be found looking for higher ground and never settle.  It is not enough just to be a baptized member of the church, those are limited blessings and not all that the Lord has in store for us.  So so so much lies ahead!

As for my week, I couldn't be happier (I think I say that all the time) but it's true!  I love living with 3 other sisters!  They are a blast and we all get along so well....I don't see us having any problems over the next 10 weeks.  And Sis Francia is still amazing!

She is a gift from Heavenly Father to me.....I am so blessed that my last couple months here, I get a companion who is fresh and full of fire to do the Lord's work.  It keeps me on MY toes :)  They all speak English very well and mostly what we speak to each other is taglish--like the best language ever!!  It's pretty much their language here, they throw in SO many English words.  I love it!

Most of the people sis Whitley and i found a couple weeks ago ended up falling under the other sister's area which I think was inspired otherwise they'd be starting with nothing!  So now, sis Francia and I are doing a lot of finding!  So fun, it has become a joy of mine!  You never know what to expect!  Let me take it out of the mouth of Forest Gump...."[finding] is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get!"

So our excitement for the week:  Bagyo Mina.....(a storm named Mina).....it started like last Wednesday or Thursday and is just leaving today and tomorrow.  Haha....what an adventure.  The rain and wind has been SO STRONG!!  Friday night I woke up in the middle of the night and it was pitch black, as in pitch black!!  You couldn't see your hand in front of your face.  It was a little scary....the mists of darkness is what I thought of after the death of Christ before He showed Himself to the people in America.  Weird.  The next day we had no power....and I found out right as I started my bucket (shower) that we had no water either....awesome.  So we had to pump a lot of bucket from the house across the street and bring it to our house.  What a hassle!  Then after studies Sis. Cayaba started throwing up.  Since it was raining all we did was leave buckets outside to fill up and brought them in to clean up the tub.  Since we didn't have "clean" water to wash our dishes, we didn't have much to eat for lunch (food storage type foods, like top ramen) Sis Francia and I then went out to work in the cold rain with a fellowshipper haha, poor thing, we dragged her into it too!  We worked for about 4.5 hours then went home to make sure the others were doing okay....Sis. Minoza was also throwing up haha!  It was getting pretty dark and still no electricity so we decided it was probably better to not go out again in the storm.

 We spent the rest of the night sitting at our long table under candle light just talking and writing in our journal....our dinner was pork and beans out of a can (like literally, we ate it directly out of the

can) and crackers and canned fruit.  mmmmmm......   The next day was

Sunday....very few went to church and there was still no electricity or water.  However, during coordination meeting after church some kids came in and said the electricity was back on!!  Haha, everyone in the room shouted for joy and clapped!  How much I have come to appreciate the luxuries we enjoy in America, and the safety of Arizona.  It is so rough to live without those essential things!

Today we've spent a lot of time cleaning our messy house that we just let go for 2 days during the storm!  It was fun, we had some good bonding times with each other and the branch members!!

As far as posting things on facebook, us missionaries have just been asked not to give full names of our companions or people here.  Don't know what happened for that to become a rule!

Well, that's about all I got for today.....thank you all very much for your love and prayers!!  I wish I had time to individually write to you all, because you all mean so much to me in a different way....but unfortunately you have to get a general email because I literally have no time to write letters!!  But know that I love you and think you are all great!!

Sis Carroll

"And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world..."  Ether 4:19

beareth fruit, he pruneth it, that it may bring forth more fruit"  John 15:2

Awesomeness

Gandang hapon!

Musta kayo?!

So....shall I get started with my week?!  I already LOVE the start of this transfer and all of the changes!!! Not gonna lie, I was a little nervous that the area was being split, I was going to train again, and there would be 3 other filipinas living with me and no Americans haha......HOWEVER, all my worrying was for nothing because I LOVE them all!!  And we are already having fun together!  It hasn't been a hard transition like at all not having an American companion, thank goodness.  I really like that there are 4 of us living together and going to the same branch...I think it will really liven up the place!

Sis. Whitley is now in Vigan....big tourist spot!

So, my new child's name is Sis. Francia from Cavite (ca-vee--tay) I know it looks like cavity.....she is AMAZING!!  You would not think that she is a greenie....I feel like SHE is the trainer.  The MTC is sure sending out their missionaries prepared!  The 4 of us have worked together the last couple days so that i can familiarize them with investigators and that's been fun.  A little difficult though trying to balance a lesson with 4 missionaries all receiving revelation haha.

