Well, for starters let me add to the ever growing list of "Southern Food that I tried that is really bad for me". I have now had fried ice cream. It was actually pretty good. It had a cinnamony outside that was kinda crunchy, whipped cream on the outside, and a fried... something that functioned as a bowl for the ice cream. It was good, but I'm sure very very fattening. Luckily I've been biking a whole lot and jogging in the mornings so I think I'll be okay.
The good news of this week is that Sister B, one of the investigators we have been working with, is getting really really close to baptism! She just needs to pick a date that works for her schedule. She's really cool, she loves the church and has a testimony, quit smoking, and is just ready. So hopefully that will be pretty soon. I'm excited =).
This week was a little sad at the beginning until about Thursday. Up until that point, I hadn't gotten any mail in a while. Then I received a nice letter from Sofie! Yay! Then the next day a whole BOX came for me as well as a few other letters. I was really excited to say the least. Thank you for the wonderful gifts from the magic Disney-power land.
There are some really awesome member here that I just love. They are the M's, the J's, and the F's. Let me tell you about the J's.
Brother J is a software developer for his company. He's a really cool guy. Sister J is a really nice lady who loves musicals and works in the stake youth leadership. They took us out to sushi at a nice sushi restaurant since it was "cheat day". They're on a diet where they can't eat carbs or sugar, that sort of thing, but they have one day a week where they can literally eat everything they want. I think I ate more than 2 rolls of sushi all in all. It was a ton. It was really good sushi, some of the best I've ever had. One of them even had fish eggs on top. I ate that too. Sister E is Brother J's mom. She's from Finland and she is fantastic. We were over at the J's and she made us a huge dessert and we were eating and Brother J said while staring wistfully at my dessert, "Oh, I wish today was cheat day". Sister E looked up from her large pile of brownie and ice cream and said "Good thing today is my cheat day." Brother J looked at her and said "Every day is your cheat day." We all had a good laugh.
Yesterday was Stake conference and the stake leadership gave wonderful talks. They really were about the members stepping up to the plate, living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and going to the temple. I loved the stake president's talk because he was very much cut short on time. He was talking rather rapidly as he only had one or two minutes left when he stopped for a second and asked "All those who believe what I have said, please manifest." Of course, almost everyone raised their hand. "Then go to your bishop and get a temple recommend." Then he closed the talk and we were done. Elder G and I thought it was hilarious.
I love and miss you all! I'm going to the Pensacola Aircraft Museum after this so I'll have some fun pictures next week.
-Elder Matthew Carlson
Monday, June 4, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
From the Portland of the South
After discussion, Elder G and I have decided that Pensacola is actually Portland, but in the south. This is due to the large amounts of crazy people, the proximity to water, crazy squirrels, and strange stores. But it's good. There are some awesome people here. I'm actually writing this on a member's laptop since the library is closed.
But this week has been pretty good. We've been working hard and we helped three people move! That's a lot of people! We had help but I got pretty pooped out. I'm feeling better now (I got a good night's sleep last night) but I was tired this week. Not quite Alma tired but I was getting close. That's really tired. Like fall asleep during dinner tired.
Let me explain about the crazy people comment. Every week I have been here, we have run into some crazy person. I've heard that the church orders hits on people and there are secret tunnels under the temple to the CIA. There is also a ton of people who are very knowledgeable about anti-Mormon stuff. I am sorta glad that there was a binder in Mobile that had all the answers to common anti-Mormon questions. I usually just try to answer their questions (that usually doesn't work), bear my testimony, and then leave.
As for the crazy squirrels, they are very calm around people. You can get pretty close and they don't mind if you don't make much noise. There was one squirrel I saw that would take a few steps and then flop down on the ground. Walk a little ways more and then flop down again spread eagle. It was pretty fun. Squirrels are everywhere here.
I have discovered the joys of Sonic, especially after 8 pm. They have half-price shakes which are very nice. A $3 shake suddenly becomes a little more than a buck! We usually get one after coordination meeting on Wednesday.
Elder G and I are working well together. He's a great guy and a hard worker. We work well together and we've had some good laughs. We're working on teaching together in unity and we're getting there. It's really all about getting a feel for the other's teaching style and getting on the same page and making sure you're headed in the right direction. That's why planning is so important.
