The Epistle of Karlee

Hi Friends! Merry Christmas! I hope all y'all's Christmas went well. It was wonderful getting to spend some fun time with our zone (we had a big breakfast and watched The Prince of Egypt..SO GOOD) and even more so getting to talk to my family. They were way excited(I was too lol) and it felt really good. I was super nervous about it in the days leading up to it because I didn't want it to make me miss home more of distract me, but it was perfect. It was almost like a booster and now I feel better than I have all week. I think I was worrying myself sick about it, so it was almost good to just get it over with. I love them, and I miss them, but I'm here now and that's good too. I was floored at how they've changed in just 3 months, kinda scared to see the change come Mother's Day lol. The biggest thing for this week was that we had the chance to attend the temple with Ana!! She was baptized and confirmed for her Mom and she told us that she knew her mom w

SO MUCH HAPPENED FRIENDS. I'll try to condense it the best I can, but it will most definitely sound like I've lost my mind :) fun , huh? We had our Christmas Gathering for all the Southern Zones on Tuesday. It was loads of fun. We got so much food, heard the departing missionaries testimonies (yes, I cried), and watched "Freetown". I highly recommend it, it was fantastic, but it's super stressful for those of us who get very invested. It's about the missionaries in Liberia during the war and all the miracles that occurred to keep them safe. Best line? Phillip Abubakar: "it just doesn't make sense to doubt anymore". How many miracles have we all seen? And do we still doubt? Why? Really changed my perspective and helped strengthen my faith this week.  We finally got to see Anne again this week! It's been a while what with her job and the holidays and her avoiding us. she started smoking again and we didn't know how to help. BUT, she qui

Hi Friends! It has been a week. dang.  We got to do a whole lot of service this week which was really fun. It's kinda wonderful to get to think all about someone else even for just an hour. I do a heck of a lot of thinking in a day, so I need a break sometimes and service is the way to do it. The great thing is, if you're doing it right, more than just the service projects feel like service, practically all we do as missionaries is serve, so I get to think about others all the time! yay! One of the things we got to do was go brush horses at Hart Ranch. Sue Hart, the owner, is super sweet and she gave us those gloves as a Christmas gift and we're going back this week to help her put up all her Christmas stuff cause she's getting kinda old, plus we love to do that.  I'm coming up on 3 months and since Sister Zollinger is very likely going to be leaving Terrace Heights at the end of this transfer, I've been thinking a lot about what I've learne

Hi Friends! Our investigator, Bryan, really opened up to us this week. He told us a whole lot about his mom who passed away and how that affected him. We talked about why we come over and why they keep letting us come and how he feels when we're there. we're hoping he'll recognize that most of it is the Spirit and not just that we're all friends. That's the direction we'll go next time. It's been really great to see the Spirit working on him. He's so much happier now than when we first met him and he smiles all the time and is more trusting and open. I want it to last though and I'm hoping he'll realize why he's been happier and have a greater desire to seek after it. We went to Journey to Bethlehem(a live nativity put on by a bunch of church's in the area) this weekend too and it was amazing! Bryan and Matt(investigators) came as well as Angela who is a less active. Our investigator Kim came and brought his girlfriend Marie. And some