Christmas Time is Here!

Hello one and all! It is indeed Christmas time here in the south and I have been enjoying the 60-70 degree days. It's kind of strange as it really doesn't feel like Christmas. It's supposed to be cold and family is supposed to be in town and I'm supposed to be goofing off. It's been good though. It's just a different kind of Christmas. I suppose that this Christmas I get to understand the meaning of Christmas and not just simply enjoy it. I'm working on understanding the true meaning of Christmas. It's something that the church, my parents, the scriptures, and TV specials have been trying to teach me for years but I think this year is the year I might finally get it. =)

It's been a busy, busy week. I really don't know where it went. It was just suddenly Saturday. It was kinda weird. To be honest, I kind of want my week back. There's some more stuff I wanted to do but we did get some good stuff done. We did some good service and we might have a family with some good potential. We helped them move.

I don't have much time as we need to be running to dinner. I am actually emailing you from the lovely home of the E's family who are just fantastic. Elder W is even writing his email on an iPad! (I chose the laptop to be able to type more - you're welcome Mom!)

PICTURE TIME!

This is Father B's door bell.

He's a retired Catholic priest that we visit every other week or so. He's very nice. We answer his questions and have some pretty good discussions. Missionaries have been working on him for years and years. I think about 10 or 15. He did come to church a few weeks ago which was really cool.

Sister H is the wife on the ward mission leader and we go over there for dinner about every other Thursday and she is fantastic! She made us cinnamon rolls and they are some of the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had.

I reheated this one in the microwave this morning and took a picture for y'all.

We were walking in Robertsdale and we saw this old pickup truck and noticed it was quite customized!

It was cool because it had Tow Mater painted on the side and everything.

Something I've noticed this past week was the fact that people really are searching. Our upstairs neighbors recently had their first child and we went over to congratulate them and had a very good conversation. He's looking. He said "There's got to be something out there. Right now my biggest priority is my family." We promised him that this would really help and bless his family and told him a bit how families can be together forever. We're going to teach him once things calm down and he's back from out of town. They are kept from the truth because they know not where to find it.

So let us be bold and say "Hey. Give this a try. This is something that really helps me."

Merry Christmas to all. May the love of the Savior grow in your hearts.

--
Elder Matthew Carlson

Wise Men Still Seek HIm

Hello everybody!

It's a Tuesday - I know. Monday was a little crazy. We went to the library like normal and noticed there weren't any cars there. "Maybe it's the whole Christmas season thing?" We walked up to the library and joined the small group of people reading the sign on the locked doors informing us due to unexpected remodeling that they would be closed until Wednesday. We tried some members but that didn't work out so we are emailing from Robertsdale, Alabama today! It's a nice little town - much like Philomath, OR.

It's been an eventful and interesting week. The other Elders - Elder C and Elder J left. It was fun to have them to pal around with and more fun to be able to work with them. It was really nice because we could do two things at once and we could tract out a neighborhood twice as fast. They left on Thursday to their own area. It was a long ways away though. I assume they are good up there. Elder C and Elder J are both great guys and Elders. As you can see from his picture, he is very enthusiastic about the work.

Anyway - it's been an interesting week as we've just had far too many appointments fall through. I don't really know what else we can do to have our appointments be more solid. =( As far as investigators goes, here is an update on them all.

T: We have a baptismal date with him but we're not sure on his understanding. He's working on reading the Book of Mormon but I'm not sure how much he gets out of it. Shortly after that lesson where we set the baptismal date with him, his wife lost her job and it's been really rough one them. Last time we came by he was quite sick so hopefully he's better now.

S: We've taught her most of the restoration except for the restoration. She had to leave right as we finished the Great Apostasy. We explained that the church was restored and left her a restoration DVD. She read some of the Book of Mormon (yay!) and enjoyed what she read. Hopefully she'll continue.

B: He had been reading the Book of Mormon every day (about 20 pages a day) but has been really busy with work and is just really tired when he comes home and finishes all the Christmas stuff he's working on. He's in Jacob and enjoys it. He just doesn't understand how there can only be one true church. Hopefully the Book of Mormon will continue to soften his heart - we just need to help him pick it up again.

