Nov 21, 2016
Cartilage Jail

Dear family and friends,

Hey! So this may be my last email, because next week I'll be flying down to Anchorage and probably won't have time. So, this is it.

This week we found some cool people tracting and people came to church who needed to. I said some stuff to people.

We got our windshield replaced! We were by some sisters who were staying in because one is concussed and one was sick, so we went and did a puzzle with them and were entertained by their nonsensical conversation. California and oranges and the oven might be on.

This week and this year have been super amazing. I love serving other people. I love Jesus. I love being disciplined and waking up at 6:30am and exercising. I love the people here. I just seriously love it.

Being on a mission hasn't changed my life, but living according to the teachings of Jesus Christ everyday for eighteen months has. Knowing something and living it are two different but related things. That's why living it has changed my perspective. Go live something you know about.

Charity for all of you before this gets too serious,

Sister Christine Rollins

 

Nov 14, 2016
3,134 words for you!

Two exchanges! Gotta train all these Fairbanks sisters before I leave.

Gave a talk yesterday in church. Belief is an acceptance of words and ideas, but if you experience those words and ideas and develop a trust in them then you're gaining faith. Go read Alma 32, it'll tell you all about. Remember to pray, act, then reflect. (Also known as repentance, making covenants, and then receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost more... and then you have more faith and repent and make more covenants etc... wow, almost like the third missionary lesson! Crazy!)

I'm staying strong to the end! Don't use straight bleach in an enclosed bathroom with a really bad fan for more than an hour. You might almost suffocate. It's okay though, that's how she wanted it done.

Sister Rollins

Nov 7, 2016

The temple!

This week was fab. I headed down to Anchorage to go to the temple!

Mission Leadership Council was really awesome this week. I got to the airport and asked the zone leaders about their training... and they were like, we're not training! Apparently we're going to the temple instead! So that was awesome. Elder Davis and Sister Ewing and I all stayed in the celestial room a long time since it's been awhile for all of us.

We had a great Saturday back in North Pole. People like it when you come over when it's snowing, because then they can laugh at how cold you are and offer you hot chocolate. Less children means less chaos and a more spiritual experience for a tired mom.

I said goodbye to Dana this week, she's leaving and won't get back until after I leave. People are really cool!

Don't do drugs, stay off the street when it snows.

Sister Rollins

Oct 31, 2016

We all need someone to love... I guess

This week I learned that joy comes from loving people, so here's some people I love:

Mark and Maren! And their six boys. They are the most hilarious people I know. Bishop has one of the driest senses of humor I know of, but also is one of the smartest people I know. Yesterday when we ended up with no bread for the sacrament he turned it into a pretty sweet object lesson - what do we do when we don't have the sacrament to take, or can't take it? We wait, and we sit, and we reflect on the Savior and how we can renew our commitment to Him. Spiritual lesson #1 of the week.

Kathie and Mark! And their three kids, Hunter (13), Layla (7) and Aaron (3). They are NUTS, but in the best way possible. After feeding us dinner last night, Aaron wouldn't stop climbing all over me. He loves it when the missionaries come over, and doesn't know why but wants to tell us that. The only way he knows how is to attack us with love, which I don't mind... hazards of being an aunt of 12. Wrestling with 3 year olds is much easier than wrestling a bear. Lesson #2 of the week.

Margie and Russell! And their three kids that are probably the poster children of America. Jay might be jaywalking for Halloween, or he could be a blue jay... or he might just be a Rubik's cube. They are the best listeners, which mean they learn fast and know more than I ever did about what they learned in school and how to play Simon Says. Listen to people, and they will tell you what they want and then you can make them happy! Lesson #3.

Oh also, exchange! This sister is rocking it in Fairbanks!

Karla, Linda and Claire! They are some of the humblest, most sincere people I know. Their ability to rely on God astounds me. But you'd never know how awesome they are until you watch them struggle and struggle and still manage to rely on God. Lesson #4.

Betty, who I just met this week. She recently lost her husband and has been having a hard time, but she moved to Alaska and is somehow still the sweetest lady. She found a lot of comfort in Alma 40:11-12, and I hope we can keep helping her understand just how much God loves each of us and how we're never alone. Don't get crotchety when you're old, invite people in and then tell us we're crazy. Lesson #5.

And then there's many others whom I love, but I'll end with my favorite:

My good friend Jesus. He's always there for me. He laughs at me and with me, and I know He'll never be too far away to talk to. I don't have a lot of time left to live in Alaska, but I'll be forever grateful I'll always have Jesus as my best friend.

Sorry for the cheese! Hopefully it melts as it heads down to the lower 48 and is delicious rather than frozen.

