Happy New Years

Hello world,

I am going really good. This week was not that great with two exceptions. I got to talk to mom and dad on Saturday, and on Friday night we ate dinner at the house of our mission president.  That was a good thing.  Everyone had a good time, and we got to stop and relax.  It is a good thing to take your mind off of things, and just relax. I hope to do that to, when I get back to Lafayette.

Another good thing that happened, was an idea that my companion had about putting out a box with an ad that said, Hey you want a Christmas present.  We got a whole bunch of names that way, and we hope to contact them all this week or in the next.  It was a good idea on his part, it takes out a lot of work for us.  We just now search and destroy instead of a mass bombing raid.  

This morning was also a good one. We climbed the mountain once again, with a couple of the youth here. They brought a friend with them that wants to get baptized, but his parents are less then thrilled with the idea of letting their child enter the church.  Keep Mike in your prayers. He is a good kid, and wanted to become a member.  

I love you guys, and I am sorry that this letter in not as big as past ones.  I hope that you all are going extremly well ,and that here in a couple of weeks I will be a uncle once again.

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Feliz Natal

Dear family, and friends, or any other unfamiliar people that might read this,

Well family, I really do not have much to say, other than this week was a hot one.  It continued to be 100 plus degrees, and I did not like that, but I tried to work.  My companion on the other hand really got sick.  It was not the best week that we´ve ever had, but it is now raining which means that this week should be a lot cooler.  

We had a zone conference, that was really good. I learned a great deal about the importance of goal setting.  Our mission president gave us many reasons why we should be people who make and set goals, and also that these goals need to be written.  He gave us the out come of a study made by someone who look a class at Yale and only 3 percent had made goals for their lives.  Well to make a long story short, all those people, the three percent were much more sucessful in their family lives and also had more money than the other 97 percent put together.  So yeah, it seems that I must begin to make a list of plans.  

Our mission president broke it down into three types of goals.  Short term 2-3 years, Mid Term 5-10 years, and Long term 15-20 years,  I have the short term and mid term goals already made, but the long term I think I will wait until the end of the mission to make those things, but I have several ideas of what I want to do with my life, and I hope to realize them.

That is my life at the moment.  I hope that you guys are all good, and warm. I know that the US is really cold this time of the year.  

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Ask and You Shall Recieve!

Dear family, friends, fellow Canadians, Americans and Brazilians,

How are all of you doing?  This week was an interesting one. One week which I hope, not to repeat, but it did lead me more to Heavenly Father than other weeks.  It is sort of like when Lehi said to Jacob, that all these afflictions are for your benefit.  These week we meet some very interesting people... and those people are the cause of my woos.  

One woman that we meet is kind of... strange... I lack a better word.  She believe Spritism, which is a common religion down here in Brazil.  I am not sure if you all know who Allen Kardec is, but he is the founder of that religion, who believes that in stead of resurrection there is reincarnation. It is kind of a strange thing, but anyway she begins to talk about that and then she stops me in mid sentence to say... " I have the book of the Aliens, and I believe it to be true." Which begs the question, What does it  say?  It says that Mary had "relations" with an Alien, who is God, and that Jesus is the son of an Alien, and that the star that guided the three wise men, was not a star but a UFO which was God's spaceship.  That was a difficult day.  The next day we went to a guy, who we had been teaching for a while now.  He became crazy.  He also was talking a lot like Satan when he tried to tempted Jesus Christ in the desert or Moses when he was at Mount Sinai.  He invited my companion and I to be his disciples and to follow him, and that we needed to prepare ourselves for a life of trials and pain for his cause.  Oh, and he was also inventing words which my companion wrote down, but in the process of all this he stops and asked me a question which I did really understand because he really does not ask questions. When I said that I did not understand him, he said that I had already sown the seeds of my own damnation.  Then stopped in mid sentence and began to put his hands in the air and pray to himself  quietly.  This is when my companion and I decide to leave.  We leave, and he noticed, so he follows us talking nonsense and says that if we follow him, anything that we want will come true.  He said, if you want to health of you parents to improve follow me.  If you have enemies, they will be gone.  If you want money, or women just say it, it´s yours.  Then he said that I was more prepared to follow him because my companion has too much Karma, and that I had less because I am white, and white people are closer to God than darker people.   Yeah... that was the down side of my week, but the good side too all this was we now know that we ought not return to that mans house.

