OUR FIRST BAPTISM - FOR REAL!!!

That's right!  I've been out for 5 months exactly now, and for a little over 2 months in the field in an area that we shotgunned with just about no leads, and yesterday we had our first baptism, and we have 4 more dates set for next month : )  (I'm trying not to let myself get prideful of this, I just think it's neat to see the progress that has been made and how The Lord has gotten things from where they were to where they are now.) 



Big Day for Louie Trifone



Marlou Douglas Michael Quinones Fry (a.k.a. Louie Trifone) was baptized and confirmed yesterday after church with about half the ward there to support him.  Louie had asked Elder Ahumada to baptize him and for me to do the comfirmation.  It was a great baptism, and everything went well.  As stressful as things may have been with getting things ready and such, The Dynamic Duo in Georgetown pulled through and held a very smooth baptismal service.  It was such an amazing experience, too; especially when I got to do the confirmation.  It was quite powerful and moving a time, and the feeling of being a part of helping this young boy to make the choice to set his life towards following Christ and his teachings was quite amazing.  I am so humbled to have been trusted so much by The Lord and his Prophets/Apostles, to be sent to this exact mission, and to have been a tool in The Lord's hands in helping to bring his sheep into the fold.

We also had another investigator there at the baptism, and later that day, when we met at his house to talk about it, he was so excited about his own baptism coming up and stated several times, "I can't wait to get baptized now!...It's the dream I've always wanted."  He is so solid, and we are just loving being able to teach someone who is so interested in what the Gospel has to offer him, and who is so humble enough to listen and allow himself to learn.  I finally feel like I get to be myself while I am teaching when we teach him, and it's a great feeling.   : )

Well, just about everything else here is going really well.  We have a lot of other people whom we feel are prepared for the Gospel, and we are so blessed for all the experiences we are having when we get to bring someone closer to Christ.

By the way, yesterday I found this video on Mormon.org, and I think it is very inspirational (yes, I was tearing up).  When you go to mormon.org and click on the tab "Meet Mormons," where there are a bunch of videos of people listed on the side, one of the latest ones is of a woman who is fighting cancer for the second time and continues to fight no matter what.  Her views and beliefs are so strong, and she's a fighter.  So to those of you out there who are fighting for something, keep fighting the good fight, and never give up.

Well I gotta get going, but I hope you are all doing well and doing something everyday to bring yourself, and those around you, closer to Jesus Christ.

From New England with love,

Elder Dustin Carr

Temporary Emergency Transfer

This last Tuesday I got called to pack up my bags 'cause I was getting picked up and going to Lawrence for anywheres from 2 days to a week.  So long story short, I got to go on an extended exchange in the Lawrence area with Elder Harwood while helping out dealing with getting a new apartment and such.  I spent three days there on bikes and absolutely loved it!  I seriously fell in love with the place, the people, and just everything about it!  I had several really sweet spiritual experiences that I will hold dear to me for the rest of my mission and my life!  I also learned A TON from Elder Harwood and am so excited to be improving myself as a missionary in all aspects of missionary work.  The best part is that since I'm a Spanish speaking missionary, I am guaranteed to be in Lawrence again at some point in my mission, and I look forward to that a lot.

Also, we now have 4 investigators with baptismal dates.  One is this weekend (not sure who is baptizing him yet, but I'll let you know), and the other three are next month.  I'll let you know how it all goes!

Well sorry to be so short, but I gotta run!

From New England with love!

 

Elder Dustin Carr

PS:

Notice anything cool in the lumberjack's right hand?  :)  ya we got the cops called on us for this, I guess some paranoid people thought we were going to burn it down...so when the cops came, one of them ended up joining us for a picture :P

The Three Nephites of Georgetown are serving just as Ammon did



C'mon, do you really need a caption for this?

So we've had an interesting change of events this week which I'll get to in just a minute.  But first...We went on exchanges with our Zone Leaders this last week, and it was amazing!  I got to have Elder Urrieta come with me to Georgetown, and we had such an amazing day.  After our District meeting (which was amazing as always), we headed out with Matt Wood (who is so helpful in our lessons - he is so well prepared to serve!) to teach Louie Trifone.  We had an awesome lesson with Louie about Tithing, the Word of Wisdom, and the Law of Chastity (kept brief of course).  Then we headed home before getting smashed by a random storm that came out of nowhere (branches were litterally falling in the street as we were trying to drive back).  Yes, we made it home safely.  So then Elder Urrieta and I went to a lesson with Dave Cody.  He explained that he feels like things are being rushed a bit, so we are going to push his baptismal date back a few weeks until he is able to feel comfortable with the commitment of baptism.  It's all good though, everyone has their agency, we won't force people into baptism, and we'll continue to help him to help him prepare himself for this sacred covenant.  Afterwards, we went to Haverhill (where we actually spend most of our time), and had an incredible lesson with the Fernandez family with help from Brother Kuffel.  It was such an amazing lesson in which we learned a lot about teaching people - not lessons.  The spirit was so strong in that home that evening, and we all felt our words and thoughts directed by the Spirit as we focused on discussing the Gospel of Jesus Christ rather than the need for the Restoration.  We look forward to teaching them more this week and helping them come closer to Christ.  So that exchange was just amazing - absolutely amazing.  I learned so much, and I was so spiritually lifted, and rejuvenated towards the work.

 

Msn Pres w/Elders Ahumada, Morales, Carr

Friday morning, we finished the exchange, and Elder Ahumada and I were discussing the things we had done/learned when all the sudden, we get a call from President Wilkey (yes we freaked out a bit).  He started off with a little joke (he's always so lovingly humorous) and then declared that we are getting a new companion - Elder Morales!!!  We were so excited! We were literally jumping, running around, and yelling with excitement, because of how awesome this Elder is.  We met Elder Morales a few weeks ago, and he had just been out for a few days and then was at our district meeting.  After meeting him, both Elder Ahumada and I said to each other how much we want him to be in a trio with us.  And lo and behold, he gets emergency transferred to none other than the dynamic duo in Georgetown!  So now we are a dynamic trio!  or as Elder Morales says, "Los Tres Nefitas!" (the three Nephites).  So anyways, we just love Elder Morales.  He's from Guatemala originally, and has only been in the mission field for a few weeks now.  Also, he speaks way more Spanish than English, so I'm learning a lot!

Now for the best part.  "The Three Nephites of Georgetown" have had some amazing service opportunities this last weekend.  We got to help out Matt Wood with a huge project with the Boy Scout troop that he used to be a member of.  Every year they do a massive can/bottle drive fundraiser and it takes a lot of work (they end up getting $3K+ every year).  So Matt asked us to help, and we had a full day planned to go to the Joseph Smith Memorial, but that fell through (blessing in disguise), so we were able to help.  Long-story-short, we worked in our proselyting clothes in a fairly dirty environment, and we still worked hard and fast the whole time.  It was so fun, and all the people (who were originally not so fond of us) grew to like us so much as we worked.  I learned so much while I was working (pretty much running around, sorting bottles and such on tables, and filling in wherever I was needed), and felt so many great feelings.  As I worked, I felt so incredibly happy.  I know that service can bring happiness, but this just strengthened my testimony sooooo much more.  We felt as Ammon did - offering to serve simply to serve, and not for any reward.  Also, as I served, I felt the pure love of Christ in my heart, and I just felt so much love for the people I was working with, for the people of Georgetown, and for the people of New England.  I felt that love that comes from a knowledge of people being more than just strangers, but rather of them being my heavenly brothers and sisters.  We found how true it is that as we serve others, we are in the service of God.  And all of this brought me true happiness.



Howdy, Doodys!



In the way of other news, (not sure if I told you yet) we had a miracle this last week with Sister Doody being able to get a new job so that she doesn't have to work on Sundays, and so she can come to church!  And we have met with her friend, Blanca Rodriguez, and Blanca's son, Josue, and we are currently teaching them.  Also, Josue came to church yesterday and loved it and looks forward to coming to mutual and church regularly! 

Elder Ahumada, Elder Morales, and I have been witnesses to so many miracles and blessings as we strive to serve and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.  In all instances, we are brought to humble gratitude for the Lord's loving care in helping us to move the work forward.

From New England with love!

Elder Dustin Carr

OUR FIRST BAPTISM!!! ...well...almost...

This last Friday was Luke Capener's baptism.  He is the Bishop's son, and as a tradition in their family, the missionaries come and teach their child before he/she is baptized, so we met several times over the last few weeks and had some great teaching experiences with Luke and the Capener family.  So we joked about the being our first baptism, but it doesn't really count (not that numbers matter anyway).

Speaking of baptism, Dave Cody and Louie Trifone are still going strong and progressing well.  We are really looking forward to Dave's baptism on the 18th, and Louie's on the 25th.  Plus Dave came to Luke's baptism and really liked it, and this Saturday we are planning on going up to the Joseph Smith Memorial with him after his interview! We're way excited!



In other news, we had a great day on Tuesday!  We had a few stop-by's to make and an appointment at 5:00.  After the first few stop-by's with no one home, we decided to tract the neighborhood a bit, and as we stood at the car, preparing to leave, I noticed an older man and woman in their yard.  It wasn't any big impression, but I felt that we should go talk to them.  Long-story-short, we got to teach them the lesson of The Restoration, and invited them to church!  Then later, we were a little early to our 5:00 appointment, so we went out again to knock some doors.  No one was home at the first 2, but at the 3rd one was a really sweet mom of 3 children who had some great questions for us, and we had a great time talking about the gospel with her and inviting her to church.




No, not looking for gold plates. It's a Mutual work project.

 

Well none of them ended up making it to church yesterday, but that's ok, we'll try again this week :)   So we continue to work hard everyday - striving to be more obedient and diligent all the time - and we are frequently seeing the miracles that the Lord is blessing us with each week.

Oh and I know you all heard about the tornado, but don't worry, we're fine.  We are the closest area to where the tornado was, but it still didn't even come near us, it was a good hour away.  New England weather sure is crazy, haha.

Well, until next time!  From New England with love,

Elder Dustin Carr