Limpio Week 12

Hey!

So this week was pretty ... well lame haha. It wasn't all that bad... just couldn't find very many people to teach. It is still super hot...hottest it has ever been. I come home just drenched. Also there are so many bugs. I keep getting attacked by mosquitos and spiders haha. I found a fat spider in my bed two nights ago. The Spanish is coming along great though. I can understand almost all conversations and can express most thoughts I have. I am looking forward to this next change cuz they say that is when you learn the most Spanish.

So I thought I would share with you an interesting experience we had, very spiritual in my eyes. Ok, so our laundry lady told us she has to drop us cuz she cant afford to drive into Limpio anymore, understandable. So we were thinking who we would ask to do our laundry ... I mean come on...like we are gunna do it psh haha. So Claudia came to mind. She does the zone leaders laundry too, which actually is a funny story. Every time she takes them their clothes she calls us. She has their number, so we think that is her way of trying to get us to go back to her. So that's who we decided we would ask. The thing is...last time elders from our house asked her she said only if we stay with her and never change, but we can't make that promise. ... so we came up with a brilliant plan. So we went to tell her and she wasn't there,so we told her husband and he said YESS. haha. We told him, it is the end of the month and we know you could use the money so we were thinking we could switch laundry ladies and come to you guys again and help you out. This way they think if they say no they think we still have a lady to go to. So Crispin said yes ... sweet. We stopped by later that week to say hi, and Crispin told us that Claudia wanted to talk to us. Hakes said shoot man I knew she wouldn't say yes that easy, she wont give in without a fight haha. So she comes out and we start talking about it, and this is what got me in the heart. She says ... " Elders thank you for coming to us, it really means a lot" then she says, "we are doing ok. Crispin has a job right now, but we were thinking Patricia and Christian (Crispin's nephews fam) is having a hard time and Christian can't find a job. They need this more than us, so if it would be ok with you, could you go to them?"

You need to understand this family doesn't have much. Their house is made out of tin nailed to a weak wood frame. Crispin has two jobs and still needs more work. Yet they are willing to sacrifice the offer and send us to Patricia and Christian. This was such a testimony builder for me. What a perfect example of service, charity and love. They could have easily said yes and ignored the needs of their family/neighbors. The spirit was so strong. In this moment the scripture in Mosiah 2 :17 popped into my head. Then Elder Hakes says..." can we share a scripture with you?" He then shared that same scripture, interesting huh. I know it was because we were listening to the spirit. Then he shared the last verse, v. 7 of "a poor w. man of grief". We then bore our testimonies on serving others and our savior. It was so SICK! haha I am so thankful for this experience. My mission is truly is doing so much for me, at times I feel like more than I could ever do for the mission. I am trying so hard to be as diligent I can in the work. I love the definition that PMG gives on diligence in chapter 6 Christlike Attributes, read it.

It was very interesting how this laundry talk went with the family. We were totally expecting something else and just got whApished (sound effect) in the face with humility haha. Cool beans.

Well shout out time:

I got the Christmas card from the fam, what a good looking group.

Also I got a card from Sister Hilton. Tell her I loved her letter and that I laughed about what she said about Mom haha. A letter is being written.

Thats it... no packages this week. Elder hakes says packages sent in December are ify they either come in on time or don't get here until Feb. So Tami, there is hope. I am sure it is doing fine out there. I pray for it if that makes you feel better hahaha.

So I loved your emails;

Mom I almost cried after reading your story. I really appreciated it.

Also about cleaning the church... good job fam.

Dad sounds like Singapore is off the hook. Humidity is a boss huh. Qué pucha haha.

Well, I love you all. I would love to write more but time is a valuable thing we watch it fly by as the pendulum swings.

PEACE con amor,

Elder Carpenter

p.s. Oh yeah changes are this week. We will find out tonight. I'm not sure what will happen, but I am thankful for all the experiences I have had in Limpio and all the blessings I have recieved. Sorry this took so long to get out... internet has been down and stuff. Well CHAU CHAU

 

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM week 11 limpio b

Anybody know how the office is doin this season??

 

Anyways Mby che'pa? Tranquilo'pa? This week has been pretty legit....and the moment you all have been waiting for .... this Sunday Fran was not baptized, but he was confirmed! haha He had a great baptism on Saturday and everything worked out perfectly. I'll get back to that later though.

