A VERY slow week...

Hey everybody once again!

So I think this week is my first week in the mission where everyday just went by SUPER slow! ha ha. Things have been a little frustrating since Elder Keyes left. With me being the only english speaker here, we have been trying to figure out who is going to teach all the Africans in the other elder´s area... They desided that a member who speaks english can go and translate with them... I dont really like the idea just because I think it would be harder to feel the spirit if someone is teaching and one has to translate... I dont know we will see, I dont like it but I have no say so if it what the Lord wants then it will stay the same, if its not then I am sure he will find a way to change it...

Also with Elder Keyes leaving, I had to finish teaching one of his investigators from Ghana... He had a baptismal date for this past Saturday, but when I started teaching him I knew there was something sketchy about him... I dont know it was weird. He kept saying I have no food to eat, I am going to Malaga in 2 weeks and my brother is going to help me there but I dont have food for 2 weeks! And other wierd stuff, but he is 18 years old so I was like alright we can help you out. All the elders in the Piso pitched in 1 euro and we bought him like pasta and rice, things that will last awhile. (This was Friday) He passed his baptismal interview and I was like alright I guess he really wants to be baptized. His baptism was scheduled for Saturday at 6. So anyway, I recieved a call from him Friday night while we were planning and he says, He my brother from Malaga called and he baught me a ticket for a train tomorrow at 4 so can we do the baptism next week? I told him that we would change his baptism to the morning and he agreed... Im back to a little sketched at this point. Saturday mornign I called him to remind him to bring some things... Phone is off! Ya alright, he isnt coming! SO we went all the way to his house to see if we could find him. The adress he gave us isnt his house... Ya I felt really dumb, but what are you going to do! We teach a lot of people who I feel like they only listen to us because they need help from the church... Its sad! But at the same time I cant judge them and not teach them the gospel... They need the gospel just as much as everyone else, but its frustrating!

Other than that, we are teaching 3 new investigators...

Katy and her mom from Peru. They are great, we gave them both Books of Mormon and a chapter to read and Katy came back, had read the chapter wqe assigned and then 1 Nephi 1-10. Katy has accepted a baptismal date and I am sure her mom will soon follow... He mom is a little behind because she cant come to all the lessons, she has to work! But if Katy gets baptized, I think her mom will as well!

Also Victor! He is from Nigeria and is a friend of Ernests... He doesnt know much about God or anything about the gospel and has problems with Smoking, Drinking, and Womanizing (As he calls it) BUT he knows he needs to change and is willing to keep comitments! Its amazing! Today we are also having two lessons with a refference and a street contact so pray for us that they go well!

Other than that, all is well... Sorry its short! I wrote a lot of small emails today! And a long one to president! Love you all and I hope everything is amazign at home! I cant believe school started this week! The summer went by way two fast!

O and last week you asked me about my favorite food I have eaten so far... I attached a photo! The best in the Spain Barcelona Mission! The picture doesnt do justice, but depending on the day, sometimes the onlything you swallow is pure chocolate!

Love you all!

Elder Carrigan

Welcome Home Doug!

Dear Fam,

So first off, I will just throw a shout out to my cousin Doug! I dont know... haha Congratulations on coming home?? Can I say that? Im not going to lie, on that Wednesday I kept thinking to myself, Doug is going to be home in 8 hours 4 hours, 1 hour, wow Doug is getting home right now! haha Then after I was like wow I wonder what Doug is doing right now on his first day home haha. So Doug you are going to have to write and tell me about it! I have only been here a couple of months and I think it would be so wierd to be doing something else!

Second, Transfers were this week. Mixed feelings... I found out that I will be staying in Vitoria, as I expected, and so will my companion. BUT Elder Keyes, will be leaving... He is the other english speaking missionary here. He will be replaces by a missionary who doesnt know spanish... Of course there are upsides and downsides... One good thing is I will be surrounded by 3 native spanish speakers for at least 6 weeks which should help me a ton with my spanish so I am excited, but the downside is I will be surrounded by 3 native spanish speakers!!!! haha There are times when I just get sick of talking spanish I need to talk to someone in English, so we will see... I still dont know what to think! Also, being the only english speaking missionary here in Vitoria I will need to teach all of the Africans who prefer to hear the lessons in English... Hey, at least I will be busy! haha I dont know, we will see how it goes! O also, Elder Knudson goes home this week... Kind of a bummer, but he said he wanted to go and visit my family, so you can expect a visit from him sometime this week or next week! He is a funny kid and can tell you about all the things we did in San Sebatian that I didnt have time to tell! Make sure you ask him about the story about the bridge! Its a good one! :) haha

And now the moment you have all been waitign for! ERNEST WAS BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY! It was the most amazing experience so far in my life! Never before have I felt the spirit like I did at his baptism! It was truly amazing! It was funny though because we had to do it twice... The first time his arm didnt go under the water. I told him we had to do it again and he kept trying to just dunk himself. Finally I was like Ernest just relax and let me handle it. You could tell he was super nervous! It was great! Also, President Pace, and two 70s were there for the conference they talked at later that day! It was a great day! I was a little scared though because on Sunday he was scheduled to be confirmed, but he didnt show up to church on time, in fact, he showed up 50 minutes late! haha I was kind of freaking out but it turned out well. President Pace was in the meeting and confirmed him! It was an all around great weekend! And Yes mom, the service and the pray was in english! :) He understands a lot of Spanish but cant speak it so he prefers english.

