December 21, 2015 "If ye love me, [do my dishes.]"

Thank you so much for the package!  And the shirt stays are working wonders.  I feel like a new man!  Although, I don't know who sent them to me, but if that's the idea, then I guess that's okay haha!  Love you all tons and thank you for the support!

I was asked this last week "Is there a preconceived idea about the Mormons there?"  The answer is yes, but not the usual one.  To be honest, if I wasn't a missionary, I would probably be persecuted for being white.  I still get a tiny bit because I, as a "Washichu" can't understand where they are coming from and what they have been through.  But other than that, they love the missionaries and treat us great!  Everyone in town has either met the missionaries or have family who has, so they all have been around them at least a little bit.  They respect us quite a bit, but a lot of them don't want to talk with us because they know that what we have to say will require them to make changes that are very difficult, and they don't think they actually can overcome those issues.  

And there are more than just 2 washichu.  I was as I mentioned last week, but I'm sure there is one somewhere around here!  I'll just have to find them haha!  All kidding aside, there are a few around, but not a whole lot.  At all.

This week has been great as well!  It's also been crazy, but great.  We saw M every day this week.  He's soaking the Gospel in like crazy!  Everything we taught him he just loved and thought it made so much sense.  We also did his dishes for him, but there is a story behind that.  So, we went over, and there are usual a bunch of kids running around, one of which had a crazy bad tooth ache.  He was moaning on the couch, and then the medicine arrived for him, so he put it on the tooth.  Right after he did so, the boy got up to go to the bathroom, but didn't quite make it.  He puked, trying to make it to the garbage can, but the can was already overflowing, so he just gave up and puked right next to it.  Once he finished, he went to the bathroom.  M came back in and we asked him "What can we do to help you out?"  He told us he was fine, then continued to rush around the house.  When he came back in, we asked again, same answer, then again later, he said "dang, you guys really do want to help don't you?  I know what you can do.  Could you do the dishes?"  We laughed but said sure!  Now, the picture below missed half of the dishes.  There are 2 sinks full of super dirty dishes, and a whole other pile going to the wall on his left.  It took us a good 45 minutes to wash them!  But, we taught him the whole Plan of Salvation while we did it and he loved it.  What an experience!

We got to see the Mission President and his wife on Tuesday!  That was a blast!  I love those 2 so much.  They're just amazing.

We also saw A and J, and they are doing great too.  Still going strong and searching for truth, which is great.  It was pretty much the exact same thing as last time, just the Restoration rather than the Plan of Salvation.

Honestly, that's about all that happened this week.  So, I want to share a quote from Hyrum Smith (not the brother of Joseph).  He said "If your self worth is dependent on anything other than your relationship with Christ, you are in big trouble."  Maybe there is someone you know that needs this.  Maybe you need this.  I firmly believe that the biggest problem in today's world is no one has any decent amount of Self Worth, so they seek for ways to fake it. If we all had self worth that was only dependent of our relationship with Christ and our Heavenly Father, we would have most of our problems today dramatically lessened.  If we all knew that we are the Children of God, we wouldn't be doing all the horrible things we are, because we would understand what it means to be His child.  That means He loves us, that He wants the best for us.  It means that we are all brothers and sisters and we wouldn't want to hurt one another the way we so often do.  We would do all that we can to help others and bless their lives.  So spread the news this Christmas season!  Help others realize that they are loved by 2 perfect beings.  That one loved us enough to suffer unimaginable pain so that we don't have to, and the other loved us enough to send Him to do so, to watch His beloved Son suffer and die for us.  What greater news is there?  I don't know of any.  What a great time to be alive!  To live in the time that the Gospel has been Restored!  To live in a time that we can be blessed by the Priesthood, that our families can be sealed for eternity, and that we can know exactly what we need to know in order to return to our Heavenly Fathers presence.  

I love you all dearly, and I pray that all is well back home.

Elder Carter V