New mailing address!

New Mailing Address

as of 2-25-14

Week 32: Transferred after nearly 8 months in same area!

THE DISTRICT

Hi all!

My long and wondrous stay in Kaysville/Fruit Heights as finally come to an end. I have come to a love for the people here, it is truly amazing. It will be hard to go. I have been here for 5 transfers (Almost 8 months) and could have stayed my entire mission. BUT, I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for the next few transfers!

I will be moving to North Salt Lake, only about 10 or 15 minutes south of where I am now! My new companion's name is Elder Boyles, from Washington state! He was in my district a few transfers ago, he's a cool guy so I'm super stoked to work with him! My address will change, so I will get that to you asap! :) Oh yeah, one of our current Bishops said that his mom lives in NSL, and that 3 Apostles live in her ward... Crazy! Don't know if that is 100% true, but I'll find out soon enough!

This area is doing great. We are currently working with 18 separate people. 6 investigators, 6 less-actives, and 6 recent converts! It has been an awesome transfer! :)

Jaxon was baptized yesterday! It was an amazing experience. His Grandfather (who just recently returned back to the church) baptized him and a good family friend confirmed him in church yesterday. Jaxon's mom is less-active, but tears came to her eyes on that day. The Spirit was so strong. I am so grateful to be about of this marvelous work.

We just got our car back this week, but we had an amazing experience while walking down the street before we got it back. As we were walking, a lady randomly slowed down on the road, rolled down her window and yelled "Hey Missionaries! I need to talk to you!".. We were like what the heck.. alright then! Turns out, she was baptized when she was 8 years old, but has never been active. She said she wants to take the missionary discussions and get sealed in the Temple with her husband!! Let me tell you, I wasn't too happy about losing the car and having to walk in the rain, but the Lord let's miracles happen when you do His work. We got her information, and it turns out that she actually not in our area. So we handed her off to another set of elders, and they said she is golden! I love my mission :)

Pam is doing awesome. She has some concerns, but nothing that can't be worked out :) Yesterday her and Jeff (her husband) had us over for lunch, and we read Alma 5 with them. After reading it, and seeing how Alma the Younger got his testimony, she decided she needed to do the same! She committed herself to fast for 3 DAYS (only drinking fluids)! We told her that was not necessary, but she insisted.. So please pray for her to get a confirmation of the truth of this Gospel! 

Alma 5:46 -  "Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me."

Please also keep Autumn, Chris, and Cari in your prayers!

Yesterday (Sunday) was one of the busiest Sunday's I've ever had. We literally had appointments from 7am till 9pm, every hour! It was awesome! We were able to help teach a Gospel Principles class, a priests quorum class, and a mission prep class!

Transfers are tomorrow, so I will get my new address out asap! Thanks to everyone who write and emails! :) And also thanks to everyone that I have been privileged to know in my life, I am so grateful for each and everyone of you and the influences you have had on me! Thank you so much.

My invitation to you this week is to invite someone you dont know, to come to church with you on Sunday :) Trust me, the Lord works in mysterious ways and we never know who is ready to receive his Gospel. Try it :)

Love you all! Hope you are all well at home, stay busy and stay safe! :)

Much Love,

~Elder Carroll

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

My favorite quote this week: "Once you've done all you can do, you have to let the Lord take over." - Elder Larson (of my district)

Happy 19th Birthday!

Elder Carroll's family sent him smiles for his Birthday :)

Week 31: Where True Happiness Comes From

Hi all!

The Lord continues to bless us with success. How grateful 
i am for this marvelous work. It brings a joy that nothing else can bring.

Boston was baptized this past Saturday!! He had so much family support. His Mom gave a talk and his dad was there also :) His grandfather baptized him and it was a wonderful experience to be a part of :) I am so happy for Boston and his decision to follow our Savior Jesus Christ :) He is such a sharp kid and learned so fast! He was confirmed yesterday by his grandfather in church, which was also an amazing experience :)

We were able to attend the Bountiful Temple last Tuesday. A great experience, as always! :)

Elder Souday and I had the opportunity to speak in Sacrament Meeting yesterday! Elder Souday is doing awesome with his English and gave a great talk :) It's been awesome to see how much he has improved in the past 3 months.

