The promises we have are real!!

Carlie just received the sad news that her Grandpa Tom was tragically killed in a car accident this last week.

As the very fortunate adopted children and grandchildren of our beloved Tom and Cathy,

we salute in loving honor and memory, the heart of gold inside this contagious man.

Who else could have that smile on his face and "Bah Humbug" (Certified 100% Scrooge) on his shirt!?

Only Tom.  'Something else again!!'

Until we meet again ....

Hey!

I love you all a lot! 

I definitely was not very happy to get the news of Grandpa.  I am really, really sad.  I love him!  I miss him already!  It was so sudden!  I love Grandma Cathy so much.  We sure are lucky to have those people in our lives!  I could not be more grateful to have them as my grandma and grandpa.  Their examples of courage and faith in our God have given me so much strength.  What would we have done without our sweet stories and memories of grandpa Tom?  I have very fond memories of him telling the story of Lauren kicking him in the belly and his sweet horsey laugh.  I know that my testimony of eternal families is going to be even more earnest and even more sincere!  Since I know I am supposed to be here, I am going to tell even more people that families are forever.  I don´t really have anything else except a whole boat load of love, and faith that the promises we have are real!

This week was full of miracles!  God is good!  Even though this life is really hard and there are so many broken things, God can and is healing all! 

 

We have some awesome investigators! Rodrigo was baptized yesterday and it was awesome.  It was on his birthday so that made it even more fun.  He turned 11.  The water heater was broken so the poor kid had to be baptized in ice cold water but he was a good sport.   We gave him the option to wait but he did not want to.  We ate dinner with his family afterwards, and our work with them is not done! They are a sweet family and I really want this baptism to be the first step of having the Lord more in their lives.  Rodrigo is a great example for all of them.

Vania is our next baptism and she is ready!  I am so excited for her!  Her smile gets bigger and brighter every time I see her!  I love her and her family so much!  This has now been seven days that Paula has not smoked!  It is amazing how many beautiful miracles are happening in their family!  I pray every day that they will continue!  I want their entire family to have the blessings of this gospel! I just love them more and more every day.  Their entire family has hearts of gold.  I am usually actually pretty patient with my lack of Spanish except when I find I can´t express my love for them. They are making so many beautiful changes! 

We have been blessed with a lot of beautiful investigators.  The bad news of the week is Isidora asked us to give her a little break.  She is not sure how she is feeling.  We are so frustrated because she keeps coming to us with questions that are so obviously not hers but her parents.  I am really hoping to work with her parents this week.  She has a testimony but she just can´t do it without her family. 

I have others but I am kind of waiting for them to start progressing before I write about them ... is that cool?

I have not written a "pulling a Carlie" for a while so here are two this week.  It rained pretty hard one day and when I walked into my apartment that night I announced to the other sisters that I was very purple (mohado and morado are very similar words;)) and then to make things better in a very spiritual part of a lesson when I went to read a scripture,  I started reading in English and did not realize it until someone stopped me.  Sometimes I follow along in English so I can have a good bearing of what is going on and I had forgotten they were in English.  So many palabras in me mente y no puedo tell which palabras son en inglese and which ones are in Spanish! 

I love you all a lot!  I am almost out of time.  Sorry this one was really short.  We are back to two in our companionship now.  My companion se va on Wednesday.  I was super bummed!  You guys have no idea how much I love her!  That is okay though because she was pretty excited to get to her actual mission.  I don´t blame her.  I would feel the same. 

To answer questions about how I get around -- it is practically always walking. We have a little sector that takes probably three hours to walk across.  I have never been to the top of our sector though so it is not like we walk the length of it in a day.  We spend most of our time in the valley.  My area is really really similar to Salt Lake.  All of the rich people live at the top.  We don't usually contact up there so we are only up there if we have a cita.  I eat rice EVERY DAY. (Yes, that to me is a sign that God loves me.)  I am not tired of it yet!  My sector is this odd mix of Utah, (the mountains and who lives where and the stores) California, (the weather and the palm trees) and South America (of course the language and the dogs.)  I think that was it.  I love you all!

