Hey,
Well I have some fun news. First of all I am being transferred to a zone called Virginia Beach.
The Gladys knight fireside events were wonderful and very successful. We had a couple of investigators in Powhatan come to the fireside and they all enjoyed it. We got a couple thousand referrals for the entire mission. And each referral is a person who actually filled out a card so that the missionaries could come by and give them a gift that Gladys knight offers for free. It is wonderful. There are so many people that have accepted the invitation to be taught. Every single person that signed a referral card receives a Book of Mormon, a restoration dvd, an article called Miracle of the Bible by Elder Ballard, and a cd by Gladys Knight. The gospel is being spread. And the specific ward I am in now got 77 referrals which is like the 2nd highest in the mission. I am very grateful that I get to be a part of contacting and meeting and teaching all these people.
And the best part is, I am companions now with Elder Shelley again, my MTC companion. :) That made me very happy, and still does. It was so great to see him again. We had become really good friends at the MTC and had worked together well and I was always hoping I would run into him sometime. And now we are companions again. We became companions nine months ago at the MTC and now we are companions again. It is great. I am going to miss Powhatan though. I was really starting to like the ward and we were starting to teach quite a few people. I really enjoyed my time there. They moved Elder Terry out of there as well. Bishop wasnt too happy and neither was the ward mission leader, to get two new missionaries again. They really liked us, and Bro. Leonard our ward mission leader told us we were the most trustworthy missionaries he had ever worked with. So I am not quite sure President Millburn put new ones in again, but Im sure it was for a good reason. The new missionaries have some really great potential in that area.
So I have to tell you more about the fireside by Gladys Knight. It was pretty cool. I think her main goal was to try and integrate the black culture and white culture within the church. All of her songs were sung in a very modern, rock, type of way. The aim for the fireside was to bring african americans to it so that they could feel comfortable within a mormon setting. It was almost to the point that Gladys knight gave them a false idea of what church is like in our church. But it was really good, and the Spirit was strong. Before the fireside our mission president had told us that this would be one occasion where clapping and activity from the crowd would be allowed within the chapel. So it was pretty fun. All of the blacks were getting into it. They absolutely loved it, and it was fun for me just to watch them enjoy it. During her songs they would raise their hands and wave them back and forth. This one lady even stood up among everyone and just started dancing in her place and waving her arms back and forth. It was wonderful, and made me laugh to myself. And black people always talk back to the speaker, which is funny. If the speaker says something they agree with the black people always nodd their head and say something like "oh yeah!" or "amen!" or 'hallejuiah!" I like the black culture. And Gladys Knight was just perfect for entertaining them. She knew exactly what to say to get them to laugh and enjoy themselves. She does a wonderful job and is a great resource to the church, and to the Lord I should say.
As for me I am doing good. My dog bite is completely fine, it is basically healed now. It is starting to warm up alot here too. It is over 70 degrees almost everyday, which is good. Another thing I am happy about is we are back to a biking area. I really like riding bikes and being able to just be outside and enjoy the sun and get some exercise while doing the work. I heard about Gonzaga, that is unfortunate they lost. It seems like they used to have the ability to somehow upset the top seeds, but not anymore. Oh well. I heard BYU lost too.
Well last week I wrote ??? and ???. I told them how I was doing and asked how they were doing. I told them to go on a mission. I sure hope they do.
My new address is:
6478 Chartwell Dr.
Virginia Beach, VA, 23464
I love you,
Elder Larson
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
March 9th 2010
Hey,
Thank you for the email. Things are going good in Powhatan. It is starting to warm up which has been very enjoyable. It was almost 70 yesterday. I finally got to wear a short sleeve shirt again. It was great.
The work is going well. We have been able to do some biking as well. Its so much better than a car. I didnt realize how much I enjoyed biking compared to a car. I enjoy getting the exercise and being able to talk and say hi to people while riding. We were riding along this one road and we passed a couple of ladies that were out for a walk and we went up and talked to them and come to find out one used to be a member and the other one is interesting in learning and said we could come and teach her and her husband on Saturday. It was cool. And it all started just from being able to go up to them and tell them hi and ask how their day was going. We hope and pray we can have a good lesson with them on Saturday. I know we will I just hope they follow the impressions they receive.
