Week 19

When Elder Carruth gets sick...the garbage grows very fast.

Hello from Belen! RAINY BELEN! It was such a blessing to get some rain yesterday. My companion and I went for a bike ride in it since we are both from Washington. The weather here is supposed to be much cooler this week and I am excited for that. I don't like how it is dark when we wake up now though haha not used to that at all. Anyway this week was a pretty tough one for us. A lot of our appointments fell through and we struggled to find people to teach. We worked really hard though and the blessings will come this week. I am confident. It is already the last week of the transfer now! Week 6! It goes by so fast it is crazy. We will find out this Saturday who is getting transferred and who is not. That means P-day is Monday next week. Everyone thinks I will be getting transferred and I am starting to believe them. I don't want to ever leave Belen. I love the people here and the ward is amazing. It will be hard to say goodbye. Hopefully that won't have to happen in a week haha my companion and I have been spending a lot more time on our bikes. I lost 4 pounds in the first 4 days of having them haha I will be skinny in no time! We get to talk to so many people when we are on bikes and it makes me feel more like a true missionary haha. We had a cool experience this week. One of the members in our bishopric invited us over to meet and teach one of his friends from work. It was just a short overview of the Restoration and the Book of Mormon but it was powerful and I felt so trusted by our ward member. It was a cool experience and I hope we get to meet with them again soon. That was pretty much it this week! It was pretty tough and slow so not much to report on. I love you all and hope you all have the best week this week!!

Quotes of the Week:

"Increased vision brings increased motivation."

"How does your attitude effect how you look at the commandments?"

"Sometimes just passing the test isn't enough."

"If you have time for golf you have time for Christ."

"The most important commandment is the one you struggle with."

"Humility is the fountain of all virtues."

Spiritual Experience of the Week:

We had a lesson with P last week where he told us that he does not intend to join the church. Right when he said that I got a strong spiritual prompting to not stop teaching him and that he needed the gospel. Right when we left the appointment I asked my companion what he thought and he got the same prompting that I did! It was so cool and I love that we have unity in our companionship. I am so happy that the spirit testified so strongly to both of us. 

Miracle of the Week:

We were knocking on doors one evening decided to try one more. When the lady opened the door she smiled really big and came outside. Usually this means people are going to argue or bash with us so we got prepared. That didn't happen though! She said she knew about the Book of Mormon and that she was going to Salt Lake in a couple days! She asked us what to look at at temple square and how to spend her time! It was so awesome. And the best part was she invited us to come back to talk to her next week. It was a tender mercy from the Lord.

I love you all!!!

Elder Carruth

Week 18

Hello everyone and all!! This week here in Belen was a little bit of a struggle. We had some dropped appointments and then I went and got sick. But it was also full of miracles and blessings and I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father and his outpouring love. Last P-day we went to this pizza place called pizza 9. It was pretty much amazing. Definitely rivals Dion's. During P-day sports I managed to win a game of Slaughterball which is nice. I am pretty sure that my arm is going to be permanently damaged after my mission. I just can't stop myself from playing and going 112% all the time! Last Wednesday was a day that I call "Diligence Testers" where the Lord tests to see how hard we really wanna work. Almost all of our appointments fell through that day and it was just tough. But we had an awesome service project with Rio Communities. We helped them with a food drop. It is the 2nd time that I have helped with this and we invited the Spanish Elders to join us. It was so much fun! We get to talk to hundreds of people and smile at them all and give them food! It was great and everyone there was in a good mood. We had a visit of love with the Spanish Elders at the end of that day so that made it all better. Thursday was a polar opposite day though because had a lot of lessons and they all went awesome! We met with C and he is doing really well. He accepted a date to be baptized on the 17th of October! I am so excited for him. We also had a lesson with P. He told us that he didn't want to go to church or get baptized because he already got baptized. BUT he also told us that he has seen the Priesthood work for one of his family members! He told us "He was really sick and the doctors told us he wouldn't make it. Then a couple Mormons came in and put their hands on his head and he walked out the next day! Unexpalinable." It was super cool because we started talking about that authority and he told us that maybe he does need to get baptized. It is amazing to watch the spirit work in people! The church has to be true! On Friday I went on exchanges with the Valencia Elders. I went to Valencia with Elder Lester. He has been on his mission for about 3 months and is an awesome person. He is very diligent and hardworking as well and I enjoyed the time I had with him. Saturday morning I woke up with a sore throat and stuffed nose. I was not happy at all because I never want to take a day off from missionary work. I am here to serve the Lord not to sleep. So I decided to work all day Saturday anyway and when I got up Sunday I regretted it. I managed to go to church but had to call President's wife to ask for the day off after. I needed the rest and was able to work a full day yesterday. The Lord blessed me with not getting a fever and I am grateful for that. Sunday was my 4 month mark! Crazy to think that I have been here that long already. Feels like yesterday that I was in the MTC pretending I knew everything. Yesterday was a good hardworking day and we were blessed to find someone who is awesome! Her name is Cl and she was blessed as a baby but never got baptized. She told us to come by anytime and that she has been looking for the right church! It was a sign to me the we were where the Lord wanted us to be and that He is always preparing people. We got to dig another Dog Grave yesterday. It was an interesting experience. I have dug 2 now for the same people. I can only imagine that I will have more to do before I leave Belen. Anyway I love you all!! Thank you for your support! 

