Christmas Skype

We loved skyping with Brandon the day after Christmas. He looked and sounded so good! We had so much fun talking with him, laughing with him and most of all praying with him. We knelt down in California while he said our family prayer from Paraguay. With our eyes closed, it felt like he was in the same room as us. He bore his testimony to us in Spanish and English and it reminded us exactly why he is serving in Paraguay at this time.

This is what Brandon e-mailed to us right after our skype session:

 

"I loved having a prayer with you. It really helped me realize we are side by side right next to each other even though i am thousands of miles away.

 

Love you PEACE and joy and love and Merry Christmas i couldn´t say that yesterday oh and mom iloved your book. Those are some of the best gifts the book and the nativity set story and the testimonies. You are all awesome. Every single one of you. Dad you just rock, keep up the spanish ill try to send you some good resources and letters in spanish. Brooke you are the best young women in the world. Cameron you are going to be such a stud missionary some times i feel like i am in your shadow haha. Caden i want to snugle you ... you make me laugh, Zach you got a smile that could kill, i loved telling you i love you and being able to see you smile back at me. Duncan you are such a clean dog dont listen to anyone who tells you otherwise even on your dirty days your still beat these nasty dogs here.

 Mom i love you to the moon and back.

Chow i love you all."

Elder carpenter

Week 6...First Change Over!

Heyyy,

 

Whats happnin everyone? It sounds like you are all having a great time at home. Congrats Dad on your new calling... you will do great. I'm glad to hear you can get some time off hopefully. Mom, I love you and you are doing a great job with everything ... dance, family, missionary mom stuff, being a missionary. Brooke you are awesome. I am proud of you. Here is my advice graduate early and work. Then go in the fall ... why do I say this? Because you are too little and plus your not gunna get married anytime soon as a17 year old... so just take a chill on life and slow down gurl!! hahaha. And I dont want you to be two semesters ahead of me hahaha. Cameron, you are the man! Eagle scout baby ... EARN IT! That will be so sick! Also good job on the 4.0 way to represent. Your a good investment dude so keep up the good work. Get 4.0s all through high school. I promise you that is the way to go. I wish I tried harder. Im tanquilo though cuz I am working hard now and changing my habits. You will understand one day. Caden I hear your play was legit! I wish I could have seen it. I know you are a funny guy so keep it up. I also hear you are a genius. There´s  a lot in store for you bud, I know there is. Zach I saw your train!!! You looked so awesome. How was polar express day? You are such a cool little guy. 

Ok so Christmas ... I want to skype so plan on that. I would rather do it on the 26th cuz you will all have opened your presents and stuff.  I think we will do it around 4ish pm paraguay time. We will email you before around 330 Par TIme to let you know so please be ready. We will be in an internet cafe. I am excited and looking forward to it.

Paraguay info time...

Christmas is celebrated here. Some homes have lights but very few. They have little tiny fake trees, we dont have one. It doesnt feel like Christmas haha. I think it has something with it being 110 degrees. It is so weird. They also Celebrate on the 8th the Virgin day. All the catholics worship Mary so we have a hard time with that. Lots of our contacts we hear " well we are catholic and we have our Mary and we have our Jesus so leave us alone."  It is kind of a bummer. They worship a giant statue of Mary.  I know that Salvation comes through the Savior. If you want to learn more about this you may visit mormon.org.

Guarani ... Hye kuay mishimi. I know a little bit haha. 

Mom to answer your question...I dont get to sleep during the siesta haha.

Well this week in Limpio has been quite great. We are teaching this joven named Fran. He is super legit he goes to church with his girl friend and is neighbors to another joven in our ward who always goes on splits with us. We have been teaching him for a week now and our last visit he told us he knew the chuch was true that José Smith was a prophet and that the book of mormon is true. He already knew alot about José before we taught him cuz he watched the Joseph Smith movie with his GF. He is so tight he also said he wants to get baptised for himself not for his girlfriend. His parents are taking the lessons also but it is impossible to find them during the week so it will be hard, but we might be able to baptize fran first and then he might be able to baptize his parents.

I am so excited for him he seriously is a guapo.   Guapo here means a stud and doesnt mean handsome like it does everywhere else haha.

Also Carlos moved :( it was really weird so we got to say bye to them but i think he is going to get in contact with the elders in his new home. I was really bummed.

We had a trio for a week and a half. It was with Elder S. from the area over. His comp left on a special change and he stayed with us until yesterday. It was not very fun. The Elder made it hard on us in some of our lessons and didnt really want to work in his area. But we got through it and I learned a lot from the experience. He is a good Elder.. just it was hard in a trio.

Elder Felix is one of our Zone Leaders. He is super legit. He left this morning though it was really sad. He didnt want to leave. Thats how i want to be. His last day on his mission didnt seem like his last,  it seemed like any other day. He is an awesome example to me. That is how I want to be, just like him.

I need to go. I am going to get my hair cut by a gay guy... fun stuff. 

I love you all so much. You are always in my prayers.

Stay sweet and Merry Christmas,

Elder Carpenter

¿Mby che pa?

¿Mby che pa?

Mi Familia hows everything going in tmec?

This week has been pretty fun. I come to love Paraguay more and more every day. I just can`t believe that i am here right now it seems like Paraguay has been a part of my life that I never knew was there, yet i have only been here for a little over a month. This week the Spanish has been getting better. I can really feel a difference. I get discouraged every once in a while but it usually only last for 5 min... no mas haha. I am starting to speak my mind way faster than before, so that is really helping. I dont have to think so much. I feel like it just comes.

So really fast, Mom to answer your concerns, we can talk on either the 24th or the 26th to respect the Sabbath day. So I need to know which of those days you would rather do? We will have you call us on our phone so I think that sends the cost to you haha so you might need to get some cards for long distance calls I'm not sure. I am extremely excited to talk to you all though so just let me know. I will figure more stuff out this week before next pday.

So I'll start off by telling you all a little more about Paraguay.
I dont think the people here have a knowledge of germs haha. When they offer us water, they bring out their little thermo kooler thingys and one glass cup. They fill it and pass it to my comp and when he is done they will fill it and pass it to me. There are usually some floatys and what not very fun. They also drink this thing called tere-é its like ground up grass in a cup. they fill it with water and drink it through a filter that looks some what like a metel pipe thing haha. So they all have their thermo koolers and those usually have a leather case with some designs on them, and they got their cups that can be attached to their thermos with the filters and a bunch of grass junk. It looks super gross, and everyone drinks it. They will have one per group and they just pass it around to everyone. We were at this house and the father is drinking it then he passes it to grandma who passes it to the uncle to the kids to the neighbor who was over. It is so weird haha but thats how they are. We aren´t allowed to drink it. We have a bunch of rules like that. No tere-é, no coke, and some other stuff. It is all for the better though haha.
Some times I wish I could have coke but having the rule just gives me another way to be obedient... so I appretiate that. I love being obedient. Not all elders are, but I feel like as long as I am looking for ways to be obedient, I will be blessed. IT is the same way in the church look for ways to be exactly obedient in all you do.
Ok other paraguay stuff... mango trees everywhere, so when ever we see good mangos that have fallen we eat them haha. They have ciesta. SO most people go home and sleep in the after noon. Money here is interesting its called guaranis. And it is all based off thousands so 2000 guaranis will get me an empanada. That is super cheap. That will also get me a ride on a collectivo. 3000 for a 2 liter soda. 5000 for coke. 20000 for a burger at mcdonalds. about 25 cents is equal to 2000 gs. Fun stuff.

