A Week of Conversion

July 21, 2014

Greetings to all!

My name is Elder Carroll, and I'm serving a mission in the best mission in the world, the NCRM (North Carolina Raleigh Mission). I absolutely love it here, and this week I took a turn into a greater conversion and a greater love for missionary work. Sometimes you have those experiences that just allow you to glimpse into Eternity-just enough to give you the hope of a lifetime.

So this week we were able to do some quality work with people. On Monday, we played Frisbee golf with Cullie Bayless, who's 18 and getting ready to put in his mission papers. It was super fun, a lot better than that PS3 move game. I got some pictures so I'll send em!

On Tuesday we went and helped Tony again with his mess of a property and I just gotta say...it's lookin a lot better! It's amazing what four missionaries can do in a matter of hours! I got pics of that as well. It was a lot of work and we had to wear masks just to be sure that we weren't breathing in insulation particles and stuff. We're good, don't worry! After that, we went down next to the old trailer and attempted to make some contacts. We didn't have much success, but we did have a nice conversation with a black preacher who was trying to sell us a piano. We're just walking around and he's like "wanna buy this piano? 300 bucks and I'll let you take it with you right now." I guess he wasn't thinking cause how the donkeys are we supposed to transport a piano back to our apartment without a car? Jeez man. So later that night we went and helped Brother Swope move some giant logs next to his house. He lives on the lake that we've fished on a couple times. So as we were moving these logs it started raining and we got absolutely filthy. I mean just filthy. I just wanted to go roll around in some mud or something! So brother Swope let us shower in his house and then he took us to Golden Corral. They may not have the best food, but the variety is incomparable. I had a bunch of stuff that filled me up pretty fast, and then we headed out to go with Brother George and teach a lesson to Oscar and another guy named Adrian. Oscar speaks English, but Adrian doesn't so we taught in Spanish. We taught them the Restoration and it all was apparently new information to Oscar, even though we had already taught him the Restoration. I guess he didn't understand the first time. Might have been the English that got him or something. We'll be sure to start teaching more for understanding from now on. Brother George speaks Italian, so he understood everything we taught. And then he said the closing prayer in Italian! Spanish and Italian are very similar, but Spanish is better. It's just a little more masculine sounding. So that was Tuesday.

Wednesday we had our weekly district meeting and then we went on blitzes with the zone leaders! Blitzes are when the zone leaders come and you split up into two companionship to try and do as much work as possible in one day. It kind of lets you be in two places at once. So Elder Lowham went with Elder Moses and I went with Elder Holt down to Hoffman. Elder Lowham has refused to go to Hoffman for months now because according to him it's dangerous, but I wanted to go down there. So Elder Holt and I embarked and what do ya know, the whole place is Hispanic! Every single trailer, minus like 4, was Hispanic! So Elder Holt and I knocked every single door on one street and were able to meet some great potentials and teach a couple lessons. I learned a lot from Elder Holt and his contacting strategies, but the thing that I was most amazed by was my ability to speak Spanish. I've never spoken so well in my life! I understood every single little thing that people were telling me and my communication skills were better than they've ever been. I told Elder Holt that my Spanish was on fire and he told me that it's because you need it right now. Elder Lowham usually does most of the talking during contacts, but this time it was just me because Elder Holt doesn't speak Spanish. I can definitely say that I've witnessed the Gift of Tongues. After contacting the trailer park, Elder Holt and I went and helped a lady on the side of the rode who ran out of gas. She told us that we were an answer to prayer. So we drove a couple of miles, bought her a can of gas, and then referred her to the missionaries where she lives. Hopefully they teach her and she accepts the Gospel. You could tell she really needed it. So then we went and grabbed some Chick Fil A and headed to the church to help with a youth activity. Then afterward we played some basketball. We're allowed to play because it's such a good way to find people. Almost everyone we talk to is interested in playing basketball. So that was fun, but my shot was atrocious. Oh well, I guess the day was too good so there wasn't enough room for anything else haha.

Thursday we did some weekly planning and Elder Lowham was sick so we stayed in a little bit. Nothing to report.

