Kent Carter

1977-1979

I have always felt very blessed for the opportunity I had to serve In Bolivia. It has had such a great influence on my life. I learned that happiness doesn’t  come from things but from relationships. One of my favorite scriptures is found in the New Testament when the Savior taught about the two greatest commandment of love of God and neighbor. It was in Bolivia I really learned to develop unselfish love. That to this day has created a foundation for my life. 

Some of my cherished memories are the oppportunity to work with the saints in Huacuyo. My first companion was the last full time elder assigned there. We had the wonderful opportunity to go there one week each month to provide leader and member support. They had such a simple faith and were such great examples to me. Most time when we would go out they had people prepared for us to teach and baptise. Since I was familiar with the members and area I had the opportunity to take many of the Elders out with me on splits. I have such happy memories of those times. Another experience was going out with a member, Miguel to Sur Iquina to investigate it for missionary work. We went out twice and held sacrament meetings. They had 34 people show up to church. We stayed the night with a catholic priest in an old padron house. We reported back that we should send out missionaries full time and Elder Bunker was the first full time Elder to serve there. They became like a second Huacuyo.

In Bolivia I learned to develop faith and confidence in my priesthood. In reading through my journal I read page after page of writing about giving blessings. Many were not individuals with the common cold, but people who have been hit by lightening, run over by a car, or laying near death. I also had the opportunity to be a branch president twice giving me confidence to trust in the Lord. It has helped me serving in different church capacities.

After the mission I met my wife Cheryl at BYU. We have 3 daughters and 10 grandchildren.  I started a service business where is my brother. We currently have been running that business for 37 years. We have four divisions appliance repair, plumbing, heating & air-conditioning, and electrical. I current serve as the stake president in our stake. I had the privilege to call another former missionary Craig Paullin as a bishop in one of the wards in our stake. He is a great man and loved by the members of his ward.

 I served in the Aymara zone my whole mission. We were the only elders to have learned Aymara there and enter the country without having worked in the Spanish program first. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have served in Bolivia among the Aymara people. President Hill was such a great mentor and role model for all of us. I look forward to meeting many of you this weekend for the first time and it will be great to associate with those who have the same love for the country that has been dear to my heart for so many years.