So we have been car-less for the past week! It's in the shop for some tune-ups and will be for the next few days. This has given us the opportunity to get on our feet and get out walking! No crazy experiences yet, but a definitely a lot of exercise :) It sucks... we try to walk to somewhere and almost every time, someone stops their car and asks if we need a ride! Nooo, we WANT to walk! :) hahaha Such great people, I guess that's Utah for ya.

We have continued to do a Preach My Gospel study with some of the local Seniors at Davis High. They are awesome and so prepared. I am so impressed with their understanding of the Gospel. It makes me laugh though and reminds me of how hard it was to teach in the MTC! They are doing great. We meet every Monday night for an hour or so. It first started out with just 2 kids. Now we are up to about 6 or 7 every week. We just meet at one of their houses. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be involved with the very-soon-to-be Missionaries! They are all planning on leaving right after graduation!

Jaxon is still on date for this Saturday Feb 22nd! Super stoked for him! Also a super sharp kid and really has it down. He is having is Baptismal Interview on Wednesday! :)

Pam and Jeff weren't able to make it out to church yesterday, but only because Jeff had to work. Pam was planning on coming by herself, but didn't for some reason! We are meeting with them tomorrow.

Cari unfortunately canceled our lesson last week, but has rescheduled for Wednesday. Hopefully it goes through. I hope things work out for her baptism! March 15th is the day!

So yesterday we had a great lesson with 10 yr. old Autumn. Talked about the Plan of Salvation. She is finally getting things together and taking in a lot more information than she was before! I have very high hopes for her :) Autumn gives the most beautiful prayers I have ever heard. Just reminds me how we all need to be as children. Meek, humble, and submissive.

Everything is going so well. Transfers are next week, and I have a strong feeling i will be leaving this great area. I have come to such a great love for the people here. It will be hard to go. But, where ever the Lord see's fit for me to be, I am more than willing to go where he wants me to go. There has been so much success in this area, and the Lord has blessed us. Transfers are truly unpredictable, so we will see next Monday, what's gonna go down!

Being on a mission has made me realize where true happiness comes from. It comes from serving others. It comes from charity. It comes from trying to live as Christ did. I am so grateful for this opportunity I have been given to serve the Lord in His great work. It has given me a chance to discover who I really am. What I am capable of. To discover what I can do to be truly happy. This is only the beginning. I am so excited to see what the future of this mission will bring.

Thanks to everyone for the emails and letters and support you give! I am truly grateful for each and everyone of you. Thank you so much for all you do. Stay busy and stay safe. Hope you have a wonderful week :)

Much Love,

~Elder Carroll

My favorite scripture this week: 1 Corinthians 16:14 "Let all your things be done with charity."

"“Live in such a way that people who know you but don’t know the Savior, will want to know the Savior because they know you.” - Unknown

BLOOPER VIDEO

Elders Carroll and Souday Lip sync in the car!

Week 30: Love One Another

Love these guys!

Hello!

The Lord is GREAT! I am so thankful for him and for the infinite sacrifice he has made for me and for everyone.

We have recently been trying to fill our afternoon's with visiting the High Priest's (old men haha) in our 2 stakes and have recently had an amazing experience with one of them. We made an appointment with him and were just planning on visiting and sharing a short message. When we got there, he said "I hope you like pepperoni!". He ordered a pizza and fed us lunch! After eating and talking for a bit, he told us that he had been married for 45 years, until his wife divorced him about 5 years ago. He had been inactive most of his married life, but has recently returned after his divorce. I am so proud of him. He lives alone in a tiny home and says he is very lonely most of the time. We read a chapter from the Book of Mormon before we left, Alma 5. This chapter and it's doctrine have never stood out to me so much than at this time. We had a great and very spiritual read with this great man and have scheduled to come back every week to read from the Book of Mormon with him. He bore a beautiful testimony to us (without realizing it) and expressed his love for our Savior and His Infinite Atonement. If you get the chance, read through Alma chapter 5, and answer the questions that Alma asks the people, for yourself.

The Lord's Atonement is and INFINITE ATONEMENT. Infinite in: Power, Time, Coverage, Depth, Suffering, LOVE, Blessings, and Divineness. There is never something to big that we have done, that the Lord has not already paid the price for. Use the Atonement. Use His love. D&C 18:13 - "And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!"

