Hey
Im doing well. My new companion and area are both alot of fun and great. The area we are in is pretty big, and it seems even bigger since we are in the corner of our area. And since the last area we were in was one of the smallest in the mission. So this area is pretty big and there are alot of hills. Its a daily workout. The hills are pretty big too, every time you go around a corner there is the hiil the size of the one we lived on. But its fun. The ward is really nice too. Basically everyone in the ward except the bishopric is young married couples. The apartment complex we live in is like the "place to be" for mormons who are students in medical or dental school. So almost everyone in the ward is in medical or dental school. There are members two doors down from our apartment in both directions. There are tons of members in our apartments which is good. And I think I have only met one couple where one of them wasnt in medical or dental school. So thats the ward, lots of young people going to school. They are all really nice and most of the guys are RMs so they come out with us and teach.
On sunday the bishop called me up during sacrament meeting to introduce myself and bear my testimony, which helped them all get to know me. My companions name is Elder Pierce. He has been out for sixteen months now. He is a good missionary. He's from New Orleans but moved to St george when hurricane katrina hit. He's really nice too and he likes to play sports which is good. And he is real big on eating healthy lol, and hes kind of rubbing off on me. lol. Idk i dont really care but he hates to see me eat something unhealthy. Like one of the members made us cinnamon rolls and gave us some to take home, and we took them home and obviously he didnt want his, so i was eating it. And then when i was eating it he was like "Icing... thats so bad for you. its just saturated fat." lol, its funny. I was just like "Oh well I'll bike it off." Anyway, thats Elder Pierce, we get along well and hes funny. He brought a bread maker too at a garage sale for ten bucks and so we make bread sometimes. But we were making banana bread and it asks for white flour, but he looked at it, and asked "Do you think we should just put in wheat flour instead." Lol, so we put in wheat flour to make it more healthy. It tasted good though.
Teaching is going good. I let you know more about the investigators down here once I know them more. Things are going well though we had 6 investigators show up to church. It was great.
But anyway I feel like I know the lessons in PMG really well. Especially the Restoration, we teach it everyday. I think knowing the material is going well but teaching simply but still clearly is probably something thats still pretty hard. Like if someone tells you they dont have very much time thats when its hard. Cause you got to tell them what you know in a short amount of time so you cant say everything but you need to tell them enough to not make them confused. So I think the best thing missionaries can do is jsut practice teaching the lessons out loud. Its really the only way you can get good at it. It seems like it would almost be good to practice teaching the lessons to a little kid so they can learn how to teach simply and clearly without telling them too much or saying everything they know. I just asked Elder Pierce what he thinks and he says daily scripture study and prayer lol. I guess thats always a good answer. He says he wasnt very good at that before his mission. Oh and he just told me to add cooking.
Wow that is so cool you get to take Elder Bednar to the airport. What is a normal conversation with Elder Bednar going to be like? Im excited to hear about it.Thanks for sharing that story about Spencer. I really enjoyed it. Its cool how the Lord works. That reminds me of the one time Dad and James and I were working on the 4runner and we were trying to get that bolt off the wheel and we we couldnt get it off for a long time. So we were trying to figure out what to do and so we prayed that we would figure out a way and then Dad had one more idea and it worked. The Lord answered our prayer. That car has been a real testimony builder. lol. Well I got to go. My time is up. Thanks for the email. Things are going great. Love you all
Elder Larson
My new address is:
4839 Whetstone RdRichmond, VA 23234
But for future reference, next time I am being transferred, you can send any mail to this next address. This address will always work no matter what because it is the address to the mission office and then the people at the mission office will forward the mail to wherever I am or wherever I am going. This address just takes a day or two extra because the mail has to be forwarded. :
Elder Jordan Larson
Virginia Richmond Mission
9327 Midlothian Tpke Suite 1-b
Richmond Va, 23235
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Oct 7, 2009 Letter
Hey,I am doing good. This week was a good week but nothing really too cool happened. General Conference was really good.
