Welcome to Sister Carlee Ann Painter's Mission Blog

This blog is for those who would like to keep updated with Carlee while she is serving her mission in Cincinnati. Her mom will be posting her letters and pictures.

For her address or any other information contact LaDawn at ladawn79@hotmail.com.

PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS!
She'll love to read them when she gets home!

Monday, December 28, 2009

More Christmas Cheer

Dear Family:

Well… Merry Christmas!

It was so much fun talking to everyone! I forgot how crazy my family is. To answer your question Mom, we did stay at the Peace’s home for Christmas dinner. They invited a few families from the ward over for a little get together so it was really nice. We’re teaching Brother Peace right now. I guess he’s had the missionaries on and off for 20ish years. But maybe he’s ready now?

Sister Thacker and I had a wonderful Christmas! We are so spoiled… I mean blessed! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For all of those Christmas notes and testimonies from friends and family! Oh my goodness! That was the highlight of my Christmas! I would open a couple every day and read them, then Christmas Day I read them all through AGAIN cause I loved them so much! What a priceless gift!

Zone Conference this week was amazing! My favorite part was when we watched several minutes of a slideshow President put together of photos from the Hubble Space Telescope along with some scriptures from Moses 1. Those photos were amazing! While we watched them I couldn’t help but just be in awe of the beauty of the Lord’s creations! Moses even saw His “worlds without end.” They are absolutely stunning! Galaxy formations, stars and Planets. The impression that came to my mind was how blessed we are to live in the “beauty” of the gospel. There is so much ugliness in the world, but because of the gospel we can be lifted out of that and into a world where we have purpose, and joy, and contentment, and peace, and beauty. Isn’t that amazing! It makes me want to have a higher quality life… in thought and in action.

Anyway…
Last night I finally got to meet Michelle, Andie, and Daniel. They are from China. When the Sisters knocked on their door Michelle let them in and asked Andie (9) and Daniel (4) if they wanted to learn about God. They both said yes so the Sisters started teaching them. Oh man! They are amazing! They know very little about God but Andie picks it up so fast! One of the first things the Sisters committed them to do was have family prayer together every night. We asked Andie how that was going and he told us they were doing it. Then he told us the story about how he lost his Harry Potter book. He looked everywhere but he couldn’t find it. He decided he would say a prayer to be able to find it and after he prayed he flipped up the bed cover and it was right there. I love that! He has the sweetest faith. We talked more about faith and how miracles happen if we would just believe. He really liked the scripture how the Brother of Jared moved a mountain with his faith. 9 year old boys...

I know coming on a mission was for me. Seriously. I needed all of these lessons! I was pondering Andie’s faith last night and I recognized why the Savior asks us to become “as little children.” They just get it. They don’t have to see it to believe. How come we even question it sometimes? Our God is the God that made those galaxies, and stars, and planets, and yet sometimes we doubt. Well I would just like you to know I’m not going to doubt anymore. :)

What a blessing it was to be on my mission during the Christmas season. I definitely have a better understanding now of the “Spirit of Christmas.” It’s the Spirit of Christ. We just have to keep it with us the rest of the 364 days of the year! Now family, I’m going to hold you to the list of “gifts back to Christ” you decided on this year… so don’t think you are getting out of it!

I love you lots!

Sister Painter

Monday, December 21, 2009

Merry Christmas!



Family!

Merry Christmas!

Can you believe it is the holidays already! I can tell Mom would rather them be in a couple of weeks. Oh well. Just remember the reason for the season. He came to the Earth to bring PEACE so we might as well enjoy it now. Ha ha.

I love West Chester! The ward is phenomenal! The Sisters before did a wonderful job finding investigators so we have a good teaching pool. Sister Thacker still isn’t quite used to the snow, especially tracting in it!

We’re teaching some more Ghanaians! I love them! Kate’s good friend, Rosemary, was baptized earlier this year. And we are teaching Ernest, a friend of Kate and Martins, who hopefully will be baptized the beginning of the year. We had a lesson with him yesterday afternoon. He is reading the children’s Book of Mormon and he had some of the best questions! It’s amazing to be to see the fire of the Spirit touch the heart of those willing to hear our message. We’re also teaching Dennis, another Ghanaian, in his barbershop! Ha ha. You never know the experiences you’ll get.

The Holidays are such a special time of year. There is definitely a different Spirit in the air. I love how we go tracting and complete strangers will send us home with a bag full of Christmas treats! Mom, to answer your questions: We get a partial preparation day today and the other half on Christmas. We’ll be out working the rest of the week. The two of us are going to go around singing Christmas Carols and sharing a message about Jesus Christ. :) And I get to call you on Christmas! We’re planning on going over to the Peace’s at around 2. One of us will probably call at 2:00 and the other will call at 3:00. So it will be sometime in between 12:00-1:00 your time. Okay?

Can I just tell you… I love being on a mission! I love being able to truly feel the Spirit of Christmas EVERYDAY! Even though life sure can get tough the greatest blessing is knowing we have a Savior who knows how we feel and is there to succor us in our infirmities (Alma 7). It seems like the world is getting darker and darker but the Light of Christ can dispel even the darkest of days. I loved this quote by Elder Holland I read earlier this week:

“I know some of you truly feel at sea, in the most frightening sense of that term… It is not without recognition of life’s tempests but fully and directly because of them that I testify of God’s love and the Savior’s power to calm the storm… Christ knows better than all others that the trials of life can be very deep and we are not shallow people if we struggle with them. But… he rebukes faithlessness and he deplores pessimism. He expects us to believe!”

Life does get hard, but Heavenly Father didn’t send us here to fail. He didn’t send us here without help. We just have to believe: trust what he says! That is the greatest message Sister Thacker and I share everyday here. He’s there and He cares.
Another Sister we are working with is Betty. Betty Wise was baptized the end of November. I got to meet her this week and I was struck with the perfect understanding she had of the gospel. The Sisters had found her this summer and she quickly accepted the gospel because she recognized the Lord’s hand in it and she felt the Spirit as she studied. What a good example of faith!

One more quote. This one is by President Benson:

"The Lord testified, "I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me. And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross"
(3 Nephi).
And so He was. In Gethsemane and on Calvary, He worked out the infinite and eternal atonement. It was the greatest single act of love in recorded history. Thus He became our Redeemer-redeeming all of us from physical death, and redeeming those of us from spiritual death who will obey the laws and ordinances of the gospel.

