Hand Written Letter

Hello mi familia!  Mom or Dad, however you want to do it, have this letter read aloud.  I want everyone to hear it.  Maybe family home evening or something.  Anyway, I just have os much to say that I can’t get it all in an email.  I decided to write a letter.

So, first, I’m going to tell you about everything that me and my district do, then I’ll talk about my experiences/schedule, and then I’ll end.  Here goes!

My district is awesome.  We spend hours just talking to each other.  It’s awesome.  Heck, my ZONE is just amazing.  We have the best zone ever formed.

My companion, Elder Hilton, and I, have some inside jokes.  One of these is the saying “I’m feeling the flow”.  It’s a joke about a show we know.  It’s a definitive INSIDE joke.  Another is saying Bienvenidos a la CCM! To all the new Elderes Y Hermanas.  It’s so funny.  We don’t know why.

One of our Zone leaders, Elder Conrad, told us that they found a soda hidden in their room in hiding places.  Elder Madsen proceeded to take a nail file and file the side of a quarter so he could unscrew the nails in our cuarta.  He never finished, so today he used the quarter for the vending Machine.

Speaking of Elder Madsen, that guy is hilarious.  Andy, if you could just hear HALF the stuff he says, you’d love him. For instance, there’s a trailer behind our quarta that has no wheels.  He was looking at it, then said, “I should have my mom UPS me some tires for it.”  From then on, he said that about a mini-fridge, a diamond blade saw, and a tree. He’s hilarious.

Another weird thing is that Elder Hilton has started flicking coins everywhere.  He just picks up coins and snaps them.  He’s getting good, but we have to take the coins or we will all get pelted with them.

Elder Hilton also likes talking to Elder Fergusen.  He speaks Spanish like English.  So instead of rolling his r’s on words like “perro” or “tierra”, he just says them like he would in English.  I can’t understand it at all, but Elder Hilton loves it, because that’s how he speaks Spanish also.

The Temple is closed here, so during P-Day, we have like 3 ½ hours of absolutely nothing.  It drives my companion/district insane, but I use the time for napping.  My district has no idea how I fall asleep during the day, nor do they enjoy getting up so early.  For me, it’s going to bed early and waking up late, so I really get o catch some z’s.

My closet is really stupid.  It only opens about half way because the towel rack hits the bed.  I will send a picture home when I can.

Our first “investigator” was Heidy.  She was really difficult, and no one in my district was able to convert her, but Elder Hilton y yo were unable to even get her to church.  We need teaching practice.

So, I noticed I really have no time to write this letter, so I’m using my journal time para escribir este carta.

Funny story dad.   I got your popcorn and uh… I already knew acerca de microwaves.  I LIVE ON FLOOR ONE.  Tenemos vending machines!  JA ja ja ja.

Okey, time to focus.  We have had a lot of time to learn Spanish, and we have 2 investigators tomorrow.  We have to try to convert them.  One only has time for 2 lessons.  We have in total, one hour to convert him.  OOOOOohhh boy.  Wish us luck.  It’s the “twin” of Hermano Holman.

Schedule time!  So, here's my normal schedule on Mondays:

6:30 Wake up

7:00 Personal Study

8:00 Breakfast

8:30 Class

11:30 Language study

1:00 lunch

1:45 class

4:55 TALL (Technology Assisted Language learning)

6:00 Dinner

7:15 Personal Physical Exercise

8:30 Additional Study time

9:00 Planning session (campanerismo)

10:15 quiet time

10:30 BED!!!

I'm sorry this took so long!  I have a lot happening right now.  I love you all very much, and I love being a missionary.

LOVE
Elder Carter
(Ehldehr Cahrtehr)

More Pictures!! This time Coby is actually in them!

Coby and Samuel Smith

Elder Carter and Hermano Holman, his instructor. Coby loves him!!

3RD WEEK!!!!!

HELLO FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND VISITING DIGNITARIES ALIKE!

 

It's been (technically) 2 weeks since I've entered the MTC! But they count the week I entered as a week, so I'm on my 3rd week right now.

 

SSOOOOOOOO much awesome stuff has happened, so I'm hoping my parents forward this to everyone they can think of so everyone can read of what a terrible influence I have on people. XD

Anyway, down to business. I'll talk about a few things that happened, and hopefully you guys will ask questions that will help me remember more.

 

1.) We lost a District last week! On Sunday, District B, the one with the Zone Leaders in it, left to go serve their missions in the field. It was so cool to see them leave, having full confidence in the Lord. I was so sad to see them go, as I had grown to love them all. Especially Elder Tanner, Elder Womack, and Elder Conrad. They were just so kind and generous to everyone. I really will miss them.

