Dear Friends & Family:
This week was really good. We had Stake Conference and Elder Zwick from the Seventy was here. He even talked with one of our investigators! The conference was great, and I saw a lot of people I knew from when I was in Flour Bluff and Portland. They reorganized the Stake Presidency and released the Stake President. All in all it, was great.
This week was also homecoming here in Sinton. We were driving the other day and noticed that a bunch of the roads were blocked off, and so we got out and it turns out they were having their homecoming parade. It was pretty neat seeing as how Sinton is such a small town, and everybody was there and stuff like that. You don’t get that in LA.
I can’t believe it is almost November, these past few weeks have really gone by quickly. I know that it will all be over sooner than I can imagine. We keep having these missionaries from another church knock on our door. They have come by 3 times in the past 2 months of so. I don’t think they know that we are LDS missionaries, but I suspect that they keep coming back because were nice to them. I think they’ll be surprised one day when we knock on their door!
Things are going great here. We have an awesome investigator (the one that met Elder Zwick) Please pray for him. I think he can be baptized before I leave, which would be awesome, but if not I know he will in the future. Take care!
Ryan
Monday, October 26, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Only 4 More Blogs Left
Dear Family & Friends:
This week was pretty good. We had Zone Conference on Wednesday. Sadly, it was my last Zone Confernce ever! It was one of the best that we have had though! We have Stake Confernce this upcoming weekend, and there will be some General Authorities there, although I'm not sure who. Somebody from the Seventy. We have been having a lot more success lately. We have found some amazing people that we are teaching. My companion, Elder Cardenas, is great We recently found out that somebody that Elder Bugg and I taught, Tiffany, was baptized over in New Mexico. She is one of Johnny's daughters and moved over there a few months ago.
We had an amazing experience this past week. We decided to go over to a less- active members house at about 1 p.m. Even though I have been here so long, I have never met her before. It turns out that her mother had died a few days earlier, and she had just attended the funeral. She was grateful that we came by. Ig uess nobody had visited her in a long time, and we were able to share some scriptures with her and help her feel more a ease. There are so many times on a mission where you just happen to be at the right place at the right time. It is amazing how the Spirit will guide you to those people who need the gospel.
I can't believe that I only have 1 month left. A few months ago somebody told me that the last 3 months of your mission are the slowest, and so far that has been the truth, but now it seems more real to me! Mom, the Mission Office is supposed to send you something this week. They called to verify our address, so look for something in the mail. I hope you all had a great week! Only 4 more letters to go! Love to all, Ryan
This week was pretty good. We had Zone Conference on Wednesday. Sadly, it was my last Zone Confernce ever! It was one of the best that we have had though! We have Stake Confernce this upcoming weekend, and there will be some General Authorities there, although I'm not sure who. Somebody from the Seventy. We have been having a lot more success lately. We have found some amazing people that we are teaching. My companion, Elder Cardenas, is great We recently found out that somebody that Elder Bugg and I taught, Tiffany, was baptized over in New Mexico. She is one of Johnny's daughters and moved over there a few months ago.
We had an amazing experience this past week. We decided to go over to a less- active members house at about 1 p.m. Even though I have been here so long, I have never met her before. It turns out that her mother had died a few days earlier, and she had just attended the funeral. She was grateful that we came by. Ig uess nobody had visited her in a long time, and we were able to share some scriptures with her and help her feel more a ease. There are so many times on a mission where you just happen to be at the right place at the right time. It is amazing how the Spirit will guide you to those people who need the gospel.
I can't believe that I only have 1 month left. A few months ago somebody told me that the last 3 months of your mission are the slowest, and so far that has been the truth, but now it seems more real to me! Mom, the Mission Office is supposed to send you something this week. They called to verify our address, so look for something in the mail. I hope you all had a great week! Only 4 more letters to go! Love to all, Ryan
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
A New Investigator and a Departing Testimony
Dear Family & Friends:
This week was great! I didn’t get transferred. My companion, Elder Kocherhans, went to Laredo, and I got a new companion, Elder Cardenas. He is from San Francisco area. He has been out about 15 months or so. He was companions with Elder Kocherhans before, and we have lots in common.
We found this new investigator, and when we talked to her, she said that she knows a member and even went to church a few years ago. She said that she felt great when she went. She was having some problems because her eye was swelling up really bad for no apparent reason, and she had to miss a lot of work, so we gave her a blessing. Two days later we came back and she was completely healed. She said that her eye swells up a lot and will usually last for a few weeks, but as soon as we gave her the blessing, she said the swelling went down!
I can't believe how fast time is going here. It seems like just yesterday that I arrived here, and now I only have a month or so left. We have Zone conference tomorrow, and I get to say my departing testimony! Also they should be sending you (mom) a letter from President Miller about my departure.
Well. I hope everything is well. Is it snowing up there yet? I am definitely acclimated to the heat. It got cold here for a few days; in the low 60s. I had to put on my sweater and turn on the heater and everything, so I am definitely not prepared for a cold winter. I don't even think I have any winter clothes. Love to all, Ryan
This week was great! I didn’t get transferred. My companion, Elder Kocherhans, went to Laredo, and I got a new companion, Elder Cardenas. He is from San Francisco area. He has been out about 15 months or so. He was companions with Elder Kocherhans before, and we have lots in common.
