Life at the MTC is amazing!!

Dear Family,

Life at the MTC is amazing!! I cannot believe we only have two weeks--less than two weeks--left. Today we did service at the Provo Temple in the morning. I had the opportunity to help install and arrange a few chandeliers (Sealing rooms 12, 11, 10 and 5). I spent the entire time with Hilary Wilson, who works in the Laundry most of the time. She is an amazing sister with great spiritual strength. She served a mission in Kentucky. One of our new sisters headed to Alpine is a German major at BYU and speaks fluently, so she will leave with us and has been moved to an international branch. We are sad to see her leave our zone, but excited to have Sister Lind join us on the way to Germany. We should get our flight plans today ...

By the way, I haven't really explained our progressing investigators. Each investigator is a teacher here who bases his or her character off of someone they taught on their mission, a friend, or themselves in the past. As Elder Holland said about this kinds of teachings, "it may not be a real life situation to you, but it is real to the Lord. This is how he trains his missionaries." The Spirit in each lesson is the same Spirit we will have in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Hans-Peter is our only German language investigator at the moment, he is Brother Swensen, one of my two teachers. He based Hans-Peter after someone he taught on his mission. It is very real.

One of our investigators, Austin, committed to baptism on 26 July 2010. It is SO soon, but we only have a couple more principles to teach. He is ready as the Lord has been preparing him and working with him during this time. We are so excited for him. The devotionals and firesides here are always life-changing. I love the MTC. All activities here are truly inspired and run by the hand of God. So much goes into the functioning of this place and it makes all the difference. Richard I. Heaton, the Administrative Director at the MTC, gave the Fireside on Sunday and explained what the Apostles saw in vision what Preach My Gospel would do to missionary work. I thought a lot about April and Lucas and their emphasis on raising four outstanding missionaries. I will send them my notes. I found the fireside so uplifting and insightful. This is truly God's work.

Oh, yeah. So, in sacrament meetings in the MTC, they are in your mission language and they announce just after the Sacrament who will be speaking. All missionaries prepare a talk on the assigned subject. So, I gave a talk on Sunday about Repentance (Umkehr) in German. For the first time, the German seemed to just flow and I was able to speak what was in my heart. I honestly didn't understand all that I said, but I know the Lord was working through me to give the testimony I have been given to others. It was a neat experience.

Elder Field has started walking without his walking boot and the healing is coming. We are continuing to pray that he can come with us to Germany. Miracles have happened already and we all know that if it is the Lord's will, he will come with us and we will work as hard as we can in prayer and faith to show that we want him to come. Our district has grown really close in the last seven weeks. It is amazing what bonding comes through learning and growing together.

Thank you everyone for making sacrifices so I could have this opportunity to witness the process of others coming unto Christ. This is a divine work and each missionary out has been called of God and is a true servant of the Lord. Your support means so much to me. I love you all.

--
Sister Carla June Carroll

"Music is a fluid carrier of the Spirit"

Precautionary note--this computer keeps freezing, so I won't know what I'll be able to send. This week has been AMAZING in every way. I was so sad to see Sisters Jensen and Allen and Elders Wagley, Guthrie and Pierson leave for Berlin, Germany on Tuesday. It was hard to part with them, but I am so excited thast they are able to serve the Lord in the field of Germany. The field is white already to harvest! In EVERY mission! The sisters were our roommates, so for six weeks, we were able to better get to know them and learn more about them. I love them so very much. By the way, this computer freezes for one minute and then lets me type for one minute. The MTC is so interesting with each computer bug that comes each week. Anyway, the older district sang in Sacrament Meeting before they left--The EFY Melody (translated by them) including the Army of Helaman. I love this song and hearing it from missionaries that I love so dearly on the eve of their departure made me cry, but tears of joy. It seemed so long ago that I was singing that song in preparation for my mission.

We had an amazing fireside with Jenny Oaks Baker. I knew about her before, but had never had the opportunity to see her in concert. She shared her testimony and then played her testimony through the violin. Her nephew, Jared Oaks, played the piano--I recognized him from BYU. He played at almost every BYU concert I attended. Jenny Oaks Baker's father, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, attended the meeting as well. It was an amazing opportunity to feel the spirit so strong. I had many moments of near pure intelligence flowing into my mind. I wrote down a lot of things. One thought that I wrote down to share with Sister Jensen who is cosidering majoring in music was "Because music is a fluid carrier of the Spirit, hearts are healed, tears are shed and testimony is felt when a humble servant of the Lord plays. Music brings people joy and an opportunity to feel the Spirit that they might not have had without it. God gave us music to share with ours." Sorry for the typos, I have to type without looking since the computer onoly responds for about 10 seconds and then freezes for one minute or 3 minutes.