Friday we went and biked around Aberdeen to try and find some people, but to no avail. Then we attempted to get out to English class in Robbins, but no one would give us a ride! So we had to cancel. :( Then we went and had a dinner with the Welling family. Brother Welling's brother is living next to Emory, so he kind of knew Atlanta. Given, we don't live IN Atlanta, but the connection was nice. Then we went to visit Max and Alberto with Brother Welling. Brother Welling served his mission in Brazil, so he speaks Portuguese, but Max and Alberto speak pretty good English, so we had a nice talk with them. Max said some things that I really liked. 1. He doesn't like to drink 2. He told his boss he won't work on Sunday because he found a church that he will go to every week. How bout that? Max and Alberto are just dry right now. And I love these guys! And they just absolutely love the church!

Saturday we went and did some family history familiarization on the computers. I signed into family search and looked at the family tree thing and the family history lady here was so impressed with how well our records are kept up and how much work has been done....on both sides! Good work family! That's something I want to do when I get home is Family History. It's a great work to be a part of and there's no reason not to get involved! After that I worked with the Chandler family on my song for the fireside on Sunday. I got assigned by Elder Wolf without my consent to do a special musical number but I'm okay with it! So the Chandlers brought this awesome arrangement of Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing. It's just fantastic. Then we went to talk to Alberto and Max again and then some other people. It was fun.

Sunday was by far the most spiritual day that I've had on my mission so far. Sacrament meeting was fantastic. The Chandlers-Madison, Josh, and Sister Chandler, performed "If You Could Hie to Kolob" with Piano, Cello, and Violin. Wow wow wow wow. What an incredible arrangement. I almost cried. Max and Alberto weren't able to come, but we went by after church to visit them. We invited them to the fireside and they ended up coming. The theme of the Fireside was "recent converts." We selected six people to give their conversion stories to the church. I really loved hearing them, and it was very uplifting. Halfway through, I sang Come Thou Fount. It went well, but the song was entirely too high for me. Oh how I wish I could be a tenor again sometimes. Afterward, we talked with Alberto and Max.. We didn't even have to show them around or anything. While everyone was eating their refreshments, they just talked to everyone. And the members talked back! The support was amazing and Alberto and Max loved everything. Consider them baptized. August will be the month of Baptisms here in Pinehurst. Max and Alberto even invited a bunch of people to have a barbecue at their house on Tuesday! What! Like I said, consider them baptized. They're already our best friends, and they have no desire to go anywhere else.

So now for the reason for this letter-what I learned. The title says it all. Conversion is not an event. I did a study this morning on true conversion. Conversion is when your will is completely aligned with God's and you have no desire to do evil. This is brought about by doing the little things and living the Doctrine of Christ. This will be something I am going to work on from now on is becoming truly converted. Sunday helped so much with my testimony. Oh the power of music. I love it. So if you're not truly converted, get there! We can work on it together! I've learned so much on my mission so far and I can't wait for the experiences that I'm going to have in the next couple years!

So that was my week. Incredible right? I love this work and I love this Gospel. Jesus Christ does live and this is His church.

Until next week.

Elder Landon Carroll

It's All Worth It

Landon said he didn't have a fishing pole so he just watched what the other Elders were doing and copied them!  What a goofball!

July 14, 2014

Hello Family and Friends!

I hope all is will wherever you may be reading this. I had another excellent week as a missionary. We were able to have a lot of success and I can tell you right now that August will be the month for baptisms in the Pinehurst ward. I'm getting excited. More on that later.

So on Tuesday we started by doing service for a man named Tony. He's the man that I contacted while helping with the U.S. Open. He has a property out in Jackson Springs that he bought for 5 thousand dollars. Let me tell you. That property may not even be worth that much. When we got there, there was garbage everywhere, everything was overgrown, and the mosquitoes were having a party. But we got started and we were actually able to do a lot. I'll send some pictures so yo can see what we worked on. Needless to say, we are going to help Tony again tomorrow and will share a lesson with him. Later that day, we went out to contact a referral, yes a referral, that we received. It was a house full of Mexicans! There were so many that we couldn't keep up with them all! So we decided to talk with one who was interested to know how we learned Spanish. His name is Oscar. He's up here for a month working construction, from Panama City, Florida. We taught him the Restoration and he just loved it. He speaks English, but we're gonna keep him because he lives in a house with a bunch of people who don't. Later that night, we went to see what the deal was with A. He didn't come to church on Sunday and we wanted to know why. Turns out he went to a Spanish Pentecostal church. He says it's really hard to go to a church where he can't understand things. The worst part about this is he doesn't even pick up the interpretation devices! So we actually ended up giving him a blessing and he said he would come to church.

