Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Firing On All Cylinders

These past few weeks I had felt quite lost - as though I didn't know who I was anymore - but after a week of "soul searching," I feel like I have found myself again, and oh what a sweet joy it brings :)

There were a number of things that contributed to my difficulties, and I had struggled to understand exactly what those things were. I had spoken to President Wilkey about it, and he related a business analogy to me about having to find a new job, and he committed me to figure out how to fit into my "new job" this past week. Upon much prayer and pondering, I was able to see some significant issues and I discussed them with President Wilkey during our Zone Interviews day this past week. In short, it came down to my "demand" to work at such a fast pace, and be teaching all the time, greatly exceeded the "supply" of people to teach (I think in business terms a lot - they help me, haha). And the problem was that I wasn't used to having so much down time, or having to struggle so much to find people to teach, that I was being heavily negatively affected by it.

After discussing all of this with President Wilkey, I was able to dust myself off, pick myself up, and hit the ground running with a ton of reencouragement and a renewed drive to work my hardest :) I have committed myself to staying busy at all times and not just falling back on the easiest way out of things or allowing myself to get down about the work. Because of this, I have spent much of my free time organizing and planning places to go and people to find - and it has been exciting to go about this work now and to be myself again!

New Hampshire Mission

And the results of all of this are great! Not only have I been much happier, but we got 2 new investigators yesterday whom we taught at a member's home and they were both so pleased with the comfort they felt from learning about the Plan of Salvation that they want to learn more and they are going to start reading the Book of Mormon! Plus, an investigator's planned baptism is still on for this Friday - this week sure is an exciting one!

I'm really grateful for President Wilkey's help this last week, and as he explained to me in the beginning of the week, "you are an 8-cylinder missionary, Elder Carr, but I can see that you are only firing on 3 cylinders right now. Let's see how we can get the other ones firing this week..." I am happy to say that I am once again firing on all cylinders! ;)

From Vermont with love!

Elder Dustin Carr

Monday, September 10, 2012

Bangor members recently reactivated
In Vermont
I am in Essex, Vermont, now and my whole world has been turned around - not upside down or turned-over, but rather just that everything here (the culture of people, pace of the work, missionaries, and all the land) is just so different from anything I have been used to. It's really difficult to have to readapt to this big of a change, but I'm working on things. My companion's name is Elder Weaver; he is from West Haven, Utah. This week together has been interesting because he was with his last companion for the last 3 transfers and he has been here as a Zone Leader that whole time, plus he has been in Vermont for 13 of his 18 months so far. I am very different from his last companion and I work quite differently with a different mindset, pace, and plan for this work/people, so that has been pretty tough for us to adjust to and see where to compromise and agree. I'm focusing on being more humble to watching how things work/have worked, and then making sure my offered suggestions do not come across as demands. :)
Ava Weaver and her friend
Our convert's baptism went great!  Everything went smoothly - a member did the ordinance and it was a very sweet service with our ward mission leader's wife playing violin during the waiting period. It was just so great to be a part of this convert's decision to follow Christ through the rest of her life, and to see her start her journey towards eternal blessings with such confidence and enthusiasm. Also, I missed another convert's baptism and confirmation this last weekend due to the move, but I heard it went great and I hope to get pics sometime; it sure is amazing to see that she was able to finally come to know of the truth even so late in life. At 85 years old, she chose to covenant with God and follow Christ; I look forward to the day where she can reach her ultimate goal of being sealed to her deceased husband, and hopefully set an example for her children that will help them desire to do the same.
Ward Msn Ldr Wilkerson Family
Well things here are moving along, I'm still adjusting and just trying to see how/where I fit in here, but I look forward to sharing more miracles with you next week, along with the progress of an investigator who will be baptized September 29th! :)

Love,
Elder Dustin Carr

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Sept 3, 2012

Heather Woods got baptized last Saturday and it went great - I'll
send pics next week - also I'm being transfered, most likely to Essex, Vermont, still a Zone Leader.  I'll fill you in more next week.


 



[ some weeks we get more info than others...]
 [Essex is northwest VT, near Lake Champlain]