 It's all good though, starting today we will split and Sis. Odgers will make the final decision of the area on Wednesday.  But seriously, I am going to learn sooooo much from Sis. Francia, she has a lot of great ideas and I know she has already started applying everything she's learned about missionary work.  I couldn't ask for a better trainee.  The other 2 sisters in the apartment are Sis. Minoza and Sis. Cayaba

As of this transfer though, there has been a lot of changes around the world with training. I am among the guinea pigs with this new curriculum.  At first I was like "why me?!....this sounds a lot harder!"  Haha, but I know I will be a better missionary from it and the Lord has a lot in store for me to learn.  Here's how it goes.....It is required that you are with your trainee for 2 transfers and you have to follow this 12-week study schedule and accomplish weekly goals.  Our companionship study which is normally 1 hour is now

2 hours long and we have been given personal DVD players to watch The District (missionary training movies) and we have to practice with each other.  It's quite intense.  4 hours a day is required to study before going out.  I really like it.....it's just a little rough getting used to sitting for soooo long.  Like I said though, I can't wait to LEARN  its my favorite thing.  The Lord is really preparing me for my future, I just feel it!

Since we are going to be together 2 more transfers.....that means I am in Lal-lo 2 more transfers which will make a total of 8 1/2 months!

haha, that's a long time, then I only have 1 transfer left after that....might as well just stay here!  I would be totally okay with that, I LOVE Lal-lo and everyone here.  I have been so BLESSED to have been left in the area each transfer, Heavenly Father is so nice to me

:)  Gosh, He just knows us....why do we try to take over our own lives sometimes?  He can do it so much better!  But, I did ask Him the yesterday what my purpose was in still being here, obviously it's for a reason, I just want to know what more I need to do to accomplish His plans.  During my personal study as I was seeking the answer to that question I turned to Alma 14:13 hahah...He's got a sense of humor....it says "..be it according to the will of the Lord; but behold [your] work is not finished."  okay I get the picture, just keep working.

Well, that's about all the news I got, kinda boring I'm sorry but that was the main thing that happened this week.  I am really happy right now, no one needs to worry about me :)  I'm just taking what the Lord gives me and learning from it!  I love God, I love His son Jesus Christ, His plan is perfect and beautiful and we all NEED it.  Let's not allow one day to pass by where we exclude Heavenly Father from our lives.  He must be the very center of it.

Love you all with my whole heart.  Keep pressing forward through the dark and dreary world.  We will make it to the arms of our Savior, if that's the direction we are looking. :)

Sis. Carroll

Mother dearest:  so I don't have my camera with me right now....next week na lang I will tell you what to order.  Also, at your earliest convenience could you please send us some fun chocolate and treats from over there....these sisters like that stuff and it will be fun for all of us to have!!  Also could you also send 4 more small books of Mormon (you can use my money for that) my comps want one and you can't get them here!  Better sooner than later with this stuff :) Love ya mom aka grandma!!  What is your name gonna be?  Lola?  Nanay?  And what are we going by?  Auntie?  Just wondering!

"Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees"

Musta from the bundoks!!  (hello from the mountains!)
Well well well, what a surprise I just got when we looked at the transfer list……I am training again…..and they are splitting my area and Sis Whitley isn’t even staying here with me, 2 other sisters are coming up that I don’t know so it’s gonna all be on me to lead 2 areas……Heavenly Father knows what He’s doing right??  Expect the UNEXPECTED, that’s for sure.  Gosh, this isn’t an easy thing,  I don’t quite know what to think right now.  But as crazy as it all sounds and is, I feel at peace…..I’ve been praying to see more of my weakness and for more faith…..and I know this is from the Lord, my life is in His hands.  Who knows what is coming this transfer, but I feel good about it.  I am really just hoping an American sister is coming….otherwise I will be the only American in the district and almost the whole zone……I can do this.

Ah man, can I just say though how much I am going to MISS my best friends Sis Whitley?!!!  I can’t believe she is leaving!  I have felt SO blessed to have been her companion for 2 transfers, I have learned more during that time than I have my whole life I think.  Well, that’s how it feels at least.  I’m so grateful for that time and know there is much more in store for both of us…wherever we end up.

