Last Monday there was a change of plans. I'm not serving with Elder Osmond; I'm now serving with Elder Richins and training him to be a new zone leader. That happened about 7:00 p.m. on Monday night. Its been a great week we've had a lot of people to teach and we actually went from zero current dates set to 5. Vanessa and Maurice want to be baptized this Saturday, James wants to be baptized the Saturday after and so does Tiffany.
Tiffany is a really cool story. We were driving back from transfer meeting in Franklin and we got a call from Sister Gale who lives in our ward. She told us that she had a new friend over and wanted us to come over and teach her. So before we dropped off any of Elder Richins stuff we went by sister Gales to teach her friend Tiffany. Sister Gale met Tiffany because she saw her sitting on the curb with her four kids and stopped to ask if she needed any help. Tiffany then explained that she just got to Clarksville and she's homeless with her four kids. She found a hotel that charged $40 a night for all 5 of them and she was trying to figure out a way to make $40 a day to get a roof over their heads. So Sister Gale let her come to her house and help her fold clothes and do some yard work. We went by and taught her a first and it went awesome. Then the next three days we went back to teach, now Tiffany is living with some members while she works at the PX (the Wal-Mart of the army) saving up money for her own place, and she's preparing to be baptized on the 21st. Sister Gale also found Chrystal Six who was baptized a few months ago because she was walking home with her 3 kids in the rain and she offered some simple service and shared the gospel. Its a great testimony of how simple Christlike service will do more to help people then anything else and it really opens up their hearts.
I may have told you about James already but he's a mildly schizophrenic and he used to have terrible involuntary seizure-like convulsions all the time. He couldn't walk very well, he couldn't read anything because he couldn't hold it still enough to read or hold his head still enough to read. After our first lesson with him we offered to give him a blessing and he hasn't had the convulsions since! It was really sweet.
Elder Arnold hasn't come yet, he gets here tomorrow and is staying till Friday. We'll have our zone conference with him on Thursday and he'll be doing a fireside for our investigators that night. He's doing a tour of our mission.
We hear a lot about the shooting at the post in Texas. Fort Cambell is on higher security now in a lot of areas. We went on post last night to try and see some people and we had to have a sargent escort us everywhere while we were in any of the buildings. It was weird.
I think that I have everyone's address that I need. I do have a request however for something to send. I got your letter and I remember the stuff your talking about that can seal my hems but I cant find any of it amongst my things so if you could send some of that out, or tell me where I can find some. Also I have that robe that I got from bath and body works, if you could send that out as well it would be much appreciated. Its getting chilly in the apartment in the mornings and Elder Richins likes it cold and that robe would be more efficient then wearing a blanket around the apartment :). Thank you very much for all you do. Tell Grandma that I love her, and I love all of you as well. Hope you have a great week!!
Elder Carpenter
P.S. That talk by Elder Bednar that you sent me we actually got to see a broadcast of that for our Stake conference. Then a few weeks ago Dad told me about a talk by President Monson where he talked about the lost battalion and a few other things, its really funny because back in Murfreesboro we got a broadcast where he gave the same talk. Also I got a letter from the Bakers 2 weeks ago and Lauren told me that she did the drill for a drum corp this summer and was in Murfreesboro, at the same time as I was!!! Crazy.
Anyhow Love you!!!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Nov. 2, 2009
Hey, as for packages anythings great, in this area I don't really need food because the members feed us really really well. We had 2 dinners yesterday and a breakfast and lunch appointment for today. So I'm doing great in that regard, I would love a Christmas card and some more stamps and return address thingies. Vanessa and Maurice didn't end up being baptized this weekend. Maurice felt that he needed some more time to work on his life and we were very pleased that he was that honest with himself and us, we're also very pleased that he's taking baptism seriously as a covenant and not just something to do. Then Vanessa had a family emergency and she couldn't make it to her interview so she didn't get baptized either. We had a lot of dates drop in the zone this week. We went from 11 to 2. Most of those dates will be picked back up this week though.
We have about 18 missionaries in the zone and the Hartford elders didn't make it down because that's a really long distance to travel. We did a corn maze and then played some games at the church. Nothing big but it was fun. Transfers are tomorrow Elder Furrows is going home to Rexburg, and Elder Osmond is going to be my new companion. He is related to the famous Osmonds he is Jay Osmond's son. So it will be an interesting transfer for sure.
Its very pretty here, and it rains like I've never seen before, probably nothing like Mitch's tropical storms but it just pours rain here. The leaves are beautiful and they change in stages so some trees you can get green red and yellow at the same time on the same tree. Its pretty cool, I've got a few pictures.
I'm sorry that I have so little time to e-mail you but we've got Elder Arnold from the Sevent coming this week to tour our mission. So they're giving the zone leaders some extra stuff to do to get ready and it takes time on the computers, but I love you all very much and hope that y'all have a great week!!
We have about 18 missionaries in the zone and the Hartford elders didn't make it down because that's a really long distance to travel. We did a corn maze and then played some games at the church. Nothing big but it was fun. Transfers are tomorrow Elder Furrows is going home to Rexburg, and Elder Osmond is going to be my new companion. He is related to the famous Osmonds he is Jay Osmond's son. So it will be an interesting transfer for sure.
Its very pretty here, and it rains like I've never seen before, probably nothing like Mitch's tropical storms but it just pours rain here. The leaves are beautiful and they change in stages so some trees you can get green red and yellow at the same time on the same tree. Its pretty cool, I've got a few pictures.
