Both holidays passed without much ado except on Valentine's day I got a lot of chocolate, which was fun. I took 64820 steps last week, which is about 24.55 miles.
The Short of Things:
The car broke on Monday and we didn't get it back until Thursday evening. We had a bunch of appointments that we couldn't make it to because it took us about an hour and a half to walk to each. So, we'd go to one appointment and they wouldn't be there and we'd be sad but we'd have to walk to our next appointment and then we'd go home. It made for very long and cold days.
The Long of Things:
Monday 10- Our car broke down... So we stayed the night with the North Elders. We had all our laundry and groceries with us so we couldn't walk home.
Tuesday 11- We taught Nicole a great lesson and she gave us a ride home. We put all our stuff away and cried at the 4 appointments we had to cancel. We tried to see someone but they weren't home.
Wednesday 12- We had a zone meeting in Palmer Park that we had to get rides to. We were unsure of whether we could actually get a ride there but we did. We talked about how conversion = Spirit + Book of Mormon. We walked over to pick up the car because they told us it would be ready but then it wasn't. So, we walked home, had dinner and went on splits. I went with the Nobles to see some people but nobody was home. Elder Betts had a much more successful split.
Thursday 13- We tried to see Sharalece (a referral) but she was sleeping, so we walked over to Hank's house and talked with him for a while. Then we finally went to go get our car (and it was ready). It was great to have it back. It felt so nice. We went to dinner at Sister Kerr's.
Friday 14- Valentine's day! We had weekly planning for a tiny bit and then we took the North Elders for a field trip. Elder Fletcher needs a new ID card but he needs his SS card to get it. So we went to do that but turns out that he needed an ID card to get his SS card to get his ID card... So we went to Cici's to get lunch instead. We did our media hour and tried to see some people but again, all were busy or not home. We had dinner with Sister Buboltz and ate soooo much. We were completely stuffed.
Saturday 15- We attended a baptism for the Warren ward. We were hoping Kate would come but last-minute, she cancelled. We saw Emilee and gave her a few pointers on giving talks. Then we contacted a bunch of referrals (with no success). We went teaching with Brother Myers and had some great success. We didn't teach any lessons but we got a lot of information.
Sunday 16- Emilee gave a great talk in Sacrament meeting. It was soooooper good! We had lunch with Nicole, Kate and Emilee and taught a very good lesson. We then proceeded to set a baptismal date for Kate of March 8th. Pray that she will be ready by then. Then we picked up the North Elders to give Kimmie a blessing. She gave us bananas foster cupcakes, which were delicious. Then we had coordination at the Burnette home.
All in all, good week.
-Elder Michael Carlson
Monday, February 17, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Lots and Lots of Snow!
We had a lot of snow. Like, a lot. I took 44197 steps this past week. The equates to approximately 16.74 miles.
The Short of Things:
I just realized that I neglected to put this section into my last email... sorry... We saw a lot of referrals and got a lot of doors slammed in our faces. But we also had some very spiritual and touching lessons. On Wednesday, the weather was so bad, there were no lanes and we couldn't see any farther than 20 feet ahead of us. We walked a day and a half in the super cold and snow but I'm not dead yet, so that's good. God lives and he loves you!
The Long of Things:
Tuesday 4- We tried to see Dennis (a referral) but he wasn't home. Then we saw Tiffany (another referral, from some other missionaries), who is really cool. She's made a lot of mistakes in life but she's really willing to change. We'll see where it goes. We contacted another referral but they weren't very nice to us. We did see the Pitts for a while and we taught them the importance of continually converting yourself.
Wednesday 5- We had district meeting. As we were driving there though, the snow was so bad, our visibility was about 20 ft. It was crazy. I gave an instruction on Fourier Series. It was good. Then I went on exchanges with Elder Jones (the District Leader) in Roseville. We saw Kate and had a great lesson with her. She told us that she knows the church is true and the Book of Mormon is true, she just wants to read the entire Book of Mormon before she gets baptized. Then we contacted a bunch of other referrals and almost all of them were pretty rude to us. We had dinner with Emilee and answered some questions that she had. Then we saw Dennis and had a great lesson with him. He's super knowledgeable about the Bible and knows that parts of it are incorrect. Then we talked with some potential investigators, most of which didn't want to talk because it was pretty late.
Thursday 6- We exchanged back. Then we saw Dennis again and had another great lesson with him. He does a lot of research on things but not all of what he finds is true. He thinks that contrails from airplanes are made of pesticides the government is testing on us... But we saw McGills after that and had a really good chat. It was good that we saw them. We had dinner with Sister Kerr and ended the night.
