To get things out the way, today is indeed transfers. I am also being transferred. Hence, the transfer van has my name on it. I'm headed to Pensacola which is pretty close by and my new companion will be Elder G. That's all I know. Once I get there, I'll get my address to you somehow. I'm excited and sad to leave Mobile. I was just starting to really like it here. Funny how that always happens. Just as I'm starting to like it somewhere, I get moved. Elder O's new companion is going to be Elder H. Elder F is coming here to Theodore (it's the town below Mobile). People are being moved all over the place this transfer! They're white-washing (which is just moving both elders out of an area) many areas and the transfer list is huge!
This week was really good! We did lots of service and helped many people out. We had some fantastic lessons (one in particular stands out but I'll get to that). We raked leaves for a member and did a really good job. Elder O and I decided that we were going to do a great job. We were at it for about 3 hours straight and it showed. We raked and swept his driveway and it looked nice. He was so happy that he fed us lunch. It was deer steak burgers (I've been eating many different things recently) which were actually pretty good. They were a bit chewy but other than that you couldn't really tell the difference.
The lesson in particular I was talking about was with K and C. K is the girlfriend of C who is a member in Semmes. They've been dating for three years and have talked about the church (he's a returned missionary) and she's not as sure about her Catholic faith anymore so she's meeting with us. We invited her to read and pray and Elder O did a fantastic job. I did an alright job and said what I needed to say, but K needed what Elder O had to say. It was a very spiritual lesson particularly when we got to the First Vision. K even started to cry and she couldn't explain why. We were in the Relief Society room so I thought there would be some tissues in there somewhere but luckily C found some Angel Soft so she used that. It was a good lesson.
I had hush puppies and fried catfish the other day. It was pretty good. My favorite part of the dinner was the homemade sweet potato french fries. Man they were good.
But I'm leaving Mobile. I knew that Elder O and I wouldn't be together but I didn't know if I was leaving or he was. Turns out I'm the one to leave. I'm really going to miss many of the people here in Mobile, particularly people like J, A, A, E, K, and C. I'll see them again someday but it's still rough to leave. I feel that I have left Mobile better than I found it and have went about doing good in my time here so I'm happy. I don't know what's ahead but I know whatever the Lord asks of me I can do (with his help of course).
As promised, I have included some pictures from the USS Alabama. Our tour began with some big guns (see picture #1). If you squint and zoom in you can just see Elder O and I posing. We explored the barracks and slept in some fun beds (see picture #2). Clockwise from the top right it's Elder W, me, Elder O, and Elder N. We saw some of the bullets that the 16" guns fired and man they were huge! Keep in mind this is the actual bullet they fired (see picture #3). The actual explody bit was something else. We concluded our tour with the A-12 Blackbird (see picture #4). It's cool because the fenced off area around the plane is technically a part of Area 51 because the plane is there. You'll get to see the dozens of other pictures when I send the card home.
These past weeks I've been noticing in my studies the enabling power of the Atonement. It's really the power that enables us to do things that we ourselves aren't capable of ourselves. It helps us to change, it strengthens us, and empowers us to rise above and beyond our natural capabilities. That is why the Lord is more interested in our availability than our capabilities. The Lord will shape our backs to the burden placed upon us. I have felt this power many times in the past months. Sometimes we pull up to a house and I'm so tired I don't think I can move my arms but after a quick prayer, I get up. Getting up is hard. It requires willpower and motivation. Once I get up though, I have energy, much less tired and ready to keep on working because of the blessing of the enabling power.
I love three things when it comes down to it. God, my family, and Wheat Thins.
=)
All the loves,
Elder Matthew Carlson
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