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
Friday, October 9, 2009
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
Friday, September 11, 2009
Hey,
This week has been a great week. Last week after I got done emailing one of the members took us up to Jamestown for a couple of hours. It was a lot of fun. We got to watch these people make glass the way it was made back in the 1600's, or whenever. They took sand and melted it in a 2250 degree furnace and then shaped it into a glass bottle and then it hardened. We also got to see where the Jamestown settlement was and the Pocahontas and John Smith statue. It was fun.
Then on Thursday we went and saw Sister Cherry who we just baptized. She is doing really good. The Relief Society all loves her and she is a really good cook, in fact she started the first soup kitchen in Virginia. So she is actually pretty well known in virginia. But when we came over she made us chitlins which is like a ground up pig stomach or something. I tried them but they werent very good. lol. Sister Cherry wanted us to come over and make a list of all of the commandments she has to follow so she doesnt forget any of them. :) So we did that for her. She is a great lady.
Then on Friday we had a lesson with Joe and Tammy at the Smiths house. Bro Smith is the Ward Mission Leader so we spend alot of time with him. So he went and picked Joe and Tammy up and then we had dinner together and watched the Restoration video. It went really well. The spirit was really strong and Joe and Tammy really love the church and have a desire to be baptized. The only thing they have to do first though is get married and the bad thing about that is Joe is still legally married to some other woman and he has no idea where she is or anything. So he has to find her and get divorced or something. I dont really know the details on that but they are working with the Branch President. So thats good.
Then on Saturday we tracted into this guy and talked for two hours about the need for the Book of Mormon. He was a really nice guy and it was a friendly argument lol, but he just didnt understand why the Book of Mormon was needed. We tried everything too, we told him about the apostasy and how the Book of Mormon proves the priesthood was restored and exists only in the Lords church and we told him that everything we were saying hinges on if the book of mormon is true or not and then we read him the moroni promise but he just said that if we need the book of mormon then the bible would be incomplete. Anyway, we discussed our views with him for a couple of hours but that probably wasnt the most effective two hours cause it really went nowhere. But it was fun. lol
Then fast Sunday was great. They always are, especially here. Since the branch is so small everyone knows everyone else really well so people will just start talking about someone else in their testimony. Lol. I dont think its meant to be that way but they always say good things and its usually pretty funny. And then one guy started talking about how he was feeling stressed out and then on sunday he was released from his calling and he would be given two weeks. And then he talked about how the next two weeks are the best time for him to go fishing this season. Lol. And then one guy talked about how he prayed for BYU and Alabama to win in foot ball and then he said, "I dont know if you are supposed to pray for things like that, but I did. And they were both answered." Lol. It was funny but the spirit was still really strong for the whole meeting. It was good for Joe and Tammy and also Pam. They all really enjoyed it and the branch does a really good job of fellowshipping people who we bring to church. Sister Smith is the Relief society president and she is always giving the people we bring hugs and a welcome. And Pam is the lady who we had set for baptism. We are still teaching her but she wants to put off her baptism for awhile. But she is doing good.
That pretty much wraps us last week. Monday and Tuesday have rained all day on us. But for whatever reason I think its really fun to tract in the rain. I enjoy it. Maybe its just cause everyone we see gives a look like we are crazy. Lol. So monday and tuesday were fun. We had appointments too but nothing too interesting. I did go and get a rain jacket though. We went to an army surplus store and I picked a pretty nice one up for twenty bucks. It worked well. So thats taken care of.
As far as the Mike guy, the guy who called us in during the rainstorm. We have called him alot but he always tells us he is busy with work. Which I think he is busy but no one should be too busy for the church. We have tried stopping by his house a few times and we talked to him once but he jsut told us the same thing as he did on the phone...that he is too busy. Its sad, cause he obviously was prompted to invite us in that one day and he was fascinated by the Book of Mormon, but he is choosing to put work first. We will keep trying to contact him though. We are not going to give up.
Well thanks for the emails and the letters. I enjoy reading them. Everything is going well here. Elder Beckman and Elder Comer and I have alot of fun together. Actually I kind of got out of the habit of writing in my journal for a couple of days because we have alot of fun just talking at night and tellling stories. And we practice bashing each other on scriptures. Lol. One of us will just pretend to be an investigator and then we have an argument. Since we cant bash with real investigators we do it among ourselves. Lol. Its alot of fun. So I'm doing good and I'm glad everything is going well back home. Im glad school is going well for everyone.
