Thursday 18 August 2016

Grateful!!

August 15, 2016


Well this is it. Two years coming to an end. To put into words these two years is too much to ask. I cannot describe how grateful I am for them. My mission has meant the world to me. I have done my best. And because of that, God has given me what I needed and not necessarily what I wanted in order to help me progress. It was tough, sad, lonely, tiring, never ending, BUT dispite all those feelings the feelings of happiness, excitement, joy, and peace make it worth 100 times over. Looking back I remember the good times way more than I  remember the bad times. 

To sum up what I have learnt or been able to accomplish is that I have gotten to know my saviour Jesus Christ. Before my mission I knew of him and had felt a little bit of His presence, but NOW I know He is my Saviour, my Reedemer, my older brother, my King, and my example. He helps me when I can't do it anymore, He comforts me when I need comfort, He knows how to help me because He has felt it all before. He has gone through it, he knows what it is like and WILL never leave us alone. I have felt His presence, felt His comfort and have come to know Him a lot better. I still have a long way to go, but for that I am very grateful. I have better understood what he has done for me and all of Gods children. The atonement is real, and avaliable for all. 

The Lord's work, missionary work, has been something that has become part of me and hope that will forever be a part of me. He dedicated his life to it and some of the very small things that he asks of us in return for his infinite sacrifice is to help our brothers and sisters.

I have learned the importance of the family and what it means to God. Families are meant to be eternal. He loves us and wants  us to be happy. He is our loving Father.

Love you
Elder Carter

Lessons from a convert

August 1, 2016

Hey guys!! Man, I really love reading your emails! Thanks!!

Last p day we went to a place that sells waffles! I was pretty excited since I have not eaten waffles in a really long time! We had planned it out a couple days before,even!! When we got there, it looked pretty good! I ordered a milkshake and a waffle with ice cream on it. The milkshake got there pretty fast. But when I started to drink it, it tasted like I was drinking banana flavoured water!! I had been soooo excited just anticipating it, and it was pretty gross! I still had a little bit of hope for the the waffle that was coming, though. When they brought it around it looked pretty good, but turned out to be disappointing too! Lesson learned - not every new and anticipated experience will turn out as great as we hoped. 

This week we went to rosario pretty early in the morning for a meeting! It was pretty good! I got to see Elder Aubrey and Elder Curtis which was aweome!! I have become really good friends with them! I will be sad to say goodbye to them but after the mission we will hang out!! 

We have been working really hard this week to find new people to teach and do everything in order help more people get baptized! Its hard and long but awesome at the same time!!  

This week I was talking to a convert of 3 months at church! He is a pretty awesome guy who is super excited about the church! His attitude was contagious and made me so excited as well!! Anyways, after chatting for a little bit, he was telling me his conversion story. The part that was the most interesting to me was that he said that he got to know the church through the missionaries that knocked on his door. On his first Sunday at church, he felt excited but pretty nervous about not knowing anyone. He was so surprised when he realized he actually knew 3 people at church! He was happy because he did not feel so alone, but disappointed because these people had never invited him or even said anything about the church. Missionaries had to come from the other side of the world in order to help him get to know the gospel when his friends right next door ALREADY HAD IT. And did not even say anything! I was thinking about that and how I do not want that to happen! We have the knowledge needed to go back to live with God! How selfish is it not to share it with others!?

I love you guys!
Elder Carter

Tuesday 26 July 2016

Feeling grateful!

July 25, 2016

Man time is really flying by here!! Each week passes by faster and faster!! I am enjoying every minute of it while I can!!

This week, while we were looking for inactive members on a list that we have, we found a family made up of a mom and her three kids. When we knocked on the door, we found the three kids who are 16,18 and 23, but we did not find the mother. After talking with them for a little bit we learned that the mother does not live there! She lives in a another part of pergamino with her boyfriend. This mother has completley abandonded her three children because her boyfriend doesn't like her kids. Now all there of them are working and have dropped out of school in order to support themselves. They are living alone. They don't see their mother very much since she rarely goes to visit. As I was talking with this family, I just had a feeling of everlasting gratitude for the family that I have at home. I felt grateful for the privilege I have had to grow up in a household that loves me (most of the time)hahahaha. I felt really bad for these three kids that were just on their own. The mother chose her boyfriend over her own children! The family unit is completely destroyed here in Argentina. I am very so grateful for the family that I have waiting for me at home and all they have done for me! I am so blessed!

This week I also met an active older sister of the church. She lives alone and is one of the most happiest and friendliest people I have met! Anyways, we set up a day to visit her and when we got there she had bought us toooonnnns of groceries to take home. Pop, cheese, eggs, crackers, mate cosido, meat just everything! She does not have very much money and I was very grateful for all that she had sacraficed for us! Maybe its a blessing because you guys fed the missionaries over there on your part!!

I am trying to eat healthy so that I don't come home looking fat but man, its hard! I am trying to eat healthy but also at the same time  trying to enjoy the last little bit of argentine food!! Hahaha - its a hard! The bread kills me!! I guess that's  just part of missionary life!!

Hey could you guys give some references to the missionaries over there so that I can receive references over here?

Thanks!!

I love you guys!
Elder Carter

Sooooo cold!!!

July 18, 2016

Hey guys!!


It's been pretty cold these days!! Right now, I am writing in a computer place and it is freeeezzing so my hands are a little bit frozen!! But afterwards we are going to go make some pizzas so that'll be good!!

This week we have been getting to know the area a little bit better! Its pretty sweet! I really like the area! It's got a little bit of everything, which is cool! The members are really good as well! We are really working hard to try and find people to baptize in August!! So that will be good!! Elder Silva is pretty cool! It's different living with someone who doesnt speak english, but I like it!! Yeah, Elder Sliva is prettty fluent in spanish, but sometimes it still sounds like he is speaking Portuguese!! Maybe I can learn a couple of words from hiim! We have not been getting lost so much lately, which is great! I feel like the spirit is guiding us and lighting our mind so that we know where everything is!

This week, we met a inactive member who is starting to reactivate or come back to church! His daughter just got baptized and he is really embracing himself in the gospel. The other week he set the goal to read the book of mormon in two weeks and he did it! And he actually understood all of it!! We had a really good discussion about it and it sounded like he just loved it! For me it was really cool to see how excited and happy he was about what he had accomplished! It made me more excited to read and apply everything that I learn! It's great!!  