We had district training on Saturday. That's where President Jensen and Sister Jensen come and have a little meeting with our district. It was a great meeting and I learned a lot. The focus of the meeting was the Book of Mormon and time usage. I had a nice chat with President. I think he's really happy with me and what I've been doing, so that's cool.
I played floorball today. It's basically just hockey but on the floor. I got really sweaty. The A/C in the gym was broken so it got hot. I was running and passing and it was intense. A member here, Brother J is really the lead behind the floor ball thing. He's from Finland and has been playing hockey for forever. He was whizzing the ball right and left, I only got it from him a few times. He's a pretty good guy.
Two very exciting things happened this week! One, I got a package from Sofie! It had wonderful gifts of candy which was kinda melted (see first picture). I really appreciated it though.
The other exciting thing was that I GOT FREE BAGELS! FREEEEE! I got bagels in Mobile and they were pretty good. But they became moldy a couple days before the expiration date. I wrote the company and they sent me a coupon for free bagels. I was pretty proud of myself (see second picture).
But that's pretty much what's shaking.
I love and miss you all!
-Elder Matthew Carlson
But this week has been pretty good. We've been working hard and we helped three people move! That's a lot of people! We had help but I got pretty pooped out. I'm feeling better now (I got a good night's sleep last night) but I was tired this week. Not quite Alma tired but I was getting close. That's really tired. Like fall asleep during dinner tired.
Let me explain about the crazy people comment. Every week I have been here, we have run into some crazy person. I've heard that the church orders hits on people and there are secret tunnels under the temple to the CIA. There is also a ton of people who are very knowledgeable about anti-Mormon stuff. I am sorta glad that there was a binder in Mobile that had all the answers to common anti-Mormon questions. I usually just try to answer their questions (that usually doesn't work), bear my testimony, and then leave.
As for the crazy squirrels, they are very calm around people. You can get pretty close and they don't mind if you don't make much noise. There was one squirrel I saw that would take a few steps and then flop down on the ground. Walk a little ways more and then flop down again spread eagle. It was pretty fun. Squirrels are everywhere here.
I have discovered the joys of Sonic, especially after 8 pm. They have half-price shakes which are very nice. A $3 shake suddenly becomes a little more than a buck! We usually get one after coordination meeting on Wednesday.
Elder G and I are working well together. He's a great guy and a hard worker. We work well together and we've had some good laughs. We're working on teaching together in unity and we're getting there. It's really all about getting a feel for the other's teaching style and getting on the same page and making sure you're headed in the right direction. That's why planning is so important.
We had district training on Saturday. That's where President Jensen and Sister Jensen come and have a little meeting with our district. It was a great meeting and I learned a lot. The focus of the meeting was the Book of Mormon and time usage. I had a nice chat with President. I think he's really happy with me and what I've been doing, so that's cool.
I played floorball today. It's basically just hockey but on the floor. I got really sweaty. The A/C in the gym was broken so it got hot. I was running and passing and it was intense. A member here, Brother J is really the lead behind the floor ball thing. He's from Finland and has been playing hockey for forever. He was whizzing the ball right and left, I only got it from him a few times. He's a pretty good guy.
Two very exciting things happened this week! One, I got a package from Sofie! It had wonderful gifts of candy which was kinda melted (see first picture). I really appreciated it though.
The other exciting thing was that I GOT FREE BAGELS! FREEEEE! I got bagels in Mobile and they were pretty good. But they became moldy a couple days before the expiration date. I wrote the company and they sent me a coupon for free bagels. I was pretty proud of myself (see second picture).
But that's pretty much what's shaking.
I love and miss you all!
-Elder Matthew Carlson
Monday, May 21, 2012
Stressed Spelled Backwards Spells Desserts
HELLO FROM FLORIDA!
I am actually finally in Florida. After spending quite a bit of time in Georgia and Alabama, I was wondering if I would serve in the Florida area. How funny it would be, going to the Florida Tallahassee Mission, to never serve in Florida. But things in Pensacola with Elder G have been great! We've been working really hard and I'm really tired but I'm hanging in there. Today is pretty good since I was able to get a good night's rest.