Oh and can you find out something for me real fast. Just out of curiousity, did the Folsoms ever get the letters I wrote them while I was at the MTC? They sent me letters and I wrote them back but I never heard back from them (which is completely fine) so I jsut wanted to know if they got my letters. And also, can you get me their address at BYU? Thanks
Oh and I just remembered something else kind of cool. That Sister missionary that the Grimes know, Sister Brewer, well she is coming from the same stake that Elder Comer is from. Cause Elder Comer told me a couple of weeks ago that a Sister Missionary from his stake is coming here and her name was Sister Brewer so I am assuming its the same one the Grimes are related to. Anyway, just thought I'd tell you that.
Well I got to go. Everythings is going well. :) Im happy all the time.
Love,Elder Larson
This week has been a great week. Last week after I got done emailing one of the members took us up to Jamestown for a couple of hours. It was a lot of fun. We got to watch these people make glass the way it was made back in the 1600's, or whenever. They took sand and melted it in a 2250 degree furnace and then shaped it into a glass bottle and then it hardened. We also got to see where the Jamestown settlement was and the Pocahontas and John Smith statue. It was fun.
Then on Thursday we went and saw Sister Cherry who we just baptized. She is doing really good. The Relief Society all loves her and she is a really good cook, in fact she started the first soup kitchen in Virginia. So she is actually pretty well known in virginia. But when we came over she made us chitlins which is like a ground up pig stomach or something. I tried them but they werent very good. lol. Sister Cherry wanted us to come over and make a list of all of the commandments she has to follow so she doesnt forget any of them. :) So we did that for her. She is a great lady.
Then on Friday we had a lesson with Joe and Tammy at the Smiths house. Bro Smith is the Ward Mission Leader so we spend alot of time with him. So he went and picked Joe and Tammy up and then we had dinner together and watched the Restoration video. It went really well. The spirit was really strong and Joe and Tammy really love the church and have a desire to be baptized. The only thing they have to do first though is get married and the bad thing about that is Joe is still legally married to some other woman and he has no idea where she is or anything. So he has to find her and get divorced or something. I dont really know the details on that but they are working with the Branch President. So thats good.
Then on Saturday we tracted into this guy and talked for two hours about the need for the Book of Mormon. He was a really nice guy and it was a friendly argument lol, but he just didnt understand why the Book of Mormon was needed. We tried everything too, we told him about the apostasy and how the Book of Mormon proves the priesthood was restored and exists only in the Lords church and we told him that everything we were saying hinges on if the book of mormon is true or not and then we read him the moroni promise but he just said that if we need the book of mormon then the bible would be incomplete. Anyway, we discussed our views with him for a couple of hours but that probably wasnt the most effective two hours cause it really went nowhere. But it was fun. lol
Then fast Sunday was great. They always are, especially here. Since the branch is so small everyone knows everyone else really well so people will just start talking about someone else in their testimony. Lol. I dont think its meant to be that way but they always say good things and its usually pretty funny. And then one guy started talking about how he was feeling stressed out and then on sunday he was released from his calling and he would be given two weeks. And then he talked about how the next two weeks are the best time for him to go fishing this season. Lol. And then one guy talked about how he prayed for BYU and Alabama to win in foot ball and then he said, "I dont know if you are supposed to pray for things like that, but I did. And they were both answered." Lol. It was funny but the spirit was still really strong for the whole meeting. It was good for Joe and Tammy and also Pam. They all really enjoyed it and the branch does a really good job of fellowshipping people who we bring to church. Sister Smith is the Relief society president and she is always giving the people we bring hugs and a welcome. And Pam is the lady who we had set for baptism. We are still teaching her but she wants to put off her baptism for awhile. But she is doing good.
That pretty much wraps us last week. Monday and Tuesday have rained all day on us. But for whatever reason I think its really fun to tract in the rain. I enjoy it. Maybe its just cause everyone we see gives a look like we are crazy. Lol. So monday and tuesday were fun. We had appointments too but nothing too interesting. I did go and get a rain jacket though. We went to an army surplus store and I picked a pretty nice one up for twenty bucks. It worked well. So thats taken care of.
As far as the Mike guy, the guy who called us in during the rainstorm. We have called him alot but he always tells us he is busy with work. Which I think he is busy but no one should be too busy for the church. We have tried stopping by his house a few times and we talked to him once but he jsut told us the same thing as he did on the phone...that he is too busy. Its sad, cause he obviously was prompted to invite us in that one day and he was fascinated by the Book of Mormon, but he is choosing to put work first. We will keep trying to contact him though. We are not going to give up.
Well thanks for the emails and the letters. I enjoy reading them. Everything is going well here. Elder Beckman and Elder Comer and I have alot of fun together. Actually I kind of got out of the habit of writing in my journal for a couple of days because we have alot of fun just talking at night and tellling stories. And we practice bashing each other on scriptures. Lol. One of us will just pretend to be an investigator and then we have an argument. Since we cant bash with real investigators we do it among ourselves. Lol. Its alot of fun. So I'm doing good and I'm glad everything is going well back home. Im glad school is going well for everyone.
