Thanks for the welcome to June. Its still a shock to my system that its June, I still feel like it should be April! Its starting to get really hot here, its been in the 90s for the majority of the last week and I can already feel the humidity is starting to pick up a little bit.
Our baptisms fell through again. Matt feels a little like he's being pressured, and that's because he is but we're backing off a little bit. We're trying to get some more of the ward members to give him support to quit smoking because that's all he needs to do. Of course its really easy for me to say that 'all he needs to do is quit smoking' like its something really easy when really I have no idea how hard it can be. I've heard several accounts on how people have quit, some are they decided that their done and that was it, they never smoked again. Others are they couldn't quit smoking for several years until they made a big sacrifice, like Brother Sweat in this ward who fasted for 5 days. I don't know, I'm struggling because I really know that having the gift of the Holy Ghost will help Matt immensely, but he needs to be worthy first. I also don't know how to help him any more then I already have. Its all on him now I guess. I'll keep praying for him, and I ask you to do the same, I'm pretty sure Mom put his name on the temple prayer roll already but if its not could you put it on there. He's a great guy, but he needs to humble himself a little bit and put his trust in the Lord.
Then Ben has had a rough week. Apparently a death threat was put on his life and he was instructed by the police not to leave his house. We found him again however and asked him to meet us at the church. We took him around the building teaching the 3rd lesson, faith, repentance, baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end by walking around the chapel looking at different pictures of the Savior as we talked about each principle. We stopped at the one of the Savior calling the twelve apostles and conferring the priesthood upon them. We talked about how the priesthood is the power to seal, and that baptism cleanses you from your sins, and by following the promptings of the Holy Ghost and enduring till the end you can be sealed to our Savior and live with Him again. The Spirit was really really strong. The church was a much better place to meet then the coffee shop in Hastings. He said that he now knew that it was all true, Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, President Monson, everything. He is however going home to California on Saturday or Wednesday, and he thinks that he wants to be baptized there among family and friends. We said that it was great as long as he got baptized we'd be happy for him. I did want him to pray though, and specifically ask if he should be baptized before he went home, and then I went on to explain opposition, and he's well acquainted with opposition, the last month or so has been really hard for him, really ever since he started investigating the church.
Barbra and Norman are doing very well. They want to take things really really slow. They've been believing one way all their lives and some of our teachings are different then theirs so they want to take it slow and be sure. They're however doing very very well. They're sincerely reading and praying so I have no doubt that they'll find the truth of the things we teach when the time is right for them.
Its really weird that Mitch had his farewell last Sunday! Geeze! He goes into the MTC a week from Wednesday? That's just crazy talk there. I know he's ready. From the letters he's sent me I can tell that his testimony has really grown. Its no surprise though, after all in D&C 4 the first thing that qualifies you for the work is a desire. Mitch has that desire, you combine desire and effort and apply yourself and everything else will fall into place. He'll be an incredible missionary. His personality is such that he'll talk to everyone and they'll see the sincerity of his heart, and the power of his testimony, and for many people that alone will be enough to spark their interest in learning of the restored gospel, the greatest thing that's happened since Christ brought his gospel in Jerusalem.
Hopefully Ali gets feeling better soon. Having your eyes acting all funny is no fun at all. No fun. I haven't gotten a package yet, but now I can be looking forward to one. If we're not there when the mail comes (which we almost never are because it comes between 1-3 PM) then they usually will just leave packages on the doorstep. Then there have been a lot of break-ins in our apartments recently, I don't think someone would just come by and take it in the middle of the day though.
We also know all of our neighbors and we're really good friends so I'm sure if they saw anything they'd let us know or probably go after the person. There's a crazy bunch of people who live around us. Noah and Leah live across the parking lot and they have a party every night with country music blasting from inside and Noah getting drunk and yelling at Nascar. Kyle who lives a few doors down makes his own liquor and loves to drink it, he has a carbonator and offered to make us some carbonated apple juice sometime, then we have a gay couple who live next door, and a drug addict on the other side. Every week they all get together on Friday night and have a grill out at Noah and Leah's. They usually start around 8 so when we get home at 9 they have some burgers and brats for us, we have a prayer with them and talk and eat until about 9:20 then we go in for the night. They all know we're missionaries and they all know the mission rules. None of them want to investigate the church, but they always know where to go if they decide they do. More then once we've had a note left on our door or a visit early in the morning or late at night asking us to pray for someone. Its a really fun group, really nice people. A bit lost spiritually, but still really nice. Anyways that's a really long way of saying that I have not gotten the package yet, maybe it'll come today though, I'll let you know next week.
Anyways, I love you guys a lot. We'll talk next week.