We have been riding on our bikes a TON! I think we've riding over 100 miles this week. It's been crazy. We've been working on and we're pressing forward.
But this week wasn't as exciting as past weeks. I did get waved at by a PANDA! It was crazy! It was actually just a guy in a panda suit but still pretty cool. (Sorry this computer can't do pictures but next week I'll get one that can.)
Uh oh. I don't have any time left but I love and miss you all!
Thank you to all those who wrote me letters.
Sincerely,
-Elder Matthew Carlson
I am actually finally in Florida. After spending quite a bit of time in Georgia and Alabama, I was wondering if I would serve in the Florida area. How funny it would be, going to the Florida Tallahassee Mission, to never serve in Florida. But things in Pensacola with Elder G have been great! We've been working really hard and I'm really tired but I'm hanging in there. Today is pretty good since I was able to get a good night's rest.
We have been riding on our bikes a TON! I think we've riding over 100 miles this week. It's been crazy. We've been working on and we're pressing forward.
But this week wasn't as exciting as past weeks. I did get waved at by a PANDA! It was crazy! It was actually just a guy in a panda suit but still pretty cool. (Sorry this computer can't do pictures but next week I'll get one that can.)
Uh oh. I don't have any time left but I love and miss you all!
Thank you to all those who wrote me letters.
Sincerely,
-Elder Matthew Carlson
Monday, May 14, 2012
Pen-sack-cola
[We were able to talk to Matthew on the phone for Mother's Day which was very, very nice]
It was wonderful to talk to you all yesterday. I enjoyed getting to talk to everyone. I got to answer some good questions and got to ask some good questions (even though some of you were a tad hard to understand =] ). I'm glad that Mom had a good mother's day and all went well. I did enjoy the wonderful card and I enjoyed the funny little duck on it. I'm excited to get mail again this week! =)
This week has been an interesting one. I found out I was leaving Mobile, packed up, said goodbye (see the first picture), and headed off to Pensacola on Wednesday. The rest of the week was mainly just getting familiar with the area and doing work. The hardest part was adjusting to everything. It's all unfamiliar and I don't have a routine or anything so it's kinda hard. I'm working up a routine and figuring things out, so that's good.
Pensacola is a dense place. It's the second largest place in the mission (the first is Mobile). Before President Jensen sent me to Alma he asked if I liked small towns, I said not particularly but I'll go wherever I'm sent. So maybe I'm being sent to all the big cities. There are several wards here and I'm serving in the Pensacola Ward. It's a nice ward and there are many ward members who are happy to help us in whatever way we need. They don't always feed us (I've only had one dinner appointment so far and Elder G said they get about 1 or 2 a week) but they're willing to help us, which I prefer. The ward council is great and the bishop here is a nice guy. The ward has an excellent mission plan that is measurable and I think it will really help. I think that good things are going to happen in the Pensacola area, slowly, but surely. Elder G my companion (see the second picture), is a really nice guy. He has a strong testimony and is doing things for the right reason. We get along quite well.
We had the chance this week to go to the old folk's home and help them out. I always thought bingo was just a joke in the movies and the older people in rest homes didn't actually play bingo as they had much better things to do like watch TV, go for a walk, enjoy the clouds, that sort of thing. It turns out they do actually play bingo. I don't mean they just play, they play. There was an atmosphere of intense competition. The announcer lady was shouting at the top of her lungs and when she wasn't talking it was silent in the room expect for the clatter of markers and the steady beam of monitors. Most ladies had two or even three bingo sheets to maximize their chances. My job was help them put the markers on the right numbers. Some ladies were very hard of hearing and would shout "What did she say? 29?" The lady I was helping had only a little trouble. She would sometimes put it on the wrong square or have trouble finding the right square. It took forever but soon enough we finished bingo.
Pictures! I have a wonderful picture of my district. We had done a serious pictures before so we decided to shake things up a bit. As you can see, (see the third picture) we shook things up quite a bit. It was lots of fun. I miss those guys a lot. From me (top right) clockwise is Me, Elder H, O, L, N, and W. I also have a picture of one of the members in Mobile. His name is A and he's awesome (see the fourth picture). He's preparing to go on his mission and we taught many of his friends with him. His cat Champagne, is the silliest cat I've ever seen.