So this last week has been so great. Yesterday we had a menos activo family at church with an investigator Fatima. We were super stoked. And guess what ....... saterday night bishop told us we were giving talks the next day. It was 1015 when we found that out and at 1030pm is when we go to bed. So we just pulled talks out of thin air like super fast haha. I got it all ready and gave it the next day. I spoke on faith in Christ and how Faith leads to action. I thought it was really sweet. I used a bunch of good scripts and stuff and a Josè Smith quote about doing what the Lords asks of us. ``Si Pidame qualquier cosa, yo Hazlo.`` something like that. He said `` If He asks me to do something I DO IT.`` I said some stuff about how our faith in Christ leads to a desire to know His teachings, and also the desire to do what He asks of us. I talked about how they need to always keep the commandments and do everything they can to show their faith in our Savior and follow Him. I then said Vaya la capilla cada domingo, Ore a su Padre Celestial y Lea las escirturas. That means Go to Church every sunday!, Pray to your Heavenly Father!, and Read the Scriptures! The way it is conjugated is in command form so the way they hear and understand it is that it is a command.  Sì o Sì, yes or yes, you have to. I felt really good when I said that, and I felt the Spirit really strong. I looked around and ... no one was listening haha except a few of them. This place is crazy they have no idea. Church back at home is like walking into a fancy hotel here it is like walking into a zoo at times it is wack. But i gave a good first talk. Hakes got up and rocked their socks off. He just told them they need to step up their game and help us with the work and that the missionary work will only go forth because of the members.

I am serious the work is done best when the members help. In pmg Hinkly has a quote that says that tracting is not the best way to find people to teach, but it is by the help of the members.

So ... do your part. Help out the missionaries. Why do you think they stopped by our house all the time? It is because they want you to help. They love you and they know your potential. Please give them referances. Send them your friends. IF they are not good missionaries wait. Ask them to teach you and you will know. Just cuz a person turns the missionaries away once doesnt mean they always will. Always share the gospel even if you dont think someone needs it. Pray to find out which friends need the gospel and are ready. Then act on teh promptings of the spirit and share. You cannot expect the missionaries to just do the work all on their own, YOU ARE KEY.
I know this to be true. I wish I knew this before and this is why I am telling you this now. I wish I went with the missionaries more. I wish I gave them references. I love our family cuz we do a good job at this. We really do. Be a blessing to the missionaries. Be their friends. This work isn't a piece of cake or a walk in the park. I am enlisted I have joined the ranks and it is tough. We are all enlisted, you know what to do. Caden you are aboss when it comes to sharing the BoM. Brooke you are a boss at sharing your testimony. Mom you are a boss at giving references. Dad you are a boss and talking about the gospel at work and at service to all. Cam you are a boss at what you do haha jk you are a boss at being friends and bringing friends to church stuff. Zach is a last level boss. He can't be stopped haha.

We are finding people now so that is good. I wish we could get legit refs but it is all good. I love the people keep them in your prayers. I love my mission and am working hard. I love you all so much you are the best. I got to go but keep up the good work I want to hear about any experiences you are having. I want to hear funny stories. Lots of love.

Les amo.

Elder Carpenter

President Madariaga , Elder Carpenter, Elder Hakes, Sister Madariaga

PARAGUAY!!!



One Month in Paraguay!

Aloha everyone ... wait what i mean Que Tal,

I love you all so much i want you to know that.

So i thought i would start off by talking about Paraguay a little bit more.

Members heard on the news that Paraguay is the most corrupt country in SA and possibly the world! I believe it... haha this place is nuts. So if you could check that out for me and let me know.

Heres some interesting stuff. People here burn their trash...so everywhere we walk there is trash burning. i remember flying in and seeing fires all over the place, so it makes sense now. There are dogs everywhere... and i mean everywhere! Just nasty dirty dogs with flees and sores... you name it. Cows are everywhere. They roam the streets i got some pics on our way over here. Milk comes in bags:( Some streets are paved others are dirt and others are rocks in the dirt. I walk down pathways all the time that are in open fields.

 

 Fútbol is huge here soccer balls everywhere. Every kid plays and there are fields on every corner. They also love vollyball so thats legit. I wear my boots on the rainydays and my coat too. I lost my hood though:( i think i lost it at the mtc in a hole on the top of the dresser! What else ... there is cow poop everywhere haha. and caden i havn´t done the deed yet. but dont worry i bet it will come soon. There are some girls here that look at us really weird when we walk by. The elders here call them snakes cuz some of them you say adios and they say adios-s-s-s-s like a snake haha. Oh adios does not mean bye here its just what you say when you pass someone.

 

We clap at homes and never knock. If we knocked their door might either break or well their door is a sheet so we cant. There are very poor people here and also rich people here but they always are kind enough to give us anything they have. I love the food and it wont really make me sick until i have some of the grosser stuff. In limpio most food is normal though. Mom, look up empanadas they are my favorite... ham and cheese (jamon y queeso). Get the receipe and make em. Tell gma Carpenter too. She asked in my letter. 

Ok so moving on ... story time. Yesterday we were walking and a drunk guy started yelling at us to come over to him and his friend. Elder Hakes was on the phone and so i was the lone soldier. I asked him what was up and he said he had our books. I asked if he had ever shared with missionaries before and he said yes. I asked if he went to church and he said ya and aked if he liked it yes. Then he showed us his house and said he wants to meet with us again. Hakes hung up and we found out he was a member. His friend was super drunk and kept trying to give us hugs it was AWK ... WARD (zach) well we told them we would share with them if they werent drunk and said we would come by tomorrow and that if they were drunk we would leave ... so we will see what happens.                Now here is the funny part of the story. Before we went out i prayed out loud with Hakes and i asked that people would be put in our path that we could find. Then i asked that people would come find us. .... So after we left those guys elder hakes says.. "well you got what you wanted ... maybe you should be a little more specific next time" haha we were laughing so hard. But that was my prayer all last week and we were able to find a lot of people and also many people wanted to talk to us so it was really sweet.

I want you all to know i love it here. This place is so awesome. The spanish is so hard... please pray for me. I am doing literally everything i can do to learn this language. I can understand the people when the spirit is strong, But it is so hard to understand people half the time. I am learning so much faster but my progression seems really slow. This is definately the hardest thing i have ever done but what doesnt kill you only makes you stronger haha. I have changed so much on my mission. I look back and am so happy that i am at the place i am now. I study so hard, i work hard, i wake up early and DO WORK ALL DAY SIEMPRE! I am so thankful for the temple and being able to work there all summer. If i hadnt done that i prolly wouldnt have the testimony i have. I would def have a testimony, but the temple really pumped me up for my mission.

