Happy Star Wars Day!

80204, 48.12. So, I am convinced that the mail system here in Brazil is directly controlled by God. He holds back the letters for exactly when we need them. This past week, I was the envy of all the missionaries, receiving a grand total of 16 letters! I was in much need of that love, so it was very good. Also, Matt sent me a talk titled, "Is It Worth It?" Which, not only did I need to read but an investigator that we have really needed to hear the message it contained. Another funny thing that happened: I got a bit sick. It was a nasty cold, so I went to the hospital, like Sister told me to. When I got there, I had to wait over an hour just to talk to the doctor. I told him my symptoms, runny nose, headache, weakness. He told me that I had a virus and I would take an IV, then take a day of rest. It was the first IV of my life. They're kinda obsessed with them here. They say, oh you have a cold? Take an IV. Oh, you got hit by a car? Take an IV. Your son is sick? Take an IV. It wasnt too bad but it took a while. Then the day after, I had to stay inside, which was pretty weird. I think its one of the only times I've stayed inside because I was sick. It was a very full week.

Also, HAPPY 30TH ANNIVERSARY PARENTS!

-Elder Michael Carlson

[A note of explanation: We have a family joke on the 4th day of the month saying 'May the fourth be with you' instead of 'May the force be with you'.]

[Michael shared a couple more things with us in a separate email. The first was that he had a good meeting with the mission president this past week and that he 'enjoyed it quite a lot'. One of the things his mission president told him was that 'The more difficult your mission is, the more blessings you will receive afterwards.' Michael also told us about the young man who is the Ward Mission Leader in their ward. He's preparing to serve a mission himself so he helps the full-time missionaries quite a lot.]

What a Trunky Week

85092 steps, 51.05 km. So, to start off the week, I got my flight plan to go home. Then, a sister misisonary from this ward got home and I saw her take off her nametag. Then I heard her homecoming talk. I was just thinking about when that'll be me, in 2 months. But, it was a pretty good week overall. It rained a couple days, which was quite needed and also helped to cool down the rest of the week. One other thing, a member gave me a physics book in Portuguese for me to study. So, I've been studying it for my language study and it's been quite fun. I've learned a lot. This past week, we've really just been trying to find good people to teach. One really cool experience: We went to visit a man (less-active) 2 weeks ago. He was drunk and being threatened by his wife with a knife. It was a kinda scary situation. This week, he came to church, dressed up with a tie and everything and hadn't had a drink for a week. He looked really happy. It makes everything worth it when you can see the difference you make in people's lives.

Love you all!

-Elder Michael Carlson

Queimadas!

111485 steps, 66.89 km. Well, this week was quite interesting. We have been trying to get this area off the ground but we ran into trials very early on. My companion got dengue and couldn't leave the house for 3 days. So I left with members every day. Which was quite good. Also, we've been trying to find people to teach but most everybody here is decidedly Catholic. It is quite hot here. Church was good though. Even if it was quite small. We were able to bring quite a few people to church and from what I heard they all liked it. To explain the photos: The first one is at a pizza buffet for my birthday. The man on the right is a member who helped us out all the time. On my plate is banana pizza. Who'da thought? The second one is us with the bishop of my past ward. He was pretty awesome. The third is a picture of a little lizard I found in the apartment. They're everywhere here in brazil.

Have a great week!

-Elder Michael Carlson

[Michael received his flight itinerary this week. He will arrive home on July 3. Woohoo!!!]

[We asked Michael about the ward in Queimadas. He said:]

Yesterday, the attendance was 58 people. It's a small ward. We meet in an apartment-style building. A lot of the leadership is from 18 year-olds. It's mostly the young people who are active in the church.

Yet Another Week in the Mission

84576 steps 50.74 km. Well, my 95% certainty that I would stay apparently wasn't enough. I got transferred. I don't know why. From all my areas, I've stayed in one for more than 2-3 months. And that one was in the United States. The past week was a hard one. We finished my birthday without much celebration, we saw a horse farm and watched a horse lose his man parts. Very interesting and quite gross. We went through the week, visiting with a bunch of people and letting Elder Hubbard say bye to them. Then, Sunday evening, against all odds, came the call that I would be transferred. I am now in a small city outside of Campina Grande called Queimadas, which being interpreted is "burned ones". It really lives up to its name. It is quite hot here. My companion, Elder Gonzalez is from Chile and has a year on the mission. I am also living with Elder Clark (from Utah) and Elder Loaiza. We live in a very small apartment with bunk beds and no water. I am loving my life...