That's all I have time for this week, but I love and miss you all!
-Elder Matthew Carlson
It was wonderful to talk to you all yesterday. I enjoyed getting to talk to everyone. I got to answer some good questions and got to ask some good questions (even though some of you were a tad hard to understand =] ). I'm glad that Mom had a good mother's day and all went well. I did enjoy the wonderful card and I enjoyed the funny little duck on it. I'm excited to get mail again this week! =)
This week has been an interesting one. I found out I was leaving Mobile, packed up, said goodbye (see the first picture), and headed off to Pensacola on Wednesday. The rest of the week was mainly just getting familiar with the area and doing work. The hardest part was adjusting to everything. It's all unfamiliar and I don't have a routine or anything so it's kinda hard. I'm working up a routine and figuring things out, so that's good.
Pensacola is a dense place. It's the second largest place in the mission (the first is Mobile). Before President Jensen sent me to Alma he asked if I liked small towns, I said not particularly but I'll go wherever I'm sent. So maybe I'm being sent to all the big cities. There are several wards here and I'm serving in the Pensacola Ward. It's a nice ward and there are many ward members who are happy to help us in whatever way we need. They don't always feed us (I've only had one dinner appointment so far and Elder G said they get about 1 or 2 a week) but they're willing to help us, which I prefer. The ward council is great and the bishop here is a nice guy. The ward has an excellent mission plan that is measurable and I think it will really help. I think that good things are going to happen in the Pensacola area, slowly, but surely. Elder G my companion (see the second picture), is a really nice guy. He has a strong testimony and is doing things for the right reason. We get along quite well.
We had the chance this week to go to the old folk's home and help them out. I always thought bingo was just a joke in the movies and the older people in rest homes didn't actually play bingo as they had much better things to do like watch TV, go for a walk, enjoy the clouds, that sort of thing. It turns out they do actually play bingo. I don't mean they just play, they play. There was an atmosphere of intense competition. The announcer lady was shouting at the top of her lungs and when she wasn't talking it was silent in the room expect for the clatter of markers and the steady beam of monitors. Most ladies had two or even three bingo sheets to maximize their chances. My job was help them put the markers on the right numbers. Some ladies were very hard of hearing and would shout "What did she say? 29?" The lady I was helping had only a little trouble. She would sometimes put it on the wrong square or have trouble finding the right square. It took forever but soon enough we finished bingo.
Pictures! I have a wonderful picture of my district. We had done a serious pictures before so we decided to shake things up a bit. As you can see, (see the third picture) we shook things up quite a bit. It was lots of fun. I miss those guys a lot. From me (top right) clockwise is Me, Elder H, O, L, N, and W. I also have a picture of one of the members in Mobile. His name is A and he's awesome (see the fourth picture). He's preparing to go on his mission and we taught many of his friends with him. His cat Champagne, is the silliest cat I've ever seen.
That's all I have time for this week, but I love and miss you all!
-Elder Matthew Carlson
 |
| Saying Goodbye |
 |
| Elder G |
 |
| The District |
 |
| A and Champagne |
Monday, May 7, 2012
There's a transfer van with my name on it
Hey there!
To get things out the way, today is indeed transfers. I am also being transferred. Hence, the transfer van has my name on it. I'm headed to Pensacola which is pretty close by and my new companion will be Elder G. That's all I know. Once I get there, I'll get my address to you somehow. I'm excited and sad to leave Mobile. I was just starting to really like it here. Funny how that always happens. Just as I'm starting to like it somewhere, I get moved. Elder O's new companion is going to be Elder H. Elder F is coming here to Theodore (it's the town below Mobile). People are being moved all over the place this transfer! They're white-washing (which is just moving both elders out of an area) many areas and the transfer list is huge!
This week was really good! We did lots of service and helped many people out. We had some fantastic lessons (one in particular stands out but I'll get to that). We raked leaves for a member and did a really good job. Elder O and I decided that we were going to do a great job. We were at it for about 3 hours straight and it showed. We raked and swept his driveway and it looked nice. He was so happy that he fed us lunch. It was deer steak burgers (I've been eating many different things recently) which were actually pretty good. They were a bit chewy but other than that you couldn't really tell the difference.
