Alcohol and Guns Don't Mix!

Hello world,

I am sorry for the lack of effort with my last blog entry.  I was a little tired.  I really do not like traveling on the bus.  Last week we had leadership counsel with the mission president, so my companion and I had to go to Santa Maria which is two or three hours away by bus. It is a crappy trip.  The roads in Brazil are not the most well maintained roads in the world.  I was tried, and really unwilling to make the effort.  I apologize.

This week was a little bit strange for me, it had its crazy moments, but great moments of spirituality which just help with the growth of my testimony. For example.  This week my companion and I were not having very much success finding a family, that was legally married.  I fasted and prayed that we would find a family of 5 who were legally married, and guess what happened.  We found one. The day of the fast  we were knocking up houses, and we went to a street that we had never really knocked up before.  We knocked up one house, and nothing happened.  The family that lived there was more than likely not there, then we hear a little boy playing in his front yard a little further down the street.  We went there and I talked with his mother.  She was alone with her son, but she lives with her parents and her sister and her husband on the same property.   Five.  We taught her and answered her doubts about whither or not she should have baptized her little son.  We showed her Moroni 8 which talks about that topic.  She was thrilled and asked if we could return and share this message when her family got back from their trip.  We will teach them tomorrow.

Yesterday, was also a strange day; to say the very least of it.  Most of our appointments fell through and we were on the way to another appointment when we heard some man call to us, asking literally, "Come here and teach me the gospel."  We entered into a rather trashed unkempt home.  This man was shirtless, but had received the missionaries many times.  This was apparent because he had the Plan of Salvation handout.  He was drunk, and then he says, "Hey there is no one around who can hear me right?  I have already committed many homicides."  This is where my companion sits him down gives the fastest lesson I have every heard, and in the process of this he called to his "wife" and went into his bed room, where he lifts up the bed and pulls out a small revolver.  My companion, being the savy Paulista that he is, told him to put that back, and the man did, and then we finish and we hot footed it out of there.  Then we found another family of three to teach in another part of our area.

I am discovering how the be in tune with the spirit.  I am very happy to be on the mission, and mom, do not worry.  I am safe and sound, and I now know which house to avoid from now on.  I am perfectly safe.

My companion and I are doing great.  We have resolved our differences and we are getting along quite well.  We have found some really great families to teach and we are going to have some good baptisms coming up here in the following weeks.

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Marriage Prep???

Hey everyone,

I am doing well and I am in Santa Maria for one more leadership meeting with Presidente Ribeiro.  I am really excited about what I am going to learn and what new things we are going to try to apply.

I am very well.  I have not been as happy as I am now than I have been in a long while.  My companion and I are getting alone better now than we were.  We had a bit of a talk and we took care of some problems that we were having between us.  It is true what they say about missions.  They prepare you for dealing with marriage.

I had a cool thing happen to me today.  So it is a tradition for all the zone leaders to get together and play soccor ever time we have a leadership meeting in Santa Maria, so today we played.  I want to make it perfectly clear that I have only played soccor 2 other times before this game, but this game I was on fire and I made two goals.  It was really great.  I have never been so proud of my athletic abilities.

Well, that is it for me, I will talk to you all letter,

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Zone Changes

Hello Family and Friends,

 

Everything here is good.  We just started a new transfer and because of that plus the advent of the Mission Tour which was on Monday my P-day was moved to today.  I want to apologize if that caused some inconvenience to some of you.

 

Our zone was completely change for the most part.  My companion Elder Vianna and I are still together, but that is about it.  Our new president loves to open and close areas and reopen them again.  He did that with our zone.  I think that it is for the better.  My new roomates are great however. They really have a desire to work and work we shall.

 

I really have not got much to say that is new or exciting.  I am just glad that all is good for you guys. 

 

Love,

 

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Short and Sweet

I have to make this really quick; my time on the computer is running up. I am fine, and I am loving life and the fact that it is P-day.  I am looking forward to resting for a good time. 

 

This week we had one more baptism.  Her name is Leía, she is 30 years old and a single mother.  She has shown great faith.  I am a little taken a back because of it.  She, in the last couple of week has been dealing with a lot of problems, for example people talking bad about about the Church.  Also, her own mother does not want anything to do with the church and refuses to talk with her.  Leía went to her own baptism alone, and none of the people that she invited came with her. It was just the 4 missionaries in the ward and three members.  The missionaries and I sang a song, and she started the cry.  It was a very Spiritual moment.