What can we possibly give to the Lord? Considering all that He has done and is doing for us, there is something that we might give Him in return. Christ's great gift to us was His life and sacrifice. Should that not then be our small gift to Him-our lives and sacrifices, not only now, but in the future?"

I think we’re given the Christmas season to boost our determination to live this way for the rest of the year! Ha ha.

Thank you for all of your love, support, and prayers! I feel them!

I love you! I’ll talk to you soon!

Merry Christmas!

Sister Painter

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Saying Goodbye!

These are people I had to say goodbye to:

Mary. . .


Alisha and her little girls who I love!


Sister Stefke and me when she fed us jello with marshmellows because I told them how much our family loves it! ha ha.


Lexy and her family. Lexy is a recent convert (the 16yr old).


Me and Katelynn. . .She is getting baptized on Saturday! wahoo!


Our last district. . .


I sure love this work!

I Got Transferred!

Family!

I got transferred! I moved to the next area over from Fairfield. It’s the West Chester ward. It was a big move! Ha ha. And guess who is my new companion!?! Sister Thacker! We are way excited.

Sister Martineau went home today. I’m glad it’s not my time yet! I love serving as the Lord’s missionary! There is nowhere else I would rather be right now. Saying good-byes to our ward and investigators yesterday reminded me how much I love this work! I’ve never felt so attached to people I’ve known for so short a time.

Mary is doing really well. She is still having a hard time getting the energy and strength to get around, but she is amazing! Our good-bye was hard! I will miss her dearly! Her testimony has inspired my testimony! Each time we talked to her she would reflect on the blessing of understanding the gospel brings into our lives! We are so blessed to have “all the answers.” Mom, I gave her some of the Christmas Nativity pictures you sent me for Christmas. She opened them up and just started crying. They meant the world to her! I just wanted to say thanks for sending them!

We had another neat experience with a woman named Betty. She was a former that Sister Thacker and I had tried to visit months ago, but she wasn’t sure she even wanted to know what we had to say. Well Sister Martineau and I showed up on her doorstep one morning with Sister Haruch and she invited us in to talk to her. She finally opened up to us and explained that she had a terminal illness and she’s been contemplating what is going to happen after she dies. She explained that she had offered a prayer the night before wondering about the church again and “ta dah” here we were on her doorstep! See! The Lord DOES answer prayers! And he gives us every opportunity to accept his message!

I don’t have a lot of time today, but I want you to know I love you! And I want you to know how much I love this work! This truly is the season to remember our Savior’s love and infinite sacrifice for us. Oh how I love him!

Here is my new address: 7441 Timber Dr #9 Cincinnati, OH 45241.

It sounds like things have been CRAZY at the house! Thanks for the pictures! I love seeing what is going on with the family! I printed your email and will reply by mail when I get home!

Oh and mom, I’m not sure about the phone calls yet. We haven’t heard anything. I let you know when I know! Don’t worry! Ha ha.

I love you!

Sister Painter

Monday, December 7, 2009

Enjoying the Christmas Spirit. . .

Us and the Underwood family dressing up as the Nativity scene.
It’s been years since I’ve done that!



Reagan Ladle and I were the angels who sang “Glory to God in the Highest!”



We helped the Jackson family set up their tree. Ashli, the 16yr old, was just baptized this last March so we’ve been working with her quite a bit.



A little Holiday Cheer!

Hello Family:

This week has been full of the Holiday spirit! ha ha… already! But I love it! Hands down this is my favorite time of year!

Earlier this week we stopped by to visit Carolyn Winters. She wasn’t in her room so we asked where she was. They were all downstairs decorating gingerbread houses! So we went down and found her. We ended up staying down there for well over an hour helping these sweet old women make their gingerbread homes. This might sound funny, but you know the quote about “helping the feeble hands that hang down.” That thought ran through my mind over and over as these sweet women’s old shaky fingers couldn’t get the candy to stay on their little houses.

There are so many ways we can serve those “feeble hands that hang down!” I hope our whole family will look for those opportunities to strengthen and loves those around us, especially this Christmas season! Will you do that?

We helped the Jackson family set up their tree. Ashli, the 16yr old, was just baptized this last March so we’ve been working with her quite a bit. I love her guts! I’ll include some pictures. AND we helped Sister Haruch set up her tree and décor. Needless to say Mom they have been putting us to work. But it gets us into the Christmas spirit!

AND it snowed this morning! Our first snow! It must be Christmas time! Every Christmas season the Cincinnati North Stake decorates the Stake Center with a collection of Nativities from all around the world! It is the neatest thing! We took Becky and Terri with us to go see them. The picture is of us and the Underwood family dressing up as the Nativity scene. ha ha… It’s been years since I’ve done that! Reagan Ladle and I were the angels who sang “Glory to God in the Highest!” ha ha

This week has been wonderful! We had some wonderful lessons with Mary and Tori. They are doing so well. Mary is still trying to recover from her hospital visit. She is seriously an inspiration to me! I love her so much! We are also working with a woman named Abi. She’s from Nigeria. Who would have thought the Cincinnati Mission would be so cultural!

We also meet with a woman who just moved her from Cambodia. Maria has only been in the country for 3 months. She was baptized in 2005 in Cambodia but hasn’t been to church for a while. So we are working on getting her back to church and softening her husband’s heart so he will let her. I love the cultural diversity here! It’s been so much fun!

I just have to add: Sunday was wonderful! It’s incredible to me how fasting can bring such an abundance of the Spirit! I leaned over to Sister Underwood, who is a recent convert, during Sacrament Meeting and asked her if she was going to bear her testimony. She said, “I’ll go if you go.” I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to get her up there! ha ha. So we went up. Testimonies are sure a powerful thing! We should take every opportunity to share them! When we live the gospel we truly are blessed!

And how about the Christmas devotional! Wasn’t it beautiful! I’m sure grateful to have a living prophet! I love him too!

Lots of love… I know. ha ha. So naturally I love you all too!

Thank you so much for your support and encouragement!

I love it.

Sister Painter

Thursday, December 3, 2009

A Little Christmas From Home. . .

Hello Everybody:

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving Week! We had a wonderful time in Logan with my family. Always a treat to spend time with them. Just a reminder to please get your letters to me for Carlee this week.

It would be great if you just would email them to ladawn79@hotmail.com. I will be getting them ready on Sunday to send them to her. She would love to hear from all of you. Thanks for your love and support.

Keep smiling and have a great week!

LaDawn


Miracles Everyday!

Hello Family!