We still havent heard from David or Mike. Mike has still been pretty busy, at least thats what it seems like. But I dont think he realizes the importance of the message either which is something we want to talk about more next time we get to talk to him. We stopped by Davids home to see how he was doing, and to see if he would bring up the letter you sent, but nobody answered the door. We will stop by again this week. We are working with some other people though that have alot of potential. It seems like many of the solid people here all have great potential but they all take along time. We are working with a part member family where the husband is not a member but he has told specifically that he would like to be baptized and sealed to his family. It was great to hear, but unfortunately he works tons and cant meet more than once a week, if that. And he doesnt retain what we teach him super well, and work often gets in the way on Sunday, so there is alot that needs to happen but over time Im sure he will come along. His name is Ben Nixon.
And we also picked up this guy named Woody, he has a cool name, who told us that he would like to be baptized but he says he doesnt want to come to church until he feels he is prepared. We told him to the best of our ability that he was prepared and ready to come but he told us one day he will wake up and decide to come. So we are going to keep working with him and help him feel ready. We have another lesson planned with Chris though tomorrow and we plan on getting him to church again this Sunday. He is still in some pain from his surgery on his shoulder but there is no reason why he shouldnt be able to come to church again.
I would definitely write to ____ and see how he is doing, and tell him about being a missionary. I would need his address though. I was actually trying to think of people that I could send a letter too and see how they are doing but I couldnt think of anyone. So thank you for thinking of people. But this did make me think of _____. Do you think he would be a good person to write? If you do you could get me his address and I can write him next week. And if you think of anyone else that would be good just get me there address.
Well thank you for the food offer. One of my favorite things to do as a missionary is accept food from people. :) We are doing great with appts and get fed well here. The members feed us almost daily. But we could always use some more snacks around the apt. Nothing with high fructose corn syrup and nothing with lots of sugar. Anything else would be great. Thank you mom. I Love you.
And Spencer, good job on your testimony. I am sure you did wonderful. I miss you too.
I love each of you,
Elder Larson
Thank you for the email. Things are going good in Powhatan. It is starting to warm up which has been very enjoyable. It was almost 70 yesterday. I finally got to wear a short sleeve shirt again. It was great.
The work is going well. We have been able to do some biking as well. Its so much better than a car. I didnt realize how much I enjoyed biking compared to a car. I enjoy getting the exercise and being able to talk and say hi to people while riding. We were riding along this one road and we passed a couple of ladies that were out for a walk and we went up and talked to them and come to find out one used to be a member and the other one is interesting in learning and said we could come and teach her and her husband on Saturday. It was cool. And it all started just from being able to go up to them and tell them hi and ask how their day was going. We hope and pray we can have a good lesson with them on Saturday. I know we will I just hope they follow the impressions they receive.
We still havent heard from David or Mike. Mike has still been pretty busy, at least thats what it seems like. But I dont think he realizes the importance of the message either which is something we want to talk about more next time we get to talk to him. We stopped by Davids home to see how he was doing, and to see if he would bring up the letter you sent, but nobody answered the door. We will stop by again this week. We are working with some other people though that have alot of potential. It seems like many of the solid people here all have great potential but they all take along time. We are working with a part member family where the husband is not a member but he has told specifically that he would like to be baptized and sealed to his family. It was great to hear, but unfortunately he works tons and cant meet more than once a week, if that. And he doesnt retain what we teach him super well, and work often gets in the way on Sunday, so there is alot that needs to happen but over time Im sure he will come along. His name is Ben Nixon.
And we also picked up this guy named Woody, he has a cool name, who told us that he would like to be baptized but he says he doesnt want to come to church until he feels he is prepared. We told him to the best of our ability that he was prepared and ready to come but he told us one day he will wake up and decide to come. So we are going to keep working with him and help him feel ready. We have another lesson planned with Chris though tomorrow and we plan on getting him to church again this Sunday. He is still in some pain from his surgery on his shoulder but there is no reason why he shouldnt be able to come to church again.
I would definitely write to ____ and see how he is doing, and tell him about being a missionary. I would need his address though. I was actually trying to think of people that I could send a letter too and see how they are doing but I couldnt think of anyone. So thank you for thinking of people. But this did make me think of _____. Do you think he would be a good person to write? If you do you could get me his address and I can write him next week. And if you think of anyone else that would be good just get me there address.