Oh and can you find out something for me real fast. Just out of curiousity, did the Folsoms ever get the letters I wrote them while I was at the MTC? They sent me letters and I wrote them back but I never heard back from them (which is completely fine) so I jsut wanted to know if they got my letters. And also, can you get me their address at BYU? Thanks
Oh and I just remembered something else kind of cool. That Sister missionary that the Grimes know, Sister Brewer, well she is coming from the same stake that Elder Comer is from. Cause Elder Comer told me a couple of weeks ago that a Sister Missionary from his stake is coming here and her name was Sister Brewer so I am assuming its the same one the Grimes are related to. Anyway, just thought I'd tell you that.
Well I got to go. Everythings is going well. :) Im happy all the time.
Love,Elder Larson
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Sept 2 2009 letter
Hey,I am doing well.
Last week was transfers so we got our new missionary. His name is Elder Beckman. He actually came out the same time that I did but he was in a different district so I didn't know him. But its cool to be companions with someone who is new to the mission like I am. And Elder Comer came out in February so we are a pretty young companionship. Its fun.
Then on Friday there was a branch activity. There are lots of branch activities here, like at least one every two weeks. I think its because a lot of the branch is elderly singles so having branch activities is good for them to get out of the house and do something. So we had a potluck and it was good. Its always nice to get free food.
Then on Saturday we did a lot of tracting in the morning. We talked to some Jehovah Witnesses for a like an hour once. They are pretty stubborn with their beliefs. But we talked to them for awhile and just discussed our religions with them.
Man, I feel like I don't have as many cool stories this week as I do last week. But we did have a couple of investigators come to church with us. Their names are Joe and Tammy. They were a media referral who ordered a bible so we got to drop that off to them and teach them. They really like the church and they want to change so hopefully by next week they will be set for baptism. They loved coming to church and they participated in the discussions.
And ok, here's a funny story, its actually kind of sad. Joe was introducing himself, and he was talking about himself and how he wants to find a different church. And then he looked at Tammy and he was like "I chose her for her interior beauty, not her exterior beauty." And then Tammy nodded her head and was like "yep." I felt bad but they are happy together and they are really nice and stuff so I didnt worry about it. lol
Then Monday and Tuesday we have just been teaching people as usual. Nothing really outstanding as happened yet. We are still teaching Pam, who we set for baptism on October 3rd. Hopefully that will still work out. It might be hard since that weekend is general conference but we could probably do her baptism in the morning. Its weird the first session of conference doesn't start til noon over here. So we would have time to do it in the morning.
There really haven't been any storms. I heard about a couple of hurricanes...like Hurricane Bill and i think there was one called Claudia. I don't know if you heard anything about them but they really didn't affect us at all. We usually have a big rain storm like once a week but that's it.
That's really neat that you are getting to talk to Pete and invite him over for dinner. You should ask him how he came to know the church was true and what made him decide to go on a mission. I think those are really good questions to ask people who are less active because it helps them remember how they felt and helps them feel the Spirit. I hope it goes well.
Please tell Grandma and Grandpa thank you for the birthday card. I really liked it and the song in it and my companions listened to it too. :)
Thanks for the email. I enjoyed reading it. I'm glad everything is going well and good luck to James and Kyle and Annette and Spencer with school. You'll do great. And to Kyle welcome to high school and seminary. It will come early. lol. And to Spencer good luck with Soccer and I hope your team does well. I like the name Blue Crushers. :) Thats a cool name.
I love you all,Elder Larson
Last week was transfers so we got our new missionary. His name is Elder Beckman. He actually came out the same time that I did but he was in a different district so I didn't know him. But its cool to be companions with someone who is new to the mission like I am. And Elder Comer came out in February so we are a pretty young companionship. Its fun.
Then on Friday there was a branch activity. There are lots of branch activities here, like at least one every two weeks. I think its because a lot of the branch is elderly singles so having branch activities is good for them to get out of the house and do something. So we had a potluck and it was good. Its always nice to get free food.
Then on Saturday we did a lot of tracting in the morning. We talked to some Jehovah Witnesses for a like an hour once. They are pretty stubborn with their beliefs. But we talked to them for awhile and just discussed our religions with them.
Man, I feel like I don't have as many cool stories this week as I do last week. But we did have a couple of investigators come to church with us. Their names are Joe and Tammy. They were a media referral who ordered a bible so we got to drop that off to them and teach them. They really like the church and they want to change so hopefully by next week they will be set for baptism. They loved coming to church and they participated in the discussions.