Love Carlie

We bring angels with us!

Meet my new companion, Hermana Pereyra

(From Chile -- awaiting a visa.)

July 22, 2013

Dear family,

So this week was awesome. I felt really focused on families all week which means I thought about you guys a lot! We have a lot of really awesome investigators, but the problem is a lot of them are jovenes and can't make these changes without a family to back them up. I studied all about families all week and I testified about you guys over and over again. It was absolutely beautiful! God has a plan for us and we can't do it without families! There are a lot of broken families all around the world. Our best thinking can pull families apart when we just focus on ourselves, but wow it is beautiful to see the miracles that come as we focus on our families. 

There are so many different people here! It is a really weird feeling because every day we talk to so many different people with different stories! Every one is different, with different hopes, dreams, fears, and beliefs! It is pretty intense how different each life can be. There is one group of apartments in particular that has all different sizes, and types so when we knock on the door we have no idea what we are going to find. Sometimes we find a giant family crammed in to a small space, and sometimes we find a lonely old man living alone in a giant apartment. Here is the interesting part. Preach My Gospel says that it does not matter the problem, this gospel can help with all issues.  For a little while I kind of thought how could preach my gospel have the audacity to just assume that. But then I started thinking about this gospel and Nephi when he said that it has to be an infinite atonement.  Of course this gospel can help and bless everyone. We are backed by an infinite atonement. The trick is choosing that infinite atonement. 

The best way to use that atonement is by learning it in the home! I have four different investigators with different stories ... each one has a different reason why they need their family but each one needs them!  It is really interesting!

Rodrigo- his mom is inactive. We are working with his mom a lot. He cannot go to the church with out her. I love his mother - the women works so hard for her two kids. She really wants her son to get baptized which is really helpful.  She does not have very much motivation to stop and change, for herself, but she does for their kids! 

Isidora- Her parents are not really interested.  Every time she stops by she continues to talk about how she just feels totally alone! I want to help her but I am not really sure how. I think the answer is the same with Rodrigo -- she needs her family! The problem is, right now, her family is not super interested. This week I hope to work more with her mom. 

Vania- Vania is the daughter of Paula, I love Paula and her family! Wow they are super wonderful! They are coming to church and progressing at very different rates. Vania wants to get baptized and is ready! I love to watch her smile when we go to their house!  She loves this gospel and has a testimony.  Paula is awesome and just needs to feel the blessings of the gospel.  She is a little worried because she says getting baptized is like getting married to God. I did not disagree with her when she said that. I am glad she sees baptism as a life change because that is what it is. 

Mariana- Mariana´s mom is a recent convert.  Her mom is great but their family never is around each other. Every time Marianna prays she asks God to bless her family that they will be more united. She needs her family. She is not ready to make such a big decision on her own.

There you have it, a less active, a recent convert, an investigator that is interested and an investigator that really wants nothing to do with us. All four of those sets of parents are parents of children who are progressing toward baptism. It is pretty intense. All have different stories but all need their families!

The best part of the week was when I testified of families with a less active family. The dad served a mission and everything so it is pretty sad that they are not active anymore. I felt the Spirit really strong -- I was not sure why.  I started thinking of my little sister. The day before a sweet lady that we eat lunch with said it was a blessing when we go to her house because we bring angels with us. That is when I realized Lauren was there! After the movie was over, in my very broken Spanish I bore the best testimony I possibly could about families!  I testified of their happiness here and after this life! I told them that God has a better plan but we can only have it when we follow the principles of the gospel! It was pretty cool! I don't get to bare my testimony very often with an angel backing me up! So the answer is Taylor, Yes Lauren is here! and I do feel her and she is beside me! It has been really beautiful!