Wednesday we went and contacted some formers out in Aberdeen with a little success. We did, however, contact a former and he said he's interested and that we could come back. Then we knocked on a door and some lady came to the door and was like "I don't want any arguments so ya'll can leave." Then we just offered service and she was like "No I'm fine. Let me tell you what I believe. Christ was born, Christ died for our sins and then rose on the third day." And I was like well that's exactly what we believe and then she just kind of closed the door on us. Oh well haha. Some people just fear the truth I guess. Then our English class cancelled at the church so we just talked to members until eight, then we played basketball. Let me tell you how fun it is playing with a bunch of old guys. Very.

Thursday was Zone Conference down in Fayetteville. I thought it was fantastic. Something that stood out to me is that we need to make sure to help our investigators want to be baptized for themselves, rather than us just trying to convince them. Then I learned some good scriptures to help with that. So hopefully I can apply it well in the future.

Friday we did weekly planning and then headed up to Robbins for English class. And guess what.....not a single person came. So we waited a little longer and then just sulked for a second. I wasn't really surprised. We'll get the word out a little better. It was funny. We were in the English classroom and some girl came in and the first thing she said to me was "How old are you?" So I told her I was 19. Then she pulled out her ID and handed it to me. She was like "I'm not a minor I promise." So then we explained a little bit about what we do as missionaries and then she started talking about how she saw a documentary about NORMANS on TV about how we enslave children and have multiple wives. So we quickly defused that. And then she proceeded to hit on me. Whaaaaaaaaaaat? She was like "Well maybe when you get done with your mission we can date or something. I mean I'm 28 and your 19 but maybe it would work. And all this was in missionary character. So awkward. So I gave her a card and we walked out. I don't really know. Just awkward haha. And funny of course. I live for that.

Saturday we went and had a lesson with a man named Raul and his wife. So we talked about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration and his wife just wasn't having it. She didn't want to listen. So we poured our hearts out in testimony and nothing. We left with the Spirit but she didn't get anything out of it. Raul might have been touched, but not here. That's missionary work for ya. You do as much as you can and people still have agency. I hate agency sometimes. It just gets in the way. But hey, that's how we learn and we have to respect everyone's agency. I'm not really disappointed. I did my part and it's in the Lord's hands now.

So Sunday we were expecting a bunch of people at church, but once again, people had their agency. Antonio didn't show for some reason. Neither did Oscar. But we did have Max there! He wore a suit this time so that's good. Alberto, his brother, couldn't come because he was sick. Max said he loved it and we plan to teach them on Saturday.

So overall it was a good week. Good stuff. We did a lot of work and it payed off. Even though some people didn't come to church or accept like we had imagined, I'm grateful for every experience that I have on my mission. I do love the mission. I love the successes, the failures, the bad times, and the good. It's all worth it. It's the Lord's work. It's the most important work going on in the world and I'm a part of it.

I love you all. Thanks for the prayers and emails.

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Landon Carroll

These are more pictures that Landon sent of the US Open that he helped with:

Fixin' to Pick Up the Work

July 7, 2014

Que pasa amigos?

Pues this week was fun and interesting. The work is slow right now, but this week was evidence that it's fixin to pick up.

Monday we just cleaned and finished up with the trailer. We're done with that abomination! If you look at the pics, you can see that it doesn't scream "missionary" but rather "apostasy." Just glad to be out and moving on. It's nice being in a new place. Kind of refreshing for the work. Now we're able to work a different part of the area.

