I LOVE MY MISSION - Dec. 14 2009

hey everyone!
This week was so wonderful! I LOVE this season here at Temple Square. We work so hard all day every day and when I get home at night I just fall on my bed. It's great though! My companion thinks that I am funny because she says I am so "busy" I am always doing something like cleaning or cooking or writing in my journal, she said I should be resting when I have extra time, but there is not time for rest!
This week we had zone conference and it was wonderful. It was focused on the birth, life, and atonement of Jesus Christ. I felt the spirit so strongly during the entire meeting and once again was full of gratitude for his life and everything that he has done for us! I especially loved thinking about Mary and Joseph and their special roles as the father and mother of Jesus. When Mary heard of her calling she simply replied, be it according to thy will. She trusted in the Lord completely even with the knowledge that she could be stoned to death. Amazing right? During the Angels visitations to both of them, he told them to "fear not" even though they had all reason in the world to fear! But as we know, if they had fear, there could be no faith. Love it!
We met many amazing people this week. We took a tour with a man from California yesterday and he was so funny and great. He loved that we wanted to show him everything and teach him about the church. He had TONS of good honest questions and his insights on the Gospel and especially the New Testament were all really good. We could tell that he was moved and touched by the spirit but... he didn't refer at the end. We invited him to hear from missionaries in his area but he wouldn't take it. SO sad! Sister Kim and I just walked away with our heads down trying to think what we did or said that we could have done better. BUT then I realized that we did all that we could have done! The spirit was there, we taught testified and invited, but in the end these people have their own agency. So we pray that in the future he will do something about the spirit he felt while he was here!
I am not sure what our plans are for Christmas yet, but I do know that Presidant is planning something fun! The Square closes Christmas eve night at 6PM as well as on Christmas day. I do know that Christmas night we are doing a wonderful christmas program in the Joseph Smith Memorial building and I get to arrange some hymns to play at it! I don't really have time to practice, but I will make it work out. I hope that everyone is doing well.
Please please please don't let gifts and business distract you from the peace of this season! This is a wonderful time for us to spend with family and friends and share with them the love that we have for each other! There is war raging all across the world and there are many people without food or homes. So be grateful for what you have been given, especially the Gospel and the knowledge of the true meaning of Christmas. We are so extremely blessed to know what we know!
I LOVE MY MISSION! I never know what the next day is going to bring, but I study and prepare myself everyday so that the Lord can use me to bring about miracles here on Temple Square.
Merry almost Christmas!
With love- Sister Carly Jo Porter

Dec. 7th '09

Hi hi hi hi !!
Wow, even though it is freeeeeeeeeezing outside, I am so warm inside :) hah that sounds kind of cheesy, but it's true! Yesterday was an incredible day! I had the chance to listen to Music and the Spoken Word in the conference center in the morning, spend all day contacting in the tabernacle, and then go to the Christmas Devotional in the evening! So incredible! Thousands of people came to the square afterwards and everyone had been so spiritually uplifted, they were all so nice! We got a ton of referrals from them, it put a HUGE smile on my face :) THEN I got to go to the temple thismorning:) yay!
We visited with an amazing couple in the Tabernacle yesterday afternoon. The woman was from Japan and he was from California. They recently moved to Logan for a job, As we were visiting with them I mentioned about the temple and the wonderful blessing that our family can be together forever! She started crying and talking in Japanese:) They told us that they had come here about a month ago and they came back today because they wanted to feel that peace again! They want to learn all about the church, but they can't meet with the missionaries until they find a place to live. It was so incredible though, the spirit touched both of their hearts instantly.
I LOVE when guest's come here and recognize the spirit, it is something that they have never felt before... so amazing. About 5 minutes after this 4 people from England walked in. One woman was sincere and interested while her husband was making snide remarks and being rude. He was saying "oh I'm not religious at all! I'm surprised that lightening hasn't come through and struck me in this very spot". His heart was so closed while the woman's was so open! Sometimes.... I wish I could just kick people and tell them to open their eyes! It is difficult to have someone tell you straight in the face that this church is NOT true and that we are wasting our time. It is hard... but I just have to move on. I pray that someday those people will look back and remember that there is something different about this place. Then they can repent :)
Yesterday I bore my testimony in the Joseph Smith Memorial building where we have church every sunday with all of the sister's and couple's at Temple Square. The spirit was so powerful as sister's from different countries shared their unique experiences and struggles here on their missions. One sister just recieved a letter from her dad in Brazil who has made the decision to get the priesthood, when she goes home her family will be sealed together. Another sister has been praying for her family to atleast listen to the missionaries and they told her this last week that they are meeting with them now! Some really amazing stories! It is a blessing for me to be here and to be able to share my testimony everyday. I think about Heavenly Father and his perfect plan for each of his children. He knows exactly the path that we are on, no matter what path that is, he can always make it right! When we look to him in all things our hearts and minds will be changed, our lives will be made better! That is the blessing of the Gospel! I want to take this month of December to look at my own strengths and weaknesses and to figure out what it is I can do better. I know that I am far from perfect, but that's okay! If we have the desire to change, of course the Lord will help us out:)
The Christmas Devotional was so amazing! The spirit was so strong in that room and tears came to my eyes many times! I hope that we all came away with something we can do this Christmas season to helps others, and to come closed to Christ! Really... nothing else even matters! Presents come and they go, I never remember what I get anyway.. We always to remember though, the kind things that other's do for us. So find people to serve and love! I promise... it is like medicine, all problems and worries diminish as we love and serve others.I love you all... enjoy the warmth in Mesa or wherever you are!
with love- Sister Porter
scripture of the week! 2 Nephi 25:26