S: He's been investigating for a long time and we're working on re-teaching him. He's kind of waiting for his wife before he really goes ahead. He reads the Book of Mormon every day and is in 3rd Nephi. He wants to be baptized but is waiting for his wife. His good friend and neighbor, Brother S, has really been working with him.

M: He's not an investigator but a somewhat less active. He's a great guy and is trying to do what's right. He comes from a large family and is related to half the stake. He came to church on Sunday and it's great to see him there. It takes a lot of guts to come by yourself and none of your immediate family wants to get out of bed. He's working on preparing himself to receive the Priesthood which is awesome!

We've found many new people with some great potential. Usually it's been in strange places like Belk's when we went to use the restroom, or walking in the park, or helping someone's son move. Hopefully we'll be able to follow up and really start sharing our message with them.

This is our district. The young man not in the suit in the back on the right is T. He's preparing to go on a mission to Brazil (Recife) in February but until then he is always happy to help us out and go out with us to do stuff and run us all around the place. I really like him plus he's super cool. I wish I was that cool before my mission. Ah well.

"This is Christmas! This isn't just any old holiday - I get a bunch of those throughout the year." - Brother Patterson

I wish you all a merry Christmas and may you keep Christ before Mas (more). The Church is true - otherwise the Priesthood wouldn't work. It's that simple.

--
Elder Matthew Carlson

The Key to a Happy Life is an Eagerness to Learn and a Willingness to Change

Well, it's been a very interesting week. Primarily because the sudden appearance of this guy:

Good old Elder J. It was a rather funny week. I noticed he was headed to Grove Hill on the transfer sheet. He served in Daphne a few months back and knew the branch president for Grove Hill (he lives in the Daphne Ward - the Grove Hill Branch is really small), so he was a good choice to open that area (they haven't had missionaries in years). We went to the transfer spot on Wednesday to get some supplies and hoping to see him there but no one came. So we went on our merry way trying to visit some less actives. I had a feeling that we would be helping Elder J out somehow so it wasn't too much of a surprise when we got a call from Elder C (the missionary that Elder J is training) tell us they were instructed to sleep at our apartment for the night. It was kind of comical almost as they had no idea where they were headed or what the plan was. They had recently learned they were also covering Toxey and putting the two branches together. Their area covers about 1/3 or the stake. It's crazy. They are going to be staying with members who are currently on vacation so they've been chilling with us for the past week. It's an hour to Grove Hill and another half hour from there to Toxey so they've been rolling with us and it's been fun. It makes me feel kinda extra productive since we can get two things done at once. We've been focusing on finding this week and have been abundantly blessed and I am very excited about some of the potentials the four of us have found. =) It was rather funny - someone at church told us we had tracted into a friend of hers the other day and she had wanted to talk to us but had to study for an exam. It was just kinda neat. Sorry - fun tangent: we went to McAllisters (a very nice sandwich shop) with a member and I left the car with a copy of the Book of Mormon in hand. I soon discovered in the restaurant that I brought in a book. We ate dinner and I decided we should leave it on the table. We wrote our number and Mormon.org inside the front cover. We never leave copies of the Book of Mormon in restaurants so it was rather unusual. I really thought nothing of it until we came out of district meeting a few days later. R (a recently returned missionary from California) looked at us and asked, "Is this your handwriting?". He held up a picture from Facebook on his phone and some girl had posted "Someone left this at a table at work" with a picture of the same Book of Mormon and it's front inside cover with my handwriting in it. I thought it was just really funny).

Anyway, this preparation day in particular has been interesting. Elder W has been feeling pretty sick - poor guy. He threw up quite a bit last night and all throughout today.

From left to right: Elder C and Elder W on the couch

So I've mostly been inside all day and that's why this email is coming to you so late in the day.

