9/16 4&5/6‏

Feliz Navidad Familia!!! Hey guys!!! so wow it's been a long time since i've written you guys or even talked to you! i'm doing pretty good out here! super stoked that tomorrow i'm gonna see you guys! :) soooo heres the run down on tomorrow! tomorrow at 3 here (so like 12 there) we're gonna be getting on maybe a little earlier! but be prepared at that time to see your favorite missionary ever!!! :))) but yeah i'm super pumped to talk with you guys! it's been forever it since i've seen you guys! theres been some elders that did it today so that got me super pumped to see you guys! but yeah so these past two weeks i've gotten like 5 packages from you guys and i'm super stoked to open them all! it's been killing me! you know how it was tough for me to not open my presents or snoop at all! yeah here where i can open it all and no one will really know or care it is just killing me! but in like 12 hours i'm gonna be opening them up! i think i'm gonna wake up early like always and open my presents! that way the latins don't try and steal everything i get also! so we'll see what i do! but yeah so this past two weeks were pretty rough with all the christmas stuff and not being home not as easy as last years but the thing that is getting me through it is the fact that next year.... I'll be home for christmas!!!! you can count on me!!!! please have snow and mistletoe! and presents under the tree!!!! ;) woooooo!!!!! i can't wait! but yeah soooo what else happened this week! well last week we had 10 baptisms! and the week before acouple too! so we're doing pretty good! i had to do 5 interviews! i don't like interviews! they're kinda rough cause you're afraid to tell a person no but you know its something you've gotta do! so yeah i did my best had to tell one no which was pretty rough but yeah! but yeah i felt comfortable with everything i did! but yeah also last week we had our christmas party! that was fun! the browns left for the states! yeah i'm pretty super bummed about that! but i'm pretty stoked cause they were just starting out when i came in so i know mines coming to an end! but yeah i got my pictures with them and everything! now they are back in utah enjoying the christmas season there! but yeah we also ate pretty decent and enjoyed all the acts from each zone. our zone sang in three different languages! it was pretty cool! it turned out better then i thought it would! saw all my old comps that are still in the mission. Elder Larsens struggling with his new comp. He's training a kid from colombia and his comp thinks he knows everything so its giving elder larsen a rough ride but we talked things out and we both helped each other out. i had a little bit of a rough time with my comp this past week cause the members are a little stubborn here so he was being stubborn back so we had a talk and it actually worked out good! he calmed down alot and we're doing lots better together! we also spent the night in Ocoa this past week! i love that place! if we ever come back here we're gonna go out there! cause it's super cold and super nice! ok when i say super cold i mean i have to sleep with a blanket! cause that's cold to me now! i wouldn't be surprised if its snowing there or close to that! how's the weather been there! well i don' t want to talk to much cause i'm gonna be talking to you all tomorrow! i hope you all have your questions ready and everything! i've got some too but still i want lots! welll i can't think of really anything else! i'm just ready for tomorrow! i hope all is going well there! and that all continues well! i miss you guys a ton but can't wait to see you tomorrow! have a great day! and talk to you all tomorrow! remember sleep good so that santa can come and leave you presents! the kids here don't celebrate that! they think that kings come in January to give them gifts. and that a rat changes there tooth for money..... how sad huh?? welll yeah different in culutures! but yeah i love you guys! have a great day!
<3-Elder Carlson

9/16 3/6‏

Family!!! How are you doing??? things are super crazy here! i'm super tired and a lit.... really stressed but i've discovered a new way to get rid of my stress! i'm learning how to play piano! we got a piano in our house this week and i'm practicing and teaching my companion! i know mom you're wondering how are you teaching if you don't even know cause you never took the lessons! i actually learned one thing very important in those lessons! that was where middle c is! and from there i've learned and am working on getting the left hand down! but yeah i'm doing pretty good i'm impressing myself and pretty much can play any song with my right hand! :) but yeah and what else!!! two more weeks til christmas! sooo about that! NEWS! next week i won't be emailing because its gonna be our missionary christmas party! which means i won't be able to tell you what time i'm gonna be able to skype because of this crazy week i still haven't figured out when and where and all that! sooooooo what i'm gonna do is if i don't let you know the monday before christmas i'm gonna call you and tell you what time i'll be on! so yeah! be prepared these two days! sorry! but yeah i'm gonna do my best to have a good set time and follow it! so yeah but yeah this week was crazy! went by super fast! cause we've had lots of stuff happen. i had an intercambio in ocoa which is super beautiful! it's pretty much like utah but a lot more tropical! but yeah so i spent the night there it was super fun plus i had a comp that spoke english so i was able to talk to him the whole time in english! it was great! :) but yeah then we also have been planning our activity for the christmas party next monday and we also joined our branch choir to sing this tuesday... guess who got volunteered to sing a duet??? yup! yours truly! but yeah then also we've had some crazy stuff go down with investigators and with branch members! my comps depressed and the other missionaries in my house are upset! but we're all pushing along! i actually got complimented for always being happy and for setting a good example of doing what i'm supposed to and for doing everything by the doctrine! i was pretty pumped! i'm trying to get these guys pumped but i think it's gonna take christmas to get them going! which is coming super fast! so yeah speaking of which! mom i got all the packages from you and grandma! which i was stoked! the elder that brought the mail was upset cause he was pulling out all these packages for me! :) but i didn't care! :) but yeah all safe and sounds! and ready for christmas! i'm to be having my last christmas in the mission! plus i can sing the song i'll be home for christmas next year! :) WOO HOO!!! so yeah for my christmas present i'm gonna buy me a waffle maker and a new pair of pants so thank you all for your christmas present to me! :) i will use them wisely! :) plus i'll act surprised when i use them christmas day! :) i hope you guys all get the things you hoped for on christmas! :) ummmm what else??? welll i think that's about it! so with investigators Alexander that had his baptismal date for this week didn't go to church cause his work just put him to work sundays so we're gonna have to work on that. and then the family we're workin with is having problems of getting the documents for the kids who are not yet recognized by the government here because there mom that left them is here illegally and so its a big deal! so yeah! we're gonna work on that! but yeah then after that we're still working on getting some new real progressing investigators! plus trying to work more with the branch! so yeah but i'm thankful for you guys and can't wait to see you all on christmas! :) prepare your questions and all that! :) i'll try not to answer all your questions with my opening statements! :) and i should talk weird because i have been living in all spanish for 5 weeks then! so yeah! Anyways i gotta go now! have a great day! love you all so much! talk to you in two weeks! :)

-Elder Carlson

9/16 2/6‏

WOW how time is flying! i can´t believe i´m already into the half way point of this transfer! things have been flying by here! zone leader keeps me busy and things are just flying by! and looks like i´m gonna keep getting busier because i´ve gotta do companion exchanges with missionaries in my zone so i´m gonna get to know alot of different areas which is gonna be legit! :) i´m excited for that! as far as the work in my own area! things are going great! We´re progressing in two weeks we should have a baptism of another priesthood holder! and then our family is getting closer and closer too! but yeah i´m super excited! as far as other investigators we´re still looking my comp is all about contacting. which is good but not effective! so i´ve been talking to him about visitin members and starting up an english class and all that stuff! so yeah we´ll see what happens! but yeah we visited a member the other day and it was cool to see the difference from when we hadn´t visited him to when we visited him! cause we visited him he was happier! he knew our names! in church we mainly get called the missionaries cause the members don´t know our names.... i don´t understand how that happened! but yeah i´m gonna change that! plus the guy we shared with has pretty much his whole family inactive so we visited with his daughters and at first they were like alright we´ll share if we have to and by the end they were asking us when we were coming back and putting there own visit! so i was pretty stoked and you could see the members face just smile like crazy! i love it so much! :) so stoked to be a missionary! :) but yeah so then what else??? ummm we´ve had tons of meetings atleast two days each week we´re busy in the morning with meetings! then the others we´re doing something else for missionaries! but yeah then i´m also learning a new language from my companion called guateni! it´s the second language in paraguay! so yeah pretty cool there but yeah other then that i think that´s about it for my cool ness! sooo yeah as far as the baptisms that they had planned well i didn´t hear right theres 20 and its in three weeks! so yeah i´ll let ya know how it goes! if they all make it i´ll for sure be throwing pictures! :) but yeah thats it for this week cause i´m in a hurry cause we got here late and then i got a call about a sick missionary and had to spend about 10 minutes taken care of that and i still need to write my president and all that! but thanks for all your emails guys! i love you all so much!!! :) you´re awesome!