Also the good thing about this week was we had good numbers including one baptism.  It was great.  The kid is Gabriel.   He is 13 years old, and a good kid.  He has friends and family that are members of the Church, and they brought him to Church a couple of weeks ago.  He liked what he felt and saw there, and we brought those same feelings into his home.  It was quite an excellent feeling.  I think that maybe after a short time we might be able to teach his parents and they to can know the truth.  

Also another thing that happened was an answer to a prayer.  I had been praying for some time now, for a family to go to Church.  They are Miguel, Gladez and Gabrielle and Grazielle.  They are good people.  I love them to death, but the only thing that was lacking was church visits.  They have already gone three times before, but it had been more than a month since they had gone.  My companion had the great idea about making breakfast for them so that we could help them go to Church.  It worked. We made pancakes. Which they do not have here in Brazil.  They really like it.  It was something excited and new for them.  I loved it because it has been almost a year and three months since I had pancakes in the MTC.  It was a good thing. They went to Church, and I had a prayer answered.  I almost cried during sacrament meeting because of the stresses I was having, and that they had been taken away from me and I was left with just comfort and peace. As it says,"Ask, and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you."  I have gained a testimony of the Law of the Harvest as my mission president calls it.  If we want something me must asked for it, and try to make it happen, and if we are obedient to the commandments that Heavenly Father gave us it will come to pass.  I am a proof of that.

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Lau!!!

Well,  this week was not as good as last week.  We actually had a bad week because of leadership counsel and also because simply we had a bad week.  On the bright side of things, we confirmed Maria the Nun a member of the Church, and we have two more baptisms coming up this next week.  I am looking really forward to that.  This week will be a 13 year old boy named Gabriel.  He is a good kid.  He has been to church a couple of times now, and feels like he wants to get baptized and I am more than happy to help him with that.   Than on the 19th we will baptize a man named Eder who is going through some tough times right now and when he went to church for the first time he really enjoyed it. He really felt that the Church is true.  I am glad  for that. We also have one more family who is going to be baptized on the 23.  I am really looking forward to this month. We are beginning to reap the fruits of last transfer this transfer.   I am really happy we are going that.  

I have been thinking a lot lately about the family.  It is a common thing around here, because there are three couples in the ward who are getting married tomorrow. So marriage is the word. I really have to thank Mom and Dad for being really good influences in my life.  I have recalled a lot of things that they have taught me and what they simply showed me through simple conversations.  I remember the plaque that sits above our window what says "Choose ya this day whom you will serve, but for me and my house we will serve the Lord."  I have looked at that scripture a lot these days, and have notice that it is true now, or at least I am aware to it now, than it has ever been.  I want to thank you two for showing me the way in which I should lead my own family once that day comes.  Which in all honesty I hope will be soon after the mission.  

I am doing really well. I still am having problems with sleeping, but I have talked to the Sister Ribeiro and she has given me some sleeping meds, so I hope that will resolve the problem.  I am great otherwise. I wanted to send pictures, but these stupid computers are not wanting to work with me.  

I love you all and I will talk to you all on Christmas,

One more thing.  President is allowing that we talk for more than one hour.   Lau!!!.  Sorry I have picked up a lot of expressions from Brazil.

Sleepless in Santa Maria

Dear family and friends,

How are you all doing? As for me I am a little tired. I had one more sleepless night and that is taking a tole on my body and my sense of mind, but all is well other than that. I have some great news. The first of which is that I am staying in the area, and the second of which is we baptized the nun.  Also Erynn gave some even greater news that she is also pregnant.  Way to go Erynn and Doug.  

I apologize this email is going to be short. I am extremely tired and all I really would like to do right now is just lay down in my bed and take a 3 to 5 hour long nap.  I really am kind of at a lose of will power at the moment, but I am sure that after the nap I will be right as rain.  

It has been hot. Darn hot I's tells ya. Up and a round 100 degrees.  I am drinking a lot of water however and all is well.  And you all need not worry all that business with Rio de Janeiro is really far away from me, and I am perfectly safe, and if you do not know what I am talking about please feel free to ignore what I just wrote.  

