3/8/10
Hi!
This week was really good. We are calling this month miracle march because we have a mission goal thats never been achieved before. We are going to baptize 200 and reactivate 200 people this month! I am really excited! From the first day of march we started to see incredible miracles. We found 5 people this week that are preparing for baptism. One is for the 20th and the other 3 are for the 27th. It is a couple and a brother of the wife. The other one doesn't have a date yet but he will soon. Please pray for them that they will be able to overcome certain addictions. I believe they will. We have been going on a lot of member trade offs the past few weeks because the branch mission leader wants to get the ward excited about missionary work. Although in the south area here we are really struggling for rides. We keep finding more and more people that don't have transportation and there's hardly any members that live in the south area. Most of the ones that do are in leadership and have to go too early and the rest aren't willing to help. We are 10-15 min from the church so its really hard to keep our recent converts plus our investigators going to church. I think they may have to start taking a bus or something. Pray that we will find enough transportation. One Sunday we had to just take someone in our car or he wouldn't have gotten confirmed (which we technically aren't supposed to do, but our AP's said to do whatever you have to do).
Everything else is going really well though. Last Sunday everyone was lame and didn't do anything but today we are for sure going to the beach! And next week the sisters invited us to go to the Jacksonville Zoo! Ive been wanting to go for a while now. I got the letter from Caleb. Thanks Caleb! Youre pictures are hanging in front of my desk. Hmmm... I feel like im running out of things to say in my emails cause not much changes here in the life of a missionary. This morning we have to help the office couple reorganize the storage shed for the mission. We actually work really close to the mission office so whenever we have to turn something in we swing by and they always have a bunch of snacks sitting out for missionaries. Thanks for paying the loan payment. I also got your postcard from D.C. dad. Thanks! Oh for the in-state tuition you have to live in Utah for a year and can only leave the state for a total of 30 days throughout the year. I think you might have to get a Utah drivers license too. Theres a lot of dumb rules for it i think. So Rachel and i will probably have too work there one summer. Im starting to lean more towards waiting till the fall to start school. I havent decided yet. Am i already registered for the spring? Hold on i have to log back on Oh i cant remember if i told you but last month Pres Newman decided that from now on we can only listened to Motab and talks. Not even hymns or other church artists. Only Motab... So if you happen to have any Motab or preferrably some good talks feel free to send some. Motab gets old really fast and i only have too cds. We are sacrificing a lot this month for miracle march. The whole mission is also sacrificing listening to any music in the apt., writing or emailing anyone but family, and eating out at restaurants and fast food. My comp and i also decided to sacrifice our lunch time. Normally spanish missionaries study till 11 and then eat till 12 and then leave for the rest of the day. We started leaving and 11 now and are going to have to make a sandwich and bring some snacks or something to eat. It will all be worth it in the end though when we can see so many of our brothers and sisters come unto Christ.
So someone gave us a crockpot for our apt. and i bought a bunch of ingredients to make a beef stew. I threw it all together and let it slow-cook all day Sunday and ate it last night after i broke my fast. It was delicious! First time i've ever made a stew or soup. I put it thin beef steak, potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes, and jalapenos. The flavor was really good but do have an idea of how to make a beef soup thicker mom? It was a good change up from beans and rice almost everyday. We also all bought some ingredients and made a better-than-"tracting" cake. MMMM!!!! Well i dont have too much else to say. Hope everything is still going great and im glad everyone got to go skiing! Hey what are you thinking of studying at Utah State by the way Rachel? Just curious. And great job on being a missionary and handing out a Book of Mormon. Keep on top of him so he reads and prays if the missionaries don't. Way to be an example to the family and your friends. Keep it up! Everyone have a great week!
Love,
Elder Carty
Sunday, May 16, 2010
3/1/10
Aloha!...wait...Hola!
How is everyone doing? Im doing great here! Another awesome week finished with a baptism! It was really sketchy to the very last hour but he got baptised on sat night. His name is Jose Luis Abrajan from Mexico. He is awesome! He plays the guitar and sings really well. He backed out on sat morning when he was supposed to be interviewed by Pres. Newman but we helped him understand that baptism is the first step and then comes knowledge and growth through the Spirit and he felt confident about it again. Then he was an hour and a half late to the rescheduled interview but he finally made it into the water that night. It was awesome! Then the person who picked him up was 40 min late to sacrament and so we had to confirm him in priesthood. When we did i felt the Spirit very strong inside and i felt that he will be the means of many others coming unto Christ.
