Sister Carlee Jacklin: Minnesota!!!

Hellooo Family!!!

So I am so happy to hear that Oreo is okay!!! I had a horrible dream that she died and you and dad decided just to buy another dog so that I wouldn't notice when I came home!!! It was horrible!!! But that's okay! I know that nothing bad will happen! And you certainly wouldn't just replace Oreo at the drop of a hat! hahaha! It was weird! And don't worry! I will probably just sleep on the floor! hahaha!

So my sleeping has been better! I still have a few nights where I wake up thinking I'm still teaching! hahaha! I probably talk a lot in my sleep! But my trainer doesn't know because she's so exhausted, she never wakes up in the middle of the night!

We got a hold of Sister Brenner, the couple that is very bitter about the church. And she was so open with us!!! It made me very happy and we got some awesome Brenner sweatshirts and T-shirts that I'll have to take a picture of for you to see. It was awesome!

So I had a crazy hard time this Sunday! I was doing great! I got ready in the morning, I studied hard and prayed hard and then we went to ward council. At the end of ward council however, the young women's president came up to us and asked if we would be willing to share what our moms helped us with being a missionary. And the tears wouldn't stop coming... I fought them through Sacrament, Sunday School, and well.. I couldn't stop them in third hour... The young women came into relief society and said the theme. I started and realized that probably about 2 hours before me, you and the young women had recited this and the tears would not stop. Luckily, Sister Ostler, the young woman's president, was a big crier too so we both cried. I started by saying that I was still a very green missionary so talking about my mom was hard to do without crying. And sister Ostler said, "Oh no! And I asked you to think about your mom!!! I am so sorry!" It was funny! But I probably didn't stop crying until we were in the car on our way to our next appointment. So ya... I probably will not stop missing home through my whole mission but I know I'm where I need to be.

Teaching is amazing out here! I still hate tracting and probably always will! But that's okay! We all have challenges in the mission! It doesn't mean I won't tract! haha! I met a lot of people this week! One of them was sister Cheeks! Awesome name right? She is not a member but her husband is. She was super closed off when we went to see her because she had been informed that week that they had to move. She was super frustrated but we let her vent to us and she felt a lot better. We also helped her sons sort through their clothes and helped her clean a few things. Then we returned on Saturday because she found out she wasn't moving anymore! So we decided to help her do some deep cleaning in her kitchen! She was soooo funny! She loves a cleaner that she gets at the dollar store that is really good and she went on and on about it! She's a super sassy black lady that is super loud and funny! We love her! She was so grateful that we came and really opened up to us! When we had met her earlier this week, she hated it when we called her sister Cheeks and by the end of that hour that we cleaned with her, she called herself sister Cheeks! We'll be going back to make cupcakes with her and hopefully teach her a little!

We are mostly cleaning on P-days. The sisters before us got a little trunky and left the apartment a mess! One of the bowls in the fridge was more mold than food. We ended up just throwing the whole bowl away! Sister Tingey showed me some of the people she met in her last area and we talked about our interests. She wants to be an architect when she goes home and goes back to school! I also told her about the tradition we had of three scoops of ice cream for good behavior in church and she thought that was brilliant! We actually just had a rule change made by our new president, President Forbes. He said that if we take a member, we can go 30 to 40 min outside our areas to do fun stuff! He actually REQUIRES that we go out and have fun at least 2 times per transfer and is requiring that we have a zone P-day activity! That was exciting! President Clements was very strict so President Forbes is kind of throwing the older missionaries off a bit. He's a lot more relaxed! We decided that we have some ladies in the ward that are sisters that we're going to try and take with us to do something fun! They remind me of me and Taylor when we were living at grandma and grandpa's! One of the ladies is married and the other lives with her and her husband. They are fantastic!!!! I'll have to tell you their story sometime! It's awesome! But P-days are fun and I look forward to them every week!

I send my emails from a library here in Savage. It's really pretty and very tempting. I really got into reading before coming here so it's been hard to see all of these awesome books and not be able to check them out! The librarians here are so nice to us too!