I have a but load of pictures that I want to send you but these computers are not the most efficient ones I have come a cross so I will try to send you just a few. 

I love you guys and I hope that all is well with you.

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

"Chá da Panela"

Hey everyone,

Life is great. My companion and I have been on fire this past week.  We taught 38 lessons this week which is a lot.  Although our goal was not met by two lessons. We wanted to teach 40, but because we both got sick one with Montazuma's revenge and the other because of to much sun.  My companion suffers from heart pressure problems and so when he get too much sun, or it is extremely hot sometime he gets lower heart pressure, and has little to no energy to work.  There were a couple of days that we only taught two to three lessons because of that. 

We were rewarded with some good things because of our efforts.  This coming up Sunday there will be a baptism.  The last week of the transfer and we made it.  The great part is that the woman that we are going to baptize is a former Nun.  Yes catholic, Mary Cathrine, mother superior nun. She is great. A little bit off her rocker, but great.  She's always giving us stuff.  It was kind of funny.  The first time that we taught her. she gave us soap.  Two gigantic bars of soap.  them this last time she asked us " Are you two married?" We told her no, that we were not married.  Then she asked if we were engaged with someone.  My companion said that he has a girlfriend waiting for him and I said I have no one. She then said wait here.  These are for you and your future wives.  She gave us two dish towels.  In Brazil they have a tradition called "Chá da Panela," which translates to tea of the pan or pot.  It is a bridal shower, and one of the standard gifts for this are dish towels.  Very pretty and hand made dish towels.  She painted  and embroidered the towel by hand.  The even funnier part was that we taught her with her neighbor who is a member.  Pâmela, who is 16 years old. When she found out that I am single she said that I should date Pâmela.  That got awkward really fast.  Although there was a good laugh afterwards about the whole thing.  

That was my week family. I love you all and I am excited to talk to you all on Christmas.  

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Montazuma's Revenge

Hey everyone,

 

It was so good to hear from you all. I am doing quite well. I am sorry to say that I did not climb the mountain today. I had a bad case of montazuma's revenge last night and really I am not up for it, also one of the families that we are teaching wants to take us out and see some of the more touristy things that are around here, so we decided that would be better. 

 

I am fine. This week was kind of a race for us. We are teaching a lot.  Thank goodness, and we are finding some great people to teaching. For instance we were knocking doors and we did not enter a single one, until the second to last house.  Them we meet José Henique, he also did not let us in, but he said " Hey I really want to hear what you have to say, come back tomorrow, and you guys really need to come back tomorrow."  With such an invitation who can resist.  We went back around two o'clock in the afternoon.  He really was excited to see us,and we taught the first lesson, up until the book of mormon, we marked to teach that part with him, and his wife who was working at the time.  I am very excited for this family.  I will keep you all posted about what happens with this man.

 

I am happy to say that my hands are alot better. I remembered something that Dad once said, that maybe it has something to do with my nail bitting habit.  I stopped bitting my nails, and my hands are much better.  They are not yet 100% but compared with what they had been there is a night and day difference.

 

My camera is broken.  There is something wrong with the zoom. Evidently that is a common defect with the camera.  I had a companion that had the same camera and the same problem.  I had it sent to a place to be fixed. They fixed the problem, and shortly their after it broke again, when I tried to use the zoom.  They will fixed it again free of charge, but I am not sure how long that will last.  I am also having one of my suits trailored. I lost 32 pounds and it is really big on me and one of the sisters in the ward is a seamstress.  I hope that everything turns out alright. 

 

Well gang, I really do not have much else to say other than I love you and I will talk to you guys soon on Christmas.  I will have more stuff to say to you all when that time get closer. Also please send me my partiarical blessing. I would really like to read it.

