Week of Stress!

Dear Family and Friends, 8-15-11

This week has been really ridiculous and I was hoping that today I would get something from you guys to distract me a little but since everyone forgot about me but that is ok. :-( (Slothful family :( )Well next week is transfers again and I don`t know if I want to leave but we will see. I think I`m going to get kicked out of here finally but I don`t want to go because I want to see three people progress. I may really be sad when I finally change areas finally, but I may like it as well. This week I`ve been super stressed with my area, my district, and lots of activities and services. It’s been a challenge but also great. I`ll have a lot of stories to tell you guys when I get home but for now you`ll just have to wait to hear some. I gave another talk in sacrament meeting, this was my 5th time giving a talk in sacrament meeting here and I tried to drill into the heads of my members the importance of reading the Book of Mormon. It was pretty good! They were nice and roasted! I don`t have any baptismal dates right now. Probably the first time in 4 months I haven`t had one that wasn`t sure but we have right now 3 that just need to make the decision sure for a date. I don`t want to leave to see one of them progress. but the other two missionaries in my ward have 8 baptisms this sat. One family of 4 that I taught and found when I was in the area, I think I`m going to baptize one of them. And then another family of 3 that I contacted in my area and was super interested but in the other half and so it’s cool to see how I can help even if I`m not the one that taught them all of it. And then another guy that it really cool but I don`t know very well. So this is going to be a good week for our ward and hope lots of members come but we`ll see.

Ummm....besides that its been a little up and down this week I`m still reading in the Book of Mormon and just loving it. There are so many things I didn`t understand about the stories, doctrine, and the truth that the Book of Mormon has. If you aren`t reading the Book of Mormon grab it and read it. You will never regret it!

So my thought for the week was this. When I was talking to a family (members) yesterday we were talking about going on missions and they have one son on a mission and the other 3 older children, daughter of 20, sons of 19 and 17 are all preparing for missions and this thought came to my mind. "It’s not the missionaries that come to your door that make the difference, it’s the message that they carry. If they aren`t living up to their message who is going to believe?" I thought about that and just how you can apply that to all members that if you aren`t living up to this gospel and want to share it with others, people won’t believe you. If you are living up the message people will believe you and will feel it!! Anyway something to think about!

Love you all and take care,

Elder Carson Corbett

I don`t think God celebrates Birthdays!

Dear Family and Friends, 8-8-11

Wow thanks for all your happy birthdays and I kept my head up yesterday but it probably was the worst day in my mission until about 5:30 when we had a good appointment with the son of a recent convert that I baptized and we drank some, Inka, Cola to celebrate my birthday. First off for the first time in my mission my baptism didn`t come to church for the confirmation, that was a little sad. None of my 3 investigators that came wanted to stay after sacrament for the classes, oh well. We then had a lunch appointment with some members that said they would make me chicken for my birthday and we went there for lunch and when we walked it we sat down and just didn`t have chicken so I just shared a scripture and left without lunch. We went and visited some other people that was really weird and then we went to the sister that didn`t come to her confirmation to ask her why, they were celebrating 2 birthdays yesterday as well so they offered us food and we ate some soup and Guinea pig with them. It didn`t have that good of a taste the only thing that was good was the Guinea pig itself. But that’s ok! I`m working hard and keeping my head up but because god doesn`t have time he didn`t celebrate my birthday LOL.

In other news I got robbed as well this week by a very honorable robber he stole 10 soles but he was really nice at the same time, it’s actually a really funny story haha. He told us after he took 10 soles that, "hey but watch out with your cameras because the people up there will steal them" haha and then when he was about 50 feet away he yelled back to us "watch out" in a kind voice, I wanted to yell back "cookies are on sell at the market!!!" haha it was pretty crazy and it was transport money so the whole time I was thinking I really hope this is reimbursed. but that was a cool experience.

