Ok so normally my Pday is Tuesday but this week has been crazy with
transfers so I get to write today. I am officially in New Mexico now for those
that didn't know. I am in the Los Lunas zone and in the Belen area. The last few
days at the MTC went by pretty fast. we taught lots of lessons and focused a lot
on street contacting and baptismal invitations. I was hard to say goodbye to my
district and zone from the MTC. They were all amazing missionaries and I am so
grateful I got to meet them all and serve with them. On Monday I got up at 4:50
and headed to the airport. We got there about 3 hours early haha but it was nice
to meet the other 3 sisters going to our mission. There were 5 of us total and
then 2 hermanas from the Mexico City MTC. I was grateful that I was able to call
home for a little bit and talk to everyone and check in. When we landed in New
Mexico our mission president and his wife and the 3 APs were all waiting for us.
It was pretty overwhelming but they did a good job at smiling and being nice. We
had lunch at the mission home before heading out to do some contacting. It was
fun and we placed a Book of Mormon in 45 minutes. After spending the night in
Albuquerque we got up and headed to the transfer meeting. This is where I got
paired up with my trainer Elder Steffensen. He is an excellent missionary and I
am excited to spend a few months with him. Yesterday when we made it back to our
apartment we planned and then went around and talked to people and had dinner at
the ward mission leaders house. We didn't really teach any lessons besides the
word of wisdom to a less active member. Today was my first full day in my area.
We had an appointment early in the morning with a married couple who my
companion had talked to once before. We managed to get two members there which
was awesome! I am grateful for the support of the members. We talked about the
restoration and then I invited them to commit to being baptized at the end of
June. And they both said YES! It was so amazing and I can't wait to continue to
teach these people and watch them grow. It was so awesome to listen to the
husband talk about what he felt when he was at church and with the missionaries.
I loved testifying of the spirit and how it talks to us. I can't wait to watch
him and his wife enter the waters of baptism and receive their first covenants
with their Father in Heaven. After that we went up to Albuquerque for some
training because my companion is the district leader. Lunch at Dion's pizza was
pretty tasty! Green chilies are yummy for sure. Right now I am in the library
writing emails and later we have a few appointments to go teach. I am so
thankful for my mission and my companion. I am excited to serve and be here.
Quotes of the Week:
"We are not allowed to raise the standards the Lord has set for us."
"You don't need the church to receive the Telestial and Terrestial
kingdoms. We have a higher destination in mind."
"If you lower you expectations your effectiveness will lower."
"Goals and planning are acts of faith."
"The only way to know of the truth for yourself is to bear humble and
sincere prayer to Heavenly Father."
"The Holy Ghost cannot testify of insincere teachings."
"What would you have tomorrow if you only had what you thanked Heavenly
Father for the night before?"
"When you read scriptures, you have to ponder questions in your heart and
desire to search or else you haven't given the spirit authority to teach
you."
"We make life changing promises."
"Next time Satan reminds you of your past, remind him of his future."
"What you do, you endorse."
"If you're not in charge of yourself then somebody else is."
"Don't count the days, make the days count."
"Call upon the Lord. He has extended the invitation, and He will
answer."
Spiritual Experience of the Week:
After a TRC lesson at the MTC, my companion and I were praying before we
started our lesson evaluation. After our prayer a teacher, we didn't know him at
all, came up and said "Thank you for how you prayed for your investigator. I
felt the difference and my faith had been strengthened." It was a really faith
building experience and I loved it.
Mail:
I finally have an address to send things to. Please keep in mind that I
will be getting transferred a few times throughout my mission and my address
will change. So if you wanna send me something make sure that I will still be
there to get it. When in doubt you can always send things to the mission office,
however, I will only get things from them about once a month. The mission office
address is:
Elder David Carruth
New Mexico Albuquerque Mission
4400 Presidential DR NE St. E
Albuquerque, NM 87109
I will tell everyone when my address changes. For now my direct address
is:
Elder David Carruth
1020 W. Aragon #52
Belen, NM 87002
Sending things to this address is the quickest way to get them to me. They
come straight to me.
Thank you for everyone's support and love as I have taken on this new
adventure. I couldn't survive without you.
With Love,
Elder Carruth