 

So mom, I forgot to answer your questions about Primary and such.

I have never been in Primary yet, but they do have it... haha. Seminary exists here too. Dad that sounds so legit though that they had a fireside on it. I wish I could have gone. Pres. Packer is legit. I'm sad to hear that Brooke and Cam couldn't make it though. Kids... try to take advantage of every chance you have to hear from general authorities because it really is a great opportunity to feel the spirit and to help strengthen your faith in Christ. Next time, make it a priority so you don't miss out on the chance to grow.

 

A couple teens just got their duty to God awards this month too so that is cool.

 

So this week in preparation for Fran's baptism we had to clean the font out cukarachas (cockroaches) and all. Then we filled it. As we filled we decided to clean the church building because nobody cleans it! It was so nasty mom you would have died. I was really upset that the members treat the church like this. We filled a few trash bags with dirt, crumbs, 2 lr soda bottles, cheese puffs, wrappers, lollipops, etc. We walked into the primary room and there wasnt a tile that didn't have crumbs on it. Thats about as much info I got on primary. So not really sure you wanna go sharing that. The primary podium was covered in broken up bread with cheese puffs stuck to it. We cleaned just about every inch of the whole place. So it felt good when it was all done. There was a nasty smell. So that led us to the kitchen and there we discovered the trash (which was filled with moldy sacrament bread hadn't been emptied for a probably 3 months. IT smelt like straight up number 2 haha. Now this is not normal Paraguay. I hear that in other buildings the members clean, but for some reason the 2 wards that meet in our building like living in a pig sty. This took us a couple of days to clean by the way cuz we kept running out of water to fill the font. On the day we finished cleaning and got the font filled, we went out and got some more stuff for the baptism. We returned to the building to find a motorcyle parked in the foyer! Mud everywhere!!! (by the way there is no carpet in the buildings here just tiles. and the layout is way different than at home, very nice looking buildings though.) So we were a little bugged. We go to check on the font and it had gone down a bit so we filled it up again. Also the water runs very slow so this process takes forever. Well then a member walks up out of the cultural hall and said the building looked nice. It felt really good. He said he had to go and took his moto then left. So we go into the cultural hall and he left all this food and his drink on the table with a trash can two feet away!!!! What the Crap!  JUST KEEP THE CHURCH CLEAN FOR ONE DAY! haha anyways funny stuff. Overall it is fine cuz the members realized it was clean. We also saw some members sweeping up their mess on Sunday so there is some positive change.

 

Now to the good stuff. So the baptism was planned for 6pm on Saturday. The only interference was that a couple was getting sealed in the Temple earlier that day and bishop didn't think he would be able to make it. Elder Hakes and I have been praying all week that it would work out, and then a miracle happened. We show up at 5 and bishop is there with the some members including the couple that just got sealed! So then, Fran shows up right on time. Everything worked out fine. Ismael, his friend, is the one that baptized and confirmed him. The only ropa we had for them to use was my baptism pants and my white shirt and Elder Hakes white shirt and pants. The shirt was way to big for Fran, so I traded him haha. I got stuck wearing Hakes huge XXL church shirt. It was pretty funny. His pants were way to big also so it was kinda goofy but the baptism was performed. That's all that matters haha. SO in the picture, Fran is on the right side and Ismael is on the left closest to me.

Ok what else happened this week not much other than that. Virginia has some doubts about Joseph Smith, but she is praying for an answer so that is good.

 

Shout out time!

I got a few letters from Grandma Carpenter this week. Thanks so much. And also I got the names just fine! I can't wait to get those done. I have a letter for you and grandpa but I am still waiting to finish my other letters.

 

No packages.  haha sorry Tami.

 

I got a letter from the High Priests in our ward, so if you would like to give them a shout out. I'm thankful to have the support from them and I wish them all the best in their families.

 

It was cool hearing that Jamie sent home the same stuff that I have, And that is because it is true.

Dad get down here to Paraguay haha that would be sick, and have fun in Singapore.

