Holidays & Prayer-September 13, 2010

Dear Family,

Its always so good to get emails from you... totally the best part of my week. I love that you were able to go four-wheeling!! I miss that already. Especially when it rains here a lot. I really don't mind though. The weather is starting to change. I can tell Fall is coming on! I'm not really excited for the colder weather but I am very excited to see the leaves change! I'm heard that it is breath-taking here when the seasons change.

So some funny facts from my week: 1- We decided, in our apartment, that since all four of us Sisters wouldn't be together for the holidays we would celebrate a different holiday every day of the week! So we would find some way, throughout the day, to celebrate a different holiday. We had St Patrick's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, etc... We did different things like: Made Valentines for each other, wore green, ate a huge feast, made a Christmas tree out of a branch. Such fun stuff! ...Just because I'm a missionary doesn't mean that I'm not me :) The only sad thing is that the left side of my thumb is now completely numb from cutting out so many leaves on Thanksgiving! I must have pinched a nerve or something... oh well. Done for a good cause. :) 2- We haven't found an apartment yet, although we're still looking. Henrietta is a pretty high-class place with some expensive apartments. Hopefully the Lord will open up a way for us to go somewhere soon. We, probably actually won't ever live there because by the time they get it approved from Church Headquarters we'll probably be transfered out of the area. So we'll see what happens...

We set a baptismal date with someone else this week! Her name is Michelle. We've been teaching her since the very first week that I got here and last week when we came to our appointment she told us that she wanted to go to the Church of Christ. We were a little sad but we told her that that was completely her decision and that we just wanted her to make sure that that was what God wanted her to do. So we challenged her to pray again about the Book of Mormon and to know if Thomas S Monson was a true prophet and left her that night. The next morning we got a call from her and she was SO excited! She told us that she got an answer from God and that He told her that both of those things were true. She was so happy she asked us to come over right then and teach her more. So now she is on fire! She came to church yesterday and LOVED it... when Sunday School was over she shouted out "I love this class!" :) I never really felt that strongly about Sunday School before but I'm glad she loved it :). So she's quitting tobacco and coffee today, and Sister Stone and I are going to give up cake so we can know what it is like to give up something we love :) We can help each other through it! We love Michelle. She has an innocent mind, but is so sincere and genuine.

I know that this work is true. I'm so grateful for it. We had many more experiences this week where we were at the EXACT right place at the right time. Heavenly Father is so aware of each of His children. I pray every day to be able to feel that love, so I can know how to express it to others. In my own personal study I have been reading out of Alma. I love that book so much! Now that I'm reading it with "missionary eyes", these chapters are SO powerful and uplifting. I have especially come to love Chapter 26... Ammon sees the goodness of God in his life. He believes in His mercy and in His strength and exclaims "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 strenth I can do all things..." I love Heavenly Father. I love my Savior. I know that with them apart of my life I am a something.

Well I hope everything else is going well for you this week. You should send me some pictures of things that are going on at home! I realized when I came out here that I really have no pictures of home, although now I do have the new family pictures which I love!

I love you more than words express. Sometimes I wonder why I'm out here doing this, but then I remember that I want people to grow up in a home like I did and that makes me want to teach everyone. My prayers are always with you...

Love, Sister Carter