I am still glad though that I’m in this area!!!!  I love it so so much and amazing things are still happening, amazing people falling into our lap.  Sis Whitley and I were joking around yesterday saying “all we do is wake up and walk outside…..” We honestly feel like WE are not actually the ones doing ANYTHING, the Lord is doing it all, we are just in the right place at the right time and they are all ready for it.  I am so blessed to now be going into my 5^th transfer here haha….I really wouldn’t mind staying here until December!
I’ve really been learning how very still and how very small the voice of the Holy Ghost is…..before the mish I would here stories of people who had felt a huge prompting to do something and then they avoided a dangerous situation or they found an awesome person who wanted to be baptized……I can’t recall anything huge happening like that, yet I know I have experienced all those same results, and I can look back and realize that my decisions that lead up to those where just thoughts I had and things I just wanted to do……and the miracles came from that, the small things, not the big things.  Someone talked about that in last conference, Elder Bednar, we cannot look for signs or miraculous manifestations as answers to questions or to receive direction from God…..those are in the minority.  More often than not revelation that comes from God is small, He “worketh by means to bring about His purposes”  I know this to be true, although it is a lot harder to discern, it means that we are worthy to receive the Spirit, and we are in tune.  I love knowing that I am worthy and in tune to be led by God

The other day I was thinking about life and how if we want to become like our Savior we need to make sure we are putting forth effort everyday of our lives.  We need to constantly be working to overcome weaknesses, and when one weakness has become a strength, move onto the next one, don’t sit back and think it’s over.  This gospel requires work, it requires obedience to ALL of God’s commandments.  We are here to make it back to Heavenly Father, not here to obtain anything less.  So, if that’s what we are going for, we can’t miss one day, no break or vacation in this game of life….   Sound tiring??  Yeah, I thought so too.  I had no idea how I was supposed to do that the rest of my life  and not give up.  How am I supposed to keep going?  Well, I knew that only the Lord could answer that question, so I asked Him in my prayer before my personal study.  “Lord, how do I keep going when there is no break in this life?  I don’t want to give up down the road when it becomes harder and harder to live like my Savior.”  He answered of coarse with this scripture I found……Hebrews 12:1-2

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the ^asin which doth so easily ^bbeset us, and let us run with ^cpatience the race that is set before us.  Looking unto Jesus the ^aauthor and ^bfinisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him ^cendured the cross, despising the ^dshame, and is set down at the right hand of the ^ethrone of God.”

In this I learned that I need to be patient….patient with myself and my weaknesses, knowing that I will never be able to do it all in one day, year, or lifetime….and I need to allow God to be patient with me.  He is long-suffering and if I can accept that, I will be more happy and capable of overcoming this world, little by little.    He is the finisher, in this I think of myself unable to finish the race on my own because of the mountainous hills set before me, He will make up the miles I cannot run, but not only that, I’m sure He will throw me on His shoulders so we can both finish it together J  He would do something like that, I just know it.  In the end, I too will have a place “at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Needless to say, I felt a lot better about life after reading that and seeing the bigger picture in my head.  I know that when we ask, God will give. 

Let’s see……something exciting…….I got to ride on a caribou!  (can't send a pic this week, puter problems)  I didn’t actually ride it, more like just sat on it for the picture but you get the point.  It was cool either way!  The people are so nice, they just let you sit on their animals whenever you ask.  That was the most adventurous thing that happened this week, pretty fun!  As for other things to mention this week…..I can’t stand my health these days, it’s driving me crazy.  I went on 2 liquid diets this week because my stomach is just messed up…..not a happy camper when I don’t get to eat food.  Not fun.  My stomach still feels funny and I’m always nauseous….how joyous the day when I can get all these WORMS out of me!

I think that’s all I got……I’m happy, I’m growing, I’m getting weirder and weirder as the months go by, and I love life…..and I’m a Mormon.  Okay I had to say it, it totally sounded like one of those Mormon videos on Mormon.org—you should watch them, there are some way cool Mormons in the world!  I am proud to be one of them!

Love you all with all my heart!

Sis. Carroll

“And now I say unto you, that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not…wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole souls…” 2Ne 2:29

Funness

Dearest Family and Friends,

Mahal ko kayo!!!!!! (I love you all) :)  Just thought I'd let you know!  I'm in a very loving and happy mood right now!  Life is great.  I just want to start off by saying Sis Whitley and I have decided if there is any chance of us still being comps again next transfer (next week) we need to show the Lord how grateful we are that we ARE comps right now......we definitely put our shoulder to the wheel and kicked but this week with finding people.  Holy cow, Heavenly Father blessed us SO MUCH as we talked to everyone we could.  I have never felt such power and fire behind my desire to share the gospel, it was like I had no fear and nothing mattered, I was gonna tell everyone of the joy of the gospel.  We were able to find 22 new investigators this week!!  That is a record for my mission, I think the most before that has been 16, but usually it's around 10.  We didn't just find random joe's either, like the Lord specifically placed people in our path that had questions and wanted to listen.  Miracles.  We've also been running into some very different types of people like never before.  I never would've been ready for them until now.  Let's share some stories.....