So as for other things life is great here! We continue to experience problems in that place where we almost got robbed. My companions were pretty funny last night! Oh yeah that is the other thing I have a new companion. She is from Santiago so she is not going to be with us very long.  She is waiting for a visa for Equador.  She is probably the sweetest girl ever! Every night she thanks me and my comp probably five times for everything we taught her that day. She has only been a member for a year and a half! She is so amazing! I totally want to be like her when I grow up! She is so giving and would never hurt a fly! It think that is it! Sorry Sara I did not get your email but I am glad you wrote and Heather I loved your email thanks!:) I love the stories about Alden! What a sweet baby! Those pictures are so cute! And I did not even notice any hair cut too short! Okay I have to write really fast! Oh my word! One of my investigators (who is really just an investigator because he wants to learn English) is outside the library singing! I love Chile! Sara your emails make me laugh out loud every time! I love it! Thanks! 

Love you all a ton! I think you are all beautiful and hope you have a wonderful week! Go on splits with the missionaries or send them a referral .... they will love you for ever!!!!

Love Carlie

I could not be happier that I am here in Chile!

July 15, 2013
Family!!

How are you all!? I love all of your faces so very much and I adored reading all of the letters.

This week was absolutely wonderful and super, super hard! I have a feeling that is how it is going to be every week, yeah!? I can't even describe how much I have learned. This whole learning a language thing and not being able to talk in my native language has been absolutely beautiful! I am learning so much. 

Here is what I wrote in my journal because I don´t really know how else to describe it. 

Wow I am amazed God really knows me! I write that and think of all of the times I generally said that or was taught that but I learned it on a much different level than ever before. I asked God in the CCM for more faith humility and patience. When I asked God for these things I thought I would one day just discover that I had patience because God has all power and He would one day grant me the gifts of Christlike attributes. I was very wrong. God granted me the perfect lesson plan!!  He did not just grant me the attributes. Now I find the attributes growing inside of me. It is so beautiful though, because He used the most beautiful things to teach me this lesson. I needed to learn attributes of Christ, so God gave me something secular to learn; Spanish. He knows me! Remember? Entonces he used learning something new (something I LOVE to do) to teach me these eternal truths. But that is not all with that He added a supportive family, companion and awesome pre-lessons in the CCM for scaffolding. Put that all together and with an overwhelming feeling of love for the people who speak this language, and I am not just learning Spanish .... learning Spanish is the side effect. Wow I have a good God! I wish there was someone who could write out this lesson plan! He is even teaching me how to teach as he teaches me! I keep trying to follow this lesson plan. I will think I know where He is leading me but as my comp said today he teaches us and we don't really realize it at first. I know I am not done. I have a lot more Spanish to learn and I know the lesson plans will not stop after I finish the Spanish part. 

The ward here is great! I presented myself yesterday and it went really well. Every thing I say right now is pretty simple but I am coming to discover that that is enough. We have some awesome families that I am excited to work with and hopefully we will get more lessons in the homes of members. I am starting to understand what it means to do my job better. When it says invite others to come unto Christ I think a big part of that is just loving everyone. That to me includes members, non members, investigators, menos activos, and converso recentes. 

We have some awesome families we are working with. Paola´s family is doing great! They are so fun! I love going to their home because there is always something exciting going on. I hope that they understand that this stuff we are teaching is not just a nice story with nice people, but principles that can change their lives! I think that is important. We are going to try to communicate that to them next. 

I am worried about Isidora.  She is such a sweet heart. Her whole family needs this gospel! I wish there was a way for me to help them understand that but I think without the spirit they won´t fully get that concept. We are trying to work with the whole family because if not, I don´t know if Isi can stand on her own. I want to think of a way to help the parents understand what they could have if they would just really listen. 

Mariana is sixteen. She almost has a baptismal date but she has fear. I want to help her family as well.  Her mom Laures is a amazing but is not around very much. Every time Marian prays she asked God to help us help her family, because they are not very close. I want to help them all so bad! I can tell Mariana wants the blessings the gospel offers for families not just individuals. 

So for the exciting parts of Chile... okay not exciting maybe just the parts I don´t like. We have an area that is super sketchy in the evening and we were walking one day when we saw two men walking straight towards us. I did not think anything of it but my companion freaked out. Luckily we knew someone else in the street and we turned quickly to talk to her. I guess the men were talking about me speaking English and supposedly they think all people who speak English here are rich I guess, so my comp thinks we almost got robbed.  It was a party.  Lets be honest .... if they robbed me they would get a whole whopping dos mil, a bunch of Libros de Mormon and la Bible. My companion was pretty sad because she had sopapias and it is true that would be a tragic thing to lose (this delious deep fried bread that love here in Chile!) Tambien, I almost got hit by a car. The cars go so fast here and I am surprised there are not more accidents. But it was pretty scary. Finally I get whistled at and lots of kissing noises here. It is pretty funny. Not very many people here have light hair and light eyes .... entonces I kind of stand out. 

My companion is the best in the world! I freaking adore her! She is so sweet and she is so patient when I have something to say and it takes me a good twenty minutes to finally get it out. Also I got to see my friends from the CCM! There was a conference. I am pretty sure all of us looked like deers in the headlight but it was pretty exciting. 

I love you all so very much! Sorry this email was long I just have so many feelings! Ha ha no but life is good! I could not be happier I am here in Chile! I am definitely enjoying being a Missionary! I love all of it and I love all of these people! Thanks for the emails!

Love Hermana Carlie Webb

God has a better plan for us.

Familia!!!

What is up!??

First: last week ... It was a crazy week!! I had to say goodbye to my district which was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I had the best teachers and district ever!! I love that place! I am definitely going to miss it!  I finished the Libro de Mormon!! Wow that was a lot of reading! Definitely can´t speak fluent... ha ha that is okay, it was a really awesome experience to read it all in three weeks. I finished it with my roommate from Guatemala and I would read it three times for how sweet that experience was!! 

This week has been great. Hard, but great! It has definitely been a week full of ups and downs. I have a really awesome companion. She is really patient with my Spanish and super helpful! Her name is Hermana Maciel. She is so sweet! I am going to love being her companion. We definitely have a hard time communicating. I can definitely say that is going to be the hardest part of my mission so far! I love to talk and figure out my head by talking to other people but I kind of can´t do that here. That is okay my prayers have gotten really really beautiful, recuse when I don't know a word in Spanish He thankfully knows that same word in English! My companion is a perfectionist! It is hilarious! I make fun of her because I have spent more time staring at her try to white out a mistake with her little correcter than many other things here is Chile - -  it is hilarious! She is really sweet though! I have had quite a few down mornings and she is always good to me. She says some pretty profound things that surprisingly I can understand! 

 I am learning every day what it really means to serve with all my heart, might mind and strength. It is not easy. Satan is really good at what he does, but I have learned so much!!  I love my ward!  We get fed lunch every day!! Que bacan!!  I know I am spoiled with that blessing!  I love my area also! We have a lot of people to teach and a lot of work to do! The two I am most excited about is two different families. The first family is a part member family. Paula, the daughter and Aldalfo, the nephew are both members. There are five kids and the parents. The dad came to church for the first time this last week and they are so fun to teach. They have three older daughters and then two little boys! The house is always full of laughter, food, and chatter! They have so many questions and that is one of the times I get most frustrated and want to learn Spanish the most! I want to help answer those questions. I have had a lot of the same questions! It is definitely my favorite house to visit. I got to testify of eternal families which is my favorite thing to testify of. It is amazing how much more Spanish I know when I am putting more trust in my Savior. Then after that their whole family prayed together! It was so beautiful!! The other family is a family of this little girl someone found six months ago. Her name is Isidora. Isidora is so sweet and we are teaching the grandma as well. Friday we had an awesome lesson with the mom about families. I really hope to include the rest of the family. 

Chile is awesome!  I have three roommates other than my companion. They are all from ... of course South America, so it is all Spanish all of the time. Except of course when it is time to study idioma, this is my favorite part of the day! I feel very smart because I know what the word for chair is!! 