 

2.) TIE EXCHANGE! Apparently, the day before a District leaves, there is a Tie Exchange that happens. I managed to trade 5 of my ties for 10 others. I traded 2 for 1 on almost every tie, and DANG are some of them just fantastic. I will take pictures of them soon and show you guys my awesome collection.

 

3.) Right before quiet time, our Zone has a tradition. Everyone in our Zone goes to a Spanish Speaking mission, so we all sang "Battle Hymn of the Republic" in Spanish as loud, as proud, and as enthusiastic as we could. It was the most powerful experience I've ever had. We were all crowded together praising our God with song. If any investigator were to be present at that single hymn of praise, there would not even be doubt in their mind that this church was true. It was just incredible. I could not keep the tears from rolling down my face. After the song, we had Elder Ah-Hoy get in the middle of the group and we started chanting "Taco". He started with his fist down near the ground, and we were quietly chanting it. Then he started to raise and it got louder and louder, and then we started chanting louder and softer and louder and softer, until eventually, Elder Ah-Hoy raised his fist in triumph and everyone was screaming "Taco! Taco! Taco!" Great experience there.

 

4.) Elder Hilton and I have been teaching "investigators" for a while now, and we both admit: We are awful at teaching the Gospel. It's so hard! I don't get how you tell them the Book of Mormon is true when they are adamant that the Bible is the only word of God on the Earth! We were both frustrated. Finally, though, we taught Hermano Holman's "Twin Brother" (Him with glasses on) and we had incredible success! Somehow, we just went in and said that no matter what, we were going to rely on the Lord. Some of my questions and answers were not mine. I remember saying some things that I know I didn't think of on my own. My companion, although he's struggling with the language, knew what questions and answers we needed when we needed. It was a great experience. We placed a Book of Mormon and (technically) committed him to Baptism. We were so excited that we almost forgot to finish with a closing prayer.

 

5.) So, our Zone leaders left on their missions, so that meant we needed new Zone Leaders. Our District Leader, Elder Smith, and his companion, Elder Wilkinson, were called as the Zone Leaders. This meant we needed a new District Leader. The mantle of this office fell upon me. ME. I'm the new District Leader of District 49C! Yeah, I'm pretty stoked, but at the same time, I'm terrified. You see, one of the Elders that is in our District has been causing problems for the rest of us. Whenever anything, and I literally mean ANYTHING controversial or anything against his beliefs comes up, he argues the other side until he's blue in the face. Like, I'm not even joking. He literally tried to argue that I could do something as District leader that I'm not authorized to do. He's extremely hard to get along with, and I have to talk with him about it. Pray for me. I'm absolutely terrified.

 

Okay, there is probably more that I missed, but there's so much happening in every week that it's kinda hard to remember it all.

 

I love the CCM. I love the feeling here. I love my companion, my District, and my teachers. The best part about the whole experience here is that I'm able to make mistakes, and learn the language well enough that I can speak and communicate with confidence. I may not say the correct things, but I know I can at least get my point across.

 

Yo se que La Iglesia de Jesucristo De Los Santos De Los Ultimos Dias es la Iglesia verdadera hoy. Yo se que el Evangelio de Jesucristo es verdadero, y que la Biblia y El Libro De Mormon estan la palabra de Dios, y que un hombre puede venir mas cerca a Dios con las escrituras. Yo se que Jose Esmit fue un profeta, y que Tomas S. Monson es el profeta en la tierra hoy. Yo se que este trabajo es la trabajo de Dios, y que Dios es nuestro Padre Eterno.

 

If you have ANY questions, or you just want to say hi, my email is coby.carter@myldsmail.net. PLEASE email me! I LOVE HEARING FROM PEOPLE! IT'S SO GREAT! PLEASE!

 

Do what you should do, say what you should say, and be who you should be.

 

LOVE YOU ALL! KEEP LOOKING UP AND CARRY ON!

 

Elder Carter

Pictures

Here are some pictures that Coby emailed to us from his first week in the MTC.

Elder Conrad

Elder Madsen

Elder Hilton

Coby's New Name Tag

Coby's Room

Elder Townsend

Entering the MTC

Coby Carter entering the MTC on July 10th 2013.  He will be in the MTC until August 20th and then will serve in the Mexico, Tijuana Mission.

My first email

HELLO EVERYONE!!!!!!

 

This is my first email home on my P Day! I have Thursdays set as my P Day, so you can expect a weekly email from me then!

 

I LOVE THE MTC. IT IS THE BEST PLACE EVER. SERIOUSLY.

 

I wish everyone could have the experiences I'm having. The Spirit is really strong here and I really can't even begin to describe how much I enjoy my time here.