We had some miracles this week that I want to share. So there's a Hawaiian Ice place that recently appeared near where we live. We went and got some cause it was like 95 and we were on bikes. So we stopped in and ended up talking to a man named Ming. He's Samoan. He told us an incredible story about how he has a rare bone condition and that he had surgery, so basically from the chest up is completely metal. He has like 40 screws, and 7 fusions in his neck. Crazy right? Well we ended up inviting him to church and everything and he said he would come. He said he wasn't satisfied with his church. Well the next day Elder Murphy and I went on exchanges and went by to see him. We just kind of checked in and talked a little and then left. Here's where the miracle comes in. We were eating at the ward 4th of July breakfast and President Chandler, the stake president came up to us to talk about....Ming! President Chandler is an Anesthesiologist and met him at a pain clinic on the 3rd. He says he actually did his Anesthetic four years ago during his major surgery. Then while at the pain clinic, he had the impression that he needed to share the gospel with him. So finally Ming was like "we need to meet up some time and talk about my condition." President Chandler said "well I'll either be here or at my church so you can find me." Ming asked what church and President Chandler told him. Ming said "That's the church I'm going to on Sunday! Two nice young men invited me to come!" So he came to church and says he cried three times during testimony meeting and he's not even a cryer! President Chandler says he wants him baptized by August, so we'll get on with that! Although he speaks English, we'll still take some part in his conversion. I'm excited to see him as a member!

So in the Spanish department of things, most of our appointments cancelled this week so we weren't able to do much. It's hard to schedule appointments with Hispanics because they NEVER KNOW THEIR SCHEDULE. It's frustrating, but we deal with it. So Max and Alberto, the brothers I told you about last week came to church! They said they've gotten turned away from other churches because people don't welcome them, so we made sure that didn't happen! The great thing about it is that the Pinehurst ward is fantastic and we didn't have to do much introducing. That's how it should be! If you see a new person at church, make them feel welcome! It's what Christ would do! So Max and Alberto absolutely loved church. They said they're coming back every single week. Score! We just need to teach them now. Shouldn't be a problem. They're good guys and they actually have schedules.

So this week I noticed a big improvement in Spanish. It's amazing what happens when you just open your mouth. I spoke a lot more fluently this week. What I do know in Spanish comes out really well. Understanding, especially on the phone, is the hardest part for me. Understanding people on the phone is so hard for me. But I'm working on it! It takes practice!

We were also able to go up to Robbins to place a few more fliers and make the final preparations for the English class. It starts this Friday so pray that people come! I'm excited and hopefully we can get some members up there to help us out.

Well I am running out of time so I have to close, but this week I really took a turn in my feelings about my mission. I just love it now and I've kind of got that "I want to do this for the rest of my life" attitude. It's just so rewarding. You could have the hardest day with 105 degree heat and 5 cancellations, but you have even ONE lesson and it's all worth it. This is a joyous work and it brings me a lot of joy.

Hope everyone has a great week!

-Elder Landon Carroll

Stepping Up Our Game

June 30, 2014

Good morning everyone,

Hope everyone is having a good day. I certainly am. Every day is good day in the mission field as long as you make it that way.

So this week we were able to accomplish a lot. We're almost done moving. We've done all the deep cleaning in the trailer. Now all we need to do is get a few more things out and hand over the keys...after the inspection of course. I just want to be done with it haha. The place gives me anxiety. The new apartment is soooooooo much better. It's clean, spacious, spiritually inviting, and our new neighbor is awesome. His name is Tim and he's a retired G.I. He's really friendly and always offers us beer just to be funny. We gave him some cookies(not my idea but I guess it works) so now we're friends. Hopefully we have an influence on him. He likes what we do. He always tells us "beware of morons. They're everywhere" hahaha.

So Monday we had dinner with the M's. They're always fun. They're kind of struggling right now so we're doing our best to spiritually revive them. We also went fishing. I'll send some pictures. We saw a lot of bass but nothing was biting.

Tuesday we did some biking around Southern Pines which is right around where we live now. We didn't find much success, but we were able to meet with a less active woman and the little Mexican that lives with her. His name is R and he's crazy. He just doesn't get life. All he wants to do is drugs, snowboard, and some other things. He started to ask us questions so we answered some of them. So we offered to come back another day and just have a question session. So we went back on Friday and he just plagued us with questions. He asked us a bunch of junk and the Spirit didn't want to be there. He then went on about how we were missing out on life because we don't drink or do other stuff. He then offered to take us fishing, but told us that he would ruin us. So needless to say, we're not gonna do that haha. We told him to read the Book of Mormon and left. Weird lesson.

Wednesday we had district conference. Something my district leader came up with. The Zone Leaders were there so he wrote on the board "FIRST ANNUAL DISTRICT CONFERENCE." It was super funny haha. Elder Lowham and I got to teach about leaving our commitments with a purpose so that went well. We then went biking and tracting and didn't accomplish anything. Sometimes that happens. Actually, most of the time that happens. The hardest part of missionary work so far for me has been finding people to teach. Especially cause we're in Pinehurst which is just a retirement gold community full of white people. But we do find our Hispanics.

