Hey,
Well this has been a good week. On Sunday we had a less active come to church that we have been working with. His name is Kevin Anderson and his family are all nonmembers, he has a wife and three kids. But we have been meeting with them and Kevin wants to start going back to church and all the kids want to come to church as well. They all said they liked it when they had come before. But none of them have come for a long time. So on Saturday we invited and committed them all to come and we were hoping they were all going to be there. Only Kevin showed up but still that is a great start. I think his family will soon follow as we continue to meet with them. The kids really like us and trust us so I think we should be able to get them to church this Sunday.
And on Monday we had probably the best first lesson on the Restoration I have ever been a part of. About two weeks ago we met this guy David. We gave him a Restoration pamphlet and he said he would read it. So we got his phone number and told him we would call him and see what he thought about it. So last week we were calling him and he never answered so we decided to stop by his house, cause there were some other people in the area we wanted to see too. So we went over there on Friday, and went to his house, and he was home. We asked him about the pamphlet and he hadnt touched it. We werent really surprised but we asked him again if he would read it. And he was like, "Yeah you're right, this is something I need in my life."
And so we were happy with that answer and I wanted to make sure he was serious so I said "Ok, well we''ll call you tomorrow and see what you think." And then he was like, "Tell you what, Ill have it read by Monday and then on Monday you can come by my house and Ill let you in and we can sit down and talk about it." :) So that made us very happy and worked great for our schedule so we said sure. So, Monday rolls around and during the day he calls us. And we were just like "Oh no...he's calling to cancel." We almost didnt answer but we did and instead he was calling to make sure we were coming over. So Monday night we went over and he was like alright go ahead. Usually we try to get to know people a little bit but he just said alright tell me. So we sat down and started teaching. We taught him the whole restoration, from God is our loving heavenly Father to praying to know if the Bom is true.
Usually we dont teach all of that in one lesson but it was going good and he was understanding so we just kept going. His wife was there as well and she was understanding it too. And so we explained everything and we asked them what they thought. And the wife went first and she asked if she could have a Book of Mormon so she could read and pray about it. She said it was something she wanted to pray about. That was a great answer to hear. And then we asked David what he thought. And he said, "Well, I dont know but I feel good." And he said, "You guys brought something good with you." It was so cool. He couldnt stop commenting on how as soon as we came in he had a good feeling. Obviously we explained to him the Holy Ghost and how it testifies of truth. And afterwards we were talking with him for a little bit and we invited him to come to church. And he said, "Well, you dont have to worry about me coming to your church. Im going to come. It might not be this week but Ill come."
So we said that was good but the sooner the better, and we explained the importance coming to church and why we go and what happens there. And he said he'll probably come. So we said ok and left. Well then that evening we were planning for the next day and the phone starts vibrating. And we looked at and he was calling us. So we answered it and he said "Hey guys I just decided, Im going to come to your church this week...Ill be there." Oh man, he is perfect. Prayers have definitely been answered. David and his wife and Heidi are going to be the next baptisms in Powhatan. We have another appointment with them on Friday so hopefully that one will go as well as this one did.
So thats story number one lol, here is story number two. One of the people we met near David that we wanted to see was this lady named Jennifer. She was kind of in the same boat. We had tracted into her, left her a pamphlet, and we were planning on seeing her Friday. Well we confirmed the appointment, and we had only just met her on her doorstep, but she said she was good for having us coming over on Friday and also she was inviting friends over and feeding us dinner. lol. So this was perfect. It was a great opportunity to teach her and her friends. Well, we got there, and he friend is a baptist preacher. Lol. And so we had dinner, and we were jsut talking together, and I could just tell, even though this preacher was very nice, he just didnt like our church and he was trying to hide it, but I knew the lesson afterwards was going to be interesting. So we sit down to start the lesson, and the first thing he says is "So the Book of Mormon, says that Christ was born in Jerusalem but we all know he was born in Bethlehem, so doesnt that contradict the Bible?" So we were like alright, we can explain that but lets start off with a prayer. So we prayed and tried explaining things to him but it was going nowhere. The whole time he just shook off our testimony and threw something else completely different at us. But, I have to give Elder Terry and I some credit. We did a good job of controlling the conversation by focusing on the Restoration and testifying of it as much as possible, instead of just trying to bible bash. And the whole time Jennifer was listening in. Well after like an hour and half of him trying to prove us wrong and us testifying back, we finally said we needed to go. But, there was some good that came from this. Afterwards, as we were about to leave, Jennifer asked us if she could have a Book of Mormon. She wanted to read and pray about it for herself. And we called her yesterday to follow up on giving her the Book of Mormon and we wanted to ask her if she would like us to come back and teach her more. Well she didnt answer the phone so we left a message saying that. And a little while later she called back and said sorry she missed our call and she said she had been meaning to tell us she wants us to come back and teach her more. We are planning on seeing her this weekend as well!
