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:

Work for the Lord- the pay isn't too good but the retirement is out of this world!

Well- as I type this letter I am coming in for the final lap or sprint. As of tomorrow I will likely have about 2 transfers (or 12 weeks) left. It's odd really. I'm trying not to think about it but I'm trying not to ignore it.

Anyway- I have a lot of ground to cover but I should probably bring you up to speed. I omitted a major event last week in mentioning someone we had found. His name is M. He's a very nice guy. We were going to visit someone and he was talking on the phone outside the apartment complex. As we walked by to walk up the stairs, he hung up. I said hello (I say hello to pretty much everyone) and he said hello back and asked who we were. We explained we were missionaries for Jesus. He turned around, opened his door and went inside. Then he beckoned us in. Initially we were rather unsure but he told us to come in so we sat down and had a great chat with him. He's going through some tough decisions in his life particularly involving his girlfriend. We taught an amazing restoration- it was still the restoration but it was tailored to his questions. We felt like we were on the District. It was a great experience.

But moving to the present (sort of- I'm still behind). Starting July 8th.

Monday (the 8th) was a good day. I went through some old pictures on the hard drive and I enjoyed reminiscing for a brief moment. During shopping we were both really, really hungry. The deli in Walmart happens to sell banana puddin' by the pound for a reasonable price. So a 1/3 of a pound of banana pudding is 75 cents or so. So I got some pudding and it was delicious. I probably shouldn't have eaten it right then and there but it was good and I payed for it so it was all good. I spent most of the rest of the preparation day working on my pants that I had messed up with the sewing machine. I had a seam ripper which made things much easier (I had asked around in Walmart for a stitch popper and they just looked really confused at me).

I was almost done at this point- the problem was that it sewed white thread and when I put it into reverse it went back over where it was rather than pulling what it had stitched out. But they're fully functional once again. We washed and waxed the car speedily. We could see a storm brewing over the horizon and it was a little scary to be honest. We got it done though and we did lose power but it was only for a minute.

Tuesday (the 9th) started on a good foot with some particularly good studies. We parked the car at the church and our appointment fell through (we later found out she doesn't actually live there). We were biking around when we got a call from the Hazlehurst Elders that they were in Tifton getting their car repaired and were looking for somewhere to eat. So we booked it back to the car and picked them up at the dealership at the bottom of town. We dropped them off at Zaxby's since we had district meeting in about 5 minutes. We changed into suits and walked into the meeting right on time. However, everyone else was delayed. So we talked with the sisters for a bit and then President and Sister Cottle for a bit and then the rest of the district came. We had a pretty good district meeting and I had a short but enjoyable visit with President Cottle. He's still figuring things out but he's got a good hold on the reins so to speak and is the right man for the job. I hope I gave a good impression but I just tried to be honest and myself. The Hazlehurst Elders had walked to the church so we gave them a ride back to the dealership. But we stopped by D's on the way as he's contemplating going on a mission and we're trying to encourage him to do so. We dropped them off to deal with their car (they found out that problem actually wasn't under warranty like they were originally told). We had dinner with the B's which was awesome. We then went and had an amazing spiritual but very long lesson with M and his girlfriend. Sadly, he's living with his girlfriend. He wants to get married. She's skeptical. So she asked him (right in the middle of the Plan of Salvation discussion), "How do you know you're marriage material?" "Look in my heart! I am marriage material! I love women but I love you differently. I don't want to hang out with another woman. I don't want to eat ice cream in the park with another woman. I don't want to sit and look out the window when it's raining with another woman. I want to be with you!". Regardless- it was good.