 

Love,

 

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Wedding Bells

Blog time,

Hey everyone, I am doing great.  I am still in Santa Maria and loving every minute of it.  My companion and I are getting along just great, and we are teaching a good number of people. Once more we paid for a wedding.  It is really expensive to get hitch in Brazil.  It is a 160 plus reais.  Which does not seem like a lot to you and me , but to a people who are lucky to make 500 reais a month it is a lot.  I understand now why people do not get married here. It is a long and annoying process.  First there is the whole dating thing, then getting the engagment. After the engagment the people have to get their birth certificates, which has to be from the city of birth and a new copy.  So for instance if you are no longer living in the city of your birth  you have to call up the "Cartório" which is the centralized records for that city.  Give them your name and date of birth and the name and date of birth of your parents.  Wait a day or two and you got yourself and new updated birth certificate.  Then after that you enter in to the marrige at the Cartório in the city which you are curently living.  Then give them those things plus a couple of documents and they put you in line to be married, which means that they  will announce in the in the city news paper about the wedding so that someone could says, "wait a minute! That is my wife!" or something one those lines.  Wait 15-30 days after that when a Justice of the Peace is availible and poof, Wedding Brazilian style.  Therefore I doubt that I will ever marry a Brazilian. It is too much of a process.

I am fine, my companion and I went and climbed the mountain once more. I think that it might turn into a weekly thing for us. I feel good about it.  I am not as tired as I was last time, although I think that the sun took more out of me than the climb. I am a little red. Not a whole lot I used sun screen.  By the way if someone would like to send me more sun block, preferably one that is sweat proof, that would be  great.  I have one tube left.

Well family I hope you all are doing really well, and a getting ready for Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  I will talk to you guys soon.

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Loving every minute of it!!!

Hey everyone,

I am in Santa Maria. I am loving every minute of it. My companion and I and with a few people from our zone, and the ward  climbed a mountain.  Yes I climbed a mountain.  There is a mountain in our area and they have radio antennas we climbed to the tip top and took some pictures, I would send you the pictures but my camera started acting up these last couple of days, and I sent it to be repaired, it should be done by next week.  All things hoping.  But it is a very beuaful climb.  We took some pictures from way up high and you could see the entire city from that vantage point.  It is very pretty.  I will send you the pictures once I copy them from my companion.  We are planning on going back up next week, as well with some of the other zone leaders.

I am very happy here.  I think I will stay in the city a long time.  It has a lot to offer. My companion and I are helping a family of 4 get married.  They want to be baptized, but the only real hold back is marriage.  This place is difficult to find people who are legally married.  Most of the people do not have the money simply to get married and so they just say hey be mine until you get tired of me, and they get together for a while, have a crap ton of children and something eventually will happen and they will split up.  It is the sad, but actual truth.  This family is great though. They are showing real progress.  They will be baptized around thanksgivings day.

I do not know if you guys know, but Brazil just elected a woman president.  Dilma.  She is Brazil's woman presdinte, and as I am gathering it is pretty mixed feelings about the whole thing, but we will see what will happen to her in the next couple of weeks.

I am great, and healthy, and I will talk to you guys later.

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Salty Son

Hello Family and Friends,

This was my first week in Santa Maria, the headquarters of my beloved mission.  It is a very pretty city.  It is surrounded by mountains which are covered with green trees, and it is my first area which is almost completely flat.  Which is a nice change of pace, although my worry is that I will become chubby once more because I have become lazy in my work outs. I figure that walking up hill everyday, all day would keep me skinny and it has, but now I am in a valley, and a flat one at that. I will just have to break out the jump rope.

Right now I am loving my new area.  It is called Salgado Filho which translates to Salty Son or Salted Son.  I really do not know why it is called that, but once I figure out why they call it that I will let you know. Right now my companion is Elder Rafael.  He is from Santos which is a city on the beach of São Paulo.  For those who have lost count that makes 4 our of my 7 companions up until now are from São Paulo.  The Chruch is very strong there.  He is a good guy and always willing to work so that is a plus.  He is really funny as well. I think that he and I will get along really well this transfer.

My area is "friggin' great."  It is, as my companion puts it, "a model for Rio Grande do Sul."  In all fairness it really is.  The people here are really warm and recepting, and also they are doing really well in the ward.  They have a frequency of 150 to 175 member who go to church on Sunday.  They said that that had dropped however from last year which was 200 plus.  I cannot believe that because their chapel is tiny.  I do not know if you all remember our chapel in Ohio but it is smaller than that.  It is however the strongest ward in the mission.  I feel great here. I feel as if I am a part of the family.

