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!