Friday 7- We had weekly planning for a really long time. Then we did our media time. Kimmie asked for a blessing, so we had to stop by the apartment to pick up some oil. But then we got locked out of our apartment, so we spent quite a while trying to get back in. That was fun. We finally got in and went to see Kimmie. We gave her a blessing and she gave us cheese dip.
Saturday 8- We had to walk, because we were low on miles. We saw Sister Buboltz and made sure she was doing alright in the wintery storm. Then we saw Emilee and answered some crazy questions about what happens when we die. Questions that I had never thought about. They were hard to answer. Then we tried to see a lost less-active but she was busy. So we walked over to Myers' for home teaching and dinner. All the people we tried to see weren't home though. Unfortunate.
Sunday 9- We had ward council for a while. Then church. We didn't have anyone show up but it was still good. The talks were about the Atonement and using it more fully in your life. We went teaching with Bishop to some people who don't have home teachers but one of them had a cat and my allergies were very bad. It was uncomfortable.
This week was full of challenges but also blessings. It was a good week overall. Love y'all!
-Elder Michael Carlson
The Short of Things:
I just realized that I neglected to put this section into my last email... sorry... We saw a lot of referrals and got a lot of doors slammed in our faces. But we also had some very spiritual and touching lessons. On Wednesday, the weather was so bad, there were no lanes and we couldn't see any farther than 20 feet ahead of us. We walked a day and a half in the super cold and snow but I'm not dead yet, so that's good. God lives and he loves you!
The Long of Things:
Tuesday 4- We tried to see Dennis (a referral) but he wasn't home. Then we saw Tiffany (another referral, from some other missionaries), who is really cool. She's made a lot of mistakes in life but she's really willing to change. We'll see where it goes. We contacted another referral but they weren't very nice to us. We did see the Pitts for a while and we taught them the importance of continually converting yourself.
Wednesday 5- We had district meeting. As we were driving there though, the snow was so bad, our visibility was about 20 ft. It was crazy. I gave an instruction on Fourier Series. It was good. Then I went on exchanges with Elder Jones (the District Leader) in Roseville. We saw Kate and had a great lesson with her. She told us that she knows the church is true and the Book of Mormon is true, she just wants to read the entire Book of Mormon before she gets baptized. Then we contacted a bunch of other referrals and almost all of them were pretty rude to us. We had dinner with Emilee and answered some questions that she had. Then we saw Dennis and had a great lesson with him. He's super knowledgeable about the Bible and knows that parts of it are incorrect. Then we talked with some potential investigators, most of which didn't want to talk because it was pretty late.
Thursday 6- We exchanged back. Then we saw Dennis again and had another great lesson with him. He does a lot of research on things but not all of what he finds is true. He thinks that contrails from airplanes are made of pesticides the government is testing on us... But we saw McGills after that and had a really good chat. It was good that we saw them. We had dinner with Sister Kerr and ended the night.
Friday 7- We had weekly planning for a really long time. Then we did our media time. Kimmie asked for a blessing, so we had to stop by the apartment to pick up some oil. But then we got locked out of our apartment, so we spent quite a while trying to get back in. That was fun. We finally got in and went to see Kimmie. We gave her a blessing and she gave us cheese dip.
Saturday 8- We had to walk, because we were low on miles. We saw Sister Buboltz and made sure she was doing alright in the wintery storm. Then we saw Emilee and answered some crazy questions about what happens when we die. Questions that I had never thought about. They were hard to answer. Then we tried to see a lost less-active but she was busy. So we walked over to Myers' for home teaching and dinner. All the people we tried to see weren't home though. Unfortunate.
Sunday 9- We had ward council for a while. Then church. We didn't have anyone show up but it was still good. The talks were about the Atonement and using it more fully in your life. We went teaching with Bishop to some people who don't have home teachers but one of them had a cat and my allergies were very bad. It was uncomfortable.
This week was full of challenges but also blessings. It was a good week overall. Love y'all!
-Elder Michael Carlson
Monday, February 3, 2014
And Yet More Snow!
My weekly total is off because I lost my pedometer for two days but then I got it back. So adding up five days was 13256 steps walked (and it was gone for our "walking" day).
The Short of Things:
The Long of Things:
Monday 27- We had dinner at the Kerrs' because we missed last Thursday and they wanted to reschedule.
Tuesday 28- We went and saw Emilee but after that the mission office told us to stay in because it was too cold except if we had appointments. We were pretty happy because we had appointments but then they all cancelled... So we stayed inside.
Wednesday 29- We had district meeting. Then we contacted some of our referrals and set up appointments to visit them next week. We had a delicious dinner at Burnettes'. They made some homemade spaghetti sauce and some spaghetti squash and it was delicious. Then we had splits. I went with Brother Myers and saw a couple of less actives that we hadn't been normally able to meet with.