So this was an interesting week and things are going great. The Lord is helping us out alot especially by helping those we teach feel the Spirit. And another cool thing is starting tomorrow we have dinner with a member every night for like the next two weeks! Lol. Today when we buy food we are not really going to have to buy anything. The members here are great. Thank you for all your prayers. They have been answered. Have a good week.
Love,
Elder Larson
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Jan 6th 2010 letter
Hey,
Well thanks for your letters and your prayers. I am sure they have helped. This new area has definitely been a new experience. It was strange coming into an area and knowing nothing. The previous missionaries left us some notes on some of the people they were teaching but we have to figure almost everything out for ouselves. We did go see the Bishop. We did that the first night. It was interesting the planes with the new missionaries coming in from Salt Lake actually got held up a couple days cause Salt Lake had a big snowstorm. Transfers were supposed to take place on Thursday but ended up not happening until Saturday. So we got to Powhatan Saturday afternoon and then Saturday night we saw our new Bishop-Bishop Hugo. He is nice and seems to be pretty missionary minded. I think he will be a good person to work with. We also spent most of Saturday just going through all of the people in the area book and unpacking and getting organized. On Sunday we met our Ward Mission leader and talked with him for awhile. He is a great man and very excited about the work. I am not sure why they took both of the missionaries that were here before us out. They seemed to be doing a good job but for some reason President put new ones in. I am thinking they were good missionaries but they were kind of in a rut where they couldnt find anyone to teach. We dont have many investigators. I think President wanted this area to have a fresh start. So on Monday and Tuesday we did alot of knocking. We selected lots of former investigators and less actives to go see and then knocked the area around them. We have been able to talk to alot of people and some have set appointments for us to come back so we will see how solid they are when we return. Its pretty hard to tract here though. I really like this area because it is all country. It reminds me alot of Grandma and Grandpa's area, except there are more trees here. But there is lots of land and not too many businesses. It makes it hard to find places to tract though sometimes because lots of time there is like a half mile between houses. But we have been able to find places that have more houses and have talked to everyone we could around there. And just about everyone that we have met has been very nice. The people here are so friendly. I kind of thought country people might be a little rough around the edges but everyone we have talked to has been kind. And the members here are great too. We have had two member dinners already, and one member offered to buy our groceries today when we go shopping. Many of them introduced themselves to us at church and they have all been very nice excited to have us. The ward has been very welcoming and I am sure I will begin to enjoy this area much more when we find some more people to teach and once I begin to better know the members. My companion is Elder Terry. He is a great missionary. He has a strong testimony and is very motivated as I am to get the work going in this area. Sometimes he doesnt talk as much as I would like though, so I have gotten alot of practice talking on doorsteps. I told him he should talk more but he says he always freezes up. lol, But we get along great and have had enjoyed working together thinking of ways to best help out the area. And yeah this area does have alot of history from what I have heard. Alot of people have talked to us about it telling us about all these places we need to go check out. So once I get the area figured out I will try to find out what they are talking about and go see some places. Right now I am not too worried about it. And yeah it has been so cold here. Its been quite a bit below freezing and the wind has made it really bad. Especially when we first got here. Thank you for all the clothing you sent me because i have had it all on, and as long as I have had all of it on I stay pretty warm.
Thanks alot for your letter mom. I really enjoyed reading it and it helped me stayed motivated to keep working hard. Its funny how people say we should always pray with real intent even when times are easy because one day we will be in a hard time and we will have to pray with full intent. Well I think I have fallen victim to that because my prayers have definitely become much more meaningful as I have realized now how much more we needs Heavens help. But I feel like the Lord is working through us and this area is slowly going to improve as we find more people to teach.