Now for your questions Dad...

Have you used all your ambien?
No, I saved 2 just in case I have a week where I am not sleeping or just in case!
Do you use your earplugs and eyeshades?
I use the earplugs every night, but not the eyeshades! The ear plugs are great. One pair usually lasts me about 2 to 3 weeks..
Do you drink tap water or do you need bottled water
Here in Vitoria (Or in the North) You can drink the tap water. It tastes really good. Anywhere else, Bottled water...
Does Vitoria have Mcdonalds, fast food, starbucks, other restaurants etc?
I have been in Vitoria for 6 weeks and I have not seen anything American... The closest thing we have to fast food is the Columbian Hamburger shop 2 streets over... The only difference is they put Ham on it and like eggs and other stuff, Pretty good! They eat ham with almost anything here!
Do you ever have dinner appointments?
We do have dinner appointments every once in awhile. Usually the missionaries here eat with members during mediodia but I cant for another 6 weeks because I am in this stupid trainning program for another 6 weeks, but we usually do eat during mediodia on Sundays.
Have you eaten any spanish food/drinks that you like? Paella???
I have tried some stuff! I cant remember names. Paella yes! Its pretty good! I enjoy it! Soem members here own a restraunt and invite us to eat every once and awhile. But most of the time when I eat with members it isnt Spanish food. Most the members are from South America so I eat more South American food!" Lots of empenadas... Hey, Im not complaining! :)

Well everyone! I love you all and hope you have a great week! School starts soon! Good luck! :) I am sending someletters home to Annie, Ryan, and Kate Dana today! If not today soemtime this week! Thanks for your letters guys! :) I love you all and will talk to you next week!

Love
Elder Carrigan

Back to the CCM

Hey everyone! So this week was an interesting week for sure! 


Monday we had a conference with President, It was great!

Tuesday P-Day, I went to San Sebastan with some other Elders! It was an absolute blast and the city is absolutely beautiful! It is right on the coast, so although I didnt get to go to the beach, we hiked up this mountain that gives you an awesome view of the whole city and of the coast! It was amazing! There is a huge statue of Christ at the very top, kind of like in Brazil, and the smell of the ocean! O man! That killed me! It was all around just amazing! I attached some photos of the trip!

Then Wednesday my companion and I went to Madrid to pick up my residence card! Our train left early in the morning and it is a 5 1/2 hour train ride! When we arrived in Madrid we got on the Metro and spent an hour on the Metro. We then proceeded to walk to the government building to pick up my card. Ya we got lost... So we walked and walked and walked some more and finally found the place, but we were 10 minutes late! The place closed at 2 for Siesta, we got there at 210. So stupid! I hate siesta! haha it is the most poitless thing in the world! So we had to wait until 4 to pick up my card... By the time I got it there was no possible way we could make our train back to Vitoria so we had to stay the night in the CCM. It was kind of annoying because we had to change some of our important visits for the week but at the same time it was kind of fun to go back and see everyone there and see the new Elders that are coming to Barcelona next week! It is amazing to see how much spanish and how much more about the gospel I have learned since leaving the MTC! ha ha They are in for a big suprise :)

So Thursday we were able to attend the temple with all the Elders in the CCM. It was nice to be back in the temple. I feel like it has been the first time in 6 weeks where I could just take a minute and relax and not have to worry about anything... Only for just a minute though! :) Then we hopped back on a train and got right back to work!

From here I cant remember what day is what, but we had another visit with Ernest. He is incredible! I havent had to teach him anything! He puts words in my mouth! I start talking about one thing and he finishes it! He attended church on Sunday so he will be getting baptized this Saturday! Im stoked! My first baptizm! Its pretty crazy and I dont really know how to explain it! I will make sure to send photos next week of the baptism! O I forgot to mention, We are pretty sure that Presidente Pace, The Area President, and one of the 70 will be at our baptism... Ya, I dont baptize a lot, but when I do. ITS KINDA A BIG DEAL! haha no I am kidding! It just so happens that they are goign to be here! Kind of exciting though! 

