25 Febrero 2013, La Paz, Mexico

Mi Querido Familia,

Well it´s been my first week in the new area so far and things are going great! Yesterday was definitely my favorite day here so far. I´ve been getting to know my area a lot but still am adjusting. I´m kind of a slow learner when it comes to knowing my directions of an area haha.. Our area is really cool. We´ve got a lot of parts near centro and I have seen some more gringos. We have people we have been visiting in some apartments and they´re all in these huge hills. So it has reminded me a little bit of my area in culiacán.

The beginning of the week was a little slow because a lot of our appointments were falling. Elder Hernandez only had been in the area 3 weeks before I got here so we both kind of are the new guys but he still knows the area well. There´s an investigator we kept trying to visit named Ana Jazmin but she for one reason or the other wasn´t there for our visits. Her husband is in the military and had just gotten back home friday and we invited them both to church. Sunday came and we were pleasntly surprised to see their whole family in church! The dad, Carlos, is really open to learning more about the church and we´re way excited to teach them. We´ve got an appointment with them on wednesday. They stayed for the whole 3 hours and all the messages in church seemed to be just perfect for them!.. Sunday I got to meet a lot more of the members in the ward too and it´s definitely bigger than the branch in Escuinapa. There seems to be a lot of good motivated people in this area too so I´m sure we´ll have a lot of success the more and more we work with them.

Besides that we´re getting ready for our zone conference tomorrow. It´s going to be combined with the zone in Los Cabos and we´re traveling down there for it. It´ll be a busy day and I´m sure there will be some great messages. Friday we´re heading to culiacán for our monthly Concilio with Pte. Cantú too. So we´re still busy as can be. Hopefully their will be a good amount of time to get some visits in still haha... I´m glad to hear everyone is doing well at home! I love you all and appreciate your letters of encouagement. I know all your prayers are being heard too. Have a great week.

Love,

Elder Carlson

P.S. I´ll have to attatch some pictures later. Haven´t really taken many yet!

19 Febrero, La Paz, Mexico

Mi Querido Familia,

Well this week has been flying by!! Even literally this time haha! I´m in La Paz now and I flew here yesterday. We took of at 7 at night and I had to take a bus to Culiacán and take a flight from there to La Paz. So after our district meeting and stuff today I have been finishing my p-day today. This last week I was in culiacán for the seminary capicitation too. We were able to learn a lot of things and it was nice to get to see a bunch of other missionaries there. One of the things that really stuck out to me was the need for us to be more humble and recognize the will of the Lord. There was one part we were reading in the Book of Mormon about Lehi´s dream. There´s a part were the people heading towards the tree of life and some of them fell away because they were ashamed. We learned the people who never fell away were the ones who realized what the tree was, it was the love of God. Sometimes we do good things too, but maybe not for the right reasons. I know that I have done that in the past and still need to improve on that. It´s not only important to do good but to make sure that our eyes are on the glory of God. I´m realizing more and more that we are constantly surrounded by people that need the gospel too. A lot of it is just a matter of learning to listen to the spirit, being worthy of it, and opening our mouths to spread our message of joy.. This sunday it was way cool because we got to bring Bryan and Carlos to church. When we got there hardly anybody was there, not even many members. I was praying in my heart that more people would come and realized that they would enjoy the experience either way. Then 2 more investigators showed up that surprised us. Afterwards we found out the Claudia and her soon were there too but had gone to the other branch earlier in the morning and she even payed her tithing offering. It was really a miracle to see it all happen and a great way to depart from Escuinapa.

It was sad to have to say goodbye to Elder Clayson so fast, but I´ll still see him again the next time we go to Culiacán. I´m with Elder Hernandez this transfer and he is from Texas. His parents are both mexican and know spanish, but he didn´t know spanish before the mission. He said his parents just spake english to them but his mom and dad spoke spanish to eachother when they were alone ha. E. Clayson was very motivated and it seems like E. Hernadez is the same way. I´m excited to work together and know we´re going to have a good time together. The zone over here got to areas opened so it´s been kind of hecktic because some people are still arriving today but I´m sure everything will get settled in soon... The other big news we heard today is there´s going to be a zone conference we´re going to in Los Cabos next week I think and a general authority will be there, but it´s a surprise who so we don´t know. There´s a lot of changes going on with the missions in México from what we´ve been hearing. The Benamerito (which was a lds High School kind of thing) is going to open as an MTC in mexico and the 2nd largest mtc in the world! I´m sure maybe you´ve already heard about it, but they´re going to be opening 8 more missions in Mexico too. There will be some more changes going on, but I´m sure we´ll hear about it more in the conference too.

