The Last Supper for Elder Carlson

I did not relate my last week in Warner robins and I do apologize that it has taken me so long though. Anyway without further ado, the events of the final week of my service in the georgia Macon mission.

October 7th - Monday

 it was the preparation day in the field and it was fairly low key. We didn't do anything too spectacular. I did email for a while. Shopping was fun but I didn't get much. Partially because it was only for a week and partially because my funds for the month were rather limited. They adjusted the amount of money I received according to how many days I had left of mission. We exercised in the morning but I had come down a rather unfortunate cold. I kind of took it easy and spent most of my time on the weight machine.  For studies I planned out district meeting and felt good about my plan. It was a lot of information but it was relevant and it was organized well. Later in the day I attempted to pack but made little to no progress. Perhaps it was because I lacked energy and motivation but maybe it was because deep down I kind of didn't want to pack. The evening was finished off nicely with a great lesson with Shae. She's a very nice young women who has many questions about a variety of topics which makes teaching her fun. I enjoyed it immensely. She told us that we explained answers to her questions better than anyone else and it makes sense. It brought me a sense of gratitude that the Lord has blessed me so.

October 8th- Tuesday

 Was district meeting and I thought it went pretty well. I think everyone came away with something they can improve on. The main theme was helping people make and keep commitments as that is what is going to help them progress to baptism. I extended a fun game/challenge to everyone. The sister missionaries inspired me because they had set a goal for themselves that they would do 1 or 2 pushups for every person that they didn't ask referrals from that they could have. After talking with some of the other missionaries including the zone leaders I present this idea to the district. We would play a game. Each companionship would get a point for each person they asked for a referral. I think a little bit of healthy competition is helpful sometimes. Whoever had the most amount of points sunday night would then win an illustrious prize (it was some chocolate snack cakes).

 After the main part of the district meeting was over we went into the practice and role plays section. That's when we sprung into actions. In missionary culture, when a missionary goes home it is commonly referred to as "he died". So there has arisen a tradition of a missionary funeral. It's most silly and usually last for about 5 minutes. Keeping with tradition we did a "funeral". I laid on a table and elder Pittard welcomed everyone as they came back from their respective role plays. Elder Eklof gave a eulogy. It was pretty funny. 

 After district meeting we all went out to taco bell. It wasn't my first choice but that's what the district voted and I didn't mind. It turned out to be quite good. We had a great lesson with a great man named Jason. He recently lost his job and it been hard on him. As a result he's really been reaching out to God and really strengthening his relationship with God. They have been reading the bible together as a family daily. He really really liked how we prayed for him the first time we met him and he felt something special. Something different. And he liked it. We taught him about the restoration which he really liked. He told us a few times that he was learning so many new things. It was just a fantastic experience  I really have hopes for him as well as his family. (His wife was there but very tired. It was around 3pm and she had just gotten off of work as she goes in around 4am- she dozed off). We also had an interesting lesson with Vince (he was raised Jehovah's witness and as a result has many interesting questions).

October 9th- Wednesday

 It was a rocking day. Everything about it was just awesome. It was fun as I was on trade off with Elder Brooks, one of the Spanish elders. He's fairly new so it was fun working with him (he had just come from the Mexico City MTC about 5 weeks ago). He hadn't driven a while so he was a bit nervous about driving again but he did fine. We taught many lessons that day and we stayed busy all day. I think I was able to show Elder Brooks a good time and I hope he learned a lot. He's a good guy and a good missionary. We went over to Courtney's and Jacob was there again. What's more is that he actually read the Book of Mormon! I was really impressed and he actually understood it really well. We read another chapter and he understood it like a champ especially considered against the fact that he is coming from a very non-religious background. There was something different about him- I think the simple act of his faith really changed him in a small and very subtle way. It was great. Dinner was at the Noel's. They're really nice but it was the first time they had had the missionaries over in a long time because they had no kitchen table. We ate on couches and the floor but the conversation was pleasant and the food was good. They're just a really nice family and their two boys were really funny together. I think they were much like Michael and I probably were back in the day. We also saw the Chandler's which was nice. We talked mostly about how they were doing and what they thought about coming to church on Sunday. It was a nice conclusion to the night.

Oct 10th- Thursday

 Was a day of gastro-intestinal pleasure as much delicious food was consumed. The day began rather unusual from our usual pattern and routine. The Bair family had loaned us some tennis rackets and after rummaging through some very prickly bushes we found a tennis ball that Elder Sato (the elder I replaced) had thrown in there a month or two prior. We played tennis with much vigor and Elder Pittard hadn't really played tennis much and neither had I. He was in sandals and I was in normal tennis shoes but he still beat me (not by much though).

 The lights on the tennis courts warmed up gradually, but also very slowly. We began played and it became much easier as we played as our ability to see the ball increased from almost zero. The day started after our typical studies and training (we were really trying to get training done as we had 4 days to get it all done). I packed a little bit and really tried to get it done quickly. We then went to lunch with Brother Holmes who is a really nice guy. He took us to a place called Cheddars that someone had told me in Madison that was really good. I got a monte cristo and it was very good. It came with fries, powdered sugar, and raspberry dipping sauce. It was quite large and I only finished 3 of the 4 sandwiches so I took a little togo box. I was very full.

 We went over and saw the Hardin's. They're very nice and they talked about their challenges and history with the church. We went and saw Amy and David but David was there. They're a nice family and they really treasure family values. Unfortunately, they both work quite a bit and a rarely home at the same time. Amy used to be more interested but has decided to stick with what she was raised with and isn't very open. When we arrived their 4 year old daughter was outside with her dog (it was a fairly large dog). We asked her where her dad was and she went and got him. We had a nice chat with him about his reading in the Book of Mormon and just kind of reemphasized some things. We had dinner with the Jentz family which is always quite good. If I remember correctly, it was a pot roast. We talked to Brother Whitaker and had a nice chat with him on his doorstop as it was rather late when we got there. He's not as active and he's working through some things before he feels he can come back.