We found this new investigator, and when we talked to her, she said that she knows a member and even went to church a few years ago. She said that she felt great when she went. She was having some problems because her eye was swelling up really bad for no apparent reason, and she had to miss a lot of work, so we gave her a blessing. Two days later we came back and she was completely healed. She said that her eye swells up a lot and will usually last for a few weeks, but as soon as we gave her the blessing, she said the swelling went down!
I can't believe how fast time is going here. It seems like just yesterday that I arrived here, and now I only have a month or so left. We have Zone conference tomorrow, and I get to say my departing testimony! Also they should be sending you (mom) a letter from President Miller about my departure.
Well. I hope everything is well. Is it snowing up there yet? I am definitely acclimated to the heat. It got cold here for a few days; in the low 60s. I had to put on my sweater and turn on the heater and everything, so I am definitely not prepared for a cold winter. I don't even think I have any winter clothes. Love to all, Ryan
Monday, October 5, 2009
Ensign Magazine Features McAllen Mission
This week was great! General Conference is like Christmas for missionaries! Unfortunately the satellite gave out right before the Saturday afternoon session, and again before the Sunday afternoon session, but luckily we had a member who had the BYU channel and so we were able to watch it at their house, and didn't miss much. We have transfers on Wednesday. Please pray that I don’t leave Sinton! I really want to finish here, and this is my last possibility of getting transferred. I can’t believe that it’s already October. This week was pretty routine. We were really excited for conference, and so that was pretty much our whole focus this week. We recently had a sister move into the branch from Tijuana Mexico. She said that she went to the San Diego temple a lot, and we talked a lot about California. In this month’s Ensign there is a feature on member missionary work, and it features our mission. There are a lot of missionaries from the mission that were interviewed. I saw a copy that a member had and it looked really cool. I didn't even know that they had come and interviewed a bunch of people. Apparently they wrote the article about a year ago when I was in Brownsville. Things are going well here, and the weather is cooling off just a hair. Tell everybody that I say Hi.
Ryan
Ryan
Monday, September 28, 2009
Elder Nielson's Visit
Dear Family & Friends:
This past week was great. We had Brent Nielson from the Seventy come and do a tour of the mission. He gave a great Zone Conference, and even let us ask him any questions we wanted for 30 minutes. He said that the Prophet and the Apostles are greater than he ever imagined! He said that he is going to speak in General Conference next weekend, too. That would be scary.
Since it has been raining a lot here lately, our grass has been growing super, super fast. We had neglected mowing it for a while and it was almost 3 feet tall. I tried to mow it last Monday and went to start the mower and broke off the rip cord! Our landlord came and fixed it and it took more than an hour to mow everything. It was super hard and there were mosquitos everywhere!
The branch is doing great! We have had some really good attendence lately and we have had a lot of less-active members start coming back. We also have a really good investigator. He is progressing very well. He was out of town this week, but he asked us for the addfress of the San Antonio Temple because he said he wanted to stop by on his way back. We are going to see him tomorrow.
I am super excited for General Conference this weekend. It's pretty much like Christmas for missionaries (as I have said before)! It is so amazing to hear so many wonderful speakers and to feel the spirit. I can't believe this will be my fourth General Conference on my mission.
Mom, I received a sheet that my dad sent me of some family history from his mother's side that I am going to copy and send to you. I'm pretty sure somebody on the other side is trying to give us a hint or something because I didn't even ask for it, my dad just sent it to me!
We have transfers coming up next week. I really really really hope that I stay in Sinton for my last transfer, I've already put so much into this area. Things here are going very well. Tell everyone that I say hi and to write to me, I love receiving mail from friends and family.
Ryan
This past week was great. We had Brent Nielson from the Seventy come and do a tour of the mission. He gave a great Zone Conference, and even let us ask him any questions we wanted for 30 minutes. He said that the Prophet and the Apostles are greater than he ever imagined! He said that he is going to speak in General Conference next weekend, too. That would be scary.
Since it has been raining a lot here lately, our grass has been growing super, super fast. We had neglected mowing it for a while and it was almost 3 feet tall. I tried to mow it last Monday and went to start the mower and broke off the rip cord! Our landlord came and fixed it and it took more than an hour to mow everything. It was super hard and there were mosquitos everywhere!
The branch is doing great! We have had some really good attendence lately and we have had a lot of less-active members start coming back. We also have a really good investigator. He is progressing very well. He was out of town this week, but he asked us for the addfress of the San Antonio Temple because he said he wanted to stop by on his way back. We are going to see him tomorrow.
I am super excited for General Conference this weekend. It's pretty much like Christmas for missionaries (as I have said before)! It is so amazing to hear so many wonderful speakers and to feel the spirit. I can't believe this will be my fourth General Conference on my mission.
Mom, I received a sheet that my dad sent me of some family history from his mother's side that I am going to copy and send to you. I'm pretty sure somebody on the other side is trying to give us a hint or something because I didn't even ask for it, my dad just sent it to me!