We meet someone this week whose family is catholic and he`s 15 years old, he said that when he goes to that church he doesn`t feel full spiritually. Hhe said when we knocked on the door he felt like it was a sign to try and look in to a different church. I think in no time at all, he`s hit the water. He attended sacrament meeting this week and like a million youth got up and shared their testimonies, because they got to go to the MTC here in Peru. That would be such a cool experience before your mission.

I started teaching English classes with the other American companion, Elder Driessen, in our ward and it was REALLY fun. We taught them how to pray! We got some really good laughs with the people because we are just a bunch of goofballs. Well I don`t know if I forgot any other part of my week, and oh ya I`m district leader mom and we have transfers in 2 weeks who knows what will happen this time, I told the president that I would love to stay in my area longer. haha it will be weird to change areas for the first time.

Well love you all and hope all is well in Virginia and all the other places the family has grown to.

Elder Corbett de 20 Años

Happy Birthday Buddy! I remember the day you were born and how practically perfect everything was on that day. I had spend the day at the park with Logan and Heidi. I fixed dinner and thought by chance I might be in labor. Yep you were born at about 11:30 ish pm. I got to ride in a wheelchair, with you on my lap all wrapped in a warm blanket, to our room. Love it because with the other two births I was wheeled in a bed up to my room and not with my precious baby. You were always a good sleeper, starting to sleep through the night at 6 day old. Love you to infinite and beyond.

I hate when other people ruin your good time :(

Dear Family and friends, 8-1-11

Well this week was a little crazy as my first week as an uncle to be honest. We had emergency transfers! There were a lot of emergency transfers and me and my companion weren`t a part of it until the day before. I didn`t change areas, what a shock, but my companion, and son, and best friend in the mission did. I was really devastated. It’s like you prepare for transfers and everything and ya you might leave your companion but when you’re in the middle of a transfer it sucks. This was Wednesday when we changed and my new companion is Elder Cobar also from Guatemala, and for all you out there I know how to speak the slang in Guatemala! They don`t speak in the same for, its like here they speak "usted" or "tu" but in Guatemala they speak something called "voz" and so I`ve learned in these past months how to speak it and I`m pretty good. So I`ll have to take a trip there! This companion I knew before, my first transfer here he was in the next area and then he left and now he`s back in the same zone. But I`ll be honest I miss my other companion, and holy cow poor guy he is now District leader as well and of course senior companion. Just when everything was perfect some other companionship has to come in to ruin it. Oh well I`m hoping this next transfer in 3 weeks I go to a new area that might open up in the mountains. never has the gospel been preached there and so that would just be my dream to be a pioneer and the first one with the restored gospel in that area! Oh I want to go, maybe if I ask the president he`ll let me go. LOL but that’s how this week has been. Up and down and last week I had the BEST district meeting and I thought we would have great success after and now I only have one other person in my district this week that’s the same because everything changed and my district is different. I`ll make out of it what I can!

Umm, for my birthday I`m going to eat chicken at a members house, that is all that is happening. I don`t know, in our mission I feel birthdays are not special or maybe I just don`t want it to be to special. But you guys should eat peirogies (don`t have any ideas how to spell it) but I have a huge craving for those right now or maybe you should all eat chicken, rice, and potatoes to remember what I eat every day. ;-)

Oh and my baptism didn`t go through she didn`t show up for the interview and so this next week we`ll get her in the water. We are working with a couple of the people that want to get baptized or are attending which is the best.

Anyway I hope everyone has a great week especial cute little Hudson! I love you all and thanks for your prayers and blessings, I`m trying my best.

Love always,

Elder Corbett

p.s. the picture of the group was my district the last transfer. I think that was the best district ever!!!!

