Week 30

30 weeks have come and gone and it goes so fast!! Crazy!! It is almost Christmas time!! Can't believe it. This week was a pretty slow one but one of miracles and exciting things! And next week will be exciting too! It is always a good day as a missionary. Last week we had a service project at St. Vincent's food pantry. We were in charge of helping people get there food to their cars and stuff. It was a lot of fun! And I love being able to meet and talk to all kinds of new people and help them. We only got bashed once too which is nice. Apparently we are invited to help every week so we are going to start doing that more often. I really enjoyed it. So I had a humbling experience this week. We were tracting in the middle of the afternoon and we decided to do 3 streets. The first one was really successful! We talked to a lot of people and had good conversations with them. As we started the second street I was excited to continue success. The first guy on that street was extremely rude. Like for no reason. So I may or may not have been a little sarcastic back to him. Apparently sarcasm is something I do a lot. Most of you probably know that already. Anyway as soon as we walked away from him not only did my companion yell at me but the spirit did too. I have not felt that bad in a long long time. The rest of that street was terrible. Doors slamming and people yelling. It was tough. I knew that the only way to fix it was to go apologize to the first guy. Oh how I did not want to do that. My pride was real that day. But the spirit convinced me and I went out of my way to apologize to the person who was just as rude the second time around. I felt better though and the following street was again filled with success. It was a humbling experience where I learned a lot about how to represent the Savior. Later that night we taught MJ about the plan of Salvation. It was powerful and the spirit was strong. I loved it and hope to get her to come to church soon and progress her to baptism. We went on exchanges last week with the Cabezon Elders. I went to Cabezon with Elder Jones. He has been out for 18 months. He struggles a little with the work and loves excuses but he works hard. I enjoyed working with him. We had a 2 hour long weed pulling party with the Chamisa Sisters and I enjoyed getting to know them as well. They are in the other district so I don't see them very often. It was a good exchange. District Meeting last week was pretty good too! I loved it. We talked a lot on focusing on the needs of people and not just teaching lessons. It was good and the spirit was there for sure. So Saturday was an interesting day. We started by tracting and dropped by a less active sister. When we told her we couldn't come inside because she was a lone she was angry. She immediately called our ward mission leader to complain and tell him that he is changing the rules. No amount of us telling her that our rules come from the Prophet and Apostles would change her mind. It was funny to listen to her throw down on our ward mission leader. After that we were riding bikes when my back tire decided it wanted to explode. Like legit explode. There is a 2 inch gash in the tire and the tube is destroyed. It is great and we have been walking ever since! I hope to get it fixed today I just need a new tire. Saturday night was the adult session to the multi stake conference. Elder Bennett of the 70 was presiding and elder Jones of the 70 was there too. That place was packed. 3 stakes of adults. We had to sit on the stage by the time we got there. Yesterday for the normal session we had to go to the local hockey arena to fit everyone. A new stake was created and the stake presidency for Rio Rancho was reorganized. It was so cool to watch the growth of the church. I was happy to be a part of it. That is about all for this week! Love you all!!  

Quotes of the Week:

"The scriptures open the window of revelation."

"Don't let the things you own own you."

"Heavenly Father will always go after the one."

"Success comes with invitation."

"If you wait, the opportunity will pass."

"Out of the death of One was born the power of everlasting life for all."

Spiritual Experience of the Week:

So last week during one of my studies I was pondering on the things I had read. Suddenly I found myself thinking about one of the Sisters in my District. I didn't know why, but I was thinking about things that could be said in a blessing to her. Early this week, that same sister called and asked for a blessing. In the room there was a Zone Leader, an Assistant, me and my companion. When we asked who she wanted to give the blessing she didn't hesitate before choosing me. It was a testimony for me that the spirit had prepared me for that blessing and the same things I had thought about before came back to me in the blessing. It was a sweet experience. 

Miracle of the Week:

We were knocking doors one day trying to finish a neighborhood we had started a while ago. We had one street left. We started up one side of it and by the end I was ready to be done. No one was interested or home even. Both my companion and I got the prompting to finish the other side of the street. So we did. There we found 2 people who are ready for the gospel. 2 people who took Book of Mormons and invited us to come back. It was a miracle to me and also direct fulfillment of my Patriarchal Blessing. 