The lesson in particular I was talking about was with K and C. K is the girlfriend of C who is a member in Semmes. They've been dating for three years and have talked about the church (he's a returned missionary) and she's not as sure about her Catholic faith anymore so she's meeting with us. We invited her to read and pray and Elder O did a fantastic job. I did an alright job and said what I needed to say, but K needed what Elder O had to say. It was a very spiritual lesson particularly when we got to the First Vision. K even started to cry and she couldn't explain why. We were in the Relief Society room so I thought there would be some tissues in there somewhere but luckily C found some Angel Soft so she used that. It was a good lesson.
I had hush puppies and fried catfish the other day. It was pretty good. My favorite part of the dinner was the homemade sweet potato french fries. Man they were good.
But I'm leaving Mobile. I knew that Elder O and I wouldn't be together but I didn't know if I was leaving or he was. Turns out I'm the one to leave. I'm really going to miss many of the people here in Mobile, particularly people like J, A, A, E, K, and C. I'll see them again someday but it's still rough to leave. I feel that I have left Mobile better than I found it and have went about doing good in my time here so I'm happy. I don't know what's ahead but I know whatever the Lord asks of me I can do (with his help of course).
As promised, I have included some pictures from the USS Alabama. Our tour began with some big guns (see picture #1). If you squint and zoom in you can just see Elder O and I posing. We explored the barracks and slept in some fun beds (see picture #2). Clockwise from the top right it's Elder W, me, Elder O, and Elder N. We saw some of the bullets that the 16" guns fired and man they were huge! Keep in mind this is the actual bullet they fired (see picture #3). The actual explody bit was something else. We concluded our tour with the A-12 Blackbird (see picture #4). It's cool because the fenced off area around the plane is technically a part of Area 51 because the plane is there. You'll get to see the dozens of other pictures when I send the card home.
These past weeks I've been noticing in my studies the enabling power of the Atonement. It's really the power that enables us to do things that we ourselves aren't capable of ourselves. It helps us to change, it strengthens us, and empowers us to rise above and beyond our natural capabilities. That is why the Lord is more interested in our availability than our capabilities. The Lord will shape our backs to the burden placed upon us. I have felt this power many times in the past months. Sometimes we pull up to a house and I'm so tired I don't think I can move my arms but after a quick prayer, I get up. Getting up is hard. It requires willpower and motivation. Once I get up though, I have energy, much less tired and ready to keep on working because of the blessing of the enabling power.
I love three things when it comes down to it. God, my family, and Wheat Thins.
=)
All the loves,
Elder Matthew Carlson
To get things out the way, today is indeed transfers. I am also being transferred. Hence, the transfer van has my name on it. I'm headed to Pensacola which is pretty close by and my new companion will be Elder G. That's all I know. Once I get there, I'll get my address to you somehow. I'm excited and sad to leave Mobile. I was just starting to really like it here. Funny how that always happens. Just as I'm starting to like it somewhere, I get moved. Elder O's new companion is going to be Elder H. Elder F is coming here to Theodore (it's the town below Mobile). People are being moved all over the place this transfer! They're white-washing (which is just moving both elders out of an area) many areas and the transfer list is huge!
This week was really good! We did lots of service and helped many people out. We had some fantastic lessons (one in particular stands out but I'll get to that). We raked leaves for a member and did a really good job. Elder O and I decided that we were going to do a great job. We were at it for about 3 hours straight and it showed. We raked and swept his driveway and it looked nice. He was so happy that he fed us lunch. It was deer steak burgers (I've been eating many different things recently) which were actually pretty good. They were a bit chewy but other than that you couldn't really tell the difference.
The lesson in particular I was talking about was with K and C. K is the girlfriend of C who is a member in Semmes. They've been dating for three years and have talked about the church (he's a returned missionary) and she's not as sure about her Catholic faith anymore so she's meeting with us. We invited her to read and pray and Elder O did a fantastic job. I did an alright job and said what I needed to say, but K needed what Elder O had to say. It was a very spiritual lesson particularly when we got to the First Vision. K even started to cry and she couldn't explain why. We were in the Relief Society room so I thought there would be some tissues in there somewhere but luckily C found some Angel Soft so she used that. It was a good lesson.
