Slowly and surely November 8, 2010

Dear Family,

What a nice letter Donna Casebolt wrote. I just LOVE her daughter. She's the best! We did go over to her home this last Monday with our investigator and his son. It was so fun and they really enjoyed themselves and were able to feel the spirit of their home and get a taste of what FHE is all about. Our investigator is still doing well. He absolutely loved testimony meeting yesterday. He cried through the whole thing. He is SO CLOSE to getting baptized!! He could get baptized tomorow if his ex-girlfriend would move out. He has been taught everything, he loves coming to church, and the ward LOVES him. He even met with the Bishop yesterday. He's been such a blessing to both Sister Stone and I. He's the only solid person that we have to hold onto right now. His meeting with President Christianson is this Tuesday so we're praying that everything will go over well.

Thanks for all the wonderful emails. I love hearing from everyone! I especially love seeing pictures of cute little Atreyu. I was so excited to get those pictures of him in the mail. He is SO tiny! The picture of him in the carseat with socks on his hands made me laugh out loud. He looked like an alien :) I'm glad Kyle got to come home for the weekend. I always loved it when I was able to go home, even if it was just for a little while. It made me so happy.

It is starting to get cold here. Especially since we tract a lot more now then we use to. I'm starting to learn how to layer! If you want to get me anything for Christmas, any type of warm clothing (hats, gloves, scarfs, socks, long skirts) would be the best :) I did buy a GPS, she's mine to keep forever. Sister Stone and I were trying to think of a name for her, Lola is a good one! It seems like every week I am here I learn something new about myself and about others. We had an interesting thing happen to us this week. We got a call from the Mission Office and they told us that a woman had called them in a panic about her "salvation". The woman on the phone said that she had just had an abortion and she knew that she was going to hell now. She hung up before they could ask her anything about herself but by some miracle they were able to get her address. So Sister Stone and I drove to her house and knocked on the door. Right when the door opened it was like this big WALL of pain and sorrow hit us. This woman just stared at us in complete shock and asked us what we wanted. She didn't speak much english and before we could even get much of a word out she said "I don't believe Mormonism" and shut the door. We just stood there.... standing.... not sure what to do.... just silent... waiting. Half a minute later her friend opened the door and asked us why we were there. We told her we really didn't know all the details of why we were there but we knew that the Lord wanted us there. The friend was confused and told us that there was nothing going on and that they were fine. As she started to shut the door I shouted out my testimony of how we knew that God loved her and was mindful of both of them in that moment. She then stopped shutting the door and look at each of us. She asked "Do you have a scripture you can show me that proves that?" We both just stood there for another moment and then I felt prompted to write down a scripture for her. I wrote it down, gave it to her with our phone number, and then she shut the door. It is so hard to see such aguish and hardship that people are going through and even when Heavenly Father sends someone to help them they still don't understand His love for them.

So this week I've been thinking a lot about choices. Another one of our solid investigators, has missed church for the last three weeks in a row. Its been so disheartening since he has such a desire to be baptized, he just can't make that added effort. I've realized that we can never force anyone to do anything. Everyone has their own agency. That is the most precious gift our Heavenly Father has given us. I've been comparing it lately to Pocohantas (I know, I know, another Disney analogy :)). When she is rowing in her canoe and she comes the point where she has to pick between two rivers. Its her choice about which course she takes. Although we do have things in our life that affect us it is our choice on which side we pick. I think about the words of a Prophet of the church, in this last dispensations, someone who has SEEN the future and knows the outcome: "...the forces of righteousness will win. But what remians to be seen is where each of us will stand in the battle- and how tall we will stand... Great battles can make great heroes and heroines" (President Ezra T, Benson). This is our time to pick a course and stand up to be counted.

Anyway, I love you all. The work is progressing slowly and surely. I love the Lord and I'm so grateful for the chance that we have to repent every day of our lives. I love you have an amazing week.

I love you!

Love always, Sister Carter