Spiritual thought of the Week:

So Elder Bennett focused on the fact that success is not in the converting of people and friends. Success is found in the invitation. It is so true. All we need to do is invite people to hear about the gospel, or invite them to church or activities. The result of that is based on their agency and has no effect on our personal success. We need to not fear to invite others to take part in this gospel. It changes lives. It blesses families. And it heals broken hearts. I testify of that and of the fact that our Savior lives. He loves us and wants us to return to live with Heavenly Father again. 

Pic: The face you make when you tire explodes.

Elder Carruth 

Week 29

Hello friends, family, people I know and love how are you? I am doing pretty good! This week was a test of a week for sure! The Lord wanted us to learn something and I sure hope we learned it because the whole week was a struggle. But even in the hardest weeks there are miracles and blessings everywhere. Last P-Day we had a zone wide turkey bowl! It was a mix of football and soccer and basketball. It was pretty fun and a killer workout. I think every muscle was sore after that. Good thing this is a bike area and we got to ride around and work out more!! Wednesday was a pretty interesting day. I was struggling to find some motivation so I decided to say a prayer and plead to my Father in Heaven for strength through the Atonement. As soon as we walked outside I felt encouraged, uplifted and motivated to share the gospel. It was a sweet tender mercy from the Lord and a blessing to me. It didn't come, however, until after I left the apartment. So often we pray for things and wait for the result, instead we must ask and the result will come. It was a really sweet tender mercy from the Lord. Later that day we talked to someone who was pretty drunk. She kept calling herself and angel. Finally at the end she grabbed my hand and stared into my soul and said "When I first saw you.... it was like a magnet.... I could just tell... you are an angel too!!!" It was great. Thanksgiving was this week! What a good day. We were not allowed to knock on doors all day so we spent time visiting members and eating food. We had 2 dinners that day. Some missionaries had like 6 so it was ok. We a really cool miracle that day that I will talk about later. It is interesting to me being a missionary because all the days feel the same. I knew it was thanksgiving and I often thought about my family that day. But while we were working it felt like a normal day so it was easier to be away for the holiday. The mission is full of mini blessings and miracles, you just need to look hard enough. District Meeting on Friday went really well! I got to talk about testimonies and how important it is in our work. My zone leader said I did a good job so that made me feel accomplished. We had a lesson later that day with an older guy named David. Halfway through the lesson he fell asleep. The member we were with decided we should say a prayer and quietly leave. In that prayer the member released David's spirit to the spirit world. It was interesting. Not sure if we will ever see David again in this life.  Sunday was a great fast Sunday. It was the first one in this new ward so I knew I had to bear my testimony. Before the meeting started one of the Deacons in the ward came up to me in the hall and talked to me for 30 minutes. We talked about life and where we came from and all kinds of things. Eventually I asked him if he was going to bear his testimony and he told me he didnt know. So I decided to give him so encouragement. When I went up to bear mine I personally invited him to bear his in front of the congregation. It was funny and two people later he got up and followed through with my invitation. He sat next to me in Priesthood so I have a new friend now. I might pick on a new youth every month and get them all to bear their testimonies. After we got home from church I really did not want to go knock doors. It was close to dinner and we would have to ride all the way to the edge of our area. We went anyway. We only talked to 7 people but the last one we talked to was really interested in learning and invited us back the following Sunday to talk to her about it. It was a miracle from the Lord brought about through diligence and obedience. That was pretty much my whole week! Hope you all are doing awesome and fantastic! Love you all!!

Quotes of the Week:

"Families are the treasure of heaven."

"Sometimes we must endure the darkness to truly appreciate the light."

Spiritual Experience of the Week:
In the midst of my struggles last week I finally humbled myself enough to get a blessing. Probably 5 weeks overdue. During that blessing I felt the approval of the Savior and the comfort I needed to press on. I received revelation that helped me continue the work and brought me a new sense of peace. It was a sweet experience and one I am grateful for. 

