Two missionaries to the rescue!

October 26, 2015

 

Hey guys!!

This week has been super good! It is different being here in Ramallo than in the city! There is not much movement here and it seems like not as much stuff is happening! Haha! It's alright! i really like it!

This week we have mainly been getting to know all the members and the "menos activos" and investigatores! It's been good! The members are a little different here and there aren't as many, but its alright! I am going to enjoy my time working here!! We have a number of ladies that we are teaching but all of them have the same problem. They are living with their boyfriends (with a number of kids) and the guy doesn't want to get married. We have about 4 or 5 ladies who are ready to be baptized but their boyfirend does not want anything to do with the church or getting married! It is so sad! We fasted with 2 of them this Sunday so that we could some how find a solution to that problem! I don't know what it is the deal here with people not getting married! Pretty weird!!

On Sunday there were about 45 people at church, which was good! Its a lot smaller than Rosario! But i like it! The president is a little different and I think that's why there are so few people going to church but we are trying to work and help him out! Elections were going on here on Sunday as well and we were not allowed to be out because it gets crazy here!! So,  it was a good opportunity to get to know Elder Cox a little better and also  to catch up on my studies, the journal and sleep! It was a good rest!! Elder Cox knows how to make some good mini donuts so we were busy eatng those all day! Haha!  I have always been blessed with companions who know how to cook. Thank goodness because I  know anything about cooking! I decided I am just not a cooker!! Haha!!

One morning this week we were walking and a moter cyle passed by us. A couple of seconds later we heard what sounded like a crash. We turned around and the woman on the motor cyle had totally wiped out and the motorcycle was laying on top of her! We quickly ran over and lifted the moter cyle off of her and made sure that she was okay. Lucky nothing was broken! Here in Argentina there are a ton of speed bumps! They are all over the place! The night before it had been a little rainy. Anyways, what happens here is that people on motorcycles don't want to go over the speed bump so they go to the side where the speed bump and the curb meet. There is about 1 foot of space, so the moter cyle can easly fit through and keep going with out having to slow down. Well what had happened was that she tried to do but because of mud from the rain the night before, her tire caught the mud and she wiped out. I was thinking alot about this incident. Speed bumps are built for our protection. Even though sometimes they are annoying and we don't want to use them, they are so that we, and the people around us can stay safe. They have been built by people who know what they are doing and have seen far too many accidents before. When we do not choose to use these speed bumps the way they are designed, people can get hurt!  It's the same with the commandments!!!! God had given us commandments and even though it seems like they get in the way or they just slow us down, they are really here to help us. If we choose to disobey and go around the commandments we might just find our selves in a muddy situation! Haha!  God knows alot more than us and we should use the things he has told us to use and do the things he has told us to do! That's what's cool!!

The pension here is super nice! It is probably one of the nicest ones in the mission! Its good and I am happy! Elder Cox is super cool! And he is a funny kid! A little clumsy but I love him!

I love you guys!!

Elder Carter

A transfer!

October 20,2015

Hey guys!! It's been a crazy week!!

To start off, last Monday we cut computer time short so that we could go golfing! Man, golfing was super fun!! It had been a super long time since I last went! The course was kind of crappy because it wasn't the golfing season and I played awful, but I loved it!! It was super fun!! haha! So, we went and the course was in this  gated off neighbourhood! We drove up in a little crappy looking taxi and entered this area where the houses were just massive and the cars were super nice!!!! It was crazy!! We got there and started golfing right away,which was sweet!! Nobody was playing and the guy was super nice that let us in! We had a ton of fun and it felt like I was just hanging out! It was pretty awesome!! We then finished up and went and got some chorizos in centro which are like sausages but in a sandwhich and man they are sooo goood!! Haha! It was a pretty awesome day! It was definitely a good way to spend my last p day in Rosario!!

We had a good week doing divisiones, visiting the members and everything!! We were starting to find new people to teach and new menos activos to work with! It was pretty sweet! I was pretty excited!!! So much potential right when I was leaving!! It's alright, though! The new companionship will do great!  We did a couple of service activities this week, which went super well! We cut down a tree and it was pretty fun! I will send pics next week, I  forgot my camera!