Thursday we did some weekly planning. Nothing to report there. Then we spent two hours or so cleaning the trailer. Getting there. We then went to dinner with the Bickford family at Brixx. It's a pizza place kind of like Mellow Mushroom but a little fancier. Brother Gross owns the restaurant so he pays for us to go a lot. He's the Ward Mission Leader so we go sometimes after coordination meeting each week.

Friday we went up to Robbins with Brother Scribner to post some flyers

and turn in some paperwork to the library. The librarian was happy to see us and she said we don't even need the paperwork! Then we checked out the classroom. It's perfect! There's a big white board and plenty of chairs. We then went and placed some flyers in the windows of Mexican tiendas. Everyone says that a lot of people will come. That's what we're hoping for!

Saturday all we did was move people. We went and helped a family in the ward move for a few minutes, but literally half the ward was there so we left. We then got to help move a non member family. The Clewis family. They're all chiropractors. It was us four Elders, a priest, and then like 5 other men. It took 6 hours. Something I learned is that McDonald's is just terribly unhealthy. The lady we were helping bought us each two quarter pounders and I knew I wasn't gonna be able to do it. But I did! And I regretted it....I felt like I had just eaten 1200 calories. Oh wait, that's because I did. Those things are ridiculous! Nutrition facts: 520 calories, 420mg of sodium, 19g of fat, and 30g of protein. I definitely don't believe the protein part. That just doesn't seem realistic for McDonald's. But enough of the McDonald's. We helped these people move a few miles away and it was a lot of work. The heat just kills. It makes you feel like you haven't slept in days. Later that night we ate dinner with the Barbours. They're my favorite! Just little old southern folks who love to cook southern food. We had two roasts. A rump and a round. They were both delicious. There was a man at dinner named Bashir. He's friends with the Barbours and he's from Afghanistan. He does confidential stuff with the government and speaks five languages. He's Muslim so it was interesting to hear his views during the lesson.

Sunday I gave a talk! I spoke about building your faith and then showing it. I feel like I did okay. Not my best talk haha. But everyone told me afterward that I have great speaking voice and that I should think about going into announcing or something. We'll see haha. If you want a copy of the talk just ask me. I'll send it to you. Later we had another lesson with A. We addressed a lot of concerns of his about baptism and the Plan of Salvation. and other things. He just wants to make sure that he's made everything right with God before he gets baptized. I can work with that! So then we went and ate dinner with the W's. They have a massive house,ten kids who are all home schooled, and an old dog that looks like the black one from Harry Potter 3.  We taught our lesson and then Brother W wanted a blessing. So we gave him and his wife one, as well as Brother N who was with us. He's their home teacher. It was interesting. Later that night, I had the impression that we should go to Pinebluff. So we went there and visited Willy Barry, the lady whose house we pressure washed. She was happy to see us. She's going in for surgery today for Carpal tunnel. I'll definitely need that when I'm older. Then we went and knocked an apartment that we've been trying to contact for months. They answered! I told them that we're missionaries and they let us right in. They're names are Alberto and Max and they're both from Vera Cruz like every other Mexican in Pinehurst. We presented the Book of Mormon and they were so excited to read it! Max just kept looking at it and saying "this book is amazing." Then he told us that he wouldn't have much time to read, but would read an hour each night. An hour? That's fantastic! They told us the last church they went to was not very welcoming. They said no one said hi but that everyone just stared at them. So I told them that that would not happen at our church and invited them to come next Sunday. They're excited to come! So we're gonna show up before church at their house next Sunday and help them get to the church. I'm so glad we found them!

So that was the week. All is well in Pinehurst. We just need to step up our game a little bit so we can baptize!

Have a good week.

-Elder Landon Carroll

Good Week

Landon helping with the U.S. Open golf tournament a couple of weeks ago.

June 23, 2014

Greetings people!

So this week was another quick one in Pinehurst. By now the U.S. Open is over and the town is finally starting to settle down. The Women's U.S. Open was not quite as exciting. The crowds from the men's weren't here this week.