Mom, I’m so glad you are feeling better this week! I’ve been praying for you!
And Dad, I can’t believe there is an In-n-out in Orem! Who would have thought the day would come?! Now be wise! Your heart can only handle so many greasy cheeseburgers and shakes for breakfast! ha ha

Can I just tell you… I love my job! This is truly the best place to be! So do you want to hear another neat story? Mary and her granddaughter Tori were supposed to come to church on Sunday. We had a ride set and everything ready. Sunday morning came and Sister Haruch (Mary’s ride) called and said Mary had an emergency and wouldn’t be able to come. But none of us knew what happened. We tried to call Mary on Sunday then stopped by her house on Monday but no one was home (which is unusual). So we continued on with our plans on Monday and that evening ended up at the hospital visiting one of the ward members. We were about to leave and were waiting for the elevators right when Mary’s son, Rob, walked out of the elevator we were about to go down. We chatted with him for a minute and then asked why he was there. Mary had to be admitted to the Hospital Sunday night because she had a minor stress-induced stroke! We were able to go and see her and it really was a miracle.

Some things had happened on Sunday that she became overwhelmed with and her blood-pressure soared, and she experienced a minor stroke. We had no idea she was there. But Heavenly Father knew exactly where she was and made sure we would find her. Isn’t that amazing! We had fun reminding her of how we found her originally. We were driving by one day and the Spirit told Sister Thacker that we needed to “Stop!” so we did and got out of the car and started tracting her street. Two doors later we found Mary.

I know I say this EVERY week, but Heavenly Father truly is aware of each of us. He wants us to be happy and he will give us every opportunity to do so. If I’ve learned anything since I’ve come on my mission it is that. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are literally His children and if we follow His plan we will find true joy! As Kierston would say, “What a blessing!”

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Week! Except for I don’t really need to eat for the next week! Oh man! We ate so much food! We were invited over to less-actives for “Turkey lunch” then an hour later we went and had “Turkey dinner” at a member’s home. And then went to Mary’s for our third dessert! It was great!

Thank you for the Christmas package! We have our Christmas tree all set up! We couldn’t stop laughing while we were taking it all out. We loved it! Thanks you so much!

I sure love you all! I really, really do! And I LOVE this work! Have a good week!

Sister Painter

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

A Day of Smiles. . .

Sharing my flower's with Sister Mastin. . .



Daniel and Martin's Baptism. . .

Faith Brings Surprises… I Mean Miracles!

Good Morning Family and Friends:

Sorry this is a day late, but I have been in bed with the flu for the last few days. I just couldn't drag myself to the computer yesterday. So here is Carlee's letter.

Just want to remind everyone to get their Christmas letter ready for her and send to me as soon a possible or by December 6th. If you missed my email, I am sending Christmas letters to Carlee from family and friends. Just an experience with her, a special thought, and if you would like I am sure she would love to have your testimony. Send them to my email at ladawn79@hotmail.com. I know she would love to hear from all of you.

Hope you are having a great week. Enjoy this weather while it lasts. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday.

Also, if you want to send a Christmas Card or anything to her, the apartment address is:

Sister Carlee Painter
11651 Norborne Drive #216
Cincinnati, OH 45240

As you will read in her letter, they don't want things going to the Mission Home.

Thanks for all your love and support.

LaDawn




Hi Family:

SURPRISE! Martin got baptized on Saturday! Yeah it was a surprise to us too! The Elders were teaching Daniel, another Ghanian friend, who decided to be baptized on Saturday so we invited Martin to come. Well Martin walks into the church before its about to begin and says, “I want to be baptized.” We said, “GREAT! We can arrange that.” Then he said, “No I want to be baptized next… today.” We kind of just looked at him for a second (thinking he was joking because he does that a lot). We had him tell Brother White and realized he was serious. We explained how you had to have an interview first and he asked if we couldn’t just do it after. Uh… no. So we held off Daniel’s baptism for a half hour while the Elders called President and got permission, interviewed him, got him dressed up and baptized. It was crazy! But he had been taught everything, he knew it, he was just waiting until it felt right. I guess when it’s right… it’s right!

It was truly a remarkable experience though. While Martin was getting interviewed I was a little nervous. Was this really the right thing to do? Was he just making an impulsive decision? I asked a quiet prayer to know if this was really okay with the Lord to baptize him right here, right now. I immediately felt a rush of peace and knew the Lord had approved. With the Lord’s approval anything is possible right! ha ha. I can’t even describe to you the feeling of love and joy I had the rest of the day!

Miracles do happen.

I’m so grateful to know we have the Lord on our side! I’m grateful to know we are here to do HIS work! What a privilege and honor that is. Isn’t that exciting! You know that means you too, not just the missionaries.

Here is my Thanksgiving List:
I’m grateful for:
-My Savior who lived as a perfect example for me!
-Heavenly Father who has a plan for each of us! And that is to bestow on us as many blessings as we’ll let him!
-The Book of Mormon! I love it and the power it brings into our lives!
-Joseph Smith and the restoration of all the priesthood keys!
-A prophet on Earth today to lead and guide us!
-My Family who continually inspires me to be better!
-Friends who write me letters! ha ha

Speaking of letters, I have bad news. This is directly from President:
New Post Office Mail policy
Due to new and reinforced postal rules and to a new expensive service that they are promoting (Premium Forwarding Service), the Post Office will no longer forward the mail that is sent to the Mission Office for free. In order for you to receive your mail (letters and packages), your family and friends need to send your mail to you directly to your apartment during the first four weeks of the transfer.
Send mail and packages between these 4 week periods:
November 3 – December 1, 2009
December 15, 2009 – January 12, 2010
January 26 – February 23, 2010
March 9 – April 6, 2010
April 20 – May 18, 2010
June 1 – June 21, 2010
July 13 – August 10, 2010
August 24 – September 21, 2010
October 5 – November 2, 2010
November 16 – December 14, 2010
All mail that is delivered to the Mission Office will be distributed at the following Zone Conference. Please note, that by the time your mail is brought to the Mission Office by the missionaries in the apartment you just left, it could be two or more Zone Conferences before your mail can catch up to you.

Moral of the Story, don’t send mail to the mission home anymore. Will you let everyone know that.

I love you lots! And I love this work!
Sister Painter

PS…
Thank you for the flowers and package! Loved it! I took a few of the flowers to Sister Mastin (she's a less-active that can't leave the house.)She loved them too!

Will you please tell Jaci I have a letter on the way for her, but I would REALLY like her to come and talk to you (Mom). Plus Jaci, my mom probably has better insight about it than I do. She’s amazing. :)

AND will you let Cindy know that she is on my black list for not sending me ANYTHING about this! Big trouble.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Up's and Down's!