My companion is great! She's really fun! She has a bit of a problem with being negative but hopefully I can stay optimistic through it. Trust me.. I'm going to be the most positive person on this planet when I get home!!! :) We have had a lot of fun! Especially when we bike. I have a really hard time getting off my bike so it's been a source of entertainment for her. I actually fell off my bike once and got stuck at the same time, almost losing my skirt. Luckily she was there to untangle my skirt without pulling it off! hahahaha!!! She's very bold which is great for a missionary to have! We have a lot of people who like to put up excuses but she pulls them all down within a sentence. She's great! It's funny because we were having a ton of fun one night and she goes, "This is so weird! We've known each other for only a few weeks!" and we laughed!

Funny things... YES!!! We have had some pretty bad air these last couple of days and the sun was an amazing deep red color! Sister Tingey was driving but wanted a picture so I had to reach her camera behind her head to get the picture! We probably looked so weird!!! And then I had to look something up on an ancient gps from one of the zone leaders and sister Tingey said I looked like a radio host and laughed her head off. The gps looks like a small television. That's how old it is...heehee!

We also were invited by a lady in the ward to her son's wedding reception. We did not want to go because we thought we had better things to do. But we both felt we needed to go. So I started to cry because I imagined myself being just like dad, going around talking to people like he does and somehow getting them to open up. It was hard and sister Tingey likes to hold hands so we held hands. Well... the car door in front of us opened and out popped sister Cheeks! She literally jumped out of her car to say hello as we were stopped at a light! Sister Tingey was so embarrassed because we were still holding hands!!! hahahaha! It was so funny! Especially since sister Cheeks really did jump completely out of the car to say hi! I can just imagine how funny it looked to see a crazy sassy black lady jump out of her car to say hi to the missionaries!!! It was awesome!!!

And the wedding reception was amazing! I told myself that if we were going to go... I would have to get over my fears and be more like dad! And I got to know an amazing couple! The woman is an inactive and her husband is a non member! We got to know them and got their info to send to missionaries in their area.They weren't from ours. Then brother Ostler, the ward mission leader... remember he is a very good mission leader and is not afraid of getting after us... came up to us just as we were getting ready to leave. I knew he was thinking that we were slacking off so I immediately panicked. A thought came to my mind, "ask this brother if his wife has taken him to church!" so I did, and Brother Ostler's face changed. He realized that our whole purpose was to find people and he was very happy after that. We also got to know a woman in the ward who's daughter is a missionary in..... the NEW YORK UTTICA MISSION!!!! Yaay! Her name is Sister Miller from Savage Minnesota!! If grandma and grandpa know her, her family is taking care of me and sister Tingey! And I know that she's taken care of too!!!

I just want to thank you mom! Thank you for being that example of love, obedience, and faith for me! I know that if you hadn't been such an amazing example, I would not be the person or missionary that I am. I am so much more prepared because you prepared me. I am like a stripling warrior, I do not doubt because my mother knows this gospel. I love you sooooo much and I miss you! I look forward to the day when I go down that escalator and see you and the family cheering for me. I miss you but I know this is where I am meant to be.

Thank you dad! Thank you for being an example of courage, patience, and boldness for me. I have let go of my fears and I am going out of my way to know people. I have stopped caring about what others think about me and more about what the Lord thinks about them. I would not be that without you as my example! I love you and miss you! I am so thankful knowing that I have such an awesome mom and dad waiting for me!

Tell the boys and Jen that I love them! Tell them to keep going and keep strengthening their testimonies of Jesus Christ! I love you guys so much! Give each other hugs and kisses for me! Kiss Oreo for me and I will see you, coming August 9th... in 17 MONTHS!!! I've almost been out a month!!! Crazy right???? The work is moving forward and I am excited!!!

Love you all!!!!!!! I will see you in 17 months!!! I like saying that!! heehee! it makes me feel like time is moving!

Love,

Sister Jacklin

P.S.

Some pictures!

My first district, all minnesota elders! And one of my MTC teachers.

Me and Elder Jolley!

The signs we made for our new sisters!

My tag for Melissa!

Me, my companions, and our new sisters!

Can you guess who that is???? :) I actually first saw her right after my companion drove away from the MTC! Tender Mercy!!!