I had hush puppies and fried catfish the other day. It was pretty good. My favorite part of the dinner was the homemade sweet potato french fries. Man they were good.
But I'm leaving Mobile. I knew that Elder O and I wouldn't be together but I didn't know if I was leaving or he was. Turns out I'm the one to leave. I'm really going to miss many of the people here in Mobile, particularly people like J, A, A, E, K, and C. I'll see them again someday but it's still rough to leave. I feel that I have left Mobile better than I found it and have went about doing good in my time here so I'm happy. I don't know what's ahead but I know whatever the Lord asks of me I can do (with his help of course).
As promised, I have included some pictures from the USS Alabama. Our tour began with some big guns (see picture #1). If you squint and zoom in you can just see Elder O and I posing. We explored the barracks and slept in some fun beds (see picture #2). Clockwise from the top right it's Elder W, me, Elder O, and Elder N. We saw some of the bullets that the 16" guns fired and man they were huge! Keep in mind this is the actual bullet they fired (see picture #3). The actual explody bit was something else. We concluded our tour with the A-12 Blackbird (see picture #4). It's cool because the fenced off area around the plane is technically a part of Area 51 because the plane is there. You'll get to see the dozens of other pictures when I send the card home.
These past weeks I've been noticing in my studies the enabling power of the Atonement. It's really the power that enables us to do things that we ourselves aren't capable of ourselves. It helps us to change, it strengthens us, and empowers us to rise above and beyond our natural capabilities. That is why the Lord is more interested in our availability than our capabilities. The Lord will shape our backs to the burden placed upon us. I have felt this power many times in the past months. Sometimes we pull up to a house and I'm so tired I don't think I can move my arms but after a quick prayer, I get up. Getting up is hard. It requires willpower and motivation. Once I get up though, I have energy, much less tired and ready to keep on working because of the blessing of the enabling power.
I love three things when it comes down to it. God, my family, and Wheat Thins.
=)
All the loves,
Elder Matthew Carlson
 |
| Picture #1 |
 |
| Picture #2 |
 |
| Picture #3 |
 |
| Picture #4 |
Monday, April 30, 2012
Crazy Times
It has been an absolutely crazy week. I did many strange and odd things that I don't usually do. I ate a mudbug, went on a humongous boat, milked a goat, caught tadpoles, and petted a miniature horse. Like I said. Crazy.
But this week was also a good one. We ran full steam this week and met or passed almost all of our weekly goals. We're still struggling to help people get to sacrament meeting and setting BCD's. If we just keep working the way we've been working, I'm sure they'll come.
Like I said, I ate a mudbug. A mudbug looks like this (first picture). We went over to a member's house and they were peeling crawdads. They offered me one and I peeled it and ate it. It tasted quite like shrimp which I don't dislike as much anymore (I'll eat it but I'm still not a huge fan).
I also went to a miniature horse farm in Semmes. Those horses were so tiny! (second picture). [We really like this picture of Matthew]
I milked a goat which was very strange to me (third picture). I had never milked anything before and at first I didn't want to do but, realizing I was missing out on a cool opportunity, I manned up and milked the goat. It was weird, but I did it.
I went to the USS Alabama today and it was huge! I'll include some pictures next week.
I don't have much time but I love and miss you all!
------------
Elder Matthew Carlson
But this week was also a good one. We ran full steam this week and met or passed almost all of our weekly goals. We're still struggling to help people get to sacrament meeting and setting BCD's. If we just keep working the way we've been working, I'm sure they'll come.
Like I said, I ate a mudbug. A mudbug looks like this (first picture). We went over to a member's house and they were peeling crawdads. They offered me one and I peeled it and ate it. It tasted quite like shrimp which I don't dislike as much anymore (I'll eat it but I'm still not a huge fan).
I also went to a miniature horse farm in Semmes. Those horses were so tiny! (second picture). [We really like this picture of Matthew]
I milked a goat which was very strange to me (third picture). I had never milked anything before and at first I didn't want to do but, realizing I was missing out on a cool opportunity, I manned up and milked the goat. It was weird, but I did it.
I went to the USS Alabama today and it was huge! I'll include some pictures next week.
I don't have much time but I love and miss you all!
------------
Elder Matthew Carlson
Monday, April 23, 2012
Nice and Cool
Hey there!