Dear Family. . .

It seems that every Monday when it comes time to reflect on the previous week I always think to myself, “Wow. I can’t believe you survived last week.” ha ha. No I’m kidding…sort of. I guess that is just the essence of missionary work: many ups and downs. It’s exhausting!

However, this week was really good! Mom, you’ll be glad to know I’ve been looked after. Last week at coordination I could hardly talk because I was so stuffy and… yucky. So I got a blessing, then Monday night we got a call and Sister Underwood had homemade chicken noodles soup ready and waiting. Oh man! It was the best! It reminded me of yours! So good!

We had Zone Conference this week too! It was AMAZING! President gave a training on the Old Testament Tabernacle and how we are a covenant making people. Can I just say… I miss the temple so much! Will you please go this week?! Not being able to attend for a year and a half is torture! It truly is a blessing that so many temples have been built all over the world! How blessed we are to live in these days where we can attend the temple often! So mom and dad, will you go this week? I know our family will be blessed when you do! :) (That is a true missionary commitment!)

Let’s see, other highlights this week:

-We set up a family mission plan with Bishop Striebeck and his wife. They are such wonderful people! We’ve been blessed with good leaders!

-Last night we had a large mix-and-mingle/missionary dinner with the members and less-actives! It was great! The Elders gave a lesson on how we just have to “open our mouths” as members to invite others to learn about the gospel. Its amazing how if we are just willing to say something the Lord will tell us what to say!

-It was warm this week! Beautiful for November!

-We’ve been able to meet with all of our investigators and they are doing great! Keep Mary in your prayers. She’s still having a hard time with her granddaughter. But the gospel really does bless our lives with peace in our hardest times!

-Plus so much more!

I am so sad to hear about Earl! It almost made me cry sitting here in the library reading that! It is amazing to me how much someone can influence our lives in so short a period of time. Dad, it touched my heart to know that you were one of the first on his list for his family to call. See what simple acts of service can do! And “when we are in the service of our fellow beings we are only in the service of our God.”

I definitely got blessed with the best family EVER!

I love you all lots and lots! And I love this gospel! And this work!
Sister Painter

Oh one quick note, we’re having some issues with the Cincinnati Postal Service. Sheesh. Anyway, will you let people know to send mail to my apartment as often as they can and just be aware of when transfers are coming up and not to send anything like the week before. If you send it to the mission office address it will probably take much longer to get to me now. Just so you know.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Fall In Ohio. . .

Enjoying Fall in OHIO. . .



Sister Underwood and I trying to fit our leaf pile in the little bag!

Service Project with the RASKALS Group. . .

Leaves, Trees, and Charity

*Warning: Short Letter

This week was crazy! But it was so much fun! Sister Martineau and I are doing really well. She goes home in 5 weeks! So we’re making the best of our time!

The leaves changed and they are beautiful! Actually, they are almost gone now. If you blinked you might have missed them!

On Saturday we helped with RASKALS: Random Acts of Simple Kindness Affecting Local Seniors. Basically, we raked LOTS of leaves with the youth of the ward. It was a blast! But I am so sore! It must mean I’m getting old.

This week we made so many member visits! Sister Martineau served her for a year before she left so there were people she wanted to see, and Sister Thacker had lots of people she wanted to say good-bye to before she left. So basically we’ve been running around like crazy.

Personally, I learned so much this week! In PMG it repeats that we should “earnestly be seeking gifts of the spirit.” This week I asked for help with the gift of charity and it was SUCH a blessing! It has helped me dramatically in our companionship as well as my desire to work harder. Heavenly Father is just waiting for us to seek Him and He wants so badly to bless us. We are so blessed! Especially to have the Spirit! It amazes me sometimes. I think we live far beneath our privileges when it comes to seeking gifts of the Spirit!

So here’s your commitment for the week: Will you study and seek for a specific gift of the Spirit?! I know there are lots of good talks on LDS.org and other great discourses in the scriptures! I know that the Lord will bless us when we do!

I love you lots! And I LOVE this work! I am so grateful for the gospel in our lives!
Sister Painter

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Halloween Fun. . .

Happy Halloween. . .Such Cute Witches!



Service Project with the Food Bank. . .



Sister Thacker and I are making scones with Kate. . .


FAITH. . .

Hello Family! Good news and bad news.

Good news first! This week was AMAZING! It really was! There is a promise in Preach My Gospel that says that your faith will increase as you find those who have been prepared to receive the gospel. And Sister Thacker and I decided it was time to put that to the test and guess what! It worked!

We REALLY wanted 20 lessons this week, which for some reason has been difficult in this area. But we told the Lord we were going to make it a matter of faith and that we were willing to work for it. And it happened! 23 lessons! We also were able to find several new investigators.
Believe it or not it was pretty much the easiest thing ever! Faith works! There was one day we were doubting and we said, “okay, expect miracles.” And we saw so many! My faith has definitely increased and I know the Lord is close at hand in this work and is just waiting for us to ask. How many times does he say, “Ask and ye shall receive?”

Now the bad news. Sister Thacker got transferred. Right when we got it figured out. Typical huh! ha ha. Sister Martineau and I are now companions. This is her last transfer before she goes home. Plus, she already served in Fairfield for a whole year! So I know we can get a lot done! It will be good.

I want you to know that I’m so grateful for the peace this gospel brings. I feel it practically everyday! The world seems to be getting more and more tumultuous and scary. But peace is possible and it comes when we humble ourselves enough to “just ask.” I’m so grateful for His love for us!

I love you all! Thanks for being amazing!
Sister Painter

Ps Mom and Dad I'm sending you a letter!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Family

Dear Mom and Dad!

25 years! Amazing!

We talked to a woman in the grocery store today. She has been married 55 years! I told her you had your anniversary yesterday and she said, “Oh the second 25 years are harder!” ha ha. So hang on! You’re not out of the water yet! But you are both amazing and I know you are in it for much longer than 50 years! I’m grateful for the gospel! And I’m especially grateful for temples where we can be sealed together as a family for eternity! I keep reflecting back to when little Damiance told us she didn’t want to go to heaven if her family isn’t there.

Our ward had their primary program yesterday and each young child bore their testimony of “eternal families.” I couldn’t believe how powerful the Spirit bore witness to the truth of those simple words they spoke! We have a Heavenly Father who sent us to earth to learn and grow and become like Him. He gave us families to help each other. The longer I’m out here the more I’m realizing how Satan is literally destroying the concept of “family.” Society is trying to make the ‘individual’ the “fundamental unit of society,” but in any healthy society the ‘family’ is truly that fundamental unit. And it’s because it’s an eternal principle!