And ok, here's a funny story, its actually kind of sad. Joe was introducing himself, and he was talking about himself and how he wants to find a different church. And then he looked at Tammy and he was like "I chose her for her interior beauty, not her exterior beauty." And then Tammy nodded her head and was like "yep." I felt bad but they are happy together and they are really nice and stuff so I didnt worry about it. lol
Then Monday and Tuesday we have just been teaching people as usual. Nothing really outstanding as happened yet. We are still teaching Pam, who we set for baptism on October 3rd. Hopefully that will still work out. It might be hard since that weekend is general conference but we could probably do her baptism in the morning. Its weird the first session of conference doesn't start til noon over here. So we would have time to do it in the morning.
There really haven't been any storms. I heard about a couple of hurricanes...like Hurricane Bill and i think there was one called Claudia. I don't know if you heard anything about them but they really didn't affect us at all. We usually have a big rain storm like once a week but that's it.
That's really neat that you are getting to talk to Pete and invite him over for dinner. You should ask him how he came to know the church was true and what made him decide to go on a mission. I think those are really good questions to ask people who are less active because it helps them remember how they felt and helps them feel the Spirit. I hope it goes well.
Please tell Grandma and Grandpa thank you for the birthday card. I really liked it and the song in it and my companions listened to it too. :)
Thanks for the email. I enjoyed reading it. I'm glad everything is going well and good luck to James and Kyle and Annette and Spencer with school. You'll do great. And to Kyle welcome to high school and seminary. It will come early. lol. And to Spencer good luck with Soccer and I hope your team does well. I like the name Blue Crushers. :) Thats a cool name.
I love you all,Elder Larson
Friday, August 28, 2009
Aug 25 2009 letter
Hey,
Thanks for the email. I enjoyed reading it. I had a great birthday. We kind of celebrated it on Monday because yesterday we went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders. One of the zone leaders came down here for the day and Elder Comer went with them for the day. So we celebrated my birthday on Monday so we could all be together. We went to dinner with this lady named Sister Whitley. She's like 80 years old and she loves being with us and we enjoy spending time with her because she is pretty funny. But anyway we went to dinner with her at a Mexican place called rey-azteca and when the employees found out it was my birthday they all sang to me, and made me where this really big hat (a chombrero) and they gave me free ice cream. It was fun, and made me happy.
And I got your letter and box on Monday as well. Thank you. I enjoyed opening the box and I needed some new socks. And I always enjoy candy too. But I had a really good birthday yesterday too. We were on exchanges with one of the zone leaders. We had fun together and we invited a lady named Pam to be baptized. We weren't really planning on it beforehand but then she started telling us how she wanted to change and be made clean from all her sins so we taught her about repentance and baptism and then invited her to be baptized. She said that she would and so we set a date for October 3. She hasn't been able to make it to church though because she is busy with school. So you could pray for her that she can find the time and be able to come to church each Sunday because you have to come to church 4 times before you can be baptized. But its wonderful that she is willing to get baptized and it made us all very happy. And that definitely made the day go really good. :)
And then later in the day we were going to an appointment and a guy standing on the corner of the street yelled out to us. He was a pretty funny guy. He told us if we fed him spiritually he would rap to us. lol. So we shared some scriptures with him, one of them was mosiah 4:30, and then he rapped to us and he was actually a pretty good singer. lol. It was funny, and enjoyable. We took pictures with him which i will send pretty soon. It was funny. He was a cool guy. His name was Rodney but his nickname is "Iron" because he said his lyrics are hard like iron. lol. It was sweet.
But backing up, for Thursday and Friday and Saturday of last week we were in Richmond with the training assistants. There names were Elder Petersen and Elder Craig. On the Thursday I went on exchanges with Elder Petersen and I went with him to all of his appointments. And then on friday Elder Carter and I were with Elder Craig and we went on exchanges with him. It was a lot of fun. The purpose of it was for them to tell us what we need to work on and where we are doing good at but we had alot of fun together. They were fun to hang out with. They gave us some good advice. They taught us how to use the area book (which is a book that contains all the people missionaries have taught and contacted before in the area) more in our planning each night. And then on Saturday we came back to Newport News.