The big news this week is that I got transferred! I am now in a small little town outside of San Nicholas! It is called Villa Ramallo! It is about an hour away from San Nicolas and San Nicolas is about 1 hour and 30 mins from Rosario! My new companion is named Elder Cox. He is from Utah and just finished being trained! I am excited to work with him!

We found out about transfers Saturday night, so we were busy visiting and saying goodbye to everyone all day Sunday and Saturday! Man, I had some really tough goodbyes! The familia Castellano and Bozac were both super hard for me to leave! I had built such a special friendship with them!  They both felt like part of my family. The familia Castellano felt like my uncle and aunt and then the familia Bozac felt like other grandparents! It was pretty hard for me to say goodbye to them! They both cried! I wrote them notes and gave them a few gifts! I hope I can see them both one day! Mom, they are both going to add you on facebook so accept them and keep encouraging them for me!!

Sunday I was asked to give a talk, 20 mins before sacrament meeting. I was thinking tons of what I should talk about. Sunday was mothers day here in Argentina so I went with the theme! I talked about mom and the love that she has shown me and how its similar to the love of chirst! I think it went well because I looked out into the congregation and some sisters were crying. I think that means it was good!!

I left Rosario in the morning and I arrived in San Nicholas in the afternoon. I traveled alone which was pretty weird!  Haha! But, I made it safe and sound! Ramallo is very very different from Rosario. I was pretty sad to say goodbye to Las Delicias and I think I really took it for granted while I was there! The members there are amazing and do so much for the missionaries. It is much smaller here with about 40 people at church every Sunday. We share the branch with a pair of hermanas... It is a little tiny town that doesn't really have a downtown or a centro. It is very calm and quiet which is very different from Rosario where you hear gun shots every night and there is always tons of movement! It's alright though, it should be good and I am excited to work here! By the way, I have realized I am a city boy!

I really loved the people in Rosario and for real am going to miss them! The members really took great care of me - they fed me every day, helped me with my laundry, and were always ready and willing to help the missionaries out as best they could. They taught me a lot!  I know things will be different here, but I am looking forward to doing my best! I am excited and committed to working hard here!

I love you guys! Thanks for everything!

Elder Carter

I was humbled!

Hey guys!! How's it going!! 

Well this week has been pretty good! I am back working hard with my toe pretty much better , I hope!!!

I was thinking about the scripture that you told me you guys were thinking about (ponderizing) in Mosiah 4: 27. It's a pretty good scripture! I was reading it and studying it a little bit and I liked the footnote in D&C 10 :4. In this part, the Lord is not letting Joseph Smith translate the Book of Mormon because Joseph had given some of the pages  to Martin Harris and then Martin Harris lost them! So, Joseph had to repent for doing this before he was able to translate the plates again. Quite a bit of time passed between when he gave the plates to Martin Harris and when he was able to start translating again. When Joseph finally was able to translate again he was trying to translate very quickly to make up for the lost time. Then the Lord said to Joseph to take his time and to work well but cautioned him not go faster than he could. I thought that was pretty cool and it put the scripture into a little bit of a better perspective to me. We must do our best, but not take on more than we can handle!! Good choice on the scripture,dad!

The other elders in our ward are always late. One of the elders is from mexico and he is always late. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS. And you know how I am about being late. Anyways, it gets annoying when we have lunch together or have a lesson together because we can't start until they get there. So I went and talked to him to try and help him with this problem. He said he would do better and work on a plan to improve. I was pretty happy about that! Well, turns out that later the same night we had a lesson together with a "menos activo" (less active) that wanted all four of us to go for some reason. It was in the other elder's area area, so we headed over there. We arrived on time and were waiting outside for the other elders to arrive.  They didn't get there until about 20 minutes later!! I was ticked, especially because the elder I spoke to said they were going to try to do better. But,  I didn't say anything, trying not to ruin the lesson we were about to have. I know that going into a lesson with a spirit of contention is not good. But to be honest, as we were going in I was pretty mad!!  Then, to top it off, the "hermana menos activo" (the less active sister) who wanted us to go there wasnt even there!!! I was even more ticked off cause we were wasting time that we could have used working in our area!!! I was not very happy, but God knows me pretty well and what I need to learn. 