-Elder Carlson

oh yeah just so ya know as of right now we´ve got a computer to use for skype on christmas! we´re gonna get everything set up and taken care of to be sure sure but as of right i´ll be seeing you on christmas! :)

9/16 1/6

Wow family! what a crazy week this has been! i´ve been super busy! i swear i´ve had more meetings and had more things i´ve had to do in this one week then in my whole mission! we´ve been busy busy and this week looks like we might be the same! theres an area here in my zone that is getting lined up to have 10 baptisms this week! crazy huh?? there on fire up there! my areas pretty awesome just really tough so far we haven´t had to much success but we´re teachin a family and we´re working hard on getting them all prepared! but yeah so my area is huge! it´s pretty much the whole town of Bani and the beach! so yeah i haven´t been to the beach yet cause it´s like a half hour away from town but me and my comp decided one day we´re gonna take a trip down and check it out! but yeah my comp! he´s from paraguay! He´s super cool and reminds me alot of Beau! We´ve both been lackin on sleep so this week was a little bit rough and he´s not to excited about the area cause of how rough it is but i´m super stoked to be getting in here and to change that around! i´m stoked because my last area was like this when i got there and when i left there was like 3 or 4 investigators that weren´t kids and youth and a family! so yeah we´re gonna make this area awesome! but yeah so i´m back to branches! it´s pretty crazy to think i´m back into the whole branch and district stuff but my branch is awesome! they´re super fun and we just got a brand new chapel with air conditioning and everything! so it´s awesome! :) plus for all you sienfeld people we´ve got our very own kramer! his names esteven and he´s awesome! he´s crazy like kramer and just acts exactly like him! it´s hillarious! but yeah soooo this week was pretty crazy like i said! we started off with meetings! meetings for the zone leaders in the capital and then our zone meeting and then we had a baptismal interview! it was pretty crazy! but legit! so yeah i got to see lots of cool people at the zone leader meeting! i´m one of the youngest zone leaders in the mission right now! crazy huh?? but yeah i´m super pumped to get working hard! but yeah one other cool thing about the zone leader meeting was that it was on thanksgiving so the president and his wife fed us turkey and potatos and gravy and then some pumpkin pie to end it all!! :) it was awesome!!! they made our days for sure! so yeah pretty great i´d say! but yeah this week was kinda a blur i´m trying to get a hold of everything plus our area and our zone and we gotta do intercambios and all of this craziness so yeah! this letter is gonna be short cause i´m kinda all over the place! but yeah sorry if i don´t answer all of your questions! but yeah weather is good here! pretty warm with no rain! so yeah! my comps name is elder Cardozo and is 22 and has the same amount of time as me in the mission! so yeah pretty cool! but yeah i´m trying to think of what other questions!!! if i don´t answer write them down and when i get back or at christmas i´ll answer them! oh and for christmas i´m talking my comp into doing skype! cause its a lot cheaper that way and the internet center here is super fast and set up for skype so if we do do it it´ll be the monday after christmas! just so you all know! but yeah i love you all so much i gotta go! :) YOU´RE AWESOME GUYS!!! Love ya!

-Elder Carlson

8/16 6/6

Family!!!! soooooooo how´s everyone doin this fine thanksgiving week?? i´m doing pretty good super nervous cause the transfers calls came and i´m leaving Mirador and Santo Domingo and heading to Bani! as Zone Leader! yup i didn't think it was possible for someone to get that calling in my situation but! i'm gonna do my best! so with that i have no clue what's gonna happen as far as christmas and stuff goes! depends on my area and my comp and what he's gonna do! so i'll let ya know in like a week or two! but yeah crazy stuff i'm super nervous being in charge of a district is intense but in charge of a whole zone! with just barely over a year! it's gonna be intense but i'll for sure get better in every way! :) so yeah that's my big transfer news. Other news for this week we had some fun! we got to go clean the beach as you see in the pictures! it was pretty fun! yeah i was on a caribean beach! funny thing was that there was a baseball training acadamy right on the beach! yup that's the DR for ya! but yeah there wasn't alot of people that helped out but we had fun! then this week it was the first birthday of Angelina. The little girl of a family we're working with! the parents didn't have enough money to throw a party for her so me and Larsen pitched in all of our package items and made her a cake and balloons and that to throw her a little party! it was a success except for Angelina was a little afraid of her cake but quite enjoyed the balloons and the attention! She did eventually eat some cake! not quite like me! ;) you know i'm all hands when it comes to cake! :) but yeah those were probably the coolest part of our week! ummm we also did intercambios with the ccm this week! i went with a mexican! He was pretty chill but didn't talk much! but it was fun still! as far as investigators we had a lot of success in church! The ward here is super good at helping the investigators feel welcome! i'm for sure gonna miss that! but hopefully i'll be able to get that in my next ward! we'll see what happends! but yeah i'm pretty excited to see how my next area is and how everything goes! i figure i've only got one more area after this one but we'll see! but yeah i'm pretty excited to see how it all goes! tomorrow i get right into my responisiblities makin sure everyone gets on and off the transfer bus like they should! Oh! and i'm also taking over the place of Elder Bentley! He's leaving and i'm going in for him! so it's gonna be awesome to see him again! :) bummer we weren't comps again! but yeah i don't know if i've got much more to say this week! Hope you all have an awesome thanksgiving! I'm thankful for all of you guys and all of your emails even if they're just short and telling me about what happened even if it wasn't to interesting! I love it! :) thanks! You're the best! :) I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

-Elder Carlson

8/16 5/6

Familia! Como estan todos??? How was everyones week! looked like it was pretty good! a little cold but good! surprisingly its gotten cold here! we finally hit like the 80´s! So its felt pretty great! but yeah this week was full of meetings! this week was like all meetings it seemed like! but it helped it go by somewhat fast! as far as investigators go everyones still pretty busy doing stuff that just gets put first instead of the church. so yeah we´re just being patient but we´re having super succesful citas! Wencaslao is getting more interested and he´s actually got a baptismal date for january! so yeah we´re pretty stoked for that! he wouldn´t even listen to us but now he´s taken the lessons too! The only problem is that we have to wait for his wife to get back! then in January they´ll get baptized! and theres a family! woo!!! so yeah hopefully we can get them involved more with the ward so that they can get excited for going to church cause that´s what they fault! but yeah then we´re also looking for more people to teach! we´re hitting and missing alot! we had a super good cita with an investigator the other night but he didn´t make it to church and we haven´t seen him since... so i don´t know. but yeah we´re still trying our hardest! ummm sooo looks like america voted for an obamanation! (say it outloud if ya don´t get it) we had people keeping us up on things but we got the bad news wednesday morning! but oh well! in sunday school class we´re on the second coming and the milenium so yeah i´m not to worried! ;) but yeah atleast it was close and that he´s never gonna be president again after this! soooo as far as the conditions for here.... well all i have to say is..... it´s begining to look alot like christmas!!! every where you go!!! :) yeah theres not thanksgiving here so christmas stuff is going up like crazy! even at church we had a small christmas special number yesterday! not a fan of it but i guess it´s gettin me in the mood right?? yeah i´m stoked cause this is my last christmas here! so next year i´ll be back with you guys singing carols and drinking hot chocolate and all that! :) oh speaking of which i made a list of stuff i want for my christmas package. well i need some more shaving blades for my razor. i have the gilette fusion power or something its like black and blue! but yeah then some more mesquito repelent with like the sponge applicator! somemore garments i´m going to town on mine. and then my comp got something amazing the other day in his package. it was a shake and pour brownie mix! :) i wouldn´t complain for one of those! and then chocolate like m and ms! and some hot chocolate packages! like the marshmellow lovers! and yeah that´s all i got this week! if you can´t tell i´m i a chocolate mood! that´s what chirstmas time does to me! :) but good news! ponche is coming out soon!!! aka egg nog!!! i can´t wait to drink that again! :) but yeah that´s about for this week! hope you all have a great week! i love you all tons!

