Elder Landon Carroll: A Week of Progress and Changes Are Coming

July 28, 2014

Hellllllooooooo.....

This week was another one to be remembered.....that is if it doesn't just get meshed together with every other week in the mission field. Wow does time fly. It's like you start getting worried that you'll be transferred or something before you can baptized people. That's a good worry to have!

So Monday we went and visited a little country store. It was fun. But one thing annoyed me about that store. As soon as we walked in, a man said to us "I feel sorry for you. Saved by works? That's really sad." I wanted to kind of strike back a little bit, but we ignored him. It's amazing the confusion that comes from the interpretations and alterations of the scriptures by man. What's really sad is that this man believes in a God that doesn't expect anything us, that thinks we're too weak to show faith and prove ourselves. God is loving, and that's why He gives us the opportunity to show our faith. He sent His son to show us the way to live, not to just do all the work for us. So there ya go.

The rest of the week was great. On Wednesday I went on exchanges with Elder Wolf. It was fun and it was nice to learn from somebody else! We had a good dinner with some members and taught a good lesson to one of the English Elders' investigators. I definitely enjoyed it.

Thursday we weekly planned and stuff. Good fun.

Friday was a big day. The English Elders had a baptism! It was a little rough around the edges, but it's just great seeing someone come into the fold. We'll get a baptism next month! Count on it! The big news Friday night was a phone call from Elder Wolf. Elder Lowham is getting transferred tomorrow....which means I get a new companion! I'm really excited for the change and the new opportunities that will come with a new companion. You can only be with your trainer so long, so this will be nice! I'll let you know next week the details of the new companion.

Saturday we didn't do much, but Sunday was a great day. We weren't able to have anyone at church. More on that later. But we had a missionary farewell. Madison Chandler is leaving for Rome, Italy in a week and she gave a talk and then we went to the open house briefly. It's weird seeing other people make the transition to missionary, but it's fun to see. Later that day, we went and talked with A and M a little bit. They weren't able to come to church because M has an abscess in his tooth or something, so he was in pain and his cheek was swollen. Very similar to my situation many years ago. Swollen jay, hurting tooth, sounds about right! So we actually ended up giving him a blessing and talking with them for a while. M just continues to amaze me. He says he watched the Restoration DVD 3 times and cried. Then he talked about how our church is different in that he "feels something inside his body when he's with us and at our church" that he can't explain. That's the Spirit M! SO they're both ready and are just dry members. They come to church, throw ward barbecues, do missionary work, and notice the difference. They WILL be baptized in August. I'm excited for it. They have fellowship and friends and everything! Now we just need to drop some knowledge on them! We plan to teach the Restoration tonight! Should be good.

So that was my week. I love missionary work and sometimes I think about not being able to do it forever and get sad. I'm really starting to enjoy it. It's the teaching that makes it all worth it for me. Opening people's eyes. It's an indescribable feeling of just.....joy and fulfillment! If you're not taking a part in hastening the work, get started now! Invite your friends to church, share things on Facebook, have people for dinner at home. The world needs the Gospel and we have to bring it to them!

Love you all and I hope you have a good week. Enjoy the package family!

-Elder Landon Carroll