Sound like D.C. was great! Congrats again on a successful trip! That is awesome that you are going to be building a new hospital! I'm sure you're impression was correct that it will help to increase the branch there. I think either way would be awesome- you guys picking me up and going to Disney World or going on a skiing trip when i get back. My new comp and i have gotten along great! He didn't have any food when he got here so ive basically been cooking for both of us. I can make some mean beans and rice and tortillas. MMM!!! We found out the office couple is gone for a few days so we still don't have pros money! This month i am going to start eating really healthy because we started working out at a gym last week. I ran a mile and a half everyday plus a member from another ward gave us a weight lifting schedule for each week so i started lifting again. This morning i ran 2 and a half miles. Ive probably only gained like 5 pounds in fat on my mission but im going to try to lose that plus the extra i gained from sitting around before my mission. lol. I want to be in good shape when i get home.
That's an awesome picture of Aaron's baptism! Oh I got the letter with loan stuff and it took me a few days to find a copier but i sent it on fri. I wasn't really thinking about where i should send it and i sent it back home. Sorry if i was supposed to send it straight to Utah. I also sent a letter on sat that should give you guys a few laughs. Tell Aunt Cathy thanks a million for the package! I will be writing her a letter this week as well as Grandma and Grandpa. We will probably go play soccer today, i hope. Not too many people here want to play soccer anymore and nobody seems to want to go to the beach to play. I love the beach! Dad you should definitely read Jesus the Christ! I didn't get to read much this week though.
Thanks! Well not too much else that's exciting here. Hope you all have an awesome week! And tell Rachel to make sure her friend is reading the Book of Mormon!
Love,
Elder Carty
Aloha!...wait...Hola!
How is everyone doing? Im doing great here! Another awesome week finished with a baptism! It was really sketchy to the very last hour but he got baptised on sat night. His name is Jose Luis Abrajan from Mexico. He is awesome! He plays the guitar and sings really well. He backed out on sat morning when he was supposed to be interviewed by Pres. Newman but we helped him understand that baptism is the first step and then comes knowledge and growth through the Spirit and he felt confident about it again. Then he was an hour and a half late to the rescheduled interview but he finally made it into the water that night. It was awesome! Then the person who picked him up was 40 min late to sacrament and so we had to confirm him in priesthood. When we did i felt the Spirit very strong inside and i felt that he will be the means of many others coming unto Christ.
Sound like D.C. was great! Congrats again on a successful trip! That is awesome that you are going to be building a new hospital! I'm sure you're impression was correct that it will help to increase the branch there. I think either way would be awesome- you guys picking me up and going to Disney World or going on a skiing trip when i get back. My new comp and i have gotten along great! He didn't have any food when he got here so ive basically been cooking for both of us. I can make some mean beans and rice and tortillas. MMM!!! We found out the office couple is gone for a few days so we still don't have pros money! This month i am going to start eating really healthy because we started working out at a gym last week. I ran a mile and a half everyday plus a member from another ward gave us a weight lifting schedule for each week so i started lifting again. This morning i ran 2 and a half miles. Ive probably only gained like 5 pounds in fat on my mission but im going to try to lose that plus the extra i gained from sitting around before my mission. lol. I want to be in good shape when i get home.
That's an awesome picture of Aaron's baptism! Oh I got the letter with loan stuff and it took me a few days to find a copier but i sent it on fri. I wasn't really thinking about where i should send it and i sent it back home. Sorry if i was supposed to send it straight to Utah. I also sent a letter on sat that should give you guys a few laughs. Tell Aunt Cathy thanks a million for the package! I will be writing her a letter this week as well as Grandma and Grandpa. We will probably go play soccer today, i hope. Not too many people here want to play soccer anymore and nobody seems to want to go to the beach to play. I love the beach! Dad you should definitely read Jesus the Christ! I didn't get to read much this week though.
Thanks! Well not too much else that's exciting here. Hope you all have an awesome week! And tell Rachel to make sure her friend is reading the Book of Mormon!
Love,
Elder Carty
2/22/10
Buenas tardes!
Everything is going GREAT here in Florida! We had 2 baptisms on sat and they were both confirmed on sunday! We also have on this coming sat for a guy named Jose Luis. Thanks for all your faith and prayers. It helps a lot! Before i forget, i just got my allergy shot this morning so all is well. I had the perscription all week but i was really sick so i decided to wait. Please erase the following before sending to others: I had severe diarea for over a week! I spent every morning in the bathroom and my stomach was a little nautious all week. Its finally gone away. I hardly ate anything this week though and i think i lost a little weight from it. I had to drink a ton of water to stay hydrated. I think im gonna start eating healthier because i just started working out again. I ran 2 miles this morning and lifted weights at some other missionaries apt gym.
