Sister Carroll has arrived!

Erin with President and Sister Stoddard

Dear Carroll Family,

We're happy to inform you that Sister Carroll has arrived safe and sound here in Frankfurt, Germany! She looks great, and we're thrilled to have her Positivity and talents here among us in this mission! She'll change many lives.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Alles Gute,

Germany Frankfurt Mission Office

Last P-day in America!

This time next week I will be in Germany!!!!! I can't beleive it! I'm so scared and excited but I only focus on excited because otherwise I will super scared and that will not be good. This week was awesome. I don't know what made it awesome. It just was. How can it not be awesome. Even when bad things happen, I am just too excited about other things for them to matter! 

Thursday we had TRC and we got to skype members in Germany. I'm going to die when I get to Germany is basically what I learned. We skyped a teenage convert who is getting ready to go on a mission and Sister Roderer did most of the taking then would turn to me and say, "Hey say your testimony of Joseph Smith". Then like 10 min into the lesson, Sister Roderer asked about her conversion story and she spoke for the last 15 min of our lesson. She spoke so fast! I understood like 3 sentences she said. After the fact, Sister Roderer was telling an Elder about our lesson and she said something about her and I was like,"wait she said that?" Then we got back to the classroom and died and attempted to study by osmosis .

Friday we got our flight plans. And somewhere in there I got a package from you gyus. I don't remember if it was friday or saterday. It was awesome. Everyone else got valantiens packages so our classroom was full of candy all week. I think we finially finished it or threw it away yesterday. It was so exciting to get the package. I also got the german for the strength of youth and have used them in multiple of our lessons with Dani. Sister Roderer says thank you. She was really excited. We have so much fun together. Yesterday Bruder Jones mentioned how we would all be getting new companions and both  me and Sister Roderer told him that we were not changing companions because we would be companions forever basically. 

Sunday Sister Roderer played her flute for the departure devotional. She auditioned a few weeks ago and had given up hoping for an opportunity to play. It was really hard on her because that is what she does is play her flute. Then friday afternoon, Sister Bertasso, the MTC Releif society 1st counselor taked to  her personally about playing instead of just sending a letter about it. I was so excited! I think I was more excited that Sister Roderer! I don't know why I was so excited, but I was. She did awesome too. I think all the departing missionaries needed to hear it. It was so cool. 

I leave for Germany next tuesday morning. I will be able to call home!!!! I am so excited! I will call either at the Salt Lake airport or the New York airport. It depends on when we have time, but I will call. I can't wait to talk to you guys! I hope everyone has a good week! I am almost out of time and have to go start packing. We don't get much time for that. :)

Ich liebe dich!!!!!

Sister Erin Carroll

This is our branch. Me and Sister Roderer were not in this one because she was playing her flute. We were in another one, but Brother Waite didn't send it to us. 

My family loves me!

Elder Fletcher messing around with sticky tabs when we supposed to be productive

Us matching on Sunday. Me and Sister Sant were opposites!

This is us after TRC skype last week. Yep....

Elder Moore and Elder Fletcher "Studying" Elder Moore likes his tie :)  Our ongoing joke is that we are "writing in our journals when we are actually taking a nap. Elder Moore, with the tie, reminds me a lot of Patrik. :)

MTC Week 4

I feel like so many things happened this week and yet nothing super exciting to write about. Last wednesday after I emailed Sister Roderer had lots of practices for all her musik stuff. So I got to listen to her play her flute and the piano for like 2 hours. It was cool. While she was practicing a guy named Brian came to listen. There are people her at the MTC that have gold name tags that are supposed to be non members. Some are and others are actually members, we just don't know and assume all are non members. Brian was a gold tag person. It was really cool to talk to him and the musik made him just cry for like 5 min. He was telling us a story when all the sudden he broke character and told us he was a member and all this cool stuff about his mission and how he has used what he learned after his mission. It was so cool!