I am also liking our apartement, which is actually a duplex.  It is just my companion and I in this huge place. It is really nice.  My last apartement in Cruz Alta was tiny and we could never keep it clean because there were four of us living there.  I feel much better now.

I really do not have much more to add to that.  Thank you so much for all that you guys did for me.  I hope that you all are doing well.

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Time to Move on

Hello family and friends,

I have very little to report this week.  I am sorry to say other than I am being transferred to Santa Maria the Salgado Filho zone.  I am very excited about that.  I was feeling somewhat out of place here.  Not that this city is bad or the people are not warm or inviting, just I did not feel like I belonged here, and the Lord though so as well.  I am glad to be moving on, but sad because I will not be her for the 6 or 8 baptisms which my companion and I marked for these next few weeks.  I and fine with that however.  I believe that I will make up for it.  

My new companion is Elder Rafael.  He is from São Paulo the States.  It is like New York.  There is the State of São Paulo and the City.  

This week was interesting for my companion and I. We had an experience which I would not like to relive.  We have been teaching this wonderful woman and her daughter.  They were going to be baptized this week, and something happened in our last visit.  They actually should have been baptized two weeks ago but something always seems to happen.  For instance we had marked to return two Fridays ago.  We get there and the woman and her niece are having a fight.  They were yelling and screaming and some colorful words were used.  She felt it best that she should not be baptized that week.  We remarked the baptism for this last Saturday.  We showed up to her home again the Friday before just to re-teach the Plan of Salvation and confirm with her the new date.  Then just as we invited her daughter to pray someone knocks on the door.  It is the father of her daughter.  Paulo.  Who is evil.  Pure Evil. I have never felt the Spirit of the Lord leave a room so quickly before.  I have meet the devil and his name is Paulo.  The sad thing about it, on our first visit, the daughter of this man was saying that she did like him and that he was a bad person, and we defended him saying, "Oh I am sure that he is just fine. He is your father you have to love him despite all these things. etc."  Never again will I make that mistake.  The man is not a good person.  Even our bishop's wife said that this man was sent by Old Scratch himself.  Anyway to make a long story short they were not baptized this week, but with hope and a lot of faith they will be this week. 

I have heard that there are some packages waiting for me in Santa Maria. I am super excited for that.  I will talk to you guys next week with more excitement and fun in the new area.  

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Just Time to Think...

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was a pretty uneventful week for me and my companion, although because of its uneventulness we were able to think of things that we were doing that we could improve to find new people to teach. It is amazing the things which God would have us learn.  

It was been a strange lesson for us. We have not had too much success having people prepare themselves for baptism like we had in the past.  Because of this we had some serious reflections about what we need to do to improve our standings.  

We did however mark some baptismal dates this week of a few really good people.  For instance we are teaching this man named Geraldo.  He is a great guy and one of the very few Gaúchos who is educated to a good degree.  He has been studying a lot about other religions and two in particular until we come along.  The first is Hinduism or ari krishnaism, and the other is Spiritism which is a religion that is really popular here in Cruz Alta which is the religion that Alan Kardec made.  I had never heard about it until I came to Brazil. Go figure.  Find a religion from the States in another country.  This religion believes in reincarnation by way of the Atonement of Christ, and not the resurrection which is somewhat strange because even the Bible in almost every version that I have read in any language says resurrection.  Geraldo has decide to be baptized in our church because of the things which he felt during our lessons.  It was a good feeling that I had when I invited him for baptism.  

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

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

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

The Power of the Priesthood can bring mighty miracles!

Dear Family and Friends,

How is everyone doing?  I hope that you are keeping warm, because it is downright cold her.  Well not so much cold as it is cold with lots of wind and rain.  It is really miserable weather here in the Big Rive of the South, or Rio Grande do Sul.  I am otherwise fine.  I am in good spirits and relatively good health.

This week was different.  We had lots of lessons; we taught 32, but we did not find many new investigators.  The new form that our new president, Presidente Ribeiro, has us doing really narrows down the playing field, or simply we had a bad week and the hearts of the people are hard and not willing to crack.  I am hoping for the first. 