SO, get this- about after 10 mintues of waiting she walks in with 6 large pizzas for us to eat!!!!! I can't tell you how fast my atitude changed from being mad and upset to being grateful and humbled!! This family really does not have money. The mom is out of work and they have 3 kids. Their house isn't very nice and they live in a very dangerous part of our area because they can't afford anything better. Yet, they sacrificed their money that would have been very useful to them to try and help us out!! I was truly touched!! It made me think that I need to be more giving and also that I need lighten up a little bit. Everyone makes mistakes but we are all trying to go to the same place. God probably gets pretty frustrated at us sometimes too, but through Christ all is possible and we can become better. Everyone needs Christ and that makes us all equal! I felt bad about being so upset, but was truly humbled and grateful for the food and the kind act they did for us and for how this sister reminded me to lighten up!

The other day we were walking behind a little girl and her mom. Suddenly, the little girl just stopped in the middle of the side walk and started going to the bathroom!! Haha - I thought it was classic!! The mom's face was pretty funny! Haha!! It got me thinking about my parents and some of the things I have done to embarrass them!!

Anyways, thats all!! I love you guys!!

Elder Carter

Great conference weekend!

Hey guys! What's up?

Wow!! This week has been crazy!!

Conference was freaking awesome!! It was so sweet! We watched it in english, so that made it even better! I think it is way better to hear their actual voices!! All the English speaking missionaries got to watch conference upstairs in the high council room, which was pretty fun! We went out for ice cream in between sessions on Saturday!

There were so many good talks!! I would probably say I have two that really stick out to me! One of them was by Elder Anderson. He related the story about the family who died and left 3 children and how the surviving kids chose to move forward in faith! It was crazy! I was really inspired!  The fact that one of the sons was out serving a mission when his parents died was pretty significant to me because I could put myself in his shoes. And I can't even imagine it! What amazing faith! It helped put a lot of things into perspective for me! 

The other talk that I loved was Elder Holland's talk about mothers and how the love of a mother is like that of Christ's! The whole time I was listening to it I was just thinking about my mother and what an excellent example of that she is. She has sacrificed so much for me!  I will never be able to repay. The talk just made me extra grateful for the mother I have. Elder Holland was saying that sometimes when it is hard to feel the love of Christ, it is truly displayed by a mother. It made me think a lot about whether or not the  decisions I have made, am making, and will someday make are going to make my mom proud of me. Thank you, mom! You are the best!!!!!

This week I had my operation on my toe! Everything went well and I have been resting for these last couple of days!! Actually, another elder in the zone got the same surgery so we hung out for a while,while our companions went out and worked! He is a pretty cool guy!! He actually is one of my good friends on the mission, so it was pretty fun!! But I think by Tuesday I will be back into the full swing of things! It will be nice to get back to good old missionary work!!

We don't have a ton of people to teach right now, so this week we have been focusing on a part of our area that is a little bit outside of Rosario! We have to take the "collectivo" to get there, but I think there is a lot of potenial there! I am looking forward to finding new people over there so that we can help them!!

It's crazy to think that I have been out over a year! I really have enjoyed my time and I feel as if it is going by way too fast! Looking back it has gone by faster than I can ever imagine!! I am really trying to enjoy every minute because I know it will be over before I know it!!

Thank you so much!

Love you guys!!

Elder Carter

My prayers are working!

Hey guys!! This week was good!!

I dont know if I already told you about a missionary serving with us in the ward by the name of Elder Curtis. Anyway, turns out he is really good friends with Triton and Steven. They met at BYU. I think Gavin and Joel know him as well.  What a small world!! I went on divisions with him this week and it was pretty fun!!

Well, it turns out that I did not go in for surgery this past week. Instead, I am scheduled to go in on Friday, which is perfect because it is General Conference weekend, so we wouldn't be out much, anyways. I am pretty excited for conference!! I was never excited before my mission, but I think I had  given it the importance that it deserves! But now I am pretty excited to hear the talks and learn about the 3 new apostles that are going to be called!! This weekend should be pretty great!!!

