Sister Carlee Jacklin: Love From Minnesota!

Hi Family!

hahahaha! I didn't realize that the notes were on the wrong caps! hahaha! I am so glad you got it! It has been plaguing me for the last 3 months! I am so glad!

I am sorry to say that I am not surprised that I was picked to train. I had a feeling. I wasn't too excited about it but I know that it was what the Lord wanted. It was really funny too when we went to pick them up. When we get new missionaries, we have the day to work in an area with another sister and I was picked to go back with Sister Terry in Burnsville!!!! So, Sister Terry knew that so she texted the M's and asked if we could see them that afternoon! So I got to say hi and see their new baby! When I first went in to see them, Brother M recognized who I was first and shouted and said that he wouldn't shake my hand but wanted to give me a hug and so he gave me an awkward side hug. :) Then I looked at Sister M and she was so tired! She looked super confused too! She had to have a C-section so she was recovering and she said that the first thought she had was, "Wow, that looks just like Sister Jacklin....wait... that IS Sister Jacklin!" It was great to see them again and we were able to get a picture with each other. I told Sister Tingey and she was sooo jealous! :) hahaha!

So, when we went to get our trainees, I was pretty nervous. Sister Terry said not to worry though because she knew I was a good missionary. That made me feel good. :) When we went in, Sister Forbes had us all sit together and she would tell each trainee who they were going with and that the trainers would introduce them. So, as luck would have it, just as I was last to go when I was a trainee, I was called last so I knew exactly who she was! It was funny because my first thought was, "Man! Of course I get the pretty one!" But her name is Sister Lacanienta (Lock-on-yent-ah). She is from just across the lake in Saratoga Springs Utah! Her dad is from the Philippines, that's why her name is so long and hard. It took me about a day and a half to finally get it! :) She was surprised that she was coming to Minnesota because her dad and two of her siblings all went to the Philippines so she was pretty surprised when she read, Minnesota Minneapolis!

I am not sure if she likes running. She had a hard time biking with me but she said she is willing to run! She does workouts like pinterest workouts and P90X. But you can't have P90X out here so we have been doing Pilates until it warms up. Then we will go running. You know, since I am in charge! :) haha but really, she said she is good with running. So, once it is FINALLY warm enough, we will go out running. Until then, I will enjoy the workouts I got from a missionary that returned home this last transfer! She was our STL and she gave it to us to keep and Sister Turner didn't want it so now I have a book of workouts! Cool right?

We were able to teach a woman named N! She has two cats and a dog named Tanner. He is a little red Pomeranian and is sooo cute! She is super nice! She has a friend that is really into the bible and is very literal with it. Nancy said that she was overwhelmed and just really wants to know the right way to follow Jesus Christ so we promised her that we will go slow with her. She was super open though which was great because for the longest time, we weren't able to see her! I am excited to see where this goes!

We also have been doing a ton of tracting. Of course, I believe that God has a sense of humor, I got sent a trainee that is very gung-ho about tracting so we have done a lot of it! I am doing okay, especially since she is willing to teach. I don't have to worry about teaching the restoration all by myself. But, funny story, we were tracting on Sunday afternoon before dinner and a woman named L let us in. I have been finally finding a balance where you are able to fit the Restoration into the conversation. So we were talking to her and I was able to point the conversation and started teaching her the Restoration. After we left, Sister Lacanienta turned to me and said, "Wow, I had no idea for a minute what to do back there! All of a sudden we were talking and then pow! We were teaching her the Restoration!" I was kind of shocked. I thought to myself, "Well, that's kind of what tracting is for..." but it was fun! I explained to her that when people are willing, we need to try and find a way to teach them the Restoration. So, I talked about how with time, she will be able to fit it into the conversation and teach many people. She is a great missionary and I am sure that with time, she will start to retain some of the stuff that I teach. Sometimes she asks me what to do over and over and I have to remind myself that she isn't like the 3 other companions that I had.

So, I am starting to learn how to budget better. I did have a flub up happen with my trainee. Her card didn't have enough money on it so I had to pay for part of our groceries on my own personal card. It was about 20 dollars. ugh... So I am going to be better about having extra and not paying too much for food. I really have to be better about it. I like what you said about eating healthy. I felt like that was the problem this month. We would get healthy stuff and it would cost a ton of money because it was the name brand version of some type of food when there was a generic one that was identical next to it. Hopefully, with the better food that we just bought that is cheaper, we should be able to budget better. We also cut the desserts on the member dinner calendar to just the weekends. The members of the ward didn't seem too happy but we explained to them that, even though it is only dessert for them once a week or month, we are having dessert almost everyday! So, temporarily, we have cut desserts on the dinner calendar for the month to just the weekends. So that should be good! :)

Anyways, I am wondering how Taylor is doing? I haven't heard anything from her for quite some time now. Is she doing okay? Did her email change? Anyways, I was just curious. If she is busy don't worry about it! :) I also really enjoyed the card that I got with the gorilla on it! :) It totally fits! I think Sister Turner felt that way. She had a really hard time keeping up with my conversations. I think that I have either gotten better or Sister Lacanienta is exactly the same. I dunno! I asked her this morning when I put some fuzzy hot pink socks on that if she were a sesame street monster, what color would she be? She said light purple. hahaha :) My poor companions! :) Now, here is my reasoning, I always feel like a sesame street monster with those socks on so I thought to myself, "What color would I be if I were a monster?" I though yellow or pink. And then I was curious to know what Sister Lacanienta would be. And all of that reasoning happens in about 2 seconds. I dunno how it works but it does! :) Did I tell you that Sister Turner and I compared the district to Disney Princesses, Princes, and Villains? It was fun! :) I will tell you mine: Princess: Belle (apparently I look smart to everyone else), Prince: Eric (from little mermaid), Villain: The Queen from Snow White. :) I didn't get Rapunzel because we have an elder that is just a bit more ditsy than me. ;) hahaha!

Anyways, I love you guys so much! And I hope that you have an awesome week! LOVE YOU!!!

Love,

Sister Carlee Jacklin