T our investigator with a baptismal is doing okay. His wife lost her job and it's really a struggle on their family. He has a testimony and is trying to do what's right. He doesn't have a solid grasp on the scriptures yet but he's still working on it. We gave him a blessing and that really helped ease his mind as he was very distressed. He got "his spark back". The Spirit was there and it really did make a big difference in him - you could see it.

Another funny story - I got my hair cut last Monday and I was telling Sister N (the one who cut our hair) a story when a big old glob of hair just fell right in my mouth. It was so nasty. Hair is actually quite sharp, gross, and pokey. I was very glad to be able to spit it out.

We were with T all day on Monday. He's a great guy and I really like him. He's headed to his mission in Recife, Brazil in February and is just super gungho about going out with us. He came over at 6:30 AM and we exercised and did all sorts of things. He came to district meeting with us (which was awesome) and was even in the picture (the one on the far right).

We went to Lambert's Cafe which was delicious but we got SO MUCH food. It was incredible. Just me - I had food for about 2 more meals and I left stuffed. Their rolls are delicious and there is a guy who rolls around a little cart with just this huge tray of rolls and yells "HOT ROLLS" and you just raise your hand and he'll throw them at you. He was quite accurate and had pretty good range but man they were hot. And delicious. Did I mention how delicious they were?

T was awesome. He stayed all the way till 10:00 PM or so when we finished planning. It was a fun day.

I love and miss you all! But for now, I am called to declare what I know and to be a witness. I had a few conversations with people who just asked weird, obscure, and irrelevant questions. I would answer the questions and then they would ask a different question which hinged on the previous question. I was able to respectfully answer their questions. I was grateful for that. One of the questions someone asked was about our views on salvation (something I get a lot). I've learned much about "salvation" during my sojourn in the South. It's not just about saying a prayer, filling gaps, or even just keeping the commandments. It is difficult but doable to change behavior. It is easier still to declare something. But what the Savior really wants is for us to be the best we can be and that is why the Atonement is so critical. The goal of repentance is to change ourselves as well as our behavior. "For the natural man is an enemy to God and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever until he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the Atonement of Christ the Lord..."(Mosiah 3:19). That brings happiness and peace. An eagerness to learn and a willingness to change.

--
Elder Matthew Carlson

A Busy Week

"Down here in the south, we don't have a single mosquito. They're all married and have large families."
-- President Spencer

Hello one and all!

It is transfer week this week and many people are headed all sorts of fun places. Elder B is headed to Quincy and Elder H is going to be working with a new missionary! I'm staying here in Daphne with Elder W. So things are pretty good. Can't complain. =)

This has been a pretty awesome week if I do say so myself. It's been a spiritual, hard working, getting in people's homes, tiring week. We had some interesting things happen this week. Random thoughts that come to mind:

Monday was, of course, preparation day and after we emailed and shopped we wrote some letters, cleaned for apartment inspection (for about 15 minutes - we've been keeping it pretty clean), we went out to the golf course behind the apartment to hit golf balls across a small river.

I realized that I really have absolutely no idea what I am doing. I did get some pretty good hits but Elder W had this crazy hit that just went FOREVER! (videos will be coming someday - not this card but the next card). It was quite fun. We passed apartment inspection and got candy bars. Sister K said "Not bad for two guys". We had lasagna soup for dinner which was quite good. Sister W probably got the recipe off of pinterest which is super big in the ward.

Tuesday was a cool day. I was with Elder R as he's our district leader and I got to be driver for the day! I was pretty stoked about it. Anyway, we had a great day and went on splits with members and had some good lessons. We were about to catch up with B which was really interesting. He's a 70 or something guy who is 6' 7". He's a hard core Alabama football fan and has a whole room devoted to it. Neat guy and he's been reading the Book of Mormon at about 20 pages a day for a month! He's in Jacob and he's really liking it so far. Now we just need to teach him and get him to church! =) He's having a rough time understanding where the Book of Mormon came from and that's something we need to address. We went to the P's for dinner which was interesting. Brother P is like a big kid and it was just super funny to see him making a pie. His daughter made the pie crust dough and he was rolling it out into the top and bottom. He kept joking with her with comments like "This dough is weird! The top is supposed to be smaller than the bottom!" "No Dad! You got them mixed up." "No, this dough is weird!" "Well, you told me how to make it!" It was just one of those things you had to be there.

