Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Well....

On sunday night, I received a a transfer call and was feeling pretty sad. I had only been in my area for three transfers and felt so weird. I felt like I wasn't leaving, but obviously I was. When I left Fairbanks, my first area, I felt it. But this time around, I did not feel like I was leaving. In fact, I felt like maybe my companion would leave, and I would stay there for another couple transfers. Alas, I was called and transferred and terrified because being transferred is the worst, especially right BEFORE Christmas!!! Anyway, I get to transfer meeting, and my best friend Hermana Hill, who I've literally been wanting to be companions with FOREVER, looks at me and says "WE'RE COMPANIONS!!!" I can't even explain what I felt at that moment. She is serving on the OTHER SIDE OF THE WOODLANDS!! SO, yes.... I have been transferred into the OTHER sister's area. Which, up until last transfer when we changed all the area's in our ward, was MY OLD AREA. hahahaha. I am serving in my old area. Oh, and there's a twist, I have been called to be a Sister Training Leader!!! Ahhhhh! I am serving in my same ward, in my old area, now as a leader in my zone. hahahaha Oh life is funny. But I could literally not be HAPPIER!!! Like, really. Hermana Coe was transferred into Conroe, which means she is in MY district!! Yayyyy! I have my two little hermanitas close by, and all is well with the world. I am honestly so happy, besides that fact that we have a baptism this friday, and hopefully another next week!! AND our Mission Christmas Conference is next friday and the WHOLE mission is going to be there! Ahhhhh!!!! We have NEVER done that before!!!! So basically, I'm on cloud nine, happy as can be and am soooo excited for Christmas!!!

Speaking of Christmas, the church is doing this AMAZING initiative called "He is the Gift." It's unreal. If you haven't seen it yet, WATCH IT! And, SHARE IT! Share the gift of the greatest gift man was ever given by a loving father. This video is seriously incredible. I have seen it about 50 times, and I still bawl every time. The spirit within it is so strong and testifies of the divinity of the Christ child. Please watch and share, and watch the miracles happen!

I love you all soooooooo much and am so grateful to have all your love and support! Thank you for all the prayers, I know they are what bless me :) Have a wonderful week and remember the Reason for the Season!

Les amo con todo mi corazon,

Hermana Carbajal

NEW ADDRESS: 3400 Pine Acres Dr Conroe, TX 77384

He is the Gift: christmas.mormon.org
El es la Dadiva: navidad.mormon.org

I love themmmm :(

 She has a toooon of these inflatable things
 Last P-day: decorating the Ardmore's tree in their apartment with our district

 ​That's my NEW comp. BEFORE we were comps. hahaha #lifeisfunny
 Transferssss


 Taking pics with our recent convert and her family in the park #meetinpeterintheperk #imstillmeguys haha :)



Monday, December 1, 2014

Bye-bye Woodlands

Welp, its happened... I'm being transferred! Onto my third area! Ahhh! I feel like I just got here! Time is flying by tooooo fast. Not to mention that in 7 months from today I will be going home. OH my gosh. I can't think about this. I am on my eighth transfer and I only have FIVE left! Yikes!!!! But all is well,  I still have 7 more months to work for the Lord :)

Thanksgiving was DELICIOUS. We ended up having SIX appointments! Ahhh! Luckily, the Lord heard our prayers, and we only had to eat at three of them. haha. We have TONS of leftovers though. Which obvs, I'm okay with :)

On friday, we had zone meeting and ended the night with a baptism for the other hermana's investigators. It was soooo good. The girl that was baptized is sooo amazing and has such an awesome conversion story. We were so excited for her and happy to support her! We invited ALL of our investigators and menos activos, but no one came and my heart seriously sunk. I was so sad because the Elders had their investigators there, and we just wished they could be there to feel of the super strong spirit but the ordinance came and went, and no one came. Then all of a sudden, the door opened and there came in Hugo and Edilma. Our golden couple! Ahhhhhhh! I had tears in my eyes because I was sooo happy. We committed them to be married two weeks ago, and since then hadn't heard back and we were just heartbroken. But on friday, they came and they loved it! It was the sweetest tender mercy. The Lord knew I needed it. They spoke with our new bishop who was called last sunday, and met so many strong members in the ward. It was really good, and we hope that will keep their testimony growing!

I am feeling so weird about leaving this area. I feel as though I just got here, yet I feel satisfied with my work. I know the Lord has prepared a new area for me, and a new companion. I'm excited to see what's next!

I love you all and feel your prayers everyday! I will let you know where I'm going next week!!! Yayyy!

