Sunday, April 29, 2018

Year 2, Week 27


Correct me if I’m wrong, but this may be the first time I write you on a Friday....

Let’s begin.

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA: I am blown away by the trust God grants to His chosen servants. He has given all of us power to ACT, and if we use that power well, He will grant us authority (priesthood) and power to act in HIS NAME. Consider the following examples:

In Moses 6, Enoc is told to declare repentance unto a wicked people. Humbling himself before the Lord and accepting his assignment, he is given power and authority: "all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you" (v. 34).

In Helaman 10 and 11, for having declared the word of God with "unwearyingness" (what vocab!), Nefi is given the same power:  "And thus, if ye shall say unto this temple it shall be rent in twain, it shall be done. And if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou cast down and become smooth, it shall be done. And behold, if ye shall say that God shall smite this people, it shall come to pass" (10:8-10).

Finally, in the book of Alma, chapter 17: Ammon, a powerful missionary, is given such power that a band of robbers cannot kill him. The king he is serving asks him where this power comes from, and Ammon responds, "a portion of [the Holy] Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God."

Being an instrument in God’s hands isn’t about going limp like a puppet and letting Him take control. We are creatures of ACTION. We must receive authority by the laying on of hands, receive authority by aligning our will with His, and produce good works - only in this way will we approach Godhood.

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Lots of rain this week! Take a look at the photos:


... In a laundry bag

​... hailing a taxi.

Year 2, Week 26


WOAH. Week 26. That’s half a year. 

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA: This week I came to an important realization about the importance of Family Home Evening. I was sitting in Ward Council, listening to the bishop and auxiliary leaders talking about the need to elevate the youth. I felt inspired to start a list of practical skills that would be useful for the youth in order to plan activities based on those skills. Soon, the list got long, and I realized that, though activities help, nothing can replace the consistent, life-long teaching that occurs as parents diligently plan and execute Family Home Evening every week. It was a testimony-strengthening realization.

I was also reminded of the General Conference talk given by Dallin H. Oaks on the responsabilities of the Priesthood in which he addresses the excersise of Priesthood by fathers in the home (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2018/04/the-powers-of-the-priesthood?lang=eng). I invite all of you to read or listen to the talk and pray to know how you can better fulfill your duties in your families.

Oh, and here’s the list I made, just for fun. All of these ideas can be expanded into a fun activity with a Gospel twist:



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This week, our friend Elder Tello was in our house because he had an operation and couldn’t move around much. We spent a lot of time helping him, and we also had to stay home for Elder Vergara’s health. Both are doing fine, but between the two there wasn’t much time to be in the streets.

While on exchanges, I felt impressed to pass by the house of a former investigator, even though I knew the situation prevented him from being baptized (he’s a kid and his dad didn’t want to sign the membership record). BUT, obeying the impression, we knocked the door and found his older sister who’s 28 years old! The best part: she’s INTERESTED! We were able to committ her to read the Book of Mormon and pray. She didn’t immediately accept a baptismal date, but she is enthusiastic about learning more.

Later, Elder Vergara and I went to see how she felt about the Book of Mormon. While we were talking, her problematic dad got home, and to my surprise, he said, "every single member of my family now has a Book of Mormon EXCEPT for me... What’s that all about??" We were able to give him his own copy and commit HIM to read and pray, too!! Now the whole family is in on it!!! MIRACLES!!!

In other news, we’re excited for Nichupté Ward. Hno. Brandon was called as the new Elders Quorum President (a young returned-missionary couple - THEY’RE AMAZING) so we were very VERY happy. Then, we got a surprise wave of participation in our Book of Mormon initiative. We’re all reading together, from start to finish, and marking our progress on the ward bulletin board.

Fun stuff. The mission is the real deal.

Love you guys!! Thank you for continually supporting me and sharing your positive, uplifting thoughts!

Elder Carson

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Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders of Kabah Zone!!! We´re making our Title of Liberty!!!

Year 2, Week 25

Saludos cordiales!

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA: Never be afraid to ask advice! After showing great iniciative to solve a life-or-death problem, Nephi humbly turned to his father (an experienced man chosen of God) to ask, "Whither shall I go to obtain food?" With his newly-crafted bow, he went where his father instructed and was able to kill animals so that his family could eat while they tarried in the desert (1 Nephi 16:23).

I recently entered President Reynoso’s office to ask advice. I was a little nervous, but he reassured me and helped me achieve greater clarity and wisdom despite my insecurities. He spoke the words I needed, drawing from a fount of experience and revelation. I was able to find strength and direction to nourish my spirit and keep me moving forward. 

If you will turn to your leaders in life (especially your ordained church leaders), open up, and share your concerns with them, I promise that Heavenly Father will grant you greater knowledge and confidence. You will have more confidence, still, as you seek confirming revelation of what they tell you, make a plan, and APPLY what the Spirit teaches you.

