Exciting New Developments

HEYYYYYYYYYYYY EVERYOOOOOONEEEEEEE

It's been another great week! It went by FAST. Also how is this transfer already over??? I really can't believe it! Time is just flying. 

Here are some exciting new developments: 

- I am going to be TRAINING a brand new missionary this transfer!!!! Crazy! I am so excited. Slightly nervous because I'm like "whoa what omg can I do this am I capable idk help" but also just excited. I have no idea who she is or what her name is yet, but I will meet her on wednesday at the training meeting! So I guess you'll have to stay tuned for another week to find out more. 

- Laura Vite (pronounced vee-tay) is getting BAPTIZED this Saturday!!! Finally, she is so so ready. It's going to be crazy planning the baptism without sister Marstella and with a brand new missionary who has no idea what is happening, there is just a lot that goes into a baptism. But I'm excited! Plus they're Tongan, so, food. 

- we got firehouse subs last week it's in our zone holla holla and wow I about died it's amazing 

- Sister Marstella is going HOME tomorrow (slash today, I'm going to be with Hermana Cunningham for two days before transfers on Wednesday, just assume that this week will be crazy it's fine) but she's road tripping back for the baptism this weekend! So I will see her again. I'm going to miss her though!!! We've gotten pretty close these last few weeks. 

- WE GOT THE LONG VERSION OF THE PEACE VIDEOOOOOOOOO WOOOOOO it's like five minutes long. It's great! Also I talk at the end and I don't like my voice but whatever it's cool nbd. 

- we had our Ice Cream Social on Friday and invited back all the people that were in the video!!! And not a toooon of people came, but there were a few non members there so that was good. We even gave one of them a church tour afterwards! We got to show the short version of the peace video and the long version, so that was fun. Plus, ice cream. 

- we got a heated phone call from an apt complex we visit and they told us to not come on the property ever or they will call the police. So that was fun. People are nice. Hopefully no one prepared lives there haha...

We had interviews with President last Thursday and that was great! That was when he told me I would be training, so I have known for a few days. Something he said that I really liked is that the Lord is always pleased, but never satisfied. He is pleased with every effort and every step we take closer to him, but that doesn't mean he is satisfied with that! He wants us to continue growing and learning constantly, because that's what life is all about! Learning and changing and becoming like God. Pres Dixon told me to continue to have a healthy approach towards improvement. I always want to remember that, to always seek opportunities for growth and to look for how I can improve. It takes a lot of humility and letting go of pride, but I know it will be worth it! We all have SO much potential, God is just helping us to reach that! All we have to do is let him. I know that God loves us and his pleased with every step forward that we take, and I know that as we constantly improve and seek to become like Him, we will find true JOY. 

I'm looking forward to an exciting week full of change and fresh starts and improvement! Remember, every day is the first day of the rest of your life. So let's make it GREAT! 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!! 

xoxo

Sister Carina Brown 

California Redlands Mission 

Discover.mormon.org

This is what SISTER DIXON made out of watercolor. I edited it on my iPad and wow isn't it amazing. That's our mission theme! Love it. 

WE GOT THAI FOOD AND I GOT VEGGIES IN TEMPURA BATTER I LOVE TEMPURA BATTER so sister Marstella took a pic of me hahaha. 

This is the link to the long version of the Peace video: https://youtu.be/w1Wh1KaS2V4

Tales of a Sweaty Sister Missionary

HEYYYYY WHATS UP EVERYONE

Guess how many degrees it is here! Just the cool temperature of 97 degrees! Yay it is just so lovely and amazing! What a dream! Sweating profusely is just the best thing! 

^^^sarcasm

Yup, NINETY SEVEN DEGREES. It's fine, everything's fine, smelling good is not a priority right? Sweating is so fun, yeah? 

I know I'm being dramatic. Really it's not so bad [yet]. Sometimes I just breathe it in and accept it. I'm just grateful we have a car with AC. What a blessing! Really though, we are lucky. 

It has been a great week!!! This area is just wonderful, I love it! Serving in President and Sister Dixons Ward is just a dream. Here's a story to back that up: 

We have an investigator named Debbie who looooves art, and the Relief Society happened to be having a watercolor activity this past week! So of course we were like, WE HAVE TO INVITE DEBBIE. So we do, and she says she would love to come, but she needs a ride. So! What do we do? Ask Sister Dixon to pick her up! Because she is in our ward! Here is Sister Dixon in a nutshell: 

-outgoing

-hilarious

-amazing

-wonderful

-everything I ever want to be ever

-so funny

-bubbliest of the bubbly

-24-hour smiler

-amazing

Seriously I want you all to meet the Dixons. Seriously. 