Well things are going good. I still miss Meadowbrook a little bit, but nothing to worry about. It was weird going from so many people to teach to almost no one but its been a good new experience. Normally each night we planned for what we were going to teach each person but now we have to plan who we are going to try and see and where we are going to try and find new people. Its alot different. But its fun and Im happy. Thanks again for your letters and prayers. Talk to you next week.
Love,
Elder Larson
Well thanks for your letters and your prayers. I am sure they have helped. This new area has definitely been a new experience. It was strange coming into an area and knowing nothing. The previous missionaries left us some notes on some of the people they were teaching but we have to figure almost everything out for ouselves. We did go see the Bishop. We did that the first night. It was interesting the planes with the new missionaries coming in from Salt Lake actually got held up a couple days cause Salt Lake had a big snowstorm. Transfers were supposed to take place on Thursday but ended up not happening until Saturday. So we got to Powhatan Saturday afternoon and then Saturday night we saw our new Bishop-Bishop Hugo. He is nice and seems to be pretty missionary minded. I think he will be a good person to work with. We also spent most of Saturday just going through all of the people in the area book and unpacking and getting organized. On Sunday we met our Ward Mission leader and talked with him for awhile. He is a great man and very excited about the work. I am not sure why they took both of the missionaries that were here before us out. They seemed to be doing a good job but for some reason President put new ones in. I am thinking they were good missionaries but they were kind of in a rut where they couldnt find anyone to teach. We dont have many investigators. I think President wanted this area to have a fresh start. So on Monday and Tuesday we did alot of knocking. We selected lots of former investigators and less actives to go see and then knocked the area around them. We have been able to talk to alot of people and some have set appointments for us to come back so we will see how solid they are when we return. Its pretty hard to tract here though. I really like this area because it is all country. It reminds me alot of Grandma and Grandpa's area, except there are more trees here. But there is lots of land and not too many businesses. It makes it hard to find places to tract though sometimes because lots of time there is like a half mile between houses. But we have been able to find places that have more houses and have talked to everyone we could around there. And just about everyone that we have met has been very nice. The people here are so friendly. I kind of thought country people might be a little rough around the edges but everyone we have talked to has been kind. And the members here are great too. We have had two member dinners already, and one member offered to buy our groceries today when we go shopping. Many of them introduced themselves to us at church and they have all been very nice excited to have us. The ward has been very welcoming and I am sure I will begin to enjoy this area much more when we find some more people to teach and once I begin to better know the members. My companion is Elder Terry. He is a great missionary. He has a strong testimony and is very motivated as I am to get the work going in this area. Sometimes he doesnt talk as much as I would like though, so I have gotten alot of practice talking on doorsteps. I told him he should talk more but he says he always freezes up. lol, But we get along great and have had enjoyed working together thinking of ways to best help out the area. And yeah this area does have alot of history from what I have heard. Alot of people have talked to us about it telling us about all these places we need to go check out. So once I get the area figured out I will try to find out what they are talking about and go see some places. Right now I am not too worried about it. And yeah it has been so cold here. Its been quite a bit below freezing and the wind has made it really bad. Especially when we first got here. Thank you for all the clothing you sent me because i have had it all on, and as long as I have had all of it on I stay pretty warm.
Thanks alot for your letter mom. I really enjoyed reading it and it helped me stayed motivated to keep working hard. Its funny how people say we should always pray with real intent even when times are easy because one day we will be in a hard time and we will have to pray with full intent. Well I think I have fallen victim to that because my prayers have definitely become much more meaningful as I have realized now how much more we needs Heavens help. But I feel like the Lord is working through us and this area is slowly going to improve as we find more people to teach.
Well things are going good. I still miss Meadowbrook a little bit, but nothing to worry about. It was weird going from so many people to teach to almost no one but its been a good new experience. Normally each night we planned for what we were going to teach each person but now we have to plan who we are going to try and see and where we are going to try and find new people. Its alot different. But its fun and Im happy. Thanks again for your letters and prayers. Talk to you next week.
Love,
Elder Larson
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