Elder Carpenter
Monday, June 1, 2009
May 26, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALI!!!!!
We do still get P-day on Memorial day, however the MTSU library is closed along with all the other libraries in the state it seems. However I have the keys to the church and the family history library is open on Holidays so we can still e-mail!
No baptisms this week =( but they're both still progressing. Ben bonked our appointment on Wednesday and his phone ran out of minutes so we had no way to get hold of him for the rest of the week. Then he just showed up at church again and now we're meeting with him again. So he no longer has a date but we'll reset his this week, on Tuesday actually. As for Matt he set his own date for the 30th but now we find out that his parents are really not wanting him to get baptized. Granted they can't technically do anything about it, but they keep finding reasons to keep him in Woodbury over night so he misses our appointments with him. All he's got to do is quit smoking (I say that like it's an easy thing) and then he's good for baptism. So we're still working with them, and maybe this week will be the one that they both get baptized. Then Tommy is doing alright. We tried to commit him to a date last time we were there and he told us that it would take an act of God to get him baptized. We agreed to his terms. We'll meet with him on Thursday morning and see how things went. He's a good guy, he just really wants to make sure he's doing the right thing, and he felt like God led him to be baptized in his last church and he doesn't want to leave that one unless he's sure that God is leading him again.
We also met two older people this week, Barbra and Norman. They were really reserved at our first contact. They were a member referral from another ward and they live kinda out in the boonies so they were supervised to find two people coming to knock on their door. We set a return appointment and then met with them on Wednesday, our ward mission leader brother Fulton came with. We taught a first lesson and they were really impressed that we didn't try to convince them to believe us, but we just asked them to read and pray to find out on their own. It was pretty sweet. At the end of the appointment they asked if we'd be interested in having them grill us some burgers and having dinner with them on this coming Wednesday. So naturally we accepted :). They have a lot of potential. They're really dissatisfied with other churches and have a very strong belief in personal revelation. So barring anything unforeseen they'll be progressing swiftly towards baptism.
Its really really weird to think that Mitch is going to be leaving so soon! Its reallllly weird to think that I've already been out five months!! It does not seem like its been that long! Nate Jensen wrote me this week (he was the roommate that wasn't really a roommate) he's getting his shots and stuff and Steve already has his mission call to Georgia. Its crazy how fast everything happens.
Elder Dean is from the Portland area. He's been out about 2 months longer then I have. He likes to talk a lot, and he's really good about talking with people, but he's really not good about tying it into the gospel. He's a good guy though, just a little awkward sometimes. Makes for an interesting time.
Just an update I haven't been sick yet. My allergies are surprisingly not bothering me at all, and I haven't had any migraines yet :). I struggle with journal writing too, I have trouble writing daily because I just can't seem to find the time, I do write in it about once a week, and the entries are quite long and detailed. I do find that my study journal entries are much better though. I have 3 study journals that I'm currently using. I've got my all encompassing one that I use to plan trainings and to take notes on trainings and for random topical studies. Then I've got one dedicated to just my scripture study, it has 4 sections and I'm working on the Old Testament (Leviticus is hard!!) and the Doctrine and Covenants right now. Then I've also got a study journal dedicated to the Atonement and everything that I can find on that. Then I have a 4th one that's random stuff too, but that one is already full, its the one I started in the MTC. So study journals are really awesome, especially when you get called on to talk because you already have all the stuff you need right there! So I think using a journal is an awesome idea, and so does Preach my Gospel ;).
That's all that has really gone on this week. Hope all is well back home. Love you lots!!
Love Elder Carpenter
We do still get P-day on Memorial day, however the MTSU library is closed along with all the other libraries in the state it seems. However I have the keys to the church and the family history library is open on Holidays so we can still e-mail!
No baptisms this week =( but they're both still progressing. Ben bonked our appointment on Wednesday and his phone ran out of minutes so we had no way to get hold of him for the rest of the week. Then he just showed up at church again and now we're meeting with him again. So he no longer has a date but we'll reset his this week, on Tuesday actually. As for Matt he set his own date for the 30th but now we find out that his parents are really not wanting him to get baptized. Granted they can't technically do anything about it, but they keep finding reasons to keep him in Woodbury over night so he misses our appointments with him. All he's got to do is quit smoking (I say that like it's an easy thing) and then he's good for baptism. So we're still working with them, and maybe this week will be the one that they both get baptized. Then Tommy is doing alright. We tried to commit him to a date last time we were there and he told us that it would take an act of God to get him baptized. We agreed to his terms. We'll meet with him on Thursday morning and see how things went. He's a good guy, he just really wants to make sure he's doing the right thing, and he felt like God led him to be baptized in his last church and he doesn't want to leave that one unless he's sure that God is leading him again.