-Elder Carlson

oh and transfers are this week i´ll let ya know what happens! if ya don´t mind throwing in your prayers that i stay here that´d be awesome! :)

8/16 4/6

HEYYYY FAMILY!!!!! :) How´s life??? sounds like things are going pretty good back at home with halloween and all that! i´m doing pretty good here! Halloween doesn´t really exsist here! they actually tried banning people from celebrating it so yeah kinda a bummer! but i wore an orange tie to celebrate! but yeah what else is new here??? ummm we´ve heard a ton about the hurricane! we actually had a few members here have family affected by it. one of my favorite members here didn´t hear from her family til saturday! so she was having a rough time! we went and helped clean up her house and yard and helped her as much we could! but her family are all fine but just have no house. so yeah. others have been lucky and haven´t had such bad news. also some bad news altagracia left this week for New York this week... but Carlos and her husband Wencaslao (bet ya can´t say that name right) are still listening to us! :) so that´s super good! but yeah as far as other investigators we´re getting lots more references and we´re gonna start working more with the families that aren´t complete! we have two citas tonight with some families and so pray super hard that the rest of the family gets there hearts touched! we got a super good compliment the other night. our ward mission leader left with us and took us to people that he knew and after it all he was like i´m really glad you guys are the missionaries here you guys are awesome! and it was just a super satisfying compliment that he trusted us and knew that whatever he needed done we´d do it the best we could! so we felt good! but yeah we´re really trying to find famillies and we´re finding lots so we´re just starting out with them so hopefully they progress! so yeah but as far as everything else goes ummmm this transfer is almost over with which is crazy! i can´t believe it went by so fast! i hope and pray i get to stay here another transfer so if you can throw that in your prayers too that´d be awesome! cause we´re going to town on this area and it´s just gonna keep getting better so i´m super excited! but yeah so what else??? i can´t really think of anything! oh! the elections are almost here! like tomorrow! i´m sad to say but i think obama is gonna win just for the fact that alot of the minorities are voting for him and all the unemployed for the whole unemployment plan he has! but Romney will still be in our hearts! ;) but yeah i´m nervous! i don´t know why i´m nervous for this one but eah i am! so i think that´s about it for this week sorry its so short nothing to special attached here! so this week´s picture is me ready to go to clean some yard! my shirts are a little big on me haha

Les Quiero mucho!

-Elder Carlson

8/16 3/6‏

Hey family! how´s things going there! things here are crazy hurricane sandy hit through here this week and it was........ ridiculously.... calm! nothing really bad happen! i´ve been through worse in St. George! so yeah no worries about me we´re doing fine here! and just so you guys know i think i´ve already said this but in the dedicatory prayer for this country it says that there won´t be any natural disasters here if the saints live like they should! so yeah we´re pretty well watched over here! but yeah let me know what goes down on that side! plus let me know what happens with the whole elections! and how it´s all looking out! things seem really close and people here are talking more and more about it! but yeah still we´re not there! but anyways so this week was pretty chill but good! we´re getting in better with our bishop and with our ward mission leader so we´re doing good there! everyone was in there houses cause of the storm but it made it super hard for us to get around and stuff cause no one wanted to do anything with all the rain! when it rains here they shut down everything! EVERYTHING!!!! like the schools get shut down its ridiculous! but yeah we sat in the house most the time and just chilled! but we´ve had some bad news with one investigator.... tom.... he´s moving again! it sucks! he told us about how he is moving and not gonna be in our ward anymore and then was like oh and by the way when can i get baptized...... just shoot us in the foot why don´t ya! it sucked! but yeah those other missionaries will be super lucky! but yeah then with Carlos he didn´t make it to church cause of the rain! i tell ya when it rains here everyone just doesn´t move! they´ve got a thing here that if you get wet you get sick! so they don´t leave there houses! frustrating! but yeah other then that things are going good! we´re teaching a ton and doing lots better then last transfer! so yeah i´m super stoked! me and larsen talk about hunting all the time so thats the best too! Today was his birthday so i used all the decorations i got from you guys and put them up last night when he was asleep and so this morning he woke up to some birthday stuff! figured better make his birthday a good one! :) cause i had an awesome one! so yeah we celebrated a ton today! but yeah i think that´s about it for this week! pretty boring i know but that´s what happens during a hurricane! but know that i´m still super stoked cause we´re having an awesome time and have awesome investigators! Oh success this week! Mariano gave the prayer in our ward conference this week! the first time he went inactive was something like that but sunday he was just super stoked and proud of himself for doing it! he´s getting to go to the temple and do baptisms for the dead! :) but yeah life´s awesome here! i love you all!

-Elder Carlson

8/16 2/6

Welll one word describes this week! WOW!!! so yeah it was an amazing week! the best week of my mission by far! i´ve been able to be an intstrument in the lords hands this week! It was an amazing week! So we started off the week having an awesome lesson with the family of Altagracia and gave them challenge to read Moroni 10. So we had a lesson with her grandson Carlos who is American but lives her so that we could teach him in English. So we had our lesson with him and we asked him if he prayed about it. He said that he had. so we asked him what he thought. He said i don´t know i got this feeling that i wanted to learn more and that i couldn´t wait for your next appointment and i asked him why he couldn´t wait and he explained to us that after he prayed he got this feeling that he couldn´t describe but it was way good! he´d never felt it before but he liked it alot! we explained the feelings of the spirit and asked him to get baptized! He accepted! later we put a fecha with his grandma and grandpa! so that was amazing! the following lessons with Carlos were amazing! he´s very inteligent and is very excited to learn more and is super excited about this! When i first met him he said hello then went striaght to his room now he´s one of our strongest investigators! He got up and ready for church and came and participated in the classes and we had really good support from the members even! Then on my year mark i didnt really get to celebrate cause we had to take care of the baptismal stuff for kevin but we did some contacting and it was not a day for contacting we got yelled at by this old guy after i told him that if he ever had any questions that we were always walking in the street and someone just stole his donut or somethin cause he went off on us. so we were done contacting for the day so we decided to go down to the gas station by where we were contacting. So we went there and when we got in and were lookin for a drink this white guy that had like a santa clause face comes up and starts talking english to us! Turns out that he was from Canada and was sharing with missionaries up there and was about to get baptized but then had to come down here urgently. So he had been here for about two weeks and was trying to find us and had called people but had never got a hold of us and finally this day he happened to see us and chased us down! i know that God stole that guys donut so that we would stop contacting and go to that place so that we could meet him! His name is Tom! he doesn´t know much Spanish but he´s learning! he´s a volunteer for some orginization and came to church with us on sunday and loved it! We´re super stoked to be part of the lords work here in Mirador and i´ve seen that i´ve been the lords tool almost every day this week! it´s been amazin! such a spiritual rush! we´re getting a lot more members involved and a lot of others are seeing the level of missionaries we are and are starting to give us references that they never gave us with my other companion! so i´m super excited for that! The baptism on saturday was awesome! as you see from the pictures we baptized him and after played a little ping pong! But funny moment for this week... so we did service on saturday morning then after we turned on the font to get it started filling up cause it usually takes about 5 hours to fill up so we went home got all showered and changed then came back to the chapel to see where it was at and when we entered in the front doors we found out where it was at..... yeah this one fills up fast and ended up flooding over the drain that was supposed to keep it from over filling and then spilled outside! luckily theres not carpet here so we just had to sweep the water into the drains here! haha kinda crazy but yeah it was fun! the baptism was a good success and for sure one i won´t forget! but yeah that´s about all my news for this week! sounds like everyone is having a great time enjoying the weather there! the weather here is pretty great too! :) but yeah that´s it for this week! all of our investigators are doing great! have several people with a fecha and were putting more and more each week! :) oh the guy that i told you about that got super burnt cause the oven exploded on him welll he left the city! he got good enough to go home! so yeah! crazy stuff here!

i love you all so much! and of course i gotta say HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!!! :) on Sunday! hope you guys have an awesome week!

-Elder Carlson

8/16 1/6

Hey there family! well we´re coming up on a year! crazy crazy! can you guys believe that its been a year since i left the airport! i can´t i feel like i´m still begining! but now i´m district leader and senior comp! and loving mission life! wellll so this week was an interesting week! a super good week! so my comp is Elder Larsen. He´s from Arkansas. He´s got 8 months on the mission and this is his second area! He´s full of excitment for the work and this week we´ve been going to town on things! we´ve had tons more success in this first week then i´ve had in a long time! We have found like 3 families! Altagracias family started sharing with us! Everyone that lives in that house has started listening her grandson lives there and he got super interested and is pumped to learn more! He speaks english cause he´s american but lives here with his grandparents so we are teaching him in spanglish! then also we´re teaching another lady that just has a sincere desire to know the things of life! i felt bad last lesson we had with her she told us that her cousin died and was just asking the perfect questions about those kinda things like will i get to see him again so i got this huge smile on my face cause i was like no way are we getting these golden questions! and then i realized that she´s talking about her cousin dieing and i have this huge smile so i was like oh freak! so i had to put myself serious! it was funny! but yeah she´s doing awesome! then we got a reference this week from our Mission president of a family that the husband wanted a blessing cause a bakery oven exploded on him so we visited him and gave him a blessing and we´re gonna start sharing with him! Kevin is getting baptized this saturday! and then the others are coming along slowly! but then my comp also hasn´t really worked with members so he wants to learn how to do that and that´s pretty much the only way i like to do things so yeah! we´re working more with them! but yeah those are our investigators and that! then we also got a call this week telling us that we get to go to the temple! so guess when they told us we got to go?? the next day! so the next morning we went to the temple! so last friday i got to go enjoy the temple! it was so awesome! i love that place! i can´t wait to get sealed there and be able to go back all the time too!!! :) it´s gonna be the best! but yeah other than that we haven´t really done anything to exciting! Elder Larson is a hunter so we´ve been talking alot about that! :) i´m pretty stoked for that! we´re talking so much more then what me and bryner ever did! so i´m pretty postive this transfer is gonna be an awesome one! we´re gonna work super hard and have lots of fun! we´re also makin plans to go running! so yeah this will be a great transfer i can tell!! so it sounds like from what everyones saying theres lots of missionaries about to come out! i knew that i´d have lots of friends putting in there papers as soon as they heard that! but yeah i can´t wait to see how many new guys we get out here! we need more out here that´s for sure! so yeah! one thing that i need out here to is some more socks! they´ve lasted a year and they´re getting holes in them finally... haha but yeah if you could send me some of those missionary mall ones! they´re awesome! :) please and thank you! but yeah i do believe that is it for this week! Love you guys so much!!!! have an awesome week!
-Elder Carlson