This past Saturday, one of our bishops took us to his warehouse of 48 antique cars. FORTY-EIGHT! He took us around to literally every single car and told us everything he knew about it. There were some 16 yr old priests with us also, and one of them asked how much a certain car costs.. 1.3 million!! Crazy. Got some sweet pic's of his 1983 DeLorean (with the world record of only 300 miles on it!!) and his 1967 Lamborghini! :)

Boston and Jaxon are still both on date for this Saturday and next! :) Also, Cari is back on date for March 15th! She was originally on date for November 16th, but it fell through because of her smoking habit. Along with them, we are currently teaching 6 other individual people! Pam and her less-active husband Jeff have been to church 2 weeks in a row! Pam told us that her and Jeff stayed up one night till 1am reading the Book of Mormon! She is awesome! The Work is great :) Please keep Boston, Jaxon, Pam, and Cari in your prayers!

Yesterday at church, the congregation sang the hymn "Love One Another". The lyrics have never stuck out to me more plainly and touched my spirit so greatly than at this time. I have no idea why.. This Gospel is truly amazing. 

"As I have loved you,
Love one another.
This new commandment:
Love one another.
By this shall men know
Ye are my disciples,
If ye have love
One to another." - Love One Another

I invite you this week, to take a specific time out of your busy schedule, and do something out of your way to help serve a fellow brother or sister. I can't tell you how much I have come to love serving other, and serving our wonderful Father in Heaven. The Lord will bless you, and touch whoever it is that you serve.

Thank you for the emails and letters that you have sent, it means the world to me! Always fun to know whats going on back home :) I love you all! You are in my prayers! Stay busy and stay safe :)

Much Love,

~Elder Carroll

My favorite Scripture this week - Romans 5:19 - "For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."

This photo is for my buddy, Elder Andrew Johnson :)

Week 29: Transfer is half over!

Hi all!

January has come and gone! And this transfer is already half over!!

The Lord continues to bless us with success. Boston and Jaxon are still both on date for February 15th and 22nd, respectively. We are so excited for them both! They are sharp kids and have it down!!

We have not been able to approach Boston's dad (a non-member) about taking on baptism for himself, but hope to do so this week! He is an awesome guy and even says the opening and closing prayers for the lessons! He is fully supportive of Boston's baptism. He was raised LDS, but was never baptized. We will work on it and pray for the best!

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to take Pam and her husband Jeff to Temple Square! We watch "The Prophet of the Restoration" movie about Joseph Smith and his life, and then had a great private tour with a set a Sister Missionaries serving on Temple Square! It went really well, and Pam and Jeff actually came to church for the first time yesterday, which is awesome! We are making progress! :)

Chris is still praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true, we are going to check up on him tonight!

Autumn continues to come to church and loves it! Our last visit, we told her we could get her her very own copy of the Book of Mormon. She was so excited! We didn't have any with us, so we told her we would get it to her in the next few days. The next day, we get a call from her dad, he told us she had been bugging him ALL day about getting her own book, and begged us to bring it that day. hahah so we took it over that day. Yesterday at church, she brought her Book and carried it with her the whole day :)

Please keep Boston, Jaxon, Pam, Autumn and Chris in your prayers! :)

Covering 18 wards, we have the opportunity to go to 3 sacrament meetings every Sunday (and probably more, if time would allow!). And with yesterday being Fast and Testimony meetings, we had the opportunity to share our testimonies 3 times total in those meetings. The Spirit that comes with sharing what you believe with others, is amazing!

This Gospel is truly amazing. I love it. I wouldn't rather be anywhere but here, in good ol' Utah! The Lord has blessed me with this calling to serve and teach His Gospel, and I am eternally grateful for this marvelous opportunity.

I invite you to go out of your way this week, to tell someone else what you believe in. Or why this Gospel makes you happy.

Thanks to everyone for the letters and emails every week! Hope all is well at home, you are in my prayers!! Stay busy and stay safe :)

Much Love,

~Elder Carroll

My favorite scripture this week - Joshua 1:9 -"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

My favorite quote this week: "Sometimes the Lord has to bring us low, before he can lift us higher." -The Prophet Joseph Smith

VIDEO

Elder Souday wanted to learn an "American" song.