Pictures of How I Mercifully Havent Gotten Fat, Praises for Running

1. Service Project in the lettuce... field.

2. This baby. Ridiculously chubby-cute and yet another reason for why Im going to have 12 kids. And all my babies are going to be fat.

3. Its the end of the world, this picture was taken in the morning right before my run. That would be the moon in the sky simultaneously with the sun.

Ia Oraaaaaana! 

Oh lo lo (expression here to express bemusement or connotes that there is a lot going on, like 'oh la la' but funnier to hear) it has been a long time since I really WROTE. The computer crashed in the middle of a replying to another letter last week and dashed my plans of sending pictures and whatnot.

Minor language update: functionally fluent in French, its kind of a funny joke with me, myself, and I when people first meet me and talk to me like im an immigrant and I reply with a nice smile and speak quickly and correctly in french. not all the time, just sometimes its fun to watch their whole demeanor change afterwards. tahitian is coming slowly but im going to keep working at it. I learn best by doing, and we dont have a ton of opportunities to speak so thats tricky. hopefully ill have the opportunity to serve on an outer island at some point and i can work on my tahitian more! 

(humble and all, ill go where im needed, but i would be lying if i said i wouldnt cry tears of joy if I got transferred to Raiatea at some point)

Spirituality update: pretty solid in the gospel. Every time I teach a person with a lot of questions, my testimony grows. I really respect people who have a lot of thoughtful questions. My first baptism (where I have taught since the first contact) is set for August 3rd!!!!! She is solid, her husband is already a member and the first lesson she told us that shes already read the Book of Mormon, shes halfway through the Doctrine & Covenants, and when can she be baptized. It was a joyful moment. 

I wish to present now, ladies and gentlemen, Mami Therese. (Yes, that translates to Mother Theresa in English.) This older lady is one of the most hillarious people Ive met here. After helping her build a small fence, she decided it was time to teach me how to dance. 

I hope everyone is doing well and is happy! I have now finished about 6 weeks into my time in the mission field which means 2 things: I have about 60 weeks left and I have finished my first full planner and after I transfer all of the important information to my new planner I will send it home and you can all marvel at how organized I have been over here. :) Per usual, not very much time. Alors, je vais ecrire les choses que j'ai appris cette semaine dernier. (About 90% of my day is in another language so I hope this letter makes sense.)

Ten Things I Learned This Week: 

1. My camera has a mode that makes everything look like a toy. 

2. You can see the island of Moorea from Tahiti.

3. It is possible to take a group picture with 17 cameras on self-timer and have most of the group in the picture. (My zone!)

4. There is a pink/orange flower here that is unique only to French Polynesia.

5. When Zeus gives me a hug (standing on back two legs) after I work out, it leaves dirt stains that are pretty tricky to wash.

6. There are a billion different colors of blue in the ocean, some of which I am pretty sure I have never seen before.

7. Missionaries can have fun on Saturday night also, we ate junk food and I dyed my companion's hair.

8. Zeus aka BFF is camera-shy. 

9. There is a huge waterfall on the mountain that only exists right after a thunderstorm.

10. The neighborhood in which I live is right next to a Jehovah Witness church and every single one of my neighbors belongs to this church. (No picture for that because missionaries arent allowed to take pictures of other churches.)

Other news: I have finished reading 1 Nephi in French, chapter 18 in the Tahitian Book of Mormon, and chapter 18 in Jesus the Christ. There is a rumor floating around that I might be one of the missionaries who is going to be a trainer in September, right after my current companion goes home! I found out that people in Tahiti do eat dog. I am getting tanner, praises. 

I love everyone who writes me and I am doing my best to reply within a timely manner. Ua here vau ia outou!

love, Soeur Carter

Bonjour!!!! 

Thank you so much for the updates, always and forever keep them coming!! I definitely want to do all of that stuff when I get home. Thats pretty funny about the dinner with the missionaries, I guess its just a Dad thing. :) That's awesome that you got to see Tash and Richard, love them so much. By the way, I am sending another letter for the family through the mail today or tomorrow so be on the lookout! 

Top Ten Accomplishments this Week:

1. Ran a mile in 6 minutes and 15 seconds!! 

2. Did NOT get food poisoning.

3. A Tahitian "Mami" asked me to give a talk at her baptism in TAHITIAN. (Prayers on my behalf are welcome.)

4. Taught an English for two girls and after I taught we played a game to test them. They were super competitive and it was hysterical, I was crying.

5. Trained our dog Zeus to run around the clothes line when I do laundry at night so that he can scare away all of the cockroaches.

6. On that note, I killed a cockroach with a knife. 

7. I finished two chapters of "Jesus the Christ" and am now on chapter 14.

8. English is starting to sound weird and I think in French a lot of the time now.

9. I can pronounce all of the names of our investigators now. :)

10. We taught 29 lessons last week!

So much love for everyone who has written me, I have read most of them but time is always short so thank you again for your patience while I try and reply as quickly as possible!!!!!! Advice for the week: drink a lot of water.

love, Soeur Carter