Picture: me and Elder Larsen at the temple

 

Pictures

Somewhere along the line these pictures didn't get posted with the right email? My bad :)

7/16 6/6

Hey family!!! welll this week has been full of lots of news! seems like everyone had lots of news! this week i did get to hear the news of the age changes! i´m interested to see the effects of that out here! the caribe has been one of the test areas for the 18 year old missionaries but i never got to meet one. but i´m interested to see the boost in missionaries! it´s good cause it seems like we´re always missing missionaries out here! so we´re gonna be enjoying all these new elders and sisters! i´m gonna go with alot of my friends are starting their papers right now! but yeah the other news of a GIRL!!!! woo!!!! a niece! i´m stoked! :) i would´ve been stoked either way but it´s gonna be fun to see blake and the new baby together! see how well blake shares! but yeah other big news for this week... Elder Carlson isssssss staying here in Mirador! and i´m getting Elderrrrrrrrrr Larson! We´re not sure who exactly he is. if its the Elder Larson that we´ve seen he just came in in April and this will be his 2nd area... which would make me senior comp and district leader.... yup not to excited but i´m excited cause they said he´s very excited to work and is pumped to be here! so we´re gonna work hard this transfer and get these people baptized and on the right path! :) but yeah i´ll let ya know more next week! but yeah that´s my big news from here! As far as exciting things that happend! This week we did another intercambio with the CCM i was with the same Guatemalan kid but i met this American Elder this week. He looked like a buddy i had from high school but this kid was like twice the size this kid was so i was like i wonder if it´s his cousin! so i go meet the kid and see his name it said Elder Lindsay. i was like freak that´s the kids last name that i was thinking of! they´ve gotta be cousins! i was like so Elder where you from and he´s like well i´m from a little town in southern Utah called Escalante! (which by the way i can´t speak utahn anymore! he said it and i just say it in spanish! so i guess i´ll have an accent that way!) but yeah so i was like wait what´s your first name! Turns out it was my buddy from High school! i hadn´t seen him for along time and he moved in the middle of high school so it´d be awhile since i´d seen him so.. but i was just amazed! how small of a freakin world! i was hoping i´d get to train him but i´m not! bummer! but yeah kinda crazy! Clear in the DR and i see a kid i knew from High school! that make 3 kids from Pine View here in the DR West mission! :) pretty crazy! but yeah so as far as investigators. we didn´t have any investigators at the conference which was a bummer but it was just bad organization on our part! we had the exchanges this week and we were trying to get all prepared for that and yeah. but they´re all progressing good! Kevin is still good to go for the 20th! Altagracia is reading and is excited! We´re gonna try and put a baptismal date with her this week! but we´ll see how things go! our other investigators Julisa she was a reference from the Doctor that took care of me and she´s doing good she asks lots of good questions and is really smart but we just haven´t been able to share with her alot cause she´s super busy so this week we´re gonna try and get down a good schedule with her and get more members involved! Yelida is progressing too! she´s finally reading and is excited to learn more! we´re getting things down to where we can share more effectivily with her! and then we´re still working alot with our member to get references and to get less actives back! i´m super excited to get my new comp and go to town on this place! but other then that! i think that´s about it! and i think that´s about it for this week! i´m starting my half way transfer today! craziness! it feels like i´m still just a newbie! not like i´m half way done! but yeah before we know it i´ll be heading on home! crazy crazy! but hey thanks for everything guys! and for all the updates! Congrats Stef on the news! Congrats Dad on your marathon! and congrats to everyone who finished reading this letter! ;) give yourself a high five and get ya a treat! Love you guys so much!

7/16 5/6

Family! wow i can't believe it's almost the end of the transfer! where did the time go? but yeah this week was pretty good! we had some success! Altagracia came to church and we put a baptismal fecha with Kevin for the 20th of October! and! with Altagracia we had lots of members get to know her and made her felt super comfortable at church! plus some members invited her for a FHE tonight! so we're super pumped about that! we also got some members that want us to bring our other investigator Julisa to their house to teach there! so we're super excited that the members are really stepping up right now and helping out with the missionary work! I have a feeling this area is going to progress alot and is going to do some good! we've been getting to know the members a lot and it seems like a lot of the members are warming up to us so we'll keep passing by and getting more help and more references! :) so yeah if you can't tell i'm pumped! but yeah what else?? this week was a pretty good week! i got two packages! :) thanks mom and dad! they both got broken into so yeah make sure you throw on some pictures of Christ on there! but yeah i got lots of Jerky, a BYU camo hat!, lots of candy, lots of pictures, and lots of postcards! but yeah it was good to get all that! thanks for those! and we also got to do splits with the CCM again! this time i got a kid from Guatamala! he was pretty fun! he's pretty excited to be out here! he's got a girlfriend and loved to talk about her! haha but yeah we got thrown for a loop this week they made the splits 6 hours long instead of 3 hours long and we didn't know that til the night before so we had to dig for stuff to do cause this area only has enough work for two missionaries right now and so its super tough when theres 4 of us! but we got it to work! and got some stuff taken care of! but yeah other then that it was a pretty chill week! we had some crazy storms this week! Lightning has been crazy lately! last night was crazy plus earlier this week lightning struck down the street and knocked out our power! it was crazy! but cool! but yeah wow sorry this week was kinda boring! nothing to exciting! oh yes the pictures! this weeks pictures are of a family home evening we had with Angelo (guy on the left) and his family! then the other is me at krispy kreme enjoying my donuts! :) thank you grandma Jolley for the birthday money! and yes i did share! :) but yeah thanks again for all the birthday things! :) I love you guys all so much! and thanks for all the prayers and all that! Oh health update! i'm working out and i'm gaining muscle and getting into shape and feeling healthy! ;) oh and stefs having a boy! :)

7/16 4/6

Hey family!!! how´s life??? things are going great here! i had an awesome birthday! thanks to my awesome family and girl! It wasn´t quite like a birthday at home but it was a good one! for church we had our two guys we´ve been working with get the Melchizdeck priesthood! It was awesome! the one was a menos activo that we reactivitated and the other was one we´ve been helping get stronger in the church. So it was super cool! Lunch we got to go to a members house and we ate super good! lots of dominican food! and then we just visited some members and then came home and i made some cupcakes! :) it was awesome! so yeah also for this week! we had our zone conference! it was a good one! Elder Anderson from the Area presidency came and talked! He talked about Jesus and his sacrifice for us! i had actually been thinking about that alot! out here as missionaries i think we really don´t focus on him enough! we get caught up in the lessons and though they teach of him we just look at as material to teach! so this week i´ve been trying to focus more on Christ and what he did for us and to help teach people more about him! but yeah it was a good time! we went in to some deep doctrine and also he opened up the conference for questions. so someone asked about Cuba! so turns out there are two branches there! ones been there for about 6 years and Elder Bednar did dedicate it in February! They´re able to get some leaders in there and they do have their meetings but missionaries aren´t allowed in yet! so yeah crazy stuff! man but time has been flying by! i feel like it was not to long ago it was february and i remember listening to Bednar! time is picking up for sure! i feel like this week was only acouple days! things are going by fast for sure! and time only gets faster they say so before we know it i´ll be getting home! but yeah hope its going the same for you guys! so as far as investigators... this week we got to share with almost everyone of them! a few of them had.... girl problems... yup they told the missionaries that they were at that time of month..... exactly what we wanted to know! but yeah we´re trying to get more appointments with all of them cause people are really busy so its really tough to share with them! but we´re gonna get working harder at sharing with them more! But i´m excited to get working! my companion is ready to be out of this area cause its really tough but i´m working hard to keep him animated and he´s seemed to be pretty happy lately! so thank goodness for that! the members are seeming to be warming up to us more! so that´s good! we´re getting more and more people inviting us to eat and more people giving us references and wanting us to do stuff so yeah! but yeah thanks for all your guys birthday wishes! i had a great birthday and am still having a great time! the browns brought me cake today! they´re awesome! i love them! so yeah my whole working out at night that i´ve started to do is going down the drain for right now! haha but its for the birthday gotta enjoy some cake and fatty foods! oh yeah that´s something! i´ve been working out more! since i´m still pretty skinny i´ve decided i´m gonna work out and try and gain more weight with muscle so that i´m not a chubster like i was before the mission! haha yeah i´ve been looking at pictures of before the mission and i had some extra weight there i didn´t need! so yeah i´m gonna get in shape! :) but yeah i think that´s it! i´m lovin life and enjoying the mission! i´m reading in Mosiah and i love that book! King Benjamin talks about so many good things! if you´re never sure what you need to do in life just read that book! haha but yeah thats it for this week! Love you all!