So we were at our lunch appt at bishops house, and a missionary from the south mission showed up. He was with his parents and was leaving to go home the next week. It was so legit. He baptised the bishops maid and then she moved to limpio so he came up to see her and say bye. He gave here a framed picture of the temple and his mom gave her a necklace. (His parents didnt understand anything haha.) She then told her conversion story to us 5 missionaries, bishop, and his parents at the house. He then translated for his parents. It was so awesome. She then brought him her book of mormon triple, and he read her the letter he had writtin inside a year before. The spirit was so strong, his mom was crying haha it reminded me of mom. She hadnt a clue what they were saying but she was proud of her son. I saw this whole thing and all i could think about was ... when i am getting ready to leave my mission i want to be able to see a few of my close converts, and i want to be able to hopefully go to the temple with at least one family. I could tell this elder loves the people and i cant wait till i can start having experiences like that! It was so cool haha it got me so pumped!

well i am going to take the rest of the time to write president and upload some photos so ... I love you all. Work hard. Be happy. Pray. Study the Gospel. Listen to mom and dad haha. Christmas is coming up! Which reminds me mom im on my fifth day of christmas! i love those cards you sent me todays was my mission scripture and a picture of and angel. I am writing all about it in my journal so some day you will see all the details haha. I know this church is true. I know the temple work going on is true. The gathering of israel is taking place. Do family history and get excited about the spirit of elijah. " hearts of the children will turn to their fathers" or something like that. I am not perfect haha i dont know everything about the gospel. Through Jesus Christ we can have so much. I know my savior lives and loves me and you. BoM is the bomb! read it.

Love you all PEACE! and joy,

¡Elder Carpenter!

Thanksgiving Dinner with Zone in Limpio Paraguay!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello my family,

Sounds like you are all doing well. I thought I'd start off by answering some questions.

1) It rains at least once a week and it rains hard. All the other days are burning hot... haha... so I love rainy days... even though it's only 10 degrees colder and I get all wet.

2) I pay this lady to do our laundry every week, so its nice except I dont see half of my clothes for a week haha.

3) Elder Hakes and I get along great so everything is goin fine with us. He is such a stud and really funny.

4) I have not pooped my pants yet. Elder Hakes had to take a jungle dump haha (which reminded me of the card you sent me, I just got it today) so we went down by this river so he could do work... haha. Elder Hakes was sick on Tuesday so we had to stay home all day he was throwing up and goin to the bathroom alot it stunk ... literally haha. Ill write Caden a seperate letter about that stuff though.

5) We live in our own apartment.

6) I drink the water ... I hate drinking it though... but the members don't understand their water is freakin nasty. haha. I feel bad every time I tell someone no thanks cuz they might get offended.

Alright... so Thanksgiving was on Thursday and we forgot and thought it was going to be on Sunday haha. But then we remembered TG is always on a Thursday. So we went to our lunch appt and the lady who fed us (sister orego) said "Happy Thanksgivings Days" haha. It was so funny cuz we told her it wasn't today but it was on Sunday and right after lunch we remembered we were wrong ... WELL WHOOPS.

But overall Thanksgiving was sweet we had some good food. Oh and on Sunday she said "Happy Thanksgivings Days" again I just said Gracias and walked away :)

So I wanted to tell you all simply what I am thankful for.

I am thankful for :

My family and all they do for me. For their prayers and time spent on me. I am thankful for your individual personalities. I have the best family in all the world...I really do. We really do. I am thankful that I was raised in the church by loving parents who keep the commandments, and keep their coventants by going to church every Sunday and going to the temple frequently. I am thankful for my siblings and every thing I have learned from them. In this life we are blessed with our families to have experiences that help us learn and grow together in such a wonderful gospel.

Which reminds me, last night I taught a really good family about prayer and we read D&C 19:29,39 or it might be 28,38...I cant remember, but then I challenged a really good family (them) to try to pray as a family every night this week before going to bed. It was so sad. They told me " Elder, that is too hard." I asked them if they could just try it one night and they said  "Elder, I'm sorry. It is just too hard. We will see." :(

I seriously was so sad and confused. I think about how hard it was at first with our family to do this, it still is, and then I thought about all the blessing we recieved from doing it. I am so thankful for our daily family prayer and scripture study and the effect it had and has on our family. Kids, I promise you you recieve blessings from praying every night as a family and on your own.

I am thankful for the gospel and my mission. This opportunity is once in a lifetime. Dad can testify of that. The church is true, I would not spend two years out here in this blasted place jk haha if it wasn't true. I mean that Brooke, Cameron, Caden, Zach , Mom and Dad... I know this church is true and I have a desire to share it with everyone. With everyone. So kids, find out for yourselves. Don't wait to know. You will be wasting your time if you choose to wait and find out later in life. Start studying the gospel now. Start building a testimony now. A testimony starts out small and it will stay small if you don't put in the time, if you don't share it, if you just sit there and just hope it might just come. Act now and find out cuz I promise you there is a special happiness that comes from knowing the gospel is true and is restored. This happiness is different than anything else. You can't find this happiness anywhere else.

I am thankful for a lot of other things, but I don't have time haha bummer...I guess we will have to wait till next year.

Ok shout outs...

 

I got some letters this week from Sister Koford, Gma and Gpa Hansen, Gma and Gpa Carpenter, and Mom.

Sister Koford... thank you so much it meant a lot to me. You crack me up cuz we didnt sit around doing nothing all the time at your house, I mean come on... watching Modern Family is very productive.

Gma and Gpa Hansen... I love you so much! Thanks for the letter. It really means alot. Thanks for the encouraging words. I will write you soon, I promise.

Gma and Gpa Carpenter...I will write you soon. Your letter was very touching thanks for the advice. I loved your testimonies. Love you so much.

Mom...I love you:)

We have to go now... but I love you all and pray for you daily. I am sending letters!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok... so I was going to send pictures but the computer doesnt have a card slot! I am sorry next week though I will figure it out:)

Chow,

Love,

Elder Carpenter

Hum Diddy Dum

Yellow,

haha...I love giving a title to the letter, they harldy ever relate.

Well what's up with Paraguay this last week? You're in luck cuz I'll tell you!

Its raining hardcore today. The street was a flippin river haha but we didn't have to go in it cuz.... IT'S P-DAY! 

So after it died down we went to McDonalds:) then to Burger King ... don't ask why... haha....but it was really good. We also cleaned our apartment today. It was so nasty... so it is nice having a nice clean home to have the Spirit dwell in.

So this week we got three fechas (bapt dates) Osmar, Alberto and Fatima. We invited them to church this Sunday... and what do you know... none of them show up! We even called them and everything. We even went by Alberto and Fatima's house. So we have to get knew fechas with them. I pray it all works out. I went on a division (24 hour change) this week with another elder. It was weird. He is a native and super lazy it really bugged me but its ok. Another elder went with Elder Hakes and taught Osmar. Hakes said it didn't go so well, and that the other elder said some things that may have upset Osmar. Thats what happens when you teach lessons and not people. He said it wasn't bad...a little ify. So we have 8 fundamentals a couple are teach people not lessons. We invite, they commit, we follow up, how to recieve revelation through church attendance etc. These 8 principles are part of the PMG church missionary plan , and they are super legit. If we teach by using these things we are going to see success. But besides that I think Osmar will be fine we just need to talk to him and hopefully he doesn't drop us. ( ex of teach people not lessons means, teach a lesson to person by relating it to them and what they need, rather than teaching just a lesson, it makes people feel like you really care about them it is awesome.)