Friday of last week, we finised every German principle to be taught at the MTC. I cannot believe we are done! I am no where near fluent, however, so the next three weeks will be review. We are teaching Hans-Peter Mauer in German, but not getting as far as we would like as I rarely understand what he is saying. I am praying hard for the guidance of the Holy Ghost to understand what he would like to communicate. I am learning two languages--the language of the Spirit and the language of German. I know which is more important. :) Our other investigators are going well. Austin has still not set a baptismal date, but has started to share his own testimony of what he is learning. He has made great progress from the time we started to meet with him when he did not believe in God. Daniel committed to come to church! He actually went last week, but his wife forgot something, so they left before the meeting started. We are excited to talk about his reaction to church and finally sit down and teach hi8m about the restoration. Liz is so popular, that we were not able to meeti her this week since every available time she had was full.

I got an letter this week from Dad explaining my family history! I was so excited to read about my German and Switzerland ancestory and share it with others. Elder Field was able to explain to me where in England some of my ancestors are from. Saturday, our district participated in a fast for Elder Field's broken leg. Instead of fasting from food, we spoke no English. It was really hard, but with a lot of prayer and focus, I only spole three English words the entire day. I felt really weird speaking English after that. I learned so much from that experience.

We got NEW MISSIONARIES! This is the higlhlight of my week. ALL of this new district is going to the Apline German-speaking mission. One of the sisters is already fluent in German (she is a German and English major at BYU and has finished all her German classes and grew up in Germany), so she will leave with us, but we won't see her as she will be moved to a new zone learning the gospel in English (as if she was going English speaking). As my companion, Sister McGuire is now the coordinating sister, we were able to greet them and speak about how things go here at the MTC. It was so much fun to share our testimonies of obedience and encourage and support them. They will all be great missionaries. I'm so excited. I only have three weeks! Where did the time go??

Well, the gospel is true. Ich weiss dass. Always think of your friends and give referrals to the missionaries! Missionary work is 100x harder without the help of the members. Please support your local missionaries and them them this week how much you apprecite their service. Thank you, family, for all you have done for me. I love hearing about how Hyrum and Melissa all got sunburnt on their vacation and how they have had opportunities to share the gospel with friends. Thank you all so much for your updates. The every day little things mean the world to a missionary. I love hearing about your children and each little achievement. I love you all so much, family! This is such an opportunity for me and I hope you are feeling the blessings come for your sacrifices. Press forward, saints!

--
Sister Carla June Carroll

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.

Make a Joyful Noise

This week was absolutely amazing! The Spirit is so strong here and love abounds well.. Our district is so close and we are always improving our unity.. We have learned so much German this week and trying to use it as often as we can.. As a district, we made a goal to speak only German in class from now on and to only speak German on Saturdays.. This will greatly enhance our currently abilities and invite the Spirit to aid our minds.

Today was really the most amazing day I have had in the MTC thusfar.. Today was our first performance for the new Mission Presidents and their wives. Behind the choir sat several apostles--prophets of our Lord! I nearly fainted at the end our of song (we only sing one a day), when I looked back and saw Quentin L.. Cook, Henry B.. Eyring, D.. Todd Christofferson, M.. Russell Ballard, Jeffery R.. Holland and Dallin H.. Oaks.. Being so close (only 5 feet away) was even a testimony to me that they are men of God.. Their very presence changed the feeling in the room and it seemed as though each person who could feel that could have testified to the world that these men are prophets of God.. I don't know why I am being so blessed here, but I am so grateful for these opportunities.. We will sing tomorrow morning (President Uchtdorf will be the main speaker, but we just walk in and walk out for the song), Saturday and Sunday.. Friday night is a special devotional, so we will be singing for the entire MTC, including Thomas S.. Monson.. We will also sing in a MTC-wide sacrament meeting on Sunday.. If you are interested, we were told that the special choir has a picture in the Church News, so pick up a copy when it comes out and look for me.. :)

More to do with music, I auditioned for a special solo musical number for a devotional, fireside or Relief Society (I don't know which one yet) and got in! I will get an invitation in the mail as to which meeting and when.. I am singing I Heard Him Come.. I am being so blessed here.. My mission is now and I am doing all in my power to be a representative of Jesus Christ.. We receieved three districts yesterday (33 missionaries......including 6 sisters), which nearly tripled our number in our Branch.. We have the opportunity to be examples to them and to live every standard to the tee.. There truly is a law in heaven that states that if we are obedient, God will bless us.. I see that every where.. I feel just as Ammon did in Alma 26:1,8,16,and 37.. There is so much joy in missionary work! There is also much sorrow, but God is there with us and in companionships we have the opportunity to grow and build each other up..

I realized I have not written much about my companions, or my previous emails did not go through.. Sister Anderson is a wonderful sister from Pennsylvania near Philedelphia.. She is a die-hard sports fan, especially in hockey.. She is about 5'3" and just broke 100 lbs, which she is very excited about.. She brings a lot of fun and joy into our companionship and is so sincere in her love for everyone.. Sister McGuire is from Provo, UT and has a beautiful voice.. She is more calm, but has so much passion for the gospel and music, that she shares her testimony in the way she lives.. She is a great example to all of us in the way she improves herself daily and is always willing to offer a kind word.. She is our senior companion and was born on pi day! Oh, and Sister Anderson was born on Aprils' Fools day..

