Rockin' it!

Hip, hip, hooray! I'm one week into my mission!! Ya'll, I'm exhausted!! haha, but it's a good exhausted! The closest thing that I can compare it to, is Girls' Camp. If you've been, you know what I'm talking about! You are sooo excited for each new day and its surprises, you're on a spiritual high, and at the end, you know that you've given it you're all, and you know that there is a 100% guarantee that you are going to sleep like the princess you are when you get home!

As most of you already know, I am serving a full-time service mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Because I am a service missionary, my schedule looks a tad bit different from that of a proselyting mission. While I cannot share every detail of my mission due to privacy reasons, I am excited to share what I can!

Monday: I was set apart as a missionary!! It was so cute! As we pulled up and parked the car (Mom, Dad, Lo, and I ), I got a glimpse of the Stake President's front door. There was a large group waiting to go inside- Mimi, Papaw, Uncle Kelly and his crew, my favorite Aunt Casey, and Robin. It put a smile on my face. I am so blessed to have a fan club who loves me and supports me in everything I do. Before I was set apart as a missionary, President Ellis had each family member speak some words of advice. It was nice and I felt so special. Then, all who had the Melchizedek priesthood were invited to join as I was set apart as a service missionary. Even Jared Jones (Kali's boyfriend) was able to join in! How cool is that?! Then we went to "Chill" to celebrate! (duh!) ;)

Wednesday: Today was the first day that I worked at the temple as a missionary. For those who do not know what goes on inside the temple, I'll give a little background. Just like temples of old, as spoken of in the bible (ex. King Solomon's temple), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints also has temples. Inside these temples, we perform ordinances and work for people who did not have the chance to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ while living upon the Earth. While proxy baptism and other ordinances for those who are dead sounds a little out of the ordinary, understanding that members of my church do it because we believe that it will help people on the other side have the chance to accept Christ and his gospel may help you make sense of it. As a temple worker, I get to help direct and make sure everything goes smoothly inside the temple for patrons. I work the midday afternoon shift from 12-6pm inside the Houston, Tx temple, and I love every minute of it!

Thursday: Thursdays are my p-day! Or in other words, my preparation day. This is the day for laundry, doctor appointments, and any other service or sorts of businesses I would like to take care of. I decided to use my first p-day serving on the temple grounds! The Woodlands Stake is in charge of the gardening for the month of October, and this week was the Sam Houston 1st YSA (young single adult) ward's turn. I was super tired that day, and I could have easily just slept in, but I knew in my heart that the temple grounds is where the Lord wanted me to be, that thursday morning.

Friday: Today was my first day to work at the distribution center. It was super chill and the weather was so nice!! I wore a long sleeve shirt annnnnd PANTS!! The sisters I work with are as sweet as can be. For those who don't know, the distribution center is where members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints come to get temple clothing, scriptures, and study materials. It is a small little store on the side of the temple. I am so blessed because both the temple and distribution center are about 10 minutes away from my house. Here's a picture of my first day!

After the distribution center, I met up with my companions, Sister Bush and Sister George to go rock climbing! Sister Bush is our STL (sister training leader), which basically means that she's a pro at this whole mission thing ;) She is super spunky and adorable! Sister George was set apart a day before I was, so she's a day smarter at this than I am, haha! Sister George was at BYU-I before her mission. We talked about maybe being roommates after our missions, so, we'll see! :) Anyways, Sister Bush invited us to go rock climbing with her. Ya'lllllll! She's been rock climbing since she was like, 11, and she's a spider monkey, I swear! As most of you know, I don't have not oneee athletic bone in my body! But...I went...and it was SOOO MUCH FUNNNN!!! And guess what?!!! On one, I made it all the way to the top! It was awesome, and I felt so empowered- like Wonderwoman or something...until the next day, haha! I was soooooo sore!

Sister Bush, Sister George, and Sister Carter

Things I'm grateful for: service missions, my cute companions, BOM videos, General Conference memes, birthdays, bundt cake, my XL Nebraska State swim meet shirt, Texas Falls, and the courage to leave the comfort zone.

-Sister Carter <3