Emergency Changes!!

So you guys already knew that I was expecting a new companion last change. And I got one, and a new area came with him! Our Zone Leaders called us Tuesday night at 8 and told me to pack my bags and get ready to leave the next morning. So I didn't get to say goodbye to all the families I wanted to in Girasoles, but that's alright. So I'm still here in the city of Tegus, but in the Zone Guaymuras. My area is called La Honduras. My companion is a stud. He's from the states and this is his last change before he goes home. He's a stud. He wants to finish his mission strong, so we're working really hard. We opened this area, so it's been a little rough starting. We contacted (knocked doors) all last week. We got to teach a lot of lessons though! Then on Saturday night, my companion started feeling a little out of it. Then he got super sick on Sunday, so Hna Bowler told us we couldn't leave the house. So he rested up until yesterday. But we got to leave yesterday and we had a pretty bad day. We got rejected sooo many times. But that didn't keep us down. We contacted this street and made 3 appointments for today and tomorrow in a row! They all seemed really positive and they're all under around 20-25 yrs old. This is going to be a really good week. i can honestly feel it!!

So the spiritual thought I want to share this week is one of my all time favorite scriptures. It's really famous in the LDS church. This scripture comes from the Doctrine and Covenants. This compilation of scripture is revelation given from the Lord to Joseph Smith. Now in Section 121 of D&C, Joseph Smith was in Liberty Jail, imprisoned on false charges. It was the dead of winter and Joseph had just received news that the Saints (or members of the LDS church) had been driven out of their homes by mobs. Joseph begged unto the Lord, "How long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them?" In this moment of great misery, the Lord says to Joseph, and as we read in Section 121 verses 7-9, 

7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; though shalt triumph over all thy foes.

9 Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.

This is still true in the world today. Whenever you come upon hard times, or you feel like nobody cares, remember who is always there. And He will never give us more trials than we can handle. Thank you all for the support and love.

Love, Elder Carter

FOTOS!

Miracles

Finally. We've had some good things happen!!! We've been working with this guy David for the past two weeks. He's a menos activo. His wife was baptized 2 years ago and he hasn't been back to church since. He went on a mission to Guatemala over 10 years ago. He has a super strong testimony and when we go to his house, he always shows us stuff from his mission. My companion and I on Sunday were welcoming people into sacrament meeting before church started and I saw David and his family pull up!! (He has a 3 year old son too) I was so excited! I ran out to the parking lot and told them how happy I was to see them. Then I sat with them during sacrament meeting. While the sacrament was being passed, he decided not to take it. After the bread passed, he put his head in his hands and started to weep a little. Then he pulled his head up and leaned over to me and said "This spirit is something I've missed for so long. Thank you." Then the rest of the day he was introducing himself and his family to everyone in the ward! He was so stoked to be there. And honestly, that moment in the chapel has been the best moment of my whole mission so far. That moment humbled me. 

I've decided i want to share a small spiritual thought with you guys every letter. This thought was from my personal study yesterday morning. I was reading in the Book of Mormon in the Book of Alma. chapters 31-34. these are very "famous" chapters in the Book of Mormon because it talks so much about the first principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is faith. In these chapters, there are two missionaries, Alma and Amulek, teaching a group of people that don't have that much money. They had just built a huge church, but were forbidden to worship inside because the leaders of this church told them that they were too poor to enter. For this reason they are written as to being "poor as to the things of the world; and they were also poor in heart." As an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Elder Holland has said, "These two things almost always go together." But these people sought after the words that Alma and Amulek were teaching. They believed in the words of Christ. But the part that hit me the most was in the last chapter of this story, Chapter 34 verse 28. Alma and Amulek had almost finished their teaching and Amulek says to these people,

 "And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need - I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith." 

What a strong obligation we have to succor the weak. And just as Amulek says, there is no one exempt. There will always be someone who has less than you. And it is our responsibility to care and love them and everyone. I hope my small message can uplift one of you this week. I hope all is well back home.

Love, Elder Carter

Well another week!!

I'm almost at 4 months! Crazy how time flies! Not much has happened this week! It's been a pretty normal week! We contacted this family! The dad's name is Chileno and he's pretty funny. He has his kids whipped into shape. He has two sons, twins. We started the lessons talking to his sons, my comp said "I know our message can be a little boring for you guys..." And then, Chileno cuts him off and says to his kids "What have I told you about boring messages?" And they both repeat "Even though church messages can be boring, my salvation is more important." And after he said that I almost lost it. I thought I couldn't keep it in. But I did and we had a great lesson!! It was great.  We have another tomorrow! I'm excited for this family. If you guys could pray for them that would be great!! Sorry it's so short this week.  We had a lot of worthless contacting! haha But here are a few pictures. Sorry there's not that much! 

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Hey fam!! 

Happy New Year! Can you believe it´s already 2015?? i didn´t think I`d live this long! Haha anyway. New Year in Honduras....The same as Christmas times 5. There are so many of these fireworks that are really scary. And since they´re all wrapped in newspaper, there was sooo much trash in the street. Littering isn´t a crime here either, so there´s a lot of trash every where. 

The work´s been rough this week. But i have a big feeling that it´s going to change. I have a good feeling we´re going to be blessed big time this week. I tried to teach the people here how to play rugby. That was pretty fun. They did pretty decent after they found out that it´s not American football! haha when we started, everyone was going out for passes and it was ridiculous. haha But some of the jóvenes here are actually pretty good! Maybe Brent is right and I can start some kind of rugby revolution here! Hahaha probably not...Anyway. We have good ole football planned out for today. I actually am beginning to love football! When you can score a goal, it´s not that dumb! haha Anyway. Next week´s letter is going to be filled with miracles! Trust me. But for now. Let´s start a New Year´s resolution of writing Elder Carter every other week and send a bunch of pictures!! 

Much love, 

Elder Carter