One other thing that I have been thinking about is that often  we say we would be happy IF. IF only we had this. Or IF only I didn't have to deal with this, or IF only I didn't have this calling, or IF only I had more money, or IF I wasn't sick. And I was thinking about that a lot lately and the fact that whatever we think is going to make us happy is what we. Want more of. But, if we didn't have challenges or things going wrong from time to time, we couldn't appreciate growth which brings happiness. we always somehow want more and dont want something that is going to dictate our happiness. We have to learn to be happy, even when we don't have what we want!

My hands are freezing!

I love ya!

Elder Carter

My last area!

July 12, 2016

Hey guys!!

Well,  first of all I just want to let you know that my letters for the next 6 weeks aren't going to be as good (detailed) as the letters I  have sent the last six weeks! Elder Larsen had a device where we typed bits and pieces of our letters through the week and it stored all the information until we got to the computers where we just plugged it in and it spat all that we had typed out. SO I,  have been doing that for the last six weeks and that's why my letters have been so much better! LOL! So, don't expect too much from me now!!

The biggest thing that happened this week is that I got transfered and so did Elder Larsen!! They took us both out. Elder Larsen went to Rosario and I am still here in Pergamino but in a different area and with a different companion! His name is Elder SIlva and he is from Brasil!! Hahaha - my last transfer in the mission and I finally get a comp who does not speak english! Pretty funny! But he seems cool! I really like him and the Brazilians always are very good missionaries so we will do awesome! He doesn't know the area, nor do I so it will be interesting! I am looking forward to it!

I was sad to say goodbye to Elder Larsen! He is a really good guy and learned a lot from him! I was sad to say goodbye to Centro as well, since I felt like we finally were starting to gain the confidence of the members and see the fruits of our labour! It was a very interesting group of people, but I am very grateful I had to chance to get to know them!! I will miss them!

We were working with a kid that is 9 years old! It was really cool to see his progression and on the 30th of july he will be baptized!! His inactive mom came back to church and is getting along just great with all of the Hermanas so that awesome! It was a miracle that we found him and I am excited to go back to see his baptism!!!

Nothing else is new this week! We are lost lots and trying to get to know the members and the investigators that they had! The good thing though, is that the pension is really nice! It's in an apartment building and it's pretty modern! I realy like it! One of the best ones that I have lived in!!

I love you guys!
Elder Carter

Reflections

July 4, 2016

Hey guys!!

This week I was a little sick, so we had to take it easy. I was not feeling good, but now I am feeling a lot better! Being sick is never fun!

I have been getting to know the members a little bit better! It's funny because lots of times we have a perspective about someone and then when we actually meet they are actually a lot different! I realize there are lots of good things that sometimes I actually don't see! We have been trying to work with the members more! We are trying to help them understand the doctrine of Christ! When someone starts to understand and apply the doctrine of Christ, they are being his disiples! I am learning a lot as well.

One parable in the bible that I like a lot is the parable of the ten virgens. There are 10 women waiting to go into a wedding. In order to go in they needed to have their lamps lit. The lamps needed oil to work. Five of these virgins brought with them extra oil so that they would be able to get into the wedding. The other 5 were foolish and did not bring extra oil. Well, when the party started the 5 virgins who had oil were allowed in, however those who had not brought oil were buying oil and arrived late. Then the 5 vrigins tried to get into the party but were stopped at the door and the lord said you know me not. I was thinking alot about this lately. Because of the lack of preparation by 5 of the virgins, the Lord said they did not know him. If we truly are trying to know and do as the Saviour would, we will be prepared. If we take his words to be something that we push off to the side or try and do later, the day will arrive and we will have no oil in our lamps. We will be stuck outside because of our actions. Everything we do - going to church, reading the scriptures, sharing the gospel, praying, etc., we are adding little drops of oil to our lamps preparing for when the hour arrives. I don't want to be caught empty having to buy more oil. I want to be prepared now. 

We have lots to do this week so it will go by really quickly! There is nothing really new in the work this week, just the normal stuff.

The love that God has for us is beyond our comprehension. He sent his only begotten son to save us. He died and suffered for each and every one of us. Through him and none other can we receive salvation. He has the power to heal us and to enable us. Through Him,  weak things can become strong, can be fixed and healed. If anything, during my time on the mission I have grown closer to my saviour Jesus Christ. I love Him and am very grateful for what he did for me. 

Elder Carter  

Sunday 3 July 2016

Cold, sick, and inspired!

June 28, 2016

Hey guys!! How it going?

Yesterday was probably the coldest day I have had in Argentina so far. I had 5 layers of clothes on and I still felt cold!! It doesn't matter if I have tons and tons of clothes on, the cold still manages to get to me. It didn't help that it was raining and windy - lol! However I am very grateful that we have a heater in our pension because there are many that do not have a heater!

These last couple of weeks we have been working really hard trying to find people to teach, but we haven't had a ton of luck. The other day we were tracting a little bit, hoping to find more people to teach. We knocked one door and a inactive family opened the door. We started talking and set up an appointment for another day. The day came around for our appointment the woman we talked to directed us to another house that was behind hers. I guess the inactive women didn't really want to talk with us, but her daughter did, who was also an inactive member. This daughter has a son that is about 9 years old and is dying to get baptized! It was pretty cool! The mother was talking about what arrangements she would have to make for his baptism. The food, the clothes and the timing! I was pretty excited!!It was a blessing that we received for really giving everything that we had! We have met with him a couple of times since and it has been really good!

We went to Rosario this week for splits. It was cool to be back in Belgrano for a little bit! There are some really good people there. Anyways, the divisions went really well until we decided to order a pizza. We decided to order a blue cheese pizza. I actually really like blue cheese pizzas and have had many on my mission. So between the 3 of us (one of the other elders didn't want to eat) we split a nice big blue cheese pizza. It was done on the parrilla, or in other words on the grill which makes it even better. The three of us enjoyed the pizza right before we went to bed. I woke up to the sound of Elder Larsen throwing up in the bathroom. I went back to sleep and then I woke up again to the sound of Elder Larsen throwing up in bathroom again. That happened about 4 times during the night. I was feeling pretty bad for him, and hoping that it was not going to hit me since we eat all of the same things. The morning came around and Elder Larsen stayed in with Elder Curtis. I went out and worked with the other Elder still feeling great. We came back and made some really yummy tacos with french fries and everything! They were really good. About 2 hours after we ate the tacos it hit me! I was feeling pretty sick and the thought of having to travel 3 hours back to Pergamino was killing me. Nonetheless, I sucked it up, grabbed some toliet paper and we were off. The first little bit of the bus ride went well, but it came to a point that I could just not handle it anymore. Most of the buses are like 2 leved grey hound buses so they are pretty big, big enough to have a bathroom in them. If you can picture a bathroom on an airplane, its about half of that, giving us just the BARE minimum space.I was worried that my knees were going to bump open the door to the cabin! Hahaha-I was lucky it didn't happen, but along with it being very small is was not very well maintained. It was one of the worst bathrooms that I have ever had to use! Man, was I excited when we got back to Pergamino to the pension! It was probably the longest bus ride of my whole entire life! I am glad its over. Don't worry Bita, I came home and took your pills. They made me better.