We now have three investigators.. Austin is a Chinese major, who was married just two months ago and is extremely laid back.. When we first met with him, he did not believe in God and did not see a need for God in his life.. He has continued to meet with us and came to church this week.. We meet with him tomorrow and hope to invite him to be baptized if the Spirit allows.. He has read in the Book of Mormon and is continuing to pray of our message.. Daniel is from Mexico City, Mexico and a hard-core Catholic.. Our first meeting was a street contact (unplanned) and led to a little contention.. We repented and returned and discussed the plan of salvation last time.. We invited him to pray to know if our message is true and he said he would think about it.. Liz (actually Liz Remington, one of Sarah's good friends) is from Penn.. and studying to become an English teacher.. She did not like a lot of things about her childhood faith, Catholicism and loves attending her new born-again baptist church where everyone is very accepting and people praise God in a way she had never thought of before.. We love all of our investigators and pray for them every day..

I am learning so much and appreciate so much the uplifting letters I have been sent.. I love hearing a spiritual experience you had this week (thanks, Wayne! I shared your story for a Spiritual Thought).. I love you all and am diving into the work with full force.. I love being a missionary!

Sing, choirs of angels

I am loving my time at the MTC!! So much is happening here and June is the ABOLUTE BEST month to be in the MTC. June is the month that new mission presidents enter into the MTC, so the entire quorum of the 12 will be here and most devotionals are an apostle. Because of this special occasion, the MTC held auditions for a 36 voice choir from the MTC to sing at the devotionals held every day for the first presidency, the quorum of the 12 during the end of June. I auditioned and was accepted! We rehearse every morning at 7 am ... it's amazing how good we sound at this hour. My companion, Sister McGuire (the vocal performance major) was also accepted, so we go together, though she is singing alto and I soprano, so I don't really see her while we are rehearsing. I am so excited for this opportunity and am going to try to memorize all my music by next week (when it needs to be memorized). I also ended up volunteering to narrate a section in the special devotional for Independence Day ... I'm pretty busy.

I am learning so much German and our teachers (Bruder Duvall and Bruder Swensen) tell us we are moving at double the pace that most groups move. That is encouraging, but still leaves us with a lot of responsibility and memorization to keep up with. There are currently 4 districts in our zone (each about 7-10) and two are leaving this week. The other group is only 3 weeks older than us, and so wonderful. We will be getting 3 new districts on Wednesday! My companions and I are to be the examples to these sisters and our district needs to be especially careful to be examples to all 32 missionaries arriving. My Branch President (Pres. Curtis) and his wife are so excited for this large group to come. It will almost triple the size of our zone.

I want to share an experience I had with a "full-time" investigator (they are ALWAYS in role and dress in street clothes, so they are just like investigators). In our first week, we met Daniel Limon, from Mexico City and ended up in a slightly heated discussion about doctrines. We were so new and nervous, that we shyed away quickly, but bore simple testimony before departing, but we made another appointment. As a companionship, we worked hard on LISTENING to him and showing him we are here to teach and love people, not lessons.

I have so many wonderful experiences each day and try hard to soak up the abundance of the Spirit that is here. Yesterday, we watched a devotional Elder Holland gave in 2000 entitled "the Miracle of a Mission". Most of the talk was inspired on the spot. He emphasized over and over that "my mission meant EVERYTHING to me." As you might imagine Elder Holland would say in the way that he just seems to want to jump up and down. This is the only opportunity I have to do this and it is the MOST important work that can be done right now. I want to enhance every moment and be the best instrument in the Lord's hand I can be. I have learned so much and am excited for another week of growth and knowledge. Thank you for all your uplifting letters. I cannot tell you how much it means to a missionary to get mail of Spiritual experiences and daily activities. With the disappoinments that can come (yes, even in the MTC--I treat my investigators as if they were real), it is so helpful to get experiences you are having. If I need advice from what you learned on your mission, I will ask, but please send me uplifting stories you remember from your mission. I love you all.
--
Sister Carla June Carroll

First Seek to Obtain My Word

"Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then if ye desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto teh convinving of men" (Doctrine and Covenants 11:21 from revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1829)

On Wednesday, June 2, Schwester Carroll began her training to be a representative of Jesus Christ. She will be spending 9 weeks of her time in intensive training of the German language, and how to teach the truths of God's plan of happiness for his children. She maintains a disciplined schedule and is with two other sister missionaries 24/7. She has sacrificed school, work, entertainment, her entire life in order to serve the Lord with her entire heart, might, mind and strength. I am so proud of her.

Note: this post is from Sarah

Addresses!

This will be the last post directly from me (even though it is only the second), but here are my mission addresses! I hope you will write me and show me how much you love me!!

MTC Address:

Sister Carla June Carroll

MTC Mailbox # 84
GER-MUN 0803
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

Mission Home Address:

Schwester Carla June Carroll

Lommelstraße 7
81479 München, Deutschland
089 724486-0

You are wonderful!