Things started off slowly on Wednesday. We traded back in Robertsdale and made a few visits. It was rather cool as one particular visit was a potential investigator we had found. He works a lot and just happened to be home. As we were talking, a question came to mind about why there are so many churches. He really opened up and plainly told us he didn't know. He had to go so we promised him the answers next time we met. =) Inspired questions are the best! We drove back to Daphne and finished Weekly Planning. Yes, we started last week on Thursday (told you we've been busy). We kind of sped through it as we were mostly done and were just going to do it tomorrow. We visited B who just got off work. He was just "dog-tired" and we didn't stay long. I'm pretty sure he fell asleep during the prayer. Splits with Brother P went well. Great guy! Moved here from Arizona and is just happy to help. We hadn't had dinner so he insisted on taking us to 5 Guys. I had a delicious burger and way too many fries (fun fact: they have Cajun fries down here. I kind of like original better but the Cajun is fun to try). Brother K in Pensacola said (to be read in a thick Georgia accent) "I love them 5 Guys burgers, but whoowe, it's like shooting pure Crisco in your veins."

It was back to the planning grind wheel on Thursday but we made it and set forth some pretty good plans. It's always interesting to plan for week 6, knowing there is a possibility of one of you getting transferred. We went and saw T who's a great guy. He can feel the spirit when we come by and talk with him. He calls it conviction. We set a date for him to work toward being baptized and receiving the Holy Ghost. I'm not sure how much he really understands but we'll see. Brother S went with us and he was a good help. He's a very quiet guy and T is a talker. We also met Ken Sandgreen [a relative of Matthew's] that day. Very nice guy and as soon as he opened the door I could tell we were related (mainly by his nose). We sat on his back porch and enjoyed the very scenic view. It was a balmy 70 or so with a slight breeze and just a perfect night to be on a porch. He talked for all of the time and it was hard to get more than a "yes" into the conversation. It turns out that he lives right across the street from the S's, a very nice family in the ward. We talked with Brother S and he said they've had Ken over for dinner with the missionaries. He's a super nice guy but they're not sure on his interest level. We'll be stopping back by. We actually had dinner at Sam's Club that night. We met a member there and we shared a pizza. We walked in and the lady tried to stop us. I was super confused why she was stopping me. Then I saw C (a priest in the ward - great guy) running with a membership card outstretched. She turned saw him and looked back at us. Elder W timidly said "we're with him". She let us in. We walked around after dinner and met some members as well as some people we met tracting - still not interested though.

Friday was a fairly nice day. The only real highlight of the day was having a bad lesson with B. He's a good friend with one of the members and whenever we go over we usually just talk about stuff until the Gospel comes up and B goes silent. We decided it was time to focus more on B. It didn't go well. We were trying to ask questions and get him to open up and he was just giving short, brief answers. I was giving a brief overview of the Restoration when he shot me this look of just, "I don't want to listen to you and wish you weren't here". I wrapped this up and I don't think he's really all that interested. Maybe someday. =( We stopped by the Fresh Market (it's the southern version of Market of Choice) and I got Creme Brulee. It was quite good. They even caramelized the top for me and everything. It wasn't as good as that first time at the C's [back home] but still pretty good.