Jose, the man who was baptized last week, walked to church yesterday. Jose is an 86 year old man who has had many medical problems. One of his knees has been operated on many times and does not work very well. This makes walking for him very hard and slow. He lives about 10 blocks from the church. Yesterday in the rain, in the cold, in the wind he walked to church. It took him about 40 minutes to do it, but he did it. ANYONE in our area could walk to church in under 40 minutes even if they lived at the furthest point away. Those who want to do their best for God will, and those who want to make up excuses will as well. Pretty amazing example for me! 

Our friend that gave us the pig skin salad came to church which was pretty awesome!! 

Thats about it for the week! Share the gospel! 

Love you guys!
Elder Carter 

Sunday 26 June 2016

This stuff is true!!!

June 20, 2016

Hey guys!!

This week went by well! We worked hard..and didn't see to many fruits hahaha-but its alright! 

My birthday went well! We tried to order empanadas but everything was closed so we just ordered them the next day! They were still just as good! I bought a bunch of alfajores which were really good! Mostly just relaxing. We had a dinner with an hermana which was pretty good as well! 

We have an investigator that is very friendly, his name is Funes! Well, Funes and his family invited us over to have an asado or in other words, an argentine bbq. He invited us over for Sunday at 2pm. We arrived and he greeted us very happily..a little too much! Hahaha - it didn't take too long to realize that he was drunk! Nonetheless, he was pretty pumped to see us. He said he thought that we were not going to come. He would not stop talking about how great it was that we came. When we got there he had the asado ready for us to eat! It was fun! Hahaha -when we finally got him to turn the music down so that we could hear him, it was a lot better! As the time went on he just got drunker and drunker. He lives with his family as well, so we ate with all of them. The meat was really good! He had cooked it well, which was really nice! Hahahah the worst part of the whole thing was that he had made us a salad...but not a normal salad. Just by the looks of it you can tell that it is not something that you will want to eat. I asked him what it was and excitedly he told me that it was a pig skin salad. It consisted of boiled pig skin, onions and some condiments. He said he LOVED it. I knew that I was not going to like it! Hahaha - he served me a huge portion in the form of a sandwhich with bread. Man, it took alot to muster that thing down! But I did it!! Hahaha!! He asked if I wanted more and I said it was really good but I was going to save room for the meat! He kept persisting, so I used the good old argentine cop out "me hace mal" or "it makes me not feel good." Everyone has stomach problems here from all the oil and fat they eat that its normal and everyone understands. It worked very wel! So I didn't have to eat anymore.  Elder Larsen had to eat another big portion of it though because before he could say no there was already a big portion on his plate. It was a good experience!

On Saturday, the Hermanas had a baptism! It was an older gentleman, who is about 85 years old. Really awesome guy, with a huge heart and always a big smile on his face. Well, this older gentleman has had some previous problems with his heart along with a couple of other things. This meant that the water needed to be warm, or else it would cause his body to react in a wierd way. Anyways, we left the keys to fill up the baptismal font to the Hermanas. When we got there at 3:30 pm, the font was a quarter full and they were trying to fill it up with buckets. I guess that the water had been cut off - which happens pretty often here. So there was no water in the church. What they were doing was filling it up with water from the outside hose. That was not going to work because the water needed to be warm. Jose, the man being baptized, decided that he was going to wait a week in order to do the baptism. To make a long story short, after a couple of tears shed by the hermanas we ended up having the baptism in another chapel along with a baptism that another ward has having. After all was said and done the looking of happiness and gratefulness that Jose's face showed was pretty amazing!!! It made everything worth it. Everything that had happened, all the moving around we had to do,didn't matter anymore! It was a pretty cool feeling! 

Something that I have really been thinking about a lot lately is the parable of the rich young man. I think its in Matthew 17 or 19 I'm not too sure. What happens is that this young man asks Jesus what is required to have eternal life. Jesus responds that he should keep all the commandments, and names a few. The young man responded that he already was keeping all the commandments since he was born. Jesus then told him to sell all his things and give them to the poor, and the rich young man went away sad becuase of all the things that he had. I was thinking a lot about that this week. Someone can keep all the commanments and look like they are doing everything that they can from the outside, but on the indside their heart is not in the right place. On the mission, a missionary can keep all of the rules and be exactly obedient, but if his heart is not in it, if he is not doing it for the right reasons, than it doesn't matter. If they do it just to receive glory from others, or make it look like they are something they are not. But those who are truly converted will be converted in their hearts as well. Its something that I have been thinking a lot right now. Am I doing everything just to be obedient or is my heart in the right place as well?

I don't know if you remeber Angelina from Belgrano, the golden investigator that we found?Yeah,  I got news that she doesn't want anything to do with the church anymore. I am 100% sure that someone told her a bunch of stuff about the church and being in a vulnerable state with her circumstances, she gave in. I called her to see what's wrong and she is a completely different person. It's too bad because she was one of the most prepared people that I have met! She had a great testimony but Satan had to get his foot in the way. I hope one day in this life she will decide to be baptized. The amount of opposition that investigators receive before they get baptized strengthens my testimony. It is clear that Satan also knows that if they do it they will become happy and be doing the right thing. It's amazing the things that Satan will pull off in order for them too not be baptized. Every single person that I have been able to help get baptized has had some type of trial before their baptism. I have also had a lot that were going to get baptized but the trial got the better of them and decided to not get baptized. It's sad but it's another testiomny to me that THIS STUFF IS TRUE!!

Love you guys!
Elder Carter 

A great birthday!!

