Letter from Elder Carty - 5/16/09


Hey! Hows the temple? I wish i could go to the temple! How was swimming in the hotel? I got your letter mom. Thanks! This week has been pretty good. Nothing to complain about. We keep finding a ton of new investigators but none of them are very solid. We just dropped one of them because he is too hardhearted to pray. We were pretty bold with him but he couldnt seem to humble himself enough to ask God so we had to drop him. When we taught him earlier this week we watched the restoration video with him and i prayed all throughout that the Spirit would testify to me that it was true so i could testify more powerfully to him. The Spirit touched my heart and when i was bearing my testimony to him I felt the Spirit fill the room. He said he felt the peace from everything but was still denying it. Sometimes it happens though i guess. We havent had member referrals for a long time. We lost several students for the summer and they have all been slacking off on missionary work. We're trying to figure out how to get them going again. Bit is Daniel Johansen's sister who is graduating from high school. She started going to institute now. I am gonna try to buy some sunglasses today and some shirt stays because i lost one. Im out of money so i have to use my debit card. I should have enough food for the month though. Oh did i ever tell you about shirt-stays and tie-buddies? Shirt-stays are these elastic things that clip from your sock to the side of your shirt and keep you socks up and you shirt tucked in! We make tie buddies from old shirts other missionaries left in the closet. You cut a section of the button holes with 2 holes and then put it on the outside of the buttons on your shirt through the loop in the back of the tie. It keeps your tie from flying in the wind. Aaron,Hows basketball going? Do you like having a hoop at home? What kind of tricks can you do on the trampoline? Are you excited to go rafting? You should raft all the way to Florida and pick me up! I miss you a lot! It was fun to talk to you last week. I cant wait till next Christmas so I can talk to you again! Caleb,How do you like preschool? What are you learning about this week? Can you make a basket in the hoop? Guess what? We might go to a baseball game today! Rachel,What have you been doing lately with your friends? Have you been learning kick boxing? When do i get another letter? It was really good to talk to you last week. Keep up the scripture reading! The Book of Mormon is amazing. Try really studying and marking it instead of just reading. For me it brought a real thirst for the scriptures as soon as i dove into them. Now i cant get enough! Hope everything is going well in life! Love ya! Mom, sounds like your relief society day was fun! All those things make you realize just how bad the world is going to get right before the second coming and that we really need to be prepared. Thanks for the inspiring words. I actually read D&C 138 this week. I finished D&C for the first time! It was really good. This week I have been working on my testimony and using it more powerfully during lessons. The Spirit is much stronger when you teach through testimony rather than facts or information. We are hoping and praying for some solid investigators. Will everyone pray for us that we will find someone to teach and baptize this week? Thanks! I love all of you very much! Love,Elder Carty