December 10, 2018

Hello!!

I thought I´d just start out by letting you all know that I have 9 days until I come home! hahaha it doesn´t feel real! 

Anyway, this week has been good! Lots of things happened, we had splits on Thursday! I love my sister leaders! Sister Hirtle got sick again, so I left with Sister Rocha in the morning to contact Eliana (media referral) and she is a firecracker! Before she asked for a Book of Mormon, she watched the Joseph Smith movie, others church movies, and searched about the Book of Mormon! She was so excited to start reading! She´s from another faith, but her testimony in missionary work is incredible--we´re excited to really start teaching her and her family! 

In the afternoon, I went to São Miguel with Sister Castillo and we ate lunch, visited Leyticia that was baptized this lastSaturday, and we taught Jhonathan, who accepted the invitation to be baptized as well! We were on fire!!

At night, Sister Hirtle regained some strength to visit Maria in our area, and we were able to see that she wasn´t ready yet to be baptized. It was sad, but we understand that some people need more time than others. Thursday was super effective!!

But in the past few days, the pain in my companion´s legs has gotten worse. Please pray for her!!

I love you all! Until December 20!!

Sister Carlson

December 3, 2018

Hello everyone!!

Wow, this week has been great!! Well, it ended well, but the beginning was a good learning experience as well!

So we started this week with lots of appointments marked, but everything kept falling through! To be honest, I was getting a little frustrated because Sister Hirtle was finally better, so why was nothing working out? Oh, ye of little faith hahaha. We still kept working, but I was a little sad that nothing was working out. But I didn´t have to worry, the Lord prepared the way for us!

On Saturday, Light the World started! Sister Hirtle and I were able to go to a nursing home and talk to the people there. There were some seriously tormented souls there, and we were able to comfort a few of them. At the end, we were allowed to sing two Christmas hymns, and we both felt the spirit enter the house, and they recognized it too. It was a sweet experience, and I was grateful that after some dissappointments, we were able to help in such a real way.

So Saturday was blessed, but Sunday was truly the day of the Lord! After church, we taught a member´s boyfriend. This is the third lesson, and we felt that it was time to invite him to be baptized. And he accepted with so much excitement, we were blown away!! The Lord has truly prepared him for this moment, and we´re hoping that he´ll be baptized my last Sunday on the mission! What a joy it is to serve the Lord, to be His hands!!

I love you all!! Two weeks!

Sister Carlson

November 26, 2018

Good (early) afternoon!!!

Well this week has been something! My companion has gotten very sick, and basically this week has been running between medical appointments, going home to rest, and work when she has the strength. It has caused me to contemplate my mission, what I´ve already done, and what I´d like to do in these next 3 weeks. 

Something that I´ve learned about the Lord is that He is satisfied with whatever type of sacrifice we give Him. It can be a coal or a diamond, He is still pleased in receiving our sacrifice. That doesn´t mean we can settle for less--we need to strive every day to be better. But some days, we aren´t strong enough, and we can only give a little. And He´s still happy! Just because we had to stay home for most of the week doesn´t mean that the Lord was dissappointed with us--quite the contrary! Sister Hirtle is His beloved daughter, and if she pushed herself and got more sick, He would be devestated. And yesterday, we were blessed with lots of investigators at church, and she had the energy to teach two amazing lessons! I can clearly see the Lord´s hand in our work. I´m excited that my companion now has the strength to get back to work, because now I´m going to sprint to the finish line and onto my next mission!!

I love you all, have a fantastic week!

Sister Carlson

November 19, 2018

Good afternoon family of mine!

I have exactly one month until I come home--how scary is that? Hahaha just kidding, I´m excited that I have one more month to work as hard as I can to bring souls unto Christ! What a blessing it is to serve here in Brazil!

This week has been studious--my personal study has been amazing! I had a spiritual journey on Saturday, I was able to read Alma 4-9, including Alma 5! What a marvelous chapter to study! It´s so interesting how every time I read this chapter, something esle impacts me. I´d like to write down verses 33-34, the part that touched me the most. I only have portuguese, so you´ll have to translate:)

33. Eis que ele envia um convite a todos os homens, pois os braços de misericórdia lhes estão estendidos e ele diz: Arrependei-vos e receber-vos-ei.

34. Sim, diz ele, vinde a mim, e participareis do fruto da árvore da vida; sim, comereis e bebereis livremente do pão e da água da vida

I think this part is so beautiful because the Lord is sending us a personal invitation: to repent and come unto Him. It´s so simple! We must be humble of heart to continually accept this invitation, sometimes it´s hard to push pride out of the way to taste of the bread and water of life. But when we succeed, it is so sweet! I´m grateful that God loves us so much that He gave His Only Begotten, and that They love us infinitely. They invite us to come knowing that we can´t be perfect, knowing that we´ll sin. But They still want us by their sides! How wonderful it is to know that I can trust in this perfect God, who loves me so dearly! It´s the least I can do to serve for a year and a half to show others this love, to bring others unto Christ. I am so grateful for the time I´ve had on the mission, and how I still have one more month to preach the gospel! One more month to learn who I want to be when I get home. One more month to be who God wants me to be. What a marvelous opportunity. 

I love this gospel. I love my Savior, and the sacrifice He suffered so I can one day sit by His side. I love this life that I have to everyday choose to be better. I´d like to leave this testimony with you, my beloved family, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Sister Carlson

November 12, 2018

Hello family!

I have no time today, but this week has been something haha! 

