It's been pretty good in Tifton. I recently made my last planner as we are almost done with this transfer (we get the call this Saturday) and the brevity of my remaining mission time became much more apparent. I'm dealing with it.
I feel like I've made some significant improvements these past few weeks especially in talking to everyone we see. Elder S has been improving as well (he really doesn't like awkwardness and it's kind of awkward at first to stop and talk to people).
Thursday (8th) We walked much which was physically tiring but it was a very good day spiritually. Elder S had tried to replace his axle with the replacement part but found the part was 1/4" too short and it just wasn't going to work. We prepared for the day with studies and I decided to try some stuff I found in the apartment called "Anti-Monkey-Butt". I think it worked. We went to R's, a man we had found earlier, and he was actually there. He was very nice and we taught the restoration. I think he gets the Book of Mormon but he's pretty content where he is and doesn't quite get the whole authority thing and he's just skeptical. Still a good lesson. I tried the pulled pork sandwich at Subway (it was okay- not as amazing as I thought). Then we walked down to the jail and on the way, we ran into the F's.
The F's gave us a ride the rest of the way and we got ice cream cones from Sonic (they were very good). The F's just make me laugh (they're really funny together- they're sort of like Grandma and Grandpa Carlson except Brother F is only semi retired). We talked to the C's and talked to her about getting an axle from the Tallahassee bike shop since she would be going down there to visit family that weekend. We gave her the axle to help her procure the new one. The C's are awesome. We were dropped off pretty close to the jail and saw A. He is the son of an investigator being taught by the Douglas Elders. He was an undercover cop for a number of years but unfortunately got involved in the drugs he was supposed to be busting. He has been reading the Bible in the jail and has really come to Christ much more and understand it applies to him today. He's a good guy and is quite smart. We helped teach a very powerful lesson about the Atonement (I say helped since it wasn't us) and the Spirit was there very strongly. It was an amazing contrast- it was a little tiny room with a small table and three chairs, bulletproof glass, and a buzzer on the wall to let the guards know to unlock the doors. You could hear the clank of chains and there was one person screaming but in that small concrete room there was peace. He even teared up at a few points and he really enjoyed it. After walking back home, I had a cold shower and some dinner.
Friday (9th) was zone conference in Douglas. The G's were VERY nice and gave us a ride there (it's a good hour drive and a 6 hour meeting). They stayed for the whole thing so they could give us a ride home. It was very good and I learned a lot. I was impressed- President Cottle does know what he's doing. He's the right man for the job. The highlight and focus of the conference was the Book of Mormon. It was funny as they had an easel covered up with a sheet. They really hyped it up- "This is a tool we're unveiling today. Prophets have said this is how the work is going to move forward and it's going to bless lives everywhere!" It was a copy of the Book of Mormon. President Cottle challenged us to read it in 90 days (I don't have 90 days so I'll probably still be working on it at home). It was really fun to see Elder Y and sit by him. I was sad to not see Elder W (he had been transferred up to South Carolina). I had a long chat with Dr. Rose- everything from feet to medical school to Boston. He told me that I would be very successful and that I would be very good in the medical field. I explained that engineering was my current field and we talked about biomedical engineering. I might look into it when I get back. I also kind of want to go to Boston... Anyway- we got back to Tifton after a long drive and had dinner at the T's. We had homemade rolls and fried green tomatoes (really good by the way). We weekly planned and that was the day.
Saturday(10th) was a good day. We had powerful lessons, manifestations of the Spirit, and blessings. We had a really good lesson with J. President Spikes was there and it went really well. We mostly discussed the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we showed him the baptismal font and everything. He really wants to be baptized and he just has a lot of opposition against him. He asked for a blessing so we gave him one. We rode up to Fitzgerald with Brother B and had lunch and dinner with the B's (it was a mix up with the dinner calendar). It was a pretty good day and we talked to many people.