I am sure you are all wondering, how is my Spanish... ha ha well it is good.... and then not so good at the same time! I have a lot to learn that is sure! I understand a lot. When I am in room with a bunch of people talking I can pretty much always tell you what the conversation is about. If I am listening to a sacrament meeting or a lesson I understand pretty much all. Talking is a whole other story. Whoever came up with the idea to conjugate verbs and then make every verb irregular is a mean person!! Talking is hard for me! Some days I feel like I am not learning any at all but that is okay I have to be learning at least a little bit right? Learning a new language is a very interesting experience! I miss being able to express certain concepts. The word I miss the most: awkward!!! Spanish does not have one good word for awkward and it is one of my favorite words! So I have taught everyone I can what that word means. But the good news is the word they use for being surprised is lluta!! (pronounced Utah) Bacan eh?! 

My area is a creepy mix of California and Utah! The mountains are just like Utah and the big ones are to the east! I love this area! We walk pretty much everywhere but take the bus probably once a day. The bus here is called the metro and it is crazy fast!!  Our sector has really really poor people who sell in the streets for money all of the way to really really rich people who have giant houses and servants and then everyone in between! It has been really interesting! Everyone here is super nice like everyone says! We definitely get a lot of addresses of people who are just trying to be nice! I spend a lot of time in lessons and I can't help but think of how grateful I am!  If I was Sara or Heather I would have to be in the streets more often .... wow! You guys are amazing!! 

I have p-days on Mondays and I have an hour and half to write. I have not gotten the package yet but would love one. And if you guys want to send me another package I won't stop you. If you could send some peanut butter squared bars I would be most very grateful!!! Also a small English hymn book and a bright colored shirt. That package does not have to come now but soon would be good. 

I love you all so much!! I hope that is good to let you guys know a little more about what is going on. I love my life! It is so hard here! I cry like every day but I am learning so much! It is exactly what Emilee says. It is so hard, but I am learning lessons that I don't think I could learn anywhere else! I am learning how to truly devote myself to God! I have been truly humbled!  I need Him!  I need his love and His power!  There is no way I could do any of this stuff without him! That lady in our ward (Denise) was right! ... our best thinking will lead us no where good. I think that includes our desires. What we think we desire most will lead us nowhere unless God desires it too!  God has a better plan for us! I testify of that! 

Love you all! I pray for all of you every day!! 

Love Hermana Webb

I am in Apoquindo!!!!

Familia ...

Guess what!?  I am in still in Chile pero ahor estoy en el campo!!  I have had a great and interesting day.  My companion is freaking adorable and I can tell we are going to be really great friends! .... As soon as I learn her language!!  :-)  Her name is Hermana Maciel.  I already love her.

I love my mission president and his wife!  They are so sweet and act like my Chilean mom and dad.  At the meeting today, he spoke about losing yourself in the work.  It was great.  I have my P-days on Monday's now.

Life is wonderful!!  I learn more every day and I am going to learn some serious Spanish very quick now that my companion is a native.  We will learn a lot together because she has been out for 3 months.  Party!!  Love you all!!

My spirits are very high and my first official night of tracting is tonight!!  Please write and tell everyone else to write too because I love letters!!

God lives!  This is HIS work and I am so grateful that I and everyone else here can be in His hands!!!

Love you all!

Love,

Hermana Webb

Mision Chile Santiago Este

Cristo'bal Colo'n 6824

Casilla 27.144 Las Condes

Region Metropolitana

Santiago, Chile

Miracles happen every day

June 25, 2013

Hola from Chile!

This week was so great! God is so good!  Lets be honest -- I say that every day.  So up first is what we call "pulling a Webb". Today I asked my roommate if she needed to wash her horse in the shower.... Just in case you were wondering horse and hair in Spanish are not even that close capillo y pelo.... yeah I know I am smart!  Also the first night when we had new roommates they were both really short.  I mean one of my roommates I really think is half of my height.  So she could not get to the top bunk... It was pretty funny as we were trying to help her to the top.  So I, trying to be a nice person, told her in my broken Spanish that I would switch her beds.  She said no but thankyou in a weird way and I thought she was saying yeah that would be be great!  So I proceeded to switch the sheets. You can imagine what went through the girls head as this strange gringo girl started taking her blanket off her bed... whoops! Don´t people know I have the vocabulary of a three year old right now!!?