I love Paraguay!!! I really do! The people are legit, the place is hot and stinky... but awesome hot and stinky. I don't care that my clothes stick to me... haha it's pretty dang fun. 

So we got a couple of menos activos to church that was good. We had 60 people at church so we were way happy too. 

So I have been praying that Elder Hakes and I might attract people to us that want to hear. And this week a joven (teen) about 18 years old came up to us and said we can stop by his house anytime to get some cold water if we want. He pointed out his house and we thanked him and we went on our way. He seemed legit he was super happy to see us in the street and he said he has never talked to missionaries before in his life but just thougt he should invite us to come over whenever.... So we stopped by on Saturday... it was prolly 100 degrees outside haha and he gave us some water, we then talked to him and found out he drinks and smokes and wants to quit cuz he knows its bad. So we taught him the 3rd lesson and really related it to him ( teach people not lessons) he really liked it so we are going to teach him again and invite him to be baptized. IT was really an answer to my prayers, it was so awesome. Also a bunch of people called us over to talk to them on Sunday, so we got to teach this guy that only speaks Guarani. Elder Hakes can understand enough Guarani to communicate but this man understood Spanish so we were in luck. He told us he wants to buy us some recuerdos(memory items, souvineers) pretty legit. I hear Guarani everyday and Ii know a couple things Mbai che pa means como esta which means how are you haha fun stuff.

I loved your emails everyone. I hope Brooke is having fun that sound so sweet! Caden you crack me up dude! I loved your letter... havn't pooped my pants yet and we both cook. 

Mom, I love you. I was praying about Candy and I just got this really good feeling. So I believe it will be a good experience. I dont know what the outcome will be,  but I know if she truly reads and asks she will know. Also mom take a look at the intro last two paragraghs we share this in every Bom lesson it has the challenge of Moroni and what we will know from reading and praying. 

Dad, I love your letters haha keep up the Spanish and the hard work, your the best dad don't forget it.

Cam, good job at the skating sound like a bunch of fun.

Zach,  I love you. I hope school is awesome.

I don't have much time left. We have to leave soon but I'll add some more stuff in.

I got the Xmas package! 8 bags. I dont know if there was sposed to be anything else though. The Mary sticker on the seal was ripped so it looked like it may have been opened so send me a email letting me know if there was anything not in the bags... cuz thats all that was in there.

I got a letter from the Pratts:) 

I need these addresses, pratts gmas and gpas, cousins, friends on missions, that's bout it oh and bishop.

This place is so legit i love it, you are all in my prayers. The work makes me tired but thats why its called work haha.

I love you all so so much, til next week,

Elder Carpenter

Hey Howdy Hey! Week 2 in Paraguay!

hey howdy hey!

So mom, I thought I told you last week I got the package with all the candy and stuff. I just havn´t gotten the Christmas one yet. It may be in the office by now, but I got the package the day I got here. Also I sent home my SD card in a letter. I hope you get it soon if you havn´t :/

Alright so this week in Limpio has been weird. We are visiting a lot of the menos activos less actives and trying to get them to church. So next sunday our numbers of people at church should increase by a lot. It rained hard core yesterday so nobody showed up:( I guess they are afraid of the rain or something. We only had 29 people including 4 missionaries. We are supposed to have 401 members...well whoops. We went to pick up our investigator torvivio (who we got to commit to baptism this week) to take to church .... after clapping at his house for about 7 min. ( after we had seen him see us in the window and calling his name a bunch of times haha) he came out and waved both pointer fingers at us and said " no no no ... no me gusta ... termino!" which means I don't like this. I'm done! He then walked inside. So we lost our investigator. We show up and our other investigator isn't there either. But then again nobody really came to church anyways sooo idk its kinda depressing. So that night we show up to another potentials house and taught him the first lesson ... extended the invitation to be baptized and he accepted!!!! So we are happy with that it was a great way to end our (mixed feelings) day.

Ok,  so I got four dear elders in the MTC that I replaced:( I'm pretty positive it was from your guys... so idk if its possible but could you maybe resend the last 8 dear elders you sent. If not, it's ok.  It's not the end of the world. haha

Ok so the streets are dirt, others are dirt with rocks and others are paved. Only the main streets though. So I usually have dirt all over my pants kinda stinks haha but I love it. I wear a sombrero on hot days its not like crazy huge or anything and its made out of straw but kinda cool. It is always humid but I got used to sweating haha. We played soccer today in the rain it was sweet and we played it on a cement court at the church. Sometimes when I'm out far tracting or visiting I feel like Indianna Jones haha just cuz its super hot and my shadow looks like him. I'll get a pic to send home. We aren't sposed to carry our cameras or take pics while we are working.. so I'll try to get a few. 

Also people light off firecrackers on an hourly basis here. It is so annoying. I feel like I am being bombed right now cuz the guy next door keeps lighting of flipping tnts or something the whole building shakes haha. which reminds me we had a thunder storm yesterday and our room shakes too haha the thunder will last for like 3 min there aren't mountains... so that might add to the duration.

The people here are nice. I get fed food all the time haha. This lady was feeding us lunch. It was rice and it looked room temp... so I took a huge bite. It was like 150 degrees my mouth was blistering and I didn't want to spit it out cuz she was watching me haha my eyes started watering and I finally got it down. Now the roof of my mouth is all ripped up and I have a fat sore on my tounge...so eating food isn't really fun right now haha. It's ok though. I just think its funny.

I wish I could tell you more about investigators, but we have only two. I hope they keep progressing so we can baptize them. Please pray for our investigators Osmar and Carlos. I am trying to every day.

The Spanish is coming well. I am getting a little better. I understand what everyone is saying now ( as in it doesn't sound like they are mumbling and I can pick out every sound correctly) I just dont know what everything means. 

Alot of people speak Guarani... so hopefully in 4 months or so I can start learing it. 

So...I started reading Jesus the Christ. It is so legit! I love it! I am reading it with the Book of Mormon as usual haha. Yesterday I testified to Osmar, our investigator, that the Book of Mormon is my favorite book. It was so cool.

Mom, I am happy you are going to talk to Candy. I am praying for her and you. Just don't worry and above all just be her friend the rest will come. The members are such an important part in conversion without them we can't do much. It is hard here cuz everyone is unpredictable... but we are going to change that. I miss our ward haha everyone is awesome tell bishop to write me. I don't have his address. oh and send me a copy of our ward directory that would help.

