hey everybody!
LITTLE PLEASURES
so something that just sorta entertains me while i'm on my mission is the frequency with which i put on two different color nylons. now, i'm not a moron...it's a really slight difference, esp before they're on your legs, so that means that i usually don't notice until i'm out the door. then i'll be walking to the jail and i'll watch my legs and think, "pink skin tones, yellow skin tones, pink skin tones, yellow skin tones...." then when i sit i cross my ankles and stare lovingly at my mismatched skin. now i don't even care cause i secretly kind of like it. not sure why.
CARTHAGE MOMENT
so yesterday outside the jail i saw two boys piled up on this deformed looking 4-wheeler driving along the street. of course. then walking home i saw them in a yard riding the deformed 4-wheeler and it turned out to be this crazy lawnmower. of course. then this morning i was running and we had to wait to cross the street cause someone else was riding by on their lawnmower. what the? i just like it. although it taunts me a little as it reminds me of my unfulfilled dream to ride a lawnmower.
A REAL COOL EXPERIENCE
so i try and pray really hard to make each tour count at carthage. and every tour really is amazing and different even though you say most of the same things because there's a set script of the facts to present. but anyway, i often invite the visitors to go into a tour with a prayer in their hearts that they can really be taught by the Spirit and learn what they need to. so this particular tour was just two grandparents and their grandson. we were listening to the recording of part of the tour and i take that time to really think and pray before i end with my testimony. so this time i just had a random thought about joseph smith and the absence of hatred he had towards his persecutors throughout his life. so i shared that thought with them at the end, although it's not anything i've shared before cause it's nothing i'd really thought about before. at the end of the tour there was such a strong feeling in the room. everyone was very still and very quiet. they were all pretty emotional and i let them be there with just their family at the end while i waited downstairs. at the end of the tour the grandma just told me how they've had some things their family has been struggling with that is leaving them really having to forgive people and it's been a really hard thing with them and that the things that were mentioned in the tour really hit home with her in a whole new way, even though she's taken this tour a couple times before. that's the coolest thing. that's how the Holy Ghost works. when prayers are offered (or even sometimes when they're not) the Lord will work on a need we have through other people and it's so, so neat to be a part of that. i had no idea what was going on in their lives and i still don't but the Lord does and He made sure they heard what they needed to, whether it was through something i said or just though the Spirit touching their hearts. i love it! it's the coolest thing and it's something we can have the comfort of every day as we live worthy of it.
ok, love you all. see ya!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
MORE BUGALICIOUS
so...i only highlighted a couple of the bugs last time so of course that night we had a grusome run-in with a breed i hadn't mentioned. chiggers. (chiggas as my comp says). so they're these little flea-like things but smaller that live in the grass. everyone always talks of how terrifying they are (a man on the plane over here told me about when he got chiggers and had to bathe in bleach. what the?) so we're always paranoid to walk in the grass. but we treat our nylons and clothes with this bug stuff and we've gotten more lax (as has the effectiveness of the treatment over washes) since the sisters have gone without any chigger incidents....until now. my comp and i were watching a performance outside and we could tell we were being bitten but it was the last show of the summer so it was all sentimental and stuff. the next AM we woke up and...so you heard me say the man "got" chiggers, right? not just "got bitten by." yeah, that's cause they live in you. ahhh! so intense. they burrow into your skin and liquify it to feed off of and then reproduce. you're supposed to suffocate them with nail polish. the dr here said we must have walked through a "colony." eesh. i was actually pretty fine. i only had about 20 or less. my comp, on the other hand....was in EXCRUTIATING...itch i guess. not pain. anyway, we counted both legs and there were about 150! she'd scratch so hard her nylons would get bloody and we tried every treatment we heard of. they're on the wane now though so we're both in pretty good shape. a true adventure though. so back to avoiding grass at all costs. i'm gonna come home and be some kinda freak.
THE MAGIC OF CARTHAGE
for our last prep-day together sis thomas and i explored carthage more and took pics of the authentic this and that. so many cool buildings and stuff. and when i say so many, i mean as many as you can fit in a town of 2800. don't act like that's not a big deal though. it's almost the biggest town in the county and it even has a blinking red light at a 4-way stop. more than we can say for nauvoo. :) anyway, so we found things like rusty old windmills and an old abandoned college with a "kissin' rock" from 1965. i'll have to come back in about a year and a few months if i want to take advantage of that one.
TRANSFERS SOON, SOON, SOON
transfers are friday. they're cutting back the amt of missionaries in carthage so it's gonna get really quiet out there. sis alfaro from costa rica is coming my way. we'll just talk spanish the whole time so i'll be fluent. that's a lie. it's her b-day friday too so that'll be a treat. for me cause i'm gonna make everything i like for her bday since i don't know yet what she likes. awesome. sis thomas's bday was amazing and i have to give a shout-out to j-sco for going above and beyond with the bday assignment. we all enjoyed it immensely and everything was PERFECT! i'll go into more details in an upcoming thank you letter.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN NO MORE
i'm no longer going to be the driver next transfer (i am right now cause my comp only has an intl license). that's a little sad. i was just getting used to going a good 10 miles under the speed limit. :) that's a lie, i wasn't. but it's hilarious here. no one here is in a hurry to get anywhere. i think it's good for me. but i'm getting good at passing on a 2-lane highway. we drive through all these crazy corn fields to get here and there are kamakazi birds who fly straight from the telephone wires in front of the van when they see us coming. it's such a rush for us and them. no casualties yet.
THE GOOD STUFF :)
well, i'd like to leave you all with a thought. this week in district meeting we talked about following the prophet. it made me so grateful to have a prophet today, Pres. Hinckley, and to know that he speaks directly the things the Lord would have us hear. what more could we ask for. a lot of times when we talk to people they say there's no need for prophets today or thing that infringes on your agency because the prophet is telling you what to think. but i think if you ask those same people if they were given the opportunity to sit at the foot of their Father in Heaven and listen to the counsel He has for them, would they take it? yes, undoubtedly. what better source for your direction? we have that same blessing offered through a prophet. we can know exactly what the Lord would have us hear. when we're choosing to follow the prophet we're simply choosing to follow He whose servant the prophet is. i'm so grateful for that and i'm already looking forward to conference in October when we can hear from the prophet and apostles.
love you all and i definately feel the strength of all of the prayers and support. :) feel free to shoot me an email update!
so...i only highlighted a couple of the bugs last time so of course that night we had a grusome run-in with a breed i hadn't mentioned. chiggers. (chiggas as my comp says). so they're these little flea-like things but smaller that live in the grass. everyone always talks of how terrifying they are (a man on the plane over here told me about when he got chiggers and had to bathe in bleach. what the?) so we're always paranoid to walk in the grass. but we treat our nylons and clothes with this bug stuff and we've gotten more lax (as has the effectiveness of the treatment over washes) since the sisters have gone without any chigger incidents....until now. my comp and i were watching a performance outside and we could tell we were being bitten but it was the last show of the summer so it was all sentimental and stuff. the next AM we woke up and...so you heard me say the man "got" chiggers, right? not just "got bitten by." yeah, that's cause they live in you. ahhh! so intense. they burrow into your skin and liquify it to feed off of and then reproduce. you're supposed to suffocate them with nail polish. the dr here said we must have walked through a "colony." eesh. i was actually pretty fine. i only had about 20 or less. my comp, on the other hand....was in EXCRUTIATING...itch i guess. not pain. anyway, we counted both legs and there were about 150! she'd scratch so hard her nylons would get bloody and we tried every treatment we heard of. they're on the wane now though so we're both in pretty good shape. a true adventure though. so back to avoiding grass at all costs. i'm gonna come home and be some kinda freak.
THE MAGIC OF CARTHAGE
for our last prep-day together sis thomas and i explored carthage more and took pics of the authentic this and that. so many cool buildings and stuff. and when i say so many, i mean as many as you can fit in a town of 2800. don't act like that's not a big deal though. it's almost the biggest town in the county and it even has a blinking red light at a 4-way stop. more than we can say for nauvoo. :) anyway, so we found things like rusty old windmills and an old abandoned college with a "kissin' rock" from 1965. i'll have to come back in about a year and a few months if i want to take advantage of that one.
TRANSFERS SOON, SOON, SOON
transfers are friday. they're cutting back the amt of missionaries in carthage so it's gonna get really quiet out there. sis alfaro from costa rica is coming my way. we'll just talk spanish the whole time so i'll be fluent. that's a lie. it's her b-day friday too so that'll be a treat. for me cause i'm gonna make everything i like for her bday since i don't know yet what she likes. awesome. sis thomas's bday was amazing and i have to give a shout-out to j-sco for going above and beyond with the bday assignment. we all enjoyed it immensely and everything was PERFECT! i'll go into more details in an upcoming thank you letter.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN NO MORE
i'm no longer going to be the driver next transfer (i am right now cause my comp only has an intl license). that's a little sad. i was just getting used to going a good 10 miles under the speed limit. :) that's a lie, i wasn't. but it's hilarious here. no one here is in a hurry to get anywhere. i think it's good for me. but i'm getting good at passing on a 2-lane highway. we drive through all these crazy corn fields to get here and there are kamakazi birds who fly straight from the telephone wires in front of the van when they see us coming. it's such a rush for us and them. no casualties yet.
THE GOOD STUFF :)
well, i'd like to leave you all with a thought. this week in district meeting we talked about following the prophet. it made me so grateful to have a prophet today, Pres. Hinckley, and to know that he speaks directly the things the Lord would have us hear. what more could we ask for. a lot of times when we talk to people they say there's no need for prophets today or thing that infringes on your agency because the prophet is telling you what to think. but i think if you ask those same people if they were given the opportunity to sit at the foot of their Father in Heaven and listen to the counsel He has for them, would they take it? yes, undoubtedly. what better source for your direction? we have that same blessing offered through a prophet. we can know exactly what the Lord would have us hear. when we're choosing to follow the prophet we're simply choosing to follow He whose servant the prophet is. i'm so grateful for that and i'm already looking forward to conference in October when we can hear from the prophet and apostles.
love you all and i definately feel the strength of all of the prayers and support. :) feel free to shoot me an email update!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
WEEK O' GORGING
last week was sis thomas's bday so we've been eating junk food for about one straight week. aah! pretty sure i put on 5 lbs just in that week. and i wish that was a joke. my future comp (more on that later) is having a bday shortly after we become comps and then mine so i don't think the gorge-fest will stop any time too soon.
MY STREET MINISTER FRIEND
so i met this man doug who calls himself a "street minister" or "prophet-in-training." very interesting. he joined my tour late and before i knew anything about him i felt like there was definately a reason he was there. i was looking at him quite a bit throughout my tour and while bearing testimony. at the end of the tour he came down to the bottom of the stairs as asks "where are mormons going after they die?" i knew that wasn't something i could answer with just one word or anything so i told him to hang on until the rest of the tour left and that i wanted to talk to him. he said good, he wanted to talk to me too. we ended up talking for well over an hour and he was telling me a lot about his religious views. it's interesting because he doesn't have a "religion" in that sense but declares that he's simply a child of God. i asked him a lot of questions like what makes someone a child of God and if he believes are existed before living on the earth. i asked him what he thought it meant to be a prophet. in his own set of beliefs he made up i was amazed how many things seemed to coincide with the gospel. there were a lot of things that were different, however, but i could tell this man is a sincere seeker of truth and that once he finds it in its fullness, he'll have so much to add. he goes around on his own free will trying to talk to people about coming to Christ. like a self-declared missionary. he told me when he drove past the jail (he just happened into carthage) that he felt very strongly that he needed to stop and see what it was all about. he had no idea that it had any religious connections to anything. i'm positive he was supposed to be there that day. he also talked about when he drove past an LDS temple in AL and how he felt something very powerful about it and that he needed to find out what it was all about. he went inside and when the man told him that he was welcome in the foyer but couldn't come all the way in he said he immediately understood and could feel that it was sacred inside and that he wasn't prepared to go in. so cool! who has that humble attitude? i'm excited for him to learn more about the precious blessings of the temple and about this life and why exactly we're here and where exactly we're going. he was relieved to hear in answer to his question about where mormons will go that i didn't claim to know or have a definate answer but rather said that Christ will judge us all individually based on our hearts and our works. i knwo that that's true and that Christ is the only one who can judge us because He is the only one who truly has felt all of our griefs and borne our trials. i'm so thankful for that and for my knowledge of what will happen after this life and the peace that brings.