Miracle of the Week:

Going back to Thanksgiving. We were walking to go see a member of the ward who just recently moved in. The ward council asked us to go check on her. She lives in an adult community that is locked from the outside. The only person we know to let us in was not available so we had no choice but to walk back home. On our way we met a woman who just so happens to be the sister of the person we were trying to see. Two phone calls later we were inside of her apartment and with tears in her eyes she told us how much she needed to see us. Since then blessings have poured out from heaven for her through the Bishop and the Relief Society. It all started with the willingness to talk to a stranger on the street. There is no such thing as a coincidence. It is a miracle, a tender mercy from heaven to one of God's children. I am so grateful to have been a part of it. 

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

While studying 2 Nephi 7, verse 2 stuck out to me. Our Savior will never abandon us. He is always there for us and through His Atonement we can be brought back to the presence of our Heavenly Father. It is when we struggle the most that we reach out for the outstretched hand of our loving Savior. 

Pic: Thanksgiving at Bishop's house!!

Love you all!!!

Elder Carruth

Week 28

At least I think it is week 28. Correct me if I am wrong. Hello from a cold and windy Rio Rancho! What a great place to be and to work. This week has been a pretty long one but also one full of lessons and learning for my companion and I. Last Pday was pretty awesome. We had sports as a zone and we played floor hockey. It was really fun and quite the exhausting workout. Today we are having the turkey bowl in honor of thanksgiving. Football is also pretty fun to play with a zone. I love that our zone is so small. It allows us to get to know everyone personally and I am so grateful for that. Wednesday was a pretty great day. We knocked on doors all day long pretty much. We picked a whole street to knock and we did! We ended up talking to 25 people and got a couple people to invite us back. One of them was named S. He didn't seem too interested when we first contacted him but after I bore my testimony he invited us back. We taught him for the first time yesterday and it was a pretty good lesson. His heart softened as the lesson progressed and that was cool to see. We had interviews with President and Sister Miller last week and I absolutely love them both. As soon as I sat down with President he told me how many great and wonderful things he hears about me everyday. How my Zone Leaders love me and think so highly of me. I told him not to believe everything he hears and he told me he only listens to half of it and it is still great. It made me feel really good though and like I was capable of being a missionary. Made me feel successful. Later that night we dropped by MJ to see if we could set something up. When she saw us she was excited and immediately invited us in. It was so cool to see her happy to see us! We are so excited to teach her. It will have to wait till after the holiday though. She will get baptized. I had my first district meeting last Friday. I was a little nervous because this is a new district but I was also excited because I had an awesome plan. The spirit was awesome and I got a lot of participation. Afterwards I talked to each companionship about it and the sisters told me that they couldn't stop talking about it and it was really powerful. That made me happy and I hope it helped my district. I love being able to present trainings to the district to help us all improve as missionaries and servants of the Lord. So Saturday was the day we planned to have be the most successful day of the mission. We had 6 lessons planned and 4 new investigators set up. We fasted. We were exactly obedient. And absolutely NOTHING worked out. We taught 1 lesson that day. I really felt discouraged. But I learned a lot that day. I received revelation. Here is what I learned. 1) Some people are not ready for the gospel. 2) We cannot control the agency of others. 3) Being obedient for one day does not qualify us for an outpouring of blessings. 4) Heavenly Father answers prayers. So the big news of the week happened on Sunday. We didn't have 3rd hour because there was a tri-ward meeting instead. As we gathered together the Stake President informed us that they were splitting a ward and realigning the boundaries of the other wards. The Western Hills Ward was formed from the Cabezon ward as well as a little part of the star heights ward. It is so cool to see the growth of the church! The cabezon elders now cover two wards. We lost a small chunk of our area to the cabezon ward to make it all work. Our area is even smaller now. The exciting thing is in two weeks the is a tri-stake meeting. New stake is going to be formed. That is going to be so exciting and cool and I hope it doesnt mess with anything in this area. That is pretty much my whole week! Hope all is well at home and wherever you are when you read this! Love you all so much!!!!!!!! 

Quotes of the Week:

"Let faith fortify your footsteps."

"Forever is composed of nows."

"We are living eternity."

"happiness is the object and design of our existence and will be the end there of if we pursue the path that leads to it."