We’re teaching a sweet woman named Mary! Oh I love her and her family so much! She lives with her son and 14 year old granddaughter and they are a neat little family! The other day we were driving to another neighborhood but the Spirit prompted us to stop at Mary’s. So we did. We found out it had been an extremely hard week for their family. Mary’s granddaughter is in a difficult circumstance with friends and drugs and it’s been hard on everyone. We had a beautiful lesson with Mary about the Holy Ghost and how that peace and comfort can be a reality in our lives.

I couldn’t get them out of my mind this week. I become more and more grateful everyday for the gospel in our family! We are so blessed!

Martin came to church yesterday! We were excited because we haven’t seen him for awhile with his work schedule. He was touched by the primary kids! Who wasn’t?! Actually all of our meetings were centered on the family and eternal marriage. So Satan is on the offense, but we’re still standing our ground!

I love this gospel. Really it is the way to find peace in this crazy world! Mom, I’m so proud of you for doing acts of service! See! It’s a wonderful feeling!

I sure love you all! And I love this work!

Sister Painter

Monday, October 19, 2009

Great People In My Mission. . .

Here is a picture of Cassie and I that we took last night. Cassie was just baptized earlier this year. (I love her!)

I got to play playdough with Adela, which is always a highlight of my week.


Julie labeled every single book in her scriptures! Isn’t that sweet! She told us she reads almost an hour and a half every night! If only we all did that!

I love this work!

Dear Family:

Well last week was hard, but now we have a new week ahead! What a blessing! I’ll tell you the highlights of last week:

Our lesson with Martin and Suzzy was amazing! Bishop and Brother Jungkunz came and helped Martin work through a lot of his concerns. The Spirit was strong! I love that! Sister Thacker and I walked away practically floating on air!

Our lesson with Julie and Vicky Weisenberger was fabulous! They have been working with the missionaries for awhile to get back to church. I love them! We gave them the Book of Mormon Challenge that President Hinckley gave the church a few years ago to read the whole Book of Mormon from the time of General Conference (October) to the end of the year. Julie is tearing it up! She’s amazing! (Picture included) She labeled every single book in her scriptures! Isn’t that sweet! She told us she reads almost an hour and a half every night! If only we all did that!

I got to play playdough with Adela, which is always a highlight of my week. (Picture included) Adela loves when we come over! Her mom is a less-active we're working with. It always seems that we get there and I end up playing with Adela for an hour while Sister Thacker talks to her mom. haha.

We had another cottage meeting at the Junkunz’s home last night. I sent a picture of Cassie and I that we took last night. Cassie was just baptized earlier this year. (I love her!) Sister Thacker and I gave the lesson on President Monson’s conference talk. We handed everyone a “warm fuzzy” and committed them to do an act of service for someone this week. The world would be such a better place if we just turned our hearts outward to help others more! And it doesn’t have to be a big thing.

This might sound silly, but another highlight this week was doing Coranetta’s dishes. She’s been feeling a little overwhelmed so before we left Sister Thacker and I rolled up our sleeves and did quickly cleaned her kitchen. What I loved was watching Coranetta getting motivated and feeling a little bit better. Sometimes all it takes is something small, but the Lord truly will work through us if we let him.

So anyone that is reading this, I’m committing you to do an act of service for someone this week, especially someone that you might not see or serve regularly. (So the kids don’t count Mom. ha ha) I know that when you do you’ll realize your own capabilities to be the Lord’s hands.

Even though the week was hard my little “miracle” journal still has many entries everyday. The Lord is in the details of our lives… even as missionaries.

I love you lots and lots.
…except for we seem to be in a mail drought. What’s up with that? :)

Sister Painter

Friday, October 16, 2009

Early Christmas Present. . .

Sister Thacker and I and our finished Pierogis!

Becky giving me my "Christmas" present. . .HaHa!

Terry and me with my "Christmas" present that Becky found me because I love hers!

Finding. . .

Sorry this is a few days late. We have been in Florida playing at Disney World for the last 9 days. We couldn't get this done until we got home tonight. So enjoy. . .all sound well in Sister Painter's world. LaDawn

Dear Family:

I’m following up to see if you read the Members doing Missionary Work article in this month’s Ensign. Did you do it? And don’t tell me, “We were out of town on vacation.” What a perfect opportunity! Did you even take pass along cards with you? Ha ha. I hope you are having fun in Florida! I bet it’s twice as hot and humid there than here! It’s been beautiful. Although a little cold for Sister Thacker. :)

We had a fabulous week! Can you believe I’ve been out for four months!

We found 5 new investigators this week! It sounds low for some missions, but for Sister Thacker and I right now they were such a blessing! We’ve been praying for new investigators! It was a tender mercy too, because we’ve been praying to find a family to teach: father, mother, kids. And we found one! They were a HQ referral for a bible. When we delivered it we had a wonderful conversation about the Book of Mormon! And they were open and excited to read it! Prayers are answered!

On Saturday, our friend Becky taught us how to make Pierogi with her mom. It’s a Polish dish made out of egg noodle dough with cottage cheese, onions, eggs, and all sorts of crazy stuff. But it was delicious. See Ohio is pretty cultural huh!

Our funny for the week was when we were out tracting and were invited in by a woman who was from Africa. She let us in but had no intention of listening to us. We were in there for 45 minutes being lectured about not being misled by false prophets. She read from the bible in 1 Kings 13 and said we were making a big mistake. All we could do was bear our testimony. When I did she said, “I love your sincere heart, but even the terrorist are sincere.”

Well I don’t know much, but I do know that we have a loving Heavenly Father! That He has a plan for us! Jesus Christ is central to that plan! And oh how I love both of them with all of my heart. I know that they are preparing us for great things to come and because of that God called Joseph to be a prophet and restore the gospel and the priesthood to the Earth.

…And I’m being sincere!

I love you lots!
Sister Painter

Monday, October 5, 2009

Conference Weekend!

Hi Family!

I’m so glad you got to go to a session of conference with the Tuckermans! It looked like fun! Wasn’t conference incredible! I can’t stop thinking about it! It was power-packed!

All of us (missionaries) can’t get over Elder Holland’s talk about the Book of Mormon! He nailed it! He boldly proclaimed his testimony to the world that the Book of Mormon is inspired of God! He taught me more by his example than anything! He taught powerfully by the Spirit. He taught the simple truths of eternity. And he shared with the world his witness that he had found out these things for himself and challenged everyone else to do the same.

