Sister Carlini: "Because I Have Been Given Much I Too Must Give..." :)‏

Hello Everyone!! :)

How are y'all?! :) I am doing GREAT!! :) I LOVE it here at OU!!! :) Thank you all SOOOO much for ALL your prayers, love, encouragement, and support!! :) It is so much fun here and this past week has been INCREDIBLE!!! :) We have met and talked to a TON of people and have been blessed to have a LOT more lessons!! :) woo hoo!! Sucha blessing!!

So first of all.. On Wednesday we were able to do "the Booth!" Where we go to the Student Union and set up our "Latter-Day Saint poster" and supplies and pass out mormon.org cards and play and sing hymns on the ukulele!! :) It was so fun! :) We talked to a ton of people there and this week we passed out surveys for people to take! :) They are religious surveys asking how strongly they believe in God and what they believe about truth and contradicting doctrines from other churches etc. And the last question says, "Are you interested in learning more about how truths that were once lost have been restored?" :) And then their info if they do! :) And we recieved about 10 potential investigators from that!! :) It was awesome! :) We've already gone and met a couple of them and have taught one of them so far! :) So amazing!! :) Much more effective than tracting! :)

Another thing that i've LOVED that is even more effective than the booth (I feel) is 'campus contacting!!" :) We have been going on campus for a couple hours a day and talking to EVERYONE!!!! :) I LOVE IT!! :) Heavenly Father is AMAZING and has blessed us with the courage and desire to basically talk to EVERYONE that we pass by!! It's such a blessing!! :) And so much fuN!! :) It is the BEST feeling EVER when you are striving to fulfill the commandment to "Open Your Mouth! and you do it!!" :) I've met a TON of peole that way and we've been blessed with a LOT more potential and new investigators and have already taught a few of them! :) We've been doing as Elder Bowen said and have been asking people, "Are you a Mormon?" ... "Do you know a Mormon?" .. and "Have you ever wanted to learn more about what Mormons believe??" :) And. it. works!!! :) It's incredible!! :) It's been really fun to see what people say and how many people know a Mormon!! :) ha I love it!! :) Y'all should try it!! :) I invite y'all to try it and even if they don't 'accept' it to still be happy because as Elder Bowen says, "You did your part, you 'Opened Your Mouth!!' " I have such a testimony of this! It is true and Heavenly Father blesses you so much and you feel so good when you overcome your fears and do it!! :) I promise you this! :)

So I keep mentioning Elder Bowen .. and that's because HE CAME TO OUR MISSION!!! :) Elder Shayne M. Bowen (Who spoke this past conference and is on the "Reclaimed" mormon message that I LOVE!!) came and spoke to us for our Mission Conference!! :) It. was. AMAZING!!! :) It. was. INTENSE!!!! ha He is so sweet and powerful and wow I was blown away by it all!! :) Great conference!! It was a lOT to take in but was definitely amazing!! :) He even gave us (the Sisters) marriage advice during it!! :) ha It was great! :) The gospel is amazing!! :) The Spirit is TRULY the key! And obedience is definitely the price we pay but the rewards of obedience FAR outweigh the 'sacrifice'!!! :) I testify that this is true!! :)

Another great experience we had was with a girl named Kristina (guess who i thought of?? ;) ha) that we met on campus! :) We stopped her and talked to her and her friend and asked if she knew any Mormons?? And she said that HALF of her family are Mormon!! :) but that she just didn't believe in anything. She was SOOOOO nice and sweet and was really happy to talk with us!! :) We asked her what she knew about it but she didn't know too much.. just a little bit about Joseph Smith and the gold plates (that she learned in her class at school) And so we told her we could give her a Book of Mormon if she wanted one and could read it and she said, "Really??! :) " and seemed really excited to get one!! :) It was AMAZING!! :) So we stopped by her house yesterday and gave her one!! :) She seemed really happy and grateful and I have a really good feeling about her!! :) Please keep her in your prayers!! That she will progress and want to learn more and meet with us!! :) And come to FHE at the Institute!! :) THANK YOU!!! :)

