10/4/10

Famish,

We had an awesome miracle this week. A member brought a friend from his English class to our weekly class. We taught together the restoration with a big focus on the need for modern day prophets which was great because that seemed to be a huge theme in conference. His name is Alexis Perez. He also came to General Conference on Sunday and really enjoyed it. We gave him a tour of the building between sessions. Several members bore their testimony to him and showed a lot of love towards him. This next statement may sound a little strange. I never thought i could learn so much from studying sheep. Elder Toney says i should write a book called "Of Folds and Flocks and Sheepy Things." Just Kidding though. But i really have had some great studies lately. I was thinking about how to reactivate some people and i felt prompted to study about the fold of God, how Christ is the sheperd and we are the sheep. I learned a lot and felt inspiration of how to help some less actives we are working with. I noticed how all of the followers of Christ are referred to as a fold. However we are all divided up into small flocks to keep us safe from the ravenous wolves. As a church there are stakes, wards and branches, and quorums as a system of support. As missionaries we are divided into missions, zones and districts for strength and support. If one wanders away from his flock he is more likely to be attacked by the wolves (or the influences of satan). Of course, first and foremost we must have a solid foundation and testimony of Christ, but without the support of the flock it is so much harder to remain firm. I have never felt such a need to make sure that each recent convert and less active has home teachers, friends, and a flock that can provide protection. It is similar to penguins during a heavy storm. They all gather in a large group and each take turns rotating to the edge to take the blow of the cold for the rest. (I remembered that from Happy Feet.) At some point we all have to face the cold of the storm and that is when our solid foundation of Christ will matter most. But if we're out on our own, we may not stand a chance. Anyways, enough about random animals. I have been fascinated recently of the connections between nature and the gospel. After all, God created both. Our recent convert Crystal wen to the temple on friday with the branch and loved it. She had an amazing experience and couldnt stop talking about it. We are doing everything we can to make sure she is firmly planted in the gospel. I am doing well and am excited for the month of October.

How are you all doing? Sounds like you enjoyed conference as did I. I love conference! I always thought it was boring but its meant a lot more since i began my mission. A huge theme i saw was the need for modern day prophets and apostles and the importance of listening to them. I plan to find all the council i can when i go home that prophets or apostles have given in the last few decades about financial things, food storage, family history, computers and technology, and everything else i can find and follow their council. I also really enjoyed Pres. Monson's talk sunday morning as well as Elder Uchtdorf's talk on Pride. I keep a copy of the talk he referred to by Ezra Taft Benson in my scriptures. I have read it several times. It was actually given the year i was born. Im not sure what we are going to do today. Its 1:00 and we are pretty much done emailing, our laundry is done, we shopped, had our studies, cleaned the apt. Maybe a five hour nap? I here there are several bike trails in the national forest close by but my comp doesnt have a bike. I havent gotten a your postcard yet dad but maybe its here today. Congratulations on the grant! Thats awesome! Transfers are the last tuesday of October. I believe i will either be transferred and finish my mission in another area or My comp will be transferred and Ill finish here. I dont think i would mind either way. Well hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Carty

Oh i forgot, have you guys looked at the new mormon.org website? Its awesome! The church is doing a media blitz and has awesome commercials now. You can view them online and also make your own profile with a picture and an explanation of who you are and why you are mormon. You can share personal experiences and also link it to your facebook, twitter, or blog. It is a great tool for mssionary work because nonmembers can see that we are normal everyday people and how our faith helps us. You should each make a profile. We are one of the missions selected to test out several designs of their new website cards. We are counciled to have each member make a profile and give the cards to everyone we meet. We also got to make our own profiles. It doesnt have any personal info which is good. i havent been able to put a pic on it yet so mines not posted yet. See ya!