In the Work of the Lord

Life is wonderful at the MTC with growth and opportunities all around. I finished my LAST extra curricular activities this weekend as we sang in the Standard of Truth choir (same choir as last time) and I had previously volunteered to give a narration. The meeting was wonderful and a great reminder that the Declaration of Independence for America was a gerat step in the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I also performed a solo on Monday for the Senior Missionary Orientation. I sang "I Heard Him Come". Many cried.

My German is truly being aided by the Spirit as we are now teaching lessons completely in German and have many days without English. I love this language and look forward to speaking it to all the German, Austrian and Swiss people. Thank you for your prayers to help me learn the language and grow to be a better missionary. I see the Lord's hand working through me daily. I learned this week that humility is about having confidence that the Lord can and will work through you and that it is to his credit that good things come to pass. That really changed my perspective. My DL's (now a ZL) leg is still in the walking boot and we have been praying for him regularly. He is able to put weight on it sometimes, but still needs his crutches to get around. He is being a real trooper.

Our investigator Austin has made a soft commitment to baptism and because of our incompatible schedule, we are only able to meet with him once a week. He had a rough time with the Word of Wisdom, but is willing to exercise his faith to experiment upon the word. Daniel opened up a lot to us about his desire to change and come unto Christ. Liz even started to open up, but she closed up almost immediately after asking a deep question. We picked up a new investigator, Hans Peter Mauer, who lives in Essen and has had a very rough life. He used to be married, but after his son died of Cancer, his wife left and after his mother died, his father severed contact with his family. Plus, all of our lessons with Hans Peter are in German. Amazing what the Spirit can do.

In our mission conference this Sunday (like a session of General Conference each fast Sunday), Sister Clegg shared a story and encouraged everyone to pray about a specific verse of scripture. President Clegg gave a great talk, mentioning that we should warn investigators that when they show any interest in the gospel, Satan will try to get in their way. He mentioned that this warning will be a testimony builder to them. President Smith shared a message about opportunities lost and opportunities found. He mentioned that we are all living our personal histories and asked us, "How will your history be written--an opportunity lost or an opportunity found?" The devotional this week was absolutely amazing. Elder Dellenbach (an emeritus 70 member) talked about the miracle of the Book of Mormon. If we sit and think about how much of a miracle the Book of Mormon truly is, we will want to share it with everyone! Heavenly Father brought this book so that we could enjoy the blessing of learning more about the attributes of God and how he works. He also mentioned that the missionaries are the embodiment of the message and we should let people see Christ in our countenance. That hit me hard.

While at the devotional, I met several missionaries who were basically fluent in German, but going elsewhere on their missions. I had felt my call to Germany was just because of my background in German as this would aid my learning of the language. I felt the Spirit tell me there was more to it. I know that Heavenly Father has called me to this mission for a purpose. For the people. For my companions. He will shape me to how I need to be for those people as he has already begun to shape me. I will be at my bvest because God is working through me now more than he ever has before. Though my testimony brings me the greatest joy, it is not for me. It is to share. I wish I had known all the miracles I would witness so early on my mission.

Thank you for all your encouraging letters. I love hearing stories of miracles you have witnessed as you see God answering prayers and working through you. What an amazing opportunity we have to be on the Earth at this time in this day. God is aware of each of his children and will personally guide them as they seek him. This gospel is true. The Book of Mormon bears witness of Christ and wa translated by the power of God. There is no other way it could have been brought to pass. Heavenly Father loves each of his children and wants them to come to him and find joy in the journey. I know all of this and so much more is true. The gospel is true in every language.

--
Sister Carla June Carroll

PS--all nine Elders and Sisters in my district are going to the Alpine German-speaking mission. We have 47 in our district and will gain 17 and lose 5 next week. Everyone except our district is going to Berlin. I already love all the missionaries in our zone. Elders Reschke and Field are now the Zone Leaders and our new District leader is Elder Ramage. There are currently 11 sisters in our zone.