Missionary Work Brings Blessings

Hola Mi Familia y Mis Amigos,

I can't believe another week has come and gone. Time here in the CCM is so strange! I'm glad though it's email time again. I look forward to this all week and try to keep track throughout the week of what I want to say so that they are meaningful and not just full of random stuff. 

So my week wasn't all that different than last week as far as events go except for today.  Today was full of all sorts of great things! Okay, really only two but they were both especially good.  So the reason I am writing late is because this morning we got to go to the visitors center next to the temple (the temple is closed for renovations...boo!) Anyway, the spirit there though is so wonderful.  We watched a video about families and it was great! I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has given us families.  This life really wouldn't be anything without family. 

I also got to hear from Elder Don R. Clarke of the Presidency of the Seventy in our devotional this afternoon.  I am definitely being spoiled here at the CCM. (Side note: I also played the piano for the choir at the devotional...I was super nervous because the practice on Sunday was a bit of a struggle.  However I said a prayer and asked for help to not mess up in front of a general authority and although I already know this I got another confirmation that God answers our prayers! I didn't make any noticeable mistakes which made me so happy.) Anyway, his talk was mainly about the blessings we will receive as we faithfully fulfill our missionary purpose, which in not so many words is to bring others unto Christ. There are seven promises that he pulled from Doctrine and Covenants, the New Testament, and the Book of Mormon. They really are amazing promises and they are not just for full-time missionaries. They can apply to each one of us as we seek to bring others unto Christ.  Because they are so amazing I am going to give them to you but you are going to have to do some homework to find out what them are...For those of you that are up for the challenge the blessings are found in the following scriptures:

1-D&C 84:88

2-D&C 100:1-2

3-D&C 18:15-16, 15:16

4-Alma 7:7,11-12

5-D&C 31:5, 62:3

6-D&C 24:12

7-Matt 4:19

I really hope that each one of you will take the time to read through each of these promises and then come up with one thing you can do in your life to help bring someone unto Christ.  I hope that you will email me about any thoughts you have and also about any missionary experiences you may have as you put your thought into practice! I know that the Lord wants us all to be missionaries.  We are here on earth not only to get ourselves back to live with God but to also help as many people as we can to get there with us.  Also, like I talked about the Atonement last week, I'm sure there is someone in our lives that would benefit from the Atonement and coming to know our Savior.  I know that as we seek to do this and open our mouths and share our testimonies that we will be greatly blessed!  I really am so happy that for the next 18 months I will get the opportunity to do that everyday and gain the skills I need to be able to do it everyday after my mission as well.  The gospel is so amazing and so is missionary work!

On that note though I want to end with one funny thought that I had this week.  So before coming to Mexico I have always liked birds and I always thought that one day I could see myself retiring and watching birds for fun.  Let's just say that being in Mexico has confirmed that suspicion of mine!  There are so many different types of birds here and I can't get enough of it.  They even have these beautiful green birds, I'm going to call them parrots because I think I heard someone say that's what they are, flying around in flocks! Sometimes in class I just stare out the window and look at the cute little birds on the palm trees. I love them!! So basically I am going to be a crazy bird lady when I am older...ha!

Anyway I love you all and hope that you have all had a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Carpenter

The Power of the Atonement

Hola mi familia,

I hope that everyone is doing well this week.  Sorry to hear about the cold that seems to be going around, even I seemed to have caught it and I'm not even there! 

So my week has been so good, minus the fact that I've been a little sick. That's life though and unfortunately it doesn't stop for you.  I am definitely feeling better now though than I was a couple of days ago.  My companion was sick first though, although she just kept saying it was allergies, by the time I realized it was a cold that she had it was too late for me to do anything about it. Sigh.  I'm just glad it's not anything worse though.

The most exciting thing about this week though was definitely having Elder Neil A. Anderson come speak to us on Saturday.  I have always loved hearing his talks in general conference because he is so sweet.  He is just as sweet in person, but even more so he has a sense of humor I didn't know he had.  It was really cool to get to see that side of him. He talked to us though about the Atonement and how important it is that we have a strong testimony of the Atonement because that is really what is central to our message!  As I listened I thought a lot about the role the Atonement has played in my life and how grateful I am for my Savior and his sacrifice for me and for each one of us.  He talked about how the the Atonement is a continual learning process and that the more we learn about the Atonement and experience it in our own lives the more we will become converted to the gospel and have that desire to share the message of Jesus Christ with those around us. 

I thought a lot about how the understanding of the Atonement I have gained in my own life is one of the main reasons I am serving a mission to day.  As I think about my own life I can definitely see the correlation between my understanding and use of the Atonement and my desire to serve God and His children.  Now I didn't think it would be in this capacity but I had definitely been asking for opportunities to serve and bless His children and he answered my prayer by telling me that if I really wanted to serve him and prepare myself for a lifetime of service then I needed to serve a mission.  The Atonement truly is amazing and so are God's prophets!

Even though at times it is difficult and I wish that I could sleep in my comfortable bed and see my family and friends,  I know that it is worth it.  It is worth it for my life and for the lives of those I will touch in Sacramento.  I know that this gospel is true and I am so happy for this time I have at the MTC to really prepare myself to go to Sacramento and teach.  I also really hope that each one of you will look and ask for those opportunities to serve those around you.  I know that if you do your lives will be blessed more than you can comprehend.