Saturday was a neat day. We got to met with Father B, a retired Catholic Priest. We meet with him every once in a while. We answered his questions and things as he already knows a lot about the church and has read most/all of the Standard Works. I'm thinking the spirit world might have to pick up this one. He did come to church though as we were giving talks and really enjoyed it. He was quite impressed. We had a meeting with our ward mission leader Brother H (he's awesome). We've been working with him, meeting about 3 times a month, getting things done, and it's just been awesome. Random tangent! We were driving down a highway when we saw a car stopped with it's hazards on. We thought "hey, maybe they need some help". We flipped around and pulled behind them and saw the person on the passenger side was out of the car all hunched over. "Cool, he's just feeling sick". Elder W flipped on the blinker to get back on the highway when the guy just lost it and out it came. It was kinda gross. I had never really watched someone throw up before. We went to the W's for dinner and enjoyed a southern breakfast with eggs and grits. =)

Sunday, as always, was good. Fast and Testimony meeting was great and Brother W gave his testimony. He mentioned that he had the opportunity to have the Elder's (us) over the night previous and that when we left his son came up and said "Dad, we really do have some cool Elders". His son N, who's 13, is a great kid. He's reading the whole Book of Mormon all by himself. When Brother W mentioned that, I was just filled with gratitude to truly be a representative of Jesus Christ and to be privileged to call myself by the title of Elder. We went with Brother B on splits and saw some great people when we were headed back and we decided to follow a mini-van (don't ask why). We lost it and wound up on a culdesac. I spied some people doing yard work and Brother B stopped the car and I jumped out and offered help. They politely turned us down and we somehow struck up a conversation. Brother B came out (he's from Guatemala and it turned out the lady's mother was from Guatemala). We offered them the opportunity to hear our message and after some hemming and hawing the husband said "Why not? Maybe we can bring them back" and they agreed. It was an interesting discussion and Brother B was a HUGE help. He just remained calm even when they went off about stuff and remained cool headed, logical, and made excellent points. We taught the whole Restoration (we spent most of our time on the great apostasy). It was funny as she said "There's that authority that you need to be the true church!" We nodded and agreed. "And no one else has it!" We agreed and she just looked flabbergasted. She agreed to read the Book of Mormon and find all the "errors" and look into her church more. It was quite interesting experience though. I don't think it would have gone nearly as smoothly with Brother B (He served his mission in California and kept coming up with Spanish terms during the lessons). We were monumentally late to dinner with Bishop N (we had steak - it was good), which I felt quite bad about. We watched the First Presidency Christmas Broadcast at his house.

This week has been a busy one. I can only share a small part of what I do. I'm looking forward to when I can talk with you and tell you all the stories. But until then, I need to make the stories to tell happen. =)

Pictures: the dog's name is lucky and is a cocker spaniel that looks crazy like scooter. The GPS is a record of how fast we went down a hill. On our bikes. I broke my record! It was crazy scary but I'm going to try again. I think I can go 5 MPH or so faster. Any more than that and I don't think my bike would hold together. =) The wrinkly fruit - yes that is an apple.

The world is addicted to noise. What would you give for the serenity in a drop of peace? What would you give to feel the peace that the Savior offers? The requirements are not high nor is the availability limited. I've felt that peace before. It comes with the Holy Ghost and there is no other lasting peace that comes. There is a difference between peace and contentment. Between gratitude and satisfaction. The Savior's terms are simple: a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Don't be fooled into buying an inferior brand of happiness labeled pleasure. True happiness comes from serving others.

I love and miss you all!

Elder Matthew Carlson

Matt did not explain this picture

Pray, Plan, Prepare, and Perform

Hello one and all!

It is once again I, Elder Carlson, writing from Daphne, Alabama with tales of my travels and adventures in my service as a traveling minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and representative of the Savior.

It's been a pretty good week this week. I can't complain. Kind of crazy, hectic, and very tiring; but hey- all in a day's work. With Thanksgiving and all, it's been a good week.

This little guy we found on the windshield wiper of our car. He traveled some 10 miles before we stopped at our destination. He hung on which amazed me as it must have been cold. A video is coming later.

For thanksgiving we went over to the A's. President Jensen was nice enough to let us have an extra hour to spend with our dinner appointment. We arrived and found them making gratitude turkeys.

Elder W's Turkey

I saw the construction paper and started to formulate a plan. I cut up some paper and made a square to be able to draw corners and straight lines. I then quickly began to draw and after a few minutes had a nice plan coming along. I didn't finish but I did get pretty far.

