Because we have a saw.....

There has been some crazy stuff happening this week! We have done a ton of service, its been super fun! Service is fun to a point, but too much and you go crazy! We rocked some service at a member's named Sister Ross. She is pretty dope, and basically I raked a million leaves while the rest of the Berkshire missionaries broke sticks in half and put them in piles. After I raked it all up, on of the other Elders jumped in the pile, and then I told him that there is a ton of dog crap mixed in there. It made my day! Not his...but mine was made! Our next service project was on Saturday. We did it for a non member and we basically partied in the back cutting up wood so they can burn it. Most of the wood was small enough so that you could snap it, but all we had was a wedge, and an electric saw. So we cut everything, and Elder Myers, helpful as he always is...says "you know you can just snap that right?" to which I replied: "...but we have a saw...?" Bottom line is rule #32-enjoy the little things (if you understood that reference then thats why we are friends).

 

The two coolest miracles of the week happened on Sunday! Bishop Sharp texted me to let me know that Theodore Walker (my favorite kid ever) was turning 12 and asked if I could be the one to ordain him to the office of Deacon, and confer upon him the Aaronic Priesthood. Freaking dope right? I got to confirm him a member last december, and now I get to ordain him! I am so darn stoked about it!

 

The other miracle was Jesse. He was a member refferal who was super solid and we were able to teach him probably the best Restoration lesson ever. Midway through the lesson i straight up told him "Jesse, I have been a missionary for almost 18 months, talked to hundreds of people about the gospel, and I will not hesitate to say that you are the most prepared person to hear this message and follow Christ than anyone I have come in contact with." Jesse is an absolute miracle, and I am so grateful for him because he came at the perfect time. Its a lesson that I have to learn over and over. I get really discouraged because we are working so hard, being exactly obedient and earnestly praying but it seems like nothing really goes our way. Then miracles like Jesse come along and it makes it all worth it. So I am very grateful that Jesse found us, and especially grateful that he is ready and willing to be baptized as soon as he possibly can. 

 

So I am super terrible at taking pictures...so I will be sure to take some stupid pictures this week and send them out! 

 

Love you all!

 

Elder Carper

Miracle of Exchanges

This week has been full of very cool spiritual experiences for me! We had zone conference on Wednesday that was absolutely great! For the first time it felt like an actual training instead of a 4 hour long chastisement. I really enjoyed learning from President and Sister Wilson. Being inspired is a great feeling for sure! 

 

I also had the opportunity to go on exchanges with some Elders in my district. It was a good exchange, and it was cool being able to talk through issues and help other missionaries get motivated to be obedient. I really cherished that opportunity because it was a leader in my 2 area that really helped me have a desire to turn my mission around and be obedient, and we were on exchanges when that happened so it was cool to try and pass that along. I also was able to help some other missionaries with issues they are having on Sunday. It was super spirit filled, and it got pretty emotional for the missionary but there was a really strong feeling of love in the room. I am super excited for these missionaries I get to serve! They are gonna make the changes and be the best missionaries ever!! 

 

Sorry that this email is so short, we havent had a whole lot of time to be able to email this week. Hopefully some stuff opens up! I hope yall have a dope week!

 

Elder Carper

I Belong Nowhere......

This week has been super fun for me! On Tuesday I went on exchanges with some Elders in our District. If you are training  you have to go on exchanges for week 3 so I went on an exchange  with these Elders, and then also went with the Zone Leaders since Elder Myers is new. It was a lot of fun, I had to go with the Greenie and basically was told to make sure he was being trained right. So that was interesting, his name is Elder Greene (teehee) and he is also a red head. So you best believe the jokes came at every. single. door. Its algood, it was an easy set up to transition the conversation to the gospel. My favorite game to play with my companions is to choose a random object we see and then relate it to the gospel. Its super fun and it really helps you be able to turn conversations into gospel conversations. So we do it with the members who come with us! 