Last week we went to teach an older couple who calls us their new daughters and loves everything we teach.  I think I mentioned them before, they knew the Catholic church was wrong because they actually read and understood the bible.  So, when we went there last week they were just finishing up listening to a pastor from The Church of Christ, Pastor Johnny.  He looked SO nervous to be in our presence and it seemed he had no confidence in his teaching while we just sat there and waited for him to finish.  Then he left.  We thought it was funny how a grown man was afraid of 2 white girls.  Well, then we went back on Friday and he was there again, just finishing up and then he decided to stay and listen.  I felt a little funny about it, but we began following up on Nanay and Tatay's reading and prayer (they were supposed to pray to know if this was the true church) usually they are very open with us and are excited to report on their reading from the BOM but this time they gave the general answer that everyone else gives...."oh, it's all good"  I knew right then something had changed.  I wasn't too sure what we should do but then Sis Whitley started bearing testimony and then we opened with a prayer.  Nanay was just like "oh God must know we want to learn about God so He sent us you guys and Pastor Johnny" And this was after how many times we've taught that there is only one true church of God.  I started reviewing about Joseph Smith and his search for truth just like Nanay and Tatay.  The pastor stayed quiet at first.  We told them how important it was to pray and ask God for truth and answers and not believe everything people were saying.  We testified boldly of the Plan of Salvation and the Restoration.  They seemed to not really listen to us like before.  They kept asking Pastor Johnny if things were right.  It was so weird and I didn't like it at all.  Then towards the end Pastor Johnny decided it was in his best interest to give us some "tips"  He said "for me, I don't force people to join my church, I let them study and pray about it"  "for me, as missionaries we should only teach" "from my experience....."  all of these suggestions which blew my mind because that was exactly what we had just taught them.  To study then ask God, we even read scriptures about it.  He couldn't question any of the doctrine, just tell us what we should do, that we were already doing.  But for me, he was doing so much more than that.  I saw the slyness of the devil working through Johnny.  He was sitting in between Nanay and Tatay feeding them what they wanted to hear.  He was saying "it's okay, you just need time, you don't have to do it all right away" I thought of a scripture in 2 Nephi

We also ran into a Jehovah Witness.....that was fun, they love to share their gospel.  Luckily this one was newer so she didn't have much to say.  We just taught about God and Christ and how they have bodies.  She didn't believe it at all, even when we showed her in the bible after Christ is resurrected and eats with His apostles.  She was like, whoa, I've never seen that before, but He's only a spirit.  It was so crazy to hear how set she was just from what people have told her.  She was brainwashed.  Programmed almost to say the same thing and not accept anything else.  Especially about the 144,000 who are automatically going to heaven with God while the rest of the good people will just stay on the earth.  Why in the world would you be content with that and why would you reject doctrine that teaches we can all live with God again with our families????  Blows my mind.  For the first time, I also had to teach Satan is real.  One girl didn't believe he was, but was able to understand after we taught and also understand why he wants us to think he isn't real.  Then we encountered a Baptist, that was a first.  They have  a lot of truth, just missing some pieces, and of coarse, the Priesthood.  It was a fun week to say the least!!!  I quite enjoyed it and know the Lord doesn't give us anything we can't handle.

Okay, so the in-town fiesta was last week!  So fun!  Lots of booths from all over the pines with fun stuff to buy :)  And don't worry I finally got a good bathroom story, i know its been a while since you've gotten one of those......really, they happen all the time, its just normal to me now!  But this one's funny.  So last Monday we went to the fiesta with a member to buy some stuff and just started walking around when my stomach started hurting....uh oh, I know that feeling but i prayed it would hold off till we got back home, i wasn't to fond of the idea of finding a CR (bathroom) so we kept walking and looking at stuff when my stomach started to KILL.  Not a good feeling and I didn't want to take a trike home so the member led us to a public CR....hehehe, love those.  There is a huge bucket in the stall with the toilet just being filled up with water and no toilet paper of coarse.  I went in and was there for a nice little while then took care of everything with the water--the usual when there's no toilet paper (not gonna lie, its not too bad to just pour water down your back, it works!) then I walked out and noticed there was a sign that said:  Payment to pee 3 pesos, payment to poo 5 pesos.....and there were a couple guys my age sitting there and I asked if I needed to pay and they were like yeah sure so i gave them 5 pesos and they were like "oh no sister, it's only 3 pesos!" and tried to find 2 pesos to give me as change, I was like haha no really, keep the 5 pesos, lets just let everyone know what I just did!  We walked away laughing, and they were laughing too.  Love my life here! 