Some of the people there thought it was just the neatest thing. I'm hoping to finish it one of these days - maybe today if I have time. Thanksgiving was great but many people were out of town which made some our work difficult. It worked out okay though.

The work is starting to pick up a bit here which is great! Hopefully we can get things going with members more. I do wish that I could compose my thoughts faster for emails home. Maybe I'll just send my journals home and you can just read those. =) Time is so short...

We had a great lesson with one guy we're working with named T. He's had a bit of a rough life and has some medical problems. He has a good heart and feels the Spirit when we come by and talk to him. He calls it "conviction". We taught him the restoration and he just kept saying over and over again how much we had done for him. The thing I liked the most was when we left he made the comment, "I want to put some things right in my life." The spirit lets people know what they need to change but it also gives them the encouragement they need to change. It was a neat experience.

The strength to change comes from the Atonement of the Son of God (Ether 12:37, 2 Cor. 12:9). I've seen the end result in people's lives. You can just tell. There is a spiritual power and strength in those people that just isn't in others. There is a maturity, perception, and an understanding in their eyes and manner. People like our ward mission leader, Brother H or President S - who you can just tell have that inner source of strength that comes from yielding their hearts to God and having an unwavering desire to please the Lord. The Savior wasn't just an example for us to follow. He is the destination for us to ultimately reach. He is also the driving force that can propel us forward. We have to want it and we have to work and do our part in order to receive it. Can I help you and give you power to change? No. I am just a normal mortal guy who is called to teach some extraordinary truth. But let me tell you about a friend of mine...

Elder Matthew Carlson

Don't care how much you know until they know how much you care

HELLO ONCE AGAIN!

It's me Elder Carlson in Daphne Alabama. It's been a good week and it's going well. Daphne is a good place and our new ward mission leader is doing a great job! We're working on a ward mission plan and it's looking up. Both Elder W and I feel like we can make a difference here in Daphne. We just need to get the members here excited and focused on sharing the Gospel. I feel they trust us and like us which is fantastic. I would love to be able to work with the bishop a little more closely. He's just soooo busy. It's not even funny. He's a great guy.

But yeah, I'm doing good. I'm loving my mission. It's the best. I thought about it this morning and realized how much I've grown. It's quite amazing. Just in the past few weeks I feel I have grown much in my spiritual strength and in peace. It's a strange idea I know; to grow in peace. But it really is true. The Gospel offers peace. It's up to us to take it. It's not easy but it's the best value in the end.

Father B came to church on Sunday! He's an old retired Catholic priest that we met with. He's already had the discussions and has been meeting with missionaries for a while. We go over every once in a while and answer questions he has. He came! He was very impressed and enjoyed it.

We have been working with several people. There are also a few families we are working on getting back to church. One in particular we feel has some good potential and we are working on getting them to the temple. Brother B has a testimony and is just an awesome guy. He's super friendly and I think will probably do anything for us. He just lets other stuff get in the way of church. We're working on it though =).

There's another guy we meet with every once in a while. He used to be a minister. He almost joined the Church but backed out. He told us the quote of "Don't care how much you know until they know how much you care" which I kind of liked.

PICTURE TIME!

Sofie sent me a Mr. Bacon and Elder W's button almost matched it so we fashioned a suit and headband so they did match (see first picture).

I haven't been using as much money as I usually do so I'd had a bit of excess (we're fed quite well). A new healthy/fancy/organic food market opened up and we stopped by as we were looking for a less active young man who we're encouraging to serve a mission (it would just absolutely transform his life. I've seen those who don't go on missions. There are two outcomes: flounder or regret. They either just flop around with no purpose or direction and not really amount to anything or turn their life around and just live in regret for the rest of their life. They tell me "I regret not going on a mission every day". Sorry, don't mean to doom and gloom, but seriously; SERVE A MISSION). We went inside and found that gelato was buy one get one free. So we did. It's fantastic. The mint was kinda weird but the cookie crunch was amazing (see second picture).

