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

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!

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