We have had a hard week, my companion and I, but we´ve been able to really study about the Savior and relearn what it means to have a testimony. I am so grateful that I´m a full time missionary here in Brazil, and that I have the opportunity to preach the gospel, even if people cannot understand the worth of the gospel (a treasure!) I´m grateful for the health that God gives us so we are able to fulfill our callings. I´m grateful that life is full of difficulties so we can learn and become better than we are today. I love this gospel and this opportunity to live!! I love my Savior Jesus Christ! What an honor it is to serve in His name! 

I love you all so much, have a great week!!

Sister Carlson

P.S. Pics of district p-day! We had a bbq!!

November 5, 2018

Good afternoon everyone!

Sorry for login in so late, Sister Hirtle and I had an adventure today! We decided to sleep. clean the house, and go shopping at the center close by! I´m a happy missionary with a cute new skirt and 2 new shirts haha!

This week has really been a blessing, we´ve really been able to find more people to teach and the gospel has been so sweet to share. Everytime we teach a lesson, I have a stronger testimony that what I´m saying is true, and that happiness is here! We had a blitz on Thursday (when our district helps us contact people in our area) and we were able to find some people that are truly ready for our message! I´m grateful to be a missionary!!

I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Sister Carlson

October 29, 2018

Good afternoon lovely family of mine!

So this has been an eventful week! But to start off, I´ll go with the exciting news! I fell down the stairs on Saturday! That´s the first pic I sent hahahaha I´m so graceful that I may have torn a muscle in my foot oops. But I´m fine now, I can walk normally and I don´t want you guys to worry--I´m explaining because I wanted to sent this pic hahahahaha:)

We also had our Zone Conference this week, and Sister Hirtle and I were able to finally take a cute selfie! We learned a lot about obedience and humility, things that are always good to remember! We also studied some conference talks, and it was wonderful to talk about how we have prophets and revelators today to guide us back to our celestial home. I love this gospel!!

That´s all I have time for! The other pic is of our district, we played volleyball! It´s fun to remember that I´m competetive haha!

I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Sister Carlson

October 22, 2018

Good afternoon everyone!

This week has flown by! Sister Hirtle and I have been so blessed in this new area! We are getting to know the members, past investigators, and are receiving lots of member referrals! This ward is so special, and we are so excited to help it continue it´s growth! 

I´ll take pics to send this week! Sorry this email is so short!

Love you all!

Sister Carlson

October 15, 2018

Hello All!

This is going to be the shortest email in the world, but I´ve been transferred! I´ve returned to my favorite zone São Miguel, and I´m in a neighboring area Camargo Novo! Sister Hirtle and I are opening this area, which has always been elder!! We´re the first of sisters to serve here, and the ward is so excited, as are we!! I´m close to where I served at the beginning of this year, and I´m so thrilled to be back and to serve the people here and bring them unto Christ! What an honor it is to be a full time missionary of the Lord and to do His will! 

I love you all, have an amazing week!!

Sister Carlson

October 8, 2018

Hello wonderful family!

How much more grateful I am for you guys after conference haha! Wow, conference really was incredible this time around! It's always wonderful, but the changes made are very exciting because we are really being prepared for the second coming of the Lord. The focus on family, love, faith, and the plan of salvation were all things that will help us grow and prepare to be reunited with our Heavenly Parents.

My favorite talk was by Elder Rasband, about how to confront fear, gain faith, and allow the curing power of the atonement of Jesus Christ heal us of our wounds. When we are full of darkness and fear, the light of faith cannot enter in to heal us--we need to leave a space for the light to enter in and expulse the darkness. Emotional healing takes time, but when we have faith in Jesus Christ, who has already paid for our sufferings, we can feel a lightness and a happiness never felt before. I am so grateful that we can truly be healed and helped when we reach out. Christ will never forget us because we are engraven on the palms of His hands. He loves us so much, so much more than we can comprehend. 

I love you all so much. Continue strong in your faith in Christ, don't let go if it for anything!

Sister Carlson

October 1, 2018

Hello everyone! 

This week has been wonderful! We had the opportunity to teach some very special people this week, two of which accepted to be baptized! It´s so amazing to see members and missionaries working together to bring souls unto Christ--that´s the only reason why these two elect children of God accepted the invitation to be baptized! The Parque Industrial Ward is very strong and has lovely members ready to help! Their examples of Christ-like service are an inspiration to me, and make me want to work even harder! I hope that I can be a help to the missionaries when I come back home as well!

I´m sorry this email is so short, but I´ve run out of time! I love you all so much!

Sister Carlson   

September 24, 2018

Hello my gorgeous family!

This week has been full of miracles! I have learned a lot about what it means to be a representative of Jesus Christ, and how my example affects other people. It has been such a blessing to relearn that God loves me and that I´m important in His plan.

One of the biggest miracles that we had this week was during my division with Sister Oliveira! We had received a referral the week before, so we went to give a priesthood blessing to her husband who has cancer. Their interest in the gospel and eternal families was intriguing, and we are so excited to go back to teach more about the gospel! 

We also had our zone conference this week, and we had a spiritual barbaque!! It´s so wonderful when you prepare to be spiritually uplifted, and you leave with a head pounding and a heart full of gratitude and wonder! President Miller is a man inspired of God, and he helped my faith grow. I was able to share my testimony of my love for the Savoir and how I take His name upon me (Mosiah 5:6-7) and I felt complete. I love being a missionary so much!

I love you all so much, have a fantastic week!

Sister Carlson