We also had a great lesson with a guy named Adam that we met on campus and he is really cool! :) He is very serious but super respectful and sweet! We taught him the Resoration and he had GREAT questions!! :) He kept thanking us for taking time out of our schedules to meet with him!! :) (so nice!! huh?!! :) ) We definitely thanked HIM for talking HIS time to meet with us!! :) He's awesome and has great potential! :)

We met with another guy named Fysal! Who use to be Muslim but now claims he's athiest. That was such an interesting and good lesson! :) He had great questions and says that he will come to Church! :) We talked to him about faith and read Alma 32 with him! (i lOVE that chapter!!) and then assigned him to read Alma 22 where it talks about Aaron teaching Lamoni's father about "the Great Spirit" and how he changes from not knowing there is a God to believing there is a God and being converted and converting others!! :) So amazing!! :) I LOVE that story!! :) It's one of my favorites!! :)

My companions and I were also able to speak at Church yesterday in Sacrament Meeting!! :) We were assigned different conference talks (which I love!) and it was great! :) Everyone did a great job! I have such great companions!! I love them! :) Sis. Smith spoke about Elder Ballard's "Honey bee" one!! (Your favorite, mom!! :) ) Sister Fraire spoke about Elder Nelson's "Ask the Missionaries, they can help you!!" :) But put a twist on it and did, "Ask the Members (or A Mormon), they can help you!!" :) and I spoke on Pres. Uchtdorf's "Of Regrets and Resolutions" :) It was sof un to study and learn more about it!! I love the gospel!! I love conference talks!! :) We are blessed with SOOOOOO MUCH!!!!! :) It's AMAZING ALL of the incredible resources Heavenly Father blesses us with, to fill our lives with goodness and all of the things that are mentioned in the 13th article of faith!! :) What. a. blessing!!! :) I love it, i live it, i know it!! :)

I hope y'all have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! :) And remember and recognize ALL of the MANY and COUNTLESS blessings your Heavenly Father bestows upon you daily (BIG and small!) !! :) I love and miss you all SOOO much!! :) Always remember the Church IS TRUE!!! :) And that your Heavenly Father loves you!!! :) Have a blessed week of giving thanks!! :) I'm SOOO THANKFUL for YOU ALL!!!!!! :) Thank you for ALL you do!! :) I love you!!! :)

Love, Sister Carlini :)

**QofW: (sorry this is a lot! but it's a 'good a lot!" :) ha) First of all, while I was on my way to find something on lds.org I found this and thought it was good and true for ALL of us!! :) ...

5 Habits to Develop in Your Teens :)

Studying scripture daily.
Doing hard things.
Developing a love of learning.
Praying daily.
Finding ways to serve others.

Second of all, I found a TON of good quotes for this Thanksgiving week!! :) I invite y'all to read "The Divine Gift of Gratitude" by President Monson :) ...

"If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that 'gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.' " -Pres. Monson ("The Divine Gift of Gratitude")

"Do material possessions make us happy and grateful? Perhaps momentarily. However, those things which provide deep and lasting happiness and gratitude are the things which money cannot buy: our families, the gospel, good friends, our health, our abilities, the love we receive from those around us. Unfortunately, these are some of the things we allow ourselves to take for granted." -Pres. Monson ("The Divine Gift of Gratitude")

"This is a wonderful time to be on earth. While there is much that is wrong in the world today, there are many things that are right and good. There are marriages that make it, parents who love their children and sacrifice for them, friends who care about us and help us, teachers who teach. Our lives are blessed in countless ways." -Pres. Monson ("The Divine Gift of Gratitude")

"Someone has said that 'feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.' ” -Pres. Monson ("The Divine Gift of Gratitude")

“Life is God’s gift to man. What we do with our life is our gift to God.” -President Harold B. Lee ;)

**AND!!! :) I Invite you to take the "GRATITUDE CHALLENGE" at the END of this great article! :)

Here's the link to do it!! :) .... http://www.lds.org/new-era/2011/12/three-great-reasons-to-give-thanks.p1?lang=eng