I LOVE the Book of Mormon! I know that it is inspired of God. One of my favorite quotes from Elder Holland is that, “A wicked man couldn’t have written it and a good man wouldn’t have unless he was inspired by God to do it.” And it’s true. I’m continually blown away at the beauty of it. Eternal truths are intricately woven into a complex narrative of God’s chosen people, and yet even the simplest minds can read it and “grow closer to God” (Intro to the Book of Mormon). It truly is a literary masterpiece! And there is no way Joseph Smith could have written it on his own accord in the 82 days (ish) that it took him to translate it. What’s even more profound to me is that those promises recorded to ancient Book of Mormon prophets are for us today! They were writing to US! I remember last year when Elder Holland spoke at a CES Fireside and declared that, “Heavenly promises are always kept.” I’ve considered that statement time and time again as I read the Book of Mormon.

I’m so excited for our family to read it again! There is a power in the Book of Mormon to perfect us and protect us! Our family needs those blessings! The whole world needs those blessings! Just like President Monson told Sister Dibb: Those promises “are everything!”

I rededicated myself this weekend to not be afraid to boldly declare my testimony to the world!

Anyway, there I go again just rambling. So this week! We had a wonderful week! Zone Conference was on Wednesday. (How spoiled am I!) It was great! Sister Winters turned 81yrs old so we brought her balloons and watermelon (her favorite). We’ve had several new investigators. Martin and Suzzy are both progressing again. I told you how they both said they would get baptized, just not yet. ha ha. We’re working on it. I love them both dearly! We’re spoiled with a wonderful ward! They are more than willing to help us! We’re just trying to turn the tables. We are more than willing to help them. Missionary work is so much more effective when the members do the finding and the missionaries do the teachings.

Speaking of which there is a fabulous article in the Ensign this month about Members doing Missionary Work. I’m going to challenge you all to read it! And apply something you learn. Return and report to me next week! ha ha

I have to go but I love you lots!
Sister Painter

Monday, September 28, 2009

Frisby, New Elder's and Wonderful Friends. . .

I can't play Ultimate, but I can still support it! :)



The new Elders in our ward. Do you like their serving sizes! ha ha



Carlee & Suzzy. . .


Carlee & Kate. . .

Rain and Smiles. . .

We had so much rain this week! Ha Ha! It felt like spring! But it’s not. Sister Thacker (being from Arizona) has never experienced autumn so we are anxiously awaiting it. I can’t wait to see the leaves change, especially with so many trees here! But we’ve heard it won’t be until the middle of October. We’ll be patient and wait a few more weeks. Thanks for the beautiful fall flowers Mom!

We had some sweet experiences this week finding new investigators!

We met Candice and her family a few weeks ago. She’s a single mom with five kids! Ah! Her kids are adorable though and while Sister Thacker was talking to Candice I sat on the steps with the kids and basically gave them the Plan of Salvation lesson. Ha ha. It was fabulous! Kids are so smart! They know more than we think. We went back this week and taught the Restoration. When we told Candice there was a prophet on Earth today she was really surprised. “What! Really! That’s weird, I mean it’s good. I had never thought about it before.” We told her about General Conference coming up and she got excited. We discussed the stability it brings into this crazy world knowing that a prophet of God is on the Earth today. She felt like she really needs that. We all do. We’re so blessed to be able to hear President Monson speak this week! Can you believe we have a prophet on Earth today! Mom and Dad, if there is one thing I want for our family it’s to always follow the prophet.

I know I always say this, but my testimony increases everyday when we are led by the Lord to find someone. He loves us, and He is aware of each of us. We got a Headquarter Referral this week (someone who calls in for a free DVD or BOM) for someone who lives on this obscure street we had never heard off. We went to find her but got there and realized we didn’t have an apt # and it was a huge apartment complex! Sister Thacker and I looked at each other, laughed, and started knocking doors. The very first woman we talked to invited us in. She was closed at first, but we started discussing in conversation the Lord’s plan for us and ended up having one of the most powerful lessons I’ve had yet on my mission. I love the Spirit! I love knowing the Lord will send witnesses of the truth to those who are seeking it! And I love knowing that we would never have knocked those doors if we hadn't had that headquarter referral.

I know the Lord is preparing the world for something great. We were at a less-actives home and caught a little of Pres. Obama’s speech. I don’t know what is going on in the world right now, but what I do know is that the Lord is preparing us for great things ahead. We just have to put our trust in Him. I read this quote this week; it was in my journal so I thought I would share!

"Let us not take counsel from our fears. May we remember always to be of good cheer, put our faith in God, and live worthy for Him to direct us. We are each entitled to receive personal inspiration to guide us through our mortal probation. My we so live that our hearts are open at all times to the whisperings and comfort of the Spirit." –Pres. Faust

I’m so excited for General Conference! What an incredible opportunity to receive personal revelation about how the Lord would have us cope with the world today.

I love you lots and lots! I’ll talk to you next week!

Sister Painter

Feeding the Ducks. . .


We fed the ducks with Sister Winters. So much fun! They almost snipped Sister Thacker's finger off. :)



Our District Last Transfer

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Another Transfer!

Dear Family & Friends:

Didn't get transfered. I'm glad all the missionary moms support each other. ha ha. Just remember every six weeks is transfers. Love you!

Can you believe this is the start of Transfer #3! How crazy is that! I made it to my three month mark. We had a great district this transfer. Two of the Elders are going home. How sad is that! I am SO glad it’s them and not me. (No offense mom) :) I love it out here and I would hate to leave.

This is going to be a short letter, sorry. But I still love you!

We are still doing a lot of less-active work. And we're finally able to see some progress! Wahoo! It's hard not to get discouraged when you don't see quick results (It’s mostly my impatience... "can't they just SEE they need the gospel!" ha ha). But I'm so grateful to get to know these people. I love them dearly. AND I love the gospel! AND I love sharing the gospel with them! We're working with several less-active sisters with non-member husbands. Hopefully, with the Lord's help, we can complete some families!

I’m realizing more and more the gospel is all about families. It’s about having our families forever! Everything we do in the church should be to strengthen the family! But Satan has such a grip on society. We have to work extra hard to counteract his every move. And it’s tough! We are literally battling it everyday out here.

Thanks Family for being so incredible! I love you dearly! And I’m grateful to have you!

Martin is coming along. Suzzy is too. Kate's an incredible missionary asset! I love her! She’s going to teach us how to make these fabulous scones! Remind me in a year and a half to make them for you! They are delicious!

