Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Hey
Im glad to hear everyone is doing well. Im glad you enjoyed my pictures. I hoped you would like them. Elder Pierce and I had a really good week last week too. We found alot of new people to teach and we were blessed with lots of referrals from other missionaries. It seemed like everyday there were some missionaries calling us and telling us someone they ran into that was interested and who lived in our area. So that was neat. We got alot of new investiagtors that way. I hope that we can teach them and help them progress. Im trying to work on not taking any credit when it seems like things are going well. I've found as soon as you try and take any credit the work slows and appointments cancel and you dont feel the Spirit as much. So I am hoping that we can humbly teach all these people and help them see the need for the Gospel in their lives. We are still focusing alot on Tanya. We have to push her baptism back to next weekend (like the 21st) because she works this weekend. Its hard to teach someone who works every other weekend. We want to make sure she is committed to coming to church and also that the ward will be able to keep her active if we were to leave. But I think she is ready. She came to all three hours of churhc this past Sunday and so we will hopefully be able to baptize her on the 21st. And we got to speak in sacrament meeting. Elder Pierce and I spoke on Member missionary work. I think it went well. I hope it did. We got alot of compliments so Im assuming it went pretty well. The main thing is I just hope people will act on it. But that about wraps up the week. Things are going well. Next Wednesday I will know if i am staying here or not. Im not really sure but I think i will be. I kind of hope I stay. There is alot of potential and work to be done in this area that I would like to be apart of.
Kyle, Im trying to tink of something for you to get for your birthday but I cant think of anything. Maybe you could ask for some Book of Mormons to give to your friends at school... Ill keep thinking though. Thats too bad it is so cold down there. Its actually been really warm up here still, over seventy degrees in the day. We are still biking in short sleeve shirts. It started to get cold a couple weeks ago but now it has warmed back up. I think it will probably start to cool down again though. Good job getting all A's, im sure thats not too hard for you. What classes are you taking again? I cant remember them.
Spencer,
I am doing awesome. My mission is going great. How are you doing? Im glad school is good for you. PE used to be my favorite thing too. Thanks for making me a turkey.
Annette,
Wow it sounds like your having lots of fun with Emma. Im sure mom would have probably died if she had seen those puppies. lol. Thanks for writing me.
Well, as always, thank you all for writing me and thanks for all the news thats been happening. I always like reading whats going on in the world. Oh and thanks for your notes in that picture book Kalie sent. But I really enjoyed it.
Well Im doing great! Im working hard. I hope you have a good week. Talk to you next wednesday.
I love you all
Elder Larson
Im glad to hear everyone is doing well. Im glad you enjoyed my pictures. I hoped you would like them. Elder Pierce and I had a really good week last week too. We found alot of new people to teach and we were blessed with lots of referrals from other missionaries. It seemed like everyday there were some missionaries calling us and telling us someone they ran into that was interested and who lived in our area. So that was neat. We got alot of new investiagtors that way. I hope that we can teach them and help them progress. Im trying to work on not taking any credit when it seems like things are going well. I've found as soon as you try and take any credit the work slows and appointments cancel and you dont feel the Spirit as much. So I am hoping that we can humbly teach all these people and help them see the need for the Gospel in their lives. We are still focusing alot on Tanya. We have to push her baptism back to next weekend (like the 21st) because she works this weekend. Its hard to teach someone who works every other weekend. We want to make sure she is committed to coming to church and also that the ward will be able to keep her active if we were to leave. But I think she is ready. She came to all three hours of churhc this past Sunday and so we will hopefully be able to baptize her on the 21st. And we got to speak in sacrament meeting. Elder Pierce and I spoke on Member missionary work. I think it went well. I hope it did. We got alot of compliments so Im assuming it went pretty well. The main thing is I just hope people will act on it. But that about wraps up the week. Things are going well. Next Wednesday I will know if i am staying here or not. Im not really sure but I think i will be. I kind of hope I stay. There is alot of potential and work to be done in this area that I would like to be apart of.
Kyle, Im trying to tink of something for you to get for your birthday but I cant think of anything. Maybe you could ask for some Book of Mormons to give to your friends at school... Ill keep thinking though. Thats too bad it is so cold down there. Its actually been really warm up here still, over seventy degrees in the day. We are still biking in short sleeve shirts. It started to get cold a couple weeks ago but now it has warmed back up. I think it will probably start to cool down again though. Good job getting all A's, im sure thats not too hard for you. What classes are you taking again? I cant remember them.
