Hello Everyone!!!
Well, this has been an exceedingly great and 'eventful' week!! ha Some of you may know that there were TORNADOS!!! yIkeS!!! I'll start with that story so all your worries and curiosities can be settled! :) hah Soooo... One night (friday) Sister Draper and I went to bed like good missionaries do and at were awoken at 2:45AM to TORNADO SIRENS!!! Now some of you who are not from Oklahoma/fun tornado states (like i wasn't) .. There is a difference between a tornado WATCH and a tornado WARNING! (warning is worse!!) a watch is when the conditions for a tornado are right and they see circulation in the clouds. A warning is more like when tornadoes have HIT the ground and that is when the sirens go off!! So yeah, waking up to that is probably not one of my favorite things.. hah but THANK GOODNESS Heavenly Father is the greatest EVER and comforted me A TON!!! There iS NOOOO way i would've felt as calm and at peace as i did if i wasn't a missionary and filled with His spirit and power!! i am SOOO grateful for that!!! Because looking back on that night/morning.. that was pretty SCARY!! hah so anyways it was POURING rain!! and windy and we but our shoes and jackets on -grabbed our scriptures (you can't leave those behind!! ha) and jumped in the car to pick up the other SIster and drive to our amazing bishop's house (with a storm shelter!) the Elder followed behind us too!! Members told them to hide in their closets if one came and we said no, COME WITH US!! :) hah so we drove through the pouring rain and semi-flooded streets and miraculously made it to the Bishop's! (Lord's help! :) ) we were able to all gather in the living room and the Bishop kept us updated with the weather through the radio and computer to know what we should all do. It ended up passing over us and there were actually No tornadoes that landed in Stillwater (we aren't sure why they sounded the sirens?? we think it's because some did land closer by.. but yeah! i'd rather be safe than sorry so no worries!! :) ha) The storm passed over with no tornado threats so we all went home and back to bed around 4:30am and woke up 2 hours later to start our missionary day!! haha so great :) Saturday they expected it to be WORSE so we were all getting prepared and making plans! and we ended up (with Mission President's permission of course) All going to the Bishop's again during the next storm (in case a tornado came this time) and had a little talent show, devotional, checked out the storm shelter (yep, i've been in one now!! ha it's pretty cool looking! better than i thought! :) ha) and all stayed the night there!! :) hah Bishop called it "District co-ed Slumber Party"... we thought that's probably nOt the best title... hahaha :) It was really fun though for us all to have a devotional and stuff so it made the fact, that a tornado was probably coming, a little better! :) haha Well the storm raged!! but NO TORNADO in Stillwater!!! whew!!! Blessing #.. i don't even know how many??! hah I was and am SOOOOO gratefuL!!! that is definitely not a very fun part about Oklahoma! ha but i am very grateful we were all kept safe!!! :D So there is your 'mission tornado update!' I hope it was intense and fun for you to read about! :) haha because it was pretty crazy and intense to experience!! hah
Well now nothing else will probably sound as interesting EXCEPT.. we got another BAPTISMAL DATE!!! :D woo hoo!! So remember that guy, Jon, that i gave a card to at the library and he wanted to meet with us?? He has a baptismal date!! :) So exciting!! We definitely have to work to prepare him for it and see if he is truly converted but he says he believes it all (so far) and that he will get baptized. So yeah! It was fun, this past Saturday (before the storm) we went on SPLITS!! (for the first time!) and it was a BLAST!! :) i got to go with Sister Scifres and it was sO fun!! She is amazing!! And comes to lessons with us all the time!!! She is an excellent member missionary!!! :D She is so shy and timid but is soooo sweet and is really coming out of her comfort zone when she teaches with us!! She's amazing!!! :D She is the one that was at Jon's lesson when we invited him to be baptized!! So exciting!! She said it was a really great experience for her to come out with us!! :) I was so glad!! It was kind of scary to be 'on my own/without sister draper' at an INVESTIGATOR lesson! But the Lord DEFINITELY blessed me/us with the words to say!! :) We taught him the whole 1st lesson about the Restoration and he's been reading the Book of Mormon! So pray for him! :)