Well I´ve got to go. Thanks for all the support, love, and prayers as always. I´m so thankful to be here and know that earth is being more and more prepared for the Lord´s second coming. The gopsel is true and I´m so glad to be a part of it.

Love,

Elder Carlson

P.S. Pictures on my way to La Paz and a pic with Pte Cantú in the seminary.

11 Febrero 2013, Escuinapa, Mexico

Mi Querido Familia,

Hey! Well this week has flown by. We were able to teach a lot of lessons this week and are starting to teach a new family. Ever since the branch counsel meeting we had it seems like the members have been a lot more involved in the work and we´re able to go on visits with them more. I know that that is the way the Lord wants the gospel to be preached. Everybody should open their mouths and invite one another to come unto the gospel, not just the people in white shirts and ties.

Right now we´re starting to teach a new family. We met the mom, Olivia, on the second visit. She is very kind and seemed to have a special interest in God and was telling her sons that they should have more friends like us. People that will leave a good influence on them instead of invite them to go out and do bad things. She has 3 sons and we´ve taught two of them Brandon and Carlos. Brandon is 18 and Carlos is 14. They both are very smart and really impressed us with the answers they´d give us to our questions. They really seemed to contemplate what we were talking about and understood everything very well. They´re parents are seperated and it sounds like they´ve had kind of a hard past with their Dad but their both really good kids. Unfortunately they weren´t able to come with us to church because they went to Mazatlán this weekend but we´re planning on visiting them with some members this week... We´re continuing to teach another lady named Claudia and her son Alejandro too. Claudia is very sweet and sincere but it is a little bit more difficult to teach her because she can´t read... Also Cristian is coming up on his baptismal date goal but he seems like he got a little bit unmotivated this week. We had an awesome experience with him fasting together but later on the next day his brother kept saying negative comments about the church to him. It´s hard for him because his mother is still in the hospital and now he´s living there with his brother who doesn´t really support his decision. We´ve made some plans to visit him and are going to keep praying for him.

This week I´m going to a seminary capcitation with a couple other people in the zone. We´re leaving tuesday in the afternoon and wont get back until saturday mid-day. We´ll be in Culiacán for the week and Elder Clayson will be working here in the area with E. Collett. It will be a little interesting with them working in 2 areas during the week but I´m sure they´ll have a lot of good experiences together. I´m excited to see what we learn and to apply it to our labors here.. I feel like we´re making some good progress lately and that we´re learning how to work smarter. I feel the most happy here when I can begin to understand a little bit more how Heavenly Father feels and to see the lives of his children change for the better. I know that He loves each and everyone of us.

Love,

Elder Carlson

4 Febrero 2013, Escuinapa Mexico

Mi Querido Familia,

Well this week has really flown by! In the beginning of the week we went to Culiacán for the concilio of this month. A lot of it was focused on the importance of verifying our commitments that we make with people. Sometimes we need a lot of reminders about things until we actually do them. That´s one of the reasons we go to church each week for example, it reminds us of the covenants that we make with the Lord and helps us to remember what we should be doing. I´m glad that Heavenly Father is so patient with all of us, and I´ve seen a difference in how missionary work improves a lot when we do a better job at verifying too!

Yesterday Norma was confirmed a member of the Church and it was awesome to see how happy she is. She wasn´t confirmed last week because we had a district transmission from a different stake in México. We had our zone meeting too and it looks like we are all very excited for this transfer. Elder Clayson and I get along really well and I can already tell he´s going to be one of my favorite companions. We didn´t have as much time to work in our area because of the trip to Culiacán and what not but we were still able to teach a lot of lessons.. We have some visits planned with the members for this next week and we´re going to have a couple family home evenings with them. Cristain is still preparing for his baptism but we´re praying that his mom get´s better (health wise). She had to go to the hospital last week and it looks like she is going to have a surgery this week. I think they´re going to operate on her in Culiacán and we want to make sure to visit Cristain a lot this week because we know that it´s a hard situation he´s going through and he´s going to stay down here in town.