Oct 11th- Friday

 Was a good day. It was very tiring as we were just go go go all day. Service, weekly planning, a baptismal interview, 2 appointments, a dinner, lunch at McDonalds, and a few other things in-between it all. Like I said, we were busy. Tennis was good and we had a couple of really good volleys. Elder Pittard is very athletic and a good sport. I was reading the adjusting to missionary life packet (a little late since I just got it about a week prior) but it was very good. I noticed that it said most of the suggestions in it would take 2 or 3 weeks of effort in order for me to see results. That bummed me out a bit. 

 Weekly planning soon commenced and I participated as best as I could. I didn't want to leave Elder Pittard just hanging even though none of it really applied. We stopped planning for a break and headed to the church for a baptismal interview with one of the sister's investigators. I was a little nervous as I had never done an interview before. She was very nice and I talked to her. She did really well especially considering the fact that she was only 9. I asked her what her favorite thing about Georiga was and she told me "the church!" "Why do you like the church so much?" "Because it's the only one that has the Book of Mormon".

 After the interview we rushed to McDonalds to meet the spanish elders. We usually go out to lunch on friday as it breaks up weekly planning nicely (the spanish elders study until 12 because of training and language study so it breaks up studies and planning nicely. Sitting for 7 hours isn't as much fun all at once). The McDonalds in question had been undergoing remodeling for a while when I got there and it had just reopened the day before. Elder Pittard was really excited about it so we went. It was good and I enjoyed eating with all the elders. We finished planning and had a good lesson with Geraldine. We read the Book of Mormon with her and explained and expounded on the things she picked out as we read (she understood and picked out a lot). She's a recent convert and tried to invite one of her friends to our study but she cancelled. I told her I was getting transferred (I technically was) as I didn't want to come out right and say I was going home as then people usually start talking about how happy my mom is going to be. She asked where I was going. I told her Oregon. She looked at me funny and said "That's a big transfer! Oregon. Never been there! Can I come with you?" It was kind of funny. She asked if I would still be an Elder. "Nope- I'll just be a Brother." Then she got it "Oh...wait.. you're going home! I won't come with you then."

 We went and did service at the Harper's. They were building a patio type thing and I poured some cement and dug some dirt and did a few other things.

The Harpers are just awesome. We visited the Bank to withdraw that last few remaining dollars off of my Missionary card as my records showed I still had 5 dollars left. After a wait in line and some confusion I learned I had a total balance of $0.52. It was a little disheartening but we went to dinner at the Taylor's. It was quite good and enjoyable. The Taylor's are really nice.

Oct 12th- Saturday

 Mostly consisted of packing and cleaning. I felt bad about spending so much time on it but it needed to get done and I really wanted to leave the apartment cleaner than I found it (since it wasn't very clean when I found it). I scrubbed the shower for a while as my guess would be that it hadn't been scrubbed before- at least not recently. I usually don't have my glasses on when I take showers so I wouldn't see the state the tub was in and it was rather shocking. Ignorance is bliss. Anyway- the pink stuff came off pretty easy but the black stuff took a long time and lots of scrubbing to come off. As we were headed down to dinner we had a few minutes and elder Pittard had the idea to try Candice. We've tried her several times and she is never home. That's what I thought at first but decided we should give it a shot. She was home and while we only had a few minutes, it was a nice chat. She doesn't believe what we teach but she's interesting to learning more. We emphasized her reading and praying to find out from God not from us or other people. As a result we were 10 or so minutes late to dinner at the Winward's which was really good. It was weird to think this would be my last dinner appointment. I enjoyed it and just savored the moment. We tried more people and saw the Jung's. They're a nice family and one Brother Jung is a member. He's not really active but he's really nice. We talked about family prayer. We got back and I finished packing and Elder Clayson taught me a bit about how to play chess better. I feel like I really made good friends with all the other elders in Warner Robins.

Oct 13th- Sunday

 It was the big day. The day I never really thought would come came. It was odd waking up knowing it would be my last in Warner Robins. I was oddly calm though. We got ready and I finished the last few items of business related to packing. We went to church early with the spanish elders. We were called a few day prior by sister Hatt who asked us (the 5 missionaries in the ward) to give a special musical number in church. We got there and had some brief coordination meetings after which we began our practice. I remember feeling rather odd knowing it was my last time. Sacrament was good and I enjoyed the talks. Courtney Pickett came! She's a non-member that the ward mission leader told us about and we've been trying to get in contact with for a while and she came. It was really nice to have her there. We sang our song and I thought it sounded quite good. It was rather funny as in Priesthood one of the councilors in the bishopric got up and mentioned that one of the missionaries was departing soon, in a few weeks or so. I looked at me and I raised my hand. "Today actually." He was rather taken aback and it was rather funny. "Oh. Right..... Well. It was good to have you Elder."

 After church I had a light snack (I wasn't really feeling like eating) and finished a final inspection of the apartment as well as collect a few last minute items. Brother Bair came to pick me up and strapped a suitcase shut which was very nice of him (the latch was having some trouble- for the moment it was working but I was worried that it would fail during transit). Elder Pittard felt my bags and told me they were a little overweight (we didn't have a scale and I needed to be under 50 pounds). We drove up to Macon which was a relatively short drive (maybe 30 minutes). I saw the mission home for the first time. It was pretty nice.

 We sat on the couches as we were waiting for one more elder. There were 6 elders going home. I saw anxious and didn't really say much. I weighed my suitcases and found they were at 70 pounds and 65 pounds. Thats a total of 35 pounds of excess. It weighed on my mind rather heavily. I tried to enjoy the evening and the dinner was really quite good. After dinner we watched a slideshow that they had put together from our pictures that we had sent them a few weeks back. I probably should have sent more pictures. We sat up and President Cottle gave us the final interview advice part all at the same time and we asked some questions. It was mostly about getting married and going to school. Elder Young and I talked for a long time as well as another elder named Elder Donovan. It took a awhile to fall asleep after we finished talking. All of us were rather anxious and it was probably 2 am when we finished talking. I slept pretty good though.

It was a good week and I enjoyed it. I'll try and get the next week done sometime soon. But until then,

Love y'all.

The Last One

Reading other missionaries last letters home and seeing other missionaries headed home makes you wonder how it will be. What will I say? What will be my final memento and message to friends and family back home as a young, full-time missionary? The moment finally arrives from the far off distant scene that you never thought would come.

