01-30-08

I'm definately in Canada! The past three days it's been in the -40's! Ya that's pretty brisk! We're mostly encouraged not to go outside if it's -30 C but today it warmed up to a scorching -28! ha ha The snow is far different from home. It's very powdery and when it packs it is slick! On exchanges a little while ago with Elder Sandstrom in Olds we were getting into the car. We each set our backpacks on the back seat and closed the doors. I turned and saw a truck with it's wheels turned to their max. The driver (a woman maybe in her 30's) was screaming some things that I won't write but suffice it to say she was distressed. Her wheels locked up. The dog in the passenger seat looked at us without the slightest bit of knowing what was going on. Now I'm surprised at what I did and what Elder Sandstrom did but we were a little shocked. For about 8 seconds (that in retrospect feel like 5 minutes) we stood just looking back at the truck. She was going about 30 miles per hour when we noticed her. She had been trying to turn into her neighbors driveway when it locked up. She came within 6 inches of our rear bumper. She apologized profusely and we told her it was fine and that it happens sometimes. Elder Sandstrom mentioned that we weren't the type to get angry even if the collision had happened. She climbed back into the car and drove over to her near house. I have the distinct feeling we were protected that day. It seemed to me that she should have plowed through the car and her truck was an older ford model. It was the type that had a solid metal bumper and the whole body was made very solidly. Our malibu would've stood no chance to say the least. Lately our balchony doors have been frozen shut. Here in Canada they put two doors on so that the outer door can freeze but the inner door can be more insulating. BOTH doors have been frozen shut and I have been making my handprint in the outer one from the inside layer of ice.Transfers were monday and the verdict came in, Elder Frost and I are both staying in Rocky. The president says that he recieved a letter from the higher authorities instructing us to stay in our companionships for longer. There are two elders in Red Deer who don't get a long at all. This transfer will mark 6 months together for them! What a lesson to me that I need to quickly learn to get along with all my companions!Well It's been another blessed week and I hope home has been the same! Congratulations to Amy and Jake for their wedding coming up quickly! I love you all and miss you but I'm out here working in the Lords vineyard and what a blessing that is! :DHave a phenomenal day! Elder McCarty

Weekly News and whatever else comes to mind :D 1-23-08‏

Good morning, afternoon or evening!A 0 Today is a glorious day in the town of Rocky Mountain House. Elder Frost is through E-mailing and we've got to travel to Red Deer this morning for a Zone Preparation day. Because of that this email is likely to be relatively short in comparison to the others. Perhaps that comes as a relief to many of you. ha haI've been blessed greatly this week. I'm so grateful for your many emails. I'm thankful for the patience you all have with me and my weekly attempts to reitterate the feelings this mission is stirring within my soul.We've been making a greater effort to contact more of our investegators and set up definate appointments with them this week. We've had minimal success. Elder Frost was unfortunately sick for three or so of the days of this past week. That was a large contribution to the minimal success we've had. 0 I 7m enjoying my guitar and the lessons Brother Wolfs is giving me. He doesn't realize how much I already know but it's great that he's teaching me many of the basics I didn't know before. I'm learning about how to figure out songs by using different Keys and such. As a result I have a few hymns I can now play. My favorite is a neat acoustic rendition of "There is a green hill far away" that Elder Frost has on an EFY CD. I figured it out by ear mostly but the Key and relative progressions that brother Wolfs is teaching me helped a lot!I want to stress to each of you the importance our role as members is in this gospel. Moses 1:39 says that Gods work and His glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Missionary work essentially. I thought before my mission that I would serve two years and that would be it. As I've been out here I realize that the members and their roles in our work is so much more important than I ever before realized. Alma the younger was a missionary nearly every day of his life after he realized the error of his previous ways. I am making it my goal to be more like him in that respect. I would challenge each of you to be a missionary. Don't worry about being pushy because that's not what missionary work is about. Simply invite. As we invite we are not being over forceful we're simply opening that door and helping our friends to recognize that it's there. There's a saying "nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care." Nobody understands how much we as missionaries care about there souls when we're tracting. Do your friends know how much you care? Help them to understand the importance this gospel is. You WILL be blessed. More importantly your friends will be blessed.May God protect you and give you the capacities necessary to live in this world and do your part in this great latter day work that is Missionary work.My love to you,Elder McCarty P.s. I am sending this for the first time to many on the list Please forgive me for not being able to send individual emails every week! I try really hard but they only allow us half of an hour to be here emailing. Lindsey Court and Sarah I hope you'll forgive me and I'll do my best to send you emails but today I have no time. I'm terribly sorry.