UPCOMING TRANSFERS
we just got news for transfers next week. my new comp will be sister alfaro and i'll be staying in carthage. i'm glad to stay and become closer with the seniors serving there. i'm losing clothes-sharing buddies but gaining sis south back who is my smoothie/hard-core running buddy. sis alfaro is from costa rica so i can brush up on my espanol. she's pretty quite, and by that i mean REALLY quiet, which is unusual for a VC sis so we'll see how that goes. :) when she does speak up though she's hysterical.anyway, that's about it for today. this is short, i know, but probably a nice break from all the novels i send. :)
love you all and thanks for the support! may i leave you with a scripture? Alma 26:27 it's a good one.
-sis c
last week was sis thomas's bday so we've been eating junk food for about one straight week. aah! pretty sure i put on 5 lbs just in that week. and i wish that was a joke. my future comp (more on that later) is having a bday shortly after we become comps and then mine so i don't think the gorge-fest will stop any time too soon.
MY STREET MINISTER FRIEND
so i met this man doug who calls himself a "street minister" or "prophet-in-training." very interesting. he joined my tour late and before i knew anything about him i felt like there was definately a reason he was there. i was looking at him quite a bit throughout my tour and while bearing testimony. at the end of the tour he came down to the bottom of the stairs as asks "where are mormons going after they die?" i knew that wasn't something i could answer with just one word or anything so i told him to hang on until the rest of the tour left and that i wanted to talk to him. he said good, he wanted to talk to me too. we ended up talking for well over an hour and he was telling me a lot about his religious views. it's interesting because he doesn't have a "religion" in that sense but declares that he's simply a child of God. i asked him a lot of questions like what makes someone a child of God and if he believes are existed before living on the earth. i asked him what he thought it meant to be a prophet. in his own set of beliefs he made up i was amazed how many things seemed to coincide with the gospel. there were a lot of things that were different, however, but i could tell this man is a sincere seeker of truth and that once he finds it in its fullness, he'll have so much to add. he goes around on his own free will trying to talk to people about coming to Christ. like a self-declared missionary. he told me when he drove past the jail (he just happened into carthage) that he felt very strongly that he needed to stop and see what it was all about. he had no idea that it had any religious connections to anything. i'm positive he was supposed to be there that day. he also talked about when he drove past an LDS temple in AL and how he felt something very powerful about it and that he needed to find out what it was all about. he went inside and when the man told him that he was welcome in the foyer but couldn't come all the way in he said he immediately understood and could feel that it was sacred inside and that he wasn't prepared to go in. so cool! who has that humble attitude? i'm excited for him to learn more about the precious blessings of the temple and about this life and why exactly we're here and where exactly we're going. he was relieved to hear in answer to his question about where mormons will go that i didn't claim to know or have a definate answer but rather said that Christ will judge us all individually based on our hearts and our works. i knwo that that's true and that Christ is the only one who can judge us because He is the only one who truly has felt all of our griefs and borne our trials. i'm so thankful for that and for my knowledge of what will happen after this life and the peace that brings.
UPCOMING TRANSFERS
we just got news for transfers next week. my new comp will be sister alfaro and i'll be staying in carthage. i'm glad to stay and become closer with the seniors serving there. i'm losing clothes-sharing buddies but gaining sis south back who is my smoothie/hard-core running buddy. sis alfaro is from costa rica so i can brush up on my espanol. she's pretty quite, and by that i mean REALLY quiet, which is unusual for a VC sis so we'll see how that goes. :) when she does speak up though she's hysterical.anyway, that's about it for today. this is short, i know, but probably a nice break from all the novels i send. :)
love you all and thanks for the support! may i leave you with a scripture? Alma 26:27 it's a good one.
-sis c
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Well today’s been good because this morning I went to the temple. Which in itself is always a blessing but this time I had a special surprise visitor with me… Ms Ruthie Salisbury!!!!!! :) :) :) Yes! She just off her mission about a week ago and she’s driving over to UT right now to spend some time out there and they decided to drive via Nauvoo. So there I was yesterday in the Carthage Visitor’s Center and in walks my best friend that I haven’t seen in 18 mths! The best thing ever! So I got to take her and her mom and little bro on a tour and then we got together this AM to go to the temple. The best thing is that I wasn’t even supposed to be serving that day. It was supposed to be my prep-day but it got changed. And that’s cause Ruthie said she was praying it wouldn’t be my prep day so that she could find me. :) wee!
HUMID-MY-LIFE
So turns out the summer weather was just playing a joke on us b/c aside from the one day I wrote about before, the weather has been generally very mild. But turns out August is where the humidity comes out in full effect. It’s amazing. I can’t get over how the air feels like someone misting you with warm water—regardless of the time of day. It’s incredible. My glasses fogged up the other day when I went outside. No joke. That’s going from a very A/Ced bldg to the hot and muggy outdoors. Who knew? But I like it cause it’s just so trippy. Then last night there was a crazy thunderstorm and before the rain started there was just intense thunder and lightening and really fast, hot wind and no rain. Super eerie. We sat and watched it from the window before we went to bed. I felt like a little kid. In the mid-west.
BUGSALICIOUS
So I haven’t written much aobut the bugs here but I’d like to give them a shout-out. There’s 2 I’d like to highlight- the Mayflies. These ginormous, black dragonfly-type bugs that come in these swarms and fly right passed to into your face and it’s gross but they only live for 24 hrs so the next day you go out and they’re dead all over the ground. Ha! Weird. Bug #2: The Cicada. Ok, is this a joke? I always read about them in books and they were mentioned in such a nostalgic way like “the distance sound of cicadas floating onto the patio and we rocked and talked of sweet memories …” But no. They make like this unworldly buzz/screech noise and then when you see them in real life. Ah! They’re these giant, GIANT, thick, ugly something or others. And they have no mouths and they come out of the ground and fly. Eew! But don’t worry cause the bugs make me feel hard-core like I’m serving in Africa or something. “Three-inch bug in my hair? Just part of the job, no big deal…”
THE KIWI COMPS
till having a ton of fun with Sis. Thomas. She’s way low-key, I love it…and evidently I need it. Funny cause I was telling her how I never really saw myself as uptight til I got on my mission and everyone sees me that way. And she was saying she was never seen as low-key till she got out to America. So apparently she’s pretty high-stress for an islander...Her b-day is tomorrow and we’re having orange rolls for breakfast. She’s turning 22 but I always feel like she’s older than me. I think it’s the accent. I always feel like this bumbling, oblivious American around her. That and the fact that she really is quite wise. But the accent for sure compounds it. :)
PHONE CALL CENTRAL
We’re starting our phone call project now. Each of us have about 240 ppl to get a hold of which usually will require calling at least 2 different people. It’s gonna be such a fun project. And before that we had to alphabetize and organize and divvy up all 5,000 cards. Guess who accidentally took over that project. Oops! My OCD pays off though I guess cause I was totally excited to work on it and the other sisters in charge had totally been dreading it. So everyone has their place they can contribute I guess.
AK CONNECTION
Here was a special guest…a man by the name of Bill Lawrence. I make mutual connections with ppl every day but this was a first. He knew my Cartwright grandparents!!! He worked with Grandpa Pierce for 10-12 years as his attorney and he has so many amazing things to say about grandpa and about how working with him in a business setting, every decision he made was for the good of the company and not just for him. He said that Grandpa and Grandma are two of the most amazing and kind-hearted people he knows. I second that! It was so neat to talk to him and to meet someone who knew Grandpa. It warmed my heart! I was so grateful for the chance to meet him and make that connection. I wasn’t even talking to him myself but I overheard him tell someone he was from AK and he was this kinda scraggly Harley-looking man so I didn’t think we’d know to many of the same people but just goes to show you never know. Also, you never know the effect you’re having on those around you. Something I’ve really learned from the Cartwright grandparents and I saw how many people came to Grandpa’s funeral and had been so impacted by his love and example.I know that’s the same with all of us. Every decision we make either lifts up or brings down those around us. Each of us have gifts that can touch the lives of 1,000s if we are trying to live a Christlike life.The most important Christlike attribute and the one we’ve been studying lately is charity. The scriptures tell us it’s the most important and that’s sometimes hard to understand but I had another thought as to why. I was thinking what life would be like if everyone was charitable and I realized that if everyone had charity they wouldn’t be annoyed or judge others for their weaknesses or imperfections. In this environment, everyone could be free to work on the other aspects of their life they need to improve while having love, patience, and support from those around them. Think about that. I know “the pure love of Christ” seems pretty unattainable at times but my challenge to you is to prayerfully make a goal this week of something you can be doing to develop that more in yourself. (You're welcome to email me your goals if you want because they'll help me.) I promise it will pay off and you’ll see changes in your life and in the lives of those around you as you consciously strive and pray to develop charity. If you want some study material on the topic: 1 Cor 8 and Moroni 7. Enjoy!
Love you all and love being a missionary. Thanks again for all the letters and being patient in getting letters back. It takes a bit sometimes.
Love,-Sis C
HUMID-MY-LIFE
So turns out the summer weather was just playing a joke on us b/c aside from the one day I wrote about before, the weather has been generally very mild. But turns out August is where the humidity comes out in full effect. It’s amazing. I can’t get over how the air feels like someone misting you with warm water—regardless of the time of day. It’s incredible. My glasses fogged up the other day when I went outside. No joke. That’s going from a very A/Ced bldg to the hot and muggy outdoors. Who knew? But I like it cause it’s just so trippy. Then last night there was a crazy thunderstorm and before the rain started there was just intense thunder and lightening and really fast, hot wind and no rain. Super eerie. We sat and watched it from the window before we went to bed. I felt like a little kid. In the mid-west.
BUGSALICIOUS
So I haven’t written much aobut the bugs here but I’d like to give them a shout-out. There’s 2 I’d like to highlight- the Mayflies. These ginormous, black dragonfly-type bugs that come in these swarms and fly right passed to into your face and it’s gross but they only live for 24 hrs so the next day you go out and they’re dead all over the ground. Ha! Weird. Bug #2: The Cicada. Ok, is this a joke? I always read about them in books and they were mentioned in such a nostalgic way like “the distance sound of cicadas floating onto the patio and we rocked and talked of sweet memories …” But no. They make like this unworldly buzz/screech noise and then when you see them in real life. Ah! They’re these giant, GIANT, thick, ugly something or others. And they have no mouths and they come out of the ground and fly. Eew! But don’t worry cause the bugs make me feel hard-core like I’m serving in Africa or something. “Three-inch bug in my hair? Just part of the job, no big deal…”
THE KIWI COMPS
till having a ton of fun with Sis. Thomas. She’s way low-key, I love it…and evidently I need it. Funny cause I was telling her how I never really saw myself as uptight til I got on my mission and everyone sees me that way. And she was saying she was never seen as low-key till she got out to America. So apparently she’s pretty high-stress for an islander...Her b-day is tomorrow and we’re having orange rolls for breakfast. She’s turning 22 but I always feel like she’s older than me. I think it’s the accent. I always feel like this bumbling, oblivious American around her. That and the fact that she really is quite wise. But the accent for sure compounds it. :)
PHONE CALL CENTRAL
We’re starting our phone call project now. Each of us have about 240 ppl to get a hold of which usually will require calling at least 2 different people. It’s gonna be such a fun project. And before that we had to alphabetize and organize and divvy up all 5,000 cards. Guess who accidentally took over that project. Oops! My OCD pays off though I guess cause I was totally excited to work on it and the other sisters in charge had totally been dreading it. So everyone has their place they can contribute I guess.