Good luck on the second trip to D.C. dad! Ill be praying for you! Today we are probably going to the beach again to play soccer. My new comp is awesome! His name is Elder Johnson from Draper, UT. He has been out for 8 months i think and was switched Spanish right when he got here. He speaks pretty good Spanish. He has been learning for one less transfer than me. He plays guitar and piano and basketball. I am really excited for this transfer! He is a really hard worker and has a lot of faith. I think we are going to get along much better. We will probably be doing a lot of tracting this transfer but it should be fun. When i was first switched Spanish i hated tracting but now i love it! As long as there's plenty of people to teach.
The mission this year has been changing a bit. Last year we learned how to run hard and fast for a long time. Now a lot of the meetings and conferences have been focusing more on Christ and the Atonement and repentance. We use the same approach but really focus it on repentance and Christ. This transfer i am going to study anything and everything about Christ to really increase my testimony of repentance and the Atonement. I started Jesus the Christ a few weeks ago and im about a quarter of the way through it. It is blowing my mind! So many little and big details of Christ i never knew! Did you read it on your mission dad? I was also interesting that a lot of the big words that Talmage uses that we normally dont use in everyday language are very similar to many Spanish words. Without knowing the words in Spanish i would probably not know what it meant in English! Its interesting how much i have learned about the English language by learning Spanish.
Well i dont have too much more to say. I feel like my testimony of Christ has really grown this transfer. I know without a doubt that He lives. I know that the repentance process truly works and how exquisite the joy can be if we are humble and repentant each day. Ill share something else i have learned in the last several months- the key to longsuffering and enduring to the end. It is diligence. A couple months ago in Live Oak i was feeling really homesick and the end seemed too far away to endure. After much thought and prayer the Spirit simply told me what i had to do. Be diligent. I have always worked pretty hard but i learned how to sacrifice more and run faster and harder and be diligent in everything- studies, tracting, teaching. I found that the more diligent i was, the less i thought of home or was distracted by worldly things that dont matter. I found a greater happiness and satisfaction in the work and time seems to dissipate even faster and all i can think about are my investigators and how i can better help them come unto Christ. So if anyone who reads this cant seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel and aren't sure how you can possibly endure...BE DILIGENT! And i promise all feelings of sadness and discouragement will disappear. Times up!
Love,
Elder Carty
Buenas tardes!
Everything is going GREAT here in Florida! We had 2 baptisms on sat and they were both confirmed on sunday! We also have on this coming sat for a guy named Jose Luis. Thanks for all your faith and prayers. It helps a lot! Before i forget, i just got my allergy shot this morning so all is well. I had the perscription all week but i was really sick so i decided to wait. Please erase the following before sending to others: I had severe diarea for over a week! I spent every morning in the bathroom and my stomach was a little nautious all week. Its finally gone away. I hardly ate anything this week though and i think i lost a little weight from it. I had to drink a ton of water to stay hydrated. I think im gonna start eating healthier because i just started working out again. I ran 2 miles this morning and lifted weights at some other missionaries apt gym.
Good luck on the second trip to D.C. dad! Ill be praying for you! Today we are probably going to the beach again to play soccer. My new comp is awesome! His name is Elder Johnson from Draper, UT. He has been out for 8 months i think and was switched Spanish right when he got here. He speaks pretty good Spanish. He has been learning for one less transfer than me. He plays guitar and piano and basketball. I am really excited for this transfer! He is a really hard worker and has a lot of faith. I think we are going to get along much better. We will probably be doing a lot of tracting this transfer but it should be fun. When i was first switched Spanish i hated tracting but now i love it! As long as there's plenty of people to teach.
The mission this year has been changing a bit. Last year we learned how to run hard and fast for a long time. Now a lot of the meetings and conferences have been focusing more on Christ and the Atonement and repentance. We use the same approach but really focus it on repentance and Christ. This transfer i am going to study anything and everything about Christ to really increase my testimony of repentance and the Atonement. I started Jesus the Christ a few weeks ago and im about a quarter of the way through it. It is blowing my mind! So many little and big details of Christ i never knew! Did you read it on your mission dad? I was also interesting that a lot of the big words that Talmage uses that we normally dont use in everyday language are very similar to many Spanish words. Without knowing the words in Spanish i would probably not know what it meant in English! Its interesting how much i have learned about the English language by learning Spanish.