Anyways! 

So Sister Dixon ends up bringing Debbie and they just get along so so well. Plus the watercolor activity was at the church and we've been struggling to get Debbie to come to church. So it was perfect, because after the activity we go up to Sister Dixon and say, "hey will you invite Debbie to church for us?" (Because members inviting investigators to church works wayyyyy better than missionaries inviting investigators to church) and sister Dixon goes, "I'm on it."

So, on our way out of the building, we hear Sister Dixon giving Debbie an IMPROMPTU CHURCH TOUR and here's how it went (the part we heard): 

Sister Dixon: "Debbie, let me show you around real quick. So this is the Relief Society room, and I love it because this is where all the women get together and it's just delightful."

Debbie: "ohhh ahhh love that"

Sister Dixon: "yes it really is the best"

Debbie: "okay but how long is church?" 

*SIDE NOTE: this question has the potential to be handled not so well but let's see how the amazing sister Dixon answers it:*

Sister Dixon: *stops in her tracks* "Oh my goodness Debbie. Best three hours of my week. Really, all week I feel kind of empty, but then I come to church and my soul is just filled....." *they walk away to the chapel so we can't hear them anymore*

*mental applause from those reading this email* 

I KNOW SISTER DIXON IS JUST THE BEST OK. 

So now I know what you're wondering: did Debbie come to church yesterday????

The answer is no. No she didn't. But! She will! Pres. and Sister Dixon went to a different ward yesterday, otherwise sister Dixon would have given Debbie a ride. We tried to find her another ride but Debbie said she couldn't come. 

Whoa just realized this is already a pretty long email sorry about it

Also ok TRANSFERS are next week??? What??? Time flies??? How does this always happen??? So that means Sister Marstella is going home! I will be sad when she leaves. We have really bonded together through our peace video. So I will be getting a new companion! And probably staying in the Smiley Ward. A lot of people think I'm going to train next transfer, but we shall seeeeeee. 

So lately in our mission, we have been focusing a lot on achieving unified consecration. We want to become a Zion mission. I have reeeeally been striving to become a consecrated missionary! I really want to give everything I have and everything I am to this work. I know it's going to take a lot of effort, but through Christ, I can become a consecrated missionary! President Dixon gave us a talk to read called, Becoming a Consecrated Missionary and it was just amazing. Some quotes I liked from it: 

- "Be willing to give every ounce of energy, every conscious thought, and every drop of passion to this work." 

- "You have all of eternity before you, in which to enjoy yourself. NOW is the time to consecrate yourself to the Lord and serve HIM." 

I invite you each to consecrate yourselves more to the Lord this week. Think of something that you can do personally become more devoted to him! As a representative of Jesus Christ, I can promise you that you will experience greater joy and peace than ever before. 

Isn't this gospel amazing??

Okay I hope you all have a great week! Be good! LOVE YAAAAAAAA 

Sister Carina Brown 

California Redlands Mission 

Discover.mormon.org

Pictures of last weeks hiking trip, service, and today's Zone sports activity day thing at the Dixons. SO FUN WE PLAYED SOCCER AH IT WAS AMAZING 

mucho amor

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

I got to skype my family yesterday, hence the title of this email! I am just so filled with love. Especially for my mom, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY BOB I LOVE YOU.

Ok so I really can't even remember what happened this week?? We did a lot of service which was so great!!! There are quite a few service opportunities here in Redlands.

We went shopping this morning to get me a new bag because my other one broke. So now I have a new, sturdier bag that will hopefully last me the rest of my mission? We will see. It's cute, so.

Also today we are going with Sister Beall to Forest Falls! Not sure what that is at all, but we are excited. Probably a waterfall? It will involve nature, snacks, and Sister Beall, so I'm excited. She is so great.

Shout out to my sister Sidney who is now HOME from her mission! My sister Kailee sent me a video of her at the airport greeting the family and I just cried. So wonderful. Family is the best. 

Mostly I'm at a loss for words because I Skyped my family (LOTS of family yay I love you all) just yesterday so I'm not sure what else there is to say?? I will tell the story of the Guatemalan guy that I met at service: 

So we were doing service at the post office for a food drive thing on Saturday, and I started talking to this guy named Victor and he said he is from Guatemala! He lived close to where my mom lived. So we started talking about that, and then he realized I was a missionary and he started asking questions about Mormons and what we believe. He had heard some interesting things from his pastor about Mormons so he wanted to clarify. We started to tell him about the BOM and he got so excited and wanted to read it! He was telling us about some spiritual experiences he had in the past that had led him to this point in his life, and he was getting emotional. The elders got his info and have an appt with him next week! It was just cool that we were able to connect because of Guatemala and my culture. So neat! He is so prepared! 

