I Am SO Happy To Be a Missionary!

Dear Family:

Transfers have come and gone and Sister Sunderland and I are still in our happy little country town of Wilmington, OH. Ha ha. I don’t know if you saw the picture Hermana Blackham sent of the view of Santiago… I showed Sister Sunderland and we both laughed. It is amazing the different places we are in the world! Santiago is huge and busy! Wilmington is small and quiet. The real amazing thing is that it’s the same gospel here as it is in Chile. I am SO grateful for the Restoration and for a gospel that is applicable to EVERYONE. Heavenly Father really does love us. (He especially loves me since he sent me to an English-speaking, American-eating, fun loving people!) ha ha.

Anyway, I am happy to be here and I am SO happy to be a missionary. I love it. Will you send me Taylor’s, I mean Elder Stephenson’s, mission office address. I wish I was in the MTC again. I love that place!

So the update. Shawn has pneumonia. Can you believe it. Right in time for their baptism on Sunday. I swear Satan stops at nothing. Sometimes I’d like to give the devil a swift kick in the pants. Grrrr. Pneumonia. I am so grateful for Shawn and Judy though, they have weathered a lot the last few weeks and I admire their example so much.

So what are some of the missionary experiences you’ve had lately? I want to know.  Sister Sunderland and I had a really neat experience just waiting outside for the library to open today. We decided to be a here early (because we always end up waiting forever for a computer) and we were able to strike up a conversation with the group of people that were waiting. We met a woman who met with the missionaries 15 years ago in Nebraska! How cool is that. We would have never known had we not just started talking to her. Often the hardest part is just opening our mouths. :) Mom, you are so friendly! Have you been able to have any gospel quality conversations lately? Will you try this week! Maybe even get a referral for the missionaries! I want to hear how it goes for the whole family! :) Pray for opportunities. You can even practice. Like Brandon… you could be talking to someone about your new trombone (which is awesome by the way!) and say:

“Yeah, I love playing the trombone because I’m learning to develop some of my talents Heavenly Father has given me. Did you know that Heavenly Father loves you and has given YOU talents too? You should meet with the missionaries and they could teach you how much Heavenly Father loves you!”

See! Easy huh! Ha ha. Brandon don’t roll your eyes. Will you all try this week? In family prayer, ask Heavenly Father to give you the courage. I don’t think Brittany will have a problem. There are so many people, even in Utah, that need the gospel! (And who need a friend!)

I love you family! Thanks for being so great! Remember not to let Satan stop you from doing the important things!

Sister Painter

Here is the picture's of Carlee's very good friend, Sister Blackham in Santiago, Chile. It is a large city, much different from the small area that Carlee is in.