AK CONNECTION
Here was a special guest…a man by the name of Bill Lawrence. I make mutual connections with ppl every day but this was a first. He knew my Cartwright grandparents!!! He worked with Grandpa Pierce for 10-12 years as his attorney and he has so many amazing things to say about grandpa and about how working with him in a business setting, every decision he made was for the good of the company and not just for him. He said that Grandpa and Grandma are two of the most amazing and kind-hearted people he knows. I second that! It was so neat to talk to him and to meet someone who knew Grandpa. It warmed my heart! I was so grateful for the chance to meet him and make that connection. I wasn’t even talking to him myself but I overheard him tell someone he was from AK and he was this kinda scraggly Harley-looking man so I didn’t think we’d know to many of the same people but just goes to show you never know. Also, you never know the effect you’re having on those around you. Something I’ve really learned from the Cartwright grandparents and I saw how many people came to Grandpa’s funeral and had been so impacted by his love and example.I know that’s the same with all of us. Every decision we make either lifts up or brings down those around us. Each of us have gifts that can touch the lives of 1,000s if we are trying to live a Christlike life.The most important Christlike attribute and the one we’ve been studying lately is charity. The scriptures tell us it’s the most important and that’s sometimes hard to understand but I had another thought as to why. I was thinking what life would be like if everyone was charitable and I realized that if everyone had charity they wouldn’t be annoyed or judge others for their weaknesses or imperfections. In this environment, everyone could be free to work on the other aspects of their life they need to improve while having love, patience, and support from those around them. Think about that. I know “the pure love of Christ” seems pretty unattainable at times but my challenge to you is to prayerfully make a goal this week of something you can be doing to develop that more in yourself. (You're welcome to email me your goals if you want because they'll help me.) I promise it will pay off and you’ll see changes in your life and in the lives of those around you as you consciously strive and pray to develop charity. If you want some study material on the topic: 1 Cor 8 and Moroni 7. Enjoy!
Love you all and love being a missionary. Thanks again for all the letters and being patient in getting letters back. It takes a bit sometimes.
Love,-Sis C
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
BIGGEST NEWS OF ALL!!!
guess what!! we had a baptism on Sunday. i know, i know..."sis cartwright, you serve in a visitors' center. you don't have baptisms." yeah, that's what YOU think! :) so this amazing 68-yr old man named victor moved to nauvoo to work at a campground for the summer. he ran into some girls from the pageant cast who invited him to come see the show. he came that night and was so touched and moved by the message and then and there felt the spiritual confirmation that the teachings in the pageant were true. his wife passed away in march adn he hasn't been the same since. but after seeing the pageant and learning that he could be married to her for eternity and how much Heavenly Father wants us all to return to Him it all started to make sense. He came to the VC the next day and talked to one of the sisters here for over an hour. He took a Book of Mormon home and started reading all he could. He met with the missionaries about 2 hours/day for several days. The dad of the girls who met him initially came and picked him up for church adn the fam would join him for the discussions. A week and a half later he was baptized. J J What? I know. He’s an amazing man. I met him at Carthage last week and walked away just wanting to write down 100 inspiring things that he said. He’s been in AA for 27 yrs and that has prepared him spiritually a ton and more than anything he was just ready. The missionaries had to do very little—other than teach him as fast as they could handle cause he was just soaking it all in. He realized it was an important decision and didn’t take it lightly at all. Everything just timed out so perfectly. He kept saying that if he died before he was able to be baptized that we had to make sure someone did it for him. J He also called up his daughter and son and told them he’d found what he’d been searching for and that they’d better both get out here quick so that they could find it too. J They both flew in for the baptism and we’ll see what happens. But he’s the most incredible man. The appreciation he expressed at Carthage for the prophet Joseph Smith was so cool because I just don’t always think of it the same way. It’s all just so fresh for him that it was cool for him to talk about how because of what Joseph went through, he was able to know what he knows now. He says, “and it all happened here in Nauvoo…” meaning his miracle but it’s so cool to think of all the miracles here past, present, and future. He also told me that we don’t need to worry because the gospel isn’t a hard “package to sell.” That you get infinitely more than you put in so everyone should want it. Well yes, everyone SHOULD want it. J The key is to find who will listen and open their hearts. Victor’s been such a blessing and strength to all the missionaries and pageant cast out here. Some of the pageant members changed their flights home so they could be here for the baptism. It was so special. I loved it!! What an amazing thing for everyone involved.
ANOTHER NAUVOO FRIEND
There’s also a boy out here named Jacob. He’s 16 and his parents won’t let him get baptized. They think his faith in the church is just a phase. So he comes to the VC and stuff as often as possible. He loves the shows and helps out the performances. He gets to be in the pageant cast next week and he got to be set apart for it. It was so cool cause he listened so intently to his blessing and was so impressed at how directly it was for him when the man giving it to him barely knew him. The blessing he got assured him that everything would happen even if it was on the Lord’s time and he’s really taken comfort in that. Anyway, he’s been around all summer cause he lives in Nauvoo but I just thought I’d write about him as I was thinking about people who strengthen me. He’s such a powerhouse. He was wearing one of those semi-cheesey “future missionary” tags the other day with a sign taped under it that said “as soon as I’m baptized.” Love the kid!
THE END OF THE LETTUCE….ALMOST
So try as we might to get rid of all the lettuce we still ended up with a few bags in each fridge. And I have to say that every time one would get remotely rotten I was secretly happy. Like maybe I liked watching it suffer for all the drama it caused us. Really I think I was just relieved cause I could finally throw it away without feeling guilty. There’s still a bag a sister is using though cause “the lettuce on top is still good” and every time I open her fridge and see it I get chills of discomfort.
THE LANGUAGE BARRIER
So may I say that my comp’s hilarious? As Sis Faulkner put it “at first I thought it was just the accent but she really is just funny.” But the most delightful part is getting through the language barrier that comes up fairly often. For example, the other day I asked her if we had an ironing board and she said, “yeah, but I just used the bench.” Bench…? Like most houses we don’t have a bench so….I had to go around pointing at different pieces of furniture or describing things that she may have perceived as a bench (the couch? the backless loveseat in the lobby? no and no.) before we finally were able to get to the bottom of it. The kitchen counter! Good times! (Who irons on the counter anyway?) I’m loving it. I ask her a million questions a day about New Zealand. Hopefully she doesn’t think it’s creepy. Still trying to pick up on the accent. I think at least I’ll start calling my mom “Mum”…
SPEAKING OF ACCENTS…
Unfortunately, the accent I seem to be picking up the most is not from the Kiwi, not from the locals, but from the visitors. Ahhhh! Yeah, “would you like to take a tore of the jell?” I’ve TOTALLY busted out with some Utah speech. But I’m working on getting over that. Haha! But at least that accent that was so allusive to imitate is now coming to me. even if it is against my own will, “You becha….Take all the pitchers you fill like…”
CARTHAGE LIFE
So Sis. Thomas and I have decided to do a documentary on small-town Mid-West life. We’ve contemplated just leaving the mission life to do it since we’re already out here and all. As we’re walking around town we’ll be like, “yeah, for sure that guy’s gonna be in the documentary.” We’re fascinated by all the people out here. We walk to and from the jail everyday cause it’s just a couple blocks so that adds to the small-town feel. Fill. We live in an old mansion that was donated to the church and converted into 5 small apartments for the missionaries. Two senior couples live on the bottom and the sisters have one apt per companionship up top. But all our doors meet in the middle and we leave them open so it’s not too lonely. Anyway, it’s really neat. The first night we got there we were out on the balcony looking at the fireflies. So unreal. Love it! The jail is really neat to do tours. I was worried I’d get bored doing the same tour several times a day but it’s just such a neat place. Even though you say the same thing every tour there’s just such a powerful, special feeling there and since every group is different you say things in a different way and testify of different things just according to how you feel prompted. For those of you who don’t know why I’m at a jail every day….Carthage Jail is where the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred. Come take a tour and I’ll tell you all about it. It’s a really neat place because although there’s a somber feel to it and something very tragic happened there, it’s been able to become a place that everyone can visit and feel something undeniably special and have their own faith strengthened in our Savior and in the reality that Joseph Smith was a man called of God to restore the gospel on the earth.
Ok, hope you all enjoyed the extra long email to make up for last week. Love you all and thanks for the thoughts, prayers, letters, etc. You’re all in mine!And congratulations to everyone who’s having a baby who I didn’t know was pregnant.
p.s. sometimes people leave inspirational scriptures in their emails. i'm such a slacker. mosiah 4:9. just a good one to help you keep perspective.
guess what!! we had a baptism on Sunday. i know, i know..."sis cartwright, you serve in a visitors' center. you don't have baptisms." yeah, that's what YOU think! :) so this amazing 68-yr old man named victor moved to nauvoo to work at a campground for the summer. he ran into some girls from the pageant cast who invited him to come see the show. he came that night and was so touched and moved by the message and then and there felt the spiritual confirmation that the teachings in the pageant were true. his wife passed away in march adn he hasn't been the same since. but after seeing the pageant and learning that he could be married to her for eternity and how much Heavenly Father wants us all to return to Him it all started to make sense. He came to the VC the next day and talked to one of the sisters here for over an hour. He took a Book of Mormon home and started reading all he could. He met with the missionaries about 2 hours/day for several days. The dad of the girls who met him initially came and picked him up for church adn the fam would join him for the discussions. A week and a half later he was baptized. J J What? I know. He’s an amazing man. I met him at Carthage last week and walked away just wanting to write down 100 inspiring things that he said. He’s been in AA for 27 yrs and that has prepared him spiritually a ton and more than anything he was just ready. The missionaries had to do very little—other than teach him as fast as they could handle cause he was just soaking it all in. He realized it was an important decision and didn’t take it lightly at all. Everything just timed out so perfectly. He kept saying that if he died before he was able to be baptized that we had to make sure someone did it for him. J He also called up his daughter and son and told them he’d found what he’d been searching for and that they’d better both get out here quick so that they could find it too. J They both flew in for the baptism and we’ll see what happens. But he’s the most incredible man. The appreciation he expressed at Carthage for the prophet Joseph Smith was so cool because I just don’t always think of it the same way. It’s all just so fresh for him that it was cool for him to talk about how because of what Joseph went through, he was able to know what he knows now. He says, “and it all happened here in Nauvoo…” meaning his miracle but it’s so cool to think of all the miracles here past, present, and future. He also told me that we don’t need to worry because the gospel isn’t a hard “package to sell.” That you get infinitely more than you put in so everyone should want it. Well yes, everyone SHOULD want it. J The key is to find who will listen and open their hearts. Victor’s been such a blessing and strength to all the missionaries and pageant cast out here. Some of the pageant members changed their flights home so they could be here for the baptism. It was so special. I loved it!! What an amazing thing for everyone involved.
ANOTHER NAUVOO FRIEND
There’s also a boy out here named Jacob. He’s 16 and his parents won’t let him get baptized. They think his faith in the church is just a phase. So he comes to the VC and stuff as often as possible. He loves the shows and helps out the performances. He gets to be in the pageant cast next week and he got to be set apart for it. It was so cool cause he listened so intently to his blessing and was so impressed at how directly it was for him when the man giving it to him barely knew him. The blessing he got assured him that everything would happen even if it was on the Lord’s time and he’s really taken comfort in that. Anyway, he’s been around all summer cause he lives in Nauvoo but I just thought I’d write about him as I was thinking about people who strengthen me. He’s such a powerhouse. He was wearing one of those semi-cheesey “future missionary” tags the other day with a sign taped under it that said “as soon as I’m baptized.” Love the kid!
THE END OF THE LETTUCE….ALMOST
So try as we might to get rid of all the lettuce we still ended up with a few bags in each fridge. And I have to say that every time one would get remotely rotten I was secretly happy. Like maybe I liked watching it suffer for all the drama it caused us. Really I think I was just relieved cause I could finally throw it away without feeling guilty. There’s still a bag a sister is using though cause “the lettuce on top is still good” and every time I open her fridge and see it I get chills of discomfort.