So there you have it, my exciting week!  I love Lal-lo, all my experiences, and especially Sis Whitley!!!
Hope you all had a great week and have an even better one this week!!!  Keep on sticking to your task and don't worry when the storms come, it only means a beautiful sky is on the way.

Ingat!  (take care)
Sis. Carroll

Alma 39:15 "And now...I would say somewhat unto you concerning the coming of Christ.  Behold, I say unto you that it is he that surely shall come to take away the sins of the world; yea, he cometh to declare glad tidings of salvation unto his people."

masarap ang buhay.....life is good!

Musta lahat!!

Yet another week down....must it go this fast? We had a good week this week I must say....It ended with a successful baptism and confirmation of JohnPaul Pascual!! If you all remember correctly, I wrote before that he was baptized 3 years ago but never confirmed for whatever reason so this time, we got him :) Heheh, he is the CUTEST kid! He is amazing and has come a long way! He loves the church, the Book of Mormon, prayer, the Holy Ghost and is such an example at only 12 years old. I'm so proud of him, I can only imagine what his Heavenly Father feels! 

So after the baptism to show our appreciation for the Pascual's since they ALWAYS feed us and are so amazing, we held an "American Night" at their house ;) Basically we just made them American food and they enjoyed it! We made french toast, chicken salad sandwiches, garlic mashed potatoes, and rice crispy treats! They liked it all except the mashed potatoes, they just didn't like tasting the garlic haha. It was fun, I love these people, we have such a good time with them all!

We had interviews this week--LOVE them! President and Sister Odgers are incredible. They truly love and care about each one of us and do all they can to receive revelation for each of us individually. It is very apparent in our interviews. WE matter to them and I know I matter to them! When we meet with Sister Odgers it is for our health interview.....we get on a scale and tell her a goal as far as our health....as much as I know I have gained weight, EVERYTIME I have gotten on the scale, it's stayed the same haha! I don't understand, I think it's my parasite friends inside of me, they make me look like a balloon sometimes but don't add any extra weight. Awesome, can't wait to get rid of them!!!!

In my interview with President, we talked about spiritual gifts since that has been on my mind lately, I want to develop them as much as I can. I asked him for suggestions on finding out what spiritual gifts I have and how to obtain the others. He named a few that he felt I had and gave me ideas on finding new ones. He said I'd be surprised to find what can constitute as a spiritual gift. He told me to write down everything I like doing and everything I like about God, and also to go back through my journals and find moments of growth and learning and in all of this I should find more than I realize I have. I have really learned a lot about gifts of the spirit, like how much they are not really for us, they are for others alone, but in return we are blessed as the bearers.......did I already write about this? Maybe I did, but I'm going to keep going.
I have seen a lot of new gifts come out as I've been companions with sis Whitley, it's way cool and I have only seen them as I've been able to help HER, not myself....it's amazing. President said that basically it all comes down to charity. When we love others, we want to help them. God will give us the abilities we need to fulfill our desires to serve. When we have charity, or the pure love of Christ, for others, we pretty much have all the other gifts. We in return will be blessed one hundred fold. God is great. His was are so mysterious, yet so simple. I love Him.
Some of the gifts President mentioned for me were: spiritual perception, being quick to observe.....and then he told me that I am one who has found what I came on my mission for, and I'm living it. Others, he said, find what they came for but don't live it, therefore they haven't really found "it"......I am among the ones who live it.....I was really grateful for him telling me that, I feel like I have really changed into a new and better person and it's become my lifestyle. This isn't something that is going to leave or change when I get home and go back to "the world" , I don't feel like that.....this is a lasting change, a form of being "born again" I will live the gospel of Jesus Christ the rest of my life that I may stand worthy before my God and receive every promised blessing from His hand. I have devoted my life to Him, plain and simple.
I want all to find this happiness I feel because of the Living Christ and following Him. It's not an easy road, let's not for one second think it is.....it is an ever challenging, uphill climb, with benefits beyond our mortal comprehension. I wish I could describe my joy because of my daily striving to be a better person and a more worthy person, but words just wont do it.