I'm sorry that I have so little time to e-mail you but we've got Elder Arnold from the Sevent coming this week to tour our mission. So they're giving the zone leaders some extra stuff to do to get ready and it takes time on the computers, but I love you all very much and hope that y'all have a great week!!
Oct. 26, 2009
Hey, Vanessa and Maurice did come to church this week!!!! So they're on course for baptism this Saturday. Its probable that Vanessa will be baptized and Maurice will wait a week due to word of wisdom problems. All in all things are going really well. I'm sorry I have extra short time to write today because we're doing a zone p-day and we're supposed to be half way across town in about 5 min. Love you all; have a great week!!!!!!!!!
Oct. 19, 2009
I've gained a totally new perspective on the military and war since I've been here in Clarksville working with a predominantly military community. I cant remember if we told you or not be we're now covering the Fort Cambell branch too so we work on post as well as in the city. Its crazy because its a completely different culture then anywhere else in the mission because its a melting pot with people from all over the world.
Maurice and Vanessa are doing well. They're planning on being baptized on Halloween day, they weren't at church because Vanessa's sister was in a hospital in Nashville and they went there for the weekend. She's alright now and things are going well. However she didn't go to church this week either, we'll find out more about that tomorrow. Everyone else is doing pretty well. Cody has a cool story, every time he prays about that truth of the Book of Mormon he feels prompted to be baptized. The snag is that its not the answer that he's looking for, he wants to know whether the book is true or if Joseph Smith is a prophet but he's just being told to be baptized. So he wants to be baptized but he doesn't know if Joseph Smith is a prophet yet. We've explained several things but he just doesn't make the connection that the prompting to be baptized is a spiritual witness. Until he comes to know for himself that Joseph Smith is a prophet he can't be baptized because he cant pass the baptismal interview. He's planning on being baptized on Halloween as well.
Thanks for the quotes and concepts from that book Dad. It was really insightful. In most of Tennessee and Kentucky the people are very 'religious' or they like to be perceived as such. They claim a religion and claim to read the Bible but they really don't go to church or read the bible at all. However here with the army post a lot of people struggle believing that there really is a God who loves his children. A lot of people believe in God but don't think He cares because of the turmoil of war and other things. Then on the flip side of that a lot of the members here who have been on two or three 14 month deployments have a really solid testimony about how God does live and love us. Their testimonies really help and they are all willing to help us teach. Its great because I think that it is a decision that everyone in whose gone to war has to make at some point whether to accept the comfort of God's love or sink into despair, they all seem to have felt some of that despair. So they want to share the joy of the gospel to everyone who is trapped by the cunning devices of the devil. So their testimonies are really helpful.
The guy who teaches priesthood every week brother Stucki (we talked about the name already he says that we're probably related because his Stucki ancestors came across the plains but he hasn't looked too deeply into it) when he was in Iraq their caravan got attacked and the jeep that he was in was blown up. Shards of metal tore open his arm and his leg, they emergency evacuated him to the base where his lds group leader was waiting for him and he received a priesthood blessing under the rotating blades of a helicopter that flew him to their medical center. Its been almost two years and now he's just barely being able to bend his fingers again but he has a super solid testimony of God's power and love for us.
Maurice and Vanessa are doing well. They're planning on being baptized on Halloween day, they weren't at church because Vanessa's sister was in a hospital in Nashville and they went there for the weekend. She's alright now and things are going well. However she didn't go to church this week either, we'll find out more about that tomorrow. Everyone else is doing pretty well. Cody has a cool story, every time he prays about that truth of the Book of Mormon he feels prompted to be baptized. The snag is that its not the answer that he's looking for, he wants to know whether the book is true or if Joseph Smith is a prophet but he's just being told to be baptized. So he wants to be baptized but he doesn't know if Joseph Smith is a prophet yet. We've explained several things but he just doesn't make the connection that the prompting to be baptized is a spiritual witness. Until he comes to know for himself that Joseph Smith is a prophet he can't be baptized because he cant pass the baptismal interview. He's planning on being baptized on Halloween as well.
Thanks for the quotes and concepts from that book Dad. It was really insightful. In most of Tennessee and Kentucky the people are very 'religious' or they like to be perceived as such. They claim a religion and claim to read the Bible but they really don't go to church or read the bible at all. However here with the army post a lot of people struggle believing that there really is a God who loves his children. A lot of people believe in God but don't think He cares because of the turmoil of war and other things. Then on the flip side of that a lot of the members here who have been on two or three 14 month deployments have a really solid testimony about how God does live and love us. Their testimonies really help and they are all willing to help us teach. Its great because I think that it is a decision that everyone in whose gone to war has to make at some point whether to accept the comfort of God's love or sink into despair, they all seem to have felt some of that despair. So they want to share the joy of the gospel to everyone who is trapped by the cunning devices of the devil. So their testimonies are really helpful.
The guy who teaches priesthood every week brother Stucki (we talked about the name already he says that we're probably related because his Stucki ancestors came across the plains but he hasn't looked too deeply into it) when he was in Iraq their caravan got attacked and the jeep that he was in was blown up. Shards of metal tore open his arm and his leg, they emergency evacuated him to the base where his lds group leader was waiting for him and he received a priesthood blessing under the rotating blades of a helicopter that flew him to their medical center. Its been almost two years and now he's just barely being able to bend his fingers again but he has a super solid testimony of God's power and love for us.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
