Eyes to See

This week has been a one for the books! I don’t want to forget it! I can’t believe the service for the week is already over. My schedule has been recently changed a little bit due to some circumstances, but I still work with most of the same assignments as before. Some more of, and some a little less of. My mission leaders compared it to a transfer to a new area. :)

Monday-Tuesday were the same schedule. The complete new schedule will be as follows:

Monday: I will Still visit with the Kemsleys, but rather than visiting on Tuesdays, I will visit the couple on Monday.

Tuesday: I will continue to see Nikki Thomas and others at the Assisted living home and help with the fun activities

Wednesday: this day I will visit Nikki and the crew as well. I’m excited! :)

Thursday: i will go to the temple

Friday: I will continue my work at the distribution center.

I started the new schedule on Wednesday, and I think I am really liking it. Mainly, my assignments are more spread out so that I will have a little something every day. Now let’s catch up on the week!

Monday: iI visited with Sister Hadnot and we talked and visited For a bit. We had planned to go on a walk, but it was storming outside when I arrived! We exchanged gifts and then wished each other a Merry Christmas. I hope things will get better for her soon.

Tuesday: I visited Nikki and the crew as usual. We worked out with little wands. they were very pretty and fun to wave around! I felt like a fairy! They were very impressed by how chipper I was and how much morning energy i had. I was surprised too. I’m NOT a morning person! They was alllll God! Haha:)

I wasn’t able to visit with the Kemsleys because both Yvonne and Bob were sick, so that made me sad. I decided to visit them on Wednesday when I had some extra time. I love them both. Bob reminds me of Papaw. I met their granddaughter, Savannah and she seems nice. Sister Kemsley went to the doctor on Friday, so I hope she feels better soon and I can visit on Monday.

Wednesday: I visited with Nikki and the crew again! We colored ornaments with markers. It was fun! We jammed out to Christmas music and everyone was happy when the snack cart came around! haha! I just love working with the people at the assisted living home. They bring such joy to my life annnd they laugh at my jokes. So that’s a plus;)

Thursday: I went to the temple and Julianna tagged along with me! We did baptisms together, and If I remember correctly, we did 13 baptisms total! That is quite an accomplishment for one day. The Holy Ghost and the spirits of those we proxy baptized for were present. it was a very special experience :) After we went to the temple, Julianna and I went rock climbing and got thai food. It was a very good day.

Friday: I LOST MY GLASSES!!! Ya’ll....so, normally I wear contacts and have glasses for back-up. As you probably know, contacts last about a month. Well, I am completely out. I haven’t made getting a contact refill a priority during my off time, and BOY I paid for it! I could not find them annnnywhere!! I prayed, and searched, and cleaned, and cried. I thought about risking it, and driving to my assignment without glasses on, but I knew that was not a good solution. My family was headed home and everyone else I knew was busy. I was stuck. i wasn’t able to go to my assignment today, but the good news is that I found my glasses.

As I searched for my glasses, a scripture came to my mind- Deuteronomy 29:4 “Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.” I am very blind, physically, without my glasses. It made me think-especially afterwards, how sometimes we can be so set on what we want and need in the moment (Especially this time of year). Do we search with our eyes for ways to serve diligently more than our own personal gain? Are Our hearts sensitive enough to perceive those crying for our help- rather physically, socially, or spiritually? This Christmas, Let us ponder and pray to be more sensitive to the spirit and be able to hear and see the cries of the Lord and his people. May we be motivated to serve others in the way that Jesus Christ did while upon the earth, and continues to do so today.

Merry Christmas. Sister Carter <3

Things I am grateful for and quotes: Teddy bears are actually owls, Dorothy’s teddy bears, “Chicken” and “Toe,” ribbon wands, Julianna is home!!! “Failures are not always failures. Failing an exam doesn’t mean failing in life we shouldn’t just celebrate Christmas just for his birth, but also his life and his death/sacrifice.”-Bishop Causse. ”you never get grapes!” Nikki’s Christmas letter, backup keys, dairy free egnogg, private twitter accounts, free granola handouts, trials and God’s will, #LighttheWorld texts, imperfect people, the power of forgiveness, and the gift of writing.