Indepence of Perù

Dear Family and Friends and baby Hudson!, 7-25-11
I`m so happy to hear that I`m a uncle I don`t know what to say and my eyes are real teary. It makes me think about a lot of things. You all are so lucky to get to be with him real soon and I just can`t wait to meet him in 16 months. So I guess I`m not the first birthday anymore to start all months of birthdays it’s now Hudson. But really congratulations on your gift from God, Abby and Logan, he may scream and cry but remember it’s a gift. ;-)
This week we had a baptism and it went great he is wonderful, from the first week we taught him he has assisted the church and everything that he can and he probably lives at the farthest part of our area. He`s really wonderful and he´s 76 years old. He’s awesome. Nobody celebrates pioneer day here especially because this week on the 28th it’s the Independence of Perù so everyone is excited for that and after sacrament meeting for the final hymn they sang the anthem. It was interesting and they did it after the closing prayer but at the very end the bishop goes, "vive Perù" (live perù) and everything screams it back, it was funny. Then someone asked me what the anthem was for USA and I sang a little but it was funny, I was doing the things for the baptism in the computer at the church and he started humming the anthem of the US and I go, "YEAH that’s our anthem" and he was like, "yeah I hear it all the time on the Olympics!" and I started to laugh, yup we win a lot don`t we. I bought a big flag of Perù and put it in my window for the week. I heard if you don`t have a flag on your house the government makes you pay or something. Its weird but there is a lot of red and white all over.
We had a good sacrament meeting, 4 investigators showed up for church but only one has a baptismal date....for right now. We finally made a breakthrough with the family of a recent convert and we are now teaching her 2 children and one grandchild that lives with her and her son came to church with her yesterday!! I`m excited and if we just keep at it with helping them they will be baptized real soon.
Yes this was the jacket I wanted and I LOVE IT!! It’s just perfect for this weather because it doesn`t get too cold her maybe down to 40 degrees at the most at night but the thing is when it gets a little chilly here you can`t just enter your house to escape it because the houses aren`t built the same so your house is the same temperate as outside.
Love you all and hope everything is going great and I`m still working hard here in Ancon, Lima, Perù,
Elder Carson Corbett

Burning of a tie for the 6 month milestone.

The field is white and ready to harvest!

Go forward Elder Corbett and thrust in you sickle.......

The Street Full of Cash!!

Dear Family and Friends, 7-18-11

So, this week was a little hard to just know I`m not going anywhere. I`m the Anconero of the Mission and just love the area but I feel like I`m never going to leave. But we got back to it and last week was a really promising week. We had a goal of 5 baptisms for this month and names and everything and with almost all of these names they all fell...at least for this month. But we went to a new part of Villa de Ancon (which is a area that’s a little farther away.) and went looking for this street called Ancash for a ref. and there we contacted this man (Moreno I`ll talk about him in a minute.) and we went to this ref. and she was like I want to be baptized!! and so she attended church and even brought her son who is 33 and they both have a baptismal date for the 30th!! This man Moreno we first set an appointment to help him with his house and brought 6 elders for service. Then when Elder Lopez and I came back in the afternoon and taught him we presented the book of Mormon and he just loved it! With everything we shared using this book he said, "ya that makes sense, its logical" and just loved the Book of Mormon. and said he would come to church but went to central Lima. Oh well he`ll be baptized in Aug. Maybe for my birthday we`ll have a good baptism ;-).
So that’s really all that’s been up this week not to much different, I`ve now been in my mission for 8 months- I have 1 area- only had 2 companions(in the field)- I`ve been a son, father, and 3rd transfer as district leader! So my mission has not been anything like normal I feel it’s just really weird but hey that’s a little run down on my mission so far!
Love you all!
Elder Corbett
p.s. I woke up the other day calling my companion "Austin" I don`t remember but my companion says I said, "Austin, Austin, Good job Austin! Austin?" "I`m not Austin!!!" " Austin? Oh ya I`m here in my mission" Haha it was funny, I feel like me and my companion know everything about each other and are just crazy. lol in a good way! But we are really powerful teachers now after almost 5 months together! It’s awesome!

I think my name is written in gold under Ancon!

Dear Family, 7-11-11

I just learned about my transfers. YAHHH NADA!!! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is going to change. Every 6 weeks I think I`m just going to call it "false Alarm"! So its a good thing I just have a great week planned and ready so we can have a lot of success. Almost no one changed in our area, but that’s ok it’s going to be fun. Me and my companion were joking around this week that we will come to look at the sheet of transfers, " ahh wahoo everyone changed Except 2!....and why is there a heart that says forever through their names." LOL I`m never getting out of here, but that’s ok I guess, there are some more fish here to catch!