Things are good here in Las Delicias! I have been here for about 5 and a half months now and I know pretty much all the members and a lot of the menos activos! It's kind of nice knowing all the streets and all the members so well! Its also kind of hard sometimes because I loose a little bit of faith if we have already knocked a door, or already tried to reactivate a member! I think that's why it's pretty important that we are transferred areas every once in a while!! I have been able to see this ward change and it's pretty cool! They recently changed a couple of callings and then BAM!  things started to pick up and things started to change! We baptized and now the goal for this ward is to split into two. I don't know why because they only have 110 people going every week,  but I am working with the ward for this goal! It is amazing the difference it makes when people really put time and energy into their callings and do it to the best of their abilities! Amazing things can happen!! But it really makes me happy to see people that were once inactives blessing the sacrament, or giving a talk or just coming to church! This truly is an amazing ward!!

When I first got here, we were teaching a women named Geraldine. She was awesome! She took notes, she read, she had a baptismal date, she had come to church, gone to institute, she had a day to the baptismal interview and everything was awesome. Then she told her boyfriend. Man, her boyfriend was not happy! He doesn't want anything to do with the church and told her that if she joined they would end  things. They had been dating for 6 years, had already built a house to move into and were pretty much married, just without the title and living in different houses. So this decision was pretty tough for her and she dropped us. I had been praying that they would get in a fight or something! Anyways, this past week I had a feeling that we needed to pass by her house, even though she doesn't live in our part of the area(it would be the part of the area where the other elders work). We decided to go anyway! Oh and she is really hard to find! She is a police women and works a ton!! So we always had to teach her a weird times!! She basically is never home! ANYWAYS we went and we found her in the house!! Even better, her boyfriend and her had been fighting like crazy!! My prayers were working! So, we invited her to church and guess who came to church?! Geraldine ! I was pretty pumped! I really hope she gets baptized!! I feel like I have been a part of a cool miracle!!

The other night we were going back to the apartment(we live in like a apartment complex) so we have to go through a main door to enter. Anyways,  as I turned to go into the main door I bumped into a guy who was in the middle of kissing his girlfriend.  Ha-ha! I laughed pretty hard! #breakingupsin- good times!!

We are trying to work with the relatives of our converts! But, right now we are stuggling a little bit finding new people to teach!! But, its alright!! We eat well and the members are pretty good to us! 

I am doing well! Just trying to loose a little bit of weight! Elder Black and I are doing some pretty good workouts in the morning!

I love you guys!!

Elder Carter

Cool pic!

 

Having fun!

 

 

 

The City of Rosario

 

Proud Canadian!

 

Our apartment complex

Always learning!

September 21, 2015

Hey guys! What's up?

This week has been good, although not a ton has happened. We are sure working hard! We are still going to the clinic for Elder Black's knees, but its alright! This should be the last week! I have started to appreciate it, as it gives me some good time to study and think about stuff!! One of the things that I have been studying is the story of the brother of Jared. I really like that story but one thing that really sticks out to me is in Ether 6 verse 6 (I think that is where it is). He is talking about  how the stones that Jesus touched with His hands, led them through so much time in the darkness. I was checking in with my good friend, the seminary manual, and I read about how today, we too have stones that are bright and lead us through times of darkness. They are the apostles and prophets. I learned how sometimes we are in darkness but if we follow the words of the prophets, both modern and old, they can be our light and we will be able to arrive in the promise land,which would be the celestial kingdom. It was really cool to see it this way!!

I have been studying tons out of the seminary manual and it's got some pretty good stuff in it!! I wish I had payed more attenion in seminary. Because  now I am learning so much stuff which is actually the same stuff I could have learned before!!! Well, at least I am learning it now!! Ha-ha!!! I am finding it pretty cool to look at all the details in the Book of Mormon because there are so many!!!

