They Call Me "Sister Carter": We committed 2 cats and a praying mantis to baptism last week....

There is so much to talk about I dont know how I can possibly get it all in. But this week has been incredible. I can't believe the miracles and blessings that happen as a missionary. I have seen the Lord put my companion and I in exactly the right place at the right time so many times! Being a missionary is so humbling. You constantly have to put your pride away and get over yourself. There is too little time, and too many people that need you for you to get all caught up in yourself. It is interesting watching some missionaries get caught up in themseves, by being distracted by other missionaries (of the opposite gender). And I don't know about the Elders, but some of the Sisters are so hungry for leadership. It is silly. We are all leaders, but we are all part of a team. There is no one above another, the Lord is just using them in different ways. It is so interesting to be on the inside of missionary work. The stake president here is pretty much a rock star. He is 37 years old, and was never a bishop. He went straight from being a ward mission leader to a stake president. He is mSO missionary minded. He held a fireside for us last night for all the new missionaries and basically established that we are all on the same team and that part of the stake vision is missionary work. It is SO COOL! He is an amazing man, vibrant and full of energy.

Trying to find poeple to teach has been a little bit frustrating. Things have been going slower than I expected. It can be a little bit discouraging but I know it is good. The Lord is allowing me to stretch and grow first before allowing me to see the fruits. Ether 12:6 "dispute not because ye see not, for ye recieve no witness until after the trial of your faith." My companion is so great. Her and I are able to keep a super positive attitude because missionary work is FUN!!! There are incrediblel moments where you can almost see the hand of the Lord litterally touching the hearts of poeple. The spirit is almost visible sometimes. When we don't reach numbers that we set goals for it can be a little bit
discouraging, although last week we did commit two cats and a praying mantis to baptism which was pretty rad.

Santa Rosa is so pretty. Although a little confusing at times. Mother nature can't decide what season it is. Trees have been changing color since July... And for some reason everywhere we go it smells like dog poop... It is very pretty though. There are vinyards and farmland with livestock everywhere. My comapnion and I make the sound relevant to every animal we see together. It provides for a lot of entertainment especially when we see animals like ostriches and have no idea what they sound like. Don't judge us. Oh and be jeaulous because this week I ate a peach straight off of a tree. Nevermind that they were rock solid becasue they weren't in ripe yet... Still pretty awesome! I also saw a pomegranite tree! And there are orange trees, lemon trees, and lime trees everywhere!!

Definite highlight of the week:

We were in the area of our ward mission leaders home (who by the way has one of those super awesome french mustaches that are turned up at the sides) and we needed to use a washroom really bad. So we stopped at his house, knocked on the door, and were greeted by a completely naked 4 year old little boy. He blurted out "sorry you already missed dinner" and shut the door. Oh my hilarious. That was definitly not what we were expecting. Sis. Van Wie and I could not stop laughing! We almost didn't need a washroom anymore. Have no fear though because we eventually did use the washroom, and the little boy evendtually did put some clothes on.

Love you all! Email me, or better yet send me letters. I can reply a lot easier to letters than emails bcause I only get an hour and a half to email. Friends, if you do email, send your address too so that I can write you back.

love,