I love this ward and the area, I`m just having big problems with the other side of my ward who aren`t really working. It’s really sad what’s happening because the members love me and my companion Elder Lopez and will always give us a reference when they have one, and the members who are on the other side of the ward don`t give there references to them they give them to us and say we want you to teach them. Well that’s the problem I`m having right now and trying to work it out, but it’s been bugging me a lot because the problem elder did Transfer as I there is hope..

In other news we are finding lots of people to teach and lots of people that need to get married!! I never thought I`d have that problem like other areas but we have been finding a lot of them this past couple weeks and need to find others not just them that will really progress. We have a baptism this Saturday, He is an old man that lives alone and is just wonderful, the first time we went in and taught him we felt like we should invite him to be baptized and he accepted and has now attended 3 times to the church. It’s wonderful, I don`t feel like a newbie anymore which is awesome. Now that I almost have 8 months its going by really fast and just feel like I`ve been doing this my whole life. I don`t know any other life, and besides that more than 1 area! This president is crazy but I love him!

Umm I did get my package, I`m going to get it from the zone leaders today! WAHOOO!!! I’m so excited! Thanks and the only thing I can think of for this package is a memory reader for XD because I can`t find one here that works and I know you guys have one that I left. But that would be awesome!!!

Anyway everything is just great and dandy!! Love you all and thanks for everything and for your letters I`ll read them after. ;-)

Love from the Anconero,

Elder Corbett!

Park of Waters without WATER!!!!

Dear Family and Friends, 7-4-11

Well it’s been an interesting week! Its felt like only one or two days have gone by it went so fast. So first to report about is my last P-Day when we went to the park of waters and my LOVELY zone leaders didn`t check up on anything and we went all the way into central Lima and it was CLOSED!! I was ready to just get completely soaked for once and nothing! We got to walk around the park but without the fountains it’s NOTHING! S I was pretty bummed out the rest of the day. so what I learned from that is, when you want to do something you need to plan out and check up on things or your whole zone will be angry with you, and we can`t leave our zone now for another 3 months! :-(

Anyway then there was Tuesday when I had an awesome day with the Zone Leader for a work visit. I don`t get to nervous about these for some reason but I learned a lot and it was real smooth. But that night I decided to not wear my jacket (the jacket of my companion I`ve been using until I get mine) and it was just a little cold but when I came back that night I was just sneezing up a storm, I couldn`t stop. To make a long story short I have an appointment with the doctor because its messing with my lungs again and I`m going to get an inhaler to help it out, I don`t want Asthma again. But everything is good, last week was hard but today I`m feeling a lot better and ready to tackle the world with all my energy!

I also had an awesome training with the president this week and usually it’s just Zone Leaders but for the first time he invited District Leaders, I think I was the youngest District Leader, but it was the best! I learned that so many things get lost (at least in my zone) from the Zone Leaders to District Leaders that we need to know. They tell us what we need to do but don`t explain the big picture so we would just go through the motions ,but now I know better.

We are also teaching a brother, Leocadio, that we meet and we taught him the first lesson when we contacted him and he accepted to be baptized, and he has now attended church 2 times and his baptism is the 16 of July but he is the best he`s an old guy and is so excited to learn. That been a miracle for us but I have learned a lot from him.

Next week is transfers and I am unsure about what is going to happen this time. I have been in this area a while and with the same companion since March 8th. So we are sure one of us is a goner, but what-ever the news is I`m ready for something different I think. But throw in your guess if you want I`m throwing in that I`m out of here and my companion`s going to stay!

Anyway always praying for you guys and thanks for all the support! and WAHOOO Happy Independence Day!!! "I`m proud to be an American, where at least I know I`m free...."!!!

From the proud american in Perù,

Elder Carson Corbett