This week I learned in Preach My Gospel and the Book of Mormon, we need to pray very specifically. Our thoughts are not Gods thoughts. He knows what we are thinking but we need to specifically ask Him for things. We can't get lazy and expect he knows everything we want to say. Prayers are so special this way. The length of your prayer isn't whats important though. They can be short and strong or long and strong. Read about prayer in PMG you will learn alot. Our prayers will be lead by the spirit as they become sincere. Listening to the spirit is key in everything. Mom, try to listen to the spirit to know when Candy needs to talk to you. If you don't feel to good about it... wait and with time you will know. You are such a good example to me when it comes to listening to the spirit. Dad too! 

Mom and Dad you are so great. You are doing everything right. I have studied family a little this week and also the Family Proclamation and you are a perfect match. a cast mold. my friends all know that too and will follow your example. I know they will.

Well I gotta write the Mish Pres. I love you all so much. Thanks for those last minute emails haha I loved them.

Brooke you got a great smile... share it with everyone. You should study about the Light of Christ cause you got it! Take a look in PMG and see if you can find where it talked about it. I won't tell you where cause you gotta find it. I'll give you a hint" the spirit".

Cam you are an awesome priesthood holder. Congrats in your quorom. Take pride in being a priesthood holder. It is so special Cameron. I mean it. Be an "uncommon man."  I wish when I was younger, I understood the importance of the priesthood. Study it.

Caden you crack me up dude. I almost pooped my pants... but i made it to the toilet at the perfect time! So prolly next time! My companion has three times haha.

Zach you are a wild maniac:) i love hearing your funny stories with Eli. Make everyone laugh.

We got the perf family! And guess what you better believe it cuz we get to be together forever. Literally Forever and I don't have to wait... right now cuz our hearts are stiched together already. We have already started eternity together. We just have to make it to our Heavenly Father now. And guess what... going down the Lord's path is easier than we think... you just gotta study the doctine and you will undertstand what I mean. So lets do this! I love you all so much ... now let's do work PEACE! 

Bienvenidos a Paraguay!

Ok... get ready for a jam packed crazy email!

I arrived in Sau Paulo on Friday after we slept for 6 hours on an 8 hour flight. We had an hour to get to our next flight. We ran as fast as we could and the flight wasn´t comfirmed!!!!!! We were so mad we had to wait in SP for a good 7 hours, I think. I didn't call cuz we were told to only call once (exact obedience). Then... we got on our flight... FIRST CLASS BABY... hahaha!!. ( Except for three elders.. they got stuck in the back with the cold fish heads!)  We got some cheesy chicken (not as good as moms) but it was great. I talked to this Paraguayn man for the whole time ( he speaks English.)

OK... so we landed and we were waiting in line to get checked through. It was so hot. I spotted President Madariaga and his wife. I smiled big and waved.  They waved back extremely excited. After getting through, I hugged him and shook her hand. He welcomed us. He speaks broken English but has a pretty good vocabulary. Next we drove back with the AP's to the mission office. There pretty much are NO rules on the road. In a two lane road... there were about four cars across haha. The buses drive around corners like Brooke does and they also weave in and out of cars! Half the people drive motorcycles. It is crazy!!! It's like ants running rampant... but organized. I still don't get it!

The first night, we had our orientation and interviews. It was sweet. Pres Madariaga asked if he could count on me to be obedient and do my best. I told him he doesn't have to worry about me. I will be exactly obedient, and that he will be able to trust me to do the Lords work.

We slept at the AP's home that first night... fun stuff. I was tired as heck. The next day we stopped by the temple. It is tiny. We went inside but didn't do anything... just looked around. It was very cool though. It was raining...yet it was super hot. We had a testimony meeting in the church. The churches are so dirty here. Seriously, it is kinda gross. No carpets, all tile. Anyways I'll get to that later.

I met my companion that night. ELDER HAKES. He is cool. He´s from Mesa, Arizona. He  has a southern accent. He speaks Spanish like a boss though. He has been out for a little over a year. I'm his first kid. In the mish, they call the trainers dads and the trainees kids. haha...or hijos. Then there are uncles, grandpas and cousins and what not.... you can figure it out. Elder Haderly is my cousin... haha. We are in the same zone. I played soccer with him today.

Elder Hakes and I went home to our apartment. It is pretty nice ... NOT!!!!  haha...The toilet is plastic the shower head is plastic with an electric switch on the top to make the water hot or cold. If you touch underneath that where the water comes out you will get shocked and your hand will get thrown against the wall!! haha  SKETCH!!

We went to the streets to do work. We have to find alot of new people. We also have to reactivate the less actives.

So.... the streets are dirt with mud, trash, rocks, you name it... poop haha. My foot slipped in the mud. Fun stuff.  And no.....I have not pooped my pants ... yet.... but I'm sure its just around the corner. I won't get into details!! hahaha. 

So.. my first day I was fed food by a stranger... had some other good food and just walked everywhere trying to find people. It was a long day.  There is some  crazy stuff here in Paraguay.  We talked to a few drunks. haha when I say talked.. I mean I tried to listen. The people here don't say there S´s it is hard to understand example ( my firt language ii engleh) haha it is crazy hard. The people are nice though. I can't wait to get to know them. 

We went to church. It was fun. It was fast and testimony meeting. There are very few men that come to church... so priesthood was small. They introduced me and I think the bishop told them I dont understand anything cuz everyone started laughing and I just smiled back!  haha I laughed a little too! Fun stuff right! It's a ward,  by the way should be a stake but there are a lot of members they just aren't active. This kid was climbing all over me all during sacrament haha! Oh,  we share the ward with the zone leaders we get the bigger half of the area though. So they were there too. They are way cool.  

I am in the area called Limpio.  That means clean. Elder Hakes said they call it that cuz its a cleaner city in Paraguay...... let me tell you they have no idea what clean means here if they think Limpio is clean... keep dreamin hahahaha. 

I wish I had a spiritual story for you all.  Oh... actually we gave a pass along card to a man in Brazil. He spoke English and we talked to him about the Book of Mormon. We bore testimony about it and that our church is true. He acted pretty sincere while he asked us questions... so, it was pretty cool. The pass along card was to get a free BOM. I have no idea if he will ever go to the site or if he even cares... but Elder Brasher. Elder Hanks and I talked to him and who knows that could have been the reason why our fligh didn't go through in the first place. All i know is the Lord works in mysterious ways my friends.

I'll give you more updates next week and in my letters. You know my testimony. MOM, I gotta follow up with you... did you talk to Candy? 

I love you all. I loved talking to you and hearing you voices in the airport! So awesome!  YOU are all amazing. Stay classy.

LOVE, Elder Carpenter 

The Fab Five in Paraguay! 

This was the Fab Five in the MTC! They made it!!!

Little bits of the last letters from the MTC...

I just wanted to share a few excerpts from Brandon's last letters to his family from the MTC. Brandon has done such a great job sharing his testimony with each member of our family and teaching and challenging us individually. Some things he shared blew us away...wear a helmet??? Things we had said to Brandon for years are coming right back! We have loved getting these letters! Here is a little part from each letter this last week...

To Zachy Poo... "I am so glad you are excited to serve a mission. You are going to be such a good missionary too! I love you so much Zach!"