I love you lots and lots! I feel your prayers everyday! I really do!

Sister Painter

Monday, September 14, 2009

Missionaries Best Friend!

It looks like Sister Painter had a regular Missionary Encounter with man's best friend! I suppose she will have a few of these on her mission. Oh the life of a missionary!

What A Fabulous Week!

September 14, 2009

Dear Family & Friends:

What a fabulous week! Oh man! I love my job! This week we’ve done a lot of less-active work! And we’ve had many great experiences! A lot of our less-actives are women who are fairly recent converts. We KNOW the Lord has prepared some of their families to be completed in the gospel so we’re on a hunt… it’s almost like a treasure hunt! We’ve seen “many mighty miracles” along the way. This HAS to be the Lord’s work because He has such an interest in what we’re doing!

Our investigator situation is about the same-hard to get a hold of. grrr. But our Ghanaians are doing well! And I love them SO much! Kate is doing great! She is the best missionary in the ward. I love spending time at her home! She was telling us the other day how much the gospel has blessed her life. Before she joined the church she often felt discouraged and depressed. Now since she’s joined she feels happy all of the time! Although circumstances in her life haven’t changed, she sees the blessings and feels the Lord watching over her. So she said whenever she talks to friends who are sad she tells them, “come with me to church.” I love her! Kate and Suzzy (our investigator) and Anna (Kate’s daughter) taught us our names in Twi (sounds like sh-w-ee). Since I was born on a Thursday mine is Yaa. ha ha. It’s easy. Poor Sister Thacker was born on a Sunday so she is Akosua. Girl is omba so if you say “omba yaa” I’m “Thursday girl.” Sweet huh!

We watched the movie “Pioneers of Africa” with Martin and Suzzy. It’s all about the church in Ghana and Nigeria. It’s incredible! Mom you should order it and watch it with the family. Sister Thacker and I walked away feeling inspired to do better missionary work! The movie was great for Martin because it answered a lot of his questions about the Church in Ghana.

Oh! And we had interviews this week! I’m pretty sure this is the best mission ever! And President and Sister Robbins are the best! What a tender mercy!

Lots of tender mercies! We had another tender mercy this week. We finally found 3 new investigators! It’s amazing how missionary work is really just an act of faith. You tell Heavenly Father what your goal is and then you work work work. In His mercy he’ll let us witness miracles! These three are a grandmother, granddaughter and her friend. The grandmother had the missionaries 25 years ago! And she remembers a lot of what they taught. We had a wonderful discussion about living with Heavenly Father before we came to this Earth. The girls are both 14, but they sat and talked about it with us and one of the girls told us she had a “weird feeling.” We asked if it was a good weird feeling. She said yes. We told her that was the Spirit telling her that what we were talking about was true and Heavenly Father wanted her to know that. These two 14 yr old girls were the ones that asked US if we could come back! (I love it when that happens!) The church is true.

I wish I could tell you about EVERYTHING that is going on. It makes my heart swell with gratitude! This gospel brings so many blessings into our lives. If we just do what the Lord asks we are blessed BEYOND measure! I’ll try and tell you more next week!

I love you lots! lots and lots!
Sister Painter

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Cornhole. . .


We learned how to play Cornhole. Cornhole? What is that you say? Well, it’s basically the most competitive game in Cincinnati! But to be honest, it’s just a glorified bean bag toss. They love it here though.

Enjoying the Labor Day Stake Picnic. . .


We Can Officially Be Considered Cincinnatians!

Hello Family and Friends –

Well it seems like you have a better memory than we do. We forgot the Library AND the post office would be closed yesterday. Ha ha. But they are open now so here is your email! :) We did enjoy a fabulous Labor Day Picnic yesterday with the stake! We learned how to play Cornhole. Cornhole? What is that you say? Well, it’s basically the most competitive game in Cincinnati! But to be honest, it’s just a glorified bean bag toss. They love it here though. We had an investigator, Becky, teach a few of us Sisters how to play. It was hilarious. But now we can officially be considered Cincinnatians! Pictures included!

My foot is finally on the mend! Wahoo! There is still a pretty sweet bruise, and I wonder if I should have gotten stitches because its having a hard time sealing back up (it was REALLY deep), but to late now. Plus, I have a great story every time someone asks why I’m limping.

This week has been wonderful! Our investigator situation is rough, but we were finally able to make progress with a few of them. We were excited! It’s amazing how creative you have to be, like having a pizza and watching a movie (The Testaments of course). But hey! It works! And we’ve learned to watch for “many mighty miracles.” They happen everyday!

We still have a lot of less-actives we are trying to work with. I’ve truly gained a testimony of the Lord’s awareness of each of His children and that we as missionaries have been commissioned to do His work here on Earth. It’s amazing how many times in the week we will visit someone right at the time that they needed help. We stopped by a Sister’s home last night, we didn’t know if she was less-active or not. But we were led to her without even knowing it. We quickly found out that she needed us there. She explained to us that she felt like she was loosing her testimony and she didn’t have the strength or energy to do anything about it. She is the only member in her family and she felt like she was overwhelmed and couldn’t do it anymore. It was an incredible feeling to look in her eyes and testify to her that the Lord is aware of her and that He loves her. I know the Lord was teaching me what it feels like to speak by the power of the Spirit to fulfill our responsibilities as His representatives. It was incredible!

I learned another great lesson this week! We had a great lesson with a referral from a member in Utah. This young woman had lived in Utah for two years and made lots of friends, but she wasn’t particularly interested in the church. However, one of her friends talked about the church with her often and gave her opportunities to have good experiences with the church (like singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!). When this young woman moved to Cincinnati her friend sent the missionaries. Us! She finally felt comfortable enough to ask all of her questions and we taught her about the Restoration. We even watched the short Restoration DVD with her. When it was over she looked at us and said, “It’s over? I was ready for part 2.” We smiled and gave her a Book of Mormon.

Don’t be afraid to do missionary work at home! Even if you don’t see the fruits of your labors, you will be planting seeds! Plus… WE NEED YOU! Sister Thacker and I cover an area with about 200,000 people. We can’t do it alone!

I love you lots and lots! And I love this work!

Sister Painter

Monday, August 31, 2009

Having Another Week of Adventures. . .

Look at our 'little goose girl', it is such a Carlee photo. . .
Carlee and Sister Thacker with Sister Price. . .

Carlee's war with a pen. . .I think she lost the battle!
Carlee and Sister Thacker enjoying the beautiful flowers in Ohio!