 

We got a new batch of people.  I am now in the group that has been here the longest and we have cabin fever! I am pretty sure my district laughs at everything. The other night we played sea animals in the hall and we laughed for proabably twenty minutes about hiding in someones bed.... Yeah we are wierd but it is good.

 

I love my district so much! We are all so different but it is so fun! My companion and I have surprisingly got a long really well.  There are of course some moments but that is to be expected. I laugh more here than I think I ever have before.  My companion continues to embarrass herself everday and I feel bad because a lot of the laughter comes at her expense... Good thing she laughs along with us! 

 

So I thought I was corny... turns out I am not!! These people say more corny things to each other than I thought possible! That is okay it makes for a really funny quote page! It is funny because they will just hug each other day and will think that I want to join that hug... I don't.  Not because I don´t love them but because I don't like to hug all day:).  So now when ever I do hug someone it is like a miracle.  It is fun because it feels like every personality is needed and every personality fits into our corny little puzzle.  Yes I know I am getting worse...

 

I finally got to play with kids! I am so happy! We played ball tag. There was a little group of kids here that stayed here for a week. They live nine hours away and every year they all get on a bus and come here for a week and go to the temple everday and sometimes twice. They were my favorite because by the end of the week they followed us around!  I miss them!  It was so nice to play with them again. We talked about scriptrues, played games, and sang primary songs.  I love my life!!  It felt really good to see the way they looked at me.  I felt like this big hero ... I feel pretty awesome that I get to wear a black badge every morning!

 

So I am almost done with Alma in the Book of Mormon.  I love that book!  It is so funny because you would think God would try to push me to gain a stronger testimony of things I don't have as strong of a testimony in but wow I just keep feeling more and more secure about that book!  It is true!  Not only is it true but it really does have the power to change all of our lives!  Ah what a blessing!  I am learning so much! I am not only learning a TON of Spanish but I am learning the language of love.  I can testify that if you read that book in the right way in your mission language I believe God will help you understand and speak better love for the people you will serve!  I love these people and I love their language! No matter how many stupid a´s, la´s and del´s they put into all of their sentences.  I wish I had time to write all of the miracles, they happen everyday!

 

Love you all!

I love you all, I hope you know!!

June 18, 2013

Dear Familia! 

Hey!! How goes life in Peru/California/Salt lake?

Life is super tremendous down here! It is getting colder everyday. I love the CCM! We had a p day today and now I am thinking I am not as excited to leave. Everyone is so nice here. They are all Mormon and they all smile at me and when I don't talk fast and ask what? a million times they don't even seem frustrated. Ha ha. I am sure I will get used to it outside but for now it is pretty intense.

My Spanish is a lot better!  I am reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish. I read thirty pages a day so I can finish by the end of the CCM. It is helping a ton! I am learning a lot! My discussion was much better the last lesson I had. My teacher said my spanish was mucho mejor. So that made me happy!

 

So I love my companion! The poor girl had probably the most embarrassing week of her life! The best story was when we were at dinner. I was sitting and eating with her and two of my other awesome friends. One of them said something super hilarious and just as she was drinking water.  She was laughing so hard and was trying so hard to not spit out the water that she stopped breathing and passed out!!!  I am not kidding! To give you an idea of how much we laugh here, ... she passed out! I love my life! I can't tell you the other stories but they were pretty funny.   Just know that I have had a lot of really good laughs this week because of my hilarious companion.
 

I have finally gotten to play with some kids! I love them! There is a big ward here that drove a day to see the temple and are staying here for a week. I am so happy to be playing with kids again!!

I am trying to think of what else to tell all yall. I am happy here! I am learning so much! I have already been here for four weeks how weird is that!? We are now the oldest group in the CCM. All of the Latinas left this morning. We will go through three groups of Latinas. We leave with the group that is coming in now.  I am so excited!   Hopefully my Spanish will improve a lot by then. God told me I would be surprised so we will see what that means:].
 

I love you all! I hope you know