1-16-08

Family and friends, It seems this week I've been caught on a spiritual peak. It's days like this that the air seems a little fresher, the weather less severe, and the blessings from God so tangible. I'm deeply grateful for the e-mails I recieved in response to last weeks letter. I feel very blessed that so many people take interest in how I'm doing. Thank you for your support.This has been an inspiring week. Zone conference seems to have that effect. President Rhodes came down from Edmonton. In our interview I asked him a question about what I can do to be better at missionary work. He closed his eyes for one of those moments that seems like an eternity. When he opened them they seemed peircing. He simply said, "Elder McCarty, thank you for asking such a profound question... I will seek a more definate answer for you." .... I believe that President Rhodes is a man of God. I feel an unquestionable respect for him each time we meet. It's the kind of respect that commands reverence and integrity. We had a recent convert from one of the missionaries ward come and talk to us about her story. She was a simple person. The words she used were not extravagent but, when she bore testimony in words I had heard and spoken more times than I can count, my soul stirred. I felt the holy ghost with great power. She told us in words that are all too often spoken as memorized segments. Yet her sincerity shined through with unmistakable eloquence. It was a marvelous experience.Lately my perception of prayer has been changed. I now seek to have conversations with heavenly father. As I've done such my life is more rich. Everything seems purposeful and my faith has increased. Prayer is no longer a task but a pleasure. I was asked to close the Zone Conference with prayer. We all knelt down and I prayed with all the thought I could muster. I have sought to become more mighty in prayer since that adjective almost always accompanies description of the prayers of men I wish to be like.Sister Rhodes (the wife to President and mother of the mission) came to me afterward. She said to me "Elder McCarty that was a very spiritually oriented prayer, thank you." That compliment was a great strength to my faith that as we aspire to improve we can do so!I want to challenge each person that reads this letter to pray to God. Speak with him as you would with someone you greatly love and respect. Give him time to respond. Please do not rush through because if you fall victim to this (like I have for so many years) there's no end to the blessings you may be missing!Dan Jarhaus came to church yet again. He's a very soft spoken man. He asked a question geared towards Reincarnation while we were speaking of Resurrection. We explained that although reincarnation is a popular belief among some religions modern revelation has revealed that in fact reincarnation is not valid. He seemed a little confused. We asked him after class if he would like to hear more and if we could set up an appointment with him. He replied "not right now, I'm really busy." I was a little discouraged but I think over time he will make the time.It's my solemn testimony that this is Christ's church. That includes the facts that I know Joseph Smith is Gods prophet, that he passed those keys vicariously to Gordon B. Hinckley who I know recieves revelation for you and I. How powerful those truths are.I love you all and I enjoy hearing about how your lives are going. Please If you would like a personal response just mention it in your emails because I cannot always respond to all who I'd like to. I will do my best though! Thank you for your support, for your time, and for all you teach me. Love,Elder McCarty If you have any questions or comments I love to hear them! If you feel the overwhelming desire (ha ha which I'm sure you do) to send me mail my current address is:Elder McCarty5212 53 St. 403BRocky Mountain HouseAlberta T4T 1R6Canada

