Week 24 Baptisms, Book of Mormons and Christmas!

Yet another week, the Lord has blessed us with so much!

Makenzie (14) was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by her grandfather yesterday, December 28th!! :) It was such a blessing to be a part of it. This is why I am out here--To invite others to come unto Christ by receiving the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love it! The baptism went really well! Elder Souday and I were able to sing a special music  number and she had tons of support from her classmates! When we first met with her, she didn't want to tell any of her friends, I think just because she was embarrassed. Most of her friends thought she was already LDS. But eventually she opened up about it, made invitations for a bunch of people and posted it on Twitter hahaha. Good day :)

James is stoked for Wednesday (Jan 1st, 2014) and is so prepared for his baptism! It has been a long but interesting road with him over the past (almost) 6 months! I am so excited for him, please keep him in your prayers!

Roxanne is doing good, but is out of town right now. She will be back next week and we are planning on meeting with her again soon. Please keep her in your prayers that she will have the courage to act upon the answer she has received :)

Christmas Eve and Christmas day were a blast! We spent Christmas Eve evening with a great family we have gotten to know very well, and had a great time with them :) We spent Christmas day all day with members and made this Christmas unforgettable! We actually went over to a family's house at5:30am to open presents.. it was awesome hahah :) It was fun to Skype home and see everyone, thank you so much for all who came!

Elder Souday roasting a marshmallow for the first time EVER!!

 Christmas Day with my missionary buddies, Elders Souday, Burt & Westlund!

Skyping with my family on Christmas Day!

Yesterday (Sunday) was super busy! We had the opportunity to speak in 2 sacrament meetings and teach a combined Priesthood/Relief Society 5th Sunday Class! 

So a really cool story... There are some great Ward Missionaries in one of our wards and they recently decided to take a trip around the world by plane! Pretty much just for fun. To make a long story short, their bishop found out about this and challenged each of them to place 3 Books of Mormon during their trip. One Chinese, one Japanese, and one English. They were up for the challenge and placed all of the Books during their trip! Yesterday, the bishop had them talk in their combined 5th Sunday class, and tell of their experiences. The meeting went great and they actually challenged the entire class to place Books of Mormon at the end! 

Jon (the member who's house I Skyped at and one of the guys who went on the trip) asked me about a week ago, to get a bunch of paperback Book of Mormon copies for them to pass out. I had completely forgot until he texted us Saturday night, asking if we had them ready for the next morning. Elder Souday and I had a great time calling and going to about 6 missionary apartments to gather these books--last minute notice Saturday night at like 8pm! haha :) We gathered about 50 copies!

It was an amazing experience to see these ward members come up to the front and take the Books of Mormon to place throughout the next week. Great way to do missionary work!

I am so grateful to be a missionary at this time. There is no other place I would rather be, because of the people that I've met and the experiences that I've had. I love it out here and I am so grateful for this great opportunity to serve the Lord. I know this is Christ's true Church on the earth today.  I wouldn't be out here if I didn't. 

Love you all! Hope you had an amazing Christmas with your families, and hope you have an amazing week! Stay busy, stay safe, you're in my prayers! :)

~Elder Carroll

My favorite scripture this week: 1 Tim 4:12 - "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

My favorite quote this week: "It's all about the principle." - My Uncle Kent

Week 23 MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

TYPICAL MISSIONARY CAR PHOTO! LOL

 CHECK OUT THIS GIANT SNOWMAN!!

Hey Guys!

What an amazing week this has been. We have 2 baptisms scheduled for next week!! :) Miracles are truly happening.

James, who we have been teaching since i got in the mission (August 1st), is on date for Jan 1st, 2014!! We have been meeting with him almost weekly for the past 5 months! He is prepared and I am so excited for him! :) Please keep him in your prayers!