Thursday we had TRC again and the lesson was actually pretty good. My German is getting a lot better. I can feel how much easier it is to express myself, but at the same time I still feel so lost with the language. Its a wierd feeling. I think when Heavenly Father wants me to feel confident He helps me, but all the other times I just have to work for it. Tomarrow we get to go to the Skype lab and teach people who are actually in Germany. I just know I will not be able to understand anything. But that's ok because Sis Roderer will be able to. :)

On Thursday Sister Roderer and Sister Sant also auditioned for a musical number at one of the many devotionals. They did so awesome! Sis Sant has an amazing voice. It reminds me of Jamie's. She sang consider the lilies and the MTC releif society presidency just loved it! She was able to sing for the incomming senior missionaries on Monday. It was so cool and Sister Roderer played for her so I got to go too. The spirit was so strong. 

I have also seen Colton or Elder Honey multiple times. I think it's funny because everytime I see him he is lost and I have to give him directions. I also talked to someone from my mission prep class yesterday. It is cool to see people here that I saw at BYU. It's been fun. 

Our lessons with Dani and Guenther are getting lots better. We plan awesome lessons then go in and teach something so different. I am so grateful for scripture mastery and the scripture mastery card because it is really hard to answere a question with a scripture when I can't understand the scripture. Luckily any scripture mastery will be good and will not say anything weird. I can trust that. Me and Sister Roderer are getting so good at working together. It is the coolest thing ever! Guenther askes a question I turn to a scripture, look over at Sister Roderer and she is also at the same scripture! No words exchanged! It was also cool that in class we were all teaching Sister Garlick as a district just for practice and I couldn't think of anything to say. Then Sister Roderer shared a scripture and I knew exactly how to build off of her and testify of what she was saying. We totally took over the lesson because we just built off eachother. Even our personal goals are in sync! It is so cool. I don't think I have ever felt inspiration so strong and I know it is inspiration because Sister Roderer has the same ideas as I do! It is so cool!

I don't really know what else so say. It was a really good normal week. Sister Roderer has had a hard week though so if you could keep her in your prayers that would be good. This morning has been pretty rough for her, and it doesn't help that she is getting a cold.

I love you guys so much! Thanks for all the letters! I love hearing from you!

Liebe

Sister Erin Carroll

Oh I forgot. Tomorrow I get my flight plans! I only have 1 more p-day in America! Its so exciting! I can't wait to go! But then I also remember that in Germany I will have a new companion and I really like Sister Roderer so that will be sad. We have so much fun together. This week for service we chased each other down the hallway with vacumns. It was fun! 

Also read Moroni 7:31 and some of the verses around it. It is cool to think that for others we can be the angels it is taliking about and if we are angels, then we have the same ministry of angels. Cool right?

Pictures from our service last week that Sister Helmick sent me

The first and last time probably me and sis Roderer matched

My awesome name tag and German scriptrures with the cool ribbons the elders gave us!

My 2 packages I got from Grandma and Grandpa Starr and Madison. Grandma and Grandpa also sent candy, but that stayed in the classroom. I need something to throw at sleeping Elders and they prefer it if they can eat it afterwards. :)

Pretending to study. We posed for this pic, so you could know what it looked like to study in our classroom. :)

Yay for selfies...

Half way to Germany!

I think I expirienced every emotion possioble this week. On Wednesday after emailing I fell asleep while writting letters and to wake me up Sister Roderer and Sis. neilson put an alarm clock by my head. I was so terrified when I woke up. I almost fell off the bed. It was so funny!

We started TRC this week. That is where we teach members as members. In German. One of the members we taught knows Lucy Barny! It totally made my day to hear that! It was so good. We do TRC every Thursday. Next Week we get to go to the Skype lab and teach people who are actually in Germany! I'm excited but scared. Those lessons are hard to prepare for because it is a whole different mindset of what the person needs. Thursday I also got a package from Madison! Lets just say it came at I time when I really needed it. It made my day. It is a really cool journal with letters in it and I think it is the coolest thing ever! All the sisters in my district really like it and they all want to read the letters. They also make sure I don't read them all at once. They are awesome!