So Dad´s package came today... It also came with a note from the US Postal Service that basically said, Sorry, its sucks to suck, but your package was damaged on the way.. It obviously got really wet because when I opened it up, everything was moldy and it smelt REALLY bad! I couldnt read any of the letters! I tried to look through some of them and all I could make out was what I think was a picture of Selena Gomez... I couldnt tell ha ha. I cleaned everything off. It should be fine! I put on of the Milks in the fridge, We will see if it is any better! It is really similar to what they drink here! We will see!

Well thats it from this week! It was great hearing from everybody! I love you all and I will talk to you guys next week!

Love

Elder Carrigan

A Day in San Sabastan

Hey everyone!

So today is going to be a short letter! I am up in San Sabastan today with some other Elders! We decided to come up here and check it out! It is beautiful!!!! I am excited to get out and see more of the city!

I am glad you guys got my package! There are a ton of pictures and videos I will love explaining to you guys in two years haha! Lots of good memories as well! The Elder snoring isnt my companion, His name is Elder Olya. He is in the other companionship that lives with us! We live down the stairs and around the corner, and yet, you can still hear him without my ear plugs! ha ha it is terrible!!!! Anyway, if you have any more questions about the pictures or videos let me know and maybe I can answer them!

So the work this week in Vitoria was pretty slow... There is another week long Basque party this week that has been insaine! Basque Country is abslolutely crazy! This people just party all night, crash during the day, then do the same thing the next day! The name of the party is Celedon! Look it up on Youtube! Crazy! Find a video where everyone is in one big town square and they are all wearing orange! The square they are in is one minute from my house... So anyway, there has been a lot of staying in piso and studying going on this week! haha

So my fetcha, Earnest, continues to progress. He came to church this last week which is always a good thing. I think he was kind of bored though which sucks! He doesnt speak a lot of spanish and all the meetings are in spanish so what do you do.... plus, a lot of the english speaking members werent there this week. It was a bummer because we really wanted him to meet them... O well, we will see. I havent had the chance to talk to him yet because we had a conference with president yesterday, P day today, and then I am going to Madrid tomorrow to pick up my residency card! So I will have to talk to him on Thursday. I am a little nervous! I am praying hard! haha

This week we also got another fetcha! Her name is Precious. She is from Nigeria as well. Same type of situation. Doesnt speak spanish so I teach her in English by myself! It is fun though! She is planning to be baptized two weeks after Earnest! It would be awesome to see both of them get baptized! I am praying real hard!

So I hope Grandpa is ok.... Scary situation! It sounds from the emails that he is doing better, which makes me feel good. I will pray for him too! I guess my prayers will just be 30 minutes long every night! haha Its crazy, I have never prayed like this in my life and it is an amazign experience! I have definitely learned how to pray correctly on my mission! Its totally different!

Well, dad thanks for the responses to all my questions! loved all the answers! I am looking forward to the package this week! Hopefullym the USA pulls through and beats China in the medal count! Keep me posted!

I love you all! Sorry its so short this week! I will talk to you all next week

Much Love!

Elder Carrigan!

A couple more things...

Nick, Well done at BYU camp my man! Keep it up! Words cannot describe how fun it would be with both of us down at the Y! I know you can do it! Your a stud!   Mom, Ryan, and Annie... YOU SUCK! That is all... Relaxing on the Beach in Cali sounds so nice right now! haha   Dad.... Love ya! ha ha   Love you guys! I love hearing from you guys and I put some letters in that package I sent! I am expecting responses :) Nick I got your letter today and I am planning on shooting one back tomorrow or the next day, so keep your eyes open for it!   I wish I could explain some of the photos I sent but I could think of a way to do it! If you have any questions, let me know! I can explain them! :)   Love you guys and miss you tons! The church is true, and God loves you! Dont ever forget it! :)   Elder Carrigan

Peruvian Milk...