Spiritual Experience of the Week:

I think District meeting was the best event this week. The spirit was so strong and it motivated me to work hard and be diligent. I love the spirit. It is so peaceful and uplifting and encouraging. 

Miracle of the Week:

Saturday, being the terrible day that it was, also had a miracle. After dinner I said a quick prayer that we would be able to find 1 person who would invite us back. Over the next 30 minutes we talked to 14 people, which is a lot. The very last person we talked to invited us back. Not sure how interested he is, but he invited us back and that was a huge miracle to me and an answer to a prayer.

Pic: HOT AIR BALLOONS ARE EVERYWHERE!

Love you all!!!

Elder Carruth 

Week 27

Hello from snowy and freezing Rio Rancho New Mexico! That is right I am now serving in the Panorama Heights Ward in Rio Rancho. This place is great. I am going to miss Belen like crazy. I had my goodbye tour after emailing last week and it was pretty tough for me. It was hard for me to say goodbye to so many amazing members of the church and such a great ward. And it was really hard for me to say goodbye to the people I helped come unto Christ. C and K and C are examples to me of what can happen when you follow Jesus Christ. I love them so much and will miss them. But for now I must move forward and serve the people here. This week has been a super long one for me. It was full of blessings and tender mercies though! And I know that the Lord is watching out for us. My new companion is named Elder Mosher and we are working well together! He has been out for about 3 months and has had some rough companions. Our first day together we knocked doors for a couple hours and talked to a lot of people. It was awesome. This area is a bike only area. Our map is tiny. 15 minute bike ride will take you to any edge of our area. Hopefully I can lose some weight here! That is a minor goal of mine haha. I truly am so excited to work in this area and to be in the ward. My district here is 3 companionships. Spanish Sisters and 2 sets of English Elders. Our whole zone is only one companionship bigger than my last district. We will all get to know each other really well haha. My first morning in Panorama was pretty tough. Not used to being here. But I solved that with 4 hours of tracting! It was great and we talked to a lot of awesome people! One of which is named MJo. We knocked on her door one day and she told us we could come back the next day. So we did with our Ward Mission Leader. Honestly I wasn't expecting her to even be home but she answered the door and invited us in! The spirit was super strong in the lesson and she is obviously ready for the gospel. She has 3 boys and the oldest is excited for primary. It was an amazing lesson and a tender mercy from the Lord. We have an investigator named M. He has been meeting with missionaries for a couple years now and knows he needs to get baptized. He has a couple fears though so we promised him that if he came to church he would get answers. And for the first time in a few months he came to church! It was awesome and I am excited to meet with him tonight. So last Friday was my 6 month mark of being on my mission. It is really crazy and kind of scary to think that I have spent 1/4 of my time out here already. I know it will only go faster from this point on and I know I need to work as hard as I can while I still can. It was a great day though! We had Zone Training and then Zone lunch together. It was awesome to sit down with the whole zone and just hang out for an hour. Later that day we were riding our bikes when we saw 3 guys pushing a car up a hill. We immediately dropped our bikes and ran across 5 lanes of moving traffic to help them. It was awesome and they were really grateful! On Saturday we met with a woman named Amber. She has 1 boy and one on the way. She is in her late teens or early 20s and invited us in to learn about the gospel. She has been searching for  a church for a while now and the spirit in the lesson was strong. She is another person who is ready for the gospel. The Lord truly has blessed us with being able to find people who are ready to hear the gospel and to get this area headed in the right direction. Hopefully we can get her husband involved as well. I was really excited to go to church on Sunday so I could meet the ward. This ward is pretty awesome and gives Belen a run for their money. I am gonna say they tie though so I can keep my friends in both places haha. We are going to be getting our ward boundaries changed next Sunday. I think our ward will be getting bigger so we can stabilize our primary. Yesterday was a day where the Lord puts you to the test. From sun up to sun down it snowed all day long. And a lot of snow too. We got on our bikes, zipped up our coats, and headed for the streets. It was cold and exhausting work but we were diligent. The Lord blessed us with an unexpected lesson and a little time out of the cold. He also blessed us with a random member of a different ward giving us a ride to dinner when we were walking. Little things like that can go unnoticed if you don't pay attention. The Lord is always there to look out for us. Even when all we see is ice and snow. Anyway I think this is the longest email I have ever written. I love you all! Keep being awesome and your support does not go unnoticed by me. 