Spencer,
I am doing awesome. My mission is going great. How are you doing? Im glad school is good for you. PE used to be my favorite thing too. Thanks for making me a turkey.
Annette,
Wow it sounds like your having lots of fun with Emma. Im sure mom would have probably died if she had seen those puppies. lol. Thanks for writing me.
Well, as always, thank you all for writing me and thanks for all the news thats been happening. I always like reading whats going on in the world. Oh and thanks for your notes in that picture book Kalie sent. But I really enjoyed it.
Well Im doing great! Im working hard. I hope you have a good week. Talk to you next wednesday.
I love you all
Elder Larson
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Hey
Im doing well. My new companion and area are both alot of fun and great. The area we are in is pretty big, and it seems even bigger since we are in the corner of our area. And since the last area we were in was one of the smallest in the mission. So this area is pretty big and there are alot of hills. Its a daily workout. The hills are pretty big too, every time you go around a corner there is the hiil the size of the one we lived on. But its fun. The ward is really nice too. Basically everyone in the ward except the bishopric is young married couples. The apartment complex we live in is like the "place to be" for mormons who are students in medical or dental school. So almost everyone in the ward is in medical or dental school. There are members two doors down from our apartment in both directions. There are tons of members in our apartments which is good. And I think I have only met one couple where one of them wasnt in medical or dental school. So thats the ward, lots of young people going to school. They are all really nice and most of the guys are RMs so they come out with us and teach.
On sunday the bishop called me up during sacrament meeting to introduce myself and bear my testimony, which helped them all get to know me. My companions name is Elder Pierce. He has been out for sixteen months now. He is a good missionary. He's from New Orleans but moved to St george when hurricane katrina hit. He's really nice too and he likes to play sports which is good. And he is real big on eating healthy lol, and hes kind of rubbing off on me. lol. Idk i dont really care but he hates to see me eat something unhealthy. Like one of the members made us cinnamon rolls and gave us some to take home, and we took them home and obviously he didnt want his, so i was eating it. And then when i was eating it he was like "Icing... thats so bad for you. its just saturated fat." lol, its funny. I was just like "Oh well I'll bike it off." Anyway, thats Elder Pierce, we get along well and hes funny. He brought a bread maker too at a garage sale for ten bucks and so we make bread sometimes. But we were making banana bread and it asks for white flour, but he looked at it, and asked "Do you think we should just put in wheat flour instead." Lol, so we put in wheat flour to make it more healthy. It tasted good though.
Teaching is going good. I let you know more about the investigators down here once I know them more. Things are going well though we had 6 investigators show up to church. It was great.
But anyway I feel like I know the lessons in PMG really well. Especially the Restoration, we teach it everyday. I think knowing the material is going well but teaching simply but still clearly is probably something thats still pretty hard. Like if someone tells you they dont have very much time thats when its hard. Cause you got to tell them what you know in a short amount of time so you cant say everything but you need to tell them enough to not make them confused. So I think the best thing missionaries can do is jsut practice teaching the lessons out loud. Its really the only way you can get good at it. It seems like it would almost be good to practice teaching the lessons to a little kid so they can learn how to teach simply and clearly without telling them too much or saying everything they know. I just asked Elder Pierce what he thinks and he says daily scripture study and prayer lol. I guess thats always a good answer. He says he wasnt very good at that before his mission. Oh and he just told me to add cooking.