We had interviews with the Mission President which went well. They were really short and he basically just asked how we were doing and what we were working on. Then Saturday night was sister Cherry's baptism. Overall, the baptism went really well, and the Spirit was really strong, but there were some things that could have been better. lol. First of all, it takes like two hours to fill up the font, and we are in charge of doing that. So we got there around 4 to clean it out and to start filling it. And while it was filling we would just check it every few mins. There isnt really too much to do while its filling because we have to stay at the church while it is filling. But anyway, somehow we kind of lost track of time, and we walk in to the font, and it had flooded all over the carpet. There was like an inch of water on the carpet. lol. And the baptism started in like twenty minutes. It was pretty bad, somehow the drains on the side of the font (which are there to drain the water so it doesn't overflow) were clogged and the water got everywhere. So we immediately started mopping it up and drying it with paper towels. And then people started showing up which didnt help. But we called the branch president and he knew someone with a wet/dry vacuum and so we were able to use that to vacuum most of the water. So it really wasn't that bad but it was a good story for the journal. lol. And then the baptism took like an hour and a half and they are only supposed to be 30-40 mins. People kept getting up to say stuff. And one guy started talking about how science is discovering other universes and how soon people will be able to be invisible and how that relates to the fact that science is catching up to religion. lol. I was confused. But I'm not complaining cause the baptism was great. There were just some funny memorable stories that happened. And like i said the spirit was really strong and afterwards sister cherry said that she "had never felt like this in her whole life" and she said that she felt like she "had been looking for this feeling her whole life." It was cool to hear. And then on Sunday we confirmed her. The branch president (President Pettaway) did the confirmation but we were all standing it and right after it Sister cherry gathered us three missionaries all in and hugged us. So Saturday and Sunday were pretty neat days that I will remember. And I'm looking forward to having more highlights throughout my mission too.
Well I think that's about it. It was a good week. Oh and I did not get transferred. Elder Carter is heading to a city called Poquoson. But Elder Comer and I are staying and we are getting a new missionary named Elder Beckman. We should see him tomorrow. So that'll be good. And one transfer is already done. :)
Thanks again for the letters and emails. I enjoy them. I'm glad you had a good birthday mom and you all had a fun weekend. Thanks for the prayers. I love you.
Elder Larson
Thanks for the email. I enjoyed reading it. I had a great birthday. We kind of celebrated it on Monday because yesterday we went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders. One of the zone leaders came down here for the day and Elder Comer went with them for the day. So we celebrated my birthday on Monday so we could all be together. We went to dinner with this lady named Sister Whitley. She's like 80 years old and she loves being with us and we enjoy spending time with her because she is pretty funny. But anyway we went to dinner with her at a Mexican place called rey-azteca and when the employees found out it was my birthday they all sang to me, and made me where this really big hat (a chombrero) and they gave me free ice cream. It was fun, and made me happy.
And I got your letter and box on Monday as well. Thank you. I enjoyed opening the box and I needed some new socks. And I always enjoy candy too. But I had a really good birthday yesterday too. We were on exchanges with one of the zone leaders. We had fun together and we invited a lady named Pam to be baptized. We weren't really planning on it beforehand but then she started telling us how she wanted to change and be made clean from all her sins so we taught her about repentance and baptism and then invited her to be baptized. She said that she would and so we set a date for October 3. She hasn't been able to make it to church though because she is busy with school. So you could pray for her that she can find the time and be able to come to church each Sunday because you have to come to church 4 times before you can be baptized. But its wonderful that she is willing to get baptized and it made us all very happy. And that definitely made the day go really good. :)
And then later in the day we were going to an appointment and a guy standing on the corner of the street yelled out to us. He was a pretty funny guy. He told us if we fed him spiritually he would rap to us. lol. So we shared some scriptures with him, one of them was mosiah 4:30, and then he rapped to us and he was actually a pretty good singer. lol. It was funny, and enjoyable. We took pictures with him which i will send pretty soon. It was funny. He was a cool guy. His name was Rodney but his nickname is "Iron" because he said his lyrics are hard like iron. lol. It was sweet.
But backing up, for Thursday and Friday and Saturday of last week we were in Richmond with the training assistants. There names were Elder Petersen and Elder Craig. On the Thursday I went on exchanges with Elder Petersen and I went with him to all of his appointments. And then on friday Elder Carter and I were with Elder Craig and we went on exchanges with him. It was a lot of fun. The purpose of it was for them to tell us what we need to work on and where we are doing good at but we had alot of fun together. They were fun to hang out with. They gave us some good advice. They taught us how to use the area book (which is a book that contains all the people missionaries have taught and contacted before in the area) more in our planning each night. And then on Saturday we came back to Newport News.