The truth is you don't know. It's just crazy to think that this is the last one. We've been working hard and this week has been a very good one and I'm just very happy right now (I received some great news about a family I worked with in Tifton. I'm just super excited).

I'm really enjoying things here in Warner Robins. The ward is friendly and supportive, our district is made up of all great missionaries, and the Spanish Elders are awesome. I honestly can't think of anything that would make it better. Maybe more people to teach but I guess I always want those. =) Things are good. Life is good. Because God is good.

I don't mean to keep you all waiting so I'll get on with the week.

For Monday and preparation day we decided it might be fun to play a board game so we played Bibleopoly. It was a pretty fun game and I enjoyed it. It was like monopoly but instead of trying to get money you were trying to build a church and you got offerings as you passed "in the beginning" (otherwise known as Go)

My birthday was really fun! We ate a lot of food though. It started kind of scary as Sister C called- I wasn't quite sure what she was calling about but it turned out to be just to wish me happy birthday. She is really sweet. She kind of a bit reminds me of Mom. We picked up Elder F and Elder C as we were doing an unorthodox tradeoff that day and went to Firehouse. The original plan was for me to go with Elder F in the 1st Ward area but then Elder C was sick. So the decision was made for Elder C to stay at a member's house to rest while Elder F, Elder P, and I worked in the two areas so we could keep both of our appointments. It was an pretty good day though. We went to Firehouse and really enjoyed a delicious and free sandwich. We had dinner at the R family who made us cake since it was Elder F's birthday as well. It was funny as she had asked what my favorite type of cake was on Sunday and I don't think I have a favorite type- cake is pretty good. When we finished dinner (a very good taco salad- I'll make it for y'all sometime) we said "Elder Carlson I remember what you favorite type of cake was!" I was rather surprised as I didn't remember what my favorite type of cake was so I was a little curious to find out. She said "Texas Sheet cake!" with a flourish. I didn't have the foggiest idea what a Texas sheet cake was. My best guess was a sheet cake cut in the shape of Texas. Elder C raised his hand as she brought out a large and very delicious looking cake and said "Actually Texas sheet cake is my favorite...". Sister R just said "Oh...well..." She is just so sweet and I reassured her and thanked her for her kindness. I just thought it was really funny and how sweet she was. The other fun things about my birthday was D called from Tifton, GA! That really made my day. They're doing well and somehow got my number. =)

Wednesday we had a tradeoff with the Spanish Elders and Elder C came with me. He was very excited to bike and we biked a good bit and had a very fun day. I just enjoy talking to him as he is very smart and well spoken but is very humble about it. He's just a great guy. Imagine Alex Thomson but from California and he sounds like he's from the UK.

Thursday we had a interesting experience teaching someone with almost no religious background. We went to our appointment with a very nice less-active (who's really active now at this point- she's making great progress!) and she had a friend there. We sat down and she said, "Teach him! Explain to him that I'm not crazy!". It was interesting and Elder P was sick and not really thinking straight. Analogies and the restoration movie really helped as there was nothing there for the information to stick to unless we applied it to his life or he could see it visually.

We had a big district meeting on Friday up in Macon. There was some great training- perhaps my favorite was where I was blind folded and given a laser pointer. The two other missionaries guided me through a maze to rooms in the church (there was a church on the board). It was compared to how we need to show people the church through church tours rather than just tell them about it. We had interviews with President Cottle which was nice. It wasn't very long- I suspect he saved a lot of the usual questions for next week. He did tell me to get a haircut (jokingly of course- it grew a lot this week and I was feeling pretty bad about it but decided to wait until p-day, don't worry, I got it cut today). It was a good day.

General conference was amazing! I really enjoyed all of it. =)

Sorry- I'm running out of time.

I apologize I do not have to profound words to offer. All I have to offer is these simple ones:

These past few years have taught me a lot- often by the hard times and sometimes by the good times. It's been an amazing blessing in my life, continues to be, and will be for the rest of my life. It's incredible to me to think but I believe that I know these things are true. The experiences I have had over these 2 years give me other rational explanation. I have seen the cause and the effect of obedience. Obedience will always bring blessings because God loves us. The Holy Ghost has told me this time and time again and I just have to trust in that and the experiences I've had. That is my faith (Hebrews 11:1). Trust in God and it will all work out. I've seen that too many times to doubt.

I love you all and wish you the best.

Elder Matthew Carlson

Dropping the Bomb

Well, I finally did it. We had fast and testimony meeting in church on Sunday and I told everyone that I was almost done. When people asked how long I had been out I generally had been saying that I had been out for a little over a year and a half. I finally told everyone that was a bit of an understatement. I did it in a funny way so it all worked out.

I was reading Michael's letter and I think I finally understand how ya'll have been feeling for the past two years. I read about all the amazing people he has been teaching and his days and I was a little sad when the letter ended. I want more. I want to know who these people are. So now I kind of know how you feel a bit more Mom and Dad. =)

But anyway- this week was a very busy one. We were really blessed this week. We went on a few trade-offs which I really enjoyed. One with 1st Ward and another with the Spanish Elders. Elder P got some really good experience from it. He might not want me to include this but it was rather funny. He was out tracting with the other two Spanish elders while I was doing Spanish things with Elder E. He was looking at a house and admiring the color of the house when the door opened unexpectedly. The man came out and Elder P, caught off guard, said something akin to "Hello sir. I like your colors." It was pretty funny. =)

We've taught many lessons this week. The car makes things pretty easy to just go from house to house and appointment to appointment. We've really been blessed to have our plans work out.

Probably one of the coolest experiences of the week was J coming to church. It was very unexpected and it kind of surprised me really. We had met with him a few weeks ago and he wasn't really interested. We decided to text and invite them to church that morning and we got the response, "will try". Then we came and he was there! It was really amazing. J told us how he had been listening to President Monson talking in the Relief society broadcast from lds.org that morning and he had really felt the Spirit or as he described it, "this feeling came over me" and right then the phone buzzed asking them to come to church. It was really cool. =) I think he enjoyed it but it was kind of hard to tell.