THE LANGUAGE BARRIER
So may I say that my comp’s hilarious? As Sis Faulkner put it “at first I thought it was just the accent but she really is just funny.” But the most delightful part is getting through the language barrier that comes up fairly often. For example, the other day I asked her if we had an ironing board and she said, “yeah, but I just used the bench.” Bench…? Like most houses we don’t have a bench so….I had to go around pointing at different pieces of furniture or describing things that she may have perceived as a bench (the couch? the backless loveseat in the lobby? no and no.) before we finally were able to get to the bottom of it. The kitchen counter! Good times! (Who irons on the counter anyway?) I’m loving it. I ask her a million questions a day about New Zealand. Hopefully she doesn’t think it’s creepy. Still trying to pick up on the accent. I think at least I’ll start calling my mom “Mum”…
SPEAKING OF ACCENTS…
Unfortunately, the accent I seem to be picking up the most is not from the Kiwi, not from the locals, but from the visitors. Ahhhh! Yeah, “would you like to take a tore of the jell?” I’ve TOTALLY busted out with some Utah speech. But I’m working on getting over that. Haha! But at least that accent that was so allusive to imitate is now coming to me. even if it is against my own will, “You becha….Take all the pitchers you fill like…”
CARTHAGE LIFE
So Sis. Thomas and I have decided to do a documentary on small-town Mid-West life. We’ve contemplated just leaving the mission life to do it since we’re already out here and all. As we’re walking around town we’ll be like, “yeah, for sure that guy’s gonna be in the documentary.” We’re fascinated by all the people out here. We walk to and from the jail everyday cause it’s just a couple blocks so that adds to the small-town feel. Fill. We live in an old mansion that was donated to the church and converted into 5 small apartments for the missionaries. Two senior couples live on the bottom and the sisters have one apt per companionship up top. But all our doors meet in the middle and we leave them open so it’s not too lonely. Anyway, it’s really neat. The first night we got there we were out on the balcony looking at the fireflies. So unreal. Love it! The jail is really neat to do tours. I was worried I’d get bored doing the same tour several times a day but it’s just such a neat place. Even though you say the same thing every tour there’s just such a powerful, special feeling there and since every group is different you say things in a different way and testify of different things just according to how you feel prompted. For those of you who don’t know why I’m at a jail every day….Carthage Jail is where the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred. Come take a tour and I’ll tell you all about it. It’s a really neat place because although there’s a somber feel to it and something very tragic happened there, it’s been able to become a place that everyone can visit and feel something undeniably special and have their own faith strengthened in our Savior and in the reality that Joseph Smith was a man called of God to restore the gospel on the earth.
Ok, hope you all enjoyed the extra long email to make up for last week. Love you all and thanks for the thoughts, prayers, letters, etc. You’re all in mine!And congratulations to everyone who’s having a baby who I didn’t know was pregnant.
p.s. sometimes people leave inspirational scriptures in their emails. i'm such a slacker. mosiah 4:9. just a good one to help you keep perspective.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
So turns out Staci Spilsbury came and surprised me today so I don't have much time to write. :) We're on our way to the temple then to the pageant tonight. The pageant is so stinking cool. I know I've said that before. I only get to come up about every other night now that I'm in Carthage but it's cool. Plus it's funny cause we serve till the end so we end up going to bed at like midnight. Haha! I don't know why my mom thought I was going on a party mission... :)
It's so cool serving in Carthage. The feeling of the Spirit is just so strong there. It's amazing (sorry Dad, there we go again with that word...) to be able to tell people that the peaceful sweet spirit they feel is the Holy Ghost testifying of them truthfulness of what's being shared and of the gospel. And then people who are of our faith it's exciting to remind them that there are people waiting to feel that same thing who just need them to share what the restored gospel is.
I'm always explaining to people when they're asking what missions are and about what I do out here that the only reason I'm out here is because I have something so very close to my heart that I know to be the truth and I want to offer them the opportunity to find out for themselves. Our purpose as missionaries (and as member missionaries) in fact is to "invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." What a cool full-time job I have! :)
Ok, all the silly stories will have to wait til next week. More on the lettuce and everything. Love you all.
-Sis C
PO Box 215
Nauvoo, IL 62354
It's so cool serving in Carthage. The feeling of the Spirit is just so strong there. It's amazing (sorry Dad, there we go again with that word...) to be able to tell people that the peaceful sweet spirit they feel is the Holy Ghost testifying of them truthfulness of what's being shared and of the gospel. And then people who are of our faith it's exciting to remind them that there are people waiting to feel that same thing who just need them to share what the restored gospel is.
I'm always explaining to people when they're asking what missions are and about what I do out here that the only reason I'm out here is because I have something so very close to my heart that I know to be the truth and I want to offer them the opportunity to find out for themselves. Our purpose as missionaries (and as member missionaries) in fact is to "invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." What a cool full-time job I have! :)
Ok, all the silly stories will have to wait til next week. More on the lettuce and everything. Love you all.
-Sis C
PO Box 215
Nauvoo, IL 62354
Friday, July 13, 2007
LETTUCE EPIDEMIC
So we've had many tender souls bring us food to get through the crazy, busy pageant season. So much food that for a bit it was almost embarrasing. Then when we were already swamped with homemade goodness, a youth conference that was here had TONS of extra food and dropped it off. Most of it could be frozen or saved but they sent us like 100 lbs of lettuce!!! K, i can't really estimate lettuce poundage but it was amazing. The entire kitchen counter was stacked high with heads of romaine and at least of our fridges. What? So we ended up spending a good deal of our time the next two days trying to solve the dilemma of distributing or eating dozens upon dozens of bags of lettuce throughout Nauvoo. Yikers. AMAZING. Every time with thought it was all gone we'd open a fridge to get something and it'd just be a solid wall of lettuce. It's the little things that are the most entertaining!
LOW POINT
So missionaries do this thing called "backing" where one of them stands behind the car and waves the other person back as they're reversing. Nevermind my personal views on how the dangers of backing the car into your companion exceed the dangers of backing into a bush...we are to do this EVERY time the car is reversed. Sometimes I think the real reason for this rule is simply to teach us obedience and humility. But so I'm getting so good at backing that the other day Sis F and I were walking up to the car and I started waving it back to let the van know that the coast was clear. That's right, the unoccupied van. Eesh. I AM turning into a robot. :)
TRANSFERS
So Sis F and I had to part ways. Sniff! But we've actually ended up serving together yesterday and today in exchanges just by way of circumstance. But yeah, it was a good companionship. I'll miss her sleep talking and watching her do things and feeling like i'm watching myself. :) My comp is Sis Thomas. She actually served in temple square for 3 mths before Nauvoo. She's from New Zealand so i'm having fun asking her Qs abt New Zealand culture. She said she's still not used to the food out here but don't worry, she loves rice krispy treats. I'm hoping to only talk to her and no one else when we're together so i'll pick up her accent. You think?
WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T BIKE IN A SKIRT?!
So Sis F's email about this is probably lots more entertaining but i'll just give you the run-down. Let's start by explaining: 18 girls+all their possessions+4 vans+3 houses+2 diff cities all within a 2-3 hour breaks at various times and all while staying with at least one other sister= mass chaos. Awesome! It was adventure to say the least getting everyone moved. Plus pageant chaos. Oh yeah, and 100 heads of Romaine. Anyway, so there was much key-losing and then van-losing and long story short three of us resorted to riding our bikes from our house to the VC. It was amazing. Typically when you do this you wear an extra long skirt and you clip it in the middle so as not to expose yourself. But there was no time for extra precautions. haha! so we just hopped on the bikes and busted a move down the hill. I had to essentially stay standing on my bike so i'd be desent. it was amazing! the wind blowing, the cornfields, the tour buses of visitors. anyway, i think i made it down safe from what i could tell. but it was definately a different experience.
PAGEANT MAGIC
So the pageant cast is amazing. They're such fabulous missionaries. They're random families from across the US that pay their way out her and give up at least 2.5 weeks of their summer to come perform. The small children running around in their old-school overalls make my heart leap with joy. They had a presentation for the cast members and one of the sisters told us about it. They'd challenged the cast to work on doing small acts of service for their family while they were here. So one of the pageant directors noticed one of these small acts adn took a pic of it. It was a precious little bro and sis and the bro was too small to reach the water ftn so the sis got down on all fours and let him climb up and drink. The man that got the pic said the little boy drank forever cause he was evidently very thirsty and the little sis just stayed there and didn't complain or say anything. Then a few minutes later he was thirsty again and they were back out there for another long drink. Precious!!! These great little families. Then they talked about how our purpose as missionaries (and pageant members) is to help others come unto Christ and that since He is the living water we need to do all we can to help others partake. Such a cool example these little kids. And they just walk up to the ppl in the audience before adn after the pageant and visit with them and invite them to learn more or to do missionary work with their friends. So cool.
HIGH POINT
One of the coolest pageant experiences i've had so far was one of the nights i was talking to one of the stellar volunteers who drives 2 hours out here to help with traffic directing and be in the bugs all night and then gets home at like 2 in the morning. I was talking to him about missionary work and if there were any of his friends who'd been on his mind. He started talking about his long-time friend who was an atheist and told me about a series of miracles in their friendship and how amazing this friend was and he just started crying about it and took a few cards to put his friend's name down (and other friends he's been thinking about) to have missionaries visit them and share with them the peace and joy this man knows and feels every day. He walked away saying, "now you've got me all fired up..." It was the most amazing thing. This sweet man with a mosquito net over his head adn dead bugs stuck in his sweat. I hadn't done anything but stand there while he talked. :) It's so cool how the Spirit touches people while they're here, esp at the pageant (Drakes can testify to that :) ) and how the Lord allows us to take part in these miracles that are happening. It's so cool to watch.
WHICH LEADS INTO MORE OF THE MAIN POINT
Also, one of the main cast members was talking to me after the show and it came up that he joined the church when he was 28. So i asked him how he heard about the church and he started telling me his amazing tale which ended up having a lot to do with an experience he had just when he needed it at a visitors center. So cool! It's different in a VC b/c you never really see the "end result" but I just have to have faith that if I'm doing everything i know to do that lives are being touched and people are being brought to Christ every day. :) Love it! (Despite the frequent awkward encounters that may come up, but hey, when you have like 100 conversations a day they're just not all gonna be smooth.) But the Lord strengthens us. I've felt this so, so much out here since you really just need to rely on that. He wants this work to go forth and so it will. Sometimes we have to feel stupid, awkward, rejected, or scared in the process but He will strengthen is. This goes for missionary work and any righteous endevour. we're all on missions of some sort but the most important part of everyone's life is coming closer to our Savior adn helping others to do the same. Praying to know what you really believe in and helping others to find the answers they're looking for too.Something I highly recommend for anyone who has questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is visiting www.mormon.org. tons of questions answered there. It's awesome. I love this gospel adn i love being here. love you all. :)Alrighty, love you all. Peace out. :)Sis Cartwrightp.s.COMMUNICATIONI'd still love people to send me their addresses so i can touch base. There are some people I have letters for but i can't send (Sheena, Ash-face Banks, Pinkals) b/c i don't have addresses. The best way to get me your address is to write ME a letter. :) Ok, i know, easier said than done. But I love you all and i'd love to hear how you're doing. Thanks for anyone who has been able to find the time. :) You guys are great!
So we've had many tender souls bring us food to get through the crazy, busy pageant season. So much food that for a bit it was almost embarrasing. Then when we were already swamped with homemade goodness, a youth conference that was here had TONS of extra food and dropped it off. Most of it could be frozen or saved but they sent us like 100 lbs of lettuce!!! K, i can't really estimate lettuce poundage but it was amazing. The entire kitchen counter was stacked high with heads of romaine and at least of our fridges. What? So we ended up spending a good deal of our time the next two days trying to solve the dilemma of distributing or eating dozens upon dozens of bags of lettuce throughout Nauvoo. Yikers. AMAZING. Every time with thought it was all gone we'd open a fridge to get something and it'd just be a solid wall of lettuce. It's the little things that are the most entertaining!