7/16 3/6

WOW FAMILY!!!! This week is gonna be short! we went to our regular internet center and the light left so we had to go looking for an internet center all over town that had light and we finally found one! so yeah really quick! this week was super fast! i'm not sure why but went super fast! hopefully it continues like that! but yeah this week for work! we're starting to get more and more references and more people to teach! but our success this week is definitly the fact that we had two guys we've been working with get interviewed and prepared to recieve the Melchizdeck priesthood which they'll recieve this sunday! :) so yeah score! ummm yeah other then that yeah health still going strong! and yeah sorry bout the bank account nothing else will come out of that! i'm gearing up for my birthday this week! pretty stoked! some members said they're gonna bake me a cake! and tomorrow for our district meeting we're gonna celebrate too! cause it was one of the sisters birthdays too! so we're gonna party! but yeah party it up there also! make some cake or eat some ice cream or something for me on sunday! :) but yah like i said super short this week! next week pray that theres light so i can write a little more! I love you guys tons!
-Elder Carlson

7/16 2/6

Hey fam! what is up??? things here are going.... great!!! good news! the only health problem that i have are some crystals in my urine! but the doctor says a few pills and that'll be cleaned up! i got them because of the infection i had so he said its nothing serious! and i'm feeling tons better! we've been out working and picked up two new investigators and got references from the ward and visited more members! it's been awesome! In church we had a family of Less actives and another partial family of less actives! and two investigators! Things are just going right along here! thanks to health finally! On sunday we put a cita for every day this week! and recieved another reference! It's kinda funny but i feel bad cause the members and some of the investigators when we see them they'll be like Carlson!!! it makes me feel good when they know my name and call it out! :) My comp... welll they don't know his name that well.. that's why i feel bad cause they're like Carlson!! and ....what's your name! but its cause he's a super quite kid so i'm hoping he opens up more as we work harder and get to know the people! so yeah we'll see! he's been pretty ready to go home lately and he's having a hard time but i'm planning on just getting to work more and more so that he has no time to think about that! so yeah it'll be good and it'll be good to get time going faster for the both of us too! we've got these new investigators that need to become new members but it just takes time! so yeah needs to move faster! but yeah so investigator time!!!! FINALLY!!! its been along time! So Kevin showed up to church this week! so he's on tract to gettin baptized at the end of this month! and then Altagracia the old lady we found last week has been sharing with us! she wasn't able to go to church cause a friend of her had someone die in the family so she went to support her! But she's really interested in the message and wants to go to church! we're hoping that a member who lives close by will get back soon cause she's perfect for this lady! so yeah we're gonna keep working with her! then the other investigators are brand new so we're gonna see! :) but yeah then we've been working with less actives and had some success there! but yeah that's it for this week! more next week! ;) alright so other interesting parts of this week! Food of this week! Lasagna and.... Blue Bunny ice cream was given to us by our Elders quorom president! :) it was amazing! then i also had... two krispy kreme donuts! ;) yeah bet you guys didn't eat that this week! ;) haha yeah those were my good foods for this week! ummm what else??? oh i got a package this week from my wonderful mother! she sent me lots of snacks and one of the most amazingest things i've seen! A shake and pour CUPCAKE MIX!!! yeah did not know those exsisted! super stoked for that! but yeah already ate all my candy from that but that's ok it was a good week! i got started on my work out routine this week so it was a good counter balance! but yeah what else??? ummm Oh one of the sisters in the ward says Hello! Her name is Elizabeth! she reminds me a lot of you mom! she's short and small but is kind to everyone who gets to know her! but yeah she keeps telling us to tell you hi but i forgot! but yeah now ya know! ummmmm alright wow i had a huge list but its all gone cause they were all short! well my only thing is church this week was pretty good! we had our primary program! always my favorite! the little kids rock! :) made me stoked to be a dad! they were all running to there dads after so i was like yeah stucked for my little kid go up there share an article of faith and be super stoked and proud! but yeah then also we had president rodriguez and his wife show up! they also came to the sunday school class that i had to teach! I was nervous at first but then i was pretty stoked to have them there cause they talked a ton and took more then half the time of class! so it was good! but yeahhhhh i think thats it for this week! hope you enjoyed this weekly report from here in the DR! I'm Elder Scott Carlson, Good night and good luck! ;)

7/16 1/6

Hey family! how's things going??? things are going pretty good here! didn't get in to the doctors this week just took tests today! so results will be done by tomorrow! but yeah i'm feeling good! got lots more energy! finally! it's been awhile! but yeah sounds like you guys are enjoying labor day! gotta love holidays! but yeah this week wasn't to exciting! no hurricanes or earthquakes or hospital trips or anything like that! but we helped people move into a new house. Our 2nd counsuler in our ward just moved apartments so we helped move all there stuff! so we spent two mornings moving them! it was pretty funny cause one day we had members helping us and they were like so tired after loading up one car and were like ok lets rest! stop elders rest! you don't want to over work yourself! haha i was like yeah we stop after we fill up a uhaul in utah! The life here is a very lazy don't worry things will get done kinda life so no ones in a hurry! so yeah we did that two days. then our other excitement was we had those recent converts going to the temple with our ward.. so we waited at there house and got them all ready to go and sent them to the temple. all of them doing it for there first time and one actually did the baptisms the other two didn't do anything. one went in and just checked things out and was going to do confirmations but then the workers or someone told her to come back another time.... yeah we were upset about that! then the other one left! and we're not sure what happened with him. we're hoping it didn't scare him off or anything! but we'll talk to him today! and we're gonna write president Rodriguez and see if we can go with them again and actually help them do what they're supposed to do! cause our ward did nothing! so yeah we're gonna do something! but yeah other then that we really didn't have anything exciting! we found a lady who's visited with the missionaries before and actually let us teach her so we're gonna go back tomorrow and hope and pray and do everything so that she can progress! its been awhile since they've had a baptism here that's not a kid! and its been awhile since i've had an investigator that's progressed! but yeah other then that there are no investigators. we're visiting members and less actives! the works going slowly but we're still working hard and keeping our excitement high! especially me cause i'm finally healthy! but yeah other then that nothing else to exciting! dad interesting note! our neighbor got to see Frank Sinatra a while back when he came here! guess how much she got her ticket for! 50 pesos! which is like 1 dollar and like 10 cents! more or less! but yeah crazy huh?? well yeah sorry this week was really boring and nothing interesting! hopefully this next week will be alittle bit more exciting! but yeah thanks for everything! Love you guys tons! Wish Blake a Happy Birthday for me! :) Happy 2 Years bud! :)

6/16 6/6

Family! whats up?? how you guys doing??? i'm doing great here!
survived a hurricane! BAM!! add that to the list of natural forces
conquered! ;) haha how'd you guys do?? whatever happened to that
storm??? i heard it got really week and didn't do much! took a toll on
haiti but that's about it! that country just needs to learn a lesson!
they're gonna get just destroyed if they don't straighten up! but yeah
so the hurricane for me! nice and calm! we stayed in the house friday
and saturday! i wrote a lot! and slept a little! made an oreo
cheesecake! :) yes thank you nicole and jello no bake cheesecake! it
was funny i made it and gave some to our neighbor thats american that
is a teacher here. she's pretty fun and lives by herself so she talked
to us too cause she had no work cause of the hurricane and so i shared
with her. and she brought us back the plate and said that i could get
married cause i cook good! :) so yeah i'd go with it was a succesful
treat!  then oh! yes we had no power for most of it cause they cut
power when theres stuff like that! so we also had no water! so if you
all remember i am an eagle scout and use my resources! so to shower
welll i mean it was a hurricane outside and constant water falling so
i put on my swimmin shorts and took a nice little shower! yes we were
all by ourselves no one around! and then for light! i just so happen
to have an old candle tin that was pretty big then i also had some old
peaces of paper soo.... i built us a fire! :) lasted a good hour! :)
yeah i'm pretty proud of myself! i took pictures of that! but yeah i
don't like stayin the house like that! but it was good cause it was
stormin good that water started seeping through our walls! but nothing
got damaged luckily! ummm what else??? i think that's it! it was
pretty uneventful here! ummm what else this week??? ummm oh transfers
were this week! and..... i'm staying with bryner here! so nothings
changing! so yeah! what else??? oh also yesterday we were walking
around and i got hugged by a drunk guy! he was glad to be friends with
such christians! its was funny! but yeah i think that's about it! oh
yeah money situation i got jipped on money this cycle cause they had
problems with things plus i sent off that mask to Mr. Jones so i had
to take out some more money! i'm not taking out anymore and i'm gonna
pay myself back this next cycle! so i shouldn't be taken out anymore!
sorry! but yeah as far as work here.... well our success lately has
been with less actives and recent converts. We have been working with
a guy named mariano that went inactive for awhile and we finally got
him going back to church and this sunday he showed up early and helped
dry out the chapel! it was legit! he is gonna prepare to get the
melchizidec priesthood and go to the temple! our recent convert Wendy
is preparing to go to the temple with her husband to do baptisms for
the dead here hopefully this week! so we're excited! if we're really
really lucky we might get to go with them! but we'll see! but yeah
other then that we're still looking for investigators and we're
getting lots more help from members so it's gonna be good! :) this
transfers gonna be a good one! we're gonna find people! but yeah thats
it for today! Love you guys tons!
-Elder Carlson

6/16 5/6‏

Hey family! hows everyone doing??? i'm doing good here! Getting better from my sickness of Proteus and E. Coli! yeah so thats what i had! forgot to say that the last time! Proteus is an infection in your kidneys and e coli is another amoeba! so yeah i'm on super strong meds! the meds i'm on are actually so strong they changed my pee red! let me restate that sentence so no one freaks out. My meds made my pee red! its whats supposed to happen i'm not getting worse! but yeah fun fact! :) so yeah i'm feeling better! getting back to 100! ahhh yeah!!! so sounds like everyones enjoyin there time back in school! haha! schools gettin back here too! so yeah its kinda weird still not going to school and just still doing what i'm doing! i like havin the school schedule and having the vacation and then work! but yeah other then that lifes pretty boring here! this last week we did intercambios with the ccm! yeah remember when i went and did that! we got to go visit the real mission! yeah i got to be on the other side! i got a Dominican named Elder De la cruz! he was super excited to leave the ccm! it was funny! i remember being in that state! i wouldn't mind trading him for a week or two to go enjoy a nice hot shower, light all the time, and food made for you for free! but i wouldn't trade the experiences you have out here! things here are so awesome! so many cool people and interesting situations! me and my comp were talking to a recent convert about where was better America or Here. The convert was bound and determined that here was better and my comp was bound and determined that there was better! i'd have to say i love the two! they're both awesome! the people here are so friendly and fun! a truck can pass by here blasting music and everyone in the street will without hesitation dance! and they don't hold back! they dance all out! its awesome! and they will take you in as family only knowin you for acouple days! its pretty awesome! but yeah i'm glad i'm here! its awesome! but yeah what else??? oh yeah another reason i love being here... thursday i had an intercambio with someone from another area! he was pretty cool from el salvador! and he took me to one of the best parts of the mission! the ocean! we walked on the street right next to the ocean for about twenty minutes! WOW!!! yeah made me miss HB and the cruise! but yeah did i mention i walked along the ocean this week??? yeah and do you guys remember that i'm in the Caribean! so yeahh..... just think about that one awhile as you enjoy your time back in school! ;) haha but yeah what else for this week? oh got my haircut! yeah its super short. don't like it but i couldn't get a photo this week so yeah you'll all see some other time maybe i'll just wait til christmas when we skype again to show you guys! haha but yeah we'll see! so other then that my week was pretty boring! today i went shopping got my grocieries for this week! my money i get from the mission came late this week so i decided to avoid being out of food i'm gonna start gettin my food storage and buying for the week again! so yeah got me a big ol variety of food! so we'll be cooking good this week! oh yeah another exciting thing for this week! we went and ate at a members house sunday. they are american very rich and their son wants to be a chef! so we had lasagna, garlic bread, and a berry cake! yup pretty amazing! but yeah this family is building a cabin in the mountains here and then also having an apartment here in the City! yeah its pretty crazy! pretty rich! then we also had one of the couple missionaries there that are from utah! so the whole time we talked english and ate american food! didn't feel like i was in the DR for a little! but yeah pretty fun! but yeah i think thats it for my week! investigators and others: The two kids Vanessa and Kevin did not really share to much with us this week! they were kinda being bums! but they still have their baptismal fecha for the 8th of September! The family we found.... well the husband shared with us once and we didn't see them again! so yeah.... we'll see what happens there. i think we've lost them. the wife was kinda skeptical of us. so maybe in the future they'll warm up to us! we'll keep tryin! Recent Convert. We are working with a recent convert to go do baptisms for the dead with her husband! but she's been a little nervous about it. so we've been talkin with her and we finaly got her to want to go! so she's got an appointment with the bishop for an interview! and her husband too for the melchizidick priesthood! so yeah it's gonna be awesome! i'm excited! and then we've also been workin with a less active and he started to come back to church and actually wants to get back into his old calling! so we're havin success there! but yeah hopefully this week the lord will give us someone to start teaching! we'll work on it! but that's about it! but yeah hope you're not worryin about me! i'm doing great out here! i'm feelin good! excited to be working and pumped to be out here! but yeah let me know if i can do anything for you guys! Love you all tons!

6/16 4/6‏

Family! whats up??? Nothin much here. Just got out the hospital again... haha yeah surpirse to you??? surprise to me too! i took some tests last week gave the results to the doctor and then saturday night they called me up and said pack up your going to the hospital doctors orders... so yeah i went again. BUT GOOD NEWS!!! They figured out what i have and fixed it! :) so yeah finally healthiness!!! :) i go back in two weeks to make sure for sure for sure that everythings gone and that i don't have anything else! but yeah crazy times! but yeah this is gotta be short i need to go! we're late for a family home evening! i just back like an hour ago! but yeah so investigators welll we taught the husband of the family three times this week! he's... a little slow but his wifes a little faster! so this week we'll be able to teach them all together! Plus the mom is having some struggles with her families health so the plan of salvation will be great for her! :) but yeah then other then that we put two fechas with the little kids we've been trying to teach they finally started to talk with us! and my comp is enjoying things more! we're having some fun now and he's talking more to me! so good news there! so this week is short but full of good news! Next week i'll be a little bit longer and i'll be able to tell ya more! Have fun at school everyone... suckers!!! hahaha ;) i mean you lucky people you! but yeah thanks for all your support and prayers! they've helped a ton! :) your all the best! :) Love ya tons!

-Elder Carlson

6/16 3/6

FAMILY!!! How are you doing??? :) things are going pretty good here!
we're finally gettin some success! been hitting up the members more
and we actually had a lesson with an investigator! and it's actually
gonna be a family! so yeah i'm pretty stoked for that! my companion...
well he hasn't had much success out here and if your in an area for
too long with no success and not much to do you kinda... die in the
work there...or you just don't have any excitement so yeah hopefully
this family will get him excited to go! but yeah other then that
health is going pretty good! we left every day! we even survived a
cyclone that passed by and i guess more earthquakes! i didn't feel
them so yeah bummer there! but also! our light aka electricity aka
power aka air conditioning and aka our sleep! has been going crazy!
they cut it for the whole day saturday cause of the cyclone thing and
then its been on the fritz ever since! but yeah i'm not a fan of the
electricity in this country but yeah its only two years! when i get
back i'm just gonna be in heaven with water and electricity all the
time! :) probably just there all day with my fan on me! :) haha but
yeah i also think i've been growing new muscles in my hands cause i've
been fanning my self with a note book and its just like killing my
hand so yeah can't wait for a battery powered fan to help me out! :)
but i know its on its way! ummm what else??? uhhhh yeah i can't really
think of anthing else! oh has anyone posted my whole health stuff on
facebook cause there is one of the couple missionaries thats out here
the Reeses that have a daughter who has a friend that keeps asking
about me so and no one here really knows who that is so i'm curious if
its one of my friends or if its one of you guys! if you could let me
know that'd be awesome! :) oh hey guess what??? this week in the mail
i got a wedding invitation to... Jaycee Jolley and Brady Hafens
wedding in June! yes here we are in August and i just got the wedding
announcement! :) love the DR mailing system! but yeah other then that
no mail... kinda a bummer there. Don't be shy to send letters! :) i
won't throw them away! or anything like that! i will read them and i
may be a little slow to send something back but i will send you a
letter back! so yeah :) what else? oh yeah i keep finding more and
more people that speak english in my ward! like yesterday we visited
someone that lives here that grew up in Georgia! Him and his wife talk
english and so it was crazy to talk english the whole time! but yeah
they're buying a cabin in a mountain here and its just awesome! its
crazy! i miss going to cabins! stef beau whens the cabin going up??
haha oh and speaking of the beach.... you're gonna have to give me
some time in the mountains and away from humidity and stuff like that!
i want my cold mountain air! :) sorry! but yeah maybe for spring
vacation or something! but yeah i think that is about it for this
week! hope you all enjoyed this weeks lnog email! you guys are the
best! love you all so much! thanks for your prayers and all your
support! :)
-Elder Carlson
 
 

6/16 2/6‏

First things first.....YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BLAKE IS GETTING A SIBLING!!!!!! AND I'M GONNA BE AN UNCLE AGAIN!!!!!
:) :) :) :) :) Alright family! how's things going there??? things are
going pretty good here! someone started praying extra extra hard this
week for me to poop cause i've been having a lot of success in that
department lately! so thank you for your poop prayers! i've been
feeling better! I've been able to get out and get to know the ward a
little better! My companion is struggling with this area cause its
super tough to get people out here who will listen cause we're in one
of the richest areas and we push a lot of intercoms! so yeah i'm
trying to get him excited and we're gonna try and go work with members
so we can get some references! so we're gonna work on that this week!
we've also talked to the ward mission leader to help us out too! so
we'll be going full forces this week! we really don't have any
investigators cause the investigators that they are little kids and
well you know how little kids can be! so we're gonna try and find new
ones that will actually progress! umm what else? i'm getting ready to
send off a package! anyone want anything? i'll send it off next week
so if you want anything let me know by NEXT MONDAY!! so yeah that'd be
great! for my package if you haven't sent it off yet it'd be awesome
if you could send me one of those portable hand fans! like the battery
powered ones! or some sort of battery powered fan! as you know light
or in other words electricity goes in my house during parts of the day
when we're they're and it gets hot! so if we have a fan its not to
bad! so if you could send one or two that'd be great! :) and... hmmm
yeah i don't know what else! skittles! orrrr OH! our house has an oven
so cookie mixes! muffin mixes! bran muffin mixes! ;) but yeah stuff
like that! but yeah! ummm what else? oh yeah not a fan of what you
wrote dad.... yeah with all these ipads out here makes me want one
like crazy! they're like 250 bucks out here! but yeah i'm not havin
one out here cause yeah just not safe! but yeah when i get back i'm
gonna get one! cause the church library in one app! freak yeah! i
don't like having to be jumping from book to book if i could just
click and Bam! i'm to where i want to be! but yeah dad keep updated on
these electronics so that when i get back you can give me a crash
course on whats the latest and greatest! so i can get caught up fast!
i kinda wanna try and work at best buy when i get back so i'll need to
be caught up with all my gadgets! but yeah what else? oh yeah feliz
dia de padres! (happy fathers day!) The DR just had theres and it
remind me that ours past! and i'm pretty sure that it was one of those
weeks that i was in the hospital or around there! but i'm sending off
some stuff for ya! but yeah sorry i missed that! and mom keep hitting
up that ward even after january! even though the shaums are going to
your other ward i like it better that you go to the singles ward! and
you can't go against me on this one you already went against me on the
house thing! so yeah keep going! but yeah then stef and beau and
blake! FELIZIDADES! (CONGRATULATIONS!) i'm super stoked to hear that!
it's about time! you gotta keep me updated and if its boy or girl! and
keep Nicole updated too! but yeah i do believe that is all! you guys
ready for the school year to start??? i'm sorry i'm not able to help
you with registration mom! but maybe in two years! i'll have some
spanish with me too so we can deal with them faster too! :) i thought
about that alot lately! and that when i get back i'll be able to help
you guys out with spanish speakin people in the schools! :) i've
always wanted to be able to talk to them! :) but yeah soon soon! i'm
coming up on ten months in just over two weeks! crazy crazy! but yeah
i'm gonna go write president now! thanks for everything! you guys are
the best! love you guys!
-Elder Carlson

6/16 1/6‏

Wow how awesome! i had a whole email set up to you guys and it just all got erased! i have to go to the doctors now though! so i don't have much time! but things here are going pretty good! life's crazy! its america out here! i've eatin at wendy's and mcdonalds. mom money might be coming out this week! i'm low on cash cause of transfers and reimbursments take a little bit but yeah so sorry bout the money that's bout to come out! but yeah my wards great! several people have ipads and talk english! my house does not have 24 hour light! so yeah great news there! there are not really any investigators out here so we're looking for more! but yeah i'll let ya know how everything goes! talk to you guys next week! love you all!

-Elder Carlson

5/16 4/6‏

Wellll family! as you all know since i'm emailing late i was in the capital doing some medical stuff! i was called up saturday night getting told that sunday i had to go to the capital and see the doctor! so yeah we made a quick change of plans and we got stuck there til today! so yeah the doctor did another x ray and i also got a sonogram! interesting thing that is! but yeah then i went and saw a intestine doctor. yeah he said that i can't eat certain things and i started on some pills and a thing of fiber! so it doesn't seem to serious if its just a change of diet! but yeah i'll keep you updated for sure! but yeah i gotta get going! we gotta get back to the house and do somethings then get out working again! oh yeah as far as the work goes! we set a baptismal date with Lucas! next week he's getting baptized! pretty stoked about that! :) so yeah we're still working hard out here don't worry! but yeah glad to hear everyones doing great! great to know i finally got a new house! and that blake is doing great and that all is well! you guys are the best and i love getting your emails! :) thanks for those! if theres anything i can do for you guys let me know! :) uhhh yeah i think that's about it! but know that i love you guys tons! your the best family a missionary can have! so yeah til next monday! where i will be on monday! i'm not going back to the capital til 2 weeks! but yeah talk to you all next week!!!
-Elder Carlson