Ok so here is a story. Well, first of all, I dont know if I ever said this but when I first got here to Newport News it was kind of hard to understand people. Cause the people here kind of talk with a funny accent. Like they would say "Howyaalldoon" really fast and mushed together instead of "how are you all doing?" Lol. Anyway, so when I first got here i had to really work to understand people. So on Thursday Elder Comer and the District leader when on exchanges so Elder Conlin (the DL) came to newport news with Elder Beckman and I and Elder comer went up to his area. And Elder Conlin is usually a pretty talkative guy but he has never been in a getto area before. So we warned him that people here can be hard to understand sometimes and he just said ok. But then we get to our first lesson, and Elder Beckman and I are doing all the talking and teaching. And then finally Elder Conlin says something, and the person we were teaching interupted him and asked Elder Conlin something and he just looked at us and didnt say anything back to her...he couldn't understand anything she was saying, and we had to finish his statement for him. Lol, and that one thing he said was all he said the whole lesson. And afterwards he was just like wow, I couldnt understand a word she said. So that was pretty funny. And I guess Im getting better at understanding people cause I was probably like Elder Conlin when I got here.
But actually now I am getting transferred. Yesterday we got our transfer calls and I am going to a place called Meadowbrook which is no the Southside of Richmond. I am going to be in a twosome now too with an Elder named Elder Pearce. So that will be good. Ive heard that its alot like Newport News so it should be fun. Im exctied but Im going to miss the Branch.
Anyway, I really enjoyed general conference too. For some reason it is so much more exciting as a missionary. Lol. I was really excited for it. My favorite talk was President Monson's on service and all the service the people had done. I really enjoyed hearing about that. I like Elder Bednars too and how he rebuked people who share their testimony for the wrong reason. And I liked Elder Andersens on repentance. They were all good though.
Everything else is going good. Pam is getting more and more excited about her baptism on the 24th. She is going to be a good member and i am excited for her. I dont know when Joe and Tammy are going to get baptized though. Its hard because they live in a room of a rooming house w/o a car or a phone and they have to hire a lawyer to get his divorce to take place, so they dont really have the money or transportation or anything. And they are living on Tammy's disability check so they cant really seperate either cause that would cost too much... So we will just have to see. We'll keep praying for them. It really makes you grateful for the blessings we have and the guidance and protection we recieve in life from living the commandments of the church.
Spencer:Thats cool you got new pajamas. You will have to send me a picture. Good job in soccer and school. How do you play "hit and sit?" That sounds like a fun game though. I love you too.
Kyle: Im sorry you got sick. Thats never good. So what are you learning in seminary? You should take notes. I wish I would have. :) But you probably dont want to and I understand. Lol. So who are your firends from the Greenbluff ward? Oh and who is your teacher? Well thanks for writing me. Have a good week. Love, Elder Larson
Annette:Good choices on the songs. Those are good songs. What are you learning about in school? Im glad you liked the prophets talk cause he was my favorite speaker too. Thanks for writing me annette. Love you, Elder Larson
Well thanks for writing me. I am doing great, always happy. :) If you send anything you can send it to my old adress and Elder Comer will forward it to me. I dont know my new address yet but I will let you know what it is next week.
Oh and dad another good scripture for the getto is alma 17:14-15. Lol. But then vs 16 is what we do. Lol. Thanks for the prayers.
Love you
Elder Larson
Ok so here is a story. Well, first of all, I dont know if I ever said this but when I first got here to Newport News it was kind of hard to understand people. Cause the people here kind of talk with a funny accent. Like they would say "Howyaalldoon" really fast and mushed together instead of "how are you all doing?" Lol. Anyway, so when I first got here i had to really work to understand people. So on Thursday Elder Comer and the District leader when on exchanges so Elder Conlin (the DL) came to newport news with Elder Beckman and I and Elder comer went up to his area. And Elder Conlin is usually a pretty talkative guy but he has never been in a getto area before. So we warned him that people here can be hard to understand sometimes and he just said ok. But then we get to our first lesson, and Elder Beckman and I are doing all the talking and teaching. And then finally Elder Conlin says something, and the person we were teaching interupted him and asked Elder Conlin something and he just looked at us and didnt say anything back to her...he couldn't understand anything she was saying, and we had to finish his statement for him. Lol, and that one thing he said was all he said the whole lesson. And afterwards he was just like wow, I couldnt understand a word she said. So that was pretty funny. And I guess Im getting better at understanding people cause I was probably like Elder Conlin when I got here.