We also met two older people this week, Barbra and Norman. They were really reserved at our first contact. They were a member referral from another ward and they live kinda out in the boonies so they were supervised to find two people coming to knock on their door. We set a return appointment and then met with them on Wednesday, our ward mission leader brother Fulton came with. We taught a first lesson and they were really impressed that we didn't try to convince them to believe us, but we just asked them to read and pray to find out on their own. It was pretty sweet. At the end of the appointment they asked if we'd be interested in having them grill us some burgers and having dinner with them on this coming Wednesday. So naturally we accepted :). They have a lot of potential. They're really dissatisfied with other churches and have a very strong belief in personal revelation. So barring anything unforeseen they'll be progressing swiftly towards baptism.
Its really really weird to think that Mitch is going to be leaving so soon! Its reallllly weird to think that I've already been out five months!! It does not seem like its been that long! Nate Jensen wrote me this week (he was the roommate that wasn't really a roommate) he's getting his shots and stuff and Steve already has his mission call to Georgia. Its crazy how fast everything happens.
Elder Dean is from the Portland area. He's been out about 2 months longer then I have. He likes to talk a lot, and he's really good about talking with people, but he's really not good about tying it into the gospel. He's a good guy though, just a little awkward sometimes. Makes for an interesting time.
Just an update I haven't been sick yet. My allergies are surprisingly not bothering me at all, and I haven't had any migraines yet :). I struggle with journal writing too, I have trouble writing daily because I just can't seem to find the time, I do write in it about once a week, and the entries are quite long and detailed. I do find that my study journal entries are much better though. I have 3 study journals that I'm currently using. I've got my all encompassing one that I use to plan trainings and to take notes on trainings and for random topical studies. Then I've got one dedicated to just my scripture study, it has 4 sections and I'm working on the Old Testament (Leviticus is hard!!) and the Doctrine and Covenants right now. Then I've also got a study journal dedicated to the Atonement and everything that I can find on that. Then I have a 4th one that's random stuff too, but that one is already full, its the one I started in the MTC. So study journals are really awesome, especially when you get called on to talk because you already have all the stuff you need right there! So I think using a journal is an awesome idea, and so does Preach my Gospel ;).
That's all that has really gone on this week. Hope all is well back home. Love you lots!!
Love Elder Carpenter
May 18, 2009
Hey, so bad news first. Matt's baptism didn't go through this week. Elder Garrison has been getting sick since Thursday, so on Saturday we were told to stay home and have him rest. So I was at my desk/kitchen table studying and the phone rang. It was Matt. He was supposed to have his interview that night and everything was go for the baptism. On Friday night his parents' trailer burned down! They live in our area but on the outskirts about 20 miles away. He had been out there since Friday night, and his parents are fine just in shock, and they were being put up in a motel out in Woodbury (the closest city to them) and Matt was the closest family to them, so he was staying with them trying to work things out. So he wasn't able to be baptized. He still wants to be baptized and all but circumstances just prevented it last week. So he'll probably be baptized in the coming week.
Then Ben who came to church last week and asked to be baptized has his date set for this Saturday. So we might do them both on Saturday, or we might have Matt's on Friday or Thursday so Ben can come see what it's like. So good news and just a really bad delay.
We learned something at zone conference that I thought was very interesting and it ties in to what Dad said about the temple celebration and what Mom said about visiting Kayla. It was about the power of silence. The focus of it was on committing them to baptism but it can be applied with any commitment or the teaching of any principle. This originated from the missionary committee members who came to visit the mission. Recently they've been doing a study with recent converts from around the world asking them how they'd feel if missionaries waited a little while before trying to resolve their concerns. We have a tendency to get so excited about resolving investigators' concerns that we just shoot off as soon as they're done expressing the concern. Most of the investigators said that they'd appreciate a moment of silence because it shows them that we're actually thinking about it, and more importantly it gives us the chance to let the Spirit teach us what to say. I've applied it this last week and it's amazing what the Spirit will tell us when we're listening for it. It's as if the Spirit is our missionary companion and when we just shoot off into the lesson teaching all the principles and everything we don't give the Spirit the full opportunity to teach. When we're silent and we wait for it, the Spirit will always direct us with what that investigator needs. Its crazy cool, and it all comes down to if we're listening or not.