We have a few other people we´re teaching right now and they all have their own unique challenges. I feel really blessed for the opportunity I have to be in this area at this time and it seems like the Lord is definitely speeding up the work. It´s amazing to see all the new things that are always changing in the mission and in the lives of our brothers and sisters here. It´s always comforting to see when we are able to work in unity and I´m going to pray that we can keep speeding up the work by working together with the members here.

It´s still pretty hot here and it sounds like winter is pretty much over in Escuinapa haha. So enjoy the weather you guys have at home too! I love you all and thanks for your support and prayers as always.

Love,

Elder Carlson

Escuinapa, Mexico 28 Enero 2013

Mi Querido Familia,

Well this week has been pretty eventful and flew by! Elder Cruz and I got to enjoy the rest of our time together this week and were able to have some pretty good experiences. I´m going to be with Elder Clayson this transfer, he´s from Utah also, haha :) but I don´t know what part yet because I´m waiting for him to arrive here in the area with me. There were a lot of changes in the Zone this transfer! In the other branch here in escuinapa Elder Collett arrived too. We´re here in the ´ciber´ (internet cafe) together right now. It´s been fun catching up on what has been going on with the ward over there in Culiacán and hearing about what else has been going on. It was sad to say goodbye to Elder Cruz, especially because now he´s heading back home to Yucatan but I´m happy for him too. I was able to learn a lot from him this transfer and I´m excited for what there is to come.

As far as what happened during the week. We continued visiting Norma, Cristain, and a few other investigators. Norma got baptized this saturday and she was very happy to able to make this covenant finally with Heavenly Father. She seems like a new person now from when I met her. Overall she seems more happy and at peace now. It was a great way to finish the transfer and these are the kind of experiences that make everything in the mission so worth it! We´re excited for Cristain too, he´s baptismal date is in a couple more weeks. We´re going to keep praying to see even more progress their with his family members too and that we can keep finding more people.. This last week we celebrated Elder Cruz´s birthday too! It was pretty funny that we both had birthdays this week and were able to share them together.

It´s really crazy for me to see how fast time is going by. I want to spend all the time I have left inviting people to learn about the gospel and to apply it to their lives. I´ve realized more and more the impact that we can have on our brothers and sisters for good or for bad. I think one of the biggest mistakes we end up making is not doing anything at all, because we think that we´re too small to make a difference. Everybody can make a difference and God has made us in His very image so that we can act, and not be acted upon!! I know that the more we act for good, being kind to others, offering service, and following Christ the happier we will be. I used to try and think about everything logically and there are a lot of logical applications for why we should keep the commandments for example. But the gospel makes things happen that can´t be explained!. Because how would it logically make sense that the more time we spend serving others the happier we will be? Won´t that never allow time for us to please ourselves?.. I know that true happiness is found in making others happy! It´s nice to be loved by someone, but it is even better to have love for one another. That´s something that I´ve learned and now know. It´s easier to love other people too when we remember that Heavenly Father loves us. I know that Heavenly Father loves each and everyone of us more than we could ever imagine too, and when we begin to realize that everything else just falls into place.

Thanks for all the love and support. Keep up the great work at home too in work, school, and with the family! I look forward to hearing about your adventures too even though I don´t always have time to respond to them all. As always, you´re in my prayers.

Love,

Elder Carlson

P.S. Photos: 1.) Norma´s baptism 2.) Last P-day at the Cathedral in Escuinapa 3.) E. Cruz and I with a couple members in the branch

21 Enero 2013, Escuinapa, Mexico

Mi Querido Familia,

How´s it going? Well things are going pretty well here! This week we were able to continue visiting Norma and she has been making great progress. She really has a desire to learn more about the gospel and wants to make sure we have taught her everything she needs to know before she gets baptized. Her goal is for this saturday and she´s going to be interviewed in the beginning of the week. Her son, Saul, on the other hand has been having problems still. We read part of Mosiah 27 yesterday with her yesterday. We read the part about when the angel appeared to the son of Alma. We talked about how the Lord sent an angel in response to the prayers of his father and his people. She realized that she can pray for her son with faith too, so that he can come to have a change of heart.