Quotes of the Week:

"Men and angels are coworkers in this great work."

"We are here to offer eternal salvation."

"The future is as bright as you faith."

"True disciples of Christ will always have trials."

"Look to the next life, not this one."

Spiritual Experience of the Week:

Yesterday I had the opportunity to give a blessing to a less active member of our ward. She has been pretty stressed out lately and has a lot to deal with. After the blessing she looked up at me with tear filled eyes and said "That was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you so much." It was a really cool experience for me and one in which the spirit helped me.

Miracle of the Week:

The miracle this week was us being able to find two people who have truly been prepared to receive the gospel. It is amazing to listen to their stories and see how God put people in their path that made them interested in the gospel. I am so excited to teach them.

Pic: The work never stops! EVER! 

Elder Carruth 

Week 26

Hello from my last week in Belen! Actually it is my  last day in Belen too. What an adventure I had here. But the Lord needs me elsewhere and tomorrow I will be transferred to a new area and a new companion. Pray for me! It is crazy for me to think that I have been out here for 6 months already. 1/4 of my mission already over and done. It is going by so so fast. So last P-Day was pretty amazing. I was having a pretty rough day and wasn't in the mood to be nice to people. We were having a district lunch at the stake center and I was sitting in a room with a Spanish elder just talking when I got summoned to the gym. When I walked in I saw the most thoughtful thing anyone has done for my on my mission. I saw a pinata. It was in the shape of the pony that my brother in law drew of me. It was exactly like the picture. And it was exactly what I needed from a loving district. It totally turned my day around as I beat the life out of the pinata. It was filled with tootsie pops. I kept the head for memorabilia. I started a new study plan last week and I love it. I spend 15 minutes in Preach my Gospel and 30 in the book of Mormon. The last 15 minutes I spend in the Doctrine and Covenants or Jesus the Christ. It has really helped my bring the spirit into my study sessions. And it is a great way to start the day. I really have learned so much already just from the first few chapters of the Book of Mormon. On Thursday I got a call from President Miller. It scares me sometimes when he calls not going to lie. But all he wanted was to tell me that I am getting transferred but I am still going to be a district leader. I love being a district leader and getting to serve missionaries so closely. I love it. So I have started saying my goodbye tour. It is hard for me to say goodbye to people. These wonderful people in Belen have helped me so much and I feel so blessed to know them. Yesterday we had a lesson where our investigator read Moroni 9. That is a pretty interesting chapter that we don't usually read to people. But it was a testimony of the spirit that he still wanted to meet with us. Funny story of the week was a homeless guy talked to us while he was smoking weed. He told us that he loves us a lot and offered us some weed a couple times. I love Belen. Always keeps you on your toes!! I love you all!!

Quotes of the Week:

"You don't know how strong you are until strong is all you have left."

"Don't commit assumicide."

"Today's trial is tomorrow's testimony."

"The ten commandments are not multiple choice."

"Sincere testimony plants the seeds of conversion."

"Be you, by open, be interested."

"Life is designed for us to always be carrying a load."

"Don't let Satan tempt your into being too busy."

"The things of God can only be learned through the spirit of God."

"Be active in the gospel not just in the church."

"The only place you find success before work is in the dictionary."

Spiritual Experience of the Week:

So last night we had a lesson where I felt prompted to give a promise. After I did I started to bear my testimony. As I did, I felt heat radiate off of me. I felt hot and as soon as I was done it went away. It was a really special experience and one where the spirit testified through me. 

Miracle of the Week:

I haven't cried yet! Saying goodbye sucks.