Quotes of the Week:

"Doubt kills more dreams that failure ever will."

"Endure to the end is enjoy to the end."

Spiritual Experience of the Week:

Thursday night I was really struggling to feel the spirit and it was making me feel completely unworthy and inadequate. I prayed that sometime on Friday I would have a really strong spiritual experience so that I would know that I am worthy and doing good things. During district meeting I felt to spirit stronger and longer than I have in a very long time. It was a clear answer to me that Heavenly Father loves us all and will always answer our prayers. 

**NEW** Miracle of the Week:

We have a less active member named S and her Husband Cr is getting baptized next month. They told us to meet them at walmart this morning and so we did. When we got there we saw S with 2 brand new bikes and pumps and locks and everything you need. It was amazing and so nice of them to do that. It was a miracle because we have been looking for bikes for a while now. I am so grateful for them.

Pic: Me and my new bike! I is Sick! AND.....a sign on a door that we knocked on just so I could take a pic of the sign.  Awesome.

Love you all!!

Elder Carruth 

Week 17

Hello everyone!! I am sorry but this will probably be a shorter email as well. I am running late for our district lunch and I am the one who set it up! haha anyway this week was really good! we got another investigator to accept a date for baptism and his name is C. He has been taking the discussions for 2 years and finally has decided to get baptized! He is pretty cool and full of great stories! Last week we had a couple really interesting moments. One of them was watching a car chase as we were walking home to our apartment. It was only a street away from us and there were lots of police cars haha. I got to go on exchanges last week too with Elder Evans in the Tome area. I got to pretend I knew Spanish. It was a lot of fun though and I enjoyed my time with him. Our last appointment we walked up to the porch and there was a dead pig carcass on a lawn chair. Interesting to say the least haha. I love the are of Belen so much and the people here are amazing. The spirit is strong and constantly guiding us to those who are ready for the truth. This week we have a lot of potential investigators that we are going to start teaching. Hopefully they are ready as well. Yesterday I got attacked by a pitbull. Scary... Really scary. Didn't get bit though. I did kick it once before the owner grabbed it bit I almost lost a leg for sure. Dogs around here are terrible and I hate it. Anyway I love you all! I promise more next week from me! 

Quotes of the Week:

"Revelation requires action."

"Every child of God deserves to feel the spirit."
"Our only fear should be losing the spirit."
"True disciples of Christ serve those around them."

Spiritual Experience of the Week:

I had the chance to give a blessing to my companion. He was struggling a little. When I started the blessing I received strong and direct promptings and knew exactly what Heavenly Father needed him to here. The spirit was strong and I am grateful for it. 

Love you all!!

Elder Carruth

Week 16

Elder Carruth's caption to this pic "I thought this was cool. And yes there was a train coming and yes we almost got hit and yes we are still alive."  I think he was channeling the questions he thought I would ask when I saw this!  Melinda

This week was pretty crazy! We had a lot of people drop us and we also dropped some, but the Lord has been blessing us like crazy! We have a lot of referrals and also some new and progressing investigators! I love it! We had a lesson with a new investigator named Allen. He had a ton of questions and the lesson was all over the place! We called him today to set something up and he said he had a lot more questions from the intro to the Book of Mormon! We will see how that goes! We got to go on exchanges last week with the Zone Leaders! It is a little nerve wracking when the Zone Leader comes to your area and you are in charge the whole day. But it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot from Elder Bracken. When we were on exchanges we had a lesson with a new investigator named Curtis. He basically told us that he was there to learn and wanted to know what our message was! It was really good and I thought the spirit was super strong. Hopefully we can meet with him this week too and get him to church. It is crazy to me to think that September is already here and that I have been here for almost 4 months. Time flies when you teach the Gospel! Sunday was really good. The whole church block was all about protecting our homes. It was really cool! And the spirit was there as well. Yesterday we got to take the Manazno Sisters on a tour of Belen. They cover the whole stake so they were down here for the day and we introduced them to some of the YSA people that we knew. It was a good day. I know this email is short but I am out of time! Love you all!!

Quotes of the Week:

"Choosing not to decide is deciding."

"Let God's promises shine on your problems."

"The only thing fear fears is love."

Spiritual Experience of the Week:

Before church on Sunday I decided to say a specific prayer for one of the members of my district. I fasted and went to church. Right at the end of church I got the answer I had prayed for! The spirit testified to me that I had received my answer. It was an amazing experience and helped me to grow my testimony of this gospel. I know that it is true.

Love you all!!!

Elder Carruth