LOW POINT
So missionaries do this thing called "backing" where one of them stands behind the car and waves the other person back as they're reversing. Nevermind my personal views on how the dangers of backing the car into your companion exceed the dangers of backing into a bush...we are to do this EVERY time the car is reversed. Sometimes I think the real reason for this rule is simply to teach us obedience and humility. But so I'm getting so good at backing that the other day Sis F and I were walking up to the car and I started waving it back to let the van know that the coast was clear. That's right, the unoccupied van. Eesh. I AM turning into a robot. :)
TRANSFERS
So Sis F and I had to part ways. Sniff! But we've actually ended up serving together yesterday and today in exchanges just by way of circumstance. But yeah, it was a good companionship. I'll miss her sleep talking and watching her do things and feeling like i'm watching myself. :) My comp is Sis Thomas. She actually served in temple square for 3 mths before Nauvoo. She's from New Zealand so i'm having fun asking her Qs abt New Zealand culture. She said she's still not used to the food out here but don't worry, she loves rice krispy treats. I'm hoping to only talk to her and no one else when we're together so i'll pick up her accent. You think?
WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T BIKE IN A SKIRT?!
So Sis F's email about this is probably lots more entertaining but i'll just give you the run-down. Let's start by explaining: 18 girls+all their possessions+4 vans+3 houses+2 diff cities all within a 2-3 hour breaks at various times and all while staying with at least one other sister= mass chaos. Awesome! It was adventure to say the least getting everyone moved. Plus pageant chaos. Oh yeah, and 100 heads of Romaine. Anyway, so there was much key-losing and then van-losing and long story short three of us resorted to riding our bikes from our house to the VC. It was amazing. Typically when you do this you wear an extra long skirt and you clip it in the middle so as not to expose yourself. But there was no time for extra precautions. haha! so we just hopped on the bikes and busted a move down the hill. I had to essentially stay standing on my bike so i'd be desent. it was amazing! the wind blowing, the cornfields, the tour buses of visitors. anyway, i think i made it down safe from what i could tell. but it was definately a different experience.
PAGEANT MAGIC
So the pageant cast is amazing. They're such fabulous missionaries. They're random families from across the US that pay their way out her and give up at least 2.5 weeks of their summer to come perform. The small children running around in their old-school overalls make my heart leap with joy. They had a presentation for the cast members and one of the sisters told us about it. They'd challenged the cast to work on doing small acts of service for their family while they were here. So one of the pageant directors noticed one of these small acts adn took a pic of it. It was a precious little bro and sis and the bro was too small to reach the water ftn so the sis got down on all fours and let him climb up and drink. The man that got the pic said the little boy drank forever cause he was evidently very thirsty and the little sis just stayed there and didn't complain or say anything. Then a few minutes later he was thirsty again and they were back out there for another long drink. Precious!!! These great little families. Then they talked about how our purpose as missionaries (and pageant members) is to help others come unto Christ and that since He is the living water we need to do all we can to help others partake. Such a cool example these little kids. And they just walk up to the ppl in the audience before adn after the pageant and visit with them and invite them to learn more or to do missionary work with their friends. So cool.
HIGH POINT
One of the coolest pageant experiences i've had so far was one of the nights i was talking to one of the stellar volunteers who drives 2 hours out here to help with traffic directing and be in the bugs all night and then gets home at like 2 in the morning. I was talking to him about missionary work and if there were any of his friends who'd been on his mind. He started talking about his long-time friend who was an atheist and told me about a series of miracles in their friendship and how amazing this friend was and he just started crying about it and took a few cards to put his friend's name down (and other friends he's been thinking about) to have missionaries visit them and share with them the peace and joy this man knows and feels every day. He walked away saying, "now you've got me all fired up..." It was the most amazing thing. This sweet man with a mosquito net over his head adn dead bugs stuck in his sweat. I hadn't done anything but stand there while he talked. :) It's so cool how the Spirit touches people while they're here, esp at the pageant (Drakes can testify to that :) ) and how the Lord allows us to take part in these miracles that are happening. It's so cool to watch.
WHICH LEADS INTO MORE OF THE MAIN POINT
Also, one of the main cast members was talking to me after the show and it came up that he joined the church when he was 28. So i asked him how he heard about the church and he started telling me his amazing tale which ended up having a lot to do with an experience he had just when he needed it at a visitors center. So cool! It's different in a VC b/c you never really see the "end result" but I just have to have faith that if I'm doing everything i know to do that lives are being touched and people are being brought to Christ every day. :) Love it! (Despite the frequent awkward encounters that may come up, but hey, when you have like 100 conversations a day they're just not all gonna be smooth.) But the Lord strengthens us. I've felt this so, so much out here since you really just need to rely on that. He wants this work to go forth and so it will. Sometimes we have to feel stupid, awkward, rejected, or scared in the process but He will strengthen is. This goes for missionary work and any righteous endevour. we're all on missions of some sort but the most important part of everyone's life is coming closer to our Savior adn helping others to do the same. Praying to know what you really believe in and helping others to find the answers they're looking for too.Something I highly recommend for anyone who has questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is visiting www.mormon.org. tons of questions answered there. It's awesome. I love this gospel adn i love being here. love you all. :)Alrighty, love you all. Peace out. :)Sis Cartwrightp.s.COMMUNICATIONI'd still love people to send me their addresses so i can touch base. There are some people I have letters for but i can't send (Sheena, Ash-face Banks, Pinkals) b/c i don't have addresses. The best way to get me your address is to write ME a letter. :) Ok, i know, easier said than done. But I love you all and i'd love to hear how you're doing. Thanks for anyone who has been able to find the time. :) You guys are great!
Friday, July 6, 2007
DRAKE-WING DUCK (what? K, ignore that….)
The Drakes are in town and came to see me. I was delighted that it happened to be on a day when I was sporting the period clothing so I could proudly show off the gingham (which Karalyn had to inform me is not in fact gingham. She would. But we decided the alliteration makes it cool enough that the misnomer is acceptable. Plus Sis Faulkner thinks I’m really cool for knowing what gingham is so I can’t let her down…) Anyway, it’ll be delightful to get to see them for the next couple of days. We’re on our way to lunch at their place right now. Precious!
DEAF PEOPLE EVERYWHERE :) :)
So this is cool. There’s a Deaf convention here this weekend and it’s been awesome! I gave 4 or 5 different signing tours yesterday. Wahoo! It was so fun and I got really pumped up. We’re interpreting for them tonight at the pageant. 80 of them. Yikes. But it’s cool cause last night we practiced for the dress rehearsal and it just so happened that one of the men there was the interpreting coordinator from UVSC and unbeknownst to us he watched us and took notes and then came and gave us tips afterwards. Such a cool blessing to have that much-needed help. He reminded us that we’re the messengers, not the message and that the pageant and the spirit there will speak for itself.
I SWEAR I’M A REAL PERSON
So I’m trying to keep myself in check to not develop too many robotic, insincere habits. Like really fake smiles or compliments. That can be hard when you interact with 100s of ppl everyday and you want to show them all that you think they’re rad. So I’ve definitely been unsuccessful to a point. I’ve developed this cute little half-wave, smile thing that I apparently do quite liberally and without discretion. I realized this yesterday when I went out to go for a run and did my little half-wave smile to the bunny on the lawn across the street. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the bunny appreciated it in a way… Eesh. Sis. South (my running buddy) was dying. But I felt a little better remembering how when Scott got off his mission we were walking the streets of High Country West and he said “hola” to a dog.
PAGEANT FUN, FUN, FUN
The pageant is here and I’m beginning to get why the sis missionaries from last year are all so pumped. It’s amazing! Not just the sheer work and talent that goes into it but the awesome spirit it brings. When we were practicing with the cast one day for interpreting they were starting the very first scene. They were all in the street clothes even but as soon as the music was going and they were all piling onto the stage I started to get all teary. What? It hadn’t even started. There’s just SUCH a strong spirit at the pageant. And it’s an awesome missionary tool. It teaches a lot about the restored gospel and it really motivates those who are of our faith to want to share it and those of other faiths often realize when they’re here that they felt something special and gain a desire to know more. Then we get to be there with open arms to help teach them more and offer to have missionaries deliver a soundtrack of the performance and a Book of Mormon to them and share a message. So cool! The Lord wants us to do missionary work and He’ll help give us the tools so we can invite the Spirit and it can touch people. It’s important to remember that as a full-time missionary my purpose behind EVERYTHING I do is to help bring people unto Christ. This is imperative because it’s only through Him that we can be saved. But not only have eternal salvation but also have comfort, strength, and healing in this life. All other aspects of the gospel, families, etc. are appendages to help get us there.
Ok, I’m gonna make this short. I love you all and I love hearing from you when you have time.
With lots and lots of love,
-Sis. Cartwright
p.s. being a missionary is rad. :)
The Drakes are in town and came to see me. I was delighted that it happened to be on a day when I was sporting the period clothing so I could proudly show off the gingham (which Karalyn had to inform me is not in fact gingham. She would. But we decided the alliteration makes it cool enough that the misnomer is acceptable. Plus Sis Faulkner thinks I’m really cool for knowing what gingham is so I can’t let her down…) Anyway, it’ll be delightful to get to see them for the next couple of days. We’re on our way to lunch at their place right now. Precious!
DEAF PEOPLE EVERYWHERE :) :)
So this is cool. There’s a Deaf convention here this weekend and it’s been awesome! I gave 4 or 5 different signing tours yesterday. Wahoo! It was so fun and I got really pumped up. We’re interpreting for them tonight at the pageant. 80 of them. Yikes. But it’s cool cause last night we practiced for the dress rehearsal and it just so happened that one of the men there was the interpreting coordinator from UVSC and unbeknownst to us he watched us and took notes and then came and gave us tips afterwards. Such a cool blessing to have that much-needed help. He reminded us that we’re the messengers, not the message and that the pageant and the spirit there will speak for itself.
I SWEAR I’M A REAL PERSON
So I’m trying to keep myself in check to not develop too many robotic, insincere habits. Like really fake smiles or compliments. That can be hard when you interact with 100s of ppl everyday and you want to show them all that you think they’re rad. So I’ve definitely been unsuccessful to a point. I’ve developed this cute little half-wave, smile thing that I apparently do quite liberally and without discretion. I realized this yesterday when I went out to go for a run and did my little half-wave smile to the bunny on the lawn across the street. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the bunny appreciated it in a way… Eesh. Sis. South (my running buddy) was dying. But I felt a little better remembering how when Scott got off his mission we were walking the streets of High Country West and he said “hola” to a dog.
PAGEANT FUN, FUN, FUN
The pageant is here and I’m beginning to get why the sis missionaries from last year are all so pumped. It’s amazing! Not just the sheer work and talent that goes into it but the awesome spirit it brings. When we were practicing with the cast one day for interpreting they were starting the very first scene. They were all in the street clothes even but as soon as the music was going and they were all piling onto the stage I started to get all teary. What? It hadn’t even started. There’s just SUCH a strong spirit at the pageant. And it’s an awesome missionary tool. It teaches a lot about the restored gospel and it really motivates those who are of our faith to want to share it and those of other faiths often realize when they’re here that they felt something special and gain a desire to know more. Then we get to be there with open arms to help teach them more and offer to have missionaries deliver a soundtrack of the performance and a Book of Mormon to them and share a message. So cool! The Lord wants us to do missionary work and He’ll help give us the tools so we can invite the Spirit and it can touch people. It’s important to remember that as a full-time missionary my purpose behind EVERYTHING I do is to help bring people unto Christ. This is imperative because it’s only through Him that we can be saved. But not only have eternal salvation but also have comfort, strength, and healing in this life. All other aspects of the gospel, families, etc. are appendages to help get us there.