Wednesday (the 10th) I woke up tired but the day was pretty good. We got out and visited an old potential that had gotten antied and we hadn't seen in a while. Still not really interested but his friend M invited us in anyway. He was a Baptist missionary in Germany for a while and had talked to missionaries there. We had a long conversation about the Book of Mormon, baptisms for the dead, the ancestors of the Native Americans being Jewish, infant baptism, and many other topics. We were able to respectfully answer his questions and he didn't get argumentative about it. We answered all his questions and focused on reading and praying. He said "Huh. That's what the missionaries in Germany told me too". In the words of Elder McConkie, "We do not bash, we do not bash, we do not bash. But when we bash, we win." Very nice guy though. We biked home really fast (luckily it wasn't far) as a storm was coming and we just beat the rain as we could feel the raindrops on our backs getting stronger. After lunch was had a lesson with A inside his house (we usually never go in). We were biking by J's when he flagged us down (he's someone the Sisters have taught and I had met him a couple of times previously). He chewed us out for avoiding him (we had stopped by 2 or 3 times but he was out of town) but we apologized and had an interesting lesson with him. The Sisters came and we had a lesson about the Book of Mormon. He's a good guy and has a good understanding of the scriptures. He commented at the end, "I feel like I got so much faith- I feel like I could beat a bear with a switch". We visited with D and a few more people and as I was riding home I crashed on my bike. The chain slips when in 6th gear and my foot came off the pedal (I was standing up to get more power) and I banged my knee pretty good but I managed to stay upright. We had coordination and dinner was a frozen lasagna. We were at the church at 6 as someone was going to be bring dinner there as they live far away but we were waiting when we got a text that said, "I'm on my way but my wife didn't cook anything". I was rather confused and sad when I got another text "I got a frozen lasagna" followed by a ":-)". We laughed and got another text "serves twelve". So we warmed a lasagna in the kitchen during coordination and took the half frozen lasagna home to finish baking. It was good.

Thursday (the 11th) felt rather off. I just felt weird. We were biking by and someone shouted MISSIONARIES! So we turned around and met most of the youth in the Ward before they went off to Macon as they were headed up for a tri-stake youth conference. I even got to shake hands with a sparkly purple teddy bear. We saw some people and had lunch. Then we went to the BCM (Baptist Collegial Ministry) as someone had told us to stop by. We had a great discussion with many of the people- explaining that we are not saved by works but by faith and obedience. It was actually pretty enjoyable. We had splits with Brother B (good but not very long) but we had to hurry back to make it ward council meeting.

Friday (the 12th) was a good day as it started with Peanut Butter Captain Crunch (so good). I wore contacts as I was getting tired of my glasses being dirty and foggy all the time. We soon got out and met a man named M walking his dog. It was funny as we asked if we could share a special message with him. "Sure." "When could we do that?" "Right now!" It was funny. We gave him a Book of Mormon and a movie. We weekly planned and walked over to D's (it's nice because he's literally a 10 minute walk from our apartment). We had a great lesson. His daughter, JC wasn't there last time as she had to go but she wanted to be there. So we started talking to D and she came down and sat cross-legged on the floor right in front of us. We started explaining the Plan of Salvation and had talked about God through pre-earth life and were part way through Adam and Eve when he had to take a phone call. So it was just us and JC with D out in his garage. That's when she asked, "I have a question for y'all. So where do you think Jesus was when He died before He rose again?" Elder S and I looked at each other in surprise and I think she took it as uncertainty. "It's just something I like to think about and I've looked into a bit". We explained the Spirit World and she really liked that. We discussed the Atonement and she had great question after question. She's really spiritual as a result of some events in her life. D came back and she caught him up to speed. It was really funny. "Tell him about that Spirit World! Tell him the best part about the people in prison". We gave her a Book of Mormon as it would help her clear up some of her questions. It was really amazing- she said "Wow! The Bible really leaves some questions unanswered. This completes it?" We explained that she could read and pray and know for herself. She got really excited about that. She turned to her dad and asked "DAD! Have you ever read the Book of Mormon?!" "Not yet sweetie". "Will you for me?" It was a great lesson and an amazing blessing (they're doing really well- but that'll be in next weeks email as I'm out of time).