Con amor,
Hermana Carbajal

p.s. 24 days till christmas!! Eeeeeeee



Thanksgiving Photo Op ;)
 This year I'm thankful for YOU!
 ​Me and my super cute comp :)
 ​Happy Thanksgiving :) xoxoxox
 Our grand feasts/ goodbye pics :( I love them all sooooo muchhhh

 Last week we were asked to sing in an inter-faith choir for an event about religious appreciation/ tolerance! It was so fun! We sang in this Lutheran church and everyone was so nice to us and ACTUALLY wanted to talk to us. haha It really was so neat though. The spirit was so strong, I might come back to Houston next thanksgiving just to come to it ;)
 ​With the Choir Director Rob Hunt, and President and sister Chappell from our mission, who were part of the event's committee.
​Hasta Luego Kochy, see you in 7! xoxo
 ​The Hermanas in our Zone :)
 I love themmmm :( wahhh
 I love this baby.
 ​LOVE THEMMM

Monday, November 24, 2014

Thanksgiving already??!?!?

This year has FLOWN by! I mean, really. I left home last January, and Thanksgiving is on thursday!! Ahhhh! My mission is going by tooooooo fast!! Everyone always said it flies by, and they weren't lying! We have FOUR dinner appointments set up for Thanksgiving, so... pray for me. haha

This week was really good. We had over 25 lessons and it was awesome! We have 57 member families in our area, and 32 of them are inactive 0_0 So, I mean.... we're keeping busy. It's almost a little overwhelming, but it's going to be okay :)  We have seen so many miracles, and we know we are meant to visit these families for a reason! This week, we met with one of our less active families, and we are teaching their little girl so she can be baptized, and usually they're all kind of running around, but they all sat in on the lesson and participated! The spirit was so strong and everyone could definitely feel it :)

On Saturday, we had our gospel principles teacher accompany us on a lesson. It was sooooooo powerful. It was with one of our investigators that is scheduled to be baptized next month but has been struggling to keep his committments. We taught about REALLY knowing for ourselves, and how we can do it. President Mortensen taught a very powerful lesson on it at our zone conference this past friday. During his lecture, I had strong revelation that we weren't teaching correctly. We were TRYING to, but we were doing something wrong. We as a mission have been trying to "master teach" or teach as the Savior taught, by asking inspired questions, and it's hard!!! It is sooo amazing, but it can be difficult sometimes to find the right questions that lead to the right answers, but it is amazing, and it works! I realized during that lecture that we were asking questions, but the wrong ones. So, when we went to see our investigator, we went in guns-a-blazing. haha. We were lovingly bold, and asked the questions inspired by the spirit. It was incredible! It was the first time I had seen his eyes really light up. He felt the spirit and RECOGNIZED it. That's the thing with master teaching. You just go in asking questions, and you find out what they know, and what they don't, and that's how the Savior taught. He taught and catered individually, and we are trying to do the same :)

Transfer calls are this sunday and I think I might be leaving this area :( Ahhhh! It's so crazy! It's not for sure yet, so don't all go freaking out. I will have a definite answer by next week :)

I have been getting questions about christmas packages. So, the things I would like for christmas, are basically just things I need. haha. Like new clothes, shoes, nail, polish, not suave shampoo... oh gosh. haha This is my life. But you all know, I am super easy going and love everything, so I would be grateful for anything :)

I love you all so much and hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving full of love and laughter! Have a great week!!

Les amo con todo mi corazoncito,

Hermana Carbajal

packages can be sent to: 26325 Northgate Crossing Blvd #1621 Spring, TX or 16623 Hafer Rd. Houston, TX 77090

LOVE YOUUUUUUU


On wednesday my comp played for the New Beginnings program in our ward, and I sang the 2014 Efy song "Come unto Christ" with them. :) It was so cute!
 It made me miss YW's sooooo bad!

 My little Leo and  his cute pic #babiesofhouston
 ​We made little Turkey invites for our Ward Thanksgiving Party! It was a huge turn out :)
 ​The Lindseys are leaving :((( But they made us their famous pancakes to say goodbye :) We love them!!
 Breakfast this morning with our district and the Lindseys :)



Tuesday, November 18, 2014

It's getting chilly!

Well winter has officially come to Houston! This morning was 36 degrees!! What the heck??? I mean, it was literally 85 degrees last week. Texas is crazyyyyy. haha But we are all so grateful for a change of climate!

This week has been soooooooooooo great. It was sooooo hard too, but the best things come out of the hardest situations! On tuesday night, I woke up with the worst toothache, so on wednesday we went to the dentist to find out I needed a root canal! Yikes! Obviously I was freaking out because 1. the mission doesn't cover dental insurance and 2. I just had all my dental stuff done LAST november before I left on my mission! So, it's been pretty hard because I was either in a crazy amount of pain, or super sick from the medicine that I was taking. Not too mention that we are still trying to figure everything out in this new area change, so it was pretty hard. But want to the know the raddest thing? Even though I was literally dying every single day this week, we still went out every day and I prayed sooo hard that the Lord would just give me enough strength to make it through the lesson without crying, and then it could come back as soon as I got into the car. And He did exactly that. He helped me get through every single lesson, and then He helped us set THREE BAPTISMAL DATES this week!!!! Yayyyyyyyy! Two with investigators that have been struggling for sooooo long, and the Lord softened their hearts because of the sacrifice I was making with my body. I know it. The Lord is so good. He gives us soooo much more than we deserve. We also found two new investigators and had 6 less actives come to church on sunday! Miracles everywhere!!!