This Friday I got to meet Sis Roderer's brother. He got home a week ago and the MTC lets missionaries who overlap set up a time to see each other. It was cool and Sister Roderer was way excited. On Friday Sis Sant and Sis Neilson both got packages. Sister Sant's was full of tons of candy and food. We shared with all the districts multiple times. I almost got trampled by the elders in district B. It was way fun! Sis Neilson got German CTR rings! THere were enough for the whole district! It is so cool! We all match. The elders were so excited about them! She also got German Article of Faith cards for all of us!  The elders were so excited about the CTR rings and so happy because Me and Sister Roderer got them all little presents last week that they got us cool German ribbons for our scriptures. I forgot to take a picture so maybe next week. I want to get some for my Bibel so then I will have matching ones. 

Saterday we did service again and we cleaned the showers. We started by having a photo shoot and getting the lady in charge of cleaning to laugh really hard at us. Then we used a hose and some cool foaming stuff to power wash the showers. Not really but we pretended. The other sisters where laughing at us. It was really fun. Saterday was a hard day. I am having a really hard time with the lessons. Speciically I have a really hard time teaching the Plan of Salvation. I don't know why, because that is one of my favorite things. I have a really hard time thinking of ways to convey my feelings for the Plan even in English so I think to have to do it in German is too overwhelming. Saterday was rough. 

But then everything was ok because Sunday was fast sunday! We had a "Mission Conference" for 2 hours but I didn't want it to end. I took 4 pages of notes! It was sooooooo good. Things were said and taught that I didn't even know I needed to hear! That keeps happening here. I go to devotionals or firesides and think, "I don't know how this will help me" and then they start speaking and I am just amazed at how hard everything hits me. They also called new sister training leaders and switched up the junior/senior companions. I don't have to interveiw the sisters this week! Interviews are so stressful and you have to be able to read people and it is not my skillset. But now I don't have to do it! the new sister leaders are sister peterson and sis helmick. Sister Helmick is a convert and the only member in her family. They are both so cool. I love them both so much and I know that they will be perfect for the job! And it's not me anymore so that is good too. It was a neat expirience though and it was cool to find ways to become friends with the other sisters. I  think Me and sister Roderer really were able to bring us all together as friends. 

Sunday night we watched Legacy. Every Sunday we can choose a movie to watch from like 4 provided so we watched Legacy. Have you guys seen it? Well there is a sort of love story in it and it should not be shown to missionaries. Everyone laughed so hard and they had to tell us to be reverent. It was so funny. Sunday night was also sad. Elder Terrell went home. We didn't get to say goodby and we really don't know the reason for it other than he needed to work things out. Talk about a kill joy. 

Monday you could feel the sadness. Everyone stayed happy and positive but especially when we had to tell Sis Garlick what happened with Elder Terrell, you could feel that everyone was just a little down. Monday we taught 2 lessons! We taught Dani and Guenther! It was cool and we got Dani to commit to be baptized! It was so fun! Ican't wait to go to German and to teach people for real!

So many other awesome things happened, butI'm almost out of time! I love you all! Ihr habt ein ganz tolles Woche! (terrible German sorry)

Liebe 

Sister Erin Carroll

My cool markings in my new German Scriptures

Me and Sister Jeppson Wearing the exact same clothes.

Me and sister Roderer and the new Sister training leaders Sister Helmick and Sister Peterson

All the sisters in our branch

Our district at the temple on sunday

Sister Helmick photo Bombing our district picture

Me and Elder Jenson who is really tall. Plus everyone else who is photo bomming because we are not allowed to be in pictures with just elders. Sister Sant really wanted a picture of the contrast

All the sisters in my district with our cool WDR rings!

Our service project on Saterday. We got to clean the showers. It was the best! We used a hose! I can't take serious pictures. Can't you tell?