Thanksgiving week - Dec. 1st

Hi everyone!

I had another wonderful week! Temple Square is my new home and it is a great place to be for this Christmas season! There are so many people to talk to and the Christmas lights are incredible! Yesterday I had an assignment to be in the Tabernacle all day. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsed for about 2 hours and I got to just sit and listen to them! What a blessing! I just started crying when they sang through Silent Night as I thought about the blessings that I have been given and the wonderful mission that I am on.

Thanksgiving day was so beautiful. We went to a wonderful reception hall and had a catered meal and everything. We also played games, watched a movie, (they watched UP:) and sang karaoke. It was so special to be with all of the sister's and senior couples and just enjoy our time together. I loved it and it was a great break to get away from the Square for an evening. President and Sister Holmes organized the whole thing. They are always planning fun activities for us and doing extra things. They served us our Thanksgiving meal and they didn't eat themselves until everyone else had eaten, so incredible. I know that the reason they are so Christlike is because of the way that they live the Gospel. When we live the Gospel to it's fullest it can change everything about us! We naturally become Christlike and want to serve others ... so beautiful.

So I am living in a new apartment. It is about a ten minute walk from Temple Square. Ok and the coolest thing is that there are 6 sisters and we are all from different countries! Netherlands, Hong Kong, Brazil, Indonesia, Korea, and America :) Isn't that incredible? So I have a lot of fun with them and I am learning a lot about all the different cultures.

My companion Sister Kim continues to amaze me! Even when the sister's around us forget their purpose as missionaries, we always continue to work hard! We know why we are here and we don't let silly things bother us. (Mom's note - as her mission pres. told us, when you get 200 girls together, there can be plenty of "silly" things.) Today is her birthday so we have had a good time! Hah she goes around telling everyone it's her birthday and she made sure some sister's got a cake to bring over tonight.... too funny!! she loves pancakes so I made her a HUGE one this morning and she just died laughing.

There are literally thousands of people here every night. I love it! So since there are so many members here at the Square what we are doing every night is talking with the members and then asking for their friends who are not members of the church. We then can call their friends from the Referral center and invite them to recieve a free movie from the church through the missionaries. It is a GREAT thing! It is hard to keep asking members, we have to be really creative and smart about it because they are not going to give us their numbers unless they trust us. But I really love talking with the members and always fulfilling my purpose which is to invite other's to come unto Christ, even if they are members there is always something I can share with them.

I hope that everyone is doing well at home! Christmas is such a blessing and a wonderful time to think about Christ. I hope that we all can take time during the season to find a way in our own lives to come closer to Christ. As member's of the church we have reason to rejoice! Christ lives and we can return to live with Heavenly Father... with our families! I challenge you all to share this message. Find people everywhere you go to help and serve. I know that as you pray to have these opportunities to come... that they will come! Heavenly Father is waiting and eager to bless us with opportunities to serve, IF we show him that we have the desire.