I'm trying to figure out what to write about. I didn't really have anything crazy or super cool happen this week. Good stuff happened. We had some lessons that went really well and I'm excited about their progress in the Gospel. I'm very hopeful for E. She has real intent and she really wants to know. She has done research on the church and she's liked what she's found. She's having trouble accepting or believing that Joseph Smith was a prophet. However, that's nothing that a study of the Book of Mormon and an earnest prayer can't handle. =)
We had zone conference on Thursday which was really cool. President Jensen talked about being a "celestial missionary" and what we can do to become better. It was really inspiring for me. Doctor Staelli came as well (I'm not sure how to spell his name). He's the doctor who oversees the missionaries in the mission here. He gave us all a little speak about eating healthy. I've been thinking about how I eat lately and what he said really matched some of the conclusions I came to, so that was neat. We had apartment and car inspections and so we cleaned and cleaned. We found this cool stuff called Armor-All. It sounded really intense and like a good idea. It told us to rub it on all plastics and rubber. It worked fantastic! We got a mango scented tree and we were all set for car inspections! We got our car inspection form on it and as far as evaluation was concerned, it only had one thing written on it: "your car smells and feels awesome". Elder O and I got a good laugh out of that.
I'm doing alright. I had a bit of a rough week this week but I think I'm through it. I did learn some good things because of it though. Everyone has trials. A good quote is "We're all like stamps. We can be licked, depressed, and thrown from post to post but if we will just stick to it, we'll get to our destination"
I know I've said I would try to take more pictures, but this week wasn't as good for pictures. There is this very sweet smelling flower that Elder O always stops and smells whenever we pass by it (see picture). I snapped a quick picture and then moved on. I think they might be called "sweet olive" but I'm not sure. Maybe someone who is more skilled in the ways of botany could figure it out.
This week has been one of personal growth for me. I'm pretty sure it's growth for the better, but we'll see.
It's really simple. The Book of Mormon is true. From knowing that, everything else falls into place. The Priesthood is the literal authority to act in God's name and it has been restored on the earth.
I miss you all!
-Elder Matthew Carlson
I'm trying to figure out what to write about. I didn't really have anything crazy or super cool happen this week. Good stuff happened. We had some lessons that went really well and I'm excited about their progress in the Gospel. I'm very hopeful for E. She has real intent and she really wants to know. She has done research on the church and she's liked what she's found. She's having trouble accepting or believing that Joseph Smith was a prophet. However, that's nothing that a study of the Book of Mormon and an earnest prayer can't handle. =)
We had zone conference on Thursday which was really cool. President Jensen talked about being a "celestial missionary" and what we can do to become better. It was really inspiring for me. Doctor Staelli came as well (I'm not sure how to spell his name). He's the doctor who oversees the missionaries in the mission here. He gave us all a little speak about eating healthy. I've been thinking about how I eat lately and what he said really matched some of the conclusions I came to, so that was neat. We had apartment and car inspections and so we cleaned and cleaned. We found this cool stuff called Armor-All. It sounded really intense and like a good idea. It told us to rub it on all plastics and rubber. It worked fantastic! We got a mango scented tree and we were all set for car inspections! We got our car inspection form on it and as far as evaluation was concerned, it only had one thing written on it: "your car smells and feels awesome". Elder O and I got a good laugh out of that.
I'm doing alright. I had a bit of a rough week this week but I think I'm through it. I did learn some good things because of it though. Everyone has trials. A good quote is "We're all like stamps. We can be licked, depressed, and thrown from post to post but if we will just stick to it, we'll get to our destination"
I know I've said I would try to take more pictures, but this week wasn't as good for pictures. There is this very sweet smelling flower that Elder O always stops and smells whenever we pass by it (see picture). I snapped a quick picture and then moved on. I think they might be called "sweet olive" but I'm not sure. Maybe someone who is more skilled in the ways of botany could figure it out.
This week has been one of personal growth for me. I'm pretty sure it's growth for the better, but we'll see.
It's really simple. The Book of Mormon is true. From knowing that, everything else falls into place. The Priesthood is the literal authority to act in God's name and it has been restored on the earth.
I miss you all!
-Elder Matthew Carlson
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