 

It sounds like you are all getting involved in missionary work back at home, that is so cool to hear. I want you to know I prayerfully try to find ways to improve my area in the work everyday and I have truly recieved blessings from doing so. I know if you all look for opportunities to share the gospel you will be blessed and will find ways no matter how small.

 

Also take care of the church haha.

I gotta run sorry this letter was pretty small

 

I love you so much,

 

Elder Carpenter

 

P.S. Mom can you try making me those chocolate chip cupcake thingys and put them in a pringles can and send them to me? I don't know if that will work, but this Elder in my district has gotten cookies like that and they made it fine. I don't know if it would work with the cupcakes but it would be worth a try haha.

 

Fran's Baptism

Eating good cake after the baptism.

 

 

Bien Bien week 10 Limpio A

Mby la porte!

Thanks for appreciating the last email haha can't wait to get D Kofs letter. Sounds like everyone is doing fine back at home. Lots of weddings coming up... what the! haha I am excited for Britt. I was thinking about the temple all this week. I just love everything about it. I feel so much closer to my Heavenly Father when I am in His Holy Home. So go ahead and tell her I say congrats. She is going to love starting a new fam.

So Everything is goin good here in Limpio. Let me fill you in a bit.

Fran, our investigator is preparing for his baptism which is set for this weekend on the 21st. He went this last Sunday and had a great time. I am so stoked for him especially seeing his progress. So this week we watched the José Smith movie with him. It was so legit. Afterwords he kept asking us when we would be back so we set up our next appt with him. We then said he could borrow our D&C dvd so he could watch more movies  ( Mount of the Lord, John Tanner, Together Forever, etc) he was excited. So  we went back to teach him a lesson about the 10 commandments and following the prophet. When we got there he was watching the other movies with his siblings :). The lesson was so sick though he really enjoyed talking about the prophet. He wears an earing and used to wear two and an eyebrowl ring, but he took two out. We read a bit in Strenght of Youth about some council from modern day prophets about our body being a temple. We asked him if he believed we have a modern day prophet and if he believed Thomas S. Monson was a true prophet called of God. He said yes. He then said he had no problem taking out his earing. It was so cool. I also told him a story about mom hearing this same coucil as a youth and her taking out her extra earrings. He really liked hearing that. He truly knows José Smith was a true prophet of God. This is such an important part of conversion because everything relies on if JS was a true prophet. Knowing that Joseph Smith restored the Chruch helps us understand other commandments of the church(Word of Wisdom, Tithing, Law of Chastity to earings). I know Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that he restored this gospel that we have. By command of Jesus Christ he restored saving ordinances that will allow us to inherit the Kingdom of God. Having a profeta in our day is so comforting to me. I have no idea what this world would be like without the influence of modern day prophets that lead and guide us by divine revelation from God. Find out for yourselves if Joseph Smith was a prophet and I promise you, that as you increase your testimony in the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you will find true joy in your lives. This is not a Church founded by Joseph Smith, but a Church restored through a modern day prophet by direction of our Savior Jesus Christ.

So also this week we found another lady, Virginia, a previous investigator, that Elder Hakes previous comp decided to drop. She came to church this Sunday so we set up an appt. to visit her later that day. We went over and talked about a lot of stuff, just trying to figure out where she is at. We read her progress record, but just didn't know everthing. After talking to her though we decided that she is ready to be baptized so we gave her a fecha for the 31st of January, the day before changes. She gladly accepted...it was super sweet. She has already been to church 4 times twice with Hakes and twice with the missionaries before us. She told us that she also knows that José Smith is a true Prphet. She said she stopped worshipping the saints oh and she said she was catholic (implying that she wants to be part of our church). She also said that she reads the BoM often and prays everynight.  It was so sick. She is ripe so we are going to finish teaching her a couple other lessons and then on the 31st we are going to baptize her.

I am excited for all the stuff that is going on here. It is going by way too fast. I really enjoy being comps with Elder Hakes... he just cracks me up.

The mission is so legit it really is. I love being here. I love the language. I love the culture. I want some spread sauce. I love the people. There is no other place I would rather be than here.

 I think about you all every day.

Oh shout out time!

Grandpa and grandma Hansen...I got your package! I laughed so hard at the Utes candy you slimmy dog. I alreay ate all the runts and I love the g and g ups. I love you both so much and I have a letter for you ...I am just waiting till I finish a couple more so I can send them in bulk and save some money haha.

