Yep. I am now serving in Carlsbad, thanks to a really random mid-transfer switch. My new ward boundaries go right up to the Pacific Ocean! Now I understand why people come to this area to vacation. :)

My new companion is Sister Jones, and she's a sweetheart. She hails from Spanish Fork, UT (I was wondering when I was going to get another Utah companion!). So far, the people that I've met in this ward are awesome. 

I miss San Marcos a whole lot. I hope all of my San Marcos family knows how much I love them! They're always have a place in my tiny, shriveled heart. ;)

Okay, I've gotta run! Stay posted for new adventures from the heart of the Carlsbad mission. 

Love,

Sister B

This is me, following up (like Elder Ballard told me to) on a challenge that was issued a few weeks back, and then reinforced by me.

Have you been #SharingGoodness lately? ;) I know that you all have some wonderful things happening in your lives. Don't be afraid to share them! If you are on any sort of social media site (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc), watch --->this presentation<--- by Elder Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to figure out ways that you can help sweep the Earth as with a flood.

Since last week, I have had many adventures.

1. I have gone ice skating with a whole bunch of awkward missionaries

2. I have eaten Killer Pizza from Mars

3. I have found an adorable baby turtle eating leaves

4. I have saved a baby from an icy tomb

5. I have discovered my aura

Really, I don't know how you go on a mission and not have adventures!

Ok, I don't have a lot of time to write this week, but be certain that I am alive and well, and that I am going thrift shopping today so I am one happy puppy.

:)

Love,

Sister B

I just had something else written out to send to all of you today, and I went on to lds.org to find a good talk to link you all to.

On the front page, I saw the smiling face of one of my very good friends. I haven't stopped smiling since.

This is Brother Stephen Jezek.

He's one of my favorite members of my Vista family. When I met Brother Jezek, he was working on being re-baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He would sit on the side of the classroom in Gospel Principles and pipe up with comments that I think I've shared with you a few times. I love the way he explains things.

I've never seen a man's life change more quickly. Like he explains in the video, Brother Jezek was able to feel the spirit through indexing, or making images of records available as searchable content by transcribing them. I had honestly never heard of indexing until I heard about it from Brother Jezek.

Brother Jezek's baptism, which I had the opportunity to teach at, was something I will never forget. The Spirit was so powerfully present as that man, who had worked so hard to overcome addictions and his past, was able to enter the waters of baptism once again and be reunited with the church he had come to love so much. What a blessing to see such joy in being baptized!

Isn't it amazing how true this gospel is? That something as simple as transcribing information from photographs can lead to the changing of a life? Brother Jezek is living proof of that! The Spirit of God is present in every aspect of God's work, even the seemingly mundane details. Never underestimate the power of the Spirit on a willing heart.

My week has been long, but putting it into the eternal perspective, worth it. We've had a lot of meetings and the beginning of our exchanges, and that was all pretty stressful. Having made it through, I can appreciate the opportunity to push past my own comfort in order to do the work of the Lord.

I love all of you! I hope that, if anything, we can all get a little bit more of the eternal perspective into our lives this week. I know that I will be trying extra hard to see situations, and especially people, as God sees them.

Love,

Sister B

The ward members are wonderful, hilarious, and supportive; the area is beautiful; and I've been here long enough to finally feel like a member of the ward family. There's no greater feeling.

As for my week, it's been a long but good one. I can't even remember last p-day, because this week has been jam-packed with people, places, and things. We've had dinners with some of my favorite people, missionary meetings galore, parties, lunches, and who knows what else. 

Something I really enjoyed this week was being able to watch part of Elder Bednar's talk during Education Week a few weeks ago. It's the #ShareGoodness campaign, and it encourages everyone to use social media to share happiness; really, Elder Bednar is encouraging all of us to genuinely share ourselves and our beliefs. I love that!

About two years ago (holy mackerel, has it really been that long?) I started OYSMF as a way to share my preparations for a mission with other sisters like me. I ultimately planned on using it as a platform for posting my emails, so that everyone who cared to could have access to my missionary life. 

I've come to realize that having a blog, or a Facebook account, or tweeting or Instagramming or everything else that I can use to connect with others online, is an opportunity for me to share the joy that this Gospel brings to my life. The internet is a wonderful tool that Heavenly Father has provided for us to be able to connect to every part of the world. The internet hastens the Father's work in so many ways (FamilySearch, anyone?) and we are to be instruments in the Lord's hands!

Did you realize that sharing an uplifting post on Facebook is missionary work in action? Writing a blog post about your wholesome weekend activities is missionary work. Tweeting something kind is missionary work.

In all of the small ways, we are all called to the work of salvation. Some of us have the opportunity to wholly dedicate 18 months or 2 years, but that is not necessary to be a missionary.

I encourage all of you to start now! If you haven't, watch Elder Bednar's talk! Get educated. Swallow your pride and start using hashtags! ;) Whatever it is that you need to do to add your drop of goodness to this world, do it! Serve and inspire those around you with the light that you have.

We can do it! Together, we can "sweep the Earth as with a flood," as Elder Bednar suggested.

I love you all! Stay strong, and share your light with others!

Love,

Sister B

This week has been chock-full of spiritual growth and interesting people: one of my favorite kinds of weeks!

We've been busier than little worker ants (like Lisa enjoys calling us) trying to find more people to teach. It's a little bit harder than some areas in a place like southern California, where the people are generally middle-class and complacent with their lives.

Still, we're working on it. We've been visiting a lot of former investigators this week, and that always calls for a lot of adventures. One such adventure was with a woman named Millie. She lives in a small stucco house with a dirt yard that looked like it was imported straight from Mexico. Her pitbull's name is Chula and she's been studying with the Jehovah's Witnesses for a while now. When we talked to her about the gospel she wasn't interested, but we found out that she was trying to deliver a cactus to her neighbor, a family in our ward.

That's how we found ourselves wheeling a cactus across the desert to Millie's neighbor; Sister C was wheeling the cactus, and I was driving behind her in the car, using the headlights to illuminate her path. The coyotes were howling in the background, sounding like a pack of banshees straight from the pits of Hell. (I hate coyotes.)

We made it safely to the house, dropped off our cactus, and were on our way again, dropping off the dolly back at Millie's house. 

It's moments like that, more than anything, that make mission life awesome. Although Millie might not be interested in learning more about the church right now, being able to serve her was a much-needed adventure and blessing for us, and hopefully showed her that the Mormon missionaries are good to have around.

I love you all, and thank you so much for your support on this awfully big adventure of mine. Being a missionary is mostly hard, it's true, but it's the small moments of success and joy that make all of the stretching and breaking worth it. 

Have a FABULOUS week! Enjoy your return to autumn! California, I'm afraid, will still feel like summer, just as it has for the entire time I've been here, basically. :)

Love,

Sister B