Weely Letter 01-09-08

Dearest Family and Friends, This past week has been a spectacular one! I have enjoyed so many blessings. I hope that you can feel some of what I feel as I'm recieving so much! Since last week fast sunday was a very powerful experience for me. About a month ago I began a new tradition for myself. I decided I wanted to focus more on what the sacrament means when I go to church so I read Hymn 29 "A Poor Wayfairing Man of Greif" while the sacrament is being passed. In the spirit of fasting and prayer when I read the words in the 6th and 7th verses (especially the end of the 6th) I had one of the most special spiritual experiences I've ever been blessed with. Recently Sister Plowman in our ward (daughter to and living with the Judds) had supper with us at her house. We discussed the empty sixth seat with set plate. Her friend Dan Jahraus is a farmer. I think they're dating but they always call eachother (in introductions) friends such as, "This is my friend Dan." He attended "The Forgotten Carols" play and noticed there were many who were dressed in the customary white shirt and tie. He asked for some for Christmas! Now being a farmer, we pondered, why would he need white shirts and ties. He never showed up to that supper (being out late hauling hay) but our question was answered much how we anticipated and there he was at church the next day! We taught him about The Restoration in our investigator class. That was all very exciting but the real surprise came on the 6th of January. Sister Plowman was ill. She didn't come to church, yet, there was Dan, bible in hand and just as calm and silent as the week previous. We theorized "Maybe Dan was asked to drive the Judds" they're elderly and it certainly was possible. Elder Frost asked "Dan did you drive the Judds today?", when we met them on the way to class. Brother Judd has one glass eye and a walking cane so we thought it more than possible he could not drive. He squared his shoulders stood tall and said "I may be old and half blind but it only takes one eye to drive." We were shocked! Dan came out of no obligation. He came because he wanted to. He did not even have Sister Plowman there to influence him and yet he came! Now this may seem a little less significant but I want you all to know I hadn't had any progress with any person out here since we opened the area. I was thrilled that he's interested in the gospel. We're going to (through Sister Plowman) set up a lesson and he'll officially be considered a progressing investigator. Monday of this week was the beginning of an exchange. For those unaware an exchange happens when the leader (in our case Elder Frost is the District Leader) splits off with another companionship. The purpose is mostly to establish the status of the missionaries so that any troubles can be solved and corrected. I had the privelage to go with Elder Sandstrom! He's a big guy from Salt Lake. We talked up a storm (no play on his name intended... ha.) I enjoyed the time we spent. One experience we had stands out in my mind. We went by a store that Brother Mike Tucker owns and operates. He was on the phone with Ellen from Washington (another "Friend" I presume.) Her daughter Jessica (age7 1/2) had a question which they warned us she had stumped their missionaries with. She got on the phone while we were on speaker phone and asked this question. "If God has no beginning and no end where did WE begin?" .... Ya... I know. How would you answer it? Well we did it like this. We explained to her about the fact that we're spiritual beings having a physical experience. We told here we are here for two purposes. In no particular order 1 To gain a body like our Heavenly Fathers and 2 to be tested according to our agency. We explained it in detail that a seven year old can understand. We told her that in order for us to be tested we have to be kept from really remembering before this life. Next we explained that someday we will understand those things when we are ready. What a humbling experience it was! Also what a smart young girl. It was hard at first. We struggled to find out what to teach. She understood and accepted our answer nevertheless. It was a great experience. This Email is long. I apologize! This week also Brother Herman Wolfs let me borrow his guitar! It was his first. Made in 1952 in Germany this guitar is a work of art! It's red and black with violin style acoustic grooves on the sides of the string. He's also teaching me how I can determine what key songs are in and I'm grasping a better understanding of how to teach myself songs that I know. I already have come up with the chords for "Silent Night", "Frosty the Snowman" (Elder Frost loves when I sing that one to him ha ha) and many more simple but fun songs! I hope soon to be able to teach myself whichever hymns I want! The mission life is amazing. The church is true. If there is doubt in your mind I invite you to read Moroni 10:3-5 and follow his instruction. Especially focus on the 3 qualifications given that are prerequisite to his promise. God bless you.Love,Elder McCarty

Weekly Gazzette 1-02-08

My apologies for last week! I didn't get the opportunity to check my mail because the Library was closed! Christmas, ladies and gentlemen, was absolutely outstanding! It's incredible how different it was than what I have had! We had three Christmas' in fact! The members of this ward are so kind and they only increase their kindness as time continues. I grand totalled 26 pair of socks! I love new socks so I'm very happy with that! We did a number of nativities and had lots of treats (many of which were sent home with us.) We played some pool on the worlds largest table (exaggerating of course.) I think it was 12 feet long and 6 feet across! I may not be remembering right but it's massive that's for sure. The dinners were great and surprisingly we didn't have one single christmas turkey! All three of the families said their family decided they'd had enough turkey and so we had all kinds of different things! Lots of good came from the season of Christmas. People in general have more open hearts and when you show up talking about Christ they listen just a bit more and I've been blessed to notice the Light of Christ reaching starting to glimmer in their eyes. Unfortunately many have kept that light dormant for so long that they cover it up just as quickly as it shows. New years was a blast! Pat and Mandy Christensen had us over to their home and we played lots of games and things! Their kids are a lot of fun and we got to have a pretty impressive bonfire! I had an amazing experience at District meeting this last week! Our zone leaders (Elders Jones and Beisinger) came and it was my assignment to do the doctrinal discussion. This group of elders (only 6 of us) generally have a lot of fun. We commenced as usual and then I led the discussion. The spirit came into that room so powerfully and silence swept the Elders. I read a powerful story and bore testimony. As I came closer to the Lord I feel I was directed in my discussion. Afterward the silence seemed so profound the Zone Leaders whispered rather that spoke "Can I get a copy of that?" My heart was full from the outpouring of spirit and I'm so grateful that we are not alone in this work! I've been humbled as to my abilities and my confidence has waxed exponentially stronger in the power of God. Family, friends, ultimately Brothers and Sisters of God, I want you each individually to know that I know the truth of this Gospel. There is a promise in all scripture that any who ask shall recieve. The Holy Ghost can manifest truth in any form to you and I. President Eyring once said when he was an apostle "this morning after praying to know the Book of Mormon is true" he was cut short. A man asked how he could possibly be an apostle if he had to pray to know the truth of the book that is the cornerstone of our religion. He replied with authority "I already knew the book was true... I just wanted to remember how it feels." Whether it be the first or ten thousandth time I promise that according to our faith, sincerity and intent we can recieve an answer to the truth of this gospel. Thanks so much for your prayers, concern, and support.
May God bless you all.
Love,
Elder McCarty