Well, the bad news is that I have another in grown toe nail!! Haha!!!  At least this time it is on the other foot! Lol!!!! ! I feel like I have seen the operation done so many times I could do it with my eyes closed! And now that we can't go to into Santa Fe (where the best doctor is) we have to find a different place here in Rosario . Luckily, it doesn't really hurt, it's just kind of there. Hahaha- it's kind of funny how many times this has happened to me!! But don't worry Bita and mom,  I am fine!! It is interesting how everyone always says that you learn stuff on your mission that will help you for the rest of your life. I am trying to figure out how this repeated experience will help me. Sure hope it doesn't mean I will keep getting in grown toenails for the rest of my life!! They are annoying!

We got a new ward mission leader this week and he is pretty awesome! He comes out and visits people with us 5 times a week! It is pretty awesome! And we can see that alot of things are changing for the good now that he is coming out and helping us so much! It is amazing what a difference it is making!! He is such a good example to me of how to magnify my calling, no matter where I am - at work, the mission, with my family, etc., but it's sweet to see this!! 

I am doing really good! It is getting hot again! We are working hard, trying to find new people to teach! I am enjoying my time here, especially with the new converts! They are super sweet!!!

Love you guys!

Elder Carter

Post surgery visit :)

 

Loving these "asados"!!

 
 

Look how good they feed us!!!

 

A little bit of sightseeing

 

A bit groggy after surgery :(

 

ICan't get enough of  these!!

Reflections

Hey guys!!

This week was good! Turns out that my comp has a problem with his knee, so every morning we have to go into downtown to do some therapy. I can't go in, so I sit outside and study. He torn his mcl and pcl and lcl and a bunch of other stuff before the mission and then hurt it while he was here so he is recovering right now. But man, taking time out from working is not that fun. I feel like I can't do a ton, but I guess thats just life! I try to talk to people on the bus ride there, but its tough cause I feel like we aren't doing much in the area. Luckily, this is the last week of therapy! Although I do really want him to have a good recovery so we can get to work in the upcoming weeks! haha knee problems!! In the meantime, I have had a good opportunity to study and reflect!!

We had a council meeting with president Zanni this week! It went really good! There was a ton of information and new thing which was really cool!! Elder Bluth was also there cause he is a zone leader in pergamino now, so that was pretty good to see him again!! 

One of the things that I liked from the leadership council was a video we watched of a talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. He talked about salvation and the fact that it is not easy and the fact that missionary work isnt easy either. He talked alot about how usually missionaries have success at 9:29 at night, or when its pouring rain, or when its super hot out. It's because when we put in everything we can and have given it our all, with nothing left, that is when we will be blessed. He talks about how the road to salvation is not a cheap experience. We can't just choose to be disciples of Christ when its nice and sunny outside. When we decide to be a follower of Christ, its a lifetime commitment. Through the good times and the bad. Its the same as a missionary, we cant choose to be a good obedient, hard working missionary when everything is going awesome. We need to be giving it our all even when things are hard. When its raining, when we can't find anyone, when nothing seems to be working. Then after we keep pushing past that, we will be blessed!

I have seen that a lot on my mission. Every time I have seen success, there has been a hard time infront of it. Hard time with the area, hard time with my comp, with the members, etc,. and it's not that fun. But when we use our agency to choose to keep going and giving it our all no matter what, then we will be rewarded with success! We will be able to grow and progress the most in this life! It was so cool for me to think about all this through the week!

Another thing that I really liked about the council meeting was when we talked about is what motivates us to work? When times are hard, what makes us work? When we want to sleep or go home, what keeps us going?  For me, there were a bunch of things that crossed my mind. I thought about my family, my friends, the people I am helping, the blessings I receive, etc., friends, but when it comes down to it, what really motivates me is Jesus Christ. I know that one day I will have to stand in front of him and either feel good about my mission or not. In front of Him,  there are no valid excuses, because he felt everything. He sacrificed everything for me and I want to be able to say I gave it my all for just 2 years. He died for me, and I will give Him my best for just 2 years to try and help some of my brothers and sisters.

This week has been good for self reflection.  We are looking for new people to teach, but are slowly finding them! 

I love you ! 

Elder Carter