Thursday 30- We saw some very uninterested and rude people but that's OK. They have their agency. And we saw Kimmie (I sat down on her couch and that's when I lost my pedometer). We tried to see the McGills but they weren't home. We walked to Sister Kerr's and had dinner there.
Friday 31- We had weekly planning. Hooray, my favorite (not really). Then we had lunch/dinner at Cici's pizza but it made us both feel kinda sick-ish, so we stayed inside.
Saturday 1- I was feeling kinda sick still but we went out and did work. We tried to see the Kohlers (they have been bringing some friends to church) but they weren't home. So we may or may not have had a snowball fight... The snow was very good for packing. It snowed some powder and then it rained making it really good. Then we went to Kimmie's for lunch. She made us homemade french fries and they were delicious. Then Elder Betts realized that he had lost his tag so we went back to the Kohlers' to try to find it. They were home and helped us look for it. Then it turned into snowman making... they invited us in and we talked about their friends but they're already working on getting them in contact with the missionaries (which is always nice to hear as a missionary). Then we saw Emilee and gave her a pedigree chart to start her family history. Then we went teaching with Brother Myers, only one person answered, Marcia B. but she said to come back on Sunday.
Sunday 2- Fast Sunday was really hard, I don't know why, but not eating was really bad this month. Emilee did bear her testimony in Sacrament for her friends and it was super good. Then we had dinner with the Myers. Oh, sooooo good. She made ribs and they were just too delicious. They were almost hard to eat because the meat kept falling off the bones. She is a great cook. We went to go see Marcia with Brother Myers but no one answered the door. We had a missionary correlation meeting and got some good stuff done.
Monday 3- I sent this later than normal because a different district uses the library after us but they needed to switch this week. So it isn't normal.
Love you all sooooooooooooo much!
-Elder Michael Carlson
The Short of Things:
The Long of Things:
Monday 27- We had dinner at the Kerrs' because we missed last Thursday and they wanted to reschedule.
Tuesday 28- We went and saw Emilee but after that the mission office told us to stay in because it was too cold except if we had appointments. We were pretty happy because we had appointments but then they all cancelled... So we stayed inside.
Wednesday 29- We had district meeting. Then we contacted some of our referrals and set up appointments to visit them next week. We had a delicious dinner at Burnettes'. They made some homemade spaghetti sauce and some spaghetti squash and it was delicious. Then we had splits. I went with Brother Myers and saw a couple of less actives that we hadn't been normally able to meet with.
Thursday 30- We saw some very uninterested and rude people but that's OK. They have their agency. And we saw Kimmie (I sat down on her couch and that's when I lost my pedometer). We tried to see the McGills but they weren't home. We walked to Sister Kerr's and had dinner there.
Friday 31- We had weekly planning. Hooray, my favorite (not really). Then we had lunch/dinner at Cici's pizza but it made us both feel kinda sick-ish, so we stayed inside.
Saturday 1- I was feeling kinda sick still but we went out and did work. We tried to see the Kohlers (they have been bringing some friends to church) but they weren't home. So we may or may not have had a snowball fight... The snow was very good for packing. It snowed some powder and then it rained making it really good. Then we went to Kimmie's for lunch. She made us homemade french fries and they were delicious. Then Elder Betts realized that he had lost his tag so we went back to the Kohlers' to try to find it. They were home and helped us look for it. Then it turned into snowman making... they invited us in and we talked about their friends but they're already working on getting them in contact with the missionaries (which is always nice to hear as a missionary). Then we saw Emilee and gave her a pedigree chart to start her family history. Then we went teaching with Brother Myers, only one person answered, Marcia B. but she said to come back on Sunday.
Sunday 2- Fast Sunday was really hard, I don't know why, but not eating was really bad this month. Emilee did bear her testimony in Sacrament for her friends and it was super good. Then we had dinner with the Myers. Oh, sooooo good. She made ribs and they were just too delicious. They were almost hard to eat because the meat kept falling off the bones. She is a great cook. We went to go see Marcia with Brother Myers but no one answered the door. We had a missionary correlation meeting and got some good stuff done.
Monday 3- I sent this later than normal because a different district uses the library after us but they needed to switch this week. So it isn't normal.
Love you all sooooooooooooo much!
-Elder Michael Carlson
Monday, January 27, 2014
The Night of Exploding Cans!
It's been a very cold week and it's supposed to only get colder. YAY! I took 29271 steps last week. Way down from the week before.