 

I only have about 10 minutes on this email before I need to get going, but if anyone gets this email between when I get it and 3:30 MST, I can reply back, as I will have additional time to email (about 30 minutes) during my laundry time. I'm going to have to type as fast as I can to get everything in.

 

So, the long awaited question that everyone has on their mind:

 

QUIEN EN EL HECK IS ELDER CARTER'S COMPANION?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

The winner is.... ELDER HILTON!

No, he's not related to Paris Hilton, no his dad doesn't own the Hilton hotel chain, and NO, I WILL NOT ASK HIM FOR MONEY.

 

Anyway, he's a totally awesome guy. He's so funny, and he and I have nearly exactly the same interests. For instance, right now, he's wearing a Minecraft T-Shirt. Tell me this match was not made in heaven.

 

So, yeah. I have Elder Hilton as my companion. Our District is made up of me, Elder Hilton, Elder Madsen (Funniest guy ever), Elder Townsend, Elder Smith, Elder Wilkinson, and Hermana Ah-Hong (NO SHE'S NOT CHINESE SHE'S SAMOAN. Inside joke, sorry. XD)

Anyway, our district is like, the best ever. They honestly make me so happy. They are hilarious, and we all have really good chemistry. I'm so glad I got put into this district. I couldn't ask for a better one.

 

So, I'll describe my first day to you guys, and then just talk about what I think you might want to know.

 

My parents dropped me off, took pictures, and managed to drive off somehow in an incredible disply of raw willpower. I went with my host, Elder Pouwers, who was going to the Netherlands in 2 weeks. He leaves this Monday. It's insane.

 

He took me to 1M, which is the main building, to get my NAMETAG (Boy was that an awesome feeling) and info and whatever. The part after that is kinda boring. Just walked around and showed me my rooms/where to go and stuff. Just standard orientation.

 

He then took me to my classroom, where I met Hermano Holman, our teacher.

 

Hermano Holman is seriously the greatest person ever. Like, if you took the awesomeness of the most awesome people you knew, and then combined them with like, someone else equally as awesome, you would get half of Hermano Holman. He's so great. I forgot to bring my camera to class, so you don't get a picture of him until next week. SORRY!

 

Anyway, I talked with him in Spanish (he pretty much only speaks to us in Spanish, and Dad, you have no idea how much I appreciated those trips to the Spanish Branch when I found that out), and he told me he served in Nicaragua, and that he had to learn Spanish AND Miscito. (Pronounced like Meesckeeto) He's so cool.

 

I met my class and we began class. Turns out, I know the most Spanish and can understand Hermano Holman the best out of my whole District. Dad, you pretty much put me about 2 weeks ahead of everyone. Thank you.

 

After class, we went to a devotional with the MTC president, President Nalle. We had some talks there and sang "Armies of Helaman" with a twist. Instead of saying "We will be the Lord's missionaries" we said "We ARE NOW the Lord's Missionaries." I had to fight back tears during that song. It's my favorite song ever.

 

We met our Zone leaders after that. They are really cool. Elder Conrad and Elder Womack. They are really nice, and I love them.

 

After that, we went home to unpack, and boy did we have a good time. Elder Madsen is a self-proclaimed redneck, and so he's really hilarious. He often is behind about 20 minutes in a conversation and just shouts out random stuff. He's so great.

 

My time is running short, so I'll just make a list of a couple things that we do.

 

1.) In our classroom building, we had a hallway that had ONE broken light that flickered on and off. It was kind of a creepy effect, and Elder Hilton and I dubbed it "El Camino de Muerte" (The Way of Death). They fixed it, though, and we mourned the loss of our beloved joke.

 

2.) There's a tree here that smells like Cream Soda. Do NOT ask me what type it is. I have no idea. I just know that it smells like Cream Soda. It's great.

 

3.) So, meals here are great, but no Mango Juice like Tom. Instead, it's Orange Strawberry Banana juice, kind of like the kind at home. It's sooooooooo good.

 

4.) Our Zone leaders have a thing that Elder Hilton, Elder Madsen and Elder Townsend and I call "Los brasos de la noche" The Hugs of the Night. It's great. They go to each person in the zone at 10:00 and hug them.

 

TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR LIVES. PLEASE. I NEED TO KNOW IF YOU SKINNED YOUR KNEE OR SOMETHING. IT IS GREAT.

 

SORRY I COULDN'T WRITE MUCH. I JUST DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME. MY PARENTS WILL POST THIS AND FORWARD THIS, SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THIS:

 

I LOVE THIS GOSPEL, I LOVE MY SAVIOR AND MY GOD. I LOVE THE CHURCH AND I LOVE THIS PLACE.

 

I LOVE YOU ALL. I WILL TRY TO WRITE MORE LATER.

 

ADIOS!

 

Elder Carter