It's Been Quite The Week. . .

August 30, 2009

Hello from the Ohio!

Man, it is beautiful here! It's not raining, and it’s not 90 degrees in 90% humidity either. Oh the blessings! It actually feels like autumn is coming.

This week has been... you know I don't think any one word would describe it. Rough. Exciting. Hard. Rewarding. Painful... ha ha. Yeah that sounds like our week.

Highlights: We had a wonderful Zone Conference! Elder Packer of the Seventy was our visiting authority and he and his wife were wonderful! It was delightful to have them! Elder Packer shared a lot of what Elder Holland spoke at in the MTC about teaching by the Spirit. That is the main push from the missionary department. I think it is because now we have all the resources with Preach My Gospel we just have to start implementing them and making the work more effective. Exciting huh!

We also had Stake Conference this week which was very edifying. AND we got Sister Price to come! She's a less-active who I LOVE! We convinced her to give us a ride so she came with us. :) I attached the picture with her and Sister T. and I.

Lowlights for the week: Well, I'll only share one. Pretty sure it defies all the laws of physics. (Don't quote that to Jim cause there are probably lots of laws that made it quite possible.) So I stepped on a pen on Saturday. What I mean to say is that I actually put a hole in my foot with a pen. Yep. I'm not sure how it happened, somehow I stood up from the couch and took a step just in time for the pen to fall and catch underneath my foot with the tip entering my foot. OUCH! Sister Robbins said I basically I got a tattoo on the mission...ha ha. Who else can say that? I'll include a picture of that too. You can't really tell but it went in there deep! eck.

I love this work, even when it's hard. Sister Thacker and I memorized this little poem a few weeks back and it came in really handy this week. :)

It's easy enough to be pleasant,
When life flows by like a song.
But the man worthwhile is the one who will smile
When everything goes dead wrong.

For the test of the heart is trouble,
And it always comes with the years.
But the smile that’s worth the praises of the earth
Is the smile that shines through tears.
-Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Keep going! Keep smiling! No matter how hard it gets. Why? Because just like I said last week: Heavenly Father loves us! And is aware of each of us. There is nothing we can't do with Him on our side!
I love you!

Sister Painter

PS: Isn't that goose picture the best picture you've ever seen! ha ha! See... we're all out doing the work!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Sister Winter's

Sister Winter's in the rest home and us!

This is one of our Recent Converts. She's in a residential living center and she's bedriden. We got her a Tabernacle Choir CD, because she LOVES them.



I LOVE WITNESSING THE LORDS HAND IN HIS WORK!

Hi Mom...and Dad...and Family...and Friends!

Here let me answer all of mom's questions:
How has your week gone? Super! Oh man! I LOVE this work! But it’s hard. It never ceases to amaze me how many ups and downs you can have in a week, or even a day! No wonder we're so exhausted every night!

Do you seem to be getting the hang of Missionary work by now? I don't know if you ever can. I don't think I ever will. The work is always changing, always something different to be working on. The biggest difference from Week 1 to now is my change of heart. I can't believe I've been so blessed to be here!

Do you have to send in weekly reports, or what did you need the thumb drive for? Weekly Reports.

How is it going with all your investigators? Hmmm. Well they've all seemed to drop off the face of the earth the last two weeks. Bummer deal. But that just means the Lord has something else for us to do. More to come...

Were you able to get the Tabernacle CD to the little lady in the rest home? Yes! And she loved it! I'll attach the photo we took with her this week! She's such a cutie! She's had it rough, but we love her!

How is the weather? Still Raining? ha ha... yep. We don't know what to expect from one day to the next. Sometimes it’s hot and humid. Sometimes is cold and windy. We just wake up every morning and guess. :)

Are your shoes holding up okay? Oh they are great!

Do you have to wear nylons? Not yet! Wahoo! I'm SO grateful!

Did you get your package from home? PACKAGE?!?! No! If you sent it to the mission home I won't get it till zone conference. (Send them to my apartment if it’s not close to transfer’s week)

Do you need anything this week? Nope. Thanks though. You are wonderful! Oh wait, lots of letters! Always need letters! :)

Sorry about all the questions. Yeah sheesh Mom. Just kidding, I love you!

Can I just say, I LOVE this work! I know I say that a lot, but it's true! I definitely have been recruited into lifetime missionary service! I'm way excited!

We've had a crazy week. Like I said, the majority of our investigators sort of dropped off the face of the earth. They are around we just can't get in to see them. So we've been doing a lot of less-active work, one of the most difficult yet rewarding experiences I think. For example, Friday we saw several less-actives and basically lost hope. Several of them have joined other churches or are influenced by the adversary in other ways. One of them was telling us (lecturing more so) about the group they were apart of now and honestly I couldn't help but think they were modern day Zoramites. Everything Alma describes the Zoramites to be this group is: 1) the chosen people 2) with no need for a Savior 3) and founded on pride. It made me so sad! It's incredible that Satan is teaching the same philosophies now as he did thousands of years ago.

It’s been difficult, but we see tender mercies all along the way. And I LOVE witnessing the Lord’s hand in this work. For example, just the next day we were checking up on a young lady named Nicole who was on the ward list, but no one in the ward had any idea who she was. When we arrived at her apartment she wasn’t home but her roommate Shannon was. Right about the time Sister Thacker got out the words, “Sister Missionaries from the…” she said, “I know I’m one of you.” Oh yeah? Well that was news to us. She invited us in and pretty soon told us her story. She grew up in the church, baptized at eight, and was even married in the temple. However, her marriage ended in ugly divorce right about the time her mother passed away. She explained to us how she became pretty angry with God and how she felt her ward was judging her instead of helping her. So she stopped going to church, moved several times and “got lost.” Oh man it was such a testimony builder to me that the Lord is watching over each of His children. We had NO idea she was there, but the Lord did. And the Lord sent us when the time was right for her. After several years of attending another church she told us that she’s been thinking a lot about the gospel and wondering what she should do. She knew that we were there that day for her. The Lord loves each of His children and He is aware of each of their needs. This is His work, and we get to be apart of it!!!

I sure love you! Thanks for all the love and support! I've been so blessed to have you in my life!

Sister Painter

Monday, August 17, 2009

Some Of Our Investigators!

HI. . .from Sister Thacker and Me!!



Some Of Our Investigators at the Jungkunz dinner.
All of our Ghanian Friends


Me and Anna, Kate's daughter


Me and Kate, our recent convert


Sis Thacker and Suzzy


The Elders and Daniel


Me and Rita