Saturday (the 13th) we spent the day up in Fitzgerald. I got help answering a question which was really nice. We were in the bathroom at Harvey's (a grocery store chain down here) and someone asked "Elders right?" I came out of the stall and he asked us some questions about some interesting things and I was able to explain it in a way that made sense with a scripture I had found that morning in studies. The Lord looks after His missionaries. =) It was a very long and somewhat awkward conversation in that rather small bathroom. In fact, someone opened the door, saw us inside and kind of slowly backed away. We got out and let him in. We had a long conversation in Harvey's about all sorts of things. It was pretty good though. He understands us better and we gave him some things to think about. We had dinner at Wendy's- I had the new pretzel bacon burger. Really good. We even got a 50% discount because the manager knows us. It was really nice and we really appreciated it. The manager even came over and talked to us. Turns out he's a returned missionary and has been less active for several years. Hopefully we'll see some traction.

Sunday (the 14th) was a real pioneer day at church. Sister C, a recent convert, gave her first talk and it was great! Elder S and I had to fill in teaching Gospel Principles and I really enjoyed it. The class participates and I really enjoy teaching particularly in a class setting. Maybe when I get home I can be a Gospel Principles teacher or something. I guess I'll just have to see where the Lord calls me. The N's had us over for dinner and it was delicious. My favorite was probably the pecan pie (pronounced pea-can not pea-con down here).

We missed a lady at the hospital by 5 minutes. It bummed me outa little. We biked home with a peach cobbler strapped to Elder S's bike rack with plastic bags. It was pretty funny.

I'd like to point out the difference between Nephi and Paul in Acts. Both are led by the Spirit, not knowing the things that they should do, however they both had an objective in mind. To do the will of God. One conquered his enemy and the other was captured and ultimately killed. They were both successful as they both completed their objective. They loved the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, and strength. They were both obedient.

But I love and miss you all!

Elder Matthew Carlson

Expect a Don Every Day

Hello! I am really sorry to leave y'all really hanging but I think I'm just going to have to go over things briefly. Someday we'll sit and talk about all this stuff and you can get the full details. But for now I'm going to start where I left off.

On Wednesday the 26th we drove over to Douglas after some last minute packing and cleaning. I picked up Elder S and we headed back to Tifton seeing people along the way. Thursday I brought him up to speed in weekly planning and the rest of the week we had a good week. Things were going good as we were getting along good and having lots of fun (if being somewhat distracting to each other). We were also staying rather busy.

This brings us to the official creation of the GMM on July the 1st.

Monday (July 1st)
Knowing the President Cottle would be visiting on Wednesday and having been asked to have a picture for President Cottle, Elder Carlson attempted to print a picture in Walmart. He inserted his hard drive into the large touch screen device and things began smoothly. He activated the system scanner and it recognized the hard drive. It whirred as terabytes of information where fed through the short USB cable into the computer's memory. Elder Carlson attempted to navigate to the folder on the hard drive in which he knew that the picture he wanted was. The computer retaliated with debilitating slowness. Elder Carlson poked and prodded to coax the machine into selecting the folder he wanted but the machine had a complete hold on his hard drive's file tree. Gritting his teeth and steeling his patience, he steadied himself on the thin legged stool and took a deep breath while his companion wandered the electronics aisle. He managed to get the computer to the correct folder only to have it take so long that he gave up and decided he would just use a picture he already had. They walked away with Elder Carlson vowing he would never again allow himself to be subjected to Walmart's photo center. Having procured their needed groceries, they waited for the Sisters for a few minutes only to learn several minutes later they were out in the car. They ran outside and got their groceries back in the car. The rest of the preparation day went much smoother and was quite enjoyable. We had a good preparation day and I enjoyed it.

Tuesday (the 2nd)
It felt rather odd. Usually we have district meeting Tuesday morning and this week we didn't have that on account of the meeting with the President in Douglas the following day. We stayed busy and tried our best to make the most of everything. We had a very interesting lesson with a man named L. He was a very nice guy who mostly talked to us about how he had been preserved by the Lord. We tried to share a little bit about how families can be together forever but he talked a lot which made it difficult for us to say much.