June 13, 2016

Hey guys!!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!! I don't feel any different in age than I did when I left! The time has gone by so quickly, it's crazy! When I first came out on my mission, I thought that when I turned 20, I would be pretty old! Hahaha!!!  The day has arrived and I don't feel any older in life nor on the mission, even though I know that my time here is going to come to an end very quickly! 

I am not sure if you guys remember me talking about a guy named Ezequiel that we were teaching in Villa Ramallo. He is an investigator that we found while trying to look for someone else. While we were looking a young man, Ezequiel  answered the door. He was covered in tattoos of skulls and naked women. He had tons of piercings and hair down to his shoulders. We started talking to him and we set up a day to come by. That day came around and we were running late, so we got to his house late. He was there waiting for us with mate cosido and some bread (typical food when you have guests over here). The lesson went great and he came to church a bunch of times. He read up until the end of 2 nephi and was loving it!! The only problem was that he was living with his girlfriend who is from Buenos Aires. He had come to church a bunch of times and wanted to get married. It was great that he wanted to get married but he didn't have any documents, so they weren't able to go and get the papers required to get married, since you need to have specific identification. He decided to go down to Buenos Aires for a couple of weeks to try and get his documents in order and also to work. That was about 2 weeks before I left Villa Ramallo. He never came back before I left, so I had no idea what happened to him. I wasn't even able to say goodbye. BUT, the other day I got a call  from the missionaries who are over there in Villa Ramallo telling me that Ezequiel was going to get baptized!! I was really excited!! He had also asked if I could do the baptism. Unfortunately, I will not be able to go. But that's alright! I am really excited that he is finally going to get baptized! It's too bad that I never got a picture with him or anything!! That was some pretty exciting news for me this week!! Even though I cannot be there, I am happy that he has accepted the gospel!

When I had first gotten here to Pergamino, Elder Larsen and I asked Heavenly Father if it were possible to baptize every month here in the area. We receieved a positive answer. I was excited and not too worried because we had about 3 or 4 people who were going to church who were not members. I though it was going to be pretty easy. Once we got working to try committ one of these people to get baptized in June things started to get a little bit complicated. We knew that Heavenly Father was going to prepare someone for us, but we were not sure who. We were not sure if it was someone that we already knew or if it was someone that we had to find. In order to get baptized here, the investigator must assist church 3 times before their baptism. We either had to find someone in the first two week or baptize someone that was already going to church. We had been working very hard. We were talking to everyone we saw, planning as best as we could, studying really hard, along with a bunch of other things. I am sure we made lots of errors but we were really trying. The first week had passed and nothing looked very promising. This last week we have been working very hard. We had appointments with all the posible people that could get baptized. We planned and studied and fasted for them BUT in every lesson they said no to baptism. There was some problem or they didn't feel ready and a bunch of other things. So we studied to solve their doubts... and that didn't work either. After realizing that none of our investigators that we had were going to get baptized in June, we started looking very hard for new ones. Saturday morning came along and we still didn't have anyone. If we wanted someone new to come to church we had to find them that week in order for them to get baptized. I really felt like I was giving it everything that I had. Well on Saturday morning we saw a miracle!! A couple of elders from another side of Pergamino called to inform us that they had an investigator over there that they were teaching who had just recently moved to our ward boundaries. This investigator had already gone to church a number of times, she already had a testimony of the church, and had all the lessons!! She was ready to be baptized!! So on Sunday morning we did everything that we could to get them to church! After a battle we were finally able to get them to come!! I think she will be the baptism in the month of June! It was really cool to see that when we did everything that we could, God gave us what He had promised us, but first we had to really give it everything that we had! I really hope she will get baptized this month! Keep her in your prayers!! Her name is Sandra!

Today for my birthday we went to the store an bought a loaf of bread, jam, peanut butter and some milk! We ate some very yummy peanut buttter and jam sandwiches!! It had been a very long time since I have had that! Haha - I think tomorrow we are going to order something to eat, since today lots of the restaurants are closed!! It has been a good birthday!!

One thing that I have really noticed and learned on my mission is that the missionaries cannot do this work alone. There are four steps to helping someone become a member of the church. Finding, Teaching, Baptizing and Making friendships hermanar). Missionaries are there to Teach and Baptize. The members are there to FIND and to make friendships! We cannot work without the members and the members cannot work without us!!   I have been realizing how big of a change converts have to go through and without a friend, its very hard for them to do. They are changing their whole culture and their way of life! It's a big change! Also, nothing happens in missionary work until we find people to teach. I feel that maybe missionaries are doing to much finding, because they don't have people to teach. Its something that I really want to change  after the mission. I did not do a very go job at all at home and I feel bad about it. I will do better!!

Something cool that I have learned from the scriptures lately is in the new testament. I have been studying it a lot lately and I really like it! I was reading the other day in Matthew 11. At the end of the chapter we read about "yoke."I had not idea what the heck it was talking about. So after I had looked up a few things up, I learned that a yoke is an intrument used by animals when carrying big loads. The idea is that it helps carry the wieght. With the aid of the yoke, the weight goes from being unbearable, to bearable. Jesus invites us to come to him and he will give us his yoke. Then it later explains that his yoke, or the way he helps lighten our load is though the commandments! If we want help, we will recieve it though the blessings that the commandments promise us!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!!

Love you Guys! 
Elder Carter  

Brrrr - it's cold!!!!!!!

June 6, 2016

Hey guys! Hows it going?

This week went by quickly! I like it down here in Pergamino, but man it's cold!! The humidity just kills ya! It is so windy down here and mixed with the humidity, it makes the air feel so very cold!!! Luckily, our pension has a nice heater so when we get back at night it's nice and warm. Its been the first heater that I have had on my mission! And it's so nice because because this winter has definitely been colder than last year! I don't know if it is just because of where we are or if its because it's just a colder year, but its fine! 

The other day we had to go to Rosario bright and early! We woke up at 4am because we had to be there at 8 and its like 2 and a half hour ride! It was freezing cold on the way to the bus terminal. When we got onto the bus at the bus terminal, I was so excited to have a nice warm ride to Rosario. Well, with my luck the heaters didn't work! Haha!!! So, for the whole 2 hour ride, I was freezing my butt off!! Haha - I couldn't wait until we got to Rosario. On top of that, I had to go to the bathroom the whole time, so all in all it was not a very pleasant ride to Rosario. It took me a little while to get all warmed up when we arrived. I found an Hermana in the ward that is going to make me a knitted scarf, so I am pretty excited about that!!

This week, I was thinking a lot about miracles and what is required of us in order to see and witness miracles. I have always prayed and asked and waited for miracles but I have been asking myself lately am I really doing my part to witness a miracle? In the Book of Mormon, it talks about a God that works many miracles, a God that breaks Alma and Almulek out of prison, a God that delivers the plates to Nephi, a God that helps thousand of people get baptized. A God of miracles. It also says that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is always a God of miracles and if he stops performing miracles He will stop being God. If we are not seeing miracles, it is becuase of the lack of our faith. I know the Book of Mormon is true, but I haven't been acting like I believe in a God of miracles. If I say I know the Book of Mormon is true, I need to believe in a living God, a God that works miracles. I have seen miracles in the mission field, but  have lacked faith. I was really thinking about that a lot this week-that when I read the Book of Mormon, if I really do believe it, than I need to believe in the living God that wrote it though mans hands. It was cool for me to think about and really changed my perspective on how I read and study the scriptures! 

The ward here is good! Better than i was expecting! Its not like Belgrano or anything, but I am looking forward to working with them! There were about 40 people at church yesterday! A lot different than 140, but they seem like good people!! The Elders qoruom President is a 19 year old and the people who attend are the Elders the bishop's counsellors and the stake patriarch. We share the ward with two hermanas. I really like it!! We don't have too many lunches set up, but Elder Larsen knows how to cook pretty well so that's really nice!

One thing that I am really trying to work on is showing my emtions better. I am happy and excited but sometimes I am not very good at showing it. I'm not very good at showing my love towards others. So I am really trying to focus on this and really trying to show my love towards the members and the investigators here! Do you have any ideas how i can do that a little bit better_?

  Thats about it for this week! It went by very quickly! 

Love,
Elder Carter

Pergamino!!

May 31, 2016

Hey guys!

Well this week has been good! 

I got transferred this week! I got transfered to a city called Pergamino which is about 2 hours from Rosario! I am super excited! My new companion is from Heber, Utah. He is my 5th companion from Utah! His name is Elder Larsen and he is about 11 month in the mission! He seems  like a cool guy! I was however, sad to say goodbye to Elder Curtis. We had a lot of fun together and were able to work very well together! I will also miss Rosario and Belgrano but i am really excited to come here and apply everything that I was able to learn! I haven't really gotten to know the area yet, but from what I have seen so far looks pretty cool. Its been pretty rainy here BUT we went to the store and GUESS WHAT?! There is PEANUT BUTTER!! Hahaha - I bought myself a big jar and I have been eating it by the spoon fulls! Pretty great! The apartment is nice. It's big , but the bathroom is kind of small and gross, but in Argentina is doesn't get much better than that! Going to the bathroom and showering at the same time makes for an interesting bathroom.

So, I said goodbye to a couple of people in Belgrano. Since I wasn't there for a super long time I didn't build a ton of great relationships with everyone, but I was able to build a few! Angelina, the golden investigator that we found was pretty bummed when I told her that I was leaving! We have almost taught her everything and she is going to get baptized on the 18th of june! So, if you remember she doesn't have a job, she is trying to study nursing and is raising a 6 year old son alone. She does not have very much. Anyways, on Sunday when I went to go say goodbye to her she had made us cookies, pizza, bought chips, coke, crackers, and hot dogs. I know for a fact that she did not have the money just floating around. It was really good food but the sacrifice and thought meant even more to me. To be a single mother without a job and be scraping the bottom of the jar everyday for money would not be easy, but it did not matter to her. She so lovingly sacrificed to show love and gratitude to someone she had recently met. I was so humbled and touched and definitely taught. She made me feel so good! I am sad I will not be there for her baptism but am excited to see pictures. It will be super awesome!!!   It's great when you can find someone like that who really loves and needs the gospel!!

Today I was reading in Matthew 8:21-22 and I really got thinking about it. It talks about a disciple of Christ who had lost his father and he was going to bury him. He asked Jesus if he could be excused to go and do this. Jesus responded and told him that he needed to leave his father and follow him. So the man did it. I was studying and thinking more about that. The callings, assignments and revelations that we recieve from God are really inspired. He knows what is going on in our lives and he expects us to do all we can to fulfill our callings. Bruce R Mcconkie also said that we must remeber to follow Christ at all times not matter what the circumstances are. It made me think of what I am doing and if I really am consecrated in the work! It helped me realize how important following Christ and doing whet he needs and wants is important!

Other than that, nothing too big has happend! It will be a good week! I am looking forward to getting to know the members and start looking for people to baptize!

Love you guys!
Elder Carter

Monday 30 May 2016

Even more miracles!

May 23, 2016

Hey guys!!

Sounds like life is crazy busy in Calgary with all that is going on - tournaments, grad, and vacations!! Hahaha- but don't forget to find opportunities to share the gospel!!! haha jk 

The weather here has been getting a lot colder! The humidity really kills ya! The cold gets right to your bones!! Haha - and it doesn't help being outside all the time! But the members always have some nice warm drinks waiting for us when we enter their house!  It's fall here, so there are tons of leaves on the ground, and I am excited that I don't have to rake them!!! Haha! Winter is coming quickly though!! It gets dark really early and the sun doesn't come up until really late! It's a lot harder to get out of bed on time now! 

The golden investigator that we have is progressing really well! On Sunday, she didn't get to church at 9 am so we waited a little bit and then went with a member to go look for her. We knocked on the door and found her sleeping! We woke her up and told her that we had a car ready for her to come to church! She said she would change and be right there, but then her 7 year old kid didn't want to get out of bed so she didn't come. I was pretty bummed and was praying that she would feel bad and that the spirit would testify to her that she should have gone to church! We went back in the afternoon and she sure felt bad! She apologized like 100 times and said she was feeling bummed all day becuse she missed her opportunity! It's alright, the next week she will come for sure! After we had done everything we could to help her God blessed her that she would want to come the next sunday!!

Another miracle happen this week that I thought was pretty sweet! So lately,  we have been talking a lot with the members about their role in the work. We have been trying to help them have the incentive to invite people because it is waaay more succesful! So anyways, there is this one inactive family whose home we have stopped by at least 10 times! They always are very cold and say they don't have time and show very little interest! They are sealed in the temple and have 2 kids that aren't members. So I had kind of lost hope. If they don't want us working with them, we need to respect that. Anyways, one day we got a call from a member saying that this family needed a blessing and the members had called and arranged it for us! So we were able to enter the home, they were very freindly and even came to church with the member! The member was able to do in 15 minutes what we had been trying to do for weeks!! Haha - we had gone so many times to that house! It was a pretty great miracle to see that after we had done everything we could p, God blessed us!!

The other cool thing that happened with that family is that their 11 year old daughter wanted to come to church but was insecure about coming because she knew everyone was going to be wearing skirts.The member family also have an 11 year girl. So the member's 11 year girl decided she would not wear a skirt and instead wore pants so that her friend would not feel left out! That was pretty cool!!! It really taught me how to put Mosiah 18 in action!! What a great example!!! 

It's been a good week! We working hard and eating some good food!

I love you guys!
Elder Carter

God's love

May 16, 2016

Hey guys! This week was good! Tough, but it was good!!

So, we went to a really yummy restuarant last week that had some great deals! I ate fish there and enjoyed it a ton! It has been a while since I have had fish!! It was great! Haha- plus i get along great with Elder Curtis, so it's really fun to hangout with him!! 

We have been working alot with a woman whose name is Angelina! We found her just talking with people! After talking to tons and tons and tons of people we were finally able to find her. She was super prepared to accept the gospel! She has been stuggling through some addictions and lives alone with her 6 year old son! She is trying to study and work at the same time and really needs help! We arrived! She already received an answer that the church is true and loved church when she came! She has a baptismal date for the 4th of June, which is great! I am very excited about it! God really prepared her for us! She is reading and praying and everything! It does not get much better than that!! How great!!

One thing that has become very clear to me while on the mission is that God really loves each and every one of his children. Regardless of whether they are a member or not, if they are male of female, if they are a drug dealer or and apostle, God loves all of his children. Before the mission, for some reason I had in my head that  God loved everyone but he loved those who were doing good things better. It has really hit me how much God really does love each and everyone of his children! I was reading in Ether this week. It's such an interesting book to me! There is a king who starts doing bad things and then the people he leads start doing bad things as well. After a while, they start to have a war and tons of them die. They humble themselves, repent and turn to God again. Then they have a leader who is very rightouus and the people are rightous. They do great and prosper a ton and have tons of riches of the world. Then they get swallowed up in pride again and have a a bad leader who leads everyone to wickedness. This pattern repeats itself a couple of times. I was wondering , if God knows that the people are just going to become prideful and wicked with the things they are blessed with, why doesn't he just not bless them? Why doesn't he just keep them humble and give them just what they need? I was thinking about that for a while. I realized that God really does love his children and wants the best for us! He wants to give us everything that he has. He loves seeing us happy and therefore will bless people even though he knows that they will forget him and become wicked. He still blessed them because he loved them and if they earned it, he was going to take every opportunity He could to bless them! Pretty cool! 

Elder Curtis and I are doing great! We are really trying to work with the members to try and get people to teach. Preach my Gospel says that the ideal situation is when the members take the iniciative in teaching and invite their friends to listen to us. Our job is to teach. We are trying to help the members understand this.We cannot just go put all the weight and blame on the members. After we have given it our all and done everything we as missionaries can, thats when we can ask the members to do what they are suppose to do. We cannot get mad at the members for not doing what they are suppose to do, if we are not doing it either!

Lots of learning this week! It was good!!

I love you guys!
Elder Carter

A golden contact!!

May 9, 2016

Hey guys! It was great to talk to you guys yesterday! Dani and Bentley look very different! I still remember Bentley as a chuncky liitle kid, and Dani as my little sister with braces and a little clumsy! Haha the tables have turned! I really miss you guys!! It will be so fun to see you guys in 3 months!!
This week went well! Not a ton of crazy stuff has happened but we have been working hard!
After talking to many, many, many people, we finally found a woman who is very prepared to learn about the gospel! It was a miracle! We try to talk to atleast 20 people a day and most of them don't really seem that receptive! Well, we talked to this woman and she seemed very excited and receptive so we tried to meet with her! After a couple of attempts,  we kind of gave up because scheduling its was kind of tough! Well, one day we were walking and we saw her and she invited us in!  She is very prepared and even came to church on Sunday! The ward is doing a great job talking to her and letting her feel very comfortable! So, that was a pretty cool miracle that we have seen! I hope she gets baptized! her name is Angelina.
We have been really trying to work with the ward and their missionary work. I have realized that there are lots who have great intentions and really want to share the gospel but they just don't know how. Maybe they kind of half share it but we are working on how we can get better at it! Lots of people talk but never invite, and until we invite they never do anything! So, we are trying to work around that! But, all is good!
I am having a great time and really enjoying my time here! I feel lots of pressure but it's good for me because it forces me to always be looking to get better!
Haha mom - you would probably kill me right now for how dirty our apartment is! We need to clean today!!!!!
I love you guys!
Elder Carter

A busy week!!

May 2, 2016

Hey guys! How's it going?

This week went well! It was a little stressful for me with lots of stuff to do,but we did it!!

I feel like we are really starting to find great people to teach. I am excited to see how they progress, and also to keep finding new people to teach. The most effective way I have seen missionary work progress is when the members share the gospel. This is something that I didn't do before the mission. I find that when the members share the gospel, it is 10 times more effective than when we share the gospel! We are trying to help them with that! Do you have any ideas how we can help them? What are you guys doing to share the gospel?

Well, this week we had a leadership council with all the zone leaders and then also a training for half the mission. Hahaha - man I was pretty stressed out about that! But we did it! With lots of meetings and planning and studying, I think the material we covered will be able to help everyone out a little bit better!

One thing that I have been learning more and being more aware of is the power that comes through meditating and thinking. A scripture that comes to mind is Helaman 10:3-5, where it talks about Nephi and how he preached the gospel with everything that he had and he meditated and thought a lot about it. Then after he had done that, he was given power to do anything he wanted. It only came after he did everything posible and thought and pondered on what had happen, and what he could do. It was cool for me because I have never really been that good at it taking the time to really think through things. It's something that I am trying to get a lot better at and I have noticed that when I take the time to do it, I receive reavelation or inspiration with what to do or what to teach or say. It was pretty cool for me! It's definitely something I want to keep developing.


Looking forward to talking to you guys on Sunday at 7:00 pm my time.

I love you guys!
Elder Carter

Miracles

April 25, 2016

Hey guys!

Hows it going?

This week has gone by really really fast! We were in the mission home the first part of the week which was really good! Its always sad to see the missionaries going home, but really cool to see all the new missionaries coming in! There were about 10 missionaries who came from Brasil! Haha - I was going crazy because they weren't talking spanish nor english! I could pick out some words, but it was funny! They would try and speak spanish, but it wouldn't come out 100 percent right! It was fun! They also had about 100 riddles at dinner! It was pretty fun! Good missionaries!!

This week we have been working to find a lot of new people. Its easy to teach, but harder to find. We are trying to talk to 40 people a day, and usually out of those 40 people, we get 3 or 4 appointments, and 2 are usually waiting for us. Its good though. We are also trying to be "finding" more of the time and teaching less. Obviously we need to teach, but if we only teach those who are willing to progess and find the rest of the time, we will baptize more! Its tough but I really like it.

On Sunday we had been walking for forever and had not been able to find anything good for about 3 hours. Also, the couple days before had been kind of dry with a lot of walking and a lot of people saying no. We had the idea to go and visit an inactive member. When we got there he happily received us and we were able to visit with his 20 year old son, who was not a member and we were able to give him a baptismal date!!! He originally thought that he was a member, but just had not been baptized! I am super excited and I know it was a blessing because of the hard work we had put into finding this week! Then about 10 mins later, after we left that house we decided to go and visit an old investigator who we hadn't been able to contact for a while. We found her, which was a miracle and were able to get an appointment. Then right after that we were talking to people in the street and we found a woman who got baptized when she was 8 years old and hadn't gone to church since, but she had kids that had not been baptized. She said that she was thinking about coming back to church! Pretty crazy huh!! Then we had another investigator call us and apologize because he was not there when we passed by (we had passed by probably 10 times and he was not there). We got an appointment with him for Wednesday! It was a really cool day for me because all week we had just been working really hard, planning good, keeping good records, talking to tons of people, trying to get the members to share the gospel but nothing had been working. Then on Sunday night, the last day of the week we were receiving all of the blessings! It was pretty awesome! Even if all of those people don't follow through,  it was still a miracle that we found them all!

I really like Elder Curtis! He is a good guy! We have ordered some good empandas a couple times this week! Good times!!!!

Also, one day we had a lunch appointment very very far away. We had to take a bus to get there. Anyways, this family really doest not have any money. She is a single mother of 5 children, and is not working consistently. She is looking but cannot find a way to do it around the schedual of her children. The house was pretty humble, but she was more than happy to have us over. We had another appointment right after lunch, so we had to eat fast and go. Well, when we got there she had just started cooking the food. I was a little annoyed, and forgot about all the sacrafices that she was doing for us. We ate fast and shared a quick message. It was good food, but I was a little bit worried because of the cleanliness of the utensils, but nothing has happened so far.  So after we ate I was still annoyed about how long it took and how we were going to be late to our next appointment. You know how I am about time. Well, as we were leaving, she gives a a huge bag of food with tons of crackers, hot dogs and tons of food for us. I know for a fact that she did not have the money to do that and she was definitely sacrificing something to be able to give us that. In that moment, I realized how seflish and uncaring I was being towards her. I felt bad for the way I thought. I can't believe I thought that way. She was really giving us everything she had and I was too worried thinking that we were going to be late. How rude!!! Anways, I learned a great lesson there and am very thankful for the sacrafices that she made for us! 

It was a good week! I love you guys!
Elder Carter

Still raining!!

April 18, 2016

Hey guys! This week has been really good! The rain still continues! I haven't had dry clothes in like 2 weeks, since it has been raining for forever! We are hearing that a lot of cities to the north are being flooded! Pretty crazy! So far nothing too serious has happened here, but the massive river parana has gotten pretty high! With all of the rain the humidity has been off the charts!!! The other day it wasn't hot at all, but I could not stop sweating. In the morning when we woke up the walls were all wet because of how humid it is! I could not believe it!! It was almost unbearable! Haha - the forecast says it will continue to rain this week! Atleast everyone is always home so we always have people to visit. My umbrella has been beat up pretty good! It is starting to get pretty cold as well! Sweater weather! 

The package you sent me got here! Thanks!! It was awesome! We made the muffins and ate a ton of goodies! I got a little bit of a stomach ache but it went away when i took some of the digezen magic potion that bita gave me! Also my teeth are going to be pretty clean with that nice new electric tooth brush mom send me! Hahaha- are you trying to send me a message? Elder Bluth also enjoyed the package as well! Thanks! I have been trying to eat a little healthier but right as I started to do that I got that package and I couldn't do it anymore! Hahaha- I couldn't resist! 

This week we had to get some flu shots. (a nurse came to the stake center to do them). While I was waiting for my turn I started talk with the family history consultant. She is an older lady who looks like she is about 80 years old! I got talking to her and she is super awesome! You can tell that she really does all that she can to fulfill her calling. She couldn't stop talking to me about the work! Then I watched as she gathered a few other missionaries together and talked to them about inviting and bringing people to do their family history work. There was nobody who was attending very regularly. You could tell that she was very desperate for people to come and do this work. She was doing all in her power to get people there and to help them out! It was pretty cool for me to see the determination in this little old lady. I was thinking about her example as she tried her best to fulfill her calling/assignment. This experience has stuck with me. I think I need to do a little better in that. Those who dedicate themselves and do everything that they can to achieve what they have set themselves out to get are successful. It was pretty cool for me!

This week I got a new companion! His name is Elder Curtis! I had mentioned him a a while back! He is one of Triton and Stevens good friend! I had gotten along really well with him! Now he is my companion! I am pretty excited! It should be great! I was sad to say goodbye to Elder Bluth again. Hahaha- I had a really fun time with him. I spent 6 months of my mission with him! We had a great time! He is off to Venado Tuerto, a little town about 2 hours from Rosario! He also really enjoyed the package you sent me! Thanks mom!

I love you guys!
Elder Carter

Daniela got baptized!!!

April 11, 2016

Hey guys!

Its been a good week! It is still raining a ton here, which sucks! Haha - but it is nice because everyone is at home. It is just too bad we arrive all wet and cold! Hahaha- I have been drinking a lot of hot chocolate or Malta, which are the comon winter time drinks here. I like them but they have toooons of sugar so I try not to drink them because I don't want to get fat -lol!!!!

The most exciting thing that happened this week was that Daniela from Villa Ramallo got baptized!! I had asked president if I could go back for the baptism and he said yes, which was sweet! On Friday we left right after lunch to be able to get there in time. The baptism started at 6 o clock. To get to Villa Ramallo from Rosario, you have to take 2 buses. The first one is to San Nicolas. Then, from San Nicolas you have to take another bus to Villa Ramallo. These buses only run every hour, so we had to be on time for that one. The buses to Villa Ramallo left at 4:20 and 5:10, taking an hour to get to villa ramallo from san nicolas. We needed to catch the bus that left at 4:20 or else we would arrive too late to the baptism and I couldn't do that because I was baptizing her. So, the other option would be to take a taxi but that would be pretty expensive. Anyways, we got on the first bus at 3:00 pm and it's about 1hr and 20 min bus ride, so we were cutting it pretty dang close. As we were pulling into San Nicolas, I was getting pretty nervous because I did not want to miss the bus going to Villa Ramallo. We arrived in San Nicolas at 4:19, and right as the bus stopped we ran off it in order to catch the other bus. Hahaha - we got there right as the bus going to Villa Ramallo was pulling out! We qucikly jumped on and were headed to villa ramallo. That was a miracle because if we had arrived about 30 seconds later we would not have made it! 

Going back to Villa Ramallo was really cool! I really miss that place, even though when I first arrived I thought that I was never going to miss it. It brought back some great memories as well! It was really awesome to see Elder Magby again along with a couple other members that I really got a long with! Daniela had asked me to baptize her, so I was pretty excited! It was awesome to see them again! They looked so good and happy! The baptism went awesome, even though the water was a little bit cold! 

It was really cool for me to be able to go back and be a part of that! I remember when we first started teaching them and all the times we went over there to eat! I remember when we arrived one time and they had decided that they weren't going to get married. They had been fighting a lot, and now Daniela could not get baptized.   I was pretty sad at that moment! But with the good help of the Spirit, we were able to work through it and they finally arrived! I just felt super good during the baptismal service! Elder Bluth and I had to leave right after to get back, but the branch was throwing a litlle wedding party for them! It looked so cool! Too bad we couldn't stay, but it's alright!!

We caught the colectivo (bus) back to San Nicolas and right when we got off the colectivo we saw the other colectivo leaving to Rosario just barely pulling out! Hahaha- we quickly ran and jumped on that one as well! God really had our backs  because we just barely made it!! It was pretty awesome! It was a pretty cool day for me!

This week Elder Aubrey, one of my friends from the mission, came and did divisiones (splits) with us! It was pretty sweet to see him and talk to him a little bit! He is such an awesome guy!

Lately,  I have been reading in the end of Alma about all the battles that were fought. It is pretty interesting how much they planned and prepared for what the lamanites would do to them. I think it is a great example to us of how we should prepare for Satan and all the things that could happen in the world. Everytime the Lamanites prepared and had faith in the Lord, they come out winning. I think that if we also apply this pattern, we will always come out happy and with something that we have learned!

That's all this week!

I love you guys!
Elder Carter

It's pouring!!!!!

April 4, 2016

Hey guys! 

This week went well!

This week Elder Magby called me from Villa Ramallo(my last comp). He said that Daniela was going to get married and April 8th was her baptism date ! I was super excited! They finally got married and this Friday she is going to get baptized! I asked president if we could go back for the baptism and he gave me the thumbs up! I am pretty excited! I really like them. I am looking forward to that so I will let you know how it goes! I do have to pay for it with my own money though, all the buses and taxis but its totally worth it! After so much time working with them, they are finally getting baptized! I There hasn't been a baptism in Villa Ramallo for over a year, so I think the ward is pretty excited about it as well. 

This week it poured here!!!! I like the rain when I can stay inside or if I have a car, but as a missionary I am really not a big fan. We have to go out and work anyway, so we just get wet and cold. I tried the umbrella but after 5 minutes it broke because the wind was so heavy!! Haha- I ended up getting soaked! Since there were not many people out side, we decided to try an investigator who had recently called us and said they had lost interest. We were sure they were going to be in their house because when it rains nobody in Argentina does anything. The thing is that if they don't know you they don't want to let you in or even answer the door when it rains. So we took advantage of the opportunity that the rain would keep the family inside. Haha - we went in the pouring rain and she let us in! We were able to resolve her doubt on why she did not want to listen to us anymore. It was pretty cool. She had some weird doubt that going to church would bring spirits into her house, like she would hear things moving in the kitchen at night and stuff. I guess it happened the last time she was investigating. We helped her resolve her concern, so it was a pretty good visit! 

In the mission there are only 2 Canadians including myself. This week we had the chance to work together during divisions!! He is from Barnwell, which is like 30 mins from Lethbridge. He goes to Calgary all of the time, so we were able to talk a little bit about home! It was pretty fun! It has been a long time since I have spoken to someone about home!! It was cool as well because we as Canadians have a couple words or things that are different from the states. Well, lots of missionaries give us a hard time, or they joke around with us since we have some different words. For example, we say toque instead of beany, or garbarator, or the way we say bag, or that we have poutin, or that we have ketchup chips! Haha!!!  For the first time in my mission I  was not the minortiy!! We had fun joking with Elder Bluth about stuff they do in the states! It was fun! Good guy, he finishes his mission in 2 weeks!

I really enjoyed conference this weekend! We were able to watch it in English which was sweet! The voices of the apostles are way better than when someone is translating what they say. All the english speaking missionaries were squished in the office of the stake president to watch it! I really enjoyed it! It was sweet to hear them speak! During the past couple of conferences, I have taken a lot of notes of every single talk. That was a mistake, since I never even go back and look at the notes, plus the Liahona just comes out with all of the talks anyways. So this time , I only wrote down things that I want to work on. A couple of things that really stood out to me were messages that encouraged the weak  to come closer to Christ. We must seek and then he will receive us,band as we come make efforts to be closer to Christ, we will become  converted. I would like to work more on this. Another thing that I need to get better at is using the priestood power. I don't really know how to do that better, but I think I need to study it a little bit more! Elder Christopherson's talk made me grateful to have my father as my dad! Thanks dad!  

Other that nothing new has happened. Everything is going good! It's starting to get cold here! 

Love you
Elder Carter