Good old Elder J. It was a rather funny week. I noticed he was headed to Grove Hill on the transfer sheet. He served in Daphne a few months back and knew the branch president for Grove Hill (he lives in the Daphne Ward - the Grove Hill Branch is really small), so he was a good choice to open that area (they haven't had missionaries in years). We went to the transfer spot on Wednesday to get some supplies and hoping to see him there but no one came. So we went on our merry way trying to visit some less actives. I had a feeling that we would be helping Elder J out somehow so it wasn't too much of a surprise when we got a call from Elder C (the missionary that Elder J is training) tell us they were instructed to sleep at our apartment for the night. It was kind of comical almost as they had no idea where they were headed or what the plan was. They had recently learned they were also covering Toxey and putting the two branches together. Their area covers about 1/3 or the stake. It's crazy. They are going to be staying with members who are currently on vacation so they've been chilling with us for the past week. It's an hour to Grove Hill and another half hour from there to Toxey so they've been rolling with us and it's been fun. It makes me feel kinda extra productive since we can get two things done at once. We've been focusing on finding this week and have been abundantly blessed and I am very excited about some of the potentials the four of us have found. =) It was rather funny - someone at church told us we had tracted into a friend of hers the other day and she had wanted to talk to us but had to study for an exam. It was just kinda neat. Sorry - fun tangent: we went to McAllisters (a very nice sandwich shop) with a member and I left the car with a copy of the Book of Mormon in hand. I soon discovered in the restaurant that I brought in a book. We ate dinner and I decided we should leave it on the table. We wrote our number and Mormon.org inside the front cover. We never leave copies of the Book of Mormon in restaurants so it was rather unusual. I really thought nothing of it until we came out of district meeting a few days later. R (a recently returned missionary from California) looked at us and asked, "Is this your handwriting?". He held up a picture from Facebook on his phone and some girl had posted "Someone left this at a table at work" with a picture of the same Book of Mormon and it's front inside cover with my handwriting in it. I thought it was just really funny).
Anyway, this preparation day in particular has been interesting. Elder W has been feeling pretty sick - poor guy. He threw up quite a bit last night and all throughout today.
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| From left to right: Elder C and Elder W on the couch |
So I've mostly been inside all day and that's why this email is coming to you so late in the day.
T our investigator with a baptismal is doing okay. His wife lost her job and it's really a struggle on their family. He has a testimony and is trying to do what's right. He doesn't have a solid grasp on the scriptures yet but he's still working on it. We gave him a blessing and that really helped ease his mind as he was very distressed. He got "his spark back". The Spirit was there and it really did make a big difference in him - you could see it.
Another funny story - I got my hair cut last Monday and I was telling Sister N (the one who cut our hair) a story when a big old glob of hair just fell right in my mouth. It was so nasty. Hair is actually quite sharp, gross, and pokey. I was very glad to be able to spit it out.
We were with T all day on Monday. He's a great guy and I really like him. He's headed to his mission in Recife, Brazil in February and is just super gungho about going out with us. He came over at 6:30 AM and we exercised and did all sorts of things. He came to district meeting with us (which was awesome) and was even in the picture (the one on the far right).
We went to Lambert's Cafe which was delicious but we got SO MUCH food. It was incredible. Just me - I had food for about 2 more meals and I left stuffed. Their rolls are delicious and there is a guy who rolls around a little cart with just this huge tray of rolls and yells "HOT ROLLS" and you just raise your hand and he'll throw them at you. He was quite accurate and had pretty good range but man they were hot. And delicious. Did I mention how delicious they were?
T was awesome. He stayed all the way till 10:00 PM or so when we finished planning. It was a fun day.
I love and miss you all! But for now, I am called to declare what I know and to be a witness. I had a few conversations with people who just asked weird, obscure, and irrelevant questions. I would answer the questions and then they would ask a different question which hinged on the previous question. I was able to respectfully answer their questions. I was grateful for that. One of the questions someone asked was about our views on salvation (something I get a lot). I've learned much about "salvation" during my sojourn in the South. It's not just about saying a prayer, filling gaps, or even just keeping the commandments. It is difficult but doable to change behavior. It is easier still to declare something. But what the Savior really wants is for us to be the best we can be and that is why the Atonement is so critical. The goal of repentance is to change ourselves as well as our behavior. "For the natural man is an enemy to God and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever until he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the Atonement of Christ the Lord..."(Mosiah 3:19). That brings happiness and peace. An eagerness to learn and a willingness to change.
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Elder Matthew Carlson