Other fun things that happened this past week... well last P-day we went to "Ruth's Christian Bookstore" to get me a journal and i ended up getting a SCRIPTURE RING!! :) (random i know! ha ) It has Proverbs 3:5 written around it! i love it! :) ha and i got some other awesome things! but that is another tender mercy to be serving in Oklahoma.. i can still get some "Christian" things! :) It is sOO wonderful to have pretty much everyone around you believe in Jesus Christ!! I can only imagine how hard China or somewhere might be where they don't and to try and help them get a testimony of Him! It would be pretty neat to teach (and we actually ARE teaching a super sweet lady from China!! So i'm getting good practice on what it would be like!! :) her name is Xiaodan! We lOVE her!! ) but I love that everyone loves and believes in Him so we can build upon that faith and teach them the FULNESS of Christ's gospel/teachings! :)
Another awesome thing that happened is we had dinner at a Part-Member's home! We LOVE them!!! It is a husband and wife - the husband hasn't gone to Church for a long time and the wife is not a member- but they are INCREDIBLE!! it is sO fun to go over there and eat, visit, and teach! :) They also came to Church yesterday!! :) hooray!! It was so fun to see them!! And it's so crazy how you can just look at people and can picture them being a member sOOO easily!! She is definitley one of those!! :) She is a sweetheart and has a great light about her!! :) We are going back to teach them again this week :)
Well, I think that's about it i was going to tell y'all!! :) Oh, and saying "y'all" has been coming more naturally!! :) yay!! hah except it's kind of weird to say it as a missionary.. but that's just diving into the 'culture' right??! :) hah Anywyas, I want you ALL to know that I have a testimony of the Restored gospel of Jesus Christ and how it truly is the FULNESS of Christ's gospel!! :) I love it SOOOO much!!! And i'm sOOO incredibly grateful for it!! :) I know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet and through Him Christ restored His true gospel that we may have it again in these latter-days!! :) I know that the Plan of Salvation is REAL!!!! And that as we follow Christ's teachings, participate in the sacred and saving ordinances of the Church, and make and kEEp those sacred (baptismal & temple) covenants we can and WILL make it back to live with our Loving Father in Heaven and His AMAZING and glorious Son, Jesus Christ!! :) I love this gospel, i know it's true!! because it has brought sOOOO much peace and happiness into my life!! and in the lives of all those who live it, around me!!! :D I am TRULY SOOOO grateful to be brought up in the truth and to have this amazing experience, opportunity, and privilege to share it with all those around me!!! In Oklahoma!! :D I love you all!! and hope you have an AMAZING week!!! thank you SOOOOOO much for ALLLLL of your prayers for ME and ALLL the Missionaries!!! We are sOOOO grateful for them!! and love and feel them!! :) Keep being the amazing "member missionary" you are and the Lord wants you to be!! You can do it!! :) Don't let Satan 'bind your tongue with fear'! Heavenly Father is all powerful and He will help you as you help Him!! :) Every step of the way!!! :) I love you!! the Lord LOVES YOU!! :D Have an AMAZING week!!!! :) I love and miss you all!!! :D
Love, Sister Carlini :)
ps. QofW: "Never stop striving for the best that is within you. Never stop hoping for all of the righteous desires of your heart. But don’t close your eyes and hearts to the simple and elegant beauties of each day’s ordinary moments that make up a rich, well-lived life...Forget not, to be happy Now." -Pres. Uchtdorf :) ("Forget Me Not" talk Oct. 2011)
*Picture Descriptions!* :)
1. Sunset + country + horse = very 'Oklahoma-y' :) hah
2. Soup Tuesday!! at the institute with the 'past' OSU Sisters!! (before transfers!) -Hermana Wright, Sister Buckley, Me, Sister Draper, and Sister Weaver! LOVE THEM!!! and MISS THEM!! :(
3. One morning Sister Draper asked me if i wanted a toaster struedal.. i said sure!.. and THAT'S what she brought me!!! Awesome right??! hah made my day! i hAd to take a picture!! :) How come i never thought of that?? it's genious!! ha
4. Missionary party!!! aka. Tornado Nights!! ha all of us (district, minus two elder that live in Cushing-further away) gathered together at our AMAZING Bishop's house with his storm shelter! Nicely dressed pic= night we all came over and had a devotional and talent show. pic with all our stuff and pj's = morning after the storms!! pretty tired... :) hah
5. Pretty gREEN neighborhood!! Oklahoma is actually very pretty!! :)
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