We had interviews with the Mission President which went well. They were really short and he basically just asked how we were doing and what we were working on. Then Saturday night was sister Cherry's baptism. Overall, the baptism went really well, and the Spirit was really strong, but there were some things that could have been better. lol. First of all, it takes like two hours to fill up the font, and we are in charge of doing that. So we got there around 4 to clean it out and to start filling it. And while it was filling we would just check it every few mins. There isnt really too much to do while its filling because we have to stay at the church while it is filling. But anyway, somehow we kind of lost track of time, and we walk in to the font, and it had flooded all over the carpet. There was like an inch of water on the carpet. lol. And the baptism started in like twenty minutes. It was pretty bad, somehow the drains on the side of the font (which are there to drain the water so it doesn't overflow) were clogged and the water got everywhere. So we immediately started mopping it up and drying it with paper towels. And then people started showing up which didnt help. But we called the branch president and he knew someone with a wet/dry vacuum and so we were able to use that to vacuum most of the water. So it really wasn't that bad but it was a good story for the journal. lol. And then the baptism took like an hour and a half and they are only supposed to be 30-40 mins. People kept getting up to say stuff. And one guy started talking about how science is discovering other universes and how soon people will be able to be invisible and how that relates to the fact that science is catching up to religion. lol. I was confused. But I'm not complaining cause the baptism was great. There were just some funny memorable stories that happened. And like i said the spirit was really strong and afterwards sister cherry said that she "had never felt like this in her whole life" and she said that she felt like she "had been looking for this feeling her whole life." It was cool to hear. And then on Sunday we confirmed her. The branch president (President Pettaway) did the confirmation but we were all standing it and right after it Sister cherry gathered us three missionaries all in and hugged us. So Saturday and Sunday were pretty neat days that I will remember. And I'm looking forward to having more highlights throughout my mission too.
Well I think that's about it. It was a good week. Oh and I did not get transferred. Elder Carter is heading to a city called Poquoson. But Elder Comer and I are staying and we are getting a new missionary named Elder Beckman. We should see him tomorrow. So that'll be good. And one transfer is already done. :)
Thanks again for the letters and emails. I enjoy them. I'm glad you had a good birthday mom and you all had a fun weekend. Thanks for the prayers. I love you.
Elder Larson
Friday, August 14, 2009
Aug 12 Letter
Hey mom and dad,
I am doing great! Yeah, we do have a very small branch. I counted once all the people in sacrament meeting and it was like 30. Which sounds alot bigger than it really is. But everyone is really nice and they all love the missionaries. And the we are in charge of teaching the gospel doctrine class, and sometimes the priesthood lesson. So yeah we do get to do our share of work. And when I taught the gospel doctrine class there were like 5 people in the class. lol.
Thats really neat you get to meet with all the general authorities. I agree, it is so cool to be in the presence of a general authority. They always have a strong presence about them. I'm sorry about sister campbell and your bike. Thats too bad. I don't need a lock for mine, it came with one. Thanks though. But one thing I've noticed is you can never have enough ties or socks here.
Everything is going well here though. The work is going well. There are a couple of baptisms happening this weekend in our district that we are plannig on attending. And we are still set to have one on the 22nd. Hopefully we will have more set up soon. And transfers are coming up pretty quick too. Next week is our last full week. I hope I stay where I am at though, I really like it here and my companions. I'm sure something will change though. And lets see, last Wednesday after we were done emailing I went and got my Virginia's driver license. Everything went smoothly with that. But right now I am only riding bikes. Oh and yesterday it was so hot. It was like 115 with the heat index. I was so sweaty lol. And every appointment we would go to people would give us water bottles and you drink the water bottles like they are small galsses of water, just a nice little drink, cause you sweat so much.
Last Wednesday night we had like an hour left and we didnt have an appointment so were about to start knocking doors. And we had jsut got done with an appointment and a storm had started moving in. And there was lots of lightning but it was really raining too much. So we weren't sure what to do, cause a little rain is nothing but we didn't want to be dumb and be in the middle of a lightning storm, cause you could see the lighting hitting the ground a mile or two away. So anyway, we weren't sure what to do, but we decided to start knocking until it got worse, but right as we started a guy came outside his house, and yelled to us. And he said, "Hey do you guys want to come inside?" So obviously we were said yeah :) and we went inside. We started talking to him and he asked us what we do and we told him and then he told us that he never lets people in his house but he had a feeling he should invite us in. :) So we gave him a book of mormon and we read from it and taught him the Restoration. It was a good lesson and he was really interested. :) But we haven't gotten to see him since cause he works a ton. But it was a really neat story how we found him and I know the Lord was rewarding us for being diligent. :)
Then Thursday we had a zone conference with the mission president and the zone. It went well. He told us we need to wake up, step up, toughen up, grow up, and measure up. So he wants us to work hard. :) And our companionship got to do a role play in fornt of the zone. We role played teaching a member the principle of obedience. I used the scriptures Helaman 10:4-5 and used the example of Nephi. It went really well. I was happy about it.