We´ve also been teaching a 13 year old boy, Cristain, and his mom Maria de Jesus. Cristain is very smart and has been excited about all the lessons we teach them. Maria is the sister of one of the members in our ward and we met them last week and gave her mother a blessing because her leg has been healing from an injury. She´s doing well and is supporting Cristain in his decision to be baptized too! We´re going to keep teaching his family and are excited for all the progress they are making too... Besides that we are continuing to look for more people to teach and are finding more people interested. Everytime we meet someone eager and willing to hear us it makes up for all that work looking. The members have been helping us out a lot more too and we´re seeing that the Lord really is preparing many people to recieve the gospel here!

Besides that we have been enjoying are time here and are doing a little better with the daily goals we have been setting. We haven´t ran every morning, but this morning and several other mornings last week we´ve kept it up. It definitely makes me feel more awake in the mornings and throughout the day. This weekend we´ll hear about our cambios (transfers) too. This is the last cambio for Elder Cruz in the mission. I think he´s having ups and downs thinking that it´s all coming to an end, but he keeps a great attitude and we´re really enjoying the time we have here!

Thanks for all the support and prayers! I know that the Heavenly Father is always ready and willing to answer them. It´s funny how something so little can make ALL the difference. Have a great week, love you all!

Love,

Elder Carlson

14 Enero 2013, Esquinapa Mexico

Mi Querido Familia,

Well this week went pretty well! We did end up eating up cake last monday and it was fun :). This week we have continued to teach the abuela, named Norma, not nancy haha. Accidently wrote her name wrong last week. She´s doing well and we taught her more about the commandments this week and finished teaching her about the restoration. She had some questions about what she would need to do exactly in order to be baptized so we talked about the importance of her recieving her own confirmation from the Spirit. She came with us to to church this sunday with all of her daughter´s family. Unfortunately, we haven´t really been able to teach Martin much this week because he got home late from working and had to work on Sunday too. Yesterday we talked with him to see how he´s doing and have an appointment with him today.

In the beginning of the week we went to Mazatlán to have a little capicitation and interviews with Presidente Cantú. The capicitation was really good and we talked a lot about the reasons we do things, here in the mission and in life in general. Everything has to do with our Desire. In order for us to do good things, we need to desire to do good things. We talked about what happened with King David and when he saw the woman bathing. He ended up falling because the desires of his heart changed. The mistake we make a lot of times we spend time not necessarily doing things ¨bad¨ but also not really productive or good either. We need to be actively engaged because if we spend time not doing to much of anything or get lazy, that´s when we´ll be more likely to fall. We can avoid a lot of unnessary tempations in life too if we keep ourselves actively doing good things. It made me think a lot about how I can make better use of my time and I liked how it applys a lot outside of missionary life too.. We learned about how faith isn´t just to have a positive attitude either. Even though we all should strive to have a positive attitude, faith requires more. A big part of faith is to know the will of God, and to do it. We can all strive to learn more about the will of God in our lives through prayer and doing what is right. It requires a little bit more on our part to do that, but it will make all the difference in our lives and the lives of those around us.

I´ve been striving to work on things that I know that I can improve and to learn more about what God would have me do in this time. I know that we all have a special purpose here and that we all have unique talents and gifts that Heavenly Father has given us. He gave them to use to be used to! Not to be lost or to be forgotten... Yesterday we got the chance to talk with Saul, Norma´s son, too. He´s had problems with drinking and drugs for around 20 years or more now. We promised him that he can change and that the Lord will be there to support him along the way. We´re going to pray for him and hope to see a lot more progress with this family, Martin´s family, and to keep finding more people this week!

I love you all and thank you for support! I know that Heavenly Father is very pleased with us when we strive to do our best and that His love is real!

Love,

Elder Carlson