Wednesday (the 3rd)
Was the big day- we drove to Douglas and met President Cottle. It was much longer than I expected. I was very happy to see old friends like Elder Y, Elder D, Elder W, and the like. Particularly Elder W since I hadn't seen him in a long time. We had a couple "Remember when..." moments and we had some good laughs. He brought me up to speed on some stuff and it was nice. My face hurt afterwards from smiling so much. I felt a little like Ammon meeting is companions after their long time of separation. The assistants gave a long presentation on the importance of baptism and we were able to ask questions about what's different in the new mission. It was very different but at this point the Lord is moving forward and so am I. Things are settling into grooves and things are coming together. We got back and had dinner around 7.

Thursday (the 4th)
It's usually our weekly planning day, Thursday. But in the GMM it's on Friday. It felt a tad odd to not do weekly planning on a Thursday but it worked out. We rode through neighborhoods taking a very long route on our bikes we could smell the grills warming up and the various smells of barbecue's. We were both very hungry but finally the time came for lunch. We went over to the C's and we ate so much food! I had two hamburgers, a large pile of baked beans, a large pile of bbq chips as well as a smaller but decent pile of sour cream and onion chips. Then it was dessert. We got a slice of chocolate cake and put ice cream on top. I think it could possibly approach being too chocolaty for you [Mom] even. It was very rich. It was called "Chocolate Trinity". It was dark chocolate with fudge and other chocolaty things in it. Then we roasted marshmallows and stirred the marshmallow in. It was really really good. Elder S almost didn't finish his but then Sister C brought out a dutch apple pie from Paula Dean. I ate half a slice and together with the Sisters convinced Elder S to eat half a slice. He was feeling pretty sick afterwards actually. It was kind of funny at the time though. =) He's okay now though. We got back to the apartment and Elder S wasn't feeling good. We had been asked to be in our apartment by 7 at the latest. It was only about 5:30 or maybe 6 o'clock or so. I determined we needed to make the best use of our time and get out to work. Elder S was understandably less than enthusiastic. But with some determination and maybe a little dragging on my part we got out the door. I felt it would be a good idea to knock on a house we had rode by that morning as well as usually run by most mornings. They weren't interested. I felt to knock the next two as well. The other one wasn't home but on the last one we knocked, Don answered the door. We talked briefly about how things were going that day and he asked if he could help us (that's a common question here in the south- it basically means why are you here on my doorstep?). I then explained "We are missionaries for Jesus Christ. We are here to share a message about Jesus Christ, families, and why bad things happen to good people". He swung the door open and walked inside with a gesture. He looked back and said "Come on in". Excited we locked our bikes up and had a great discussion with him. He's very knowledgeable in the scriptures and had some questions about Joseph Smith. His daughter wanted to be there but had to go. They're a great family and we're really hopeful for them (the story gets even better but that comes next week). We were out till 7:30 but it was worth it. We were both very grateful and had a good evening.

Friday the 6th
Was weekly planning. Not much else happened. We had a lesson with a man named M- great guy. He does wear underwear on his head (it's a hat I think he made himself. I looks better than you think and it's only by looking at the waist band you realize he's sporting Hanes). We invited him to be baptized (the assistants had challenged us on Wednesday to do so within 48 hours). He's not ready yet but we'll keep working with him. We also had a great impromptu dinner with the M's. They're very nice and the Sisters had the lesson. It was funny because at the end they asked which one of the boys wanted to say the prayer. "Jesus!" came the young boy's response. "Well- he's not here right now." I thought it was pretty funny.

Saturday the 7th
Was our usually Fitzgerald day. We had a good visit with Brother M where Elder S described church as a spiritual monster that would boost him up. We also had a great discussion with our ward mission leader, Brother K, who is a church history buff about the Pearl of Great Price and Emma Smith. It was a good but somewhat long visit (don't worry we talked about missionary work in Fitzgerald as well- that's what we came for).

Sunday the 8th
Was a good day. Fast and testimony meeting was good. I enjoyed it. I hope y'all are well and doing good.

Know how much I love and miss you all!

Elder Matthew Carlson