Some interesting things that happened this week: We moved! The trailer is no more. Now we don't have to stay in a honey moon suite anymore! That trailer was just awful. Let me tell you a little bit about what I had to live in for almost four months. There were mirrors everywhere, the carpet is dark purple, there's a bathtub in the MIDDLE of the bedroom, yes, the middle. Like I said, think honey moon suite. Ughh. The trailer was just too big for just two missionaries. It was near impossible to keep clean and we had to do lawn work. So when the contract expired we had Brother Gross, the ward mission leader find us a new apartment. The new one is SO much nicer. It's two bedrooms and one bathroom. And we have a doorbell, a garbage disposal, a dishwasher, a gym, a fireplace that we can't use, new carpet that's not dark purple, and just a better spiritual environment! It's also only five minutes away from the church as opposed to twenty for the trailer. 

So this week we just spent every day cleaning and packing. We had some good lessons with all of our investigators. I and F continue to be slothful in their progression so we're gonna hit em hard this Thursday and see what happens. If they don't progress, we may have to drop them. 

We also had a good lesson with A. This week we visited him a couple times and addressed some concerns he had. He's basically just a dry Mormon at this point. It's funny, we teach him all this stuff and he's like "that's great, but I really just want to know the doctrine so I can live it." I guess that's a pretty good thing. He was even really excited to live the law of tithing. The only thing we're waiting on is an interview with president about A.  And then we'll be sailing away into the waters of baptism with him!

Something else interesting we did this week was receive a new missionary. He replaced Elder Perse. He's from San Antonio, TX (how fitting that the Spurs should win the finals just after he leaves.) He's a good guy and I'm excited to be working with him. He says he's pretty good at basketball. We'll see about that haha.

So something else interesting that happened this week was we went up to Robbins to establish an English class. We went to the library and they said we can do it! So we'll be having class starting July 11th every Friday from 4:30 to 5:30 pm! This will help us so much and I'm really excited to teach these people!

Well those are the highlights of the week. Pinehurst is about to get a spurt of energy with a new Elder and a new apartment, so be looking for our success coming up! I love missionary work and I'm really starting to love my mission. I love that there's no culture shock to worry about, and I still get to learn another language! Who says foreign missions are better? Haha just kidding. All missions are great.

Well I hope you all have a good week! Oh and Dallin, I got your package! Thanks for the stuff! I'll have one coming your way soon!

Love you all.

-Elder Landon Carroll

What a Week

June 16, 2014

Hello Friends and Family!

There's a lot to talk about this week so buckle up and enjoy the ride!

So Monday was just your average preparation day, but Tuesday was a lot of fun and an adventure. We went biking around Southern Pines to try and find people to teach. All we did was teach a couple of less actives that we came across. Even though we didn't find anyone new to teach, I sure enjoyed biking around in the 102 degree heat. Ha! Pretty hot huh?

Wednesday we did some weekly planning, but were unable to finish because we had an early dinner with the Howell family. They're Alabama fans, so naturally I felt a little out of place there, haha. I was just trying not to make any snide remarks about Alabama and the people that go there. So that's good! It was a yummy dinner. They're a great family. Later that night we taught English class to Irma and Fausto again. It went well! We helped them with English, and they helped us with Spanish. One thing I've been working on for a while is being able to roll my r's consistently. It may take a while to sound like a native in doing it. I just try to really practice it during my language study each day. I'm getting there! Afterward, we played some basketball. It's such a big stress reliever for me. When you're playing, you don't think about anything but where the ball is and the hoop. So it's super fun! I was draining everything. That always feels nice.

Thursday was another great day. We mobilized the mission again, not for Elder Anderson this time, but for Elder Corbridge of the Seventy. He gave the talk about Joseph Smith and the Restoration this past conference. So that was our Zone Conference. He taught so well, very blunt, but very helpful. He told us some things that will really help us. One thing that really stood out to me as that if we truly TRULY understand the doctrine, there will not be any hesitation in teaching. If we do our part in studying the doctrine, the words will come to us. We will not have to worry about what to say, because we already know what to say. He also talked a lot about the law of chastity, and how important it really is. Because the Lord has bestowed upon us some of His creation power, we are to hold it as sacred and holy. The relationship between a man and a woman is ordained of God, and a man cannot receive his full potential without the companionship of a woman, and vise versa. I don't know why he would be talking about marriage with missionaries, but it just really stuck out to me how important it is to get married in the temple so that we may receive our divine potential.