Tami... thank you so much for you package... you rock. I havn't got it yet... haha. But I am sure I will love it when it gets here:)

Love you all,

Elder Carpintero

Baby Ruth

HEY YOU GUYS!

 

Sounds like you are all doin good in Tmec. Be careful Cam... haha sick scars though.  Ok so in my earlier letter today I said "Esta semana fue muy .... enfermo :) " haha I was laughing so hard at your response. Casi casi I am not sick so there is no need to  worry. But this week really was sick.

 

Let me explain ...

 

So as you already know from Elder Hakes letter, he stepped in a dead dog las tweek haha. I ment to send that home but I forgot. So this week on Wed. Elder Hakes started feeling ... sick. He has been sick since then. So we were stuck inside for threes days straight and on Sunday was our first day out. He had a fever of 103.1 and had to stay in contact with the nurse all week. He had to give some samples to a local lab, and today he got the results. We don't know what they are cuz its all medical terms in Spanish so the nurse will get back to us later. He doesn't have a fever any more and seems to be getting a lot better compared to Thursday haha. Oh and Caden.... the answer is... no for me but twice for Elder Hakes this week hahahahahha. We wonder if this is all cuz of the dog! If so, haha I dont know. He thinks its cuz he ate 50 burgers last week so that might be the case hahahaha.

 

Ok so this week was really rough, but .... FRAN came to church yesterday! That was so sick (told you sick week). He has a fecha for the 14th so everything is looking good. We will see how it goes this week. We still have to follow up on word of wisdom he is having small problems with this but I know he will get past them. He has some really good member friends that are actively involved in his conversion process.

 

So I don't have much to talk about this week so I thought I would share some good stuff from the Standard Works. I truly love the scriptures. The subject I want to share with you today is about the straight and narrow path. I have been interested and this for quite a while and decided I would spend a good time studying it.

 

So we understand that there is one path that leads to our Heavenly Father, But what are the details? How do we get on the Path? What happens if we fall? and where exactly does it lead? So I thought I would start with Jesus Christ. Christ is our brother, our Savior, our teacher, and our ultimate example. He loves us so much and has shown us the way to have true happiness and joy. Nephi teaches us in 2 Ne. 31:9 that Christ " showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them". So from this we understand that in order to enter the path we must enter the gate. And what is the gate? "...the gate by which you should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then commeth the remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost"(v. 17).  So from this we learn that through baptism we can enter the path of the Lord. Where does the path go? V. 18 says " then are ye in this strait  and narrow path which leads to eternal life" Eternal Life meaning living in the presense of God and Jesus Christ in the highest degree of glory meaning exaltation. IF we follow this path, we can one day live in the presense of our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. We can have eternal life, which truly is the greatest gift from God. Now what happens if we fall? This is what I love about the Gospel. We are given a second chance. God knows that we are going to fall. He knows that we will mess up. Nobody is perfect, and we will face trials, but the Lord has provided a way so that we can overcome our weaknesses. This is what lead me to D & C 33:10. It says "... Repent, Repent, and prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make His paths straight; for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Through repentance we can fix the dents in our lives and we can make our paths straight. So the Gospel of Jesus Christ is very simple. Faith in Christ, repentance, Baptism by immersion, Recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. After we have entered into the gate we are on the path. We now, with the assistance of the Holy Ghost which we have, have to endure to the end. Through our faith in Christ we recognize and practice repentance where needed, we keep our bapt covenants being sanctified by the Holy Ghost and we ultimately endure to the end. I love the last part of verse 10 it tell us that the Kingdom of Heaven is what´s at stake here. This lead to me to the scripture that Christ says Himself to the Nephites in 3 ne. 11:33 " whosso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God."  Through baptism we can be saved and can inherit the kingdom of God. That is our goal in life to reach the Kingdom of God. To have eternal life in our Father and His Son´s presense.

 

I know this that God has a plan for us and that he loves us so much. I am thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love my Savior and the opportunity I have to follow His example. I encourage all to study His teachings and the basic doctrines of His true restored Church. This is why I love the Scriptures, so I hope your minds are blown. I know Bro. Koford is prolly cracking up right now if he is reading this haha. So if your minds aren't blown good.... if they are good. Equal no mas.