He has blessed me more than I could ever express in words. He helps me be stronger every single day and I know it's only possible through His unconditional love and tender mercies. I know Thanksgiving is next week, but I'm already giving so much thanks to my Heavenly Father for always taking care of me. I am never alone and I am so grateful for it. We should always been showing our thanks to Him because without Him we are nothing! I love my Heavenly Father for all the sweet blessings I am given, and my sweet Savior for making it possible for me to return home to my Heavenly Father. The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us these principles of His everlasting gospel. I invite each one of you to learn more, even if you already know it, or if you are beginning to find it. It will change you forever!

I love you all so much and hope you have a great day and are staying warm. Unless you're in California, then go swim in the ocean for me ;)

Les amo con todo mi corazon,

Hermana Carbajal


Crannny spent all p-day with us!


 we made a bday cake for two elders in our district!!
 Jocelyn's Farewell!
 ​Izzy!!
 ​This week I worked with santa!! Check out Amazingsantaletters.com and see who's voice seems familiar ;) #itsme!!!

Monday, November 10, 2014

It's Fall Y'all!

Hahaha yes, I said "Y'all" don't get too excited, I've never said it in real life. haha Anyway, its actually not over 100 degrees and I'm wearing a cardigan today!! Eeeeeee. Al Fin! It's so nice to bring out my "winter" clothes and not sweat all day long. :) haha

This week has been sooooooo good! Since our area change we have been having a hard time meeting everyone because there are so many people to see! We have about 20 less actives in our area and not just like they haven't come to church in a couple weeks, these people haven't come in YEARS. But its okay, because we're going to get them there :) We have been seeing so many miracles and I know this area change was so inspired! We met a man on wednesday that hasn't received missionaries in over four years!!! But he opened the door to us and he was so kind! We are going to come by and see him this week and we are so excited! We also got in with a few other people that the Elders could never visit because they are single woman. So, yay! We are just so pumped and cannot wait to get them back at church!

We are still working with our "golden couple". We seriously love them so much it actually hurts my heart. They are amazing!! They just need to get married so they can get baptized!!!! We had talked about it before but nothing was happening so we fasted and prayed and felt super strongly about being lovingly bold with them and committing them to marriage! Well, we went over and taught about how our bodies our temples for our spirits and the importance of being clean of sin and how keeping ALL the commandments will bless us forever! We read Alma 34:32 "This is the time to prepare to meet God, and do not procrastinate the day of your repentance...." and so much more. That scripture is pretty gnarly and we committed them to read the whole chapter and that we'd talk about it the next day. Well, we came over the next day and asked them what they thought about it. The man answered that as he was reading the scripture, he felt super hot, like his body was telling him that this chapter, and those scriptures were for him! He said the feeling was so strong he actually closed the book, but then that he had a feeling that he couldn't stop reading it, so he opened it again and read the chapter over and over again. Of course I was dying during this story because we knew it was the spirit!!!! He kept saying that scripture was talking to him, that he felt like The Book of Mormon was written just for him! Ahhhhhh! I was almost screaming! We proclaimed it was the spirit and that experience was the answer to his prayers!! He still was like, well we need to keep praying and asking God, but we know we are getting closer!! -__-  Gahhhhhhh!!! The Spirit was so strong and we know that it has testified to them, they just haven't accepted it yet! They both know the BOM is true, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet! They even downloaded the LDS Library app! They are sooo legit! They just need a little more time. It's okay. Heavenly Father has taught me a lot of patience in these past 10 months and I've also learned that salvation is personal! There is no timeline to when a person can understand and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. Obviously we want them too like right away, but it's not about us! It's about them! Our job is to continue to teach and invite, and they with the Lord will do the rest :)

Please continue to keep praying for our peeps! We love them so much and know that your prayers help!! I love you all much and hope you have a great weeek! Oh, also, don't worry that Elder Corbridge from the Seventy came to our mission this week and gave us a special Zone Conference. Also, don't worry that our district had lunch with him and his wife and that Sister Corbridge told us all about being married to a General Authority and their love story!! So cute!!

Being a missionary is the best! Everyone should do it! xoxo

Con todo mi corazoncito,
Hermana Carbajal <3

We are just so unified
 After our special zone conference with Elder Corbridge our district worked on our ward maps. Gahhh, it took forever!
 ​But then we went to Burger King and I got us all crowns, so then we were happy :) haha
 On Saturday we went to Old Town Spring aka The North Pole #itsxmastime!!
 ​We met the cutestttt man named Luis. He was playing christmas carols for all the shoppers!

 There was also carnival food :)
Funnel Cake #iategluten #lotsofit 0_0
 ​Fried Oreos #worthit
 sooo good
 ​And I have a visitor...HERMANA CRANDALL CAME TO VISIT!!!! #iluhhhher
 ​#bffs