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]

Crazy Week

97721 steps or 58.63 km. So this week, I got 8 letters, which was pretty great. I rather enjoyed it. However, one of them was dated from the 3rd of November. I honestly don't know how letters can be so held back. Also, we had a member go teaching with us 3 different days this week, so that was pretty great. During one lesson with a less active, the phone just started exploding. The secretaries were asking which airport that I wanted to arrive home at (trunkiness ensued). Then, the president called, telling me he had a package for me in Campina Grande, but in a different chapel and that I should come get it, but we couldn't go, so we had to find someone else to grab it for us. It finally all worked out in the end. So, I got my birthday package, which was quite nice. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to open it though. Church was really good this past week. Someone shared a story of a small cow who wanted to eat wheat (which would kill it), so she threw rocks at it until it ran away from the wheat but then she came back and the cow had eaten so much that it was too late. And how sometimes, we need to accept the spiritual rocks to help us to avoid killing ourselves spiritually.

Overall, it was a pretty good week.

Love you all!

-Elder Michael Carlson

[We asked Michael a couple of questions in a separate email and these are his answers]

[What are your three favorite things about Brazil so far?]

First: I like that there are people who are open to listen to what we have to say (a lot more than in the US). Second: They have a lot of crazy fruits that I like but that I've never heard about before. Third: If you ever wanted a tan, Brazil is the place.

[What did you do (or are you doing) for P-Day this week?]

We buy stuff in the center and we make our food. Then usually we laze around until we leave to go teaching. Today, I'm going to try and take to stains off my shirts - if I'm lucky.

Half a Week but Quite Busy

100466 steps or 60.27 km. So, despite being just half a week, we had quite a few things to do. First off, I experienced my first thunderstorm here in Brazil. It just kind of happened. I was unaware that they had them here. Then we went to a rodeo (my companion is a straight up cowboy), where we watched people on horses grabbing cow tails and using the tails to roll them to the ground. It was pretty intense. Then, right afterward, we helped someone with a move-in. I carried lots of heavy things. Then, the next day, we (the four misisonaries) cleaned the entire big church that 3 wards meet in, completely alone. It was a lot of work. I'm still a little sore from it. Then, the next day, I got a package from home with s'mores ingredients, so we had a s'mores party. The 2 non-americans in my house were like, "we have no idea why we're eating this crazy creation, but it's delicious!" It was a lot of fun and everyone enjoyed it. Then, on Sunday, we went to church. It was good. I was pretty lost the entire time. I had no idea who was who, but the classes were good.Well, that's about the summary of my half-week.

Love you all, until the next!

-Elder Michael Carlson

[In a separate email, Michael told us that the four missionaries in his current area live in an apartment above a construction/grocery store. We're not sure what a contraction/grocery store is but we'll ask him that next week.]

Transfers Come Once Again

103751 steps, 62.25 km. So, this past week was pretty crazy. It was kinda normal until Monday. At 7:30 PM, we found out that us 4 missionaries would leave Catolé and that 4 sisters would take our place. Tuesday morning, I went to the doctor to get my ingrown toenail taken care of (all better without any major surgery like last time). So, after that, we were getting ready to leave Wednesday morning (when normal transfers take place). Then, at noon, the assistants called to let us know that the sisters would be arriving Tuesday at 8 PM and we had to be out of the house, completely gone before then. So, we had to cancel all the appointments for Tuesday in order to pack and clean the house before they arrived. Then we realized, "Where will we go?" So we had to take all of our bags and go to another area's apartment. So, that night it was 10 missionaries in an apartment with only 5 beds. So, I slept on the floor and did not sleep well. It was just great. And so, Elder Cardoso was transferred to João Pessoa and I was transferred to Liberdade (the other zone of Campina Grande). I'm companions with Elder Hubbard (from Oregon), who is going to go home at the end of this transfer. Also living with us is Elder Beserra, from Brazil and Elder Vasques, from Peru. I'm already completely unpacked but ready to sleep.

Have a great week all y'alls!

-Elder Michael Carlson

Another Week!

89327 steps or 53.59 km. Once again, I am left with not much time to write this email. Sorry everyone... But this week was pretty great. Nothing really happened for Carnaval because everyone had left town to go to the beach. Campina Grande was pretty dead for the first half of the week. Also, we didn't have water from Friday until Monday evening. There was a switch for the water that someone had turned off. So after climbing up on the roof and doing some ridiculous things to satisfy our water needs, we discovered this switch right in front of our house. Super easy to turn on but it had been buried in dirt. We had a water party when it came back. Also, we had a very convincing and logical lesson with someone but they just said, "Wow, that makes sense and I don't agree with everything in my church but I'm never gonna change churches." It made me sad.

For another week,

-Elder Michael Carlson

Merry Presidents Day!

102397 steps, 61.43 km. We had a pretty good week. I took my first bucket shower. I was just there and I put on soap, then all of a sudden, there wasn't any water coming out. So I had to call for my companion to get some water from outside in a bucket. It was quite the interesting experience. We also had a mission conference. One thing that I learned was that in the church, we gain our salvation, but it is only through the works in the temple that we gain our exaltation. It was pretty interesting. Sorry, I don't have much time today. Love you all and thanks for the support!

-Elder Michael Carlson