Ok, I’m gonna make this short. I love you all and I love hearing from you when you have time.
With lots and lots of love,
-Sis. Cartwright
p.s. being a missionary is rad. :)
Friday, June 22, 2007
Ok, to keep my emails structured and concise I’m going to continue my heading idea but make some running headings that I’ll reuse every week. Thanks, I think it’s a good idea too.
SENIOR MOMENT
This one isn’t funny. It’s touching. We served with Sis. Thayer at the Brigham Young home and it was crazy busy. We’d all three be taking different groups through at once for most of the time (very unusual). But the coolest was that it was quiet once for like an hour straight and it happened to be when Sis. Thayer told us all about coming back to the church in her twenties from alcoholism and a series of bad choices and about her husband’s death and his process of learning about the church just before he died. You’d never guess all the things these senior missionaries have gone through. They all have crazy cool stories and years of valuable experiences. I can learn SO MUCH from these surrogate grandparents. They’re so dedicated to the work, their marriages, and to constantly studying the scriptures and learning more every day.
COMPANION MOMENT
Today we went on a bike ride through Nauvoo in the rain. It was beautiful and rad. Sis F and I were arguing about how we were getting black dots of grime on our faces throughout the ride and about whose face had the most crude on it. Funny. And we discussed briefly the significant frozen yogurt places in Provo and Santee/La Mesa. Told you we have a lot in common! I love the rain. The storms here are crazy and come all of the sudden and then stop all of the sudden and all the while it’s still warm. I love it!
FROM THE MOUTH OF BABES
So in the BY home this little 9 yr-old girl came in by herself so Sis F and I were chatting with her. We asked her name and she said Andrea. So we freaked out and took a pic of the 3 Andreas. Good times. Then later she came back with 3 cousins and asked us out first names in front of the cousins. We said we were both Andrea and she turned to her cousin and said, “See?! You owe me $3.” Hilarious! So Sis F bribed them with candy if no one had to pay anyone $. Awesome! And on Andrea’s private tour we gave her before that Sis F asked her why we needed prophets today and she confidently replied “cause, if we didn’t have prophets everyone would be pretty much hooligans.” So wise. Love it!
MIDWEST MOMENT
Last week we were crossing the street in “downtown” Nauvoo on our way to the fudge shoppe from an old-school bookstore (ok, probably really normal-school for out here, just feels old-school) and the sheriff drives by and waved to us out the window and we smiled and waved back cause we’re tight with him and for a split second I really wondered if we were on some kind of weird TV show from the 1950s. I LOVE IT. And we had some locals come in named Billy, Paul (thought it was “Paw” until he spelled it for me) and Butch.
NAUVOO THE BEAUTIFUL: LIGHTENING AND LIGHTENING BUGS
On the way home from Carthage there was a crazy lightening storm and we were driving through nothing but cornfields and it was pitch black. So then picture this. Like a MILLION fireflies among the cornfields so it looked like twinkling Christmas lights and crazy lightening close and far and all across the sky. So many chances out here to appreciate the beauty of the earth and remember that it’s not an accident.
THE HIGH POINT
Couldn’t decide if this should be my high point or my low point…The other day I was speaking to a kid (maybe 11 yrs) in the VC and I gave him a challenge to write in his journal the things he’s experienced in Nauvoo (ya know, cause it’s a spiritual place and all…) and so I told him he should write it down so he can remember it later. And he assured me, with a completely straight face, that he didn’t need to because he has a chamber in his brain that he keeps all that kind of stuff in. So…how to argue with that. Like a journal is better than a chamber. I was stuck. But he did say that sometimes he has to empty stuff out of the chamber to fit more in, so eventually we agreed that writing it down might still be worthwhile. I love it! I love talking with kids out here and I love that the gospel applies to all and that they can all feel something special as they come here.
THE LOW POINT
We went on exchanges and I went down to Carthage for the day which was way cool. But apparently I forgot how to sleep over places and since I don’t have my own car to live out of anymore, I found myself terribly unprepared. I had no clothes to work out in but we wanted to go outside so we took bikes and I wore my PJ shorts and shirt and then stole some thick white socks and stuffed my feet into my church shoes. Ha ha! It was beautiful. Don’t worry, we documented it.
WHAT’S REALLY THE POINT
This mission is amazing. I was able to talk with a couple of boys the other day who’s families are members of the church but they’ve decided to stop going. They’re 19 and 20. One was telling me how dumb he thinks the historical sites are because there’s really no spiritual growth to be had here and that there’s nothing you can’t learn from reading (which is faster and cheaper). He was telling me how he hasn’t felt anything the whole time he’s been here. Both of them have either never read or never prayed about the Book of Mormon. I was able to share my feelings with them and my testimony with them. I can’t really explain it but it was so powerful to try to express to them how much there is out there and how important it is that they find out for themselves that they’re doing the right thing. I know Heavenly Father has a lot of blessing in store for them and the sooner they’re able to realize that and accept His will above their own, the better. Each of us do miraculous things every day and the more we turn out lives over to the Lord, the more He will magnify those things and the talents He has given us. The more we apply the atonement to our lives the more we can be strengthened and become better. I’m grateful for the chance to strive to do this every day. I have a LOT of improving to do but I know with the Lord on my side I can. I’m so grateful for this knowledge and I love the gospel and its truths with all my heart.
Thank you all SO much for you love, emails, letters, prayers, and support.Sis C
SENIOR MOMENT
This one isn’t funny. It’s touching. We served with Sis. Thayer at the Brigham Young home and it was crazy busy. We’d all three be taking different groups through at once for most of the time (very unusual). But the coolest was that it was quiet once for like an hour straight and it happened to be when Sis. Thayer told us all about coming back to the church in her twenties from alcoholism and a series of bad choices and about her husband’s death and his process of learning about the church just before he died. You’d never guess all the things these senior missionaries have gone through. They all have crazy cool stories and years of valuable experiences. I can learn SO MUCH from these surrogate grandparents. They’re so dedicated to the work, their marriages, and to constantly studying the scriptures and learning more every day.
COMPANION MOMENT
Today we went on a bike ride through Nauvoo in the rain. It was beautiful and rad. Sis F and I were arguing about how we were getting black dots of grime on our faces throughout the ride and about whose face had the most crude on it. Funny. And we discussed briefly the significant frozen yogurt places in Provo and Santee/La Mesa. Told you we have a lot in common! I love the rain. The storms here are crazy and come all of the sudden and then stop all of the sudden and all the while it’s still warm. I love it!
FROM THE MOUTH OF BABES
So in the BY home this little 9 yr-old girl came in by herself so Sis F and I were chatting with her. We asked her name and she said Andrea. So we freaked out and took a pic of the 3 Andreas. Good times. Then later she came back with 3 cousins and asked us out first names in front of the cousins. We said we were both Andrea and she turned to her cousin and said, “See?! You owe me $3.” Hilarious! So Sis F bribed them with candy if no one had to pay anyone $. Awesome! And on Andrea’s private tour we gave her before that Sis F asked her why we needed prophets today and she confidently replied “cause, if we didn’t have prophets everyone would be pretty much hooligans.” So wise. Love it!
MIDWEST MOMENT
Last week we were crossing the street in “downtown” Nauvoo on our way to the fudge shoppe from an old-school bookstore (ok, probably really normal-school for out here, just feels old-school) and the sheriff drives by and waved to us out the window and we smiled and waved back cause we’re tight with him and for a split second I really wondered if we were on some kind of weird TV show from the 1950s. I LOVE IT. And we had some locals come in named Billy, Paul (thought it was “Paw” until he spelled it for me) and Butch.
NAUVOO THE BEAUTIFUL: LIGHTENING AND LIGHTENING BUGS
On the way home from Carthage there was a crazy lightening storm and we were driving through nothing but cornfields and it was pitch black. So then picture this. Like a MILLION fireflies among the cornfields so it looked like twinkling Christmas lights and crazy lightening close and far and all across the sky. So many chances out here to appreciate the beauty of the earth and remember that it’s not an accident.
THE HIGH POINT
Couldn’t decide if this should be my high point or my low point…The other day I was speaking to a kid (maybe 11 yrs) in the VC and I gave him a challenge to write in his journal the things he’s experienced in Nauvoo (ya know, cause it’s a spiritual place and all…) and so I told him he should write it down so he can remember it later. And he assured me, with a completely straight face, that he didn’t need to because he has a chamber in his brain that he keeps all that kind of stuff in. So…how to argue with that. Like a journal is better than a chamber. I was stuck. But he did say that sometimes he has to empty stuff out of the chamber to fit more in, so eventually we agreed that writing it down might still be worthwhile. I love it! I love talking with kids out here and I love that the gospel applies to all and that they can all feel something special as they come here.
THE LOW POINT
We went on exchanges and I went down to Carthage for the day which was way cool. But apparently I forgot how to sleep over places and since I don’t have my own car to live out of anymore, I found myself terribly unprepared. I had no clothes to work out in but we wanted to go outside so we took bikes and I wore my PJ shorts and shirt and then stole some thick white socks and stuffed my feet into my church shoes. Ha ha! It was beautiful. Don’t worry, we documented it.
WHAT’S REALLY THE POINT
This mission is amazing. I was able to talk with a couple of boys the other day who’s families are members of the church but they’ve decided to stop going. They’re 19 and 20. One was telling me how dumb he thinks the historical sites are because there’s really no spiritual growth to be had here and that there’s nothing you can’t learn from reading (which is faster and cheaper). He was telling me how he hasn’t felt anything the whole time he’s been here. Both of them have either never read or never prayed about the Book of Mormon. I was able to share my feelings with them and my testimony with them. I can’t really explain it but it was so powerful to try to express to them how much there is out there and how important it is that they find out for themselves that they’re doing the right thing. I know Heavenly Father has a lot of blessing in store for them and the sooner they’re able to realize that and accept His will above their own, the better. Each of us do miraculous things every day and the more we turn out lives over to the Lord, the more He will magnify those things and the talents He has given us. The more we apply the atonement to our lives the more we can be strengthened and become better. I’m grateful for the chance to strive to do this every day. I have a LOT of improving to do but I know with the Lord on my side I can. I’m so grateful for this knowledge and I love the gospel and its truths with all my heart.
Thank you all SO much for you love, emails, letters, prayers, and support.Sis C
Friday, June 15, 2007
man oh man....those were some good emails from everyone. so much has been through my mind in the last WEEK AND A HALF (i like to pity myself big time for going so long without a prep-day) and i hope i can remember even a fraction of it.
VC IS COOL
first of all, i'm still loving life. big time. yes, of course there are still moments where i feel like there's way too much to learn and not enough time to study it all, but this place is awesome. you talk to people constantly all day (luckily, i've been training my whole life for that...) and it's rad to meet people from everywhere and to share your testimony like 100x/day. it's amazing how much love you have for these people you've known for only a few minutes.
SPIRITUAL RAMPAGE...GOTTA LOVE IT :)
there are a lot more people who come here who are not LDS than i thought. not always sure how they find their way to nauvoo. some on a harley, some in canoes. that's not a joke. but we've had some really cool experiences with visitors where we just got to sit and talk and talk and they'd ask me tons of questions and i'd get to answer them the best i could. i LOVE seeing lightbulbs go on and sharing a part of the gospel with someone and hearing them say that it makes a lot of sense. cause it's true and it does. the mid-westerns have a lot of faith in general so it's so cool to build on that and to see their questions answered with the teachings in the Book of Mormon and through the restored gospel. awesome! i'm so tempted to type out a whole explaination of what i mean by "restored gospel" and all of the aspects of the church i want to share with all of you who don't know, but instead i just encourage you to meet with the missionaries. seriously. there is so much peace and somany answers this gospel brings and i know that if you listen with an open mind and a prayer in your heart that you will get a greater understanding of God's love for you and His plan for you than you have ever had. because He DOES love you because He made you and He has a wonderful plan for you. so just take me up on the offer and get in contact with missionaries or when you see them, let them in. pretend it's me cause in a few months it will be. :)
WHERE AM I GOING AND WHEN
as far as getting transferred for the winter, i probably will but just this winter. then i stay til i leave next year. we don't find out where til right before. but as usual, i try not to get too set on what i think the plans are. i'm mostly just speaking engl here. i don't sign unless we have deaf visitors which has been few and far between. like 2.5 so far. but we're getting ready for the pageant cause we'll be interpretting there every night. wahoo!