 

Like I said, I really do not have time now to talk, but I love you and I am happy to hear that all is well in the world.

 

Love,

 

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

If you lived in the time of Christ...

Dear family and friends,

 

 

I am sorry but my time is running out so I will be very brief.  I am doing really well. I am a bit under the weather, but other than that I am great.  Sorry about last week.  I had a counsel meeting with Presidente Ribeiro. He is so cool.  I love listening to the man speak, and the best part is because I am a zone leader I get to travel once a month and have a meeting with him.  He is great.  He is a really inspired man, and truly a man of God. The meeting was also good. I learned a lot.  We also got new ideas for us to implement into our teachings.  Now it was commanded by the first presidency of the church that we now have to mark the baptismal date on the first visit.  That is exciting.  A reall test of courage to go up to some one that you do not know at all, and asked them " if you lived in the time of Christ would be part of His Church? Well, His church is here on the earth, so will you be baptized like Christ was baptized?"  It is something great to see, most people are really say yes, I would like that.  I was surprized. 

 

Well, I have to get going.

 

I love you all ,and I will talk to you later,

 

Love,

 

Elder Caleb S. Carriere LZ

Healing and Learning

Dear family and friends,

 

Say hello to Zone Leader Elder Carriere. HAHAHAHAHAHA.  Alright enough of the self glorification.  I am really humbled by my new calling and I am finding myself thinking, "what the heck am I doing?" I am fortunate that my companion is a machine and is well prepared.  I love the kid.  He is teaching me so much, and at times it seems like too much, but then I remember that I have been a Zone Leader for 5 days now, and I really am new at this sort of thing.  I am really happy to be doing the work. 

 

This week has been a rush; I am really supprized at just how quickly the week went by. It was over in a blink of an eye.  My new companions are Elder Vianna, who is my actually companion, and Elder Anthon.  Elder Vianna is from São Paulo and is great.  He is a good leader, and I am learning a lot from him.  I will try to keep up with him though, he is so smart that it is really difficult to keep up with his ability to multitask.  My other companion, who is also my District Leader, is Elder Anthon. He and I actually have known each other since the very first day of our missions.  He was one of the first people that I meet in the Dallas airport waiting for the our plain.  He is from Mesa AZ.  He is also really good.  It is really something interesting watching these guys work.  They are doing things that I had never even thought of doing.  It is really great. 

 

This week was great to.  We had two baptisms and we also marked the dates for two more for this Saturday.  They are great people as well; the people that we baptized this Saturday were a mother and son.  Andréa and Andreas.  They are so excited about the gospel that they want us to teach Andréa´s mother, and maybe her sister.  I am more than willing to do so. 

 

Well family I love you all and just to let you know that my finger that was bitten is healing up just fine, and yes, I did go to the doctor. 

 

I love you all,

 

Elder Caleb S. Carriere 

It's Just a Flesh Wound!!!

Dear family and friends,

I have some exciting news for you all. The first off, last week I was bitten by a dog.  It hurt like nothing else.  I am fine, and I did not need to get stitches or a vacination or anthing of the sort, but how did it bleed, Oh buddy.  It did not stop for serveral hours. I changed the bandaid serveral times. All is good however. I am find and my finger ( the place where the dog got me) is working normally like it should. It just has some holes in it.  That is all. It will most likely leave a mark, but that is just a part of the job, and also a part of life. Who knows, maybe in a couple of months, perphape 12 and a half, people will look at that scar of mine and ask, how did you get it, and I will explain, and they will have simpathy and want to talk to me more. 

The second thing that I have to tell you all is that I will be leaving Santa Rosa.  It is the death of the Santa Rosa Kid, but all is well. I think that it is my time to leave.  I had a good time here. I made lots of friends and baptized a few people along the way, but as they all say, "All good things must come to an end."

The third and last thing I have to say is that I am now a Zone Leader.  I will be going to a city called Cruz Alta and I will be Zone Leader B of the Cruz Alta Zone.  I have a new companion, well two actually because I will be a threesome for a while.  Their names are Elders Viana and Anthon. I know Elder Anthon he arrived on the mission with me. He is a cool guy, and Elder Viana I hear is a cool guy too. I am really excited.  

All is good for me here. I am will, I am alive, and I am working hard. I am every excited for what the future holds and I hope that all will go will with us.  

Wish me luck and keep me in your prayers,

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere