FOI NATAL!!! (It was Christmas!!!)

Christmas happened this week, as you all probably knew... I forgot my pedometer at home today so I can't give my weekly total. Sorry.

Also, I'm going to try something new this week. I'm going to give the short and the long of things. If you don't want to read a big long letter, the first bit will be just some highlights of the week and the second half will be the normal letter.

The short of things:
The biggest highlight of the week was definitely Christmas. I had a great day and got to Skype with my family. Also, we had a baptism just two days ago. Emilee was baptized and confirmed a member. That was really fun. It's been really cold here in Michigan and there's been snow on the ground continuously for the last 2-3 weeks. It's been a good week full of snow and goodness.
Be most excellent!

The long of things:
Monday 23- After emailing, shopping, and hanging out with the North Elders, we went over to the Myers' house for dinner, which was quite good. Also, I learned how to solve a rubix cube. I can do it well now.

Tuesday 24- We had a mission-wide meeting. We made little wooden toy trucks and shared talents of singing. Also we ate ham. It was pretty fun and we saw all the other missionaries that we knew. Other than that, we didn't do anything. It was Christmas eve...

Wednesday 25- CHRISTMAS! We went over to the other Elders' apartment and opened presents together. It was fun. We Skyped/called family for a while (awesome!) then we went to see a less active while they went tracting a little bit. We went over to the bishop's house and dinner. That was a lot of fun. They have five children who seem a lot like us Carlson kids when we were little. Elder Betts called a couple more people while I turned in for the night.

Thursday 26- BOXING DAY! We had Emilee's baptismal interview. She passed! We saw Sister Buboltz for a while. Then we had dinner with Sister Kerr and Todd. That was fun.

Friday 27- The one, the only, the dreaded: Weekly Planning. We went to see some people whose names we have but who we don't know. We met a really nice lady named Shirley, who has been going through some hard times. Then we saw Hank and his family. It was crazy. There were a bunch of people there and like 5 conversations going on at the same time. It was a whole lot of fun though. Then we had dinner with Emilee. That was a lot of fun.

Saturday 28- BAPTISM! The baptism went great! President Gerber was there. Most of Emilee's family was there. There were 11 missionaries there. It was very spiritual. Elder Betts baptized her. Then we went over to the Myers' and talked for a while.

Sunday 29- Confirmation! I confirmed Emilee. It was good. She was quite happy afterwards. We didn't do much after church but then we had dinner with the Myers. Sister Myers is quite a good cook. It's always crazy at their house. They're fun people.

Monday 30- NEW YEAR'S ADAM! Haven't done much today. I just wanted to say "new year's adam." 'Twas funny.

Love you all! (love you a little less if you only read the short of things)

-Elder Michael Carlson

South to Canada!

That's right, here we have to go south to get to Canada. This past week, I took 25173 steps, an all time high!

Monday 16- After doing the normal P-day stuff (shopping, scum, emails, Taco Bell), we had dinner at the Myers' house. We both felt a little sick so I felt bad that we didn't eat much. But it was good food. They're a nice family.

Tuesday 17- We had zone conference! We talked about asking inspired questions. It was good. I met a bunch of new missionaries. Lot of missionaries there. Then we had exchanges. I went with Elder Olsen to Warren West. We had bikes there which was fun. We biked through about 3-4 inches of snow. We saw a less-active member and tried to see some people but no one was home. I worked on a puzzle for the evening and got about halfway done.

Wednesday 18- I finished the puzzle. Then we had more biking through the snow. We tracted for a while and our one appointment was a no-show. We exchanged back and then saw Emilee. She's getting baptized this Saturday! Woo Hoo! Then we had splits at the church. Brother Myers, Elder Betts, Sale and I went to see the Fustin's, a less-active couple.

Thursday 19- Dentist!!!! I had my entire face numbed while the dentist took out 6 cavities. The actual appointment took about 3 hours. Then we stayed at home for a while so that my face would feel normal again. We saw the McGill's and then met with Emilee to go to the 'I'm A Mormon Devotional'. It was great, there was a man named Cash and he was just funny. He was very open about his story. I laughed a lot.

Friday 20- Weekly planning! Then we had our media hour. Then we helped set up for the Christmas party. I built a manger. It was pretty good. We had a few investigators and a few less-active members there. Then the kids put on the Nativity. Also, the food was good.

Saturday 21- We had apartment inspections. We passed! Our apartment was clean enough! Then we saw Emilee. We were going to have dinner with Sister Kerr but I think she was called into work. We went with Brother Myers to see a couple people. One of them let us in but has like 12 cats. My allergies got really bad.

Sunday 22- We had the Christmas program. All the primary children sang a couple songs. There's only like 13 of them though. It's not a big ward. We had a lot of less-active members come to church though, which was great. Then we hung out with the North Elders for a while. We ate dinner with one of their recent converts. It was pretty fun.

Merry Christmas! I love you all so much!

-Elder Michael Carlson

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

It's crazy to think that it's almost Christmas. Less than 10 days! Also, I took 20,774 steps last week. That's not very many. It's about half of what I'll probably do in one day down in Brazil.

Monday 9- After emailing and shopping and hanging out, we had an FHE at the Bishop's house. We watched the Christmas Devotional and I saw Brother Gunnell in the choir. He got some good camera time.

Tuesday 10- We changed the front brakes and tires on the car as both were very worn down. That took a long and boring time. We saw Emilee and Robert. It was a good lesson. She's progressing well but he's just not interested in anything. We tried to see Tamara but she rescheduled.

Wednesday 11- We had a district meeting about using time wisely. And then we played dodgeball as a district... We tried to go to a dentist but they closed at noon. BAH! Then we saw Sister Buboltz and talked for a while. Then we went to see the Scott's. We then went and taught Tamara. It's always crazy teaching her. There's a bunch of little kids running around and it's really hard to focus. Then we went to splits at the church. We tried to contact a media referral but it was a bad address. So we saw the Elder's Quorum president instead. We talked to them about missionary work and they're doing well at that.

Thursday 12- We went to a dentist to see about getting a mouth guard but it was a depressing visit. I don't like the dentist. Then we saw Esclon. He's a very interesting less-active member. You just never know what he's going to do. After having a good heart-to-heart with him, we visited with the McGill's. They recently moved into our ward and they're awesome. They're just really nice and funny people. Then we had dinner with Sister Kerr.

Friday 13- Weekly planning! Woo hoo... We drove down into Detroit. Around 6.5 mile. It was eye-opening. Just burned down houses and trash everywhere. It was crazy. We saw some less-active members and one really nice investigator, Mrs. Lock. It was just different to talk to people down there. It's a foreign country. Then we went to the Topp's for dinner and had a grand time. They're just a nice family.

Saturday 14- It snowed. A bunch! Like 8-ish inches. And we still had to go out. President Gerber served his mission in Alaska so we're pretty sure he's never going to give us any sympathy for the cold. We went to two baptisms, had an investigator at one, Emilee. Neither of the baptisms were ours though. Then we saw the Scott's again. It's always fun teaching them. Then we went with Brother Myers to go see some people. No one was home though.

Sunday 15- We had church and it was fun. I got to help bless the Sacrament, something I haven't done in a looooong time. We had 4 less-active members at church, which was awesome. It's fun to see the fruits of your labors. We had dinner with the Ward Mission Leader and his family. It was quite fun. Brother Burnette is very bold and blunt with everything he does and says. It's great to hear his opinions on things. Also, dinner was pretty great. She's practically a gourmet chef.

Monday 16- That's today! I haven't done anything else than email today...

I love you all so much! Stay safe if the weather is bad.

-Elder Michael Carlson

I forgot!!!! Pictures! Or really, picture... It's the Christmas corner of my desk.

Roseville South!

I got transferred and all that and it's been very cold.

Monday 2- We played basketball as a district for a while and that was fun. We had dinner with Albert, Cindy and Waiting. We had "hot pot" which is the Chinese version of shabu-shabu. I had squid and some very spicy Szechuan (very spicy) food. Then we met with Tim and we all went over to the Bishop's for pie. It was fun. And then I started packing. It was hectic.

Tuesday 3- Transfer meeting! I was one of the last companionships to be announced (third-to-last, I think). We had a fun time trying to fit 5 people plus three people's luggage in a normal-sized minivan. It was a bit squishy. The previous Elders were kind enough to plan our week for us so it wasn't too bad. We saw sister Buboltz (less-active) and gave her a blessing. Then we saw Emilee (investigator). We met with Charlie, a referral from the Roseville North Elders.

Wednesday 4- We had district meeting. I'm in a district of just Elders. The senior couple, the Nobles, fed us all enchiladas for lunch (delicious). Then we saw the Scott's (investigators). It was quite a change from Ann Arbor. There was smoke everywhere, and family everywhere, and it was pretty dirty. It was eye-opening. Then we saw Kimmie (member) and she made us cupcakes. She's pretty funny, she makes delicious cupcakes but she doesn't eat any of them. It was good. Then we went on splits at the church (apparently an every week thing). I went with Brother Myers to see Sister Rumbley (both members). Sister Rumbley recently moved in and we wanted to check how she was doing.

Thursday 5- We went to help someone move a couple things. That was fun. Then we saw Sister Rumbley's granddaughter, Tamara, who wants to be baptized. Then we had dinner with Sister Kerr and her grandson.

Friday 6- Weekly planning! Woo-hoo. It was weird because we knew nobody to plan for. We got the oil changed in the car and that took a long time. We tried to see the Scott's but they weren't feeling well so we saw Hank instead. He was actually found by Elder Shepherd so it was pretty interesting. They're a very nice family. Then we had dinner with Emilee. She had brought her friend and we made up songs about the Plan of Salvation. It was pretty fun. There were many laughs shared.

Saturday 7- We saw a less-active member named Escalon. He's an interesting young man. He didn't like the last Elders so he shot them with a marshmallow gun. He's pretty smart but he doesn't come to church. Then we did some painting for Sister Kerr and I did very well. We finally met with the Bishop. He's very nice and very missionary oriented. Then we went with Brother Myers to see Jessica. I'm pretty sure she is a member. It was crazy. They were planning a baby shower, so all their family was there. There was a lot happening.

Sunday 8- We finally made it to church. Our ward is pretty tiny. There were 10 people in Elder's Quorum and 5 were missionaries. We had ward council but only one missionary went in, so I stayed outside and was pretty bored for the next hour or so. Then we went to the North apartments and talked for a really long time. Then we went to correlation. That was fun. Our ward mission leader is part of homeland security so he's very blunt. It's great.

That's about it. Love you all!

-Elder Michael Carlson

Beware, For Winter is Coming!

It was pretty cold this week. We got snow a couple times and it almost never got above freezing. We were pretty excited when it got "all the way to 38!"

Monday 25- After emailing, we went to play ball at the church with the district. It was pretty fun. Then we had last-minute exchanges. Elder Plant and I stayed in Ann Arbor 1st Central while Elders Jones, Langford, and Shepherd went to Ann Arbor 2nd. It was fun to spend time with Elder Plant. We saw Albert and taught him about the Priesthood. Then we tried to see some other people who were either busy or not home. We did see Monique and had kind of an odd FHE with her. She's a less-active who left the church when she was like 10. Then we saw Tim and read with him.

Tuesday 26- I feel kind of bad for Elder Plant. Almost everyone we tried to see wasn't home. Afternoons are terrible in a college town. Everyone is gone. We did see Carl and had a good lesson with him. Then we saw the Chen's and had a very interesting lesson. Then we had dinner with the Downings. Brother Downing is from Washington and has a very nice beard. Then we saw Waiting and Jianming and taught them about the Priesthood. Then we read with Tim.

Wednesday 27- District meeting! It was very spiritual. We all gave each other Priesthood blessings and the Spirit was there very strongly. After that, we exchanged back and went on some splits. Elder Langford went with the Single's Ward Mission Leader. They went to see some people we need to give to the Single's ward. Elder Shepherd and I went with Brother McNaughtan to see a Muslim family. Brother McNaughtan had told his wife saying that he was coming with us to a lesson so that he could go and buy her Christmas present. And then we called. It was good.

Thursday 28- Thanksgiving!!! We started out with a Turkey bowl. There was snow on the ground and it was cold. Once we got playing, it was warm enough. It was a lot of fun. We had four teams all playing. My team won once. I got a really good workout. Then we had Thanksgiving with a really nice family, the Stein's. They're super cool and we had a great lesson with them. Accompanied by much food. Then we went to go see Tim because he felt really lonely.

Friday 29- It was supposed to be weekly planning but it was weird. I went with a senior couple to a notary to get some things notarized for my Brazil visa. We got it all worked out and sent it home. I did have to spend $40 on notarizing and shipping though. Then we went to see Marcela. She taught her daughter the Plan of Salvation, which was good. Then we had a white elephant bingo activity. That was super fun! I got a kid's drum. Elder Langford got a table and Elder Shepherd got some bibs. The things you get in a young couple's ward. We saw Albert and Cindy. We've started teaching them the new member lessons. Cindy's been great though. After the baptism, she's been on fire. Then we saw Tim.

Saturday 30- We had lunch with Brother Meyer. He's the High Priest Group Leader and he used to be in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. We had a great lunch and tried to do some service for someone. Service that I was more than qualified for: dragging branches!!! I'm an expert at that. But they said no. Then we saw Jing and taught about the Atonement. We went to see Sumit, an Indian man who's working on his PhD. Apparently, he's working with a member of our ward. He's super interested in learning about it. Then we went to a "pie pageant." I ate almost an entire pie. It was good. Then we all acted out the Thanksgiving story. It was great fun. Then we had correlation. Also, I found out that I'm being transferred.

Sunday 1- Fast Sunday! Church was very good. Albert bore his testimony and it was really good. Then we saw Waiting and talked about eternal marriage. We went to see the Cowleys to see if one of them could come teaching with us but we got to talking. Then Sister Cowley's mom skype-called. We talked with her for a bit. Her parents are the Mission President couple in Ghana and they know Michael Vogt (he's one of their missionaries), a good friend of mine from BYU. That was pretty fun. Then we tried to see Marcela but she was gone. We over to the Moon's for Brother Moon's birthday. Waiting and Jianming were there. It was a lot of fun. There was cake and ice cream. Carols and a further discussion of eternal marriage. Then, as we were walking to Tim's, we had a phone lesson with Marcela. It was odd. Then we saw Tim again.

It's been fun to be in Ann Arbor. I've learned a lot and grown a lot. I'm kind of sad to be leaving, but I know it's for a good purpose.

-Elder Michael Carlson