Later that night, we had dinner with the A family. We brought Travis Scrivner. He's 24 and he served his mission in Peru. He has a Ford Raptor, so that was fun to ride in. So we taught the A's the lesson before we ate. We really wanted to stress the importance of reading the Book of Mormon and praying. "I" gets it, but F does not. We need to approach this a little differently next time. We need to find out what he really wants in life. Something the Zone Leaders taught me the other day is that the easiest way to relate to Book of Mormon directly to someone is to find out what their big goal in life is, and tell them that the Book of Mormon, along with Gospel, can help with that. So we'll try that next time! Anyways, dinner was delicious. Sister A is an amazing cook. She made us some pork with salsa made from cactus and Jicama(Hibiscus). Fue muy rica!

Friday we got to help with the U.S. Open! We have some hookups in the ward, so we were helping out a man named Tim St. Germane with Pinehurst village, which is a little smallish town that just happens to connect to the course! Our assignment started from 3 and ended at 8:30. We had to reserve parking spaces for some VIP's coming in for the governor's reception. It was super fun! I loved being able to talk to people and attempt to share the Gospel. We had to wear a uniform, but we still got to wear our name tags so we got a lot of questions. I talked to one man who moved up here from Atlanta. He asked me what I was doing and what church I was working for. So I explained about my mission and what I do. Then we got on the topic of sports. He asked me if I played any. I told him basketball. So then we talked about basketball and the finals for like 15 minutes. Then the topic of "what makes your church different" came up. So I taught him about the Restoration and authority and the Book of Mormon. He was super interested! I offered to help him with his yard, so hopefully he gives us a call soon! So dad, that's why it's important to keep me updated with sports. So I have a way to relate to some people! That contact/lesson would not have gone as well without that relationship. So anyways, we continued helping people find places to park and talking with various senators, etc. It was really fun. There was a big screen with the U.S. Open playing on it, so I was able to take a few glances at the leader boards. That's what we call a "tender mercy." Sounds like the Open was super exciting. Who was it, Dustin Johnson who got a hole in one on the 9th? Crazy! So that was Friday. When we were done working, Tim gave us a couple of collectible coins for our service. They have the Pinehurst coat of arms on one side and U.S. Open 2014 on the other. Cool little treasure! I'll send pictures of it later, along with the uniform that we wore.

Saturday we went up with Brother Williams to Robbins to find a place to have a weekly English class. We talked to some Peruvians that own a little tienda and they told us to go to the city hall and talk to them. The city hall was closed so we'll come back tomorrow. Later that night, we helped with the U.S. Open again! We were kind of doing the same thing, but instead of helping park cars, we were helping to park people. We were what they call "Pinehurst Village Ambassadors" So we stood by the place with the big screen and directed people and passed out maps. The event tonight was 100 bagpipers from Scotland! It was so cool! I have a video, so maybe I'll get that to y'all somehow. We met the mayor of Pinehurst, who commended us for our service. That was kinda cool. This was just a super fun night. I liked interacting with lots of different types of people. There were a lot of people from England, so that was funny. I took lots of pictures. I'll send those later.

Sunday was a normal Sunday. I got to pass the Sacrament! There weren't enough deacons. That was exciting and refreshing. It was Elder Perse's last day in Pinehurst, so I helped him take pictures with families. He says he's gonna miss Pinehurst, and I don't blame him. This place is just awesome. So many good people, and as you've seen from the U.S. Open and the pictures I send, it's just absolutely beautiful. I'll definitely be coming up here again after my mission. Hopefully with my dad so he can be in golf paradise!

Well that was my week. It was certainly a good one. I loved helping with the Open. That was just so cool! Hope y'all have a good week and I hope you had a good Father's day as well.

Until next week,
-Elder Landon Carroll

Be Bold

June 8, 2014

Good morning everyone!

It's good to be writing yet another letter. As I said earlier, writing in my journal as well as typing these emails gives me a good opportunity to reflect on the week and the blessings that the Lord gave us.

So for preparation day last Monday we were able to help a lady named Beulah. The great thing about being a Spanish missionary is that even though we only teach Spanish in this area, we still get to experience both sides of the culture. Beulah is a black woman that we found tracting in Pinebluff(say that with a southern accent). She's super nice and is ALWAYS doing service. One might call her a dry Mormon. So we helped her move her friend's furniture to a storage unit. So that was fun!