The Short of Things:
I guess I should probably explain the subject of the email here... We were driving to visit some people with Brother Myers and I was sitting in the back seat. He had some full pop cans laying on the floor. I noticed a few had exploded and got a bunch of coke-ice everywhere so I sat on the other side of the bench seat. We tried to see someone (not home) and then we hear a "POP!" I look over and another pop can had exploded. We had a laugh and then we hear a shotgun go off. It was super loud! I looked over and there was coke-ice all up the door and all over the window. It was crazy. And I was very glad I wasn't sitting on the other side.
The Long of Things:
Monday 20- We had a great P-day. Then we had FHE with the Bishop and Emilee. We watched Mormon Messages and ate homemade bread. That bread was so delicious. It had coconut oil in it so it was healthier but you couldn't taste it at all. It was just so fluffy and moist. My companion and I ate an entire loaf just by ourselves. It was that good.
Tuesday 21- I went to the doctor! Hooray! And they just told me stuff I knew and just generally made me sad inside. We saw Toni C. and had a great lesson with her. One thing she thought was really funny: She was asking why women don't get the Priesthood. I told her, "The Priesthood is to help other people, you can't do anything for yourself with it. Men need a lot of help doing things for others, women are already really good at helping other people." She thought that was great. We tried to see Sister Lock but she was busy. We visited the Pitts and it was crazy.
Wednesday 22- We did not have district meeting as we normally do on Wednesdays. Instead we saw Kate L. She has great questions but we taught her for longer than we should have. She's very interested though. Then we saw Emilee and visited for a bit. After that, splits night! I went with the Nobles to go see the Harrells, who are actually in the North area. He's from the south. He had on a Bulldogs hat on (that's for you Matt, I forget if you were allied to them or if they were your rivals...).
Thursday 23- We did weekly planning today. Hooray... Then we tried to contact a referral but his grandpa wasn't very nice to us. We had a ride to the devotional but then they cancelled last minute, so we tried to call some people about it, but everyone was busy. We knew Hank and his family was going, so we called them twice. No luck. We decided to go anyways and see what would happen. When we got there, they were just seconds from driving off but we caught them and they gave us a ride. It was awesome and the devotional was pretty great.
Friday 24- We had interviews with president for a super long time. Then we did our media hour. And we went out to eat with the district. That was pretty much our day...
Saturday 25- We attended a baptism for the North Elders. It was really good. Then we had dinner with Emilee and talked about magnifying her calling. We also gave her the book "The Power of Everyday Missionaries" to read. She loves it. Then we went visiting with Brother Myers. Nobody let us in but we did good work and had a lot fun too. Also, I had pop cans explode on me (see above story).
Sunday 26- Church was really good. The talks were all on prayer and they were good. Hank and Kate came to church along as Emilee's friends. She had a meeting after church with the Bishop to get her recommend to do baptisms for the dead. We passed off Rosa to the Sisters in Belle Isle. We'd never seen Rosa before and we'd have to have a male come with us to go in her house, so it was for the best.
All in all, it was a pretty good week. I love you all soooo much!
-Elder Michael Carlson
The Short of Things:
I guess I should probably explain the subject of the email here... We were driving to visit some people with Brother Myers and I was sitting in the back seat. He had some full pop cans laying on the floor. I noticed a few had exploded and got a bunch of coke-ice everywhere so I sat on the other side of the bench seat. We tried to see someone (not home) and then we hear a "POP!" I look over and another pop can had exploded. We had a laugh and then we hear a shotgun go off. It was super loud! I looked over and there was coke-ice all up the door and all over the window. It was crazy. And I was very glad I wasn't sitting on the other side.
The Long of Things:
Monday 20- We had a great P-day. Then we had FHE with the Bishop and Emilee. We watched Mormon Messages and ate homemade bread. That bread was so delicious. It had coconut oil in it so it was healthier but you couldn't taste it at all. It was just so fluffy and moist. My companion and I ate an entire loaf just by ourselves. It was that good.
Tuesday 21- I went to the doctor! Hooray! And they just told me stuff I knew and just generally made me sad inside. We saw Toni C. and had a great lesson with her. One thing she thought was really funny: She was asking why women don't get the Priesthood. I told her, "The Priesthood is to help other people, you can't do anything for yourself with it. Men need a lot of help doing things for others, women are already really good at helping other people." She thought that was great. We tried to see Sister Lock but she was busy. We visited the Pitts and it was crazy.
Wednesday 22- We did not have district meeting as we normally do on Wednesdays. Instead we saw Kate L. She has great questions but we taught her for longer than we should have. She's very interested though. Then we saw Emilee and visited for a bit. After that, splits night! I went with the Nobles to go see the Harrells, who are actually in the North area. He's from the south. He had on a Bulldogs hat on (that's for you Matt, I forget if you were allied to them or if they were your rivals...).
