I read "Jesus the Christ". No joke, I really did.

Well another week has come and gone.  Unfortunately this one has been much duller except for General Conference.  I don’t know which sessions you watched, but most of my favorite talks were during the Saturday sessions.  I really enjoyed the talk by Elder Scott on Saturday morning about the scriptures and about how they can provide so much to us.  That’s definitely something I've learned during my mission.  Yesterday I also finished reading Jesus the Christ, which is a ridiculously long book that I'll probably never read again in my life, unless it's in parts (for a talk or something).  But I will say it was quite interesting at parts, so that made it pretty enjoyable.  My next reading project I'm starting is to read the Bible in Spanish, while at the same time restarting the Book of Mormon, because I want to make it a habit of constantly reading the Book of Mormon; something I never really did before my mission.  But yeah, conference was awesome.  And I really loved it.  What were your favorite talks? 

Unfortunately I really don’t have all that much to write about this week.  We haven't been able to get back in touch with William yet, and the lady we met for Monday had to cancel because her schedule has changed a little bit, and she had to work.  But we're gonna keep trying to meet with them.  Hopefully we can see William again soon though. 

In answer to your question about taking pictures, I'll try and take better ones.  The problem is that I just hate taking them, and I especially hate taking pics with me in them.  But I will make a more honest effort to get them.

Also just a quick question, how many Gigs is the new Xbox?

Elder Hulme and I try and get fed like every night if we can; although our investigators take precedence.  We do have one member who called us the last couple nights and asked if we'd like to eat dinner with them which was cool, so yeah, we get fed pretty often.  And I try to eat somewhat healthy, but it doesn’t always turn out that way.  The only thing I really lack is fruits and vegetables.  But I've been eating more of those too. We have a store in my area where I can get like three of whatever fruit for only 1$ which is sweet, so I normally pick up a few plums or something every now and then.  But I am going to go to the store today and buy a Yankees hat, so that'll probably put me down close to $750.  And then there's a few other things I was gonna buy, spend maybe like $50 or $70 dollars Max.  I'll be spending here, but I try pretty hard to be frugal with that personal money.  And as for the Christmas question, I really am not sure right now.  Just if you send me some more ties, (which I'd definitely be fine with) I don’t want any more red ones.  Pretty much everything else is good.  It’s just that it seems when I look at my ties, half of them are red.

So yeah, that’s about all I got for this week.  If there is anything you want to know, you could always ask me, or just send an email full of questions.  Anyways, I love you all and I hope you have a fantastic week.

Love, Carson

An Awesome Week!

So another week has come and gone, and this week was pretty awesome.   Especially the cool finding stuff we had happen on Monday.

We had a District meeting on Monday and then went to all our appointments, but unfortunately they all fell through, as well as all of our back-ups.  We were not so sure what to do so we decided we were going to knock (on doors) but we weren't really sure where to go, so elder Hulme suggested that we go down near our next appointment, and find a building down there.  We started going down, but the thought came that maybe we should knock the building of a new family that recently moved into the area.

Unfortunately, when we arrived we had no way of getting into the building, and there was no buzzer we could use to ring a random door.  So we waited a few minutes and when no one came we started walking down the street a little until we came to this one building that is more like two.  And I thought hmmm, maybe we should knock here but that was after passing the first entrance, so we got to the second and we agreed to knock the building.  Anyways, we started knocking and didn’t really have much success on the first few floors.  We got one person who took a pamphlet but told us not to come back because she really wasn't interested.

Eventually we made our way down to the second floor, and found a pretty cool person there who said she'd like to come to watch conference this weekend and seemed interested in learning about a modern prophet, so we set up a time to go by on Monday and we're also going to call her to come to conference this weekend.  And then finally we got to the first floor, and started knocking and the second door we knocked I spoke in English (because the guy looked like he spoke English), but he didn't, and he asked us if we spoke Spanish, so of course I said yes we did, and he instantly said come in.  For a second I just kinda stood there like uhhh...  but eventually I returned to normal and we went in and taught him a first lesson which was way good.  His name is William and he's from the Dominican Republic.  He lives here with his family and he wants us to come back and teach all of them about the church as well, which would be way sweet.  Elder Hulme and I have really been praying a lot for someone to teach who is interested in learning more, and we definitely think that he is that answer.