And that night we had dinner with President Pettaway, the branch president. It was a great dinner and he makes amzing shrimp. lol. It really was so good. Apparently once he ate shrimp so much trying to perfect his recipe he lost his gall bladder. lol. But he is a really nice guy and I like him alot. He visited Clara with us (the lady set for baptism on the 22nd) and she is really excited to be baptized. She has to make it to church this Sunday to be baptized on the 22nd but she said no matter what, if she misses church, she is going to be baptized at some time. :) And she has some health concerns so its somewhat likely she could miss church.
And sundays are the best. All while I was growing up I thought Sundays were the worst day of the week but now they are my favorite cause you get to come home from church feeling great. We call them spiritual boost days. Well, Im doing great. Thanks for the emails and the letters. I always like reading your response to my emails. :) Well have a great day and week. All of you are in my prayers everyday. I love you.
Elder Larson
I am doing great! Yeah, we do have a very small branch. I counted once all the people in sacrament meeting and it was like 30. Which sounds alot bigger than it really is. But everyone is really nice and they all love the missionaries. And the we are in charge of teaching the gospel doctrine class, and sometimes the priesthood lesson. So yeah we do get to do our share of work. And when I taught the gospel doctrine class there were like 5 people in the class. lol.
Thats really neat you get to meet with all the general authorities. I agree, it is so cool to be in the presence of a general authority. They always have a strong presence about them. I'm sorry about sister campbell and your bike. Thats too bad. I don't need a lock for mine, it came with one. Thanks though. But one thing I've noticed is you can never have enough ties or socks here.
Everything is going well here though. The work is going well. There are a couple of baptisms happening this weekend in our district that we are plannig on attending. And we are still set to have one on the 22nd. Hopefully we will have more set up soon. And transfers are coming up pretty quick too. Next week is our last full week. I hope I stay where I am at though, I really like it here and my companions. I'm sure something will change though. And lets see, last Wednesday after we were done emailing I went and got my Virginia's driver license. Everything went smoothly with that. But right now I am only riding bikes. Oh and yesterday it was so hot. It was like 115 with the heat index. I was so sweaty lol. And every appointment we would go to people would give us water bottles and you drink the water bottles like they are small galsses of water, just a nice little drink, cause you sweat so much.
Last Wednesday night we had like an hour left and we didnt have an appointment so were about to start knocking doors. And we had jsut got done with an appointment and a storm had started moving in. And there was lots of lightning but it was really raining too much. So we weren't sure what to do, cause a little rain is nothing but we didn't want to be dumb and be in the middle of a lightning storm, cause you could see the lighting hitting the ground a mile or two away. So anyway, we weren't sure what to do, but we decided to start knocking until it got worse, but right as we started a guy came outside his house, and yelled to us. And he said, "Hey do you guys want to come inside?" So obviously we were said yeah :) and we went inside. We started talking to him and he asked us what we do and we told him and then he told us that he never lets people in his house but he had a feeling he should invite us in. :) So we gave him a book of mormon and we read from it and taught him the Restoration. It was a good lesson and he was really interested. :) But we haven't gotten to see him since cause he works a ton. But it was a really neat story how we found him and I know the Lord was rewarding us for being diligent. :)
Then Thursday we had a zone conference with the mission president and the zone. It went well. He told us we need to wake up, step up, toughen up, grow up, and measure up. So he wants us to work hard. :) And our companionship got to do a role play in fornt of the zone. We role played teaching a member the principle of obedience. I used the scriptures Helaman 10:4-5 and used the example of Nephi. It went really well. I was happy about it.
And that night we had dinner with President Pettaway, the branch president. It was a great dinner and he makes amzing shrimp. lol. It really was so good. Apparently once he ate shrimp so much trying to perfect his recipe he lost his gall bladder. lol. But he is a really nice guy and I like him alot. He visited Clara with us (the lady set for baptism on the 22nd) and she is really excited to be baptized. She has to make it to church this Sunday to be baptized on the 22nd but she said no matter what, if she misses church, she is going to be baptized at some time. :) And she has some health concerns so its somewhat likely she could miss church.
And sundays are the best. All while I was growing up I thought Sundays were the worst day of the week but now they are my favorite cause you get to come home from church feeling great. We call them spiritual boost days. Well, Im doing great. Thanks for the emails and the letters. I always like reading your response to my emails. :) Well have a great day and week. All of you are in my prayers everyday. I love you.
Elder Larson
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
5 Aug 2009
Hey,
First I'll reply to your email so I don't forget to do that. That's exciting to hear about Kyle Baird. He's going to love it. And Ill keep an eye out for those sister missionaries. President Millburn said the Virginia mission is increasing in size so its cool to see so many people being sent here. They'll love it. :) My bike came with two extra tubes and tools for all the bolts and stuff but it doesn't have a repair kit. But I can get one for cheap at walmart though so I don't think you need to worry about it.