5/16 2-3/6‏

Hello family! sorry its been awhile since i've gotten a good email in! life's been a little crazy here! sooooooo news..... well we'll wait for that! that happened this last week but i haven't talked about the week before really! so the week before! Monday as you guys know i went to the doctor and he said that i needed to eat more fiber to get things moving in my stomach and to see if it can't get rid of that pain. well i started eating more and drinking more to try and get things moving... but like you guys already know didn't happen cause the whole impacted colon. But then the rest of the week was pretty chill. we didn't really work much cause i wasn't feeling that great. But on wednesday something pretty cool happened. We go out to our new area every wednesday and saturday and so wednesday two weeks ago we were waiting to get a ride out there so we're waiting for a free ride with acouple other people. we waited and waited and waited we were about to leave and this group of ladies walk up that were looking for a free ride out there too. just a little bit after they show up a flat bed truck shows up so we all jump on. well turns out that one of the ladies that showed up turned out to be a inactive member. We've never found a member out there so we were super pumped so we talked to her some more then we went and did some of our citas then we went to her house and she was a little crazy but she ended up showing us a family where one of the kids had actually asked one of his friends to send the missionaries to his house but for some reason the reference never got to us so we were super pumped cause he wanted to learn more! so we knew that the lord had us wait there for this member to show up and then for her to show us to him! always super cool to see the lords hand in things! but yeah then that friday we went to a Zone conference! i got to see Elder Joseph Jarvis! he went to high school with me and graduated a year before me! so it was pretty sweet to get to see him! i also talked to Richardson again. Found out what's going in the old area and then i talked to the doctor. yeah i found out i had to go do some tests and go see the stomach doctor (its got a official name but spanish has ruined my spelling) so yeah i wasn't to pumped about that but i was pumped to be getting better! so yeah then on the way home i got pretty car sick! i've never got car sick but after walking all your time and then riding a car for 2 hours its a killer! but oh well i'll get used to it when i get back! I also got two packages! :) i love you guys! Mom i got your package with everything intact minus the cookies... the elves didn't make it.... don't worry i gave them a proper burriel in my stomach! and then nicole sent me a package with an ironman shirt and a few other things! :) you guys are the best! love you tons! :) and then sunday we didn't leave cause yeah i wasn't feeling good at all. so monday we went to the capital spent the day doing tests and x rays and crazy stuff... but yeah so we did that then spent the night in the office waiting for my results to come back in then early tuesday morning i found out that i had to get put into the hospital... OH yeah thats the news! yeah kinda anti climatic but yeah so i spent this last week in the hospital! yeah wasn't the funnest time of my life! i had to rock an IV. Turns out the dang bugs that i had didn't leave because of the impacted colon! so yeah i spent the week just chillin in the hospital... oh yeah let me define the word hospital. It was a handicap old folks home thing. They take care of a bunch of handicaps and so i fit right in. we had one guy that looked like adam sandler then one guy that had really short arms and legs. He was always flirting with the girls it was funny! but yeah i also drank a bottle of laxitive and nothing really happened but i've kicked up my bran flakes and all that so i'm gonna be enjoying the toilet! but yeah so fun things that happened while i was in the capital! two of the sisters that were working in that area came in and visited and both at some point in the week ended up passing out because they didnt eat... yeah one of the girls is super anorexic! its sad to think that girls dude stupid stuff like that! but she wanted attention and that's what she got! but yeah they gave her fake pills for her to get better! I got to eat KFC mashed potatoes thanks to the browns! love them tons! then oh i got to drink root beer finally! one of the grocery stores in the capital had a couple cans! so i got a few! tastes great! but still can't wait for a good ol fountain drink root beer! uhhh oh yeah we thought we were coming in monday and leaving monday so we brought nothing to change or to bath or to do anything of that sort so i went 6 days with out shaving and showering and all that great stuff huh??? love the help from the mission! but yeah that's what i get for living clear on the other side of the country from the hospital! but yeah then i also got tons of comments on my spanish! pretty much everyone thought i was about to finish up my mission cause my spanish! :) great compliment! oh yeah we also got to watch the NBA finals. The crazy home aka hospital had a TV so we got to watch that last two games! i was going for the thunder! but oh well! Lebron finally got his ring! but yeah anyways nothing really else to exciting happen! got tons of calls from about everyone! Robyn called me acouple times worried about me! love that kid! but yeah i had lots of prayers! thanks for that everyone! Kept me going through it all knowing that i had tons of prayers! but yeah update on me right now my stomachs still a little funky because i haven't gotten rid of the impacted colon thing yet but the doctor said i'm getting better! i'm just gonna start jumping up and down and try and shake it out! but yeah other then that i'm doing pretty good! loved getting out and working yesterday! getting to see everyone and getting back to work! i love it! but yeah now time for investigators! Lucas is the boyfriend of the president of the Relief Society and he has lots of friends in the branch. I thought he was a member because he had been going to church alot. But he has a true interest in learning about the gospel and not just for his girlfriend. He has a desire to know for himself. This week we're going to get working with him and he should get baptized before the transfer ends. That is all we have for investigators right now. We are working with alot of new investigators and also with the branch leaders to help them know what they should be doing in the branch. We're hoping to get them more educated in their duty. Alright well i think that's it for this week! Hope you aren't to upset with me for not telling you guys! but know that all is well and that i'm out and about doing my best! :) thanks for all your support! :) your the best family that a missionary could ask for! :) I hope all goes well with you guys! :) keep me updated on life! til next week!

-Elder Carlson

PS pictures of robyns baptism (tradition in the branch to take a picture with a different tie!)

me in the hospital! with my IV of Dew! ;)

and then me and elder Jarvis at the conference

 

FAMILY!!

Hey family sorry i didn't get to email you guys yesterday i'm back in the capital i had to do some more check ups. turns out i have an impacted colon. in other words poop stuck in my colon. So they've given me a few things to try and get things moving along. So keep a prayer in your hearts that i can poop! :) bet you never guessed that you'd be praying for that! but yeah i don't have much time i have to get going but i just want to say thanks for everything guys i love you all so much! sorry these two weeks have been dud letters! i'll get better quick so i can write you more! i love you all so much! :) and the whole thing about buttons is ok. She was going to die soon anyway. As long as everyone else is feeling great! :) That's what happens! but yeah keep on keeping on!
-Elder Carlson

5/16 1/6‏

Hey family! alright so yeah this weeks email is going to be fast we kinda had an adventure today. we went to the capital today to go see the doctor i´ve been havin some stomach pains so we went and saw him and he just said that its probably cause the dominican food isn´t quite full of the fiber that i need in my diet so i need to eat more fruits and bran flakes.... bleh! but yeah so we were there then we came back late late so we´re here for a little and then we´re leaving cause we´re super late! but this week we had a good week! Robyn got baptized and confirmed! i did it in one try! it was really cool i asked him how he felt and he said really happy! it´s crazy to think that in one of the poorest parts of this country we found a kid who got baptized and is going to be a strong member! the lord prepares those who are ready and willing! but yeah our other investigators aren´t really progressing so we´re going to have to drop a lot of them! but yeah then my comp.... wellllllll yeah he´s going to end next transfer so he does what he wants then tries really hard with other stuff. I really need lots of paitence with him. but yeah its only 6 or 12 weeks! thats nothing! i got plenty of other time! but yeah thanks for all the emails! i love hearing about whats going on at home! kinda skimmed over these emails cause of the time! and yeah i´m not sure what my emails are going to be like these next couple weeks.... i´m not a fan of switch comps! definitly like having one companion! can´t wait to get my wife and just never have a transfer or a companion change! but yeah time to go i love you all so much! everyones in my prayers and especially grandma! thanks for everything! oh yeah and mom already paid the browns and then i don´t need anymore money! all should be good but thanks! oh yeah also yesterday we stayed in azua and i got to see celenni! really cool experience to see her! she was helping the other missionaries teach! another cool thing to see your convert teach someone the gospel with the missionaries! but yeah love you all tons!

-Elder Carlson

4/16 6/6‏

Hello family! How's everything going??? things are going great here! i'm a little bummed but i'm still doing great! sooooo the results of this transfer..... Elder Bentley is going to be...... a zone leader in another zone and i'm going to be with another missionary that finishes up with me.... yeah..... when you end someones mission its called killing them and i have already killed elder bitton and its not the funnest but oh well we're gonna work hard regardless! another interesting fact is that i'm going to be opening up a new area here in san juan! an area that hasn't seen mormons ever so we should have lots of success there! so we're pretty stoked about that! the two dominicans are staying here so its gonna be another.... interesting.. transfer! but we'll make it! I'm just gonna keep working hard! speaking of working hard! Robyn the teenage boy we've been teaching has asked me to baptize him! i'm pretty stoked about that! he's a stronger member already then a lot of the members here and he's not a member yet! so we're pretty stoked about that too! it should be this saturday! lets hope and pray that all goes well with this one and that theres not any problems! what else??? ummm nothing else really to exciting i don't think! oh alright heres an interesting story for the week. This week i had one day of just bad diaheria so we came home early and didn't go out to work in our area that night. well turns out the next day we find out that there was a big machette/gun fight that same night. If we would've stayed out we would've been in the middle of that fight! crazy huh??? so when i'm sick its not always a bad thing! :) but yeah we're actually done with that area and moving out for a new area! its pretty tough cause we're not getting many new investigators cause people are a little more prideful cause its a little richer then the area we were in but someones waiting for us! but yeah investigator time! This week was the best week of my mission as far as numbers go. We had lots of success with our investigators and getting members to leave with us. We set 4 fechas and with the new area opening up we will be getting more. Our lessons were good and effective lessons also. Me and Elder Bentley have been working hard here and i will miss him for sure but i know the lord needs him in Bahni and that Elder Harris needs to be out here. This week we got to meet with Robyn a lot and he now has all the lessons. This week we will pass over the questions and repass over a few other things. He is a strong investigator and loves the Book of Mormon! He has actually been coming to more of the church activities then alot of the members have. He is very excited to get baptized and has already begun thinking about a mission! He lives in the poorer part of town so he may not have the chance to get to go for funds but i'm going to keep in touch with him so that if neccesary i can help him out. he will be a great missionary! Our next closests fechas is Yesenia and Yissel. They are a mother and daughter and they want to be members. Yesenia wants to set an example for her family and for her husband who is evangelical. They weren't able to make it this week to church but tomorrow we will find out why. Our next fechas is Yahira and Glaci. They are another mother and daughter. We are working primarily with Jahira. She promised us she would go to church this week but she didn't make it. She is still missing something but we're not sure what it is. We are gonna keep working with her. This week we will also be going out to know this new area and hopefully get a lot of success out there. So yeah i don't know what else??? this week will be an interesting one! i'll let ya know how it all goes! oh yeah weird to hear that everyones getting married! skylar jorgenson, brandy, jaycee! i still haven't seen any of these wedding announcements or anything! so yeah hopefully this week i'll get some of those! but yeah i think i'm good for this week! thanks for everything family! keep writing me! i love getting emails and letters are great too! keep me updated on how summers going and get on sister to email me a little bit more! :) but yeah i love you all!!!
-Elder Carlson!