I'll do my best though. =)
We begin at the first day of August.
Thursday (1st) was a tiring day. We biked 22 miles and had some stuff fall through. We thought we had a packed day as we had 3 or 4 appointments in the morning all back to back but they all fell through. We went to McDonald's to use our free coupons and I got a Dulce de Leche shake which was actually really good- mostly it was just caramel. We had an appointment with T who called and cancelled while we are at Brother J's getting ready to head over there with Brother J. He was such a trooper though- he had a bad toothache and called us. "Do y'all really need me to go see T with you guys?" We explained we kind of did and he said "Okay. I'll be ready." I felt really bad for making him go but he's just awesome. We talked for a bit and left. We weekly planned for a good bit and then met President S to go see R- a very nice guy who mostly speaks Spanish (which President S happens to speak). We mostly talked to his wife since he was still at work. Afterwards he was nice enough to take us to Walmart to get some new cables (I had snapped my shifter cable). There was a dad and a son sitting in the back of the truck and I started talking to them in the parking lot. They were very nice and talked about how important family is to them. I didn't give them a card though. I saw Elder S getting in the car and I ended the conversation and walked back to the car as I thought we were leaving and we were still on Walmart property (we can get in trouble for proselytizing). Turns out Elder S was getting a card out of his backpack. I felt really bad about it the rest of the night- I just felt like I chickened out. =(
Friday (2nd) was a long day. We got a ride with Brother T to zone training in Douglas, Georgia. It was kind of different than what I'm used to. We mainly talked about baptism and how important it is and we talked about giving people calenders and putting their committed dates on it before you give it to them. There was some powerful testimonies given as Elder R and Elder H are headed home this Wednesday (the 21st). We went to DQ afterwards and got some dinner. We met Sister G's sister there (Sister G is the one that we gave the blessing to a few weeks prior that had tumors on her brain stem). We took a picture and a little video of us to send to her since that would cheer her up. We came back and fixed bikes which was frustrating- the instructions were not very long and very unspecific. We did take care of some things though. We had dinner at the T's which I always enjoy. Our plan was to go visit D who was unfortunately caught at work but we talked to his roommate, D who was very nice. He wasn't really interested at first but we had a good talk and it turned to the Book of Mormon. He took a copy and seemed pretty committed to reading it. Hopefully he'll read it. He works 3 jobs and is headed to college here pretty soon to be an RN.
Saturday (3rd) we spent most of the day in Fitzgerald. Before we left, we had a good lesson with Brother M. Elder S had thought of an analogy and he really liked it. It was about repentance. He started, "Brother M- if you could have a car which one would it be." "Probably a nice truck." "Like a GMC or a Dodge?" "Probably a Chevy". "So imagine a brand new 2013 Chevy. New seats, fully loaded, a little lift but not too much. And you put a banana in the passenger seat. And you let it sit there. What's going to happen?" "It's going to get moldy." We then explained how sin gets in our lives and it stinks up our lives (our car) but it's on the inside. We need to not only get rid of the banana but also get rid of the smell with something that will not only cover the smell but eliminate it. We related it all back to the Atonement. He enjoyed it but I just don't know what stops him from coming to church.
It was funny during lunch as Elder S was making Top Ramen. He has these little air freshener things and it was put on top the microwave right in front of the cabinet door. I opened the cabinet and off went the air freshener. It fell right into his Top Ramen. We both stared at it for a few seconds and then Elder S moved back and I fished it out. I had a good laugh but he didn't. His soup was ruined- it smelled really weird. We got a ride up to Fitzgerald with the F's (they're really funny). We had a fun day with the B's who, due to a miscommunication, had us over for lunch as well as dinner. We talked to several people and got in contact with some people we had talked to previously. Turns out she doesn't want to investigate since her husband is very opposed and threw her Book of Mormon away. She's pretty interested but doesn't want to create tension in her family. We also saw Brother K's new purchase (he has a very cool man cave).
He has an old self playing piano that is really cool as well.
Sunday (4th) was a pretty good day. Fast and testimony meeting was good and I enjoyed it. We gave the lesson in Priesthood- it was about conversion. After church, we saw a few people and visited the S's who offered us taco salad. It was almost time to head in for dinner so we accepted- it was really good! It was just salad, olives, taco meat, tomatoes, crushed up Doritos, and thousand island dressing. We met some atheist guys and had a really long conversation with them. Basically he won't take anything short of proof but proof can't exist because proof has to be scientifically based. It was a confusing conversation. We did meet someone that Elder S had stopped and talked to on the street previously which was really cool. It also turns out that he's M's brother.
Monday (5th) food, email, and shopping were the main focuses of today. I ate a ton! We went to a old time country buffet with the F's and it was really good. Their fried okra was amazing. Usually I don't like okra but this stuff was good. Their banana pudding was alright. I didn't like the pork rinds though- too hard. Elder S needed some pants so we spent a long time in Belk's and Beall's looking for pants. I wasn't feeling all that good so I endured. We went to Sister N's to give her a blessing as the F's had mentioned that her back was giving her some real problems. We called and she was thinking about asking for one but didn't want to bother us (that's sister N for you). We walked in and I knew that I was supposed to give the blessing. We asked if she had any preference and she asked Brother N and he asked me to do it. It was a very powerful blessing and it was a pretty amazing experience. We did some more contacting and met one nice guy who was working on his lawn but invited us back. He wished us a nice day with a loud, "Joseph Smith be with you!". We waved goodbye and I turned away so he wouldn't see my big smile. I thought it was funny. I also saw a bird bath with lots of cats in it. It was pretty funny.
Tuesday (6th) another day another buffet. For lunch the B's took us to a Chinese restaurant and they had some pretty good sushi which I enjoyed. I had been missing it. We met someone who knew the P's very well and what was funnier was we stopped by the P's for a few minutes because we had some extra time (10 minutes) and they were there. They're very nice but also very Baptist so we'll see. We had an okay lesson with D. It was the plan of salvation but we talked too much and he hadn't read. We talked about being baptized and he told us about how he's already been baptized. The Book of Mormon is vital to people making progress.
Wednesday (7th) we walked a lot today (12-15 miles). Elder S snapped his back axle trying to make his wheel less wobbly. Regardless, we had some very cool miracles today. We got a call out of the blue from J which was awesome! He had fallen off the face of the earth but he thanked us for repeatedly calling him. His life fell apart and he lost his grandpa and turned back to his old ways but it's okay- he's done with that now. We also met Mike C who gave us a ride which was great since he had disappeared as well. He asked Elder S how long he had been in Tifton. "A month." "A month? I was thinking it had been a week! Has it really been that long?" It was a pretty good day even though I sweated a lot. I figured Christ sweated drops of blood for me, I can sweat a little for him.
Well- maybe someday I'll catch up. =(
We had Elder Andersen come and he gave a good talk to all the missionaries. It was amazing to met him- he's very humble and kind. Shaking his hand was just like shaking the hand of President Cottle.
It's been an amazing week and I can't wait to tell you about it in detail someday. I'm learning so much and trying to talk to everyone I see. It's amazing really.
I love and miss you all!
Elder Matthew Carlson