To Caden..."I want you to know, Caden. The Savior lives. He lives. He is real.He loves you. He died for you and me. He watches over you. He is with me. I feel His presence. Pray to know how He helps you in your life, because He is there. You just gotta listen and the Holy Ghost will help you know. I'm am thankful, Caden, for you in my life."

To Cam da Man... "How's skating? I want you to be careful. Cameron, don't do anything you don't think you should do. It is dangerous! Pray so the Spirit will warn you.Just because you are good, doesn't mean you are safe...so promise me you will always wear a helmet. OK? Read your scriptures. You will learn to love them. Apply what you read though. It can be hard at first, but it will become easier after practice."  "Don't listen to bad music...don't do it! I don't care if everyone does it...it is Satan's way to bring you down. I miss you and love you, bud!"

To Brooke..."I love you. there are so many things in America that are of the devil.  He decieves us...he makes things look good and appealing. The biggest lie he ever told is that he doesn't exist, and people believe it. Music can be one of the greatest things in the world and of God...but it can also be so bad and sex driven and drug pushin, etc. It can lead to negative thoughts and even be spiritual damning." "I am so proud of you. I'm proud that you got your Patriarchal Blessing. I love mine and I refer to it all the time and I know you will too."

To Mommy... "I got your letter about the specific time you felt you needed to pray for me. I looked back in my journal to that night...I had written... I miss my dad, my mom, Brooke, Cameron, Caden, and Zach. But then I was comforted and things were better. I know your prayer helped me right then. I love you mom. Thank you for being in tune with the Spirit. I know if you were here, I'd be making you proud. I try to think about that everyday. That's how I determine how I act...if you were here... what would I do. I remember all of our talks and I am applying all that you taught me I love you! Mom, you have done such an awesome job at raising our family. I know Jesus Christ and God are proud of you. I miss your cookies. You are my hero, mom. I love you!"

To Papa Smurf..."You are such an awesome father. I have learned so much from you. I think it is ironic that I now look back at everything you taught me and know you were right! i will be thanking you throughout my life for everything you taught me that I didn't agree with at the time...so go ahead and say it..."I told you so!"  But seriously, dad, I love you. I can't wait to be a father so I can follow your example. I am so thankful for my mission. I have learned so much and I am becoming the person that I aspire to be."  

He made it!!!

Hey everyone! I made it alright! We got stuck in Sao Paulo until 2:30 Brazil time!
Sorry I didn't call you again. I didn't think it would have been right.
Anyways... it smells funny here and I love my mish President. He is awesome.
I only got three min so I'll write you later, alright.
Love you all Peace!!! PAZ!!!

Off to Paraguay!!!

Elder Carpenter left for SLC Airport at 4:00 am and was surprised by his Aunt Tami and Aunt Amy!!

He is now on his way to Paraguay!! We were able to talk to him from SLC and Miami ( we are still hoping for a phone call from Brazil .) He was excited and happy! We know he is ready and prepared to serve the Lord. We are excited to support him and hear about all of the experiences he will have in Paraguay! We love you Brandon!!

Happy Halloween!!

Que Tal Amigos!

so this week i leave!:)

so we are actually in the mtc for 8 1/2 weeks not 9 haha they lied!!!!

 ill start with the info i will call in miami and possibly slc and possibly chigago so be ready i dont have time to do the math for you all so figure it out you slimy dogs:) haha

i cant wait to talk to all of you though so please be there it is very i;mportant

 ok this last week was very good ill start with shout outs

grandpa and grandma Hansen i love you so much thanks for the little package i loved the food and the fuz ball thingy with the note haha i love your letters so much i will write you a letter soon i promise

family i sent you a letter today i never sent it this last week cuz i wanted to write all of you so dont worry it is coming

i loved the package i am still trying to find time to listen to the tapes i will use them too

also i am sending my card home today:) so stoked for the ipod too

i laughed so hard at the zach duncan story mom haha but it kinda was a little awkward zach:) haha jk

ok spiritual stuff

devotional on tuesday was elder hallstorm it was so cool about mish work

i was thinking in my head what type of missionary do i want to be and then he asked that same question haha it was way cool here are some quotes

"you are part of the greatest force which is on this earth. you are prepared to build up the kingdom of God" this also reminded me of something my teacher hno. varner taught me he said that in the field they were always looking for kingdom builders not just investigators but kingdom builders haha i love it

ok another thing hallstorm said was that we need to be exactly obedient and know the mish handbook as best we can! i know that this is important and i know you all know this is important to me too! kinda reminds me of somthing pres bradly taught on sunday he said" there is a difference between getting baptized and recieving the kingdom of God" or something like that then he said" in between those two things we need to be obedient to all the laws and commandments of the gospel keep our covenants etc." he is such a great man I hope we can all follow these mens council and be live the gospel.

pres bradly formal par asun pres also said carry an extra pair there will come a time when you need em:) and then his wife said and carry tp with you and always know where the bushes are bhahahahahahha i was dying so funny

ok another thing hallstorm taught was that we as missionaries are all part of a legacy .... my mission will be important to my future family/kids just as Dads mission is important to me and the legacy will continue for generations to come. so dad always remember that! i think about you everyday i think about how much of an example you are in my life for serving an honorable mission for being a great leader and priesthood leader and patriarch of our family! "i love you daddy:)" ask brooke haha

ok im now gunna follow up .

mom did you talk to candy? if not why not?

also is everyone praying personaly and reading there scriptures?

i know this church is true! Jesus Christ lives. He is the way. study Him learn to know Him. I feel His love for me everyday.

The scriptures are true got even more confiramations this week too! are family is forever

i gotta go though i love this work moses 1:39

 i love you all so much and expect a letter soon. talk to you soon:)

MTC....Blast in the Past!

HOLA! 

I hope everyone is doing well. The MTC is a blast and coming up soon will be a blast in the past:) 

You heard me everyone! I got my travel plans and I'm leaving November 3 at 4 am in the morning:) 

I leave Salt Lake at 715 to Chicago at 1125am

then from Chig at 1235pm to Miami at 430pm

then from Miami at 835pm to Sao Paulo Brazil at 655am

Sao Paulo at 910am to ASUNCION PARAGUAY at 1010!!!!!

So...I don't know when I'll call yet, but I will let you know. Tell me the times you will ALL be home and when is best for you! 

QUICK SHOUT OUT...

Grandma Carpenter thank you so much for the temple names you gave me. I have completed them all this morning in our endowment sesh which was so awesome. I love you! 

ok... I got your package family! I loved the Holy Ghosts and I talked to Jake and Collin haha. They got theirs too... they loved it! All my friends love you Family. They mention you all the time whether its here or in a letter haha you rock!

 The license picture was so funny hahahhaa tell me what you think haha and thanks for sending that tie. I wore it yesterday and got about 20 comments throughout the day on how much they loved it including Branch President Bradly haha!

 Pres Bradly was the mission pres for Paraguay Asuncion South Mission. He is a stud. He knows Sean Charleston, by the way,  haha tell them about it.