Sunday (11th) was a day that I will never forget. Simply for one reason: D and J. The day started out a bit rough. Early that morning we got a text from J telling us that his friend was in a car wreck and he was in the OR waiting for her to wake up and wasn't going to make it to church unless she woke up. Church was good though. I just wish J and the 5 other people we invited would have come. I think the ward is liking us more though =). We tried people and went with Brother S to see someone. They're not really interested but a nice family. After a quick dinner we walked to D's (it's a 10 minute walk). We knocked on the door and it was just C (his son). We talked for a minute or two as D wasn't home and then started to leave when D pulled up. So we came inside and we had an amazing lesson! We taught the restoration and C sat down and listened too (usually he isn't there or busy so he hasn't really listened before- he was very attentive though). We covered it at a good depth and at a very rapid pace so C was a little confused but I think he got it. It was 9:15 so we told them we had to go then J asked if she could walk with us back to our apartment since she had some questions. I don't know why I didn't see anything wrong with two missionaries walking back to their apartment with a 17 year old girl at 9:00 at night but I said okay (Elder S did though). She had some very good questions! She told us how she had prayed about it (she really liked the whole pray to know confirmation thing) and she had felt a happiness she had never felt before and it had changed her life! She knew it was true! It was really cool. Then she asked "What do I do?" We talked about baptism briefly (we didn't want to get too into it without her dad there) and about missions- she wants to serve one. Then we saw a shooting star (I actually just missed it) and she asked for a hug. I was tempted but my missionary judgement said that would not be so wise so I explained I was almost done and would come back and give her a hug then. It was just an awesome night.
Monday (12th) preparation days are usually kind of bittersweet. You enjoy the day because of email, shopping, and just chilling but you just aren't as happy. You get all that stuff done and it's like, "Now what?". It was still an okay day- I was going to call many people but didn't do it so I was little hard on myself about that. I drew some funny picture for Elder Y since he doesn't get any mail anymore =( He loves Batman so I usually draw something about Elder Batman- Batman as a missionary.
We tried people but no one really answered. We borrowed Sister S's bike for Elder S to ride while we waited for the part from Tallahassee.
Tuesday (13th) was the day of blessings. We gave 9 blessings. It was crazy. We had many great appointments today but they all fell through except the P's- the Baptist preacher couple. They're really nice but they have a way of twisting things around. They gave us each monkey bread that was really good. District Meeting was enjoyable as Elder T does a very good job. It was about accountability, expectations, and finding people. We went with Brother B to see some less active families and give some blessings. We blessed all the kids as well as the Mom since they don't have a Priesthood holder in their home. We borrowed some work clothes from Brother B (it was spur of the moment kind of thing) and painted with the Sisters.
Wednesday (14th) was a busy day- we had some good success. We had a lesson with S and his friend P at a Japanese restaurant (they're two students at ABAC and both are very involved in their churches). We talked mostly about the Spirit World which they were just not grasping. Their Bibles had little interpretations in the margins that just made the verses we used garbley-gook. It was a little frustrating- they just refused to believe that God would give anyone a chance who didn't hear about the Savior in their lifetime. It was sad really. We visited A in jail and he looked much happier and he was really enjoying the Book of Mormon. We taught the restoration and he enjoyed that. He made the comment, "Man- I really enjoy you guys. In the last 10 minutes you've answered probably 50 questions I've always had. I didn't even really know what an Apostle really did". It was cool. We tried to see A but he rescheduled. We saw J who asked us about Nehemiah. We figured it was Nehemiah in the Bible but he actually meant Nephi. We met another guy named S who was pretty funny. He told us some Bible stories and asked how he could be strong enough to overcome temptation. He would spell out a lot of his words (he was a very good speller). It was kind of funny when he told us the story of Samson and how he pushed the pillars down- S put his hands against the pillars of the store and pretended to push them over. He also told us about parallel lines and how they go on for forever. He stuck his hands out and started spinning in a circle. Very nice guy though. We were going to go over to D's but C broke his ankle and he was at the ER. We offered to give him a blessing and we did so after coordination meeting. The Spirit was there very powerfully and it was a good visit. C after the blessing said, "I don't know what they did but I feel better." He laid his head down off the edge of the little bed and the nurse came in and asked "Is that comfortable?" He kind of looked at her and said "Yeah. It probably won't be in a few minutes though." It was just funny. I love their whole family.
Well- looks like I'm still not caught up. Maybe someday.
I love you all and miss you so much but it's awesome being here! I'm learning and growing but I don't have much time. I have so much to tell you it's not even funny. So until then,
All my love,
Elder Matthew Carlson