But actually now I am getting transferred. Yesterday we got our transfer calls and I am going to a place called Meadowbrook which is no the Southside of Richmond. I am going to be in a twosome now too with an Elder named Elder Pearce. So that will be good. Ive heard that its alot like Newport News so it should be fun. Im exctied but Im going to miss the Branch.
Anyway, I really enjoyed general conference too. For some reason it is so much more exciting as a missionary. Lol. I was really excited for it. My favorite talk was President Monson's on service and all the service the people had done. I really enjoyed hearing about that. I like Elder Bednars too and how he rebuked people who share their testimony for the wrong reason. And I liked Elder Andersens on repentance. They were all good though.
Everything else is going good. Pam is getting more and more excited about her baptism on the 24th. She is going to be a good member and i am excited for her. I dont know when Joe and Tammy are going to get baptized though. Its hard because they live in a room of a rooming house w/o a car or a phone and they have to hire a lawyer to get his divorce to take place, so they dont really have the money or transportation or anything. And they are living on Tammy's disability check so they cant really seperate either cause that would cost too much... So we will just have to see. We'll keep praying for them. It really makes you grateful for the blessings we have and the guidance and protection we recieve in life from living the commandments of the church.
Spencer:Thats cool you got new pajamas. You will have to send me a picture. Good job in soccer and school. How do you play "hit and sit?" That sounds like a fun game though. I love you too.
Kyle: Im sorry you got sick. Thats never good. So what are you learning in seminary? You should take notes. I wish I would have. :) But you probably dont want to and I understand. Lol. So who are your firends from the Greenbluff ward? Oh and who is your teacher? Well thanks for writing me. Have a good week. Love, Elder Larson
Annette:Good choices on the songs. Those are good songs. What are you learning about in school? Im glad you liked the prophets talk cause he was my favorite speaker too. Thanks for writing me annette. Love you, Elder Larson
Well thanks for writing me. I am doing great, always happy. :) If you send anything you can send it to my old adress and Elder Comer will forward it to me. I dont know my new address yet but I will let you know what it is next week.
Oh and dad another good scripture for the getto is alma 17:14-15. Lol. But then vs 16 is what we do. Lol. Thanks for the prayers.
Love you
Elder Larson
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Sept 30th 2009
Hey,
This week was a good week. Last Wednesday after we were done emailing we went bowling as a zone. It was pretty fun and nice to do something fun and relaxing. We have some unforutnate stories though. Last wednesday we went to see Joe and Tammy. And Joe and Tammy live in a one room house so we always teach them outisde. And Joe used to be a construction worker and he loves doing stuff like that so he has a bunch of nice power tools. But we went to go and see them lats wednesday and they told us that they got robbed. All of his power tools were stolen. I could tell he felt horrible. They really have like nothing and his power tools were something he really cared about and now they are gone. I felt really bad for them, especially Joe. But they live in a bad area and now Joe is determined to move so hopefully it will end up working for the better. It was unfortunate but they are still enjoying the church and they enjoy having us come over and teach them. And then one of the days we were teaching a lady on her doorstep and it was around the afternoon when school was getting out. And we were teaching her, and just a few houses down there was a group of like twenty to thirty guys walking home from school. And all of the sudden, a big fight broke out among all the guys. Lol. It was a little distracting. lol. It was a little difficult to teach with a fight going on three houses down. But it only lasted a few mins and then they all left and we continued the lesson. Lol. But anyway, thats the getto for you.
And we got a new mission leader on Sunday. I have to tell you about him cause he is a genius. He has a PHd in some religious field, so he knows a ton about everything that has to do with religion. Like he seriously knows everything. lol. And he is a convert to the church. But when the missionaries found him, he decided to prove the Book of Mormon wrong. So he read it and read it but he could never prove it wrong. And so now he is writing a book on how everyone needs the book of Mormon in their life. Its cool. He knows so much. Its really fun to talk with him. And he spends all of his time just reading religious books and learning more. And on Thursday he invited us over for dinner. He fed us a fish called gar. It is apparently considered a trash fish but he loves it and so he fed us some. I liked it. Its funny though, everything down here is deep fried. So for his fish he just made gar nuggets and fried them and fed them to us. It probably wasnt the most healthy but it tasted good.