He knows a little Guarani and said we would def learn it in our missions in the north. He is so cool I wish you could meet him. He has such a strong testimoney as do all our leaders here in our branch presidency, Bro Smith and Bro Anderson. They are so awesome too! I love them. Bro Smith was Pres in a Phillapeans mission and Anderson used to teach at BYU he is really old haha kinda reminds me of a turtle:)

 Something Bro Anderson taught us is the importance of reading the Book of Mormon .... when we are young he said if your children get in the habit they will be easier to raise as teenagers and they will learn to love the Book of Mormon... so I challenge all to read this book. It is true. I recieve conformation of this at least once every week ..... ask our Heavenly Father if it is true, we are taught to ask throughout our lives constantly. I promise you pray then study and you will know ... you cant fake it though you have to read it "faith without works is dead" I love the Book of Mormon and try to study it every personal study time which is twice a day almost;)

ok... so Elder Scott came this last Tuesday:). It was awesome. I still remember meeting him at grandpas and how he lifted me up... very cool!

Anyways though... he taught the importance of keeping a spiritual journal for writing inspiration from the spirit down in... we have all heard that before and it is very important.

This last week, after his talk, I was praying one of the most sincere prayers I have ever offered and I recieved direction and answers to my specific questions( which I ask all the time) . I decided to get off the top bunk in the dark and write down the revelation.. it prolly bugged my comps that I got out of bed... but I don't care. I was listening to the spirit.  I wrote them down in the hall way. It was so awesome. This is important but anyways just try to do that ...

He gave such a strong testimony at the end of his talk  he said ... "I know that Jesus Christ lives! The keys which I hold allow me to Know this, not hope, not wish, I KNOW , he leads and guides this church..."

 Sorry I don't have anytime left ...

It was so awesome though. I loved it. He is such a great, loving apostle.

ok.. I am taking pictures of all the stuff today mom, so don't worry...I will get them to you soon;);)

ok songs I would like on my ipod if you can find them. "Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy" maybe a cover of the song and the motab version too.

I would like "This is the Christ". I love that song... of course mo tab version and maybe other versions too.

Lillies in the Field also mo tab and also "Come Thou Fount" diff versions same ol stuff.

 "Truth and Light" it is on a seminary track so however you would find that...and also this song these boys sang this week was awesome ... " the song of the three witnesses" or something like that it may take some searching, but try hard haha. It is awesome also.

I need a plug for the wall for my ipod cuz the new camera charges diff than the last one.

I love you all. I'm going over on my time so I gotta go. I love you Zach Caden Cameron Brooke mom and dad. I pray for you everynight:) Peace... in the middle east baby!

Elder Starr, Elder Deschepper, Elder Carpenter



The Gospel will roll forth and fill the whole earth.

Elder Carpenter and Elder Smith :)

Hellooooo Family

How are you all?  Good good! I love you so much!

Things are going great here!

I love my companions. They are so awesome. We had some tough stuff... but now we are good we are goin strong.  We really take the lead in our district and they are really good at setting the example for others here. 

ok spiritual stuff...

D&C 24:12... I dont have time to write it out, but just read it with this ... this is so cool. I am promised, we all are, that if we share the gospel the lord will fill our mouths and give us the words we need to say but you have to open your mouth for this to work if you dont open your mouth about the gospel how are others supposed to hear it. I am set apart to do this so I kinda have an advantage heheheh but you all can do this too. Also read Moses 6:31-33 with D&C. It talks about Enoch and how he doesnt think he is a good teacher, but the lord promises him that if he opens his mouth he will fill it . I really love these two scriptures this is "strength such as is not known among men" so Caden you do really good at this. You are a good missionary...Cameron too... but everyone else....:) OPEN YOUR MOUTHS hahaha

I know you have been talking to the Poppas and I have been praying for you guys and them. Don't give up. I want to know if they came to General Conference at our house or not. 

Also Candy... did she ever come over ... now this is going to be hard,  but Candy needs to read the Book of Mormon cuz she is missing out on all these blessings that come from it. You can tell her I am challenging her to read it if you want haha. Don't scare her away... but I'm serious it is a really good history book. She likes history. But more importantly, it is a guide to eternal happiness a guide to all our problems a guide to the things that we need personally that we might not even know we need i promise you all (family and Friends) if you read this book it will bless your lives in ways you won't even be able to explain. It is true. 

I love Zach's pictures and letters hahaha... they are so awesome! I loved the album you sent me. I didn't get to see all the videos... but I love them so far ... don't mean to brag... but my family is the funniest:) 

k funny story gather up...

So Elder D got some letters from some girl he writes and she had her friends all write us it was really weird haha but anyways the one ... bum bum bummmm that Elder J got was from one of the girls friends... but as hes reading it he gets this huge grin on his face ...

Elder A asks him about the letter... Elder J says she is totally insane ... Elder A says do you have a crush on her ... Elder J says ehhhhhhh well im totally insane too haha!  

hahaha so funny we were cracking up this was a week ago so we asked him today if he still has a crush on her and he says .. well i still gotta write her back sooo hahahahahhahahahahahha! 

ok... so every time somebody leaves we have a goodbye meeting in their rooms and they give out pass alongs. I have quite a few. It is so funny and we all sing till we meet again in spanish it is awesome. We all sound like a bunch of drunks singing in a bar in a midevil story or something. It is so awesome. I'll write you about a pass along later though. 

SHOUT OUT TIME...

Grandma Carpenter... I loved you package! Again,  thank you so much. I love you and grandpa so much! 

Sister Starr... thank uyou so much for your letters. I will try to write you back sometime.

 Sister Deschepper...I loved you letter too! It made me laugh so hard. The chant was great!

Kristin... thank you so much for the tie. It is one of my favorites and I always try to wear it to important things and everyone loves it!

I love you all... 25 secs left...Have a great week! I will write you soon!

Hola Mi Familia...MTC...Week 5!!!

I love you guys so much so I'm gunna try to get a bunch of stuff in today! I don't have a lot of time as usual haha!!

ok funny story time...

1...This week in one of our best lessons with Jorge and investigator(Hermano Varner)...I tell him I have a special scripture that will answer his question. I grab my libro and open it ... just then a butter knife falls out of my scriptures onto the floor  hahahah we all look at each other trying to keep the spirit of the lesson present . Our district is always hiding silverware in eachothers stuff haha its so funny ... this time is was Elder J who was the one who hid it there literally five min berfore our lesson! haha it was so funny!

2... In the lunch room we always get seconds... Elder B goes to get another hotdog but they serve two at a time so he asks the lady (extra large woman) if he could only have one hot dog. she whips her head at him surprised and says in a manly voice "just one hot dog" hahaha that has been the line of the week love it!  

alright spiritual stuff....

1... Today I did more initiatories and I remembered to do the family names you gave me it was so awesome... such a different feeling when they are your names .... FAMILY do family history dont rely on grandma, DO IT! you will love it and will be blessed for it.