Sister Rollins

Oct 24, 2016

The weather app thinks it's warm.

It finally snowed! It's been cold enough for a few weeks, but the clouds have been picketing North Pole. Rude.

Things are progressing as normal. People cancel, you show up and people are excited to see you, people commit and don't do things, people won't commit but do them. Such is the missionary life. Patience and consistency are everyone's friends. 

We were out knocking doors the other day and a dog almost attacked us. Gotta love huskies, they'll get you good. We just kept walking and it eventually left us alone.

Moose count: +3! I have a paper somewhere I need to find. These were the first live ones I've seen since I got to the Fairbanks area.

If you think you should do something, do it. Moroni 7:16-17 teaches us that which is good is of God. Do good things. Even if other people might think you're weird. This week I left a lot of cookies on people's doorsteps, and they thought I was weird. At least I'm not as weird as frozen cookies... whoops!

Lots of love and charity from the coldest place in Alaska*,

Sister Rollins

Pictures below: SNOW! :D and then usually the day after snow as the skies clear the temperatures drop, and we got a picture of the negatives :) winter is almost here!

*without taking wind chill into account. Barrow's got us beat with their awful wind.

SNOW! :D

usually the day after snow as the skies clear the temperatures drop, and we got a picture of the negatives :) winter is almost here!

Oct 17, 2016
Hedgehog day is heavy core

Well hello! Another week, come and gone.

Exciting events!

Karla, who we've been teaching since June, has decided to get baptized November 5th! We're hoping her daughter Linda will join her soon. She also was able to receive a blessing for sickness, which was an amazing spiritual experience. God's power is real, guys. For real.

We saw the northern lights like CRAZY (think green and pink!) our pictures still look black, but that's okay because they're gorgeous.

I went on exchanges to Fairbanks with Sister Oliver! She is a fabulous missionary.

We stacked wood and more wood. Our district is now a well-oiled machine at stacking wood.

Sister Johnson and I are staying together for my last transfer in North Pole! It's a great thing, we're excited to finish this thing out together.

Have a great week! Remember the good things the Lord has done for you. Helaman 5:9.

Sister Rollins

Oct 10, 2016
Searching Church Couch Cushions Yields Laffy Taffy Wrappers

Dear Friends and Family,

Hello! I'm still alive.

The adventures of Sister Rollins continue!

This week I enjoyed a flight down to Anchorage and met some neat characters. I go to sit down and am settling in to the lovely little planes we always go in (propellers! Think like 22 rows of 4 that are usually not all filled) and a nice man sits down next to me. I compliment his green drink (some sort of tea/coffee mix? It sounded gross but I was nice about it) and he smiles and settles in himself. We start talking, and it turns out he's a minister traveling to Palmer to go spread the word of God there! Man, I just have great luck, always sitting next to missionaries of other faiths. So we talked about the Bible and when he was saved (he was only 5!) and how Jesus is important and why the Book of Mormon is or isn't the word of God. Elder Davis and Elder Younger sat next to... no one. Classic.

Then once we arrived, we were waiting for the Juneau elders to arrive as well and we're all having a jovial time seeing each other and a lady off to the side looks like she wants to talk to us, so I go over and ask if she needs anything. Well, she needed a phone to call her husband... so we helped her out and then as she waited she told me her story. She dat

The Northern Lights...yup, we saw them.
This is a picture one of the investigators from
Fairbanks 2nd ward took.

ed a kid in high school who was a Mormon, but he wanted eight kids so she broke up with him and moved to a different high school where she met her husband. The other kid she dated went on a mission, though, and so now she likes all missionaries. To quote Laurel Galli, "lil saweetie!"

We've apparently (unbeknownst to me) become the Powderpuff girls

Dressed up as twins for Halloween...so creative

We talked to other people, but still none interested in learning more about Christ. That was one thing from Dallin H Oaks' talk I loved - "As we speak to others, we need to remember that an invitation to learn more about Jesus Christ and His gospel is preferable to an invitation to learn more about our Church. We want people to be converted to the gospel. That is the great role of the Book of Mormon. Feelings about our Church follow conversion to Jesus Christ; they do not precede it. Many who are suspicious of churches nevertheless have a love for the Savior. Put first things first." Oftentimes we worry about what to say as missionaries to people, but when you are simply expressing your love for the Savior and telling them what you know makes you happy, it becomes easier. 

Oh, and then we had our ward's Fall Festival/Halloween Party on Saturday! Sister Johnson and I dressed up as twins, see above.

Love and charity, have a wonderful week!

Gotta love my sisters in Zion...
Because Fairbanks = Zion

Sister Rollins