Other then that its been a really slow week. With Elder Garrison being sick with the cold we've been doing little to no work since Friday, then zone conference on Wednesday the only 2 days we really worked were Tuesday and Thursday. Transfers are tomorrow though. I'm staying here and Elder Garrison is going to Manchester down south. I'm getting Elder Dean, I have no clue who he is or what he's like but he's been out almost a year, and I'm still senior companion and district leader so that'll be interesting. This week should be a good week. We have a lot of good things going, and for the first time ever it looks like we'll hit the goals that are set for the area. The goals I set for the district were 3 baptized and 4 dates set, so far we have 2 dates set and 2 to be baptized this week and that was the goal for Stones River. As for Blackmen, the sisters' area, it looks like they're not going to pull anything out for this month. We'll see though. Thanks for everything and I love you, and I'll talk to you later!
Elder Carpenter
Then Ben who came to church last week and asked to be baptized has his date set for this Saturday. So we might do them both on Saturday, or we might have Matt's on Friday or Thursday so Ben can come see what it's like. So good news and just a really bad delay.
We learned something at zone conference that I thought was very interesting and it ties in to what Dad said about the temple celebration and what Mom said about visiting Kayla. It was about the power of silence. The focus of it was on committing them to baptism but it can be applied with any commitment or the teaching of any principle. This originated from the missionary committee members who came to visit the mission. Recently they've been doing a study with recent converts from around the world asking them how they'd feel if missionaries waited a little while before trying to resolve their concerns. We have a tendency to get so excited about resolving investigators' concerns that we just shoot off as soon as they're done expressing the concern. Most of the investigators said that they'd appreciate a moment of silence because it shows them that we're actually thinking about it, and more importantly it gives us the chance to let the Spirit teach us what to say. I've applied it this last week and it's amazing what the Spirit will tell us when we're listening for it. It's as if the Spirit is our missionary companion and when we just shoot off into the lesson teaching all the principles and everything we don't give the Spirit the full opportunity to teach. When we're silent and we wait for it, the Spirit will always direct us with what that investigator needs. Its crazy cool, and it all comes down to if we're listening or not.
Other then that its been a really slow week. With Elder Garrison being sick with the cold we've been doing little to no work since Friday, then zone conference on Wednesday the only 2 days we really worked were Tuesday and Thursday. Transfers are tomorrow though. I'm staying here and Elder Garrison is going to Manchester down south. I'm getting Elder Dean, I have no clue who he is or what he's like but he's been out almost a year, and I'm still senior companion and district leader so that'll be interesting. This week should be a good week. We have a lot of good things going, and for the first time ever it looks like we'll hit the goals that are set for the area. The goals I set for the district were 3 baptized and 4 dates set, so far we have 2 dates set and 2 to be baptized this week and that was the goal for Stones River. As for Blackmen, the sisters' area, it looks like they're not going to pull anything out for this month. We'll see though. Thanks for everything and I love you, and I'll talk to you later!
Elder Carpenter
May 11, 2009
It was great talking to you guys (on Mother's Day). Thanks for the update on the weekly things, it's always nice to hear. It was really weird talking to all of you and hearing your voices again. Afterward I felt like Harrison, Mitch and I should've gone out to Wendy's or gone hot tubbing or something.
So I pulled out an Ensign and read President Benson's conference address from April 1989! The two Ensigns that I'm reading right now are the conference addresses from 1989 and 1999, then this week I'll get this last conference address. President Benson (I'm pretty sure it's Benson, I might be wrong, I forget names) gave a talk on the universal sin of pride. He talked about how pride is really enmity or any negative feelings towards one of two groups, towards God, pitting our knowledge against the infinite wisdom of our Father, fighting our will against His will. Then enmity towards our fellow men. He also talked about how competition is a sign of pride, and a prideful person seeks his gratification and self worth from a world of decaying values. The phrase he used is we're more concerned about "what will men think of me" rather than "what will God think of me." It was a really good talk.
As for the lady with the 'hernia-ish' thing she's in McMinville that's a different area. They're still working with her to my knowledge, but I don't know for sure. Anyhow not much else has happened this week. I love you guys and e-mail you next week!
Elder Carpenter
So I pulled out an Ensign and read President Benson's conference address from April 1989! The two Ensigns that I'm reading right now are the conference addresses from 1989 and 1999, then this week I'll get this last conference address. President Benson (I'm pretty sure it's Benson, I might be wrong, I forget names) gave a talk on the universal sin of pride. He talked about how pride is really enmity or any negative feelings towards one of two groups, towards God, pitting our knowledge against the infinite wisdom of our Father, fighting our will against His will. Then enmity towards our fellow men. He also talked about how competition is a sign of pride, and a prideful person seeks his gratification and self worth from a world of decaying values. The phrase he used is we're more concerned about "what will men think of me" rather than "what will God think of me." It was a really good talk.
As for the lady with the 'hernia-ish' thing she's in McMinville that's a different area. They're still working with her to my knowledge, but I don't know for sure. Anyhow not much else has happened this week. I love you guys and e-mail you next week!
Elder Carpenter
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