So the second best thing about my week is that our first investigator (no we do not teach real investigators, thank goodness) became my afternoon teacher this week. Wahoo! Our whole district loved him as our investigator and we are so excited to have Hermano Cayetano as our teacher.  It was definitely a tender mercy of the Lord after the week I'd been having.

Anyway I love you all and I hope that everything is going well. You are all in my prayers!

Happy Days!

Love,

Hermana Carpenter

P.S. they have nutella to put on toast every night at dinner which is great if you want it with toast, however I have made it a tradition to have just a plain ole big spoonful of it for dessert each night (they usually serve dessert at lunch which is good, usually, but by dinnertime I am definitely needing something sweet and chocolaty and it just hits the spot!) 

First day in Mexico

 little did I know...

The roommates and I 

Hermana Priestly, Lewis and Badger

The companion and I- Hermana Badger

Of course Kyrie's water bottle is in plane sight :)

A little view of Mexico 

MTC Grounds 

The First Week In Review

Hola everyone,

Well I have almost made it through my first week here at the CCM (Spanish Version of the MTC) and I am doing well!  The campus here is beautiful and the people are so nice.  Sorry I don´t have any pictures of it though because I forgot my cord to connect my camera to the computer and they don´t have card readers. I´ll be sure to send all that I can though once I get into the field!

Anyway so I´ll give an overview of the week. So I arrived in Mexico with a whole bunch of Elders and a couple of Sisters and at the airport there were some people waiting for us.  We got all of our stuff and hopped on a bus headed to the CCM.  One thing I have to say is that I am so glad I don´t have to drive here! They drive like maniacs! It´s amazing to me that there isn´t an accident every ten seconds.  Anyway, so to get to the CCM you drive through this kind of dumpy part of town but then when you go through the gates it´s like you´re in a totally different place.  Everything is so green and perfectly manicured here.  I feel really blessed to get to be here for the next six weeks.  

Once we got here I found out who my companion was going to be and then we went through some orientation stuff and then we got to relax the rest of the day which was really nice because after that early flight I was exhausted!

So my companion is Hermana Badger and she is from Casper, Wyoming and she is going to be serving in the California Carlsbad Mission. She is really sweet and we get along well.  She did not have any Spanish before coming to the CCM so I have been able to help her a lot which has been good for both of us.

Thursday we just had more orientation stuff and then we met our teachers Hermano Tinoco and Hermano Martinez.  I like them both but they are complete opposites!  Hermano Tinoco is the more stern, get it done guy while Hermano Martinez is much more laid back and really funny.  They are good teachers though.

Friday we taught our first investigator...in Spanish...I was really nervous beforehand but once I got in there I was amazed at how well everything went.  We have taught him two more lessons since then and have committed him to baptism.  He is great and I wish that all of my real investigators could be as easy to teach and convert as him, however I know that will not be the case.  

Saturday was a lot like Friday, we just went to class and taught our investigator again.  I will admit Saturday was a little hard for me.  I was starting to miss people and was exhausted (I haven´t really been sleeping well) and then our schedule was really crazy the first couple of days with little semblance and I could feel it getting to me.  However, Sunday made it all better.  I felt like everything that was spoken during the meetings that day was said just for me.  I was able to feel the spirit testify to me over and over that I was in the right place and that things would get better, and they have.

Monday was basically the same as Saturday except that I was feeling much better.  And today is going well. I am definitely loving p-day!  Also tonight is devotional and we get to hear from Elder Neil L. Anderson which I am excited for! I will tell you more about that next week.

The food here is good for the most part. The only thing I have not liked is the Carrot Lasagna they had...not a good combination.  

I am enjoying my time though and trying to soak up everything I can while I am here!

I am so excited to get to be a missionary and to be able to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and to bless many lives with it.  The church is true!

I love you and miss you all.

Love,

Hermana Carpenter

She Has Arrived!

Greetings from Mexico!

I made it to the MTC all in one piece.  The flight went smoothly and I am in the processes of going through orientation.  I am feeling quite hungry and exhausted right now but other than that I am great!  I am so excited to be here.  

So you should know that while I am at the mtc my p-day will be on Tuesdays, so that will be the next time you hear from me. Also, I learned today that they now have a kind of online store and letter system that you can use to send treats and letters with same day delivery if you so choose. The website is www.missionarypackagemx.com.  You can share it with any friends or family that might want to do something like that.  

Anyways, I love you guys so much! I cannot wait to get to work. 

Until Tuesday!

Love, 

Kyrie

I Hope They Call Me on a Mission

Hi,

My name is Kyrie and I have been called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the California Sacramento Mission speaking Spanish. I report to the Mexico City Missionary Training Center (MTC) in 5 days. I am feeling excited and nervous but mostly I am feeling blessed.

This last four months since I received my call has felt like a whirlwind and I can't believe that next week I begin a journey that I know will impact my life forever.  I never would have believed that this is where the Lord would want me to be at this time in my life. However, I am grateful that he trusts me enough to share the message of the gospel and of Jesus Christ to his children in Sacramento.  I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I know that this is where Heavenly Father wants me to be and I am so grateful for His plan and for the peace that following His plan brings.  I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true church on earth today and that it is through following the teachings found therein that we can experience true joy.  I can't wait to share this message to as many of God's children that will listen.

This blog will follow my experience as a missionary in Sacramento and hopefully my experiences after my mission as well.  I hope that this blog will be one that will lift up and bring hope to those that read it.

More to come!

-Kyrie