Wow that is so cool you get to take Elder Bednar to the airport. What is a normal conversation with Elder Bednar going to be like? Im excited to hear about it.Thanks for sharing that story about Spencer. I really enjoyed it. Its cool how the Lord works. That reminds me of the one time Dad and James and I were working on the 4runner and we were trying to get that bolt off the wheel and we we couldnt get it off for a long time. So we were trying to figure out what to do and so we prayed that we would figure out a way and then Dad had one more idea and it worked. The Lord answered our prayer. That car has been a real testimony builder. lol. Well I got to go. My time is up. Thanks for the email. Things are going great. Love you all
Elder Larson
My new address is:
4839 Whetstone RdRichmond, VA 23234
But for future reference, next time I am being transferred, you can send any mail to this next address. This address will always work no matter what because it is the address to the mission office and then the people at the mission office will forward the mail to wherever I am or wherever I am going. This address just takes a day or two extra because the mail has to be forwarded. :
Elder Jordan Larson
Virginia Richmond Mission
9327 Midlothian Tpke Suite 1-b
Richmond Va, 23235
Im doing well. My new companion and area are both alot of fun and great. The area we are in is pretty big, and it seems even bigger since we are in the corner of our area. And since the last area we were in was one of the smallest in the mission. So this area is pretty big and there are alot of hills. Its a daily workout. The hills are pretty big too, every time you go around a corner there is the hiil the size of the one we lived on. But its fun. The ward is really nice too. Basically everyone in the ward except the bishopric is young married couples. The apartment complex we live in is like the "place to be" for mormons who are students in medical or dental school. So almost everyone in the ward is in medical or dental school. There are members two doors down from our apartment in both directions. There are tons of members in our apartments which is good. And I think I have only met one couple where one of them wasnt in medical or dental school. So thats the ward, lots of young people going to school. They are all really nice and most of the guys are RMs so they come out with us and teach.
On sunday the bishop called me up during sacrament meeting to introduce myself and bear my testimony, which helped them all get to know me. My companions name is Elder Pierce. He has been out for sixteen months now. He is a good missionary. He's from New Orleans but moved to St george when hurricane katrina hit. He's really nice too and he likes to play sports which is good. And he is real big on eating healthy lol, and hes kind of rubbing off on me. lol. Idk i dont really care but he hates to see me eat something unhealthy. Like one of the members made us cinnamon rolls and gave us some to take home, and we took them home and obviously he didnt want his, so i was eating it. And then when i was eating it he was like "Icing... thats so bad for you. its just saturated fat." lol, its funny. I was just like "Oh well I'll bike it off." Anyway, thats Elder Pierce, we get along well and hes funny. He brought a bread maker too at a garage sale for ten bucks and so we make bread sometimes. But we were making banana bread and it asks for white flour, but he looked at it, and asked "Do you think we should just put in wheat flour instead." Lol, so we put in wheat flour to make it more healthy. It tasted good though.
Teaching is going good. I let you know more about the investigators down here once I know them more. Things are going well though we had 6 investigators show up to church. It was great.
But anyway I feel like I know the lessons in PMG really well. Especially the Restoration, we teach it everyday. I think knowing the material is going well but teaching simply but still clearly is probably something thats still pretty hard. Like if someone tells you they dont have very much time thats when its hard. Cause you got to tell them what you know in a short amount of time so you cant say everything but you need to tell them enough to not make them confused. So I think the best thing missionaries can do is jsut practice teaching the lessons out loud. Its really the only way you can get good at it. It seems like it would almost be good to practice teaching the lessons to a little kid so they can learn how to teach simply and clearly without telling them too much or saying everything they know. I just asked Elder Pierce what he thinks and he says daily scripture study and prayer lol. I guess thats always a good answer. He says he wasnt very good at that before his mission. Oh and he just told me to add cooking.
Wow that is so cool you get to take Elder Bednar to the airport. What is a normal conversation with Elder Bednar going to be like? Im excited to hear about it.Thanks for sharing that story about Spencer. I really enjoyed it. Its cool how the Lord works. That reminds me of the one time Dad and James and I were working on the 4runner and we were trying to get that bolt off the wheel and we we couldnt get it off for a long time. So we were trying to figure out what to do and so we prayed that we would figure out a way and then Dad had one more idea and it worked. The Lord answered our prayer. That car has been a real testimony builder. lol. Well I got to go. My time is up. Thanks for the email. Things are going great. Love you all
Elder Larson
My new address is:
4839 Whetstone RdRichmond, VA 23234
But for future reference, next time I am being transferred, you can send any mail to this next address. This address will always work no matter what because it is the address to the mission office and then the people at the mission office will forward the mail to wherever I am or wherever I am going. This address just takes a day or two extra because the mail has to be forwarded. :
Elder Jordan Larson
Virginia Richmond Mission
9327 Midlothian Tpke Suite 1-b
Richmond Va, 23235
Friday, October 9, 2009