Thursday 23- We did weekly planning today. Hooray... Then we tried to contact a referral but his grandpa wasn't very nice to us. We had a ride to the devotional but then they cancelled last minute, so we tried to call some people about it, but everyone was busy. We knew Hank and his family was going, so we called them twice. No luck. We decided to go anyways and see what would happen. When we got there, they were just seconds from driving off but we caught them and they gave us a ride. It was awesome and the devotional was pretty great.
Friday 24- We had interviews with president for a super long time. Then we did our media hour. And we went out to eat with the district. That was pretty much our day...
Saturday 25- We attended a baptism for the North Elders. It was really good. Then we had dinner with Emilee and talked about magnifying her calling. We also gave her the book "The Power of Everyday Missionaries" to read. She loves it. Then we went visiting with Brother Myers. Nobody let us in but we did good work and had a lot fun too. Also, I had pop cans explode on me (see above story).
Sunday 26- Church was really good. The talks were all on prayer and they were good. Hank and Kate came to church along as Emilee's friends. She had a meeting after church with the Bishop to get her recommend to do baptisms for the dead. We passed off Rosa to the Sisters in Belle Isle. We'd never seen Rosa before and we'd have to have a male come with us to go in her house, so it was for the best.
All in all, it was a pretty good week. I love you all soooo much!
-Elder Michael Carlson
Monday, January 20, 2014
Two Days of Walking and One Tired Me
It's been a long week. We walked about 64257 steps last week, or 24.34 miles. It was a while. And it's been pretty cold. But I've been having fun.
The Short of Things:
We walked two days and got really tired and sore from it. But it was good. We did a lot of Less-Active work, which was fun. It's great to bring people closer to Christ. Also, on Sunday I ate loads of the best food I have ever had on my mission. I had some Cafe Rio style stuff and I indulged way too much. It was worth it. Overall, good week, if a bit cold.
The Long of Things:
Monday 13- We just hung out with the North Elders all day. We didn't do much.
Tuesday 14- We went to transfer meeting. It was fun to be there. We had to say bye to Elder Sale but we got Elder Schenk. He's a visa waiter too. Then we had Cici's for lunch (delicious). We saw Emilee and taught her about enduring to the end.
Wednesday 15- We had district meeting. That was pretty fun. You've heard the analogy of the Bible and Book of Mormon being two points that make a single line? I added a third point for personal revelation to make a single plane. It was pretty funny. Then we saw Sister Tate and Toni C. Both are less-actives. Sister Tate doesn't have transportation to church and Toni just hasn't been in a long time. We had great lessons with both of them about the importance of reading the scriptures. Then we had splits at the church. I went with Bishop to see Sister Lamb.
Thursday 16- This was our fist walking day. We had two appointments cancel on us so we tried to find other people to see. We saw Robert (Emilee's brother) and chatted for a while. Then we saw Sister Buboltz. Then we ate dinner at Sister Kerr's and walked home.
Friday 17- Second walking day. We had weekly planning then we walked to the church for our media hour and walked home. That was our entire day. In hindsight, it seems like a terrible idea... Elder Schenk got his visa though... So he'll be in this area for about 8 days total.
Saturday 18- We had an appointment cancel on us so that made us sad. We saw the Barnes. It's crazy at their house, there's always stuff going on. We tried to contact two referrals that we had made appointments with. Neither of them were home. We saw the McGills and Kimmie instead. Then we went teaching with Brother Myers. We saw Todd and had an extremely spiritual lesson about "being OK". It was good.
Sunday 19- Church was great. The talks were on setting and achieving goals. Elder Betts taught a lesson in Primary, which was pretty fun. Then we had lunch with the Myers. It was delicious. She made pot roast and homemade crescent rolls. I ate a lot. Right after that we had dinner at the Bishop's house. They had Cafe Rio style food. Complete with Dr. Pepper pork. It was also extremely delicious. I ate way too much at both houses. It was just too good. We did have a good lesson with Bishop and his family about setting family goals. One goal they had that I thought was cool was to have a family scripture. That kind of defines their family. I thought maybe we could do that. Then we had missionary correlation at the Burnettes'. We got good stuff done.
Love you all a ton!!!
-Elder Michael Carlson
The Short of Things:
We walked two days and got really tired and sore from it. But it was good. We did a lot of Less-Active work, which was fun. It's great to bring people closer to Christ. Also, on Sunday I ate loads of the best food I have ever had on my mission. I had some Cafe Rio style stuff and I indulged way too much. It was worth it. Overall, good week, if a bit cold.
The Long of Things:
Monday 13- We just hung out with the North Elders all day. We didn't do much.
