The following are Carter's mom's comments, followed by Carter's weekly email:
"Just wanted to share Carter’s latest email with you. This one REALLY got me crying!! Might even be my favorite mission email of Carter’s yet! See, THIS is why missions are so great for anyone who can go. It turns our goofy high school teenagers into these amazingly focused & spiritually grounded people who we then stand back in amazement wondering where they put the batteries & how do I get mine!
We learn from their examples in big & small ways over & over again. Even just this past week with Clark home, I found myself a little surprised (and very proud) as I took note of some of his insights & actions. This mission & time of service transformation is nothing short of a miracle to me. While also obtainable for each of us, without the mission structure, few of us would be able to come close to the levels of personal growth each brings home.
With Carter, he reminds me just how much I love that like our spirits, our testimonies can continually grow & different insights are always before us. Each time we might reach a new level of understanding within the gospel, it only opens our spirit to the next level now within our reach. Our knowledge then increases as does our desire. Of course none of this growth is ever possible without our Heavenly Father!
I am continually surprised by the growing weight of wickedness we are all feeling. Our only rescue now comes from our personal relationship with Heavenly Father. How very blessed we are to have a missionary right now who is out there standing strong with his brothers & sisters representing us! How grateful we are as a family that the work being done by Carter increases the righteousness of the world instead of taking away from it.
The gospel is true. We as members are extremely blessed far beyond our potential for understanding. The realization & fulfillment of our lives & covenants made, now lays squarely at our feet. It is our agency, our choices which determines where we stand. Now it is ours to be accountable for our actions or lack thereof. I choose to stand with Christ. -B"
"...So this week we went to Guayaquil for the Leadership Council Meeting! It was really awesome because President focused on the Atonement of Christ. He sent us all a Talk by President Uchtdorf which was really amazing and then in the meeting he showed us a bunch of pictures of Christ and asked for comments about them. One of them was Jesus on the Cross and Mary was fainted on the ground. When I looked at that I thought of myself and the difficulties that I may face as a missionary. And how hard it must have been for Jesus to have his own Mother watch Him die. It reminded me of a Gospel choir song we sang my Senior year, "Take my Mother Home". It made me think of how much Mary must have been suffering as well. For a mother it´s hard to even let a child go play at a friend´s house, let alone die on a Cross. As men, well at least for me, I never want to let my Mom see me suffer because I know how much pain it brings to her. Trust me I already know that because she saw me suffer 3 years of Chemotherapy. It impacted me pretty deeply and it helped me to have a deeper love for Christ. So ya. Christ is an incredible example of someone who finishes what He´s called to do, no matter the circumstances.
The other great thing about this week is that I had the opportunity to prepare and pass the Sacrament. While we were preparing "I Believe in Christ" was playing and it was just a super powerful moment for me.
Christ really is the center of everything in this world and the world to come. This is His Church and through and only through Him we can be saved. I know it´s true with all my heart and I testify of it daily! He lives!..."
Love, Elder Wilcox. :)
