1/10/10

Greetings! Everything is going great in the new place! I am really glad i am in a four man apartment. Its a lot more fun and exciting. It got a little boring sometimes in live oak, especially on pdays. We are going to play soccer every pday here! My new comp is Elder Baker from Utah, cant remember which town.... He seems pretty cool but im not really sure if he likes me or not. lol Hes a pretty big guy and we dont have too much in common but it should still be a sweet transfer. The apartment is pretty nice and it has a washer and dryer which is good. Elder Baker has been out for 2 transfers in the same area so i am follow-up training him. He already speaks very good spanish. He know a bunch of words already and knows most of the grammar but has a really bad gringo accent, not that mine is perfect either. I think he'll pick it up more with time. He's a pretty smart kid. From what i heard his trainer was pretty lazy so i gotta pick up the slack cause they didnt have any baptisms the last 2 transfers. My district leader asked me to be the example for everyone cause of laziness the last transfer so ill do my best. We actually already found someone to be baptized and another reactivated! We were tracting and found a lady from Guatemala named Marta who was baptized 10 years ago in california but hasnt been for a long time. She has a 9 year old girl named Denise who is going to be baptized this saturday and the mom wants to start taking her to church. I guess her sister is a member in georgia and used to take the girl to church a lot. Denise showed us her primary cd that had called to serve, i am a child of god, i love to see the temple, etc. She knew all the words! Her and the other 7 year old girl are excited to come to church! They are the cutest girls ever! She also has a brother that lives there who is interested as well so hopefully he will come too. Besides them we havent had much other success tracting. We had a mini-mission with the youth on sat. We met at the church at 7:00 am and the branch pres and mission leader cooked us and the youth breakfast. They we all did our studies together and then they did a couple classes on how to prepare for a mission. Then they showed everyone how to make a cheap meal, clam chouder. Then each companionship took a youth and they spent the day with us teaching lessons and tracting. It was a really good experience for them! One of them is from Guatemala and just turned 19. He was baptized last May and really wants to serve a mission as soon as he can which is in May. He is the only member of his family that lives in the states and who is a member which im sure must be hard. Well arent you spoiled mom?! Sounds like an awesome date! Championship ice skating. Skiing sounds fun too!! Oh i have a couple questions: First can you send me my soccer cleats? They are gray and black Nike's. (not the old ones that are torn on the toe) We will be playing soccer outside a lot here and all the hispanics use cleats. If my little gold and white shin guards and a pair of soccer socks fit that would be sweet too. Thanks! Also i think my vision is getting worse. Im may need another eye exam soon. I feel like things are a lot more blurry and its harder to focus on things. Im not sure yet though. Well thats about everything new. Hope you all have a great week! Oh and tell doug thanks for the package and email! I am out of time emailing but will be mailing a thank you letter tomorrow.

Love,Elder Carty