Sister Marstella said that she has not run into so many Spanish-speaking people/people from Guatemala since I came to this area. How cool is that?? I get to use my knowledge of espanol every once in while! 

Something that has been on my mind lately is the importance of goal-setting. Probably because I am really not great at it. My problem is, I have so many things that I want to improve on so I set tons of goals and then none of them get done! But I know that I need to set goals that are specific, realistic, and challenging. I have this vision of who I want to be by the end of my mission and I know I am not going to become that person unless I set goals and make plans to achieve that vision. Here is a quote from Elder Ballards talk from this past conference about goal setting: 

"those who accomplish the most in this world are those with a vision for their lives, with goals to keep them focused on their vision and tactical plans for how to achieve them."

I want to be one of those people! I have plans to accomplish a lot in life, but I know I won't get anywhere unless I set some worthy goals and strive to achieve them. I invite you each to set ONE goal this week in order to improve in something that you have been lacking. Make sure it is specific, realistic, and challenging! Goals should make you STRETCH, but not stress. I'm going to do it too, and I know that as we set goals together that God will bless us with the capacity and opportunity to achieve them! I mean even God sets goals, check out Moses 1:39.

Okay well that's all for now, and of course I will send pictures. I love you ALL, have an inspired week full of accomplishing goals! WOO!!! 🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻

Sister Carina Brown
California Redlands Mission
Discover.mormon.org

HASHTAG MIRACLES

Okay WOW what a week!!! Or I guess it was like five days since I last emailed. 

OUR PEACE VIDEO IS FINISHED!!!!! We are just absolutely in love with it. I feel the spirit every time I watch it. It turned out better than we ever expected, it is just a miracle. Sister Dixon posted it on our mission FB page and some other pages, and apparently it already has like 10,000 views on social media??? She has been keeping us posted haha. And this is only the shorter version! The long version is still on its way! We are just blown away by the success of this video, we never expected this! We are excited to plan an event where we can invite back all the people who were in the video and use it as a missionary opportunity! SO STOKED! Really though, we can't take any credit for this video. It all came because of God and we plan to use it for His purposes. What a miracle! 

This past week we went to the Mayors Prayer Breakfast! The Dixons invited the Zone Leaders and STL's to go to represent the mission. It was so neat to be able to mingle with people of other faiths and unite with the common purpose of loving God. There are so many churches here in the Redlands community and it has been really cool to get a taste of other religions, because that's something I've never experience before! There is so much good in other churches! In Sister Dixon's words, as a religion, "We do claim all truth, but we don't claim all good." The Dixons mentioned that we should show our peace video at next year's Prayer Breakfast. I'm definitely visiting the mission when that happens! 

We also had MLC on Thursday as well! It was so amazing!!! So much inspiration, what a blessing it was to be a part of that meeting. They showed our peace video and everyone loved it! Also Sister Marstella gave her departing testimony and it made me cry. Sister Marstella is so amazing! It made me think of the time when I will go home and I am just so not ready for that. I'm so grateful that I still have a year on my mission! 

Speaking of going home, my sister SIDNEY goes home from her mission in Mesa, Arizona TOMORROW!!! Crazy, I can't even believe it. I just had to mention that. 

We also did service on Saturday at this HUGE mansion, it was awesome. There are just some beautiful homes here in Redlands. Such a great community. I love my mission! 

I came across a quote by Joseph Smith in my studies this week, and it talks about how once you know the truth, you leave neutral ground and can never go back. "Before you joined this Church you stood on neutral ground. When the gospel was preached, good and evil were set before you. You could choose either or neither. There were two opposite masters inviting you to serve them. When you joined this Church you enlisted to serve God. When you did that you left the neutral ground, and you never can get back on to it. Should you forsake the Master you enlisted to serve, it will be by the instigation of the evil one, and you will follow his dictation and be his servant"

Those of us who know the truth are no longer on neutral ground! I invite each one of you to strengthen your faith in Christ this week and to figure out who you want to serve. God has already won! Now it's up to you to make the choice. I know that any time you choose to serve god, you are making the right choice. 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!! I am sending the peace video, so please post it or share it on your social media pages if possible! Have an amazing week! Send me pictures of things!!!

Sister Carina Brown 

California Redlands Mission 

Discover.mormon.org