I want to thank each of you for your examples to me....I wouldn't be here without your help, love and support of me. Do not give up on your own journey, however tall the mountain, it can be climbed when we hold on to the hand that is before us, leading us down the same path that He has already conquered. Christ lives, we too shall live and conquer.

Lahat ng pagmamahalan ko,
(all my love!)

Sister Carroll!!

Discoveries, Happiness...and a Rat

Musta family and friends!

Can I just start off by saying I LOVE these people!! I don't know if I say that enough.....of coarse there are the times I get annoyed by their traditions and lifestyles, but I love them so much--all of them, when I am having a bad day or feeling blah, they totally cheer me up, and especially when we teach them awesome lessons! I also love the Holy Ghost, He is a good friend.

So we definitely saw a rat probably bigger than trigger in our house for the second time!!! It's HUGE! And it's only on the counter that we see him....ew. Sometimes I can't wait for the day I am out of dirty, creature-filled houses. Other times, I still can't wait. Like really, it's gonna be weird to go home and not have ants crawling everywhere you are! That's almost a strange thought, it's perfectly normal now. The elders in our district told us a couple weeks ago that they had a huge rat and trapped it between the wall and a dresser, then poured alcohol all around and lit it on fire and everything went up in flames!!! They were so scared that the whole house was going up with it....but since it was just alcohol it quickly went down, leaving no burn marks.....only a toasted rat......oh brother, elders........

As far as the rainy season goes.....it's rained a couple of days but nothing spectacular. We haven't had buckets really coming down on us....and I am very grateful that I haven't experienced a flood! Not looking forward to one of those.....these streets are straight up nasty.

Do we ever really take the time to read the hymns as we sing them?? Um, cause they are the BOMB!!! Holy cow, you wonder why you can feel the Spirit so strong when singing them or hearing them.....its cause they are so full of truth that the Spirit can't restrain himself from being present. We would learn SO much if we listened to and read those words. How funny is it that you can do routine things for years and not even pay attention to what you are doing? Every time I sing a hymn here I'm like "whoa, I've never read that before!" If we are not careful, our whole lives will become a routine.....

So, I am realizing recently that I have come on my mission to be a counselor....di biro yen (thats not a joke) haha, the Lord has blessed me with the capacity to listen to and take in the hardships of my companions.....I am the ears of each companionship and I dont even mind! I just really want to help them overcome the things they are experiencing or going through! I am also able to see me in them too, as they talk, I'm like "yep, im the same way" sometimes its good, sometimes its bad.....but what it's helping me do is realize just how similar we all are. Though each road is different, each person unique, we all mainly want one thing---to be accepted and feel loved. Now, for some people, they may want acceptance and love from the world or from others (and will never find it) but for those with a sound understanding, they seek that from the true source of everything good and beautiful--God. I want to help everyone find out who they are in God's eyes, because those are perfect eyes. If we could only gain this perspective of ourselves (cause we all know WE have a distorted view of ourselves) I believe the world would be a happier, more beautiful place. It truly starts with one. When we love ourselves as God loves us, only the eternal is important. Sister Odgers said in district conference yesterday "If it's not eternal, don't worry about it." We were all born to be Kings and Queens in the eternities, we were not born to merely be an average joe. Remember that.

Heavenly Father is helping me come to a lot of conclusions about what I want to do as a career when I get home....it's not yet perfected, only in the beginning stages, however, it has a lot to do with how we all existed spiritually before physically, how spiritual things leave a more lasting impression than temporal things and how spirit to spirit is the quickest and best way to come to a knowledge of something or become converted. If, with every weakness we want to overcome--be it physical or spiritual, mental or emotional--we would make it a spiritual matter, I believe our efforts and results would be more motivated and more lasting. If we want to start a journey to overcome a weakness, make it a spiritual journey. As a job, I would like to focus more on health and nutrition as a spiritual matter.... If we can use the same process we use to become converted to God with wanting to get in shape and eat healthy, for example, I believe we would be able to achieve this a lot better and quicker than if we just do it ourselves. The whole purpose in life is to overcome the natural man--and God is there to show us how it's done. We will come closer to perfection if we make everything a spiritual matter, and look to the eternities.

Not quite perfected yet, but I am excited for the coming months and years where I can see how God will continue to use me as an instrument for the happiness of others in this life and life to come. I love "being about my Father's business"--there is no greater joy and I hope to do so until I meet Him again.

I invite each of you to begin your spiritual journey in the things holding you back in life, that you might say as Ammon has said "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things"

Love you all like crazy, know that your happiness is important and you deserve it!
Sis Carroll

Ingat palagi