This is it!

130607, 78.36 km. Well, this is the end... My mission is over... It feels so weird. Not real at all. I worked pretty normally this past week. Nothing really interesting happened this past week. We did have an english party though. There was an english teacher who wanted our help with some of her students, so that was pretty fun. There wasn't really any other goodbye parties though, since I've only been here for a month or so. I also gave a talk in church about the Atonement. It was alright but very on the fly, since they gave me more or less an hour to plan what I was going to say and I was trying to take care of the people at church at the same time. Also, funny/sad story: A less active that we have been working with promised on Friday to come to church. Yesterday he went to church but with the wrong intention... He went to the bishop and asked his name to be removed from the records... It was very strange, because he always seemed happy when we came over...

See you all (or at least most of you) in 5 days!!!

-Elder Michael Carlson

The Last Week is Coming!

149708, 89.82 km. It was an overall good week. It was also kind of crazy. Tuesday, another Elder from the house had to go to João Pessoa to renew his visa, so I went on an exchange + trio with one of the zone leaders. It was pretty crazy. Then, on Wednesday, we had to wait for this Elder to get home (we started waiting at 3 but he got there at 5). But, good news, Ednalva was baptized yesterday. After much tribulations and much negative talk from her family members, she overcame it all. It was very good. Also, we had apartment inspections with the President. WE PASSED! We aren't slobs! This morning, we had a leadership meeting which was pretty good. I gave a very good message about how the mission is like an airplane (it was mostly a joke but it turned out alright). Also, another Elder brought a typical Uruguaian dessert called "pasta flora" I think...

Love you all! See you in a bit

-Elder Michael Carlson

CORN NIGHT!!!

127738, 76.64 km. By far the best part of the week was a corn night we had during the week. I have never before seen so many corn-based foods. There were at least 10 different corny foods. There were two tables overflowing with corn. There were about 12 people there and we only ate about half the food. It was nuts (actually, it was corn...). Another thing that happened: We had ward conference yesterday and a new bishop was called. He was actually part of a different ward, so we don't know him but he seems like a cool guy. Also, we sang the prelude to the conference (us being the missionaries). We did alright but I was super nervous. Also, I broke a record this past week. One day, nothing was going right, all our appointments were falling through, so, I walked a total of 20 km in one day. I was really tired the next day... Also, we met a woman that really isn't a woman. So that was really weird (and to be honest a little scary). But, overall, this was a pretty good week. It's crazy to think that my mission is almost over. The life I've been living for the past two years is about to end. It's an odd thought. Also, hope you enjoy the pictures. It was in a pizza place we went to last week. It was a lot of fun.

Love you all!

-Elder Michael Carlson

[Michael included a bit more information as answers to questions we asked him]

[Is it still raining a lot? You haven't sunk into the mud yet, have you?]

It's stopped raining so much. There's still some showers but it's not too bad. There were a couple times I got pretty close to sinking (there's some very large dirt roads in our area) but fortunately, my shoes also happen to act as boats (they're good shoes).

[Did you have any investigators or less-actives come to church yesterday?]

We did have a less active/recent convert come. She really hasn't come for the past month or so because stuff keeps coming up and getting in her way. No one else came because it was raining really hard when it was time to go to church.

[Is there anything on your 'Brazil bucket list' that you're going to try before you leave?]

Not really. there is one food that I wanted to try, not eat, but at least try. It's called "buchada" (boo-shah-dah) It's made out of goat intestine.

Week of Rain

143260, 85.95km. We had a lot of rain this past week but it was good. Paraíba needs lots of rain. Also, this was a week of firsts and lasts. I had my last fast Sunday in Brazil. I had my last Zone meeting. But, I hitchhiked for the first time in my life. We have to walk for 40-60 min in the dark at 8:30 at night, so we decided to start asking for rides from people. Most people are pretty nice about it though. And we don't have to walk so far, which is the best part. Also, for the first time in about 5 years (or more) I'm less than 200 pounds. It was nuts when I found out. Also, another story: We were just walking along one day and all of a sudden, all these kids started running out into the streets waving their shirts or towels in the air. I was really confused. Then I figured out what it was. After it rains for 3 straight days, this type of ant with wings, called "Tanajura", comes out of the ground and starts flying all over the place. So these kids would hit the ants with their towels and put the fallen ones into bottles. Then they would take off the butt-part and fry it in butter. They say it's delicious but Mom always told to not eat ants. Also, this past week, I tried to make pineapple freezer jam but it didn't go down too well. It turned out to be pineapple soup with a gelatinous taste. But it was fun to make at least... Another thing that happened this past week was that I was made leadership! Assistant! To the zone leaders. I give trainings during all the meetings and I just help them sometimes. It's pretty funny. And, happy flag day for those of you that are into that kind of stuff.

Love you all!

-Elder Michael Carlson

[Michael sent us a bit more information about his current area in another email]

So, my area and my ward are called "Prata". Here, the neighborhoods (bairros in Portuguese) have different names, so all my areas have the name of the neighborhood that the ward is in, except for this one. Prata is actually part of a different stake. I don't know why... But, where I work is called "Catingueira" (kaching-gay-rah) and "Bairro da Cidade" (bye-who dah si-dah-gee). It's a pretty humble area. Most of the houses have at most 3 rooms (bedroom, kitchen and bathroom). There's lots of dirt roads (that are turning to mud with these rains). The housing is based more on where the chapel is, so the chapel is really close to our house but the area is really, REALLY far away.

Last Month!

122319 steps, 73.39 km. It doesn't seem real that it's really ending like that. It's going really fast. This week was pretty good, though. I made pretzel dogs today. Also, to explain why I'm emailing so late: my email was having some problems, so I made some phone calls and they told me to try later. So I got home and we decided to work through the afternoon, because our area is so far away. So, I only had time right now. So there's that. Let's see... It was a full week, We talked with a lot of our investigators, unfortunately, no one went to church, because it was raining sunday morning. OH! I also gave a talk in church. About service. I had to prepare it in about 15 minutes... I gave the example of Dad, how he always works and helps other people no matter what. I remember one time that we had to set up tables in the church and Dad asked me if I'd help him. I responded no and ran off. So he had to do it by himslef, with a really bad hernia, but he didn't complain (at least that I remember). He always helps people, no matter what his circumstances are. He's a good dad.

Love you all! Don't forget to send me requests for brazil stuffs. this could be your only chance!

-Elder Michael Carlson

Ya' Never Know

Well, the week started off normal enough. After my trial with the hospital and sleeping a lot, we went to a FHE. All of a sudden, we got a phone call. One of the other Elders would be transferred to Prata. Then, our cell phone starts to ring... What could it be? Elder Carlson is being transferred to Prata and the other elder is staying... So, I packed up my bags and left on Tuesday for my new area. My new companion is Elder Cajamarca (from Colombia), he's also the DL. We live with the ZLs, Elders Perkins (from virginia) and Barboza (from Uruguay). Prata is in Campina Grande but only just. Our area, we have to walk for about 40-50 minutes just to get to the beginning. But, after going to the hospital, the doctor told me to stay inside for 4 days. It was the worst. We found 2 members to stay with us (one at the house with me and the other teaching with my comp). I did a lot of sleeping, cleaning, and nothing. Finally, on Saturday, I was able to leave to teach, which was quite nice after so long. Sunday, we had the baptism of a young man named Jefferson, who I taught once. I like this ward, it's a nice ward and the people with who I am living are a lot nicer than the last ones. It's going to be a good transfer. Three things: 1.) HAPPY late BIRTHDAY MOM!!!! 2.) There is a member here who puts designs on ties for about $10, so if any of you want one, draw your design in paint and send it to me. 3.) Anyone have any specific souvenieer requests? Soccer Jerseys, sandals, flags?

Hey, love you all!!!

-Elder Michael Carlson

In Queimadas

In Prata

A Week of Hospitals

84042 steps, 50.42km. Well, this past week was very full. On Tuesday, I got sick again, and since I already would pass by the hospital because of a district meeting, I went and try to fix me. They gave me an IV and told me they don't know what I had. Then I went home. I got better after sleeping for quite a while. Then, I worked normally throughout the week. One funny thing that happened: As we were walking one day, we passed by two girls and after we passed, one of them shouted, "What beautiful eyes!" So we turned around and invited them to church. It was pretty great. Also, yesterday, Vania was baptized, which was great. Then, to explain why I'm emailing so late: Yesterday, I got really sick. I had a really bad fever and I was all sore. So, after the baptism ended at 8 PM, I went to the hospital. It's just that we had to wait for someone to take us there since the busses had already stopped. We had to wait until about 11 PM for him to take us. So we got to the hospital at 11:30 and they gave me 3 IVs. I was finished about 1 AM, so we had to sleep there at the hospital. We slept in some arm chairs with the lights on all night. It was pretty horrible. I did not sleep well. Then, in the morning, I had to do a blood exam. So, they took my blood and I waited for the results. And I waited and waited and waited. Then, after 3 hours of waiting, they told me that their machine was broken and the results would only come tomorrow. Then, we went and saw a member that works close by the hospital. When we got back, we tried to send emails but all the places were closed. So, we went to the apartment and I took a nap. It was very nice. I slept very hard. Then, we passed by one of the places to send emails and then after half an hour the guy had to leave, so we had to go somewhere else in order to finish our emailing. It was a very crazy week overall. But that's the mission. Also, there was transfers this past week, but everyone with whom I am living is staying. There wasn't any changes. I'm sad and happy about it. I am happy that I didn't leave.

Love you all!

-Elder Michael Carlson

[In a separate email, Michael told us about a family he's working with]

One family that we've been working with (that we found this past week) is a mother, father and boy of 14 years. The mother has been looking for the true church in order to stay in it and she feels very strongly that it is this one. They're a great family with a lot of potential.

[We also received some pictures from the mother of Michael's previous companion]