Tuesday 14- We went to transfer meeting. It was fun to be there. We had to say bye to Elder Sale but we got Elder Schenk. He's a visa waiter too. Then we had Cici's for lunch (delicious). We saw Emilee and taught her about enduring to the end.
Wednesday 15- We had district meeting. That was pretty fun. You've heard the analogy of the Bible and Book of Mormon being two points that make a single line? I added a third point for personal revelation to make a single plane. It was pretty funny. Then we saw Sister Tate and Toni C. Both are less-actives. Sister Tate doesn't have transportation to church and Toni just hasn't been in a long time. We had great lessons with both of them about the importance of reading the scriptures. Then we had splits at the church. I went with Bishop to see Sister Lamb.
Thursday 16- This was our fist walking day. We had two appointments cancel on us so we tried to find other people to see. We saw Robert (Emilee's brother) and chatted for a while. Then we saw Sister Buboltz. Then we ate dinner at Sister Kerr's and walked home.
Friday 17- Second walking day. We had weekly planning then we walked to the church for our media hour and walked home. That was our entire day. In hindsight, it seems like a terrible idea... Elder Schenk got his visa though... So he'll be in this area for about 8 days total.
Saturday 18- We had an appointment cancel on us so that made us sad. We saw the Barnes. It's crazy at their house, there's always stuff going on. We tried to contact two referrals that we had made appointments with. Neither of them were home. We saw the McGills and Kimmie instead. Then we went teaching with Brother Myers. We saw Todd and had an extremely spiritual lesson about "being OK". It was good.
Sunday 19- Church was great. The talks were on setting and achieving goals. Elder Betts taught a lesson in Primary, which was pretty fun. Then we had lunch with the Myers. It was delicious. She made pot roast and homemade crescent rolls. I ate a lot. Right after that we had dinner at the Bishop's house. They had Cafe Rio style food. Complete with Dr. Pepper pork. It was also extremely delicious. I ate way too much at both houses. It was just too good. We did have a good lesson with Bishop and his family about setting family goals. One goal they had that I thought was cool was to have a family scripture. That kind of defines their family. I thought maybe we could do that. Then we had missionary correlation at the Burnettes'. We got good stuff done.
Love you all a ton!!!
-Elder Michael Carlson
Monday, January 13, 2014
Garbage Michigan Roads
The roads here are atrocious. Potholes everywhere. 18442 steps this past week, pretty sedentary. Funny story that explains the picture. I just want everyone to read it. This past Monday, after shopping, we hung out with the North Elders for about an hour, then we went to put our groceries away. While shopping, I had decided to buy some bananas and some salad to try to be healthy. When we were putting our groceries away, I discovered both to be completely rock solid frozen. I was pretty sad. It was quite cold on Monday and Tuesday. Oh, also, Elder Betts and I will be staying together for another transfer. Same address and all that.
The Short of Things:
It was extremely cold on Tuesday, so cold we had to stay inside. I ate some crazy Mexican candies. Some were filled with chili powder and others just looked like eggs. The chili powder ones were really gross but the egg ones were fairly decent. Also, I "wrestled" with some kids' TMNT action figures. There were 5 of us battling it out with our action figures. I tried some seafood crepes (still not a fan of seafood) and Despite the weather, we had some very spiritual lessons.
The Long of Things:
Monday 6- We hung out with the other Elders all day. It was really cold. See above story.
Tuesday 7- We got a call that said we had to stay inside because it was -47 deg with wind chill. I got a hair cut, which was nice because my hair was getting pretty long. We had lunch with the other Elders and hung out for a while. Then we had dinner with Emilee and her friend. It was pretty fun.
Wednesday 8- We had a zone meeting and we talked about being in a war and about how we need to be prepared and ready to fight. We ate at Cici's pizza for lunch/dinner. We taught Emilee and went on splits. I saw Brother Jackson with the Nobles (Brother Jackson is in the North area and the Nobles are the senior couple).
Thursday 9- We saw Sister Buboltz and helped her set up her new camera. Then we taught Hank L. about the Restoration again. Then we saw Hank Z. and taught him. Then we tried to see Toni C. but she wasn't home. So we went to see the Myers and then had dinner with the Kerrs.
Friday 10- We did weekly planning. Bleh. Then I went to a sleep clinic to see what they could do. We had our media hour because we were close to the church. Then we went home to eat dinner. We saw Kimmie and ate Mexican candies with her. I got one that was basically a sucker without the stick. It was good until I bit it open and a bunch of chili powder popped out. It hurt my tongue.