We have transfers coming up next week. I really really really hope that I stay in Sinton for my last transfer, I've already put so much into this area. Things here are going very well. Tell everyone that I say hi and to write to me, I love receiving mail from friends and family.
Ryan
Monday, September 21, 2009
Mosquitoes, Rain, & Lots of Great People
Dear Family & Friends:
This week has been great. It has been raining a whole lot here lately. Since it has been raining, the mosquitoes have been coming out a lot lately. I thought we were going to avoid them this year because of the drought, but I guess not. The front of our car is black because we drive through swarms of them at night. At first I thought it was raining because we kept hearing this pitter patter on the windshield, but then we realized what it was! We have been having a lot of attendance at the branch lately. A few months ago we had been averaging 20-30 per week. Yesterday we had 47! We have been in the 40s for the past few weeks. We have seen a lot of less-active families come back and start to attend more regularly. We have also had some investigators who have been attending regularly as well. We have one investigator who just got out of the marines. He’s such a great guy. His aunt is a member and has been sharing the gospel with him and now we are teaching him, too. He’s got a lot of crazy stories from when he was in Iraq. We have been working this little town called Edroy recently and have found some really cool people over there, too. We have been teaching this guy who said that he has been praying for years to find the true church. It was pretty much a miracle when we found him. We knocked on his door and his mom answered and said they weren’t interested, so we went down the street and ended up teaching somebody else. As we were walking back, we passed by the house again and he just happened to come outside, and so we started talking to him and ended up teaching him a little bit. We have taught him a couple of times and we’re going back tonight. Things have really been going great around here! Say hi to everyone!
Love, Elder Carreon
This week has been great. It has been raining a whole lot here lately. Since it has been raining, the mosquitoes have been coming out a lot lately. I thought we were going to avoid them this year because of the drought, but I guess not. The front of our car is black because we drive through swarms of them at night. At first I thought it was raining because we kept hearing this pitter patter on the windshield, but then we realized what it was! We have been having a lot of attendance at the branch lately. A few months ago we had been averaging 20-30 per week. Yesterday we had 47! We have been in the 40s for the past few weeks. We have seen a lot of less-active families come back and start to attend more regularly. We have also had some investigators who have been attending regularly as well. We have one investigator who just got out of the marines. He’s such a great guy. His aunt is a member and has been sharing the gospel with him and now we are teaching him, too. He’s got a lot of crazy stories from when he was in Iraq. We have been working this little town called Edroy recently and have found some really cool people over there, too. We have been teaching this guy who said that he has been praying for years to find the true church. It was pretty much a miracle when we found him. We knocked on his door and his mom answered and said they weren’t interested, so we went down the street and ended up teaching somebody else. As we were walking back, we passed by the house again and he just happened to come outside, and so we started talking to him and ended up teaching him a little bit. We have taught him a couple of times and we’re going back tonight. Things have really been going great around here! Say hi to everyone!
Love, Elder Carreon
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
A New Investigator and a Few Tornado Warnings
Dear Family & Friends:
We had a great week this week. We had a new investigator come to church this Sunday. He’s a super great guy. He has come to church before (his aunt in a member and brought him). He just got out of the Marines, and he is really interested in the gospel. He said he loves church, and will come again next week.
We had our interviews with Mission President Miller this past week as well. Mine went well. I only have one more interview before I go home. That’s crazy to think that once I finish this transfer I will only have one more to go!
I talked to this other missionary, Elder Hartner, who will be going to BYU in January also. He said that he could try and find us a place in Rexburg. He goes home this month, and Mom, I’ll give him your number and maybe you can figure stuff out before I get back.
It has been raining here like crazy all week long. We got hit with a few thunderstorms and even a few tornado warnings. It’s supposed to be a little bit clearer this week though. We have been working in this small town named Edroy lately. There are only a few hundred people there, but we have found some really nice families. We have been trying to branch out where we work since we have such a huge area, and we are trying to go to some of the places that we haven't been all that much.
Tell everybody hi for me and I appreciate hearing from them!
Ryan
We had a great week this week. We had a new investigator come to church this Sunday. He’s a super great guy. He has come to church before (his aunt in a member and brought him). He just got out of the Marines, and he is really interested in the gospel. He said he loves church, and will come again next week.
We had our interviews with Mission President Miller this past week as well. Mine went well. I only have one more interview before I go home. That’s crazy to think that once I finish this transfer I will only have one more to go!
I talked to this other missionary, Elder Hartner, who will be going to BYU in January also. He said that he could try and find us a place in Rexburg. He goes home this month, and Mom, I’ll give him your number and maybe you can figure stuff out before I get back.
It has been raining here like crazy all week long. We got hit with a few thunderstorms and even a few tornado warnings. It’s supposed to be a little bit clearer this week though. We have been working in this small town named Edroy lately. There are only a few hundred people there, but we have found some really nice families. We have been trying to branch out where we work since we have such a huge area, and we are trying to go to some of the places that we haven't been all that much.
Tell everybody hi for me and I appreciate hearing from them!
Ryan
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