Wow what a week (or two!) July 20 & 27, 2016

July 20, 2016

Wow, what a week. 

HELLO FAMILY!!!

Sooo how is everyone doing? This has been just a crazy kind of week. 

I got humped by a giant 3 legged bear. Haha well not a bear, but a huge dog in the street We were doing some contacts and all of a sudden his huge dog jumped up on me and tried humping me, yet this dog only has 3 legs, so it didn’t really work and I couldn’t get it off of me, haha so it was just a struggle, haha their is a good laugh for you all

• Had divisions with Elder Kieffer from my group, which was super fun! We burned a shirt, for our 1 year mark, photos to come (sorry don’t have my camera)
• Cleaned our house super nice today, looks great
• I have been sick, then getting better, then sick again, just a roller coaster.
• Well, soo it kind of was a suckie week. NO, it was really hard actually. Like a week that God is just kind of backhanding you. That’s what it felt like. All of our appointments feel through, we were sick, we were not finding anything, it’s cold, it was raining too, a couple days, just everything not going.
• BUT, the sun always rises. Every day, a miracle happened. It might have been something little, or something big, but they happen. They exist. We found a new person, or even just someone helping out the missionaries. Just everyday miracles, in even the hardest of times.

And that’s true in life. Our past is our past. It’s something that I really have a hard time with, with my weaknesses, with who I was. But I have changed. I have learned. I have grown. And it’s not right for me, or anyone, to open up a wound that was healed, or return back to our mistakes. It’s not right at all. Christ paid for that, it’s done. And it is hard, because that is one of the hardest things ever. I know I am trying, and sometimes I feel like I can’t do anything, but I know that God blesses people who are trying.

Sometimes, that’s all we can do. TRY. Give it our all. Even if we feel like we are failing. Just TRY. 

It was a hard week, not going to le. But I know, I know that things will get better, that everything will work out. And I know that happiness is available. God wants us to be happy. And I know that I have so much more to learn, but that was just a little insight on my week! Here is to a better week!!

I love you. I love God. I am so grateful for his son Jesus Christ. He lives. He loves us. He is true.

Elder Carney

July 27, 2016

Hello family!!! 

Wow, what a week. A lot of highs and lows. That’s for sure! But, I am going to copy and paste a thing my friend sent, which I just think is hilarious because it is SOO true. Welcome to Chile. Literally, my life as a missionary, here are some points from it.

- It’s perfectly normal for people here to have parties at 9:00 am on Tuesday mornings and get super drunk and pass out and wake up at 6 ready to eat dinner.

- Old Chilean ladies have absolutely no problem in telling you exactly what’s been going on in their lives and every single medical problem they have and how many times they`ve gone to the doctor that week and what medications they have to take and then somehow relating that information with a story from 1956 about how their husband liked to listen to old Chinese music when he biked around the city after just having said, "hola."

- In Winter, its "too cold" to go to church

- In Summer, its "too hot" to go to church.

- In Spring and Fall, the weather is ´´too nice´´ to go to church.

- When you`ve finished your huge plate of chicken and rice for lunch, (basically the daily meal here) and the members ask if you want more and to not offend you say yes even though you`re extremely full, but you say ´´But just a tiny bit,´´ just forget it. All hope is lost. They`ll come back with a plate bigger than the first serving.

- When you`re in the city and a group of teenagers ask you what time it is, it’s usually not because they want to know, it’s because they want to see how expensive your watch looks.

- If you made the mistake of taking the hand with the watch out of your pocket to check, walk away, REALLY fast.

- Everybody suddenly and magically becomes "REALLY BUSY" when the missionaries go out contacting.

- The most baptized people in all of Chile, are the people who aren´t from Chile.

-Everyone in Chile has had a dream or vision where God or Jesus has appeared and spoken to them. 

-Everyone's Catholic in their own way. [en mi manera

-There's almost always an inactive church member part of every family. 

-In the parks (there are many) there are always couples going at it....whether they're just kissing or more. NASTY

So yeah that’s my life in Chile!! I thought it was really funny, literally it’s so true! But how are you guys? This week was full of ups and downs, highs and lows. Overall it was a really good week, we are finding new people, which is so nice! We found this lady, she is less active and she is like 30, and it’s so weird. I truly believe that I have passed through trials and tests to help others through it, to help others out. It’s like connecting with the person, you just know exactly what it feels like, and because you went through it, you know exactly how to help them. I had that moment this week, and it was just soo rewarding. SO incredible to truly feel like you are an instrument in Gods’ hands, that he is working through you. And although sometimes I don’t know why I had certain things happen to me, or what I went through certain trials, I do know, that I can help other péople with what I have experienced. And it’s true for everyone. Everyone can and NEEDS to help our brothers and sisters. 

So that was really cool! We went to the temple today and it was crazy, we say it is English!! So weird!! But, I am sick, and I think I have an ear infection, I literally can’t hear out of one of my ears, so that’s fun! Try understanding Chileans (whose Spanish isn’t Spanish, is already awful) people with no teeth trying to talk to you, it’s kind of entertaining!! But yeah, hopefully I will get better! 

Temple was great. Man I love it, and seeing gringos just starting their mission and in the CCM, haha man I just feel for them!!

All is well though. I have faith that everything will work out. I love you guys so much and God is GOOD. 

Elder Carney

June 29- July 13 HUMP DAY!

**Mom Note;  Bradley has not yet received his hump day package with all of our pictures, etc!  Hoping he gets it soon!!!! Thank you all for sending pictures for him!!!!!

July 13, 2016

ONE Year down, one year to go!

HELLO family!!!

Wow, sooo what is life!? I totally just hit a year...like what? Haha super crazy!! Today, we all went to Hard Rock Cafe in the centro, we all celebrated together which was really fun!! Super fun to see everyone from my group and year, wow!

How is everyone!? I am going to do a bullet point thing again here we go:

• Soo I am sick yet again. Yeah just Chile. I’m dying here. My body. My health, everything. But all is well
• We did a service project at the Hogar de Cristo, which is a center for people who have mental and physical disorders, and they live there, and it is super cool. They are so nice and sweet and it just makes me realize how blessed we are. Truly even to have center’s that work and function. the volunteers, the workers there, wow. So much respect for them. But we do service for them every other week, so it’s really cool to see!
• I gave a talk this past Sunday which was fun! I love giving talks! Now, in Spanish, that’s a whole different story, but it was good! I talked about the road to discipleship, and what are we going to do with the gift of Christ. The gift that we have. It went well I hope! Nobody here really told me it went well, everyone just kind of moves on, but hey, I felt good about it, so that’s all that matters!
• We found these new people, Geraldo and his wife. So this is cool! One day, well everything fell through, so we went and I just saw this street, and I really felt like we should go contact it, and work with this list of people who were baptized. And I don’t know why I felt that, but I did! And the first door we contacted, this guy saw us, said, wait, and he opened up his like 2 gates and said, pasen. He just let us in! I was like in shock! Turns out, he is a less active, and he never lets people into his house, but when he saw us, he knew it was from God. His wife later told us, that she prayed that day, she prayed for help, and what do you know, she got a call from her husband saying that the missionaries came, and they haven’t come by in 15 years. So yeah. God lives. To hear that story, to feel of their spirits, so prepared, in such need of help. Truly to be an instrument in Gods hand, it’s incredible. I love them already and they have no kids, nothing, but they are the best!!! GOD LIVES. He is aware of our needs. 
• I hit a year on Friday...what! 
• I love being a missionary. 
• That’s about it! 

I love you all, I miss you all like freaking crazy!! But I know that God hears prayers, and that he is looking out for us, and I know that everything is ok. That there is a plan and all we have to do is put our trust in God, take a leap of faith, even when we have nothing let but faith. He lives, he loves us. He is real. This gospel is real. not just a social club, no, it’s for us .Everyone! 

I love you all!!

Elder Carney

July 6, 2016

Shalom!

Hello family!!!!

Soo how the heck are all of you!? good!? Good. 

This week has been good! Just another week here in paradise. Haha not really paradise, more like a trash pit, but hey, it’s all about the attitude, I love my giant trash pit! 

This week has been an interesting one! Here goes again with the bullet points

• I held a hedgehog, I think that’s what it’s called. But it was dope. A hedgehog named Erica. 
• I am tired constantly, haha trying to go to bed early but yeah, it just doesn’t work
• Having some fun moments with my comp, learning a lot of patience right now but all is well
• Had a lot of dejavu this week, random note, super weird
• We played bowling today, which was fun! I think I pulled a muscle in my butt/high thigh, haha no joke, so might be limping round for a while
• I am super white and looked at my legs one day, and noticed how I lost everything and feel like Pillsbury dough boy
• We bought sushi the other night, it was great. In this area so many sushi places, and super cheap, so at 11 pm we buy sushi and its wonderful
• I have stepped in so much dog crap this week
• We found a dope new guy! He is incredible. He is a less active, members, no one has passed by for him for more than 10 years, we went to his door, he opened up the gate and just said, pasen, like, come in, and I swear, he is the next bishop. Literally so humble, so genuine. Like, he knows what’s up, he has his head on straight. So I am super excited for that!
• We are just trying to find new people, trying to check everyone’s progression and see where everyone is at
• Did Divisions with Elder Christiansen, a new elder here, he is a greet missionary, we had some fun! 
• I am just blessed. Really trying to give it my all, really trying to appreciate all that I have, all that God has given me, and all that I can use to help others, all I can do to help others. 
• It’s been a fun, tiring, stressful, all of the above kind of week, but all is well. 

The gospel is something that is meant for us to be happy. To progress. To use. So many people think it’s just rules, burdens, more things to do on top of everything, but no. It is SUCH a privilege, such a blessing that we see when we live it, when we try our hardest. We are not going to be perfect members, screw perfection! But we can try our hardest, give it our all, give it all to God, and he will bless us. 

I love you all. So much. God is good. We are his children. He will not abandon us.

Elder Carney

 June 29

HELLO!

Hello family, sooo sorry, but this week I am just not feeling it! It’s going to be a short one, but yeah, here we go!

I have been good! I am tired, haha this ward is good! It’s very different. Very different! But members actually want to work here, so I am excited to work with that, that’s going to be fun! 

• We played volleyball today, which was so fun. Well, it was fun messing around, but man, I miss playing so much! I get to competitive, I had to settle down a bit. I just love volleyball!
• Cut my hair, it was getting pretty long, now I’m an elder. A skinny, white elder lost in Chile
• We are doing a lot of contacts and getting to know people, my comp has been here for 3 months and doesn’t know like anyone, so we are kind of just starting over from square one. 
• My comp is good, just need to connect with him more
• It is SOOO freaking cold here. It doesn’t help that I have no body fat. I think that’s the main problem. I am always cold. Me 
• hands and feet, so people ask me if I’m alive haha cause it’s so cold! Sorry that I can’t gain body fat people!!!
• I did divs with the zone leaders here, it was sick, went to their sector for a day, they are homies
• Just trying to keep trucking along, be obedient, and just trust in God. Trying to give it my all

That’s about it family! I am sorry its short but I just freaking love you all. and I need your prayers! always! I love you all soooo much, God loves you so much, and yeah!!! Que esten bien!!!! Besitos!!!

Elder Carney