Saturday 11- We saw the Barnes. It was crazy! There were like four little boys all bringing out all their action figures and "wrestling" with them. Then we talked with Sister Lamb. She's hilarious. Then we had a great lesson with Sister Lock about the Book of Mormon. We contacted two referrals and set up return appointments. Then we met with the Myers for dinner and teaching with Brother Myers. They made us seafood crepes (Sister Myers made me steaks). I tried the seafood, but the texture of shrimp is just gross. We saw the Cornettes with Brother Myers (North's area).
Sunday 12- I went to ward council for the first time this transfer. It was pretty long and boring... I was in there for about 1.5 hours. I contributed for about 15 minutes. We had two appointments but they both cancelled so we tried to contact another referral. He wasn't home. We had dinner and went to see the Myers. We had a great lesson with them about Alma 33:19-22.
And that brings us to today.
I love you all soooooo much!!!!
-Elder Michael Carlson
The Short of Things:
It was extremely cold on Tuesday, so cold we had to stay inside. I ate some crazy Mexican candies. Some were filled with chili powder and others just looked like eggs. The chili powder ones were really gross but the egg ones were fairly decent. Also, I "wrestled" with some kids' TMNT action figures. There were 5 of us battling it out with our action figures. I tried some seafood crepes (still not a fan of seafood) and Despite the weather, we had some very spiritual lessons.
The Long of Things:
Monday 6- We hung out with the other Elders all day. It was really cold. See above story.
Tuesday 7- We got a call that said we had to stay inside because it was -47 deg with wind chill. I got a hair cut, which was nice because my hair was getting pretty long. We had lunch with the other Elders and hung out for a while. Then we had dinner with Emilee and her friend. It was pretty fun.
Wednesday 8- We had a zone meeting and we talked about being in a war and about how we need to be prepared and ready to fight. We ate at Cici's pizza for lunch/dinner. We taught Emilee and went on splits. I saw Brother Jackson with the Nobles (Brother Jackson is in the North area and the Nobles are the senior couple).
Thursday 9- We saw Sister Buboltz and helped her set up her new camera. Then we taught Hank L. about the Restoration again. Then we saw Hank Z. and taught him. Then we tried to see Toni C. but she wasn't home. So we went to see the Myers and then had dinner with the Kerrs.
Friday 10- We did weekly planning. Bleh. Then I went to a sleep clinic to see what they could do. We had our media hour because we were close to the church. Then we went home to eat dinner. We saw Kimmie and ate Mexican candies with her. I got one that was basically a sucker without the stick. It was good until I bit it open and a bunch of chili powder popped out. It hurt my tongue.
Saturday 11- We saw the Barnes. It was crazy! There were like four little boys all bringing out all their action figures and "wrestling" with them. Then we talked with Sister Lamb. She's hilarious. Then we had a great lesson with Sister Lock about the Book of Mormon. We contacted two referrals and set up return appointments. Then we met with the Myers for dinner and teaching with Brother Myers. They made us seafood crepes (Sister Myers made me steaks). I tried the seafood, but the texture of shrimp is just gross. We saw the Cornettes with Brother Myers (North's area).
Sunday 12- I went to ward council for the first time this transfer. It was pretty long and boring... I was in there for about 1.5 hours. I contributed for about 15 minutes. We had two appointments but they both cancelled so we tried to contact another referral. He wasn't home. We had dinner and went to see the Myers. We had a great lesson with them about Alma 33:19-22.
And that brings us to today.
I love you all soooooo much!!!!
-Elder Michael Carlson
Monday, January 6, 2014
SNOWMAGEDDON!
Yep, it snowed about 12 inches yesterday and last night. It's been fun. Last week, I took 29826 steps. It's kind of humbling to know that's about 1 day in a Brazil mission.... yeah... I'm not ready for that.
The Short of Things:
Well, this past week has been crazy. There were two snow storms, the first bringing 6 inches of snow, the second falling with 12 inches. Also New Year's Eve happened (possibly the best night of sleep I've gotten). There was a white elephant gift exchange and I got a package of Twix. There was a lot of hanging out with the North Elders this past week and not a whole lot of teaching, sadly. But it's been fun. I'm glad I'm a missionary. Despite the inclement weather, I still enjoy it.
The Long of Things:
Monday 30- After hanging out with the other Elders all day, we had dinner at the Myers, which is always fun. They're a crazy/awesome family.
Tuesday 31- New Years Eve! We had to walk that day because we ran out of miles. It was pretty dang cold and there was snow everywhere. We walked down to the Montoya's house to make sure it wasn't broken-in to (they're out of town and asked if we could check it for them). Then we walked to Emilee's, taught her a lesson and she fed us dinner (it was a very last-minute thing). Then we were walking home (we wanted to be in early with New Year's Eve and all that) and we stopped by the Myers'. They gave us ribs and a ride home.