The trade-off with Elder C on Tuesday was pretty fun. I is a member who is preparing to go on his mission to Poland in November so he's pretty willing to come out with us. We had a good time and talked to some nice people. We'll see what comes of it. =)

My day of Spanishness on Wednesday was also fun. Elder E is a great guy that really made the day fun. The funniest things of the day was a long lesson with a very nice guy named Mario. I was looking at the clock which read 1:05 and wondering why I was so hungry. We had just had huevos y peros caliente (eggs and hotdogs- it's better than it sounds) around noon. It was only when we left that I realized it was about 4:00 and the clock in the kitchen was actually stopped. Later in the evening (after dinner) we visited a really nice family (they didn't speak much English but somehow my broken Spanish actually worked pretty good and I was able to remember a good bit). They gave us macaroni and some water. I felt bad but I am glad I accepted it. I forget that in the Hispanic culture, it's really good if you accept what you are given. Then I ate a really really hot pepper. It was hot, and painful. More macaroni and Sunny D helped but as soon as I swallowed, it was hurting again. It was fun though and after an hour or so I was back to normal. Elder E is very funny and I enjoyed my time with him. Just a very humble guy but has a lot of talent and ability (he's a crazy good guitar player and singer).

It's been an awesome week. I'm really happy with everything the Lord has seen fit to give me and I'm just grateful for the opportunities He gives me.

Spiritual thought!

The Savior has asked us to be the salt of the earth. The important component that makes the world nice. We preserve it as the righteous. The important thing for us is to avoid contamination. For if the salt should lose it's saltiness wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing but to be cast under the foot of men. By staying true to the Savior, we can remain pure so that our saltiness can affect the lives of others and make the world a better place.

I apologize I haven't taken more pictures. I do feel kind of bad. =(

I miss y'all but life is good. =)
Elder Matthew Carlson

I wasn't born in the South, but I got here as soon as I could

Well, another week come and gone and it went by very fast.

I don't know if I can cover everything that happened this week but I'll try and cover some highlights.

We were on bikes this week but it was really nice as this week was cooler.

Funniest Moment: It was late Friday night and we had gotten in for planning. We called the D's to confirm the dinner appointment. I searched D on the phone. Richard D came up and he was the only one that said D. I called and talked about dinner. Sister D was excited to hear from us and I explained she had signed up. She paused for a moment and asked "Are you sure it's on the last Sunday of the month?" I looked. No one was signed up for that particular Sunday and told her that she was on Saturday. We talked a little while longer and she was pretty sure it was Sunday but she agreed to have us over and I apologized and offered to reschedule but she said it would be her pleasure to have us over. We looked over our plans and realized that with the way our appointments were and with no ride out there, it would be take a while to get there. We called her back and offered to reschedule. She once again said it was fine and asked if the Sisters would be coming as well. Elder P and I looked at each other and I asked "Sisters?" "Yes, the Sisters in the ward." "We don't have sisters in the ward. We have Spanish Elders". Then she asked, "Y'all are from Cochran Ward right?" We explained we were Warner Robins 2nd ward. We had a good laugh about it and apologized. It was kind of funny really. We called Sister D who said, "Oh good I've been expecting your call. 5 pm will work just fine". We had a great dinner and learned the Brother D was actually Asa's (one of my roommates in college) ROTC drill instructor. Small world eh?

Unusual Experience: The M's invited us over for dinner and they live on base. So we drove to the gate and handed them our id's and parked. Brother M met us there to help us get through and we all had to come into the gate station as they checked out our ID's and made sure we weren't bad or something. Sister M is actually from Thailand so she made some really good Thai steak as well as some lettuce shredded pork thing. There were also glass noodles that was really good (they weren't actually noodles made of glass but I can't remember the name of it).

Fullest Moment: The Spanish Elders have a tradition of going out to eat on weekly planning days. It helps break up studies and planning so it's not 6 hours of sitting and reading. Having seen Stevi B's pizza buffet in Tallahassee and Tifton and wanting to go but not quite making it there, I really wanted to go to the one here in Warner Robins. We ate a lot of pizza. The pesto pizza was pretty good as was the loaded baked potato. The Bavarian cream pizza was pretty good too. =)

Spur of the Moment Moment: We called K Sunday morning around 12:00 to invite him to church. He has just gotten off work and church starts at 1p. He had a lot on his mind but after a long phone conversation, we invited him to church. He agreed and started getting ready. We finished lunch and went to church with the Spanish Elders (all 5 of us in the Corolla- it's a little tight).

District Meeting: It went quite well. It was about finding and we really had some good conversation about finding. The Zone Leaders were there and afterwards Elder W (one of the Zone leaders) came on an exchange just for the day with us. It was pretty fun. He hadn't biked in a while so I felt bad for him. There's some pretty decent hills here and I ride pretty fast and Elder P goes even faster than I do.

Big Thing I've Learned: I read an excellent talk by Elder Bednar about being a Preach my Gospel missionary. It was excellent but the main thing I took away from it was that as missionaries we represent Jesus Christ and I serve Him. Everything we do stems from that one point. I love the white handbook when it says, "You represent the Lord in your proselyting area and are responsible for obtaining His direction in blessing the lives of the people there." (paraphrased).

That's pretty incredible when you think about it.

I do love y'all and I miss you. Take care!

Elder Matthew Carlson

Maher-shal​al-hash-ba​z

Maher-shalal-hash-baz meaning in Hebrew, "To speed to the spoil, he hasteneth the prey".

Hello everyone!

Things have been very good here in Warner Robins. We've been very busy and the days have flown by. It's been crazy.

I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever catch up email-wise. In short, it's been amazing. My testimony has grown much and I feel like I've grown as a person. So it's been wonderful.

To bring you up to speed on Warner Robins and my companion- I'll focus on the basics.

Warner Robins is a military town and has a large air force base that most people work at or for. It's pretty nice but it's different as most people are very western. They're usually very open to talking to us which is nice. The ward is really good and they really support us. There is some great people here. =) I am trying to keep the fact I am leaving soon less known so pretty much the only people that know are the Spanish elders and a less active member named J (cool guy; I'm pretty convinced he can make almost anything).

Elder P is a good guy. He's only 18 as he left on his mission right after high school. It's kind of odd being almost 3 years older than him. Because at the same time we get along just fine and we're partners and equals and it feels that way.