Tuesday we didn't do much. Just helped a lady in the ward bag pinestraw. There's no shortage of PINESTRAW in PINEHURST haha. But the rest was just another unproductive day. I'll talk about being unproductive later.

Wednesday we had Zone Training Meeting. This is where the whole zone gets together and we just have a giant meeting with spiritual thoughts, role plays, questions, accounting for numbers, and address concerns. This one was especially spiritual for me, and I think for everyone else as well. The part that got to me the most was the testimony of Elder Langford. He's the zone leader and he leaves this week. He laid down a testimony about love and the changes he went through on his mission. One thing he said was that he has developed Christ-like love and can look at everyone through the eyes of the creator. That's one thing that I'm striving for as I work out here. I know I don't have it right now, but it will come with time. Later that night we taught Fausto English and then played basketball with the ward and a couple non members. Super fun! 

Thursday was weekly planning day.  Nothing else interesting.

Friday I don't even remember what happened.

Saturday we did a lot of biking around Aberdeen without any real success. We talked to an Atheist for about an hour and a half. He had some interesting views. His justification for Atheism was that he doesn't think we should be good just to try to please a deity. He thinks we should be good just because it's the right thing to do. I tried to explain that we do good things not just to please a God, but because that's where happiness is. I really wanted to share the Plan of Salvation with him, but held back a little. We plan to play tennis with him sometime soon so hopefully we get a foot in the door.

Sunday was another great day at church. I love Sundays because church is just so refreshing after a hard week. Also, the Pinehurst ward is just awesome. The members are fantastic. The leadership is great and the youth are active and strong. It actually reminds me of my home ward. So we had a great sacrament meeting. Elder Perse gave a talk about covenants. It was very enlightening. He's a convert and black and he taught with energy. The members loved it! He's getting transferred on Tuesday so I'll miss him for sure. We also had the opportunity to give C a blessing. She's going back to Spain for two months so it will be very difficult for her. Just a lot of drama that I don't want to get into. Speaking of drama, missionaries are at the heart of it. Being involved in PEC and ward counsel is tough. You just hear things that make your heart hurt. As missionaries we try to help everyone we can, including struggling members. We're "publishers of peace" and we publish not just for nonmembers, but for family members as well as struggling church members.

This week I learned to be bold. Just be bold. Lack of boldness and productivity has caused some of our investigators to slip out of progression. So I did my best the past couple days to be bold and have a sense of urgency when talking to people! So we were bold with Antonio and it payed off. We were also bold with a man named Carlos and so now we have a foot in the door with him. Being bold always pays off as long as you're also showing love! So make sure family, that if you receive a prompting to talk to someone about the Gospel, follow it! The Lord needs us to do our part in His work!

Something else I realized was how great my parents are at teaching the Gospel to me. Something I've noticed out here is that sometimes missionaries try to complicate doctrine. But that's not the way I was taught. I was taught that all we need to do is follow the Savior in all that we do, making and keeping our covenants and making a concerted effort to live like the Savior, and the blessings will come. And I've definitely seen that! The blessings of joy, happiness, and the Spirit really do come! The Gospel really is so simple. You don't have to over-analyze things in order to understand them. The doctrine of Christ is incredibly simple and the Gospel is for everyone. No one enters into the Kingdom of God save it be through Jesus Christ. I know that to be true. 

I also wanted to talk a little bit about the U.S. Open which starts on Tuesday. Pinehurst is starting to go pretty crazy. Lots of people in the ward have rented out their homes out to ESPN and such, and the excitement is building. They've closed down one of the major roads here to keep people from clogging up the areas around the course. Arnold Palmer arrived yesterday in a limo! How cool is that? The roads are all ready for the Open. And here's the most exciting part: We get to help! Some members in the ward own a tour bus company and we're volunteering to help them out! We get uniforms and everything! No, we're not working on the course. We're actually helping to greet people who come into Pinehurst Village. That's this Saturday. So that'll be fun for sure. I'll take picturesThursday was weekly planning day. Nothing else interesting.

So that was my week. Missionary work is wonderful. It's bringing me a lot of fulfillment. Hope y'all have a good week. Love you all.

-Elder Landon Carroll

P.S. Sorry this was so long.