We did however mark 3 more baptisms for the 28th of August.  They are a family really special.  The only reason that we are waiting one month for the baptism is because they need to get hitched first.  That is the problem here in Brazil. To get married it is wicked expensive and also you have to wait at least 30 days to receive the marriage license.  So we have found many people who are going to marry.  Up until now we have 4 families who want to get baptized, but need to get married first. 
So it is kind of a uphill battle, but a battle that we are winning it seems for the time being.

We had an excellent experience yesterday.  Well it started out bad, but ended out good.  What happened because of the rain and the cold hardly anyone from our branch actually went to church, so it is a bit of a stretch to think that our investigators would.  So we had no one at Church yesterday.  My companion and I were a bit upset or rather concerned with this.  We quickly changed our plan of attack for that day to revisit our investigators who said that they would go to Church.  We did and we discovered that the better part of them were sick in some fashion.  The first was a family that the mother has an inner ear infection and asthma and had an attack.  They did not go because of that.  We said alright we left a quick message and bang, we were off like a rocket to visit the next family. This family I have the most highest expectations for. They really wanted to go to church and get baptized, but simply the father suffered an accident many years ago and because of that his back is all out of shape, to such point that he has such pain that he cannot drive.   So we discovered this, and my companion began to teach a lesson about the priesthood and how it can bless our lives.  He wanted a blessing, so we gave him one.  He began to cry and simply says his testimony about how he knows that we are servants of God, and we are different and more "faithful" than the others.  It was something special. 

Well family I am getting hunger and I need to get going, while the going is still good.

I will talk to you all next week,

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

I really have nothing really exciting to say, other than Happy Fourth of July, well it is now the Fifth of July, but I did not have the chance to send you a letter yesterday, so I am sending one today.

Also I have not yet met my new mission president. I will have this chance on Thursday. He is going to interview the entire mission. Every missionary for 30 minutes so that is going to be an exciting time. I am really excited.

I am finally sending those photos that I have been taking. I think you guys will enjoy them a lot. I have been hard at work. Although this week to be honest my companion and I became really lazy. I think the pass that we were making finally caught up with us and said hello. But this week will be better, although we are going to be out of the area Thursday for interviews and Friday for zone conference, which will not actually take place in our zone. go figure, but that is the true.

I am well. I have lost more weight. I started the mission with 198 lbs, now I am at 168. 30 lbs Waahooo Wooooooooo !!!!!!!!!! Who knew that walking a lot and eating beans and rice everyday would make my so skinny. I am almost at my goal of 165. I am so close I can smell it.

Well family, I have got to go now. My buck has ran out.


Com Amor,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Becoming that which we wish to be.

Dear family and friends,

This week is the last week of the mission of dear Presidente and Sister Myrrha. They are leaving on a jet plan, in two days. (June 30th for those who are counting.)

It is an emotional time for the mission, and everyone is a little sad to see them go. They have made a great difference in the history of the mission and also in our lives. It was interesting, we gave them a farewell, in place of a zone conference. It was very much like a fryer´s club roast, but with out all the swearing and with more skits.

I got to sing, that was nice. I have the nick name of Pavarotti, one of the three tenor who died not too long ago. You know the really fat one. Any who, I sang together forever in Portuguese with a sister in my district. It was something special. I tried to upload it on this computer, but I have decided that computers in Brazil, especially which we use in internet cafés suck and bit the big one if you get my drift.

I got some interesting advice from Presidente Myrrha. I gave him and his wife a good farewell hug and he whispered in my ear said said, "your history is not yet complete; continue to write it." Which is something that I take literally and metaphorically. This is also something interesting; I was cleaning up my desk and happened upon a couple of papers that had been stapled together. It was about the duties of a leader in the church both in the mission and in other auxiliary callings. It was interesting. There was a quote from George Bernard Shaw which said this, "A vida não consiste em discobrir quem somos, mas em tornar-nos aquilo que desejamos ser." Which translates to, "Life does not consist of discovering who we are, but in becoming that which we wish to be." I do not know if that is the correct translation. I was translating it, but the thought is still the same.

I am going to do that.