This past Monday, we get a call from one of our Ward Mission Leaders and he tells us that a 14 year old girl, Makenzie who we have been trying to reach for the past 2 months, finally wants to meet with us! Her mom went inactive in the Church, when she was 8, so she never got baptized.  We met with her on Tuesday, and had a great lesson! She asked us, "Can I get baptized this Saturday, Dec. 21st?"  My mouth dropped hahaha. We said yes!!  But after talking with her grandparents (who she lives with) they decided December 28th would work better. So we have met with Makenzie 3 times since Tuesday, and have taught her everything required for baptism!  She is prepared and ready to make this leap of faith in her life :) So the baptism is this Saturday, super excited for her!  She asked Elder Souday and I to sing a Special Music Number for the baptism, so that will be fun :) The Lord works in mysterious ways, and prepares people in his own time. What a blessing to be a part of this amazing Work. Please keep her in your prayers! :)

Roxanne, who was on date for baptism for Jan 2nd, has decided to postpone just a few weeks. She seems to be just a little afraid of whats ahead, which is completely understandable. Baptism is a big commitment! So we are meeting with her about twice a week, and I am sure that it won't be long until she sets another date. She said she is thinking mid January. Please also keep her in your prayers!

So last Wednesday (Dec 18th), we attended the 1st Annual Pajama Party for Jesus!! hahaha It was a blast!  A couple of other Elders have a great family they are working with. The only member is the grandmother who was just baptized in August and she is on fire with the Gospel! It was a great time! We watched "Mr. Kruger's Christmas" played games, sang Christmas carols and shared our favorite scriptures! The family who we celebrated with has made it clear that this new tradition is not only for their family, but for everyone!! So if you're not doing anything next year on December 18th, remember to celebrate the 2nd Annual Pajama Party for Jesus!!! 

I am so grateful for this opportunity i have to serve the Lord in His great Work. What a blessing it is to witness these miracles everyday. I am grateful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and his ultimate sacrifice for me. I can truly not repay that debt. 

Love you all, hope you all have an amazing week and Christmas! :) Stay safe and stay busy!

~Elder Carroll

PS - Ephesians 4:32 - "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you."

"Why should we mourn, or think our lot is hard?

Tis not so, all is right." - Hymn titled, "Come Come Ye Saints"

Week 22 Another great week! Video included!

Hey everyone!

It has been an eventful week!! This past Wednesday, the whole mission got together for a Christmas party! We had a great devotional and were able to hear from Elder Summerhayes of the Seventy! Great speaker and meeting! They fed us lunch, then we had a "Variety Show." Lots of missionaries sang Christmas carols and it was a great show. Even Mission President Hansen and his wife sang a few songs!!! haha It was so funny. I was able to play and sing Silent Night on the guitar! I had someone record it, so I've posted the link below.

My old buddies and roommates from the MTC--

Elder's Westlund, Anderson, and Larson

We got to hang out together at the mission Christmas party!

VIDEO

Elder Carroll Sings Silent Night

For the past few weeks, we have been meeting with a few of the local high school seniors for a Preach My Gospel Study. They said they've just started doing it, and that they would love to have us come join in. It's an awesome experience, being able to help them become better teachers and helping them progress towards their missions! I am really impressed with how dedicated they are, having these studies together weekly.

My grandma and Uncle Ryan were up in Salt Lake City this weekend for a family reunion, and I got permission from my mission president to have lunch with them! It was great to see them and visit for a bit! :)  It's kinda unusual to be able to see any family members when your on your mission.  It's just another one of the perks of serving in Utah! haha

This past Saturday, we were able to help with a HUGE service project! A member in one of our wards owns a business where he is responsible to return lost/damaged/fraud packages for FedEx. All of the packages he cant return, he is able to keep! So on Saturday, he teamed up with another guy, and they had a huge "Sub for Santa" day at his warehouse with all of the things he comes across! There is everything there from all types of clothes, shoes, toiletries, toys, books, just anything you can imagine! And he donates it all to the public. So all of the missionaries in the area came and helped out, escorting families so that they could get everything they needed! It was a blast helping out :)