We watched Preach My Gospel videos and ate aforementioned ice cream this morning (see third picture). It was great. =)

Beautiful nature shots (see fourth and fifth pictures) taken by Elder W.

We went on a quest for ties and instead found a very unsightly shirt (see sixth picture).

It was very cold and I wanted to get my feet warm (I didn't want to put on socks quite yet) so I filled a tub with hot water. It twas most pleasant (see seventh picture). Elder W joined later.

Part of my talk was about a broken heart and a contrite spirit. In other words, being humble and submissive to the will of Heavenly Father and the counsel of those He has chosen to lead and direct us. In essence - being willing to change. Of course you can't be truly be forgiven unless you're willing to change. Of course you can't become that person that Heavenly Father wants and needs you to be unless you're willing to change. That's what life is about: repenting or changing! Jesus Christ's two-fold mission was to both empower and lead the way. To give us an example to move towards and the power beneath us to lift us up. We just have to be willing to move, change our direction, and rely on Him in order to move forward.

I love and miss you all!

Elder Matthew Carlson

Mr Bacon and Friend

Super Yummy Gelato

Eating the Super Yummy Gelato

What would President Jensen think?

Ahhhh!

Bold Sauce

HELLO THERE!

Yep. It's Elder Carlson once again. Same time, same channel. Every afternoon on Monday only on LDS. Anyway, it's been a pretty good week. Full of some disappointment but I think I'll be okay. It just really stinks sometime when you're working with somebody and you're thinking, "Oh man! This guy is solid!" and you're really feeling the Spirit and you think they are feeling it too. They're going to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it and they've read some already. They are going to come to church and see what that is like and you're just pumped up and then you get a text at 6:00 am on Sunday and suddenly; poof. Gone. We have a good number of people who were are ever so slowly making progress. It's just going to take a while. I feel this is a good ward and there are wonderful people here. Much like the Gulf Breeze Ward. I just really like all the members I meet - all wonderful, very nice people. I feel Elder W and I can make a difference here.

The meal appointments are continuing to roll in and I am quite pleased with that. The ward here is determined to fed us and I think they are convinced we are poor, destitute, or starving or something. As far as food this week we've had pot roast and pazookies, firehouse subs, beef and rice burritos, sloppy-joes, club sandwiches, and a Hawaiian fish of some kind. It was all very good.

One the big exciting things that happened this week was zone conference! I got to see good buddies like Elder K and others. I'm looking forward to the big half mission conference coming up in December as I'll get to see a lot of missionaries I haven't seen in a long time. I haven't seen Elder H since January (I did talk to him the other day which was way fun. He's headed home really soon. Scary soon). One of the very neat things that President Jensen talked about what the influx of new missionaries. The new cap on our mission is 250 young missionaries which is up from the current 120 or so we have now. The interesting thing is that the number of elders coming out each transfer is going to stay the same. The growth of our mission will be in Sisters. We have about 12-16 right now. By April of 2013 we'll have 100. Crazy huh?

Zone conference was about being bold and getting to the point. We were talking in our planning and we decided we were going to give someone a bold invitation and see what happens.

We got a new car! See the picture below. It's a 2013 Chevy Cruze with 500 miles! It's really nice. It turns better than the old Corolla and has more power than the old Malibu.

I don't have much time left.

TIME FOR SCRIPTURES WITH ELDER CARLSON!

Today we will be in Mosiah 2:41

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and ^ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are ^bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out ^cfaithful to the end they are received into ^dheaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

It occurred to me the other day that I don't think I've ever met a truly happy less active member of the Church. All the ones that I've met who are somewhat happy seem more busy or occupied than actually happy. The Church is true. From a logical standpoint as well as from a simple cause and effect standpoint. It's done so much for me and I see it in the lives of those who truly know the Savior. I feel it in the homes of the members who are truly converted to the Gospel. I can hear it in their testimonies of the truth. I can understand that it truly is helping me be a better person.

Love y'all!

Elder Matthew Carlson