Week 9

Welcome everyone who has newly been added to the email list. I apologize for not adding you sooner. This week was pretty awesome! I decided that I hate Pday on Monday. Made the week take forever to get to today. But I guess I only have to deal with that once every six weeks. We have 2 new missionaries in our district now! That is really exciting and they are both awesome people. I am excited to get to know them more. Last week we were driving and my companion looked out the window and said "AWW POOR CAT!!!" When I looked over all I saw was a tumbleweed. We decided that he needs to get glasses... And he is the designated driver so I am a little fearful now haha the day before Christy got baptized we went to see them and she told us that she was full of a lot of anger and hate and didn't want to get baptized feeling like that. We told her to go to the temple and to feel the spirit on the grounds. The next day we got a text saying how peaceful the temple was and how much better she felt after letting everything go. It really helped my testimony of the temple grow and how the spirit that is there is stronger than anywhere else and we should all strive to go there as frequently as possible. Christy did in fact get baptized!!! My first baptism!!! She was baptized by a close friend of hers and it was amazing. The spirit was strong and she was all smiles the whole time. Chuck was pretty excited too and he can't wait to get baptized soon too. Hopefully August sometime. I gave a talk on the Holy Ghost at the baptism and people said I did a great job so that made me feel good. Two days ago I got to stand in the circle as Christy received the greatest gift shes ever received, the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was an amazing experience and is helping me see the fruits of my labors out here. One of our less active members got the priesthood on Sunday! That was super cool and I love being able to watch him come back to the church and thrive in it. We met with Brent yesterday and his heart is definitely softer than before. He broke down and told us that he really wants to join the church but quitting smoking is so hard. I made him a strong promise that he would do it if he managed to read the Book of Mormon and rely on that for help. He committed to do that and pray for a date to get baptized. Hopefully he will continue to progress again and he will get baptized soon. On Sunday we helped the sisters go to a referral we gave them. We told them about a mean dog so they were freaking out a little so we walked them to the door to protect them hahaha besides that not much else happened. The work continues here and I am loving every minute of it. The church is true. Thank you everyone for your support!

Quotes of the Week:

"What would you give up to know God?"

"Don't let the decisions of others define your salvation."

"Spiritual light is within reach of all of God's children."

"Selective obedience brings selective blessings."

"Only the gospel can unite people in peace."

"There is no such thing as blind obedience."

"We make mistakes when we stop thinking about Christ."

"God's commandments are strict but not restrictive."

"You will come to find out that what appears to be a sacrifice will prove to be the greatest investment you will ever make."

"Everything you do sends a message."

"Flood the world with the Book of Mormon."

Spiritual Experience of the Week:

Besides the baptism we had a cool experience. We went to see one of our less active and when he opened the door he said that we were inspired. He told us that he was praying for us to come over. We didn't really have a strong prompting. We actually planned to see him the night before. But it showed me that the spirit will guide you even in the softest and subtlest ways.

Love you all!!

Elder Carruth