Tonight I am playing the piano in the South Visitor center for a little while! I'm so excited to perform and use my talents! I also had the chance to sing in Sacrament meeting yesterday :) I am so grateful for my talents and I hope that I can use them while on my mission as often as possible to bring the spirit into the lives of others. I didn't get much time to practice so hopefully it goes ok!

I love you all, thank you for being so incredible! You prayers and support help me every single day!

with love- Sister Carly Jo Porter

Wonderful Week! Nov. 23

(Mom's note - FYI - There are a few different zones in Carly's mission - the South Zone includes Temple Square - some of the areas are Humanitarian Center, Beehive House & Welfare Square)

First of all we had transfer meeting this morning! I am way excited because I get to stay with Sister Kim this next transfer! We are so excited to be in the South zone once again and especially during the Christmas Season! President told us this morning that we are anticipating close to 1 million visitors at the Square! They said we won't hardly have time to eat. HAH so we are very very excited to be busy.
Temple Square is WHITE right now. It snowed last night and it is so beautiful! You should all come here for Christmas! And you should find me!!!! :) te he. It was so good to see some members of LIGHT who came to Temple Square on Saturday and also one of my best friends Kayla who came. I learned so much this week... so much. I have been working on a good balance during our "tours" with guests. It's hard say how much history to share or how much to testify because it totally depends on the needs of the person. SO I have been learning to really listen to the spirit, it's hard because we get to know them so quickly and then right away start teaching. Something else I have learned is how good it feels at the end of the day to know that I did my very best. Resting in the Lord is so good! Every night when I pray and then go to sleep it feels so good because I finally get to rest and I know that the Lord is proud of me. That is something that I will continue for the rest of my life! Everyday we should be using our skills and talents to further the work of the Lord.
MIRACLES. Many many miracles this week. Just a few of my favorites though.. we took an ASU student around the Square on Thursday. He was so nice and said one of his best friends is Mormon. At first he was trying to memorize all the facts so that he could prove to his friend that he actually came here. But about halfway through he stopped and just said "wow, I never knew". We thought he was referring to the history but he was referring to what he was feeling. He was silent the rest of our time and at the end he was so excited to learn more from the missionaries in his area.
On saturday a group of 20 students walked in from a university in Southern Utah. They asked for a tour so we gladly took them around. They were all so interested and I especially enjoyed testifying to them in front of the Christus. Many of them were from other countries and had never heard of the church or of the Book of Mormon. So cool!
alright so I haven't written much about how much I LOVE the referral center! We call soooooo many people. Yesterday I made 160 outbound calls in about 3 hours. call call call. I had about 10 referrals which means that we are sending them the missionaries and a movie or the Book of Mormon. SO GREAT! This last week at Temple Square we had 2,465 referrals from our referral center. President got very emotional this morning talking about how incredible that is. So we pray that those missionaries will do their work!
This week I have really felt the tender mercies of the Lord. I have realized that I can't just automatically have the spirit with me when I'm talking to people, but I have to strive to carry it with me ALWAYS. I literally feel God's love all around me every day. Not only in the people that I meet, but in everything that I see and do. I am so blessed to have this Gospel in my life! So blessed!
On Saturday Emily and Cory got married and I was worried that I might be a little distracted thinking about them or sad that day. BUT it was amazing because I saw SO many people that I know on Saturday! I also was able to take a ton of tours and stay so busy. I know that the Lord was blessing me. Isn't it incredible that he even cares about our small needs, desires, and trials? His love truly is all encompassing! A general authority once said that if we were to feel all of God's love for us, we would be destroyed immediately. WOW.
I have also been thinking about about the incredible people that I met while in India. What a blessing it was for me to have that humbling opportunity to serve people who have nothing. I think about them and what a different life that they live. Their worlds are completely opposite from mine, but they were happy. Sometimes I don't know how to express to Heavenly Father how grateful I am for my blessings. I feel so inadequate to tell him "thank you" because I am so small and just don't know what to say! I have realized though that the best way to show our gratitute to Heavenly Father is by our behavior. He knows us exactly. The worse thing that we could do is take for granted the blessings that we have been given. SO many people have less than us, we must share with all of them!
King Benjamin teaches that principle well to his people, to serve others, to love them as Christ would love them! So I hope that you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving week! Remember that standing in front of our family and saying what we are thankful for is good, but is not enough. We need to show our families how thankful we are for them, by serving for them. Imagine if Christ was with us, how would he serve us? It can be overwhelming what a long ways we have to go to become like Christ, but that is why we have the Gospel in our lives! No matter where we are at right now, whatever path we are on, through our desire to change, the Lord will help us! I know that that is true! I LOVE you all so much. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers. I feel them everyday. Open your mouths and be an example of Christ to everyone that you are around!
With soooooooo much love-
Sister Carly Jo Porter