Well i dont have too much more to say. I feel like my testimony of Christ has really grown this transfer. I know without a doubt that He lives. I know that the repentance process truly works and how exquisite the joy can be if we are humble and repentant each day. Ill share something else i have learned in the last several months- the key to longsuffering and enduring to the end. It is diligence. A couple months ago in Live Oak i was feeling really homesick and the end seemed too far away to endure. After much thought and prayer the Spirit simply told me what i had to do. Be diligent. I have always worked pretty hard but i learned how to sacrifice more and run faster and harder and be diligent in everything- studies, tracting, teaching. I found that the more diligent i was, the less i thought of home or was distracted by worldly things that dont matter. I found a greater happiness and satisfaction in the work and time seems to dissipate even faster and all i can think about are my investigators and how i can better help them come unto Christ. So if anyone who reads this cant seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel and aren't sure how you can possibly endure...BE DILIGENT! And i promise all feelings of sadness and discouragement will disappear. Times up!
Love,
Elder Carty
2/16/10
Good afternoon!
What a beautiful day in Florida! Well the weather at least. I feel a bit under it right now though. I have had a slight stomach ache for the past 3 days and havent slept well. It wasnt nearly as bad as the flu but i think it was something i ate that didnt sit right and it might have just been food poisoning or something. Pepto bismol has helped a lot so i havent had to stop working at all. Ever since a burrito i had at our favorite hispanic restaurant Pepe's i havent felt good and have spent a lot of time in the bathroom. lol. Everyone went to Wing Depot today after district meeting(which was one of the best district meetings ive had-almost everyone cried when they bore their testimony) and got all-you-can-eat-wings which looked delicious but there was no way my stomach could handle it. I still havent eaten anything today.
Anyways, this week was really good and we should be having a couple baptisms this weekend! I dont have much time to write because i forgot my library card and had to borrow one when someone finished. Im glad the baptism was great! Send some pics! And congratulations on succeeding in D.C. dad ! You're on your way to the top! Im glad you made it there and back safe with the weather! I prayed all week that it would go well. On tues. i had a distinct impression all of the sudden to pray that you would make it there safely to give the presentation. Guess it must have worked!
My comp is getting transferred this week and i am staying here. I will be getting 1 of 3 others that are getting transferred. This week we were planning and my comp blew up a me for something really small and stormed off so i had to go talk to him and get things settled out. We had a long talk about several different things and get along a ton better now. We just didnt communicate very well and he let a lot of little things build up without talking about them. But all is well now. I'm really excited for transfers. Elder Probert my old comp will be my zone leader which im excited for. He has been my favorite comp so far.
Thanks for taking care of my school loans. I think with that loan you mentioned you may have to still pay a bit. They said that it would go into forbearance for a year and then i could do something else for another year to either decrease the payments or something. Ill call and find out. I better get going so i can go on the website to figure it out. Hope everyone has a great week! Congratulations on your baptism Aaron! And thanks for the Valentine's Day package!!! It was great!
Love,
Elder Carty
Good afternoon!
What a beautiful day in Florida! Well the weather at least. I feel a bit under it right now though. I have had a slight stomach ache for the past 3 days and havent slept well. It wasnt nearly as bad as the flu but i think it was something i ate that didnt sit right and it might have just been food poisoning or something. Pepto bismol has helped a lot so i havent had to stop working at all. Ever since a burrito i had at our favorite hispanic restaurant Pepe's i havent felt good and have spent a lot of time in the bathroom. lol. Everyone went to Wing Depot today after district meeting(which was one of the best district meetings ive had-almost everyone cried when they bore their testimony) and got all-you-can-eat-wings which looked delicious but there was no way my stomach could handle it. I still havent eaten anything today.
Anyways, this week was really good and we should be having a couple baptisms this weekend! I dont have much time to write because i forgot my library card and had to borrow one when someone finished. Im glad the baptism was great! Send some pics! And congratulations on succeeding in D.C. dad ! You're on your way to the top! Im glad you made it there and back safe with the weather! I prayed all week that it would go well. On tues. i had a distinct impression all of the sudden to pray that you would make it there safely to give the presentation. Guess it must have worked!
My comp is getting transferred this week and i am staying here. I will be getting 1 of 3 others that are getting transferred. This week we were planning and my comp blew up a me for something really small and stormed off so i had to go talk to him and get things settled out. We had a long talk about several different things and get along a ton better now. We just didnt communicate very well and he let a lot of little things build up without talking about them. But all is well now. I'm really excited for transfers. Elder Probert my old comp will be my zone leader which im excited for. He has been my favorite comp so far.
Thanks for taking care of my school loans. I think with that loan you mentioned you may have to still pay a bit. They said that it would go into forbearance for a year and then i could do something else for another year to either decrease the payments or something. Ill call and find out. I better get going so i can go on the website to figure it out. Hope everyone has a great week! Congratulations on your baptism Aaron! And thanks for the Valentine's Day package!!! It was great!
Love,
Elder Carty
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