So something really amazing happened this week, but a little background first... a few months ago, we got a text from a ward member, saying that she had a friend (Roxanne) that was so prepared and ready to hear the missionary discussions! We were super stoked to teach her! She's from France and is currently living with a member family in one of our wards and teaching French at the local elementary school. We had an appointment scheduled one night, so we went over. But we we got there, she wouldn't come to the door. So we got a little bummed out and just dropped it. That about 2 months ago. Yesterday, we get a text from the same ward member, saying that she is REALLY ready to have the discussions, and that she wants to be baptized! And that she wants to meet with us ASAP. So we went over yesterday and had a great lesson! Golden is the only word I can think of to describe her. She has been coming to church every week for the past few months, and has been reading from the Book of Mormon! She has also been praying and she said she prayed and got her answer, and that she wants to get baptized! So she is on date to get baptized January 2nd, 2014!! We are meeting with her again this Wednesday :) But this is really cool thing about this whole thing... I know for a fact that my companion, Elder Souday, was put in this area at this specific time. His native language is French!! So a few times throughout the lesson, when she was having a hard time understanding some words (She has only been speaking English for less than a year), Elder Souday was easily able to explain it to her in French, and she understood completely! The Lord works in mysterious and wonderful ways. What an experience to be a part of.

James is doing well and is still on date for January 1st, 2014! Keep him in your prayers! :)

We met with the 10 year old girl, Autumn again yesterday! She is doing great! Maybe has a hard time retaining everything we teach, but thats normal! We are going to Temple Square for a private tour this Saturday! :)

We went down to the Conference Center in Salt Lake City yesterday morning for "The Spoken Word", which is the concert that MoTab puts on during Christmas time. Great concert and time! :)

Enjoying the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with

one of my favorite families--The Darlings!

During District Meeting this week, our Zone Leader shared an awesome tradition that his family does for Christmas. They all have their stockings hung on the fireplace, and then they have 1 extra stocking. It's completely white and is a stocking for Jesus Christ. They all write something down on a piece of paper--something that they want to give him this year for Christmas. Then they put it in and strive their best to give him that this next year. I thought that was such a cool thing. What are you willing to give Christ this year? 

Ok sorry for such the long email!! So many amazing things are happening out here and it's such a blessing to be a part.  I am truly blessed by the Lord in His great Work. Please keep Roxanne, James, and Autumn in your payers!

Love you all! Hope you have fantastic week!! :)

Much Love,

Elder Carroll

Week 21 New Companion from Tahiti!!

Hey all!

It has been a cooooldd week! It's been in the low 20's for the past like 5 days! Snowing alot which is good, because when it snows, it's warmer! It's been interesting driving in the snow too! But getting better everyday :)

So I was assigned a new companion last Tuesday, Elder Souday! From French Polynesia, the island of Tahiti! This is his first time in the US, and he has only been speaking English for about 3 months! He is doing very well on his English, but lets just say I've gotten really good at pronouncing my words :) He spent 6 weeks in the MTC learning English, and spent 1 transfer just north of here, in Layton. So he will be finishing up his training here! He is 2nd oldest of 4 children and the only one to serve a mission thus far! He was raised in the Church and his family have been members for about 3 generations.

Get this... he plays guitar and has the voice of an angel! He can harmonize like a boss!!. This last Thursday, I told him how I like to sing songs at members home as the thought after dinner. He taught me how to sing Nearer My God To Thee in French!!  So we have been singing that a lot lately :) He wanted to learn an American song, so I taught him Earth Angel (you know, the one from Back To The Future!), originally done by "The Penguins". He just sings it over and over and over haha Its so funny!

This last Saturday, one of our wards rented out a theater room at the local movie theater and showed "The Polar Express". We got permission from President to go and had a great time with the ward! I haven't seen that movie in forever and i had forgotten what great message it had. Christmas isn't about what we sometimes make it out to be. It's about doing good to everyone, especially in their time of need. I love Christmas, because it reminds me of my Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for his love and sacrifice for me. The movie has a great theme. To keep the spirit of Christ with us, all we have to do is believe. And once we believe, we act.

So after this transfer is over, I will have been in my first area for 6 months. I hope they keep me here another 6. I LOVE the people here. I have gotten really really close with some families, and it will be a sad day to leave. It's so nice to be able to just go in their homes and feel like family. I am so grateful to be able to serve in this amazing area.

We are still meeting weekly with James, Cari, Autumn, and Chris. We have stopped teaching Ireland and Reese, only waiting for their parents to get in line and decide if they really want them baptized. Please keep them all in your prayers.

I love this Gospel and this mission. I know this is where the Lord needs me and am so grateful for this amazing experience thus far. I can't wait to see what more the future holds.

Thank you everyone once again, for the emails and letters! :) Stay busy and stay safe, you're always in my prayers. Don't ever pass up an opportunity to share this great Gospel that we know and love. They are all around us :)

Much Love,

Elder Carroll

"Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see."  -The Polar Express

My favorite scripture this week! D&C 64:34 - "Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days."

Week 20 To be transferred or NOT to be transferred??

Hi everyone!

November has come and gone.. I've said it once, but i'll say it again.. time flies when you're doing something you love!

With this last week being Thanksgiving, we were fortunate enough to have amazing members invite us to 4 dinners! We only ended up making 3 of them, but we got fed quite well haha I think I gained another 5lbs on that day alone! I'm pushing a total gain in the past 5 months of 25bs, I'm loving it!! :)

Saturday night we went with one of the great families in one of our wards to see the lights at Temple Square! My first time there during Christmas time! Soooo many people. They said it's crazy like that until New Years, especially on Monday nights haha. We had a great time and the weather was perfect :) It's still chilly, but no snow yet! Actually, we were told there is supposed to be a good snow storm coming tonight! So we will see...

This past Thursday was our last District Meeting for this transfer, and our District Leader asked me if i would play piano and sing for it! One of the sister missionaries (who actually goes home tomorrow) was also asked to sing, so i contacted her and we decided to do it together! So we sung a sick duet of Nearer My God To Thee and it went really well! We only had like 15 min to figure out the arrangement, but she had no problem, picking out an amazing harmony :)

VIDEO:

Elder Carroll and Sister Missionary duet

Speaking of singing, I was also asked to sing yesterday in Relief Society of one of our wards. They wanted a Christmas song so I quickly learned Silent Night on guitar and was able to play and sing it for their meeting :) Music carries a spirit like nothing else can bring. I love it.

We have recently starting teaching a new investigator, Nathan! We met with him about 2 weeks ago, and just again this past Friday. We actually met at the local Starbucks haha :) He is interesting. Such a great spirit. When it comes to doctrine, he does not believe in the need for Temples or baptism, or any saving ordinances for that matter. He believes that if we just believe in and turn to Christ, we can be saved by his grace. We had a great 3 hour talk with him at Starbucks. We are meeting with him again, same time/place this Friday!

So transfers are here once again.. My companion, Elder Martin, will be going home. It has been a pleasure serving with him and I will miss him a lot! He is a great missionary.

As for my new companion..I have the blessing and opportunity of training again! His name is Elder Souday and he is from French Polynesia! I will meet him tomorrow and give more info next week!

I thought my address was gonna change with this transfer, but that remains to be seen! I will send an email out tomorrow with my new (or same) address if they decide to move us houses.

After this transfer, I will have been in my first area for 6 months. Crazy! I love it here and hope they keep me here for another 6! I love the members and people we are teaching here. I am so grateful for this opportunity i have to serve here in Utah. My experience thus far has been amazing and i wouldn't trade it for anything. I love the Lord and i love this Gospel.

Thank you everyone, for the support you have shown me! It means so much! Thank you for the emails and letters. I hope you all have a fantastic week, you are always in my prayers!

Stay safe, stay busy. Till next week!

Much love,

Elder Carroll

My favorite scripture this week:  Luke 1:37- "For with God nothing shall be impossible."