"Go Forth With Faith..." :)‏

Hello Everyone!! :) 

Well this week has been CRAZY!! but good! :) ha Guess what happened?!.. I got emergency transferred to Lawton!! So I'm no longer at OU with Sister Smith and Sister Fraire anymore!! :( I was SO sad to leave OU!!! (and I still am! I LOVED it there!!!! :) but I know that the Lord knew this would happen so everything will work out how it's suppose to, it's all good :) So this is what happened...

On Tuesday around 11:30am we had just finished doing service at the Assisted Living Home where we played BINGO with the Elderly people (and I got to call the numbers out! hah it was fun! :) ) We drove home and pulled up to go and eat lunch. I decided to check the phone and found a text message, 2 missed calls from President Taylor, and a voicemail! I listened to the voicemail from President Taylor and he was calling for me! So I called him back and he said, "Hello Sister Carlini, I have some news for you.. Sister Allgood (the Sister that was serving in Lawton) is flying home today for an emergency gall bladder surgery and so I am reuniting you with your MTC Companion, Sister Ewell. You will be companions with her in Lawton and I need to you to pack up your things and be at the mission home Today at 3:30pm" ... I. was. shocked!! I said, "Okay, thanks President, we will see you then." And hung up the phone. And then I just started to cry! ha I was sOOOOO sad to be leaving OU because I had only been there for 2 weeks and I LOVED it!!!! And I really liked my companions and everything!!! I told my companions what he said and what had happened and we were all shocked!! And not hungry anymore! ha .. We just sat there in shock and not really believing this was happening.. ha we then said a prayer (which comforted me a lot.. I love prayer!! :) ) and started packing. It. was. the craziest day!! hah I still can't believe that happened!! hah So we packed up all of my stuff and headed to the mission home to go meet up with Sister Ewell!! :) And for me to head to Lawton! 

So that's where I am now! :) I'm in Lawton with Sister Ewell!! :) Crazy right?! :) I'm SOOOO grateful if I was going to all of a sudden be emergency transferred somewhere it was with Sister Ewell!! :) She's the best!! :) She was SOOO excited to see me (because they hadn't told her who her new companion was going to be yet! ha no one knew this was going to happen! it was so crazy! ha) And we are way excited to finally get to be companions again! :) And to be comps. in the mission field!! :) We actually prayed that we would be together for Christmas!! :) Haha Heavenly Father answers prayers!! :) And sometimes in a way we would NEVER expect it!! ha It's so funny too because when I was in the Village I always told Sister Ewell that I felt like I would be coming to Lawton to be comps. with her for Christmas! But i definitely didn't think it would happen this way!! 

So there's the crazy emergency transfer story that happened this past week! ha But things are going well here!! :) We got to have Thanksgiving together and had 3 dinner appointments!! We were SO full!! ha The people here are so nice! :) We have a great ward and a fun apartment! :) Speaking of our apartment... (mom you are going to be so proud! :) ha) When I got there it was a MESS!! There was SOOOO much stuff in it from past missionaries and just random stuff EVERYWHERE!! I guess it hasn't bothered Sister Ewell's past companions so it's kind of stayed that way but when I got there Sister Ewell (who had been wanting to clean it out forever!!) and I cleaned, organized, and de-junked the WHOLE APARTMENT!!!! It was like Extreme Makeover Home Edition!! :) haha I wish i would've taken before and after pictures because it looks COMPLETELY different!!! Now the Spirit can dwell there FULLY!!! :) yay!!!! :) It feels SO different now than when I first walked in! WE LOVE IT!!! :) We also put up our Christmas tree and are way excited to decorate it today!!! :) We are just way excited to be together for the Christmas season!! :) TENDER MERCY!!! :) We also realized that it's probably the last opportunity we would've had to be companions in the mission field because of ALLLL the new missionaries that will be coming out!! Everyone is going to have to be training!! :) So we are very grateful and are having a fun time!! :) And all the other missionaries laugh when they find out we are comps. now because they know we've wanted to be like our whole missions!! :) ha We are excited!! :) I love Sister Ewell!! :)

We have been blessed with many miracles already!! :) It's sO amazing to see the Lord's hand in EVERYTHING we do!! :) He is so in the lives of EVERYONE we meet and teach! It's incredible!! :) He is always working on preparing His children to receive the FULLNESS of Christ's teachings!! :) And it is an honor to be a part of such a personal, glorious, transforming, and redemptive work!! :) It is truly a "marvelous work and a wonder!!" :)

A fun thing we were inspired to do and are doing in our ward (we started it at OU but then I got transferred so I brought the idea here! :) ha) is called the "12 Days of Missionary Work"!! :) It's like the 12 days of Christmas service project but for Missionary Work!! :) We made a sign-up sheet for the ward and what you do is each day someone signs up to give away a specific missionary item! :) For example on "the 5th day (of December) of Missionary Work" 5 different people sign up to give away a Book of Mormon with their testimony in it! :) And on the 12th day 12 people sign up to give away 12 pass-along-cards etc.! :) So each day has a different item to 'share the gospel' with in a fun way! :) Like "Pick your favorite gen. conference talk and share it with a friend" or "Mormon Message", "For the Strength of Youth pamphlets" etc. etc.!! :) It's so fun! And by the end of the 12 days the gospel has been shared about 78 times by 78 different people!! :) Fun right??! :) The gospel is fun! And sharing it with others in a fun way is even more fun! :) 

Well, I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and CHRISTMAS SEASON!! :) I cannot believe this Saturday is DECEMBER!!! Time is FLYING by SO fast!! Sister Ewell and I get to celebrate our 11 month mark together this week!! SOOOOO crazy!!!! We are flipping out!! ha Missions are AMAZING!!! :) I love them and wish EVERYONE could serve a mission!!! :) But whether or not you are 'officially 'called to serve' we are ALL member missionaries!!! :) This is the PERFECT time to share the gospel of Jesus Christ!! :) During the time of year that we celebrate Him, Our Savior!! :) What better gift could you give the Savior than to "Preach His Gospel!!" :) Let us all work together in helping lost souls come unto Christ and to come unto Christ more fully in their lives!! :) Remember from my farewell talk (that was almost a YEAR ago! so crazy!) "R.S.V.P!!" :) And help others do the same!! :) 

Love, Sister Carlini :)