COMP
sis faulkner is still amazing. every day we figure out more freakish similarities (yes, it runs much deeper than the same first name and living in the same stake twice...) it's so fun to be with someone who's so on the same page adn she's an amazing example of obedience and hard work. she's never not working and i love it! we were laughing so hard last night cause we were thinking about how we always tell each other that we think the other person is so cool/funny/fun in the same sentence as "we're so much alike..." weird, i know. :)
PREP-DAY PLANS
today we're gonna write some letters and stuff and hopefully i'll be able to start getting back to ppl. sorry for all of the unanswered Qs and un-thanked-for packages but know that i've thanked you lots in the my heart so far. :) i need to get a hair cut real bad. it's turned into fluffly straw. but i'm still so terrified of what a mid-western may interpret any of my instruction as. a sister here went to get hers cut once and he gave her wings and long, flowy curls. and i'm pretty sure none of that was in her request for a trim. but hey, this is probably the one time in my life when an awesomely bad haircut wouldn't cramp my social life. :)
WHAT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR...
the heat and humidity are getting a little worse. feeling more and more like walking around inside a giant mouth. but it's not too bad still. but it's a little worse when wearing my PIONEER DRESS!!! that's right! i got it. it's green gingham and let me tell you...i'm a looker! i've only gotten to wear it once but i was lovin it.
AMBIANCE
the sunsets here are the raddest, btw. hence the photos. it sets over the mississippi which is trippy cause it's water but not an ocean. the other day sis F and i walked home from the river on the streets of nauvoo and it was so amazing and goreous and calm. (they say there's basically never crime here...) and we saw TONS of fireflies. woohoo! everytime i see them i think of april fisher and her love for the nauvoo fireflies. of course, now i'm also gonna think of how amanda told me a lady said you can write on the sidewalk with them and it glows. so twisted.
STORY OF THE MALT
best story of the week. i just cut-and-pasted the one sis faulkner wrote. she's actually typing it right now and she's just randomly start laughing and set us both off again.[ok, this is gonna come in a follow-up email. unless the email forwarder cuts and pastes it cause i have to get on a new comp to send it].ok one more amazing thing to add: every time ppl entered the house she'd greet them with a super dramatic "that door you just walked in is the same door john taylor would walk in and out of many times a day..." you know, set the mood, whatever. then later this visitor had been asking me all about what parts of the house/woodwork were original and so i ask sis b and she said with a totally serious, unaware face "oh, all of it is. except the front door." WHAT? i was dying. it was amazing.
SLEEPOVER?
tomorrow night we're having a "unity activity" aka sleepover with the sisters. it'll be cool. we're gonna make muddy buddies and have marshmallow popcorn! but it'll definately be the first sleepover ever where i'm in bed by 10:30. i love all the rules, i really do. they all secretly mean blessings so it's cool. plus when else can i have a sleepover and go to bed at 10:30?ok, that's all we've got time for. love you all and the emails/letters. you're in my prayers. see you all in nauvoo sometime maybe...
Additional letter from Sister Faulkner:
On Wednesday I served at the John Taylor home and it was so fun! Sister Cartwright and I served there with Sister Bartles a senior sister. Within two hours of serving there Sister Bartles suggested that her husband make us all banana malts. It was pretty busy and so we thought the plans for a shake would not actually come through and we were both alright with that because Sister Cartwright can’t handle bananas and just Tuesday I had decided I was going to eat so healthy for the rest of my mission…right. Sister Cartwright had to leave to go on exchanges midday and so a few minutes before she started to pack up her things. Sister Bartles realized she was going and sprang up to the phone and demanded that her husband make a malt right then so we could enjoy it before Sister Cartwright left. Sister Cartwright and I were told to go and wait in the street for him until he came. No longer than 5 minutes later sweet old Elder Bartles pulls up three cups and a huge blender full of malt. Sister Bartles insists on taking all of the tours so that we can enjoy our malts. Between tours Sister Bartles came down and so we offered her a cup full of malt. She looks back and us and with such a serious expression she says, “Sister, sweets really upset my Fibromialgia!” At this point Sister Cartwright and I almost spit up our malts and begin to tear up laughing because we realize that that this whole blender is just for us. Sister Bartles gets all flustered that Elder Bartles didn’t bring spoons. She reaches into a large carpet bag and in true Mary Poppin’s fashion she triumphantly pulls out two plastic forks. She grabs my water bottle and swishes them in the water to clean them and then dries them with a Kleenex. Another tour came in right then and she again tells us to sit so we can finish the malt she denied. It has been 2 days and Sister Cartwright and I still can’t see a banana, plastic fork, or blender with out cracking up. This whole story took forever to type up and prep day time is precious but it just reminds us that life in Nauvoo is a beautiful thing.
Additional letter from Sister Faulkner:
On Wednesday I served at the John Taylor home and it was so fun! Sister Cartwright and I served there with Sister Bartles a senior sister. Within two hours of serving there Sister Bartles suggested that her husband make us all banana malts. It was pretty busy and so we thought the plans for a shake would not actually come through and we were both alright with that because Sister Cartwright can’t handle bananas and just Tuesday I had decided I was going to eat so healthy for the rest of my mission…right. Sister Cartwright had to leave to go on exchanges midday and so a few minutes before she started to pack up her things. Sister Bartles realized she was going and sprang up to the phone and demanded that her husband make a malt right then so we could enjoy it before Sister Cartwright left. Sister Cartwright and I were told to go and wait in the street for him until he came. No longer than 5 minutes later sweet old Elder Bartles pulls up three cups and a huge blender full of malt. Sister Bartles insists on taking all of the tours so that we can enjoy our malts. Between tours Sister Bartles came down and so we offered her a cup full of malt. She looks back and us and with such a serious expression she says, “Sister, sweets really upset my Fibromialgia!” At this point Sister Cartwright and I almost spit up our malts and begin to tear up laughing because we realize that that this whole blender is just for us. Sister Bartles gets all flustered that Elder Bartles didn’t bring spoons. She reaches into a large carpet bag and in true Mary Poppin’s fashion she triumphantly pulls out two plastic forks. She grabs my water bottle and swishes them in the water to clean them and then dries them with a Kleenex. Another tour came in right then and she again tells us to sit so we can finish the malt she denied. It has been 2 days and Sister Cartwright and I still can’t see a banana, plastic fork, or blender with out cracking up. This whole story took forever to type up and prep day time is precious but it just reminds us that life in Nauvoo is a beautiful thing.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
hey everyone! 3 p-days in 2 weeks. what the? cool! WARNING: i get more than 30 min here so this one could get obnoxiously long. i went back and titled the paragraphs so ppl can read what they care about. :) but i also don't get another p-day til next, next fri so you'll probably miss me really bad by then.
MI COMPANARIA
so the best part of nauvoo so far is that guess what....I'M COMPANIONS WITH SISTER FAULKNER!!!! :) i keep thinking that it's maybe just temporary cause it's way too good. we get along seriously perfect. she's big into hurrying and doing things efficiently. she doesn't get worked up really at all and she's into having many communal things like clothes and food. also she makes sure all the plates get finished when we eat. i love my life!!! she's happy to work out for more than a half hour if we wake up early and there are plenty of girls here who run. for reals, everything about my mission is better than i thought it could be. oh, and a couple other things i love about her is that A. we talk constantly and B. she told me that on more than one occassion she's slept-walked into her companion's bed and slept the rest of the night there. what the? haha! i love it!
MY ACCOMODATIONS
but wait, there's more!! i live in a house with 7 (soon to be 9) other sisters. it's a rad, old-school house with skylights and brick arches and here's the raddest part....it's across the street from the temple. no exagerration. like directly across the street. like the only thing separating my bedroom window from the temple is a street and some grass. and it's such a stinkin gorgeous temple! so crazy to think that the old-school saints built it and it looked just as cool. i'm so excited for you all to come out here.
NAUVOO AT LARGE
nauvoo is beautiful, it's true. we're right on the mississippi and there's lillypads and yes, i already saw a firefly. SO COOL. it's so small-town though. i love it. just random, no-name places everywhere! and the heat and humidity have both been very mild so far as a nice little blessing to not traumatize us right off the bat. :)
MID-WESTERN LIFE
the mid-west as a whole...i have a bone to pick with it. i mean i knew they fried everything, but seriously. it's disgusting. KT asked me a while ago wouldn't it have been hard if i'd gone somewhere in asia and had to eat weird food and i dare say that would've been way more ok than someone feeding me a fried strawberry. i mean, it's just sad. no one should do that to a perfectly good strawberry. eesh. oh, and there's country music EVERYWHERE. two strikes. but i suppose there's enough to redeem this place. :)
MTC LEFTOVERS (not like tator tots. leftover stories)
oh, a couple leftover stories from the MTC. so a while back i was in an empty hallway waiting for my comp to get out of the bathroom when this elder came up from behind me and scared me. like 100% on purpose. i didn't even know him. what the heck?! so of course it's me and i leapt in the air like a freak show and he laughed and laughed all the way down the hall. what?! and then another elder walks around the corner a couple minutes later and scared me to death again, this time not on purpose (come to find out later he was trying to find me cause his comp had told him about him scaring me. make sense?) anyway, so then these elders proceed to see me multiple times at the MTC and just blantantly laugh and me and be like, "there's the jumping sister." what? it pretty much haunted me til the day i got on the bus.
THE COOL OLD PPL(i think i'm gonna throw up my strawberry...unrelated point.)
the senior missionaries here are precious and apparently all think they're your grandparents. so that's cool. my mission pres is way rad. very soft-spoken and has an awesome spirit about him.THE PLANE RIDEon the plane ride over i was able to sit next to a lady from OR and we talked adn talked the whole 3 hours. we were very similar, just 30 yrs apart. i told her a little more about the gospel (she knew a bit) and was able to bear my testimony to her on some things. it was a really good chat. then after i got off the plane a lady who'd overheard like the whole thing and was obviously LDS was like, "how was your first discussion, sis cartwright?" funny. you never know who's listening. the lady i talked to was way cool though. i wish i could've told her more.
AIRPORT JOY
sis soza's bro is serving in the mission that the airport's in so she was just watching out the window the whole drive just knowing he was somewhere right there. she has 2 bros, one older and one younger and they're both on missions too and all in the mid-west. bizarre since they all speak spanish. but we also got to meet her bro's mission pres and stuff and it was so cool to see her eyes light up when they made the connection. precious.
NOT FUNNY
sidenote: the MTC and i imagine the mission completely zap your sense of humors. like i worry that i'm gonna be really into puns (no offense, james...) i'll let you know how it goes but there are lots of ultra nerdy jokes said and they start getting funnier and funnier to me. like the other day at dinner in the MTC this one group of missionaries passes another and an elder yells out "hey look! it's the missionaries!!" not a pun, i realize, but a lame joke nontheless. and i totally couldn't stop laughing. so sad.
THE PEEPS HERE
i'll let you know more about the actual missionary work here when i've actually done more but i can tell i'm gonna learn a ton from my comp and the other sisters here. so many awesome girls, no joke. and so many cute clothes that get very traded around. :) we're working on making connections of ppl we know. so far, i've only had one. sis rasmussen is from highland and knows the scoresbys. her older sibs are hayley, jake, jarvis, etc. good times. if anyone told me anyone to look out for someone here tell me again cause i forgot.
I STILL LOVE MY LIFE
i'm stoked to be here. everyone i know should come. it's worth it, i promise. i can already tell and i haven't even been to any of the sites yet. oh, and i do get to wear period clothing at least once a week. i'll let you know how that treats me. pics to come, i'm sure. mostly we work in the main VC though. and we get to go to the temple every prep-day!