The Spanish Elders are very fun and we work with them quite frequently. We spend much time with them. Sometimes we have dinner with them if we don't have a dinner appointment.

We've had some funny times and it's been a great experience.

We work with a few people but we need to meet with them more as they've been difficult to catch.

Really the top ones are:

K: A very nice young man who really looks on life with a negative outlook. He likes church but he works a lot and he really likes us. We're focusing on teaching him how to find happiness through the Gospel and really reading for himself.

V: is a nice guy who has many, many questions. He is a Jehovah's Witness who likes to look into everything. We're focusing on helping him realize he needs to go to God for his answers and really pray to know instead of going to the internet.

A and D: a nice family but they work a lot and they're hard to catch. We've been working on helping them have a family home evening with one of the ward members.

We've contacted many people and have found many promising potential investigators. So I'll let you know how it goes. We've also really been making some headway with some less active families. Particularly C. She's a very nice lady who joined a few years ago and her husband (who is currently deployed) is not a member. She's been coming back to church with her 3 kids which makes it very difficult for her since she's all by herself. She is really starting to understand the Book of Mormon and we've been explaining and reading it with her. It was really cool to see her get it. =)

Highlights of the week:

Zone Training was pretty cool. We drove to Macon and enjoyed lessons about teaching by the Spirit, goals and actuals, and building relationships with ward members and leaders.

Pictures:

The first one is our apartment

The second one was dinner with the Spanish Elders

1 Timothy 1:5 and Mosiah 2:4

The goal of all the commandments are charity. Obedience really is love in every sense of the word. It's to put our needs or our will aside in favor of someone else's.

LOVE Y'ALL! =)

Elder Matthew Carlson

No time for a title this week

Where to start? I don't even know.

It's been such a crazy busy week and so much has happened. I have 4 minutes and 33 seconds before I get booted off the computer.

My companion and I have been having some fun this week. We have a car every other week and this week was a bike week. So we biked and Warner Robins is pretty hilly.

We've been working with many people and I love it here.

Also- frog bars. What is the recipe for those? I'm think I'll make those and bring them to district meeting for my birthday as it's on a Tuesday.

But I feel as though now I finally understand what it means to sing the song of redeeming love. Throughout this week my consciousness has reverberated with the inspired words of one of my beloved hymns.

The chains are gone,
I've been set free.
My Lord, My Savior has ransomed me.
and like a flood his mercy makes
unending love, amazing grace.

It is my testimony that through Jesus Christ we are truly set free.

Elder Matthew Carlson

Warner Robins!

So- funny story.

Monday was labor day and as a result, most libraries were closed. However, Elder S and I emailed at the family history center. So the zone leaders sent out a text to people telling them if they couldn't email Monday to do it on Wednesday or Tuesday. Elder P (my new companion) didn't email to Monday nor did he have the opportunity to on Tuesday due to transfers. So we're at the library now with the Spanish Elders and it is packed!

Anyway- you're probably extremely curious to see where I am (if you haven't figured it out already by calling the mission office). I am in Warner Robbins 2nd Ward. It's a nice ward and a larger town. It has a large military base and as such, has many military families. My companion is Elder P, he's from Lehi, Utah. He kind of reminds me of Elder W and he's taller than I am. He likes basketball and is pretty cool. Kind of quiet and chill and a little laid back but he's well adjusted to the mission especially considering that he's only been out for 6 weeks. We'll see how things go but I'm excited and determined to make the best of these last few weeks. I'm trying to not tell anyone that I'm going home in 6 weeks- partially because I want it to be a surprise but also because I don't want people not to get to know me because I'm leaving soon. I feel I can make an impact in a short period of time. I just need to have the faith it will happen and do my part.

Tuesday was transfer day and it was much different than I am used to. I'm used to more of the van coming to pick us up and meeting in parking lots throughout the South. This time, everyone drove up to Macon. It was tough to get a ride since we need a way to get my bike up there and most of the ward was unavailable or out of town. President Spikes gave us a ride and Douglas 1st took my bike up there. It was a new experience for only a few as I was 1 of 12 or so companionships that were not transferred last transferred. There was a meeting at 10am for the trainers that was about being a friend and example to new missionaries and really being careful not to pop their balloon so to speak. Then there was lunch (baked potato and salad) and I enjoyed some time with Elder S and Elder W. It was fun. Then the transfer meeting came. I was pretty anxious by this point. He pulled down the screen in the chapel and had a projector with areas and pictures of the missionaries. He would announce and the assistants would advance the slides to make the pictures appear. It was pretty funny as President Cottle has many funny jokes and is just a naturally funny person.

I hope you are all well. =)
Elder Matthew Carlson

The Last Transfer

Well- this is it.

The final transfer.

Looking back, you never really think this day is going to come. But somehow it did. Regardless- I have been working very very hard. Sorry Mom and Dad but probably for the first day or so I might be asleep for a long time.

Anyway- I really don't have much time. We have little time as I am getting transferred. But things are going really good here in Tifton aside from all the packing and cleaning I have to have done by Tuesday morning which I haven't really started on.

The highlight of the week would definitely be last night at the church with the B's. They've been a little nervous about coming to church as they know it's going to be different than what they are used to but they really like us and the things we share. We stopped by the house after biking really, really fast (we saw D and we got talking). We all hopped in his truck and drove to the church. We unlocked the church and D stepped in. He stopped and looked around. All he said was, "Wow." I looked over and saw a tear in his eye. He was just really happy for the rest of the tour. We showed him the church and both he and J really liked it. Bishop stopped by (we had called and set up for him to drop by towards the end). He and D talked for a while about all the people they knew in Tifton but then he got into the good stuff. He asked how Elder S and I were doing teaching the Gospel. D replied that, "These guys are great. We love learning and every time they come over you can just feel the Holy Spirit." Bishop asked what he thought about the gospel. "I've been to a lot of different churches. But it makes sense- there is authority that is needed that was lost and it came back through Joseph Smith." I felt like I was on The District or something. It was amazing! Then J said, "I've got something to say! I went to a lot of churches and I really liked it there but I kind of felt like something was missing. But then these guys came and I feel in my heart this is it." It was just an awesome experience, I really do love them.