2...Last nights devotional was awesome the speaker works for some admin MTC stuff idk but the first presidency told him that in order to keep our converts to stay strong, we as missionaries need to teach .... the LAW OF TITHING it is so important we need to explain it as the blessing and gift it is . Sometimes missionaries get scared to teach commandment cuz they think their investigators will fall away. If they are taught the importance/ blessings/ how great these things are ... they will do anything to follow those laws! This is talking about building the kingdom of God folks DO IT! ahaha "we dont pay our tithing with money, we pay our tithing with Faith" Hinkley

3... Elder L. Lionel Kendrick spoke last Tuesday. He has taught us "you are set apart to succeed not just to serve ther is a difference form serving time and serving the lord ... serving time is what men in prison do hahaha" he taught more about that. It was so sweet. I loved it pretty much I need to "wake up everymorning and ask how am I gunna do it all today [I am] serving the lord if I am asking what am I gunna do today I am serving time"

SHOUT OUT TIME!!!!!!

Woodburys...I love you all so much! I loved your package! We will take pictures with the suckers!!!

Greens...I love you all too!  Your package was awesome... so hard to open because of the duct tape :) but awesome hahah I will take pictures too with the glasses!

Gma and Gpa Carpenter... thank you for everything too! I love you so much! I wish you could see everyone here! It is so aweesome!  I can't belive you got to work at the MTC... so sweet!

Gma and Gpa Hansen.... Gma, I loved the cookies and the package. You are so awesome... reminded me of when I was little and I would get your guys packages for holidays:) and Gpa I loved that story it was so sweet! I love your idea for the letters... very awesome.

ok 2 min left...I love you all! I hope this letter was good for you all. The mail is on the way:) and cant wait to send you all more pics ummmmm send me pics of stuff too DunCan too! ok I love you all! I'm surviving! haha

Lots of Love, Elder Carpenter

Semana Cuatro!!!

Hola mis amigos! The MTC is still holding up after the spirit attacked the whole congregation of missionaries this last weekend:)

General Conference was so awesome! I just loved it! I want to hear all of your "fave five" moments.

I sent my camera home with the sd card. The portrait pics didn't look good, so I'm sending another card home this week... but in case you need to return that card with it, I sent it home... if that makes any sense haha!

 Another Provo Temple!!!! Holy Cow! That is awesome! Think about it... first time in history of religion two temples in the very same city!  There's tons here in the valley... but its not the same.

I miss you all.... but I really miss Jordan and Dallan! 

I love that quote " be loyal to the royal in you." I bet dad was crying during that talk ... dad you are the are the man you fit that whole talk! I loved it! I can't wait till I can say I fit that talk too!

Today I had an awesome temple experience ... ok  so I went to do initiatories today and it was way cool... but during a certain name "George Miguel" I could really feel the spirit so strong then the ordinance worker paused got all choked up and kept going. It was way cool! It felt so good.  Afterwords I had already changed and was waiting for Elder B to finish getting dressed when the ordinance worker came out and walked up to me and he said " Elder Carpenter it was a pleasure. I just wanted to let you know there were angels present here today" then walked off with a huge joyful smile:) It was so awesome! I can testify when those spirits we do work for have accepted the gospel... they really are there with us in the temple and George Miguel was with me today:)

This last week was awesome! By the way, I sent home some of my spiritual journal today in the package with your letters:)

Chad Lewis spoke to us last night at our fireside. He played for the Eagles. Dad should know of him... something funny he said is... (well first of all he served in a Chineese speaking mission so he works for the NFL doing China stuff) ... but he said the NFL asked him to announce the Super Bowl in Chineese for those viewers. He said yes. After hanging up he realized he can't do it live he only remembers missionary Chineese but they talked him into it... so he " testified that Tom Brady threw true passes!" hahaha

k 6 min

What else? Spanish is good... coming slow still though.

I'm sorry. I should have prepared better what I would say.  The spirit is always here. I pray forever!!!

I still think about all our awesome memories... especially the small stuff. I request a page of lists of your memories of us all together... haha... here's one... the Christmas with the boxing gloves! As simple as that!

I love you all so much and letters are on the way! Hopefully you will get more after the package this week. I pray for you all! Pray for us:) Keep sending me Jordan's and Dallan's emails. I love em.

Enjoy life! PEACE!!! Love, Elder Carpenter.... the one and only!

Elder A, Elder Carpenter, Elder J

Hola... Week Three!! Sup Amigos!!

Ok...I'm gunna try to type at God Speed... here we go!  This week was great, I wrote you all... so expect a letter Wed. hopefully! I just got my package today and I got your letters. Thank you so much! Brooke, I am writing yours this week, sorry! Zach, I love your picture! I couldn't stop laughing! You are so funny buddy. I can't believe my license stuff... that is a miracle .... well I opened my eyes really wide on the pic.. so that's prolly why it is "lost" haha well whoops.

 I loved your stories mom. They ment a lot! If I don't always answer your questions or stories... know I love them and I'm trying! haha I'll try to answer them all... backpack, I have one mom. I got a satchel for free:) Free stuff floats around here cuz people can't always take everything to their missions. 7  people left this morning to Paraguay. I was sad cuz we all came close to the other districts in our zone. Our 4 D.R Elders leave Wed. for the DR... it's sad and crazy... time goes by fast!

ummm funny quote...Elder Nelson came its all in your letters so don't be surprised :) He said that a chapter in Alma, I don't remember where but it's just a long paragragh that goes for like three chapters long...he said that's how his grandchildren on missions letters are!! haha!! I'm sure you guys feel the same. 

Devotionals here are awesome. We have had Elder Ballard, Elder Nelson... they are wonderful! I know you want to hear about them so I'll send you all copies of my journal:)

Shout outs:

Thank you so much Woodburys... for your package.  I loved the cookies! You are all so awesome.

Thank you so much Greens for your package.. haha jk I'll personalize it. I loved the bball nerf stuff... you guys rock!

Grandma thanks for the letter and the package..I miss you guys. The packages here are like pirate treasure. haha

 I will try to write you all when I have time.

Funny story time:

So this last week we are walking down the hall and this elder stops us and says "Elder J...Where are you from" he says "Burley Idaho" he goes "really what school" ... "DHS" he says then the other elder says "oh ok I thought I knew you... whats up?" Then Elder J looks at him up and down for a good 5 seconds and says "Elder I don't recognize you the least bit" then walks away hahahahhahahah Oh Elder J...I love that dude!!!

OK... what else? The spirit here is so strong! It really is! I feel the spirit at least once everyday where it is way strong!

Spanish is hard...but its coming along.
Mom, I miss going to Ralphs with you. I miss going to Target with you.

Dad, I miss driving with you to Taco Shop or Aztec.

Brooke, I miss you yelling at me to get out of your room. I miss sleeping on your floor and telling each other stupid jokes. haha

Cam, I miss seeing you kneel down to pray every night. I miss hearing your funny stories.

Caden, I miss your hugs and watching you draw.

Zach, I miss your smile, your laugh, your bear hugs, your tears.

I love you guys so much! Don't cry haha...it's not like I'm gone forever... you can laugh now thats a joke haha!!

How's the world holding up without me?  Any terrorist attacks.. any new government powers I need to know about? 4 more days till the best month ever.  Send me a Halloween package! haha 

k I have one minute left mom... stop volunteering from 12 to 230 cuz thats when I write my letters home after lunch. Love you all... times up.

Love you Love you Love bye