Love ya,

-Elder Michael Carlson

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

82136, 49.28. IT'S MY BIRFDAY! I have eaten cake and opened presents, so it's official. This past week was very full. One thing I must explain is the Brazilian way of celebrating Easter. The Easter Sunday isn't really that important, it's the entire passion week. So, all week long, nobody can eat meat, just fish. I'm not really sure why but it's a thing. And, everyone gets really drunk on wine instead of beer. Then, on Sunday, instead of having plastic eggs filled with candy hidden around the house, they just have one really big chocolate egg that they give to the children. Not nearly as fun. So, after much tribulation, we finally had Carla's baptism. We were going to have it on Saturday at 7 after the Conference sessions, but when we went to look at the water we had put in the font that morning, it was all gone! There was another Elder that had had a baptism between the two sessions and he had drained all the water. And, the water rationing had started, so we couldn't just fill it up again... The next day, we found out that the church has a very large water storage system, so we were able to fill the font. But then two other missionaries also had baptisms, but they hadn't prepared anything. So, instead of going with the program that we had already planned, they decided to throw it away and make everything up on the spot. It was very stressful and frustrating. But, now it's done. Conference was really good though. Talked a lot about marriage and how to avoid worldly fear. I learned quite a lot. One funny thing: When President Monson talked about his story of his mission interview, I thought to myself, "Have I had the ministring of angels?" The answer came quite rapidly: Just my parents!

Love you all!

-Elder Michael Carlson

[In a separate email, Michael told us what he was planning to do for his birthday today]

Tonight we're going to a pizza place and I'm going to eat their pizza buffet for free! (my favorite)

[We also asked him about transfers next week]

President made a rule that missionaries are going to stay in their areas for at least 6 months, so I'm 95% sure that I'm going to end my mission here.

Yet More Horses and Temptations

61365, 36.81. We saw some horses the other day. It was on a horse farm or something. Elder Hubbard was pretty happy. It was a lot of horses. And, the temptations: I received my birthday package and the presents have been staring at me this entire week. Also, in the package, I got a box of brownie mix. I wanted to make peanut butter brownies. I had looked at my presents and I determined what three were, a bar of toblerone, a tie and a bottle of peanut butter. So I opened the last one just to find that it was not, in fact, peanut butter, but "european cookie spread". I was quite confused. I tried it and it was pretty strange at first, but turns out, I like it. I made the brownies normal style and they were pretty delicious. Other than that, our week was pretty normal... Sorry...

Love you all! Until next week!

-Elder Michael Carlson

Flooded House and St Patrick's Day

88922 steps or 53.35 km. So, to explain the title, St. Patty's day Elder Hubbard and I wore green ties (no one else did but I didn't see any other Americans that day). On Saturday, we never have water (water rationing), so we use the washing machine to store water and use the drain tube to get it out. Then, this morning another Elder we live with started washing his clothes and then left with his companion. Only, he hadn't put the tube back where it should have been. So, when the water started draining, it just drained on the floor. So Elder Hubbard and I had to clean up the all the water. It's just that we have no floor drains in our house, so we had to push all that water across the house and down the stairs. It was a lot of work. Fortunately we were there and were able to take care of it quickly. Also, I forgot to mention this in my last letter but there was a young man who was baptized last week and was confirmed yesterday. His name is Gabriel. He was able to drop coffee, which was quite a challenge for him, but now, he no longer has the desire to drink it. Also, we have an investigator named Geraldo. We've been working with him for a while. He's been able to drop coffee and alcohol with our help, which was a big change in his life. But he's not sure if he wants to be baptized. He has very strong Catholic family pressures to not be baptized. But, we're still working with him. Overall, it's been a good week.

Love you all!

-Elder Michael Carlson

[We received a couple of pictures of Michael with his companion from his companion's mom]