Yeah we are still in a 3some. transfers are near the end of August so things could change then. We'll see. And yeah they are great companions. They are both really good at teaching and talking to people. And they are nice and fun to be with. WE are good friends. So things are going well. We don't have any real cool stories this week though.
Oh but here's a funny story. Yesterday we knocked on this lady's door. We tell her who we are and stuff and we ask her we can teach her. And she says, "Well actually I'm kind of busy right now." So we are like ok, when is a better time? And she is like, "Well actually... I'm atheist." And we laughed and were like oh ok, well just out of curiosity, why are you atheist? And then she was like, "Well actually I just don't want to be Mormon." lol. We were laughing, and we were like, next time, just tell us your not interested. lol. It was funny.
oh and Elder Carter is from Colorada and elder Comer is from Utah.
I'm sorry church is stressful. But I'm sure you can handle it. :) I guess my only advice is to remember the Lord gave us a brain so we can think for our selves and he is not going to give us the answer to every question.
I'm glad you had fun camping. That sounded fun.
Well things are going well here. I'm trying to think of whats been going on. We found this one guy named Vernon. Whenever we get media referrals (when someone orders a dvd or BOM or something) we tract around the area because often times we are sent to an area and not a specific person. So we were tracting around the house and we ran into this guy named Vernon. He is an ex-marine who just got out of jail for the last 6 yrs. Idk what for though. But he also used to be a pastor but he wants to find a different church. So we have been teaching him and having him read out of the BOM and he really likes it. He also reads alot more than we ask him too. :) He wants to come to church too but hasn't yet because his wife had to work and he wants to go with her. So he is a pretty solid investigator so far. :)
And on the 3rd it was Elder Carters birthday as well as Annette's and Presidents Grimes. Happy Birthday by the way. :) So on the 3rd there was a birthday party (well we had cake and ice cream and then taught a lesson) for Elder Carter and me so that was fun. They had a cake with both of our names on it and wrote us each a card. So that made me really happy. :)
Well I have to go. I'm sending a memory card with pictures on it in the mail today. So you should get those soon. :) Thanks for the mail and emails.
Love Elder Larson
First I'll reply to your email so I don't forget to do that. That's exciting to hear about Kyle Baird. He's going to love it. And Ill keep an eye out for those sister missionaries. President Millburn said the Virginia mission is increasing in size so its cool to see so many people being sent here. They'll love it. :) My bike came with two extra tubes and tools for all the bolts and stuff but it doesn't have a repair kit. But I can get one for cheap at walmart though so I don't think you need to worry about it.
Yeah we are still in a 3some. transfers are near the end of August so things could change then. We'll see. And yeah they are great companions. They are both really good at teaching and talking to people. And they are nice and fun to be with. WE are good friends. So things are going well. We don't have any real cool stories this week though.
Oh but here's a funny story. Yesterday we knocked on this lady's door. We tell her who we are and stuff and we ask her we can teach her. And she says, "Well actually I'm kind of busy right now." So we are like ok, when is a better time? And she is like, "Well actually... I'm atheist." And we laughed and were like oh ok, well just out of curiosity, why are you atheist? And then she was like, "Well actually I just don't want to be Mormon." lol. We were laughing, and we were like, next time, just tell us your not interested. lol. It was funny.
oh and Elder Carter is from Colorada and elder Comer is from Utah.
I'm sorry church is stressful. But I'm sure you can handle it. :) I guess my only advice is to remember the Lord gave us a brain so we can think for our selves and he is not going to give us the answer to every question.
I'm glad you had fun camping. That sounded fun.
Well things are going well here. I'm trying to think of whats been going on. We found this one guy named Vernon. Whenever we get media referrals (when someone orders a dvd or BOM or something) we tract around the area because often times we are sent to an area and not a specific person. So we were tracting around the house and we ran into this guy named Vernon. He is an ex-marine who just got out of jail for the last 6 yrs. Idk what for though. But he also used to be a pastor but he wants to find a different church. So we have been teaching him and having him read out of the BOM and he really likes it. He also reads alot more than we ask him too. :) He wants to come to church too but hasn't yet because his wife had to work and he wants to go with her. So he is a pretty solid investigator so far. :)
And on the 3rd it was Elder Carters birthday as well as Annette's and Presidents Grimes. Happy Birthday by the way. :) So on the 3rd there was a birthday party (well we had cake and ice cream and then taught a lesson) for Elder Carter and me so that was fun. They had a cake with both of our names on it and wrote us each a card. So that made me really happy. :)
Well I have to go. I'm sending a memory card with pictures on it in the mail today. So you should get those soon. :) Thanks for the mail and emails.
Love Elder Larson
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
