Farewell to Pinehurst

September 8, 2014

Buenos!

This week was another good one, but also a sad one. That's because I'll be leaving Pinehurst for another area tomorrow! So yesterday at church I said bye to everyone and bore my testimony and almost cried BUT I DIDN'T. Then I got pictures with most of the people I wanted to. I missed a few, but hey, what can you do?

Landon and Elder Moses

So as far as what went down this week we finished the transfer out strong, with our best numbers in like 4 weeks. On Monday for preparation day we went down to Fayetteville to go explore the mall. Yes, we stateside missionaries are spoiled and get to do stuff that we take for granted. So we walked around and "shopped." The other missionaries bought clothes and stuff, but I didn't feel the need to waste money on stuff that I wouldn't even be wearing. So then we headed back up to Pinehurst.

The Bickford Family

On Wednesday we did a bunch of service and got really sweaty, so not much to report there. We did have the opportunity to play some basketball with a few non members, but no fruit came from that.

Thursday we had Zone training meeting in the morning and then weekly planned and ate at Chili's with a member couple. That was pretty great. I got the honey chipotle chicken smackers and some mac n cheese with chips and salsa as an appetizer. It was also super rainy, so we got drenched in water.

Friday we at lunch at Brother Gross's restaurant, Brix. It's pretty great. I think I've told y'all about it before. It's kind of like Mellow Mushroom, but a little different style of pizza. So that was yummy. Then we went out tracting the whole day. It was a challenge by the Zone Leaders because apparently the missionaries in this mission are lazy and refuse to tract. I actually kind of enjoy it. People say it's not fruitful, but Max and Alberto were found by tracting, so there's no room to argue anymore. Those guys are golden. So we headed out to Southern Pines to see if anyone was playing street ball. No one was, so we left. Then we had dinner with the Bickford family. They're from Georgia, so it's easy to relate with them. Then after dinner, we went out to Robbins to cover everything before I leave so Elder Johnson can take over the area. We went and stopped by Jose and his family, and we invited them to church. They didn't come, but if we can continue to get out to Robbins, they'll get baptized. I love that family. Jose is just hilarious. He's about 65 and he LOVES to talk. He's what we in the mission call a "talker." He just rambles on about stuff and you have to strategically butt in so you can get your lesson in. It's also super funny. He just tells stories about being a police officer in Mexico and stuff like that. I'll miss him for sure. 

Landon, Elder Wolf, Brother Gross, Elder Johnson, Elder Murphey

Saturday we went out to Hoffman to attempt to teach some lessons. There's a few trailer parks out there, so we went searching for Hispanics. It's funny, trailer parks are either black or Hispanic, so whenever they're black, we get really disappointed because we have to turn those contacts over to the English speaking Elders. So that was the trailer park we went to. No Hispanics. Then we went and had dinner with Brother George and Rock, one of the Enlglish Elders' investigators. He's in Special Forces and he boxes so he's just kind of a man. I got a picture of that evening, so I'll send it. We had burgers and while I was holding my hamburger I got stung by a bee, and then I sort of flung my burger at Elder Johnson. Whoops. That was embarrassing....but funny right?

Sunday was just my last Sunday. Full of goodbyes, hugs, and picture taking. I really grew to love the people in this area and ward. They're all just like....I don't know how to describe it. I guess simply put, you love the people you serve if you do it right. And I definitely grew to love them.

I'm excited to go to a new area and experience some change, but I'm also sad to leave. It's weird knowing that I won't be here to take care of the Pinehurst ward anymore, but change is good and promotes growth. I can't wait to meet my trainee and my co-trainer. It'll be good fun! Pray that everything goes well and that I train correctly!

Love you all,

-Elder Landon Carroll

A response Landon received from a Facebook friend request

Landon with Brother Gathers

Landon with the Mellors