Hey Guys, This week was an awesome week in Vitoria! I continue to see miracles everyday! So for the past 2 weeks I have been teaching a man named Earnest. He is from Nigeria and doesnt speak a lot of Spanish, so he prefers to listen to the lessons in English. Becuase my companion doesnt speak English, I teach him, while my companion sits of to the side! haha Well this past week we asked him to be baptized and he accepted! So I officailly have my first fetcha! August 11th!  Unfortunately, it doesnt really mean a lot because the future is hard to predict! He didnt coem to church yesterday, so we already have to move it back a week, but if all goes well. He should be getting baptized soon! He is a solid investigator! We met him contacting in the street. he is a man with a strong Christian back ground. He loves the Bible and asks me a lot of questions about the Bible! I cant always tell him the answer, but he just tells me not to worry about it, because there are a lot of things in the Bible he doesnt understand either! He also loves reading the Book of Mormon! He reads it all the time! The first tiem we gave him a chapter to read before our next lesson, he turned to me and said, Can we read it right now? ha ha it was awesome! He is just a solid investigator and a solid guy! I love it! The only problem he has is with the Word of Wisdom... Im a little scared for that lesson, but I know with a lot of prayer and faith, he will understand! So this week in Vitotria has also been crazy in other ways! Tuesday was a Basque Holiday so everything was closed and everyone just partied all day! Because of this my package might be a couple days behind! But, Everyone was wearing traditional Basque clothing (Kind of looks like Pioneer´s clothing) and the just played music in the streets, sang, danced, it was crazy! I took some photos and videos... The street we live on is one of the main streets of Vitoria, so we got to watch the whole thing! Around 11, everyoen cleared out of our street exept for a couple people who were passed out on the benches! haha It was hilarious! We watched from our window as this drunk guy tried to wake his passed out friend up! haha I dont think I have ever seen a funnier scene in my life! Great intertainment! There also was a giant Triatholon in Vitoria this weekend, so the city was full of people from all over the world! This weekend I talked to people from South Africa, Japan, Canada, The USA!, and other places! It was really cool! We stopped and watched the race for about 5 to 10 minutes, and everytime a runner from the United States ran by I chanted USA! USA! USA! Everytime the runner just got a huge smile on there face! It was great to show some American pride! I love it! Also this week we meet with a member named Maria from Peru! She is a recent convert so we were just checking up on her! Shwe was nice and offered to give us something to eat! Now, so far I can eat everything that has been given me, but I CANNOT drink the milk from Spain. It is so different and doesnt come close to tasting like milk from the states! Well, she gave us some fruit, and of course Milk... Now, this milk was special Peruvian Milk she had prepared from Spanish Milk! At this point I am thinking O great this isnt going to go well! So,  I have been taught there are a couple ways you can get out of eating food that is given to you... One, You can say that you are fasting. Or two (LAST RESORT) You can say that you are allergic. Well, She brought the fruit out first and I had already eaten a couple pieces before she brought out the Milk. So there goes option one! So I could have pulled option two, but my companion really is allergic to Milk so he already took the excuse! As soon as he said it, I knew I had to take one for the team! It was so close to coming up it wasnt event funny! As soon as I finished, I gave the signal of its an emergency and time to go to my comp (touch your ear, touch your nose, touch your chin) and we got out real quick! O man it was bad! Luckily I was able to hold it down, but it was definitely an experience I will never forget nor ever want to go through again! haha but unfortinately, I  am sure it will... And if Doug or Derek is able to drink that stuff! Wow! I have respect for them! Well, thats it for this week! I love you all and I love hearing from you guys! Thanks for everything you do for me! Love, Elder Carrigan

Crazy Week (Happy 24th?)

Hey everyone!   This week has been absolutely CRAZY! So much going on! I always have so much to say and such little time!   So first off, Dad yes I have gotten everything you have sent! Thanks for the articles and for the package! I am pretty sure all that food will feed me for the full 12 weeks I am in Vitoria! And that Peanut Butter! Golden! I dont know what it is, I wasnt even that big of a fan back at home, but here it tastes like candy! Thank you!   So the reason I didnt email yesterday was because we had to go to Logroño to do interviews with President! Its a 2 hour bus ride there and a two hour bus ride back so President decided to make today our P day... President Pace is the man! There are no other words to describe him then just a stud! I am so glad we had the opportunity to meet him before my mission. I feel like we have more of a friend relationship than a mission president to missionary relationship! Its awersome! I love it!   So also earlier this week I was in Lagroño on splits with the DL. His name is Elder Knudsen and he is also from Sandy! He went to Alta for High School, but went to Albion for middle school! We had an absolute blast! He is going home next month and is pretty excited haha. He wanted me to tell him about everything about home! We talked about this and that and everything we could think of! It was nice to have an english speaking companion just to ¨talk¨ to in the streets and in the Piso. It was a good break from the spanish! Lagroño is also amazing! The Members are amazing! I am so impressed with the members of spain! There arent many, but there love for the gospel is amazing! We almost always have a member at every visit because they are always willing to help out! I love it!   So some sad news this week as well... Before I got here the Elders were teaching a lady named Maria. When they taught her the first vision she said she had seen the whole thing before in a dream and already knew it was true! Pretty Crazy! Anyway, she had a baptismal date but she wouldnt come to church so we couldnt baptize her. She also wouldnt let us come visit her, she was really timid and wanted to meet with us in the park. So we knew something was up! When we finally had the chance to talk to her, she told us the that 1 she has no money! She is living in Pisos run by the Catholic church. The nuns saw us going to teach her and they told her that if she continues to take lessons from us or attend church with us, that they wouldnt let her live there and would stop giving her money to feed her little girl... Rough! I know! So we dont know what to do! We still need to talk to the Branch President and see what he says!   Well its time to run! Sorry its short! I have been trying to figure all these pictures out!   Love you all and I will talk to you all next week!   Love Elder Carrigan