We called Bishop later when we got home and he is really excited and hopeful for them. He made the comment, "I think Jaycee would join tonight if it was a matter of asking." Keep in mind he has a thick thick southern accent.

Fun southern fact of the week: they actually call people from the north yankees.

Thank you! LOVE YOU! and I miss you all!

Elder Matthew Carlson

D, J, and Matthew

Faith is a principle of action!

Let me stretch my fingers- 'cause this is fixing to be a long email.

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.

Outside the jail we found a large ravine.

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

Where to Start?

This is going to be a tough letter to write. So much has happened. I sometimes wish I could just strap my camera to my helmet or shoulder and you would just be able to watch it all but I think people would probably think I was weird and the missionary department would probably frown upon that.

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

Old Man Stage

I think at this point of the mission, I'm about 86 in missionary years. That kind of makes me an old man. But this old man is feeling pretty good. Things have been good even if we had some unique challenges but I'll get to that somehow. I do sincerely apologize for a lack of current events. I keep wanting to tell you everything but I'm kind of behind. I'll do my best to catch up though.

I'll do some brief catching up:

Friday (26th) was weekly planning and we talked to people. Elder S made brownies for the lawyer whose car he had hit since he felt bad. We dropped them off but the head lawyer was the only one there. Apparently everyone in law offices leave at 12 on Fridays. Anyway, we had a great dinner with the R's- they're way cool. We made copies of a form that we needed and the printer was running out of ink and not working in one section so I took out the cartridge and shook it a bit. I then noticed there was toner everywhere on me! On the bright side the printer worked fine and the shirt came clean with some help from Oxiclean.

Saturday (27th) was tiring. We had a move for Sister D. We rode our bikes in service clothes which felt really weird. I accidentally stood in an ant hill and got quite a few bites which itched. I made a chocolate milkshake for lunch as well as some real food. We had a good lesson with A. The Spirit truly directs us though as we found A- someone who we had knocked on his door on a few times previously and no one had answered but he was home and we had a good chat with him. We had dinner at the S's but it was more of a birthday party. Really good food though.

Sunday (28th) we spent some time early before church cleaning and flushing out the baptismal font. They fixed the rust problem so it was running pretty clear. The focus of church was being spiritually born of God and it was quite good. The baptism was for the F's 8 year old daughter. It went well. We were biking to an appointment when a jogger lady stopped us on the side of the freeway and she asked me, "How's preaching your fake gospel going?" I stopped my bike as I had just come up a hill and explained "It's not fake- it's the real thing." Then she went off for a long time how we're leading people astray with all sorts of Bible verses because it says in Revelation and in Deuteronomy that no one can add to or take away. I then asked her if we are leading people away then why would we ask people to read and pray about it. She told me she didn't want to listen to our sermon. She didn't look happy at all though and I mostly feel bad for her. I said a little prayer as we biked away. We had splits with Brother K our ward mission leader (who really reminds me of Alex Thomson in terms of personality as well as a little in looks). Most of our appointments fell through though. =( I did make onion rings though which were quite good (we have about 5 or 6 pounds of onions for some reason).

Monday (29th) we waited around in Walmart for a long time after shopping for the Sisters. We both were on tight budgets as it was the 5th Monday of the month. I made my planner cool looking which was cool.

We had dinner at the N's which was delicious. There was, as usual, a big pile of food. I actually really liked the fried okra she made which was breaded and delicious.

Tuesday (30th) was mostly spent walking. We went to A's- had a good lesson and while coming back to our bikes noticed that Elder S's bike tire was completely flat. We were about 6 miles from home so we started walking. I didn't mind though, I had a good attitude that it was all going to work out. We did stop at an auto repair shop to see if they could fill it up and they tried but it was just go flat in seconds. The guy filling it up was very nice and said that he had seen us a lot and he wanted to talk to us. We had ridden by a few times and I felt like I wanted to talk to him but we were late and by the time I made up my mind to talk to him so he was behind us a ways so we kept going. We walked back to the apartment and Elder S had a replacement tube so he replaced the tube and we had an enjoyable evening helping the U's repair their deck as the wood had rotted out quite a bit. Great family- they're just out of town most Sundays which is really sad. But we're working with them. They made us hamburgers and stuff for dinner which was really good and gave us a ride home just right before 9:30.

Wednesday (31st) I was tired but it was still good. Elder S's bike odometer hit 700 today making all in total about 500 miles biked in Tifton (he was at 187 when he first arrived a month ago). I had two really ripe bananas so I made banana bread- it was good. Michael entered the MTC which was great to hear and think about. We saw D since I had a feeling to go see him (it was his day off) so we talked for a bit. We were biking to the hospital when some people walked out and saw us and said, "ELDERS!" I stopped, thinking this was going to be either really good or not good. Turns out they were members from the Douglas 1st ward and needed a blessing for her daughter-in-law who had just found out she had tumors on her brain stem. She is a young mother with a 2 year old son and very nice husband. It was an honor to be able to assist to give that very powerful blessing. Her husband did the actual blessing but the Spirit there was incredible. We then visited a member of a ward in the hospital who isn't doing as well (he was who we originally went there for). We met a nice young lady named K. We talked for a while and it turns out missionaries had knocked on her door but never came back which she was kind of sad about. She does work a night job which makes her very hard to catch though. We had Zaxby's for dinner (fried chicken tenders, french fries, toast, and coleslaw all with special sauce) and then a coordination meeting. We were going to see D but J was in a car wreck and had flipped her car 4 times. Luckily she was just fine, just shook up.

I know I promised I'll catch up and I will try harder next time. Things have been going great! We had an amazing experience the other day and D and J and her brother are doing amazing! It truly was a testimony to me that the Lord has people for us and that people truly need what we have- they just don't know it. We had a lesson with D and it was funny since his son who had been gone the last few lessons sat down and he was getting really interested but the poor guy was kind of confused but he was getting it. We left since it was 9:15. We started walking home (another thing- Elder S snapped the axle on his bike so we've been walking everywhere. But we've been blessed) and J asked if she could ask us some questions. We walked and talked. She basically prayed and got an answer and she felt a happiness she had never felt before in her entire life and she knows that the things we share are true and it has changed her life. It was pretty amazing. We testified and told her now she knows she needs to act. It was an amazing moment for me. Then we parted ways as we were headed back to our apartment and she was headed back home. She asked "I know y'all have rules and stuff but would it be alright to ask for a hug?" I looked at Elder S and then at J. 17 year old girl, 9:25 or so, 2 Mormon missionaries. I told her, "Sorry but not right now. But I promise you when I come back- since I will come back and visit y'all- I will give you a hug." It was a great day.