COMMUNICATION
i can only email parents on this (or like a mass forward) but everyone can feel free to email me here cause i can print them out if they're long and i want to read them later. i can also see attachments supposedly yet i'm having some technical troubs. but i'll still be a little slow in responding just cause, well, that's how it goes. or real mail's always rad too.
MI COMPANARIA
so the best part of nauvoo so far is that guess what....I'M COMPANIONS WITH SISTER FAULKNER!!!! :) i keep thinking that it's maybe just temporary cause it's way too good. we get along seriously perfect. she's big into hurrying and doing things efficiently. she doesn't get worked up really at all and she's into having many communal things like clothes and food. also she makes sure all the plates get finished when we eat. i love my life!!! she's happy to work out for more than a half hour if we wake up early and there are plenty of girls here who run. for reals, everything about my mission is better than i thought it could be. oh, and a couple other things i love about her is that A. we talk constantly and B. she told me that on more than one occassion she's slept-walked into her companion's bed and slept the rest of the night there. what the? haha! i love it!
MY ACCOMODATIONS
but wait, there's more!! i live in a house with 7 (soon to be 9) other sisters. it's a rad, old-school house with skylights and brick arches and here's the raddest part....it's across the street from the temple. no exagerration. like directly across the street. like the only thing separating my bedroom window from the temple is a street and some grass. and it's such a stinkin gorgeous temple! so crazy to think that the old-school saints built it and it looked just as cool. i'm so excited for you all to come out here.
NAUVOO AT LARGE
nauvoo is beautiful, it's true. we're right on the mississippi and there's lillypads and yes, i already saw a firefly. SO COOL. it's so small-town though. i love it. just random, no-name places everywhere! and the heat and humidity have both been very mild so far as a nice little blessing to not traumatize us right off the bat. :)
MID-WESTERN LIFE
the mid-west as a whole...i have a bone to pick with it. i mean i knew they fried everything, but seriously. it's disgusting. KT asked me a while ago wouldn't it have been hard if i'd gone somewhere in asia and had to eat weird food and i dare say that would've been way more ok than someone feeding me a fried strawberry. i mean, it's just sad. no one should do that to a perfectly good strawberry. eesh. oh, and there's country music EVERYWHERE. two strikes. but i suppose there's enough to redeem this place. :)
MTC LEFTOVERS (not like tator tots. leftover stories)
oh, a couple leftover stories from the MTC. so a while back i was in an empty hallway waiting for my comp to get out of the bathroom when this elder came up from behind me and scared me. like 100% on purpose. i didn't even know him. what the heck?! so of course it's me and i leapt in the air like a freak show and he laughed and laughed all the way down the hall. what?! and then another elder walks around the corner a couple minutes later and scared me to death again, this time not on purpose (come to find out later he was trying to find me cause his comp had told him about him scaring me. make sense?) anyway, so then these elders proceed to see me multiple times at the MTC and just blantantly laugh and me and be like, "there's the jumping sister." what? it pretty much haunted me til the day i got on the bus.
THE COOL OLD PPL(i think i'm gonna throw up my strawberry...unrelated point.)
the senior missionaries here are precious and apparently all think they're your grandparents. so that's cool. my mission pres is way rad. very soft-spoken and has an awesome spirit about him.THE PLANE RIDEon the plane ride over i was able to sit next to a lady from OR and we talked adn talked the whole 3 hours. we were very similar, just 30 yrs apart. i told her a little more about the gospel (she knew a bit) and was able to bear my testimony to her on some things. it was a really good chat. then after i got off the plane a lady who'd overheard like the whole thing and was obviously LDS was like, "how was your first discussion, sis cartwright?" funny. you never know who's listening. the lady i talked to was way cool though. i wish i could've told her more.
AIRPORT JOY
sis soza's bro is serving in the mission that the airport's in so she was just watching out the window the whole drive just knowing he was somewhere right there. she has 2 bros, one older and one younger and they're both on missions too and all in the mid-west. bizarre since they all speak spanish. but we also got to meet her bro's mission pres and stuff and it was so cool to see her eyes light up when they made the connection. precious.
NOT FUNNY
sidenote: the MTC and i imagine the mission completely zap your sense of humors. like i worry that i'm gonna be really into puns (no offense, james...) i'll let you know how it goes but there are lots of ultra nerdy jokes said and they start getting funnier and funnier to me. like the other day at dinner in the MTC this one group of missionaries passes another and an elder yells out "hey look! it's the missionaries!!" not a pun, i realize, but a lame joke nontheless. and i totally couldn't stop laughing. so sad.
THE PEEPS HERE
i'll let you know more about the actual missionary work here when i've actually done more but i can tell i'm gonna learn a ton from my comp and the other sisters here. so many awesome girls, no joke. and so many cute clothes that get very traded around. :) we're working on making connections of ppl we know. so far, i've only had one. sis rasmussen is from highland and knows the scoresbys. her older sibs are hayley, jake, jarvis, etc. good times. if anyone told me anyone to look out for someone here tell me again cause i forgot.
I STILL LOVE MY LIFE
i'm stoked to be here. everyone i know should come. it's worth it, i promise. i can already tell and i haven't even been to any of the sites yet. oh, and i do get to wear period clothing at least once a week. i'll let you know how that treats me. pics to come, i'm sure. mostly we work in the main VC though. and we get to go to the temple every prep-day!
COMMUNICATION
i can only email parents on this (or like a mass forward) but everyone can feel free to email me here cause i can print them out if they're long and i want to read them later. i can also see attachments supposedly yet i'm having some technical troubs. but i'll still be a little slow in responding just cause, well, that's how it goes. or real mail's always rad too.
here's the addresses:
regular mail:
PO Box 215
Nauvoo, IL 62354
packages:
975 Young
Nauvoo, IL 62354
WRAP-UP
ah, that was a lot. thanks for reading and for your thoughts/prayers/letters/packages. none of it goes unappreciated. i'm so thankful for all of you and i say it in my prayers all the time. i can feel the extra help of the prayers from you all. i love it, love it, love it here and i'm so stoked to share the gospel with everyone i can. i have a lot to learn about being more bold and getting more done but i'll make good goals and work on it. i love you all. know that i know with all my heart that the church is true and if you have any doubts please take the time to read the Book of Mormon and to pray and to find out for yourself because Heavenly Father wants to bless you and to answer your prayers and questions. He wants to you to come closer to Him through understanding His gospel and by coming unto Christ through the atonement. There are many blessings to be found through learning, and then living, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
love-sis cartwright (i'm totally legit now! :) )
p.s. sorry about the excessive smily faces. i know that offends some people.
Friday, June 1, 2007
so yeah...i'm leaving the MTC on tues. the 5th. so i guess all those fat packages that are on their way up to me will just have to be forwarded. :) it was very sudden. it all happened last tues within a couple of hours. i got moved out of my district and from my comp. i'm in a threesome with sis. lancaster (the other ASL miss.) and sis. soza. they're both going to nauvoo so we're doing the VC training all together this week. it's a little lonley though cause the way it timed out we're the only three in the class so we learn by ourselves, eat by ourselves, have gym by ourselves....and to think, i was just getting good at volleyball. :) so i do miss my comp and my district but i have class right upstairs so i try to see them a couple times a day if i can and i still sleep in the same room with all my home-sisters. :)what else? OH!!!! this story is LONG overdue but i keep forgetting to tell it...so a while ago sis white and i were having one of our many chats trying to ease our communication problems. and i don't know if i mentioned this but she'd ask me throughout the day many times if i was mad at her. pretty much after everything i said. i explained to her often that i really don't get mad very easily and that if i am i'll tell her. but i was so confused why i always came across as mad...any guesses?? that's right! the ANGRY-CONFUSED face!!! how could i have been so blind! it was so obvious but it took me DAYS to figure out. so i just laughed as soon as i realized and we had a chat about it and she was like, "yeah! that's the face! you do it all the time!!" and it's cause she really does confuse me a good amt of the time. haha! oh, too bad. i for reals almost lost a comp over it. :) but we worked it out and by the very next day she said i was getting lots better. i for reals even prayed that i'd stop making the face. ah, good times.what else? i have a hideous blister/welt thing on the back of my foot. it's totally rockin. and with the blackish marks that your show permanently leaves on your foot it makes it look even more hard-core. awesome.the biggest challenge is still to feel tired at 10:30 at night. lots of laying in bed completely wired at the end of the day. but i'm working on it. i still fall asleep faster than i otherwise would cause i for reals pray for it. i know, i'm a freak.the new comps are awesome. we all have the same work ethic and they're both very laid-back so it works out well. i'm sad to leave the disctrict tues but the elders were leaving then anyway so at least i get to carpool with them on the way to the airport. they're all going to the phoenix mission. precious.today is an extra p-day (hence the email). i don;'t know when my next one will be.what else? i've found lots of ppl who know sis salisbury or sis pinkal. there's an elder here who was here when sis p was and she taught him some lessons it russian. warms my heart.thanks for all the emails/letter this week everyone. it was so, so good to hear how everyone is doing and what's going on. even if some of the letters invovled creepy fairy stickers (which, yes, is exactly what i called them out loud before i read that was exactly what you wrote. ha!)i'm excited to go to nauvoo. our VC teacher explained to us that there are about 50,000+ missionaries right now. only 6-7000 are sisters. only 400 get called VC and 200 of those are temple square. only 18 go to nauvoo and we also learned that only 4 of us are or have ever done ASL there. yep. we're the very first batch of ASL missionaries in nauvoo. no pressure. the mission pres is stoked to get us out there though.a man from church headquarters came down to answer a lot of our Qs aoubt nauvoo and stuff. very informative. mom, don't worry. he said the wal-mart's only like 15 min away and they let us go even though it's outside the boundaires. we stay in little houses/apts, not all together like i thought. if you're in carthage you're there for a whole transfer and they don't always send the sisters all away for the winter. so only time will tell.some funny MTC moments: we had the hottest mtg ever last week. super stuffy and stuff. afterwards sis white said she was pretty sure her nylons had sweated to her butt. don't know why that was so funny to me but it was. mostly cause when she's jkoking like that she doesn't even seem to realize it and says it dead serious. and then in a prayer and elder was trying to mention another elder in it cause he injured his finger in the intense v-ball game adn he said "...and please be with elder lundgreen's finger..." awesome. sorry about all my funny prayer stories if it seems a little sac-religous but after saying about 20 prayers/day you're bound to have some. :)oh and last night i was thinking things in my head then i walked into my room wheere the other sisters were and just mumbled and stopped and sis h said, "ok, you just walked into the room and said 'ish'!" haha! little does she know how significant that word can be.saw someone i knew again at the temple today. (jaylyn, for all my p-town friends). a teacher here recogizned me from the testing center. that's awkward. haha!mostly things are still way good. i know i've only seen the tip of the iceburg so far but i'm so excited to go do this work. i'm so excited to share the truth of the gospel. i often forget there's ppl who really don't understand or know the truths that i do. even as simple as Heavenly Father's love for them. and then to be able to share with someone that there is a living prophet on the earth today and that Christ's church was restored through Joseph Smith and that the Book of Mormon is truly written by ancient prophets. it's a bold msg but i know it's true. i've prayed all my life about it and still here at the MTC and everytime i just know stronger and stronger that it's true and that coming to Christ and keeping the commandments will help us find the answers we need. i'm grateful for that and for His Atonement and the great strength that's been to me. i'm so, so thankful to be able to let others hear that and feel that.thanks for reading, those of you who have like a good 15 min to spend on my emails each week. :) sorry they're so long but what can ya do? it's hard to summarize this experience quickly.oh, and i feel like i still hang out with a lot of you. my dreams still mostly happen with stuff and ppl from before. i'm not usually on a mission in my dreams. so i've got quite a few memories of everyone just since being here. :) haha.ok, love you all!-sis C
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