Elder Carruth 

Week 25

Well this week was a pretty ok one! Nothing spectacular happened but we are continuing to work really hard! And the blessings will come from it I am sure! Last P-day was interesting. Since we got to go to the temple last week we had a short P-day. Not enough time to get to everything we needed to do. But this week went by really fast so that is nice! Everything seems to be going really fast. We had a mega meal last week at the Segrest's. Pizza and wings and potato skins. All homemade and amazingly delicious. We had a really good day last week where everything that we planned for actually happened. That doesn't happen much in missionary life but we taught all the lessons we wanted to and had a great day. I went on exchanges last week with the spanish elders. I hung out in Tome with Elder Valladolid. We battled some rainy weather but had a pretty good day overall. I love going on exchanges and learning as much as I can. We went to a baptism last week. I love baptisms so much. There is just a special spirit that is there that inspires us to work and be servants of the Lord. It is crazy to me to think that we are in November already. Time is really flying by out here. That is pretty much our week! Transfers is next week so we shall see what happens. Emails will be one Monday! Love you all!

Quotes of the Week:

"No good thing comes without work."

"If you are doing something good, Satan will drop a refrigerator in your driveway to stop you."

Spiritual Experience of the Week

So yesterday morning I finished the Book of Mormon for the 3rd time. And all day yesterday I have a special spirit with me. I felt so happy and motivated to work and I loved it all. I know that is because the Book of Mormon is true and that through reading it we can become happy in this life. It truly is the word of God that we can learn from. I love it so much.

Miracle of the Week:

We went by one of our investigators yesterday who we haven't seen in a while. While we were there his wife sat down with us and participated in the lesson and seemed to enjoy it. It was a miracle because we really have been struggling for new investigators! It was awesome!

Pic: Big paw print when I was on exchanges.

Elder Carruth  

Week 24

Almost a quarter of the way through the mission! Hard to believe huh. Only have to read about 75 more emails from me! Lucky ducks. Anyways this week was a pretty quick one. It was all a blur I don't really remember a lot of it. That is why I keep a journal. We got new housing inspectors this week. Retired military people. Lets just say that when my bed wasn't 100% smooth after I made it she told me the Savior would be ashamed to live there. This will be interesting over the next few months. It is good though it will help us keep a clean apartment and I like a clean apartment. Last week I decided to buy a jacket since the weather is colder now. Well lets just say good thing I did because later that day we tracted in the pouring rain for about 2 hours. People have a lot more sympathy when you come to see them soaking wet. But still no one wanted our message. I was glad I had a coat though. We were able to see G last week! Elder Steffensen and I found him and haven't been able to see him at all. Finally we caught him and he really is open to hearing our message. He knows that the end is near and wants to explore his options. We are meeting with him tomorrow as well. Hopefully things go well. We had exchanges last week too! I got to go with a Zone Leader up to ABQ and pretend to know Spanish. It was a lot of fun though and I learned a lot from Elder Edwards. The highlight of the week though for sure was going to the temple yesterday. We get to go every 6 months so it is a special treat. The spirit in the temple is amazing and peaceful. I encourage everyone who can to go to the temple as much as time permits. The blessings there will strengthen your weaknesses. It truly is a house of the Lord. That was my week! Pretty quick one this week. Love you all!!

Quotes of the Week:

"Forgiveness is too precious a pearl to be cast at the feet of the unforgiving."

"Grudges only divide."

"Christ will never forget those he suffered for."

"Charity without action is dead."

Spiritual Experience of the Week:

While I was on exchanges we were teaching a lesson in a members home. The member spoke both English and Spanish and would occasionally translate things for me so I would feel included in the lessons. 95% of the lessons went in one ear and out the other because I can't speak Spanish. However, there was one story that I remember. The member was telling a story about his grandma. All of it was in Spanish. About halfway through the story I realized that I was understanding the whole story. After the lesson I retold the story to my companion and he said "I didn't know that much Spanish until 6 months into my mission." I had the gift of the interpretation of tongues and it was amazing. It was the coolest thing I have ever experienced on my mission. 

Miracle of the Week:

Our investigator J was going to get baptized this Saturday. Unfortunately his parents are not supportive and he is a minor so he has to get consent. We his mom was talking to one of her coworkers about how is J goes to church when they all go out of town that she will know he is really devoted and not just going through a phase. How do I know this? Well his moms coworker is in the stake presidency. So we are really excited for this miracle to unfold of the next few weeks.

Pic: Me and elder Bennett outside the temple

Love you all!!

Elder Carruth