Hello to all:
Well, I'm not in Portland anymore, I was transfered. Right now I'm in Sinton, Texas, which is even more north than before! I'm pretty much just making a huge circle around the mission I guess. Sinton is great, and the area actually borders Portland.
Our area is huge, probably the biggest in the whole mission. We cover a bunch of really small towns and in between the towns is a whole lot of nothing! We have 1,600 miles per month that we can use, and apparently it's just barely enough if we try to conserve (Editor's note: I am assuming Ryan is now using a car instead of a bike!)
We received the transfer calls last Tuesday night. Most people who got transfered stayed within the Corpus Christi area. I definitely went the farthest.
The Branch here is super tiny, with only about 35 people in regular attendence. We are also the only two missionaries in the whole Branch. It's so tiny that we are constantly called upon to give classes, and next week we have been assigned to give talks. The people here are the nicest people I've even met in my life. Most people will invite you back, or even if they aren't interested, they will chat with you. Hopefully we will be able to get some baptisms here.
Our Branch President is originally from Santa Barbara, Calif., and loves to surf! He has tons of surfboards and goes out to North Padre Island to surf all the time.
We (the missionaries) live in a house all by ourselves. It's a super cool place. It's pretty big for a missionary apartment, too. I'll also send the other memory card soon so everyone can see pictures.
I hope everything is going well. I heard the Super Bowl was really exciting, and Arizona almost won. Tons of people here pulled out their TVs and watched it outside while they BBQ'd!
Write soon. Prayers and cards and packages appreciated!
Elder Carreon
For more information about the LDS Church, see
Elder Ryan Evan Carreon
Texas McAllen Mission
200 W. La Vista Ave.
McAllen, TX 78501-2131
(or email torrimc@hotmail.com if you have a question)
Texas McAllen Mission
200 W. La Vista Ave.
McAllen, TX 78501-2131
(or email torrimc@hotmail.com if you have a question)
Elder Carreon
Seattle, Washington
The Articles of Faith
The Articles of Faith outline 13 basic points of belief of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Prophet Joseph Smith first wrote them in a letter to John Wentworth, a newspaper editor, in response to Mr. Wentworth's request to know what members of the Church believed. They were subsequently published in Church periodicals. They are now regarded as scripture and included in the Pearl of Great Price.
THE ARTICLES OF FAITH
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
History of the Church, Vol. 4, pp. 535—541
1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
-Joseph Smith
DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS
If you would like an email sent to you whenever a new blog is posted, please email torrimc@hotmail.com
Write to Elder Carreon at the address at the top of this blog, or, he can also receive an e-mail letter if you write one using Dearelder.com. The service will charge you the price of a stamp and will print and mail the letter for you.
A third way to contact him is to send an e-mail to: eldercarreon@myldsmail.net
He can receive e-mail but can't reply back (he has very limited computer time only one day a week) but he can write to you via snail-mail, so be sure to send a home address in your e-mail or letter so he can send you a reply.
Ryan's grandparents, Sandra and Ron Bean, just recently returned from an Humanitarian Mission in Uganda, Africa (November, 2008). Read about their experiences on their blog and view some amazing pictures, at
Beanmission.blogspot.com or click directly on the link at the end of Elder Carreon's blog.
THE ARTICLES OF FAITH
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
History of the Church, Vol. 4, pp. 535—541
1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
-Joseph Smith
DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS
If you would like an email sent to you whenever a new blog is posted, please email torrimc@hotmail.com
Write to Elder Carreon at the address at the top of this blog, or, he can also receive an e-mail letter if you write one using Dearelder.com. The service will charge you the price of a stamp and will print and mail the letter for you.
A third way to contact him is to send an e-mail to: eldercarreon@myldsmail.net
He can receive e-mail but can't reply back (he has very limited computer time only one day a week) but he can write to you via snail-mail, so be sure to send a home address in your e-mail or letter so he can send you a reply.
Ryan's grandparents, Sandra and Ron Bean, just recently returned from an Humanitarian Mission in Uganda, Africa (November, 2008). Read about their experiences on their blog and view some amazing pictures, at
Beanmission.blogspot.com or click directly on the link at the end of Elder Carreon's blog.