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This week, we finished with transfers and finally settled in to our area. We had time to work with our investigators and search for new ones! There were some particularly extraordinary experiences:

- we found an inactive member who hadn’t been visited in TEN YEARS. He was so friendly, and he’s married to a non-member! We’re going to pass by next Tuesday!

- we went to the airport to drop off the missionaries who were released last Tuesday! Among them was Sister Flores, from my generation!!! I can’t tell you how strange it was to see "The Chicken-Wing Queen" go (see my letters from the CCM or ask her in person what that’s all about).

- we picked up the new missionaries on Monday! That was a lot of fun. There are only six, but they represent FIVE different countries! One of them (from Columbia) is the youngest of EIGHT missionaries in his family! Talk about an army!

That’s about it, folks! thanks for your letters, your support, and your always-encouraging optimism! Your prayers keep me going!!!

Love,
Elder Carson

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Elder Prior now has his new companion! Welcome to the mission offices, Elder Vázquez!!

Year 2, Week 24


Well, that was nuts. 

I just got done organizing the movement of 40% of the mission... we had to make sure that nobody ends up alone or stranded. It was a feat of logistics, but after locking ourselves in President’s office all day, we managed it!!!

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA: Practice is a lot more important that we give it credit for. In a meeting with President Reynoso, we talked about how the last transfer went. During the conversation, President mentioned that he felt we were shrugging off the "practice" part of our zone conferences, district meetings, and even companionship studies! If we were to practice more and MEANINGFULLY, he said, we would reach our goal of 224 baptisms in one month, because our missionaries would leave their houses every day TRAINED and with the Spirit.

As a further testimony to this, I noticed something today: when Elder Vergara left me in charge of the transfers, I had to PRACTICE doing it on my own, and as a result, I feel like I understood the process down to its core - much better than when I had only observed the process. Next time, it’s not going to take 7 hours, for sure.

I hope that we can all understand the value of practicing. Don’t get tired of failure, because you’re on the road to success! Does that ring a bell? (check Elder Lynn G. Robbins’ talk from this last weekend’s conference).

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I don’t have time to write about the daily details... we’ve got to go buy 20,000 pesos of bus tickets! (sorry to the people behind us in line). But I do wish you all a marvellous week! I’ll be writing to you soon!

Love,
Elder Carson

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Below is the mission newspaper I made. I was reminded of my time in the online journalism class at Timpview. Good times!!!











Year 2, Week 23


WOW!

Were you all watching General Conference?? I was! What an incredible and historical event in the history of the church! I feel privileged to be a member of the Lord’s true church and to be able to manifest my support for Russell M. Nelson, the Lord’s newly-called prophet. (http://www.lds.org <- GO HERE if you weren’t watching to see how a new prophet was presented and sustained by the ENTIRE church membership!)

TESTIMONIO: There are so many new LECCIONES DE LA SEMANA that I could share with you all after hearing the messages in the Saturday sessions of the General Conference, but for now, I would like to share with you a personal testimony. Not for the first time, I arrived to this year’s annual general conference with a list of questions written in my journal. In the VERY FIRST SESSION, I received answers to ALL of my questions, and in the second session, those answers were deepened and expanded by other speakers.
The Lord, through the power of the Holy Ghost, can reach the hearts of all His children individually during this important and special time. What will matter most, however, is what we DO with these messages: where we take them, what we apply from them, who we share them with. THAT is what will fill us with the Spirit continually until we can hear the voices of our church leaders once again in October. That is my invitation to all of you - that you apply and share and exemplify these messages EVERY DAY!

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This week, PAMELA got baptized!! It was a rocky road, including having to encourage her with Pres. and Sister Reynoso to overcome her fear of water, but I was SO HAPPY when she finally made the decision to go through with it! In her prayer, she asked God to keep anything from getting in the way of her baptism because it was the deepest desire of her heart.

In order to invite more people to the conference, we made a "committment list" and had a bunch of members sign, vowing to invite at least one non-member friend to attend the conference. To make it even better, we put it at the beginning of the food-line in a ward activity. If they didn’t take the challenge, there was no food!! BWAHAHA!!

Lots of other things happened too, but time’s just about up. Thanks for tuning in!

Love you all!
Elder Carson

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Pamela emotional before her baptism!

Year 2, Week 22


I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling...... HEY, it’s week 22! *look of surprise*

This will be a short one. Just BTWs.

LECCIÓN DE LA SEMANA:

2 Nefi 30:2 For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off; for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be with them that repent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel.

The thought crossed my mind as I read this that I don’t have any special powers for being a full-time missionary. What my calling gives me is AUTHORITY. I receive POWER when I CHOOSE to live as a full-time missionary is called to live. Whatever your calling, your gift, or your career is, this principle applies in the same way: you are not made special by a title or by a name-tag, but by the choices you make that correspond with your vision. The ultimate vision is of the Celestial Kingdom, and therefore, the ultimate power comes to us as we live according to Celestial Law.

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My week in pictures:




A constant reminder of my companions XD

A little twist on the tradicional motto to put the focus on INICIATIVE.