I know the Lord is willing to help us and speak through us. My words are not my own but the ones of Him who sent me. It's been amazing week of struggle but it's been an amazing week of blessings such that I do not look at the hard things as hard. I look at them as blessings in disguise.

I love you all. But I love it here too.

Elder Matthew Carlson

If we have faith- enduring is actually pretty easy

HELLO EVERYBODY!

Things are going pretty good down here in Georgia. It ain't too awful bad. =)

We've had some pretty cool experiences this week. Unfortunately some/most of the people we've been working with have been really busy these past few weeks but we've been able to find more new people. It's all good. I've been reading Jesus the Christ quite a bit recently as I've been trying to finish it soon.

I am approaching the sunset of my mission and it's a bittersweet kind of thing much like a real sunset. It sure it beautiful though.

Hence, I've been focusing on my missionary labors and talking to everyone I see if the time is right and if the Spirit prompts me to do so. It's been a big source of blessings.

I'm going to take a step back into the distant past. I know you've heard about this stuff already but I didn't get all the details I wanted in the email last week.

The 19th of July was a very good day. We had a lesson with D and J which was amazing. Her boyfriend was even there (she was much more interested than he was though). D was explaining things that J wasn't quite understanding at first (more difficult things like the finer applications of agency) and she was explaining things that he hadn't heard yet. It was amazing because at the end J said "I always had a lot of questions but I feel like this has answered them. Do you think God prepares and leads people to find this?" We of course responded in the affirmative. It was just a neat experience.

The 20th of July was the Pioneer Days as you know. There was butter making and a sack race. Elder S and I would hold the finish line while 20 or 30 kids would make a mad dash towards the finish line. They really got into it. They would all dive to make it to the finish line quicker. One time one of the younger kids came out of his bag and just started running. It was super funny. Then it got funnier as they had an adult race. It was funny because they were calling out who they thought would win "I think dad will win!" "I think that missionary will win?" "Him?" "No the other one!" I actually beat Elder S slightly. Even with his sweet dive such that I almost squashed him I won by a fraction. However, we were both beat by Brother S (the 2nd Counselor in the bishopric). He had a great dive that got him across the finish line quickly.

Sunday 21st was a great day. My favorite quote from church came from someone talking about enduring well and using the example of Job. "Job had 10 kids. I guess back then 10 kids made you happy". The other good one was "Don't put your head down and just make it through! Don't you want to be happy?"

There we go. I know I'm really far behind but I'll do my best to catch up today.

Tuesday (the 23rd) I was tired. We went to the Agrirama as there was a potential investigator that asked us to come by a Tuesday morning (not open on Mondays). It's the Tifton county agricultural museum. We saw some really cool houses and talked to some people. The Tift House was beautiful. The wallpaper was actually made out of silk.

We talked to some interesting people. We had previously run into the blacksmith who wasn't interested and it was kind of weird to see him. We had a dinner lesson with a young man named S at Ranchero's which is a Mexican place. I got super nachos. Cheese, meat, chips, all sorts of veggies, and they were really good. Unfortunately, the lesson wasn't as good. When we first met S he was quite interested. He had gotten anti-ed. He gave us the pamphlet to look through and it was pretty comprehensive. He mostly talked about salvation and we cleared up misconceptions. It was difficult because he just wouldn't accept some things. We'll keep trying and keep working with him. He's a great young man who really wants to do what is right and is really close to the Lord. We'll say something and he'll say "Oh yeah- that makes sense. Hadn't heard that before... cool!" and then we'll keep going on and he'll just shut down. "No. That's not how it is." We had dinner at the H's but when we arrived Brother H wasn't there since he had to work late. I really had to use the restroom so we walked and it took a while to find one as most of the stores were closed. I thought I was going to explode or something. We found a CVS and life became good. Brother H called and explained that Sister H would drop something off that night. We got back and they dropped it off. There was barbecue chicken and it didn't have lid. I was walking in to our apartment and my hands were rather full. Then something happened and the chicken just fell. I almost caught it but to no avail.

It was pretty bad. It went everywhere! We spent a good hour scrubbing with all sorts of chemicals. It did come up though and it looks pretty good.

Wednesday (the 24th) began with something new for me. Our door was knocked on by Jehovah's witnesses. They gave us a pamphlet. I wish we had talked to them a bit but they were kind of scared of us and ended the conversation after we took the pamphlet. I think they're interesting- there's a cool picture of squirrel on the back I really liked.

Arctic ground squirrels. Go figure. We had a good lesson with A. He's a good guy. We got DQ since I had a coupon and we got replacement shoelaces as we weren't going to be by Walmart for a while. I did learn that S T is active again in Alma (he had gone through a period of inactivity due to various circumstances). The missionaries have been working with him and it's been a bit source of happiness for me lately. Unfortunately he moved to Missouri last week. They found the church there though. =) Coordination meeting was good though.

Thursday (the 25th) I'm usually a missionary in my dreams. So usually I teach a lesson or two in my sleep. I awoke from a teaching dream and decided that today was the day for a haircut. I had really needed one but didn't get to it on Monday.

I decided I would do it after exercise since I usually had time in the morning and I could do it before my shower. I borrowed Elder S's clippers and grabbed a number eight. I started on the back, looked down and noticed, wow. It was taking off quite a bit of hair. I felt the back of my head. It was very short.

Then I more closely inspected the clippers as I was devoid of my glasses. It was a number two, not a number eight! That was when I started freaking out. I finally decided I would just have to go short all the way around. It's shorter than I expected but it turned out okay in the end.

