All!I´m blown away by the outpouring of love and support on my Birthday! I feel sadly incapable of expressing through the medium of words, the feelings and impact wrought by your kindness and faith. I struggle every day to express powerful, life-changing, sometimes nuanced thoughts in a very LIMITED Spanish vocabulary. Sometimes, it seems that the people listening just don´t see the power or the depth in what I´m trying to communicate. But, I´m starting to realize that, often in this life, we just have to take people´s word for it that,really, they DO have something important that they are trying to say. Then, with 
that Trust, we can use the uniquely human emotion of compassion to imagine how WE might feel if we were the ones being touched or moved by whatever it is they are trying to express. I love the thought that, even if the words people use don´t express anything profound, IT IS PROFOUND to them, and therefore, can be in my life as well. All that said, I hope you can imagine how I feel, somewhat isolated here in a distant land, brought to tears by the closeness I feel to each one of you: friends, mentores,...whatever the title might be, TODAY, you are my family! To quote a beloved friend of mine regarding the subject of work: ¨Anything can be turned into it and anything can be turned out of it.¨ This has been a week of ¨turning out.¨ You know that happiness that you feel starting in 
your heart, that slowly moves through your entire body and eventually manifests itself in the form of an uncontrollable smile? Yeah, that´s pretty much how this week´s been. With my new companion we are working hard, and smart, and most importantly, TOGETHER. We are equal. Though sometimes our roles are different, the input of the other is always important. And, from that foundation of respect, love, good will, and hard work, we have built a friendship of fun and exciting times. I come home every
night DEAD, but with the flame still burning brightly enough that I can´t wait for tomorrow. This week we also saw the fruits of some of my labors with Elder Portales in weeks past. We helped a family and a boy covenant with God, and forge a bond with Jesus Christ that will hopefully last their life time. Anyhow, I want to just do a blitz of the experiences of the week (with some, maybe from before), so you can get a feel for it. Meeting up with my new companion at the temple, where missionaries waited, conversing and getting to know one another. One by one, taxis pulled up and missionaries spilled out with suitcases in hand. Suddenly one would yell a name, another would look up in response and the two would meet up, embrace, take the bags to a separate taxi and be off. This was how I first met Elder Agudelo. We rode to our tiny apartment, conversing about the area. Ever since the conversation hasn´t stopped. We make sandwiches and homemade juice every night. Jugo de Banana, Jugo de Naranga, you name it. He´s trying SO hard to learn English and his humility is inspiring to me. He´s from Columbia. This week at the Marriage and Baptism we rushed 
around a little, to accomodate a bride that, for whatever reason, wanted to have everything her way. We got a cake, and arranged for a dress, and sandwiches, and for the funds necessary - a surprisingly luxurious wedding for a family that couldn´t have ever done so on their own. But, I was glad to see that after all, even though the requested ribbons, and balloons, didn´t show up (while, because of confusion, 2 cakes did...and yes, I ate until my stomach ached), the bride was ebulliently happy to be wedded to the love of her life. Afterwards at the baptism, as we 
sang and heard a lesson from my companion, I feverishly read the Baptismal record, trying to get the 4 or 5 names, typical of the people down here. I was nervous, but everything went well. Roberto was confident and happy, and smiled as we entered the font, and hugged me after, with the help of my Father in Heaven, everything went smoothly. Laura, was gripped by fear. I led her down, the ordinance went smoothly, but she walked back as I led her down into the water. So, I just did a classic, lift and sweep - I had a hunch I´d have to use my wrestling moves at some point in my mission, I just didn´t think it´d be in the Baptismal Font. Anyhow, one of my FAVORITE things about the mission so far is asking about people´s feelings after making this life-changing covenant. Roberto said he felt pure, and like he had a clear vision of his life ahead of him. Laura 
said she felt the fear just melt away, and as though she left a heavy weight behind in the water. What a beautiful work this is, and SO True! Another of my favorite moments is hearing people pray for the first time. From tiny, angelic 9 year old children, to old, weathered men, beer in hand, yet sincerely desiring to change. And really, that is something that can unite us all: each and every one of us has some kind of desire. Each and every one of us has the capacity to FEEL deeply. How great would the world be
if we could focus on that? If we could focus on what we DO have in common instead of what divides us! That is my challenge to you this week. Talk to somebody on a level a little deeper this week. Ask them about how their HEART feels. And then...LISTEN! Listen, and understand, and FEEL what they feel. I love you all and feel deeply grateful for your support. My mission is a gift from God, and I´m out there using it. Find your gift, and use it too!
that Trust, we can use the uniquely human emotion of compassion to imagine how WE might feel if we were the ones being touched or moved by whatever it is they are trying to express. I love the thought that, even if the words people use don´t express anything profound, IT IS PROFOUND to them, and therefore, can be in my life as well. All that said, I hope you can imagine how I feel, somewhat isolated here in a distant land, brought to tears by the closeness I feel to each one of you: friends, mentores,...whatever the title might be, TODAY, you are my family! To quote a beloved friend of mine regarding the subject of work: ¨Anything can be turned into it and anything can be turned out of it.¨ This has been a week of ¨turning out.¨ You know that happiness that you feel starting in 
your heart, that slowly moves through your entire body and eventually manifests itself in the form of an uncontrollable smile? Yeah, that´s pretty much how this week´s been. With my new companion we are working hard, and smart, and most importantly, TOGETHER. We are equal. Though sometimes our roles are different, the input of the other is always important. And, from that foundation of respect, love, good will, and hard work, we have built a friendship of fun and exciting times. I come home every
night DEAD, but with the flame still burning brightly enough that I can´t wait for tomorrow. This week we also saw the fruits of some of my labors with Elder Portales in weeks past. We helped a family and a boy covenant with God, and forge a bond with Jesus Christ that will hopefully last their life time. Anyhow, I want to just do a blitz of the experiences of the week (with some, maybe from before), so you can get a feel for it. Meeting up with my new companion at the temple, where missionaries waited, conversing and getting to know one another. One by one, taxis pulled up and missionaries spilled out with suitcases in hand. Suddenly one would yell a name, another would look up in response and the two would meet up, embrace, take the bags to a separate taxi and be off. This was how I first met Elder Agudelo. We rode to our tiny apartment, conversing about the area. Ever since the conversation hasn´t stopped. We make sandwiches and homemade juice every night. Jugo de Banana, Jugo de Naranga, you name it. He´s trying SO hard to learn English and his humility is inspiring to me. He´s from Columbia. This week at the Marriage and Baptism we rushed 
around a little, to accomodate a bride that, for whatever reason, wanted to have everything her way. We got a cake, and arranged for a dress, and sandwiches, and for the funds necessary - a surprisingly luxurious wedding for a family that couldn´t have ever done so on their own. But, I was glad to see that after all, even though the requested ribbons, and balloons, didn´t show up (while, because of confusion, 2 cakes did...and yes, I ate until my stomach ached), the bride was ebulliently happy to be wedded to the love of her life. Afterwards at the baptism, as we 
sang and heard a lesson from my companion, I feverishly read the Baptismal record, trying to get the 4 or 5 names, typical of the people down here. I was nervous, but everything went well. Roberto was confident and happy, and smiled as we entered the font, and hugged me after, with the help of my Father in Heaven, everything went smoothly. Laura, was gripped by fear. I led her down, the ordinance went smoothly, but she walked back as I led her down into the water. So, I just did a classic, lift and sweep - I had a hunch I´d have to use my wrestling moves at some point in my mission, I just didn´t think it´d be in the Baptismal Font. Anyhow, one of my FAVORITE things about the mission so far is asking about people´s feelings after making this life-changing covenant. Roberto said he felt pure, and like he had a clear vision of his life ahead of him. Laura 
said she felt the fear just melt away, and as though she left a heavy weight behind in the water. What a beautiful work this is, and SO True! Another of my favorite moments is hearing people pray for the first time. From tiny, angelic 9 year old children, to old, weathered men, beer in hand, yet sincerely desiring to change. And really, that is something that can unite us all: each and every one of us has some kind of desire. Each and every one of us has the capacity to FEEL deeply. How great would the world be
if we could focus on that? If we could focus on what we DO have in common instead of what divides us! That is my challenge to you this week. Talk to somebody on a level a little deeper this week. Ask them about how their HEART feels. And then...LISTEN! Listen, and understand, and FEEL what they feel. I love you all and feel deeply grateful for your support. My mission is a gift from God, and I´m out there using it. Find your gift, and use it too! With Love, Elder McCarty
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