 

There were two absolutely crazy things that happened this week, the first being that I got to interview a wonderful lady named Debbie for her baptism. It was my first baptismal interview and so I was really nervous, but it ended up being one of the most spiritual meetings of my mission. The spirit was so thick you could almost see it. Everything went perfectly, after the interview I told her that I wanted her to go straight to the chapel so she can feel the spirit, and pour her heart out in gratitude to God. I told her that the happiest times in my life is when all I feel like doing is getting on my knees and thanking the Lord. It really was a super cool experience, she was bawling by the time she left and then ran to the Chapel so the Sisters thought something went wrong so it was super funny!

 

The other crazy thing is that they redrew the ward boundaries in the whole Bakersfield South Stake. So there is no Panama ward anymore....I dont belong anymore I guess. The two wards are Berkshire and Wilson. They took 3 wards and combined them, my area is in Berkshire and so if I stay, I will be with half the members in Fairview. I already served there....so that would be WEIRD. Its whatever though, they will let us know our new areas soon. I hope I stay in my area, I keep having the feeling that I will be here for a long time so I hope that comes true! 

 

I hope yall had a wonderful new year! I watched as the clock hit midnight and thought....wow I go home this year in august. Fun fun! 

 

Elder Carper

Family Reunions

Such a sick week from Bakes! This was totally the best Christmas ever! Yes being able to skype was cool I guess but the highlight was going out with the Sister Missionaries and some other members of the Ward and going Christmas Caroling! It was so much fun and we got so many happy and excited looks from people who I know truly appreciated what we were doing. For instance one guy was crying as he thanked us for coming. He had to spend Christmas alone and he said that we were a huge blessing. It was super cool, we were able to find some really solid potential investigators out of it! 

It was so cool to be able to spend all of Christmas at my cousin Jamies house, she actually gave us a bunch of gifts. It was super funny because she gave us both ties and was really scared we wouldnt like the ties because they spent so long picking them out. They are so great! 

I got to go on Exchanges with some Elders from my District. It was really fun and we were able to find a lot of people. We had a super solid lesson with some investigators we picked up that day, and it was great. We basically had the 1st lesson that every missionary should have! They arent ready to be baptized yet but they want to do it, they just wont commit to a date yet. Thats ok though, we can for sure work with it! Everything else is going well, our District Fast really brought in the blessings! In our area alone we were able to see miracles! Im really happy that things are going well! I hope every one of you have a Happy New Year!

Elder Carper

Merry Christmas

Hey Everyone! It will be pretty short cause I have a lot to do! Its been pretty crazy being over here in the weirdly hot weather at Christmas time! This week was super disappointing in the fact that so many of our lessons fell through! It was way sad, but the other good news is that my Greenie doesnt suck! His name is Elder Myers and he is from Charlestown Indiana, and even though we have nothing in common he is willing to do anything to be the best missionary possible! He enjoys working hard and being obedient so I cant complain at all! 

So this week was also my very first District meeting, and it wasnt a complete disaster....Nah it actually went really well, afterwards the whole District gave the Sisters a blessing so that they can be comforted even though there isnt a whole lot happening for them. Its super weird haha people will text me and ask to leave their area and my first thought is always "why the heck should I care?" then I remember the sad truth that I have to give them permission...which is also super weird. I guess that will take some getting used to! I have a leadership training with the Assistants on tuesday to go over some things. The biggest thing I am trying to do is make sure my district knows how much I love them and how much time I spend in prayer trying to figure out how I can help them. They are super awesome though and the Lord knew i was going to be a terrible District leader so he brought in the best missionaries in the Mission to make my life easier! 

I really want to take the time to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas! I am so grateful for all of the support I have recieved and all of the testimonies that I get to hear that have strengthened mine. Being on a mission has been the best decision of my whole life, and I say that without reserve! It makes me sad that I went most of my life without any real relationship with my heavenly Father, but I am so grateful that I can see the difference it makes in my life. This truly is His church and I know I am serving His mission. I am thrilled to be here and to be able to share his love with the people of Bakersfield! The Church is TRUE!

Elder Carper