 

I love you all so much I got to go. Study the scriptures this week it is fun.

 

Chau. Con mucho amor,

 

Elder Carpenter

Week 9 or 10 haha...Limpio

What up fools! haha

 

FELIZ AÑO NUEVO and mom and dad HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

 

Sounds like you all had a blast with the cousins. I saw your pics they just cracked me up. Really fast Mom to answer your question we get the Liahona here, so I don't know if there is a big difference. In the back though it mentioned the new in-field training program the all missionaries around the world are doing. It applies to me since I am getting trained... pretty cool to see that in the Liahona.

 

OK... New Years... well everyone here parties... so it was hard to get into everyone's houses on New Years Eve and Day. We spent New Years Eve with a member family the Oregos. We also visited a couple of our investigators to see if they were still planning to come to church. It was a super hot and hard day. We went to bed at 1030 like usual and then I woke up at twelve because all of paraguay was being bombed by there own people. It sounded like I was in the middle of a war. Just fire works everywhere. They went off all day on New Years Eve nonstop. I hear fireworks everyday but the 31st was insane and 12 ocock was unbelievably loud. Hakes had in earplugs haha so he slept fine. Fun stuff. Anyways New Years Day was fun too. 31 people at church non of our investigators showed but I dont blame them since no members came either. Ismael, a joven, was sposed to bring two of our members and he didnt come. The investigators are his neighbors and also best friends WHAT THE CRAP haha. Well whoops!

 

OK, so this last week was actually super sick. On Tuesday we found another new family Victor and Soñia and their kids, on Wed. we found a new old guys Antonio Gomez, on Thursday we found Marcos, on Friday we found Angel and his family and on Sat we found Raul. BOOM it was tight.

Man my mind is all over the place right now haha there is so much I want to say but so little time.

 

Mom and Dad, I was thing this week about prayer. Prayer has had such a huge impact on my life. I remember when you both taught me how to pray. It is so weird, I can remember sitting in our house in Virginia ( the small one) on that yellowish nasty couch we used to have. I remember you both trying to teach me a principle that would become one of the most important things in my life. Thank you. Thank you for caring enough to teach me, from my earliest years of my life how to pray, and who my Father in Heaven is. Now I am here in Paraguay teaching people daily how to pray to their Heavenly Father. Just like you said dad about the seeds of an apple, countable, and the apples of a seed, unknown. Your influence on me is influencing the masses. Prayer is literally the way we can communicate to our Father in Heaven. He loves us. He wants to hear from us. On our good days and our bad. Even in the darkest hours of our lives when you might feel he doesn't want to hear your cry. He is there, listening, ready to answer your call. God does answer our prayers. This week I wrote you a email saying I want to teach families so they can have the same joy my family has. I said those same things in my prayers all this week. I am telling you He has heard my prayer, there is no other explanation for finding a new investigator almost everyday this week. It is not normal for Elder Hakes and I to find that many people in one week or even two weeks. I challenge who ever reads this to look for the hand of God in your life. As you pray and show your gratitude to our Father in Heaven and ask for things that you stand in need of, I promise, if you look, you will find an answer. But you have to look, make it a habbit. That is my goal and a new years resolution of mine to look for the hand of God in my life, daily. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

 

Shout outs

Amy, I got your package. Thank you so much. I was excited to hear about the kids and their excitement for missionary work. I love them so much and you too. Shanes alright :P haha I love Shane too. I already ate half the food you sent me yay.

Grandpa and Grandma Carpenter .... BACON yes thank you haha it is so good. Thanks for caring for me. There is no good holiday season with out bacon. haha. Love you guys.

This applies to everyone who has ever written me a letter or thought about writing me a letter and those who wrote me letters and may have forgot to send it. Expect letters. that is another NYR of mine to write everyone back who writes me or sends me a package asap.

 

Love you all

PEACE

Elder Carpenter

Christmas Surprise...Life Size Cut-Out of Elder Carpenter

Merry Christmas!

Happy Family on Christmas Day!

Elder Carpenter and Elder Koford!

We are so proud of our missionaries. :)

Happy New Year's with the cousins!