Well thank you for the food offer. One of my favorite things to do as a missionary is accept food from people. :) We are doing great with appts and get fed well here. The members feed us almost daily. But we could always use some more snacks around the apt. Nothing with high fructose corn syrup and nothing with lots of sugar. Anything else would be great. Thank you mom. I Love you.
And Spencer, good job on your testimony. I am sure you did wonderful. I miss you too.
I love each of you,
Elder Larson
Saturday, March 6, 2010
March 2nd 2010
Hey,
Thank you for the email. Spencer, I am excited for you to bear your testimony in front of everyone. You are going to do a very good job. Everyone is going to be proud of you. Im sorry to hear about the Corolla. I was hoping that car would be around when I got back, but i guess its not looking to good. Im thinking you could probably sell it for almost as much as we bought it for, which i think was like 1300. And Annette, I would plant some zucchini, you can make some really good bread out of zucchinies, and maybe you could be the first person to grow some corn at our house.
Well we are doing good in Powhatan. We had a really good Mission conference last Thursday where we learned alot about applying preach my gospel more and improving our study journals. Its amazing how many valuable principles are found in Preach my gospel. It seems like every page is full of ideas that can be applied and ways to improve. And our mission president would like us to get tabs for the notes we have taken so we can organize our thoughts and what we have learned better. So we plan to apply both of those ideas. And also it was good to hear from Elder Pierce and Elder Carter. I love seeing old companions. The lady back in Meadowbrook we were working with named Christine got baptized so that was good news.
Elder Terry and I continue to find new investigators that want to learn but it seems like everyone is so busy and it is really hard to get them to progress. That seeems to be the biggest challenge right now. Mike is still busy with plowing roads but we are finding some other people that have alot of potential. I will tell you more about them if they become solid. We are working hard though and doing all we can to help them get there.
Yesterday we had interviews with our Mission President. I enjoy interviews and I always feel uplifted after them. I really enjoy being around President Millburn. The interview was pretty short though this time and he basically just asked how I was doing. I told him I was doing great. He also always asks how my family is doing so I always tell him you all are doing good too. Im excited for Kyle to enter the Mission field. He is going to do really good. Has Jared turned his papers in yet?
Well thanks again for the email. They are the highlight of my week. Oh and last night it snowed but it wasnt below freezing so it didnt stick at all. Im not sure if more is supposed to come or not. Have a good week.
I love you
Elder Larson
Thank you for the email. Spencer, I am excited for you to bear your testimony in front of everyone. You are going to do a very good job. Everyone is going to be proud of you. Im sorry to hear about the Corolla. I was hoping that car would be around when I got back, but i guess its not looking to good. Im thinking you could probably sell it for almost as much as we bought it for, which i think was like 1300. And Annette, I would plant some zucchini, you can make some really good bread out of zucchinies, and maybe you could be the first person to grow some corn at our house.
Well we are doing good in Powhatan. We had a really good Mission conference last Thursday where we learned alot about applying preach my gospel more and improving our study journals. Its amazing how many valuable principles are found in Preach my gospel. It seems like every page is full of ideas that can be applied and ways to improve. And our mission president would like us to get tabs for the notes we have taken so we can organize our thoughts and what we have learned better. So we plan to apply both of those ideas. And also it was good to hear from Elder Pierce and Elder Carter. I love seeing old companions. The lady back in Meadowbrook we were working with named Christine got baptized so that was good news.
Elder Terry and I continue to find new investigators that want to learn but it seems like everyone is so busy and it is really hard to get them to progress. That seeems to be the biggest challenge right now. Mike is still busy with plowing roads but we are finding some other people that have alot of potential. I will tell you more about them if they become solid. We are working hard though and doing all we can to help them get there.
Yesterday we had interviews with our Mission President. I enjoy interviews and I always feel uplifted after them. I really enjoy being around President Millburn. The interview was pretty short though this time and he basically just asked how I was doing. I told him I was doing great. He also always asks how my family is doing so I always tell him you all are doing good too. Im excited for Kyle to enter the Mission field. He is going to do really good. Has Jared turned his papers in yet?
Well thanks again for the email. They are the highlight of my week. Oh and last night it snowed but it wasnt below freezing so it didnt stick at all. Im not sure if more is supposed to come or not. Have a good week.
I love you
Elder Larson
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