Wednesday 1- 2014! We had district meeting and a white elephant gift exchange. I got a package of Twix. It snowed about 5-6 inches, so we just hung out at the other Elders' apartment.
Thursday 2- We saw Emilee and had a great lesson with her. She's teaching us the lessons now. It's been great. Then we went to see Hank and family. It's always crazy at that house. There's always something happening. We also have interesting conversations. We talked about Greek gods being Christian. Then we saw Kimmie. She's a member who has some health issues so she can't always make it to church. She did make us some delicious Reese's cupcakes. Then we had dinner with Sister Kerr.
Friday 3- Weekly planning! The great and dreadful. We did that for a while, then we went to contact some people. There were a bunch of people we tried to see but almost no one was home. We did see Sister Lamb. She's quite a funny person and very enthusiastic. She gave us zucchini bread. My toes started to get cold though so we went home so I could get another pair of socks. Thus prepared, we ventured out again. We saw the Kholer's and talked with them about missionary work (he's the Elder's Quorum president).
Saturday 4- This was a depressing day. We tried to see a bunch of less-actives but they either weren't home or weren't interested. We did stop by the Bishop's to talk about missionary work in the ward which was good. Then we went to the Myers' and went out to see some people. It was pretty good, we saw the few people we tried to. The Myers' gave us chili and we went home to eat it.
Sunday 5- Church was cancelled because of the weather. It was pretty weird. We stayed at the North Elders' apartment all day because the weather prevented us from going out. It was a long time to be holed up. I got really good at solving a rubix cube though...
And that brings us to today, with a foot of snow on the ground and temperatures of -1. Much different from what I can expect in Brazil. Woo hoo!
Another week spent serving the Lord,
-Elder Michael Carlson
P.S: love you all!
The Short of Things:
Well, this past week has been crazy. There were two snow storms, the first bringing 6 inches of snow, the second falling with 12 inches. Also New Year's Eve happened (possibly the best night of sleep I've gotten). There was a white elephant gift exchange and I got a package of Twix. There was a lot of hanging out with the North Elders this past week and not a whole lot of teaching, sadly. But it's been fun. I'm glad I'm a missionary. Despite the inclement weather, I still enjoy it.
The Long of Things:
Monday 30- After hanging out with the other Elders all day, we had dinner at the Myers, which is always fun. They're a crazy/awesome family.
Tuesday 31- New Years Eve! We had to walk that day because we ran out of miles. It was pretty dang cold and there was snow everywhere. We walked down to the Montoya's house to make sure it wasn't broken-in to (they're out of town and asked if we could check it for them). Then we walked to Emilee's, taught her a lesson and she fed us dinner (it was a very last-minute thing). Then we were walking home (we wanted to be in early with New Year's Eve and all that) and we stopped by the Myers'. They gave us ribs and a ride home.
Wednesday 1- 2014! We had district meeting and a white elephant gift exchange. I got a package of Twix. It snowed about 5-6 inches, so we just hung out at the other Elders' apartment.
Thursday 2- We saw Emilee and had a great lesson with her. She's teaching us the lessons now. It's been great. Then we went to see Hank and family. It's always crazy at that house. There's always something happening. We also have interesting conversations. We talked about Greek gods being Christian. Then we saw Kimmie. She's a member who has some health issues so she can't always make it to church. She did make us some delicious Reese's cupcakes. Then we had dinner with Sister Kerr.
Friday 3- Weekly planning! The great and dreadful. We did that for a while, then we went to contact some people. There were a bunch of people we tried to see but almost no one was home. We did see Sister Lamb. She's quite a funny person and very enthusiastic. She gave us zucchini bread. My toes started to get cold though so we went home so I could get another pair of socks. Thus prepared, we ventured out again. We saw the Kholer's and talked with them about missionary work (he's the Elder's Quorum president).
Saturday 4- This was a depressing day. We tried to see a bunch of less-actives but they either weren't home or weren't interested. We did stop by the Bishop's to talk about missionary work in the ward which was good. Then we went to the Myers' and went out to see some people. It was pretty good, we saw the few people we tried to. The Myers' gave us chili and we went home to eat it.
Sunday 5- Church was cancelled because of the weather. It was pretty weird. We stayed at the North Elders' apartment all day because the weather prevented us from going out. It was a long time to be holed up. I got really good at solving a rubix cube though...
And that brings us to today, with a foot of snow on the ground and temperatures of -1. Much different from what I can expect in Brazil. Woo hoo!
Another week spent serving the Lord,
-Elder Michael Carlson
P.S: love you all!
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