hi ya'll - Nov. 15th

Hey everyone!

So this week was so wonderful! What a week of inspiration. Everyday I felt like I was continuing to feel inspiration from the Lord from many sources.

One evening as I sat in the tabernacle listening to the Organist practice I was FILLED with an immediate JOY. I can't believe that I am really here serving my mission in the place where so many early church members sacrificed everything for the Gospel. It really is incredible! I had a few really neat experiences. We chatted with a man in front of the temple for about twenty minutes the other day who had so many sincere questions. We would answer his questions about the blessings and peace we feel in the temple and his response would be "wow, I just never knew". He had many misconceptions but at the end of our talk he told us that he thinks this church is true and he just seemed to be in a daze (the spirit ). We took another lady from scotland on a tour last Saturday walking through the blizzard that hit us. She listened intently to all of our historical facts and basic principals of the Gospel. I could just see it in her eyes how curious she was. At one point I testified to her that what she was feeling in her heart was the spirit, and that if she would follow the guidance of that spirit that she would be led to know that this is indeed a true church. She just looked at me and after about a minute smiled and agreed with me. She thanked us at the end of the tour (after referring) and told us that we were a spiritual upliftment to her on the snowy afternoon. She was a scientist so she had great questions.

Yesterday morning after the Music and the Spoken Word my companion and I took a Korean tour with 15 Koreans. They were so cute and listened so carefully to everything she was saying. I was just laughing inside because some would just stare at me while she was talking and I just had to smile back :) At the end all of them referred to see the missionaries... miracles are happening here every single day.

Every night when I return back to my apartment I am so exhausted. I love being tired at the end of the day and knowing that I did my absoulute BEST to proclaim the Gospel. I truly feel the promise in D&C 6 being fulfilled as I feel the Lord's presence with us as we teach all the guests about the Gospel. I love having ever hour of my day planned but not knowing exactly what the Lord has in store for us. We have a very strict schedule but it is always a mystery as to the type of people that we will be meeting each day.

So we have the opportunity to go to the temple once a week! We normally go to the Salt Lake temple obviously, but this week on Friday we are going to the Jordan River Temple! I can't wait! I LOVE the Temple with all my heart and it is amazing to be able to go inside after explaining about it's importance to many people every day. I have been thinking this week a lot about LOVE and CHARITY. My favorite scripture reference about love is in 1 John 4:7-21. As I studied this principle I decided to really focus on loving every guest that I have the opportunity of meeting. Yesterday I found myself so invested in the well being of each person. These people were strangers to me! But I wanted them so badly to feel the spirit and to know that this is the most important message that anyone on earth could tell them. I also have been thinking about our commission as missionaries that we recite each week, "I am called of God, my authority is above that of the Kings of the earth." So powerful! Last night I just cried as I thought of those who did not accept our message, it hurts my heart for them not to know of this truth. At the same time my sadness was turned into JOY as my companion and I prayed for those who did refer and are on the path towards the Savior. So beautiful!

So I am doing wonderful! Thank's so much to everyone for your letters of support and love. I LOVE ever letter I get and they always seem to come just at the right time. Thank you! This last saturday MCC's basketball team came to get a tour! Ha I saw Steven Rogers so that was exciting! Yesterday Burkley Jenson showed up out of no where! It was great to have a little taste of Mesa here at the Square. I guess I better get used to seeing people I know :)

Love you all.

1 Cor 13- I may have everything but without Charity I am Nothing.