But thats about it for this week. We are still teaching Joe and Tammy and Pam. Last night we went out with President Pettaway, the branch president, and he talked to Pam for awhile and got her excited for her baptism. She's excited for it. She has already invited one of her friends to church and to her baptism. :) And I dont know if Joe and Tammy are going to be baptized soon or not. We had them set for baptism on the 10th, but its all going to depend on if he can find his exwife or not. But hopefully it will work out and we are praying for them.
.....Thanks for you emails. Im glad you got a new bike dad. That sounds cool. So when are you seeing Elder Bednar? Or did you see him already? I really like him and Im excited to hear about it.
Im really excited to watch general conference too. Its alot more exciting now. Lol. I think its cause we spend so much of our time telling people how there is one true prophet on the earth and so now its really cool to acutally see him speak. Im excited for it. Well Im out of time. Thanks for the emails and support and love.
Love you all,Elder Larson
This week was a good week. Last Wednesday after we were done emailing we went bowling as a zone. It was pretty fun and nice to do something fun and relaxing. We have some unforutnate stories though. Last wednesday we went to see Joe and Tammy. And Joe and Tammy live in a one room house so we always teach them outisde. And Joe used to be a construction worker and he loves doing stuff like that so he has a bunch of nice power tools. But we went to go and see them lats wednesday and they told us that they got robbed. All of his power tools were stolen. I could tell he felt horrible. They really have like nothing and his power tools were something he really cared about and now they are gone. I felt really bad for them, especially Joe. But they live in a bad area and now Joe is determined to move so hopefully it will end up working for the better. It was unfortunate but they are still enjoying the church and they enjoy having us come over and teach them. And then one of the days we were teaching a lady on her doorstep and it was around the afternoon when school was getting out. And we were teaching her, and just a few houses down there was a group of like twenty to thirty guys walking home from school. And all of the sudden, a big fight broke out among all the guys. Lol. It was a little distracting. lol. It was a little difficult to teach with a fight going on three houses down. But it only lasted a few mins and then they all left and we continued the lesson. Lol. But anyway, thats the getto for you.
And we got a new mission leader on Sunday. I have to tell you about him cause he is a genius. He has a PHd in some religious field, so he knows a ton about everything that has to do with religion. Like he seriously knows everything. lol. And he is a convert to the church. But when the missionaries found him, he decided to prove the Book of Mormon wrong. So he read it and read it but he could never prove it wrong. And so now he is writing a book on how everyone needs the book of Mormon in their life. Its cool. He knows so much. Its really fun to talk with him. And he spends all of his time just reading religious books and learning more. And on Thursday he invited us over for dinner. He fed us a fish called gar. It is apparently considered a trash fish but he loves it and so he fed us some. I liked it. Its funny though, everything down here is deep fried. So for his fish he just made gar nuggets and fried them and fed them to us. It probably wasnt the most healthy but it tasted good.
But thats about it for this week. We are still teaching Joe and Tammy and Pam. Last night we went out with President Pettaway, the branch president, and he talked to Pam for awhile and got her excited for her baptism. She's excited for it. She has already invited one of her friends to church and to her baptism. :) And I dont know if Joe and Tammy are going to be baptized soon or not. We had them set for baptism on the 10th, but its all going to depend on if he can find his exwife or not. But hopefully it will work out and we are praying for them.
.....Thanks for you emails. Im glad you got a new bike dad. That sounds cool. So when are you seeing Elder Bednar? Or did you see him already? I really like him and Im excited to hear about it.
Im really excited to watch general conference too. Its alot more exciting now. Lol. I think its cause we spend so much of our time telling people how there is one true prophet on the earth and so now its really cool to acutally see him speak. Im excited for it. Well Im out of time. Thanks for the emails and support and love.
Love you all,Elder Larson
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