So yeah this week was great, and so was the game.  The Yankees won 4-2 against the Rays of Tampa Bay.  I'll post some pictures online today. 

And then finally me and Elder Smith had an awesome pillow fight last night, it was freakin epic.  And we got it on camera, so I'll try and upload it eventually. 

But yeah, everything’s going good here, and I look forward to hearing back from you next week. 

Much love, Carson

Off to see the Yankees!

Hey, so I do have a few minutes to write you today.  We're about to go down to the stadium to pick up the tickets that apparently are really good, and we only have to pay a fraction of the price.  One of the members in the ward works there and offered to get us some cheaper better tickets.   WOOHOO!! So I'll let you know how they are next week, because we really have no idea where they are, but that’s cool.  We'll find out in a hour or so.   

Aside from that everything is good here, and I'm happy that everyone is doing well back home.  Hope you all have an awesome week, and I look forward to next week’s email.

Con Muchisimo Amor,

Carson

Cool lesson experience

Note: This is a late entry from Carson's Sept 14th email

Alright hey, well I am here again, another cycle come and gone I remain here in the Bronx, and I'm still with Elder Hulme.  Not a whole lot has changed this cycle, neither has a whole lot happened this week.  We still continue to do all we can to help our investigators progress and get closer entering the waters of baptism.  We've just been working really hard on finding news, and doing what we can to make time with the investigators we have to help them make and keep commitments.  I got a letter from the Lawlor family today, so if you could tell them thank you for me that would be awesome. 

That's so awesome that Christina was able to make the team.  Everyone seems to be growing up a lot since I last saw them.  Maybe you could send me a slightly more recent family pic.  Maybe something from Waterton.  But I'm still the same height, and apparently I've gotten a little bit skinnier since coming down to the city.  Although I've also been told that I've gotten a little bit fatter.  So I’m really not sure what to believe.

But I guess I'll share a cool lesson experience that we had this week.  We recently found a less active member and have been working with her to get her and her family to church, and hopefully to baptize those who aren't members.  But this last week we really weren't sure what to share with her, and so I was thinking about it a lot in my personal study and kinda made a lesson plan for her about the Holy Ghost, and how it blesses our lives.  And the lesson went really great.  We (the missionaries) didn't have to talk too much, and at the end of the lesson she said the prayer, and in the prayer she just promised that she'd go to church, which I thought was really cool, and after we just talked a little more about her family and how the church could bless them.  So yeah, it was just a really good lesson, and we're going to go back on Friday to remind her, and just see how everything is going. 

So yeah, sorry this is a short letter, but just know that I love you all and miss you all.

Much love,

Carson

P.S.  I won’t be here next week to email you.  We're going to a Yankees game, so I’ll fill you in and all in two weeks.  Hope this finds you all well.

New Skills

Hey Everyone.

Well this week has been pretty good.  Nothing really exciting has happened, but it's been a lot of fun just getting out and doing the work.  I have noticed though that I’m developing other skills aside from missionary skills.  I'm working on my pool skills every Tuesday, now don’t go thinking that I'm slacking off, cause I'm not.  Every Tuesday we have a service activity at an old folks care center and we feed them lunch.  But before lunch gets served we go and play pool with a few of the old guys which is way fun. They also teach us how to play better as well.  The best one is actually from Roatan which I thought was pretty cool.  Anyways, yesterday we were there and playing the last game and my partner Elder Peterson broke it and then after a few go rounds I had two balls left including the black one and they had seven including the black one ( this was the best game I'd ever had).  Normally my partner sinks all the balls (when I'm playing with one of the old guys) but I just kept on hitting them down like nothin.  It was like shooting fish in a barrel.  So yeah that was a lot of fun, even though it really has nothing to do with missionary work.

We got the opportunity to meet with Gabino and Sandra again which went really well.  We decided to watch the Testaments with them and then talk about the importance of the Book of Mormon, which went really well.  The Spirit was definitely there quite strongly and Elder Hulme and I both left the lesson thinking that they will be baptized eventually, but hopefully sooner rather than later.  The only problem is that Gabino is trying to make plans to return to Mexico this month. He keeps pushing his departure date back, so there's still hope that he won’t.  In the mean time though, we're just doing our very best to make sure that we help them progress and show them our love. 

