January 22, 2018

Hello on this sizzling afternoon!

Haha sorry to brag, but it's real hot down here! I heard that one day, it reached 95 degrees! Whoosh, I am running through sunscreen! But with sunscreen and an umbrella, I've been almost clear of sunburns!

This week has been amazing! We've been teaching an investigator, Edmilson, that's preparing to get married and get baptized! We've been teaching him ever other day, and he's been making really good spiritual progress! The thing that I think is so amazing is that we've had one couple in our ward that have singlehandedly been helping us teach them. They allow us to teach in their house, they are always sharing their strong testimonies about marriage and th gospel, and they treat my investigator and his fiannée like their own children. It is so amazing to me the service they have been doing, for us and for our investigator. Their great example has really made me contemplate on my life before the mission, and how I really want to help the missionaries when I get home!

Also, I love living in four! It's just so refreshing to stay up and talk about life like I would with my sisters at home! We also almost had a water ballon fight after we cleaned the house, but that's a story for another time:)

I love you all so much!
Sister Carlson

P.S.Below are two pictures of our zone conference! My companion and I are at one end while the two other missionaries that live with us are on the other end!! Also an elder from my district in the CTM is in the same zone! ​

P.P.S. I forgot to mention that São Paulo Leste is getting a new president in July! His name is president Stephens from Canada!

P.P.P.S. Sorry I just keep sending EVERYTHING, but this week was my 6 month anniversary on the mission! We had a good time celebrating:)​

January 15, 2018 - First week in Jardim Romano!!

Hello on this very hot (for me) afternoon!!

At this point, I think I've forgotten what it feels like to be cold haha! I'll be getting a frigid reminder when I get home in a year :)

Sorry I'm a little trunky, I think it's because I now have a wall calendar with all the birthdays marked oops But it's so wonderful that we're living in four right now, I've been able to become really good friends with Sister Malan and Sister Borges (these are the other sisters that live with us, I was already friends with my companion) It's so fun, Sister Borges speaks english too, so Sister Malan and I have been able to help her practice! We're working on Sister Guerra haha :P

So we've had a miracle in our area! We've been trying to find a recent convert that's gone inactive, and after two weeks of searching, we finally found her! She's ready to come back to church, and she's bringing her boyfriend with her! So wonderful! They're living together, so the boyfriend can't get baptized until they've seperated or gotten married. And guess who's getting married on the ninth of Feburary? We now have the opportunity to teach and baptize him, and I'll be able to participate in my first wedding on the field!! It's really cool how miracles come after you've put done the work. We've been needed to find new investigators, so we've been knocking on doors a lot, and really making sure we follow up with the investigators we do have. We've had some sucess, but we were overjoyed that with a new investigator, we can reactivate a recent convert and help them prepare to make covenants in the temple!

That's all I have time for! I love you all com todo de meu coração!!
Sister Carlson

P.S.(and sister malan is the greatest)--Sister Malan came over and stole my keyboard for a hot second ;)
P.P.S. I'll send pics next week, we were running from place to place and I forgot my camera

January 8, 2018

Hello beautiful family!

This week has been so so refreshing! A new area really has set a great start to a new year! New year, new companion, just new! My companion's name is Sister Guerra, she's from Bahia and her trainer trained Sister Moura, my trainer! So in mission terms, Sister Guerra is my aunt haha! She's a riot, so ready to laugh and just be friends! Also SURPRISE we're living with another companionship, Sister Borges and Sister Malan! It feels so good to be living with three sisters again! It's always so much fun to joke around before bedtime, and to just have more friends and more noise in the house! We actually live in a house now--more cleaning to do, but it's worth it! I'm really excited to see where the rest of this transfer leads!

Something that I've learned this week is the importance of prayer for everything. My portuguese isn't perfect, but I've been bouyed up by people saying that my portuguese is way better than most

Americans that have less than six months on the mission. Because of this little prick of pride, I've stopped praying for the gift of tongues because I felt that my skill was enough. WRONG!! In Jardim Romano I've been getting introduced to new members, investigators, recent converts, everyone! But something that I thought was strange is that I've been having a real hard time understanding what other people are saying--I can speak just fine (usually), but to understand what another person was saying, especially my companion, it's been a little rough. But what a wonderful reminder for me to have humility! I was silly in forgetting that the only reason I can communicate is because of the divine power of God, and the fact that I've received a call to serve in Brazil where I need to speak portuguese to help others come unto Christ! When I don't pray for help and guidance, He can't help me! That's why in 2 Nephi 32:9, it talks about how we need to pray and consecrate our every performance, because we can truly receive divine guidance when we ask! But this is my small testimony about prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Loving you all!
Sister Carlson

January 2, 2018

Hello everyone!

Gosh, it's been so long since we've last emailed hasn't it? Christmas and New Years have just flown by! I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to talk to my family via Googlehangouts; technology is seriously a huge blessing that I will be forever grateful for! To see the smiles and hear the laughter of my lovely family is something I will hold close to my heart, especially during times of trial! 

I only have five minutes, so I'll write fast! I just wanted to write about a personal experience that I think can help people that feel the same way I felt. This whole transfer, Sister Novais has been encouraging me to be open open open with my feelings, and it has really been helpful because I've learned a lot about myself. With this openness and companionship study, we were able to find out that in reality, I need to learn to love myself. For all of my youth, I've had a voice inside my head that says things that aren't too nice. I would never say these things to another person, but it was all too easy to say it to myself. What we were able to find out is that this voice of pessimism isn't me! I've always accepted what this voice has said because I thought it was me, when in reality it was the enemy! When you look in the mirror and see faults in your body, who's the one pointing out those faults? Heavenly Father, who will never demean your body because He's the one that made it, or Satan, who doesn't have a body? Who's jealous that people on earth have this experience, and have a opportunity to gain salvation? When you make a mistake or feel embarrassed, is God the one laughing in your face, or is He encouraging you to stand up and try again? Please be mindful of self-destructive thoughts, many people will feel sympathy because of my openness, when in reality, they may not see this problem within themselves. Through the atonement, I've been able to start my journey on the road of change. I've been able to see the problem and yearn with all my soul to change this about myself. With the Atonement, all change is possible. Along with reading the Book of Mormon in protuguese, my goal for this year is to change the very way I think about myself. It will be hard, and sometimes I may fall into old habits, but I know that when I can love myself, I can love God's children more fully, an essential part to my mission. I pray that we can all feel more charity for ourselves and others this year.

I love you!