It was actually kind of funny looking back. Elder S vacuumed up a spider which was funny. It was on his bike and he didn't want to touch so he vacuumed it up. But then it was crawling around in the container and I wouldn't let him put the vacuum in the apartment if a spider could crawl out of it. After much trepidation and freaking out he finally shook it out and stomped on it. I thought it was kind of funny but I don't think he thought it so. We had a great lesson with a lady named T. Brother J came along with us and did a great job! He was just a great fellow shipper and he a great testimony! We visited D and we're working on becoming better friends with him. Our ultimate goal is to help him go on a mission. We were biking back when Elder S hit a parked car on his bike. He flew quite a ways and landed on the pavement. I actually didn't see it as I was at the bottom of the hill (he was right behind me then he wasn't). After talking to many lawyers (the car was outside an attorney's office and belonged to one of the assistants there) and two police officers we got on our way. We met a very nice lady named M outside reading. I asked if she enjoyed reading. She did. So I offered her a Book of Mormon. She had some great questions.

That's all the time I have. Take care. I love and miss you all! Things are great. The Lord leads His servants where they need to be. I have a great testimony of that this week. If we listen to the Spirit, it directs us to who we need to talk to. It's all worth it. If we do something enough with enough willpower, desiring to like it, we will come to love it. I'm working on liking olives. I'm making progress but I've got a ways to go. Such it is with the Gospel. As we live we will do not because we are told but because we want to.

Elder Matthew Carlson

The Final Countdown!

Well this week is the first week of my remaining 12 weeks. It's getting rather sobering but it's amazing what an acute lack of time can do for your determination.

I'm going to try and get caught up so I'm going to summarize a bit- so you might have to use your imagination to fill in some of the gaps.

Monday (the 15th) was a good p-day. It was productive but I was also kind of lazy so it was a bittersweet kind of a thing. Being lazy just isn't really all that fun anymore. We did stop by Piggly Wiggly which we learned was actually going out of business. Kind of sad but we looked around and found some deals. It's a nice chain that's all around here in the south. I was impressed as all the workers there were still nice. Knowing I was losing my job in a few days, I don't know if I would be as cheerful.

I got some good stuff done like de-puckering pants and shining shoes, cleaning, and that kind of thing. I learned that Subway actually sells cinnamon rolls. And they're a buck. We went in to fill up water bottles but they had a cinnamon roll on the counter. It was actually a decent size and pretty good.

Tuesday (the 16th) was mostly district meeting. We had some advice given to us by President Cottle through Elder H. We then played a game called Moose Moose which is kind of like signs except there isn't someone in the middle trying to figure it out and it's all animal sounds. I did a unicorn and I wasn't sure what noise they made so I made a shiny noise if that makes any sense... I was a little disappointed it wasn't a more spiritual meeting but I'm hopeful for next week. We all had lunch at Steak 'n Shake since it was the last district meeting before transfers and we usually do something fun. I got a salted caramel pretzel shake along with my bacon cheeseburger which was quite good. Someone even payed for the meal which was really nice of them. We used coupons to help them out but we all felt very blessed. Afterwards we helped someone who was working on the ward building replacing a door. We also stopped by a thrift store to see someone there but we walked in and someone said, "Perfect- grab some boxes in the back and sort them out" and directed us back into a closet full of boxes of stuff that had been donated. I guess the Elders used to volunteer there. So we sorted books. It was kind of fun. We were super thirsty afterwards and had an interesting lesson with Jim (one of the Sister's investigators). He waved us over as we were biking by so we sat down and he just wasn't getting the Book of Mormon. He couldn't see how you could have both of them. Elder S got a little frustrated. That day I learned it's hard to teach someone else's investigator. We did have a great lesson with a nice young man named D that Elder K and I met in the ICU at the hospital. He works 7 days a week so it's kind of hard to catch him. We taught the restoration and he understood what we were saying. He has a lot of faith which is great. Real true faith.

Wednesday (the 17th) I was tired. We met G and J though. We knocked on their door as a potential or less active member used to live there. She answered and invited us in. We explained we couldn't unless there was another man there. We told her a bit about the Book of Mormon though and she seemed to be interested. We had a lesson with J as the Sisters invited us there since J wants us there. I was blessed to have a better explanation for the Book of Mormon. We explained it through the gathering of Israel of all things. It's evidence that the Lord is gathering His people. We stopped at Dairy Queen for a quick cool down. Then it was back to J and G. We sat outside as she thought we couldn't come inside period. It was funny- Elder S explained "The Lord has restored His true earth...I mean, church". They got a good laugh. It's great when you can be a little funny- I find it really helps make a lasting impression as well as breaks the ice that some people have. There's such a thing as too much humor though- so it's best to use it with prudence. Zaxby's for dinner and coordination meeting concluded the day.

Thursday (the 18th) we biked a lot. 28 miles actually. We were upbeat and optimistic. We tried to visit M C but he wasn't home. We had dinner at the F's. It was Tilapia and veggies which was quite good. We taught M the Gospel of Jesus Christ as his girlfriend wasn't feeling well.

Friday (the 19th) we had an amazing lesson with D and JC. It was a great lesson as we finished the second half of the plan of salvation. They really liked it. They haven't read the Book of Mormon yet as they're just really busy (busier than they've been in a while) but they promised they would. I'm very hopeful for them!

Saturday (the 20th) was a fun day. We did a bit of exploring as we found a bridge out in the middle of nowhere that didn't really lead anywhere. It was super slick so Elder S tried to brake when coming to this ledge from the opposite way but had to lay his bike down almost to get off (it wasn't stopping).

We had a pioneer day celebration which was really fun. I enjoyed it.

Sunday (the 21st) was good. The major events of the day were excellent talks in Sacrament about enduring well, getting escorted out of the hospital by the police, and dinner with the C's (they're awesome).

Monday (the 22nd) I vacuumed up my shoe on accident and it kind of ate up the shoelace (I got new shoelaces don't worry)

and making banana pudding.

It was delicious. I ate half of that in a sitting. =)

I love and miss you all! I'm doing well and enjoying serving the Lord. I'm excited to come home and see y'all in a bit and show you how much I've grown. But for now, I've got a bit of time left and I'm going to try and get all the growing in I can.

Elder Matthew Carlson

PS: Here's a map of the mission: