YIPE Indy is getting a Temple!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello everyone,

I have a lot to remember and a lot to forget.  First off, what the heck, Indiana is finally coming out of the dark and into the light.  I have never been happier save it be the day that I got the higher priesthood from Dad.  I leaped, yes literally leaped from my chair and yelled with joy, "yipe."  The fortunate thing about it was I was in a small room watching the conference in English with all the other American missionaries, and so I was not embarrassing anyone but myself.  I really do not mind however, because Indiana, my home sweet home, is getting a temple. 

I have made it a goal, that the rest of my life I will never miss a session of conference.  I am super excited about the things which I learn from the Apostles and the Prophet.  It is a wonder who the world every got by without them.  The insights and treasures of knowledge which they have is beyond my understanding at the moment.  For instance that discourse of Elder Oaks was amazing.  I would have never thought about that.  The importance of two lines of revelation.  The personal or the priesthood lines.  I am glad that I have these intuitive men who receive these wonderful insights on our behalf.  I also realized that it is possible to forget about those things which we have done wrong, if we have repented of those things, and forgetting them is a part of the process of repentance.  That is why I say I have much to forget. 

This was also a great weekend for me.  I had the opportunity to baptize someone, well I did not baptize him, but I was there, and I taught and marked the man's date.  His names is Eleandro Aparecido Salvador.   He is married to the gospel principles professor in our ward here, and he has been going to church for many years now, and my companion and I were not the first missionaries to have taught him. The trick was that we got him to read the Book of Mormon, and that book, my friends, speaks more than we could ever. We gave him a couple of pages to read, and also our testimonies of this books truth and divinity, and said just continue to read. He travels, and works mostly way from home, so we had very little chance to actually teach the man, but according to his wife we would not put the book down.  He read, and understood, and put away the things that were a stumbling block for him, like alcohol and coffee to know the truth a little bit more. 

I am very grateful for all of you and the love and support that I get from whoever reads these words.  Life is great, and as President Henry B. Eyring said this weekend, we must slow down and take it all in. 

I am looking forward to seeing all you once again, but I am also not ready to return just yet, I have a lot of work to do, and little time to do it in, and as the hymn says, "be still and know that he is God."

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere.

ps. This weekend was also the Brazil's presidential elections.  I think that Dilma won, which is Brazil's first woman president.

No Diamonds in the Souls of My Shoes...

 Hey everyone, I am doing really well, and I should apologive for that last email. I did not mean to have you all worried about me.  I am fine.  That does not happen often or at all.  That was the first time I have seen a gun on my mission beyond the armed police who frequent the street.  

 

I also want to apologize for the delay on this email.  I had yet another zone conference this week, that lasted two days.  It was great.  I have some great times listening to my mission president.  He is really an inspired man.  We listened to him, and we learned.  We studied alot about the celestial law, and how we can become as God himself.  It was lot to handle, but I now know, that I have somethings to start doing before I can become like that.  It is a simple law, but a law that is also easy to deviate.  I also learned somethings that I will have to apply when.  The law is just do that which is right, and what we know to be right.  Be married in the temple, be faithful to our loved ones, do those things that will help our families be a united family (ie, family home evening, family pray and scripture study.)   Another thing that I learned in  a simple conversation with the President was who to find a good spouse. He said that every single one of the Apostles and the Prophet himself all found their wives in the institute program, he even said that Thomas S. Monson found his wife by studyiny the scripture by her in a doutrines class.  Who´d have thought that?

I am glad to have this things in my life.  I am glad to have you in my life.  I know that the gospel is true.  It really is, and as Bishop Low said, if it isn´t true, it is still a good idea.  I feel better about myself, and how I am than I have in many years.  

I have some photos to send to you all. One I am sorry to say is with my old shoes.  I started with three pairs of shoes, and now I am down to two.  I bought another pair. Those shoes that Dad bought me from that one store that makes special work shoes, I have completely distroyed through walking all day every day.  One now has a mouth because I triped alot and I riped a hole throw the leather, and the other has a great big hole in the sole.  

Sorry Dad, those were my favorite pair.  You were right, there are few shoes that are as comfortable as those.  

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

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