The work here recently has been a little bit slower too.  It’s kinda funny because every time that Elder Hulme and I go contacting we don’t seem to find anyone, then I'm on a split with another Elder and he finds a bunch of English referrals for the other missionaries.  I've been having a lot of fun bugging him about that because we're here to find Spanish people and it doesn’t seem to be happening for some reason not yet apparent to me.  That’s alright though, because there's always a reason for it, I just haven't found it quite yet.  Well that or I just haven’t realized it and it's staring me in the face. 

As for the things you mentioned about the reno/move, I’d say reno.  Unless you want Christina and Daniel to go to school with more members, in which case I’d say move.  Whatever you do I want to have my own bedroom when I get home.....  jk.  But yeah, I think it'd be cool to come how and see all the cool changes.  It's also good to hear that the weather has gotten better. It’s really cooled down here the last couple of days, which is a little nice, but it also means that winters on its way and I'm not looking forward to that at all.  That’s crazy that you got changed in the Bishopric.  What happened to the old 1st counselor?  Although I don’t even remember who it was at all.  So yeah, what happened there?  Also congratulations on the weight loss.  I've been thinking about it lately and I'd like to gain about twenty pounds (of muscle of course), but that’s definitely not gonna happen in the mission, so I guess that’s one of my goals for after the mission.  Finally that’s super crazy about the whole bear thing.  That seems like something you just don’t hear about in Calgary.  Sure we get deer in Pump Hill, but BEARS?!?!?  that’s just weird and cool all at the same time.  As for your comment about Todd, I doubt I'll miss him.  His birthday is far enough into the year I think that I’ll get to see him.  I haven’t heard of many elders who left on their availability date.  So yeah, I think I'll see him, but if not, that’s cool to.  Mahogany is a pretty nice area too, but I would agree about the backyards, they're tiny.  Unfortunately I can’t remember the names of most of the communities down there otherwise I'd give you some ideas, but I think in general most of the new neighborhoods have small back yards.  At least that’s what I saw while working at Spruce It Up.   

Anyways, I'm gonna get going, mainly because I've ran out of things to say.  I'll try and send you some more pictures home soon.  Love you all a lot and good luck with the new school year and Jr High/High School.

Les Quiero Mucho,

Carson.

P.S.  I dont know if you have much contact with the Harris' but could you ask them to ask Jaren if received my letter.  I just wanted to make sure that I had the right address or if it actually made it through the mail.  And don’t worry about my shoes mom, they're still looking great. 

Weather Report

Bueno Familia.

This week was great too.  I'm glad that you all had a good time in Waterton and that no one got hurt from all that hiking.  I know that I'm dying right know from walking like 12 miles a day, mainly because my metro card ran out and we cant buy a new one until tomorrow.  It’s been quite tiring, but good exercise.

Unfortunately the "Hurricane" was really nothing.  All that happened was a little more rain than normal and some wind, but we were still cooped up in our house for like two days with pretty much nothing to do.  It was SOO boring.  Mainly because we didn’t have any games to play and  and I can only read the scriptures for so long before my attention starts to wane.  It was kinda funny because we live in a basement and we we're all kinda hoping that it'd flood and there'd be some kind of action, but nothing.  So now we're all hoping that another hurricane comes because the season doesn't end until October, so..fingers crossed.  As for the earthquake I didn't even feel it, which was also a bit of a bummer, but hey, we're really hoping that these things soften some people's hearts and that we can find those who are now ready.

Unfortunately because we we're told to be inside, we weren't able to meet with Gabino or Sandra this week and they're super busy during the week, so that makes things hard sometimes, but I'll let you know the next time that I see them.  Hopefully that will be this week.  Aside from them we're working with a couple of nine year olds who are both pretty much ready for baptism.  Their older brother is a member (less-active) so we're trying to baptize them and reactivate the brother.  Their names are Christian and Crystal.  They are twins and really love going to church, so we're working with them to hopefully baptize them sometime in the near future. I hope that it will be before my hump mark, which is right around the corner. 

I can't believe that tomorrow is already September again.  It's crazy! I've kinda been thinking a lot about my mission so far and how I’ve changed and I really don’t notice a huge change, but that’s partly because I'm me and I never really notice change.  What I've heard from all of you is that you have noticed changes in me, I just hope that they are good ones.  I did want to change in some ways, but don’t worry, I'm still the same Carson. 

Anyways, my time is up at the library for today.  Hopefully I'll get a second or two later to write a little more at the church before English class, but if not I hope you all have a great week and that all goes well in the transition to school next week.

Les Quiero mucho, Carson

I'm Getting Old

Well it was definitely a surprise to get on my email today, expecting nothing and seeing all of the messages you were able to write to me.  Sounds like Waterton is just as good as it's supposed to be and that you are all enjoying it a lot with all the hiking and the horse back riding, which yes Madison, I would definitely go when I get back.  One thing that I don’t think I'll be able to accept though, is how much everyone is growing up.  It really doesn’t seem like time is passing in the normal sense here in NY.  Sure, it's flying by, but it almost feels like the time back in Canada should be standing still.  I mean, Sarah's now 18, Christina's starting High School in September and Daniel Jr. High.  Cooper's now riding a bike, I mean everything just changes in spurts it almost seems.  Mainly I've been measuring my time with General Conferences and we're almost at my third one.  The Eleven months I've been gone for so far have just flown by, kinda like this last week.

It's amazing how fast the time flies and if you really don’t use it all as wisely as you can, you lose out on a lot of opportunities to share the gospel, which being my purpose here,is a pretty important thing to master and make sure that I do.  This last week we've been kinda thinking a lot about how we've been spending our time and have definitely found some things that we need to change a little and make better.  For the most part we are definitely doing our best to lift up our voices to all and give everyone the chance to hear this wonderful message that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I have also found during my time here, that things like reading the scriptures and going to church can actually be a lot more enjoyable than I thought they were in the past.  My favorite time everyday is the hour between 8 and 9 when I have an hour to dedicate myself to reading in the scriptures and although some days I'm tired and cant really focus I've found that if I approach my studies with some kind of question in mind I will always find an answer in my Book of Mormon reading.  One thing I've also decided though, is that I prefer to read it in Spanish and that I probably won’t read it in English, cover to cover again in my life.  I'll definitely study certain parts, but I was told of a promise that one of the prophets gave about remembering the language after the mission.  That if you constantly read it in your mission language you won’t forget it and will always be able to use it and Spanish is definitely something that I never want to lose.

Anyways, this last week went very well, we found a couple of new investigators, but my favorite ones are the Sister and Father of a recent convert.  Their names are Sandra and Gabino Camacho and the member is Maggie Camacho.  They were taught a while ago by another missionary, but after he left the missionaries that took his place didn't care about them nearly as much and they lost their desire to be baptized.  That advice that Deanne gave is definitely important.  I can testify that if you don’t really show the people that you are there to help them, they really aren’t gonna have the desire to listen to you.  And that’s definitely something that I am really committed to not getting into the habit of doing.  Especially after talking to the member and really understanding how important this is to her and how hard it was when those other missionaries stopped caring about her non member family.  I couldn't even imagine how hard that would have been for her, especially after her father and sister told her that if the first missionary had stayed just a little longer, they would already be baptized.  So I have really fixed it in my mind that I am not gonna be the kind of missionary who doesn't express that love and I think also the appreciation for them actually listening to you.  I find that some missionaries are a little to unexpressive of that.  It’s definitely important I think for people to understand that it's not just a blessing for them that your there, but for you as well.  It's kinda like my purpose says, "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ through Faith, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end."  As the White Handbook says, "How great is your calling!"  Everyday I appreciate more and more this time I have to be here serving the people here in NY and am grateful to be here and work hard. 

Thankfully though, along with the hard works comes the P-Days and such is today.  So today we are going to go to the Museum of Natural History.  The one in the movie “Night at the Museum” and so next week I'll have a lot more pictures posted on that website for all of you to enjoy.  As part of that plan to go to the museum we want to have as much time as possible, so I'm gonna end this letter now.  I really enjoyed all your messages and I wish the best for all of you and that you all enjoy the rest of your time in Waterton immensely.  I love you all and look forward to hearing how the rest of your holiday was next week.

Les Quiero MUCHISIMO,

Carson

P.S.  we're supposed to be getting struck by a hurricane on Sunday, but don’t worry, I'll get some pictures for you.  Plus I've heard it's not gonna be very big.  A tornado was supposed to hit the Bronx on Sunday, but nothing ever happened, so yeah.  I'm kinda hoping and praying for a hurricane, because it'd be super cool and I want to see what it's like.  Anyways, have a good one.