Love you all,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is the world cup and everyone is crazy. We tried hard to work, but our numbers this week went to the toilet because of the games. It is crazy. It was ordered by our mission president that we have to arrive in our houses half and hour or an hour before the Brazil games start and we cannot leave until half and hour after. It is really crazy, my companion and I were studying and we could hear our neighbors yelling, cheering, and making all sorts of noise. It is a real deal here. For an example, the banks in Brazil held a special meeting to discuss that they would not open there branches during the games, so a little bit before each Brazil game they close up shop and then after then all open up later with extended hours, to make up for the two or three hour loss. It is crazy.

I am doing well. This week... lets just say that I am glad that it is over. A lot of things happened that left my companion and I high and dry. We are teaching a family that the oldest daughter was baptized a little bit before I arrived. The family was progressing so well, and still are I really hope, but she goes and makes a rather immature and stupid decision to runaway from home and starting living with a drug/arms dealer. Oh, I also forgot she has a one and a half year old daughter who she also took with her. Her family is heart broken and is thinking about moving away from the city to a smaller city that does not have our church. I am really worried about that.

A lot of thinks like that happened,but I know that this week will be better. I have all the confidence and faith that it will be. But as always keep me in your prayers and thoughts.

Love,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

The Santa Rosa Kid

Dear Family and Friends,

Eles me chamam, O guri de Santa Rosa. They call me the Santa Rosa Kid. I have been here for 6 months and I and my companion Elder Bruno will be spending one more transfer together. It is something interesting. I am really excited for this transfer. I think it is to be a fruitful one. We found some amazing families that are waiting to be taught and we also are teaching some that only lack being tossed into the water. I am very excited for our investigators.

I am a little bit under the weather however. I have been walking up at weird hours of the night. For instance for the last 3 nights in a row I have woken up at 3 or 4 o´clock in the morning, and I lack the ability to fall back to sleep. So I lay in bed thinking, about how I can improve everything with respect of the mission. It is good meditation time, but still... I would love to sleep all night long.

I am grateful for your guy's love and support, and I am looking forward to hearing from you all next week, about your lives and who is pregers and what not. I give you my love and my testimony that I am on the Lord's errand and that I am doing a good work, or at least giving it my very best efforts. Today will be spent cleaning the house completely and resting. I am really tired and so in my companion. We taught 34 lessons last week and we walk at least 10 miles a day, which does not seem a lot, but it is tiring after a while.

Até mais,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

Skittles and UNO???

Hello family and friends,

How is everyone doing? As for me, I am doing just great. I had a pretty crappie week last week , but I am sure that this week will be a good one.  I just know it.  But you do know why it will be a good week?  Because we have a baptism coming up on Saturday.  Good thing too.  It has been a while for me, and that always excites people into action.  I will have pictures ready the next time we chat. 

It has stopped raining, which is a good thing.  Today is really bright and lovely.  A little chilly, but all the same it is a very good day. 

I had my last zone conference with President Myrrha.  It is a shame to see him go.  He is such a cool guy, but I have faith and all the confidence in the world for our new President.  His name is President Ribeiro.  He is from Brazil as well, and when President Myrrha was a stake president President Ribeiro was his first consoler and he also served a mission here in Rio Grande do Sul, so he already knows the people and the culture. I think that he will do a really great job.

Isaias De Oliveira Ribeiro, 46, and Soni Maria Barbosa Ribeiro, four children, Brazil Santa Maria Mission; Londrina 1st Ward, Londrina Brazil Stake. Brother Ribeiro is a stake president and is a former counselor in the Brazil Londrina Mission presidency, counselor in a stake presidency, bishop and missionary in the Brazil Porto Alegre Mission. Institute director, Seminaries and Institutes of Religion. Born in Maringá, PR, Brazil, to Pedro Celestino and Leardina Almeida Oliveira Ribeiro.

Sister Ribeiro is a former ward Primary, Relief Society and Young Women president and Sunday school teacher. Born in Maringá, PR, Brazil, to Moacir Da Silva and Ana Ribeiro Da Silva Barbosa.

Other than that I am have nothing more to report. I got a group of letter from the Singles Ward.  That was a welcome surprise. I did not know that there are so many new people in our ward.  It will be interesting to get to know everyone when  I get back.

Well that is it for me. I hope that everyone will keep in touch.

Com Amor,

Elder Caleb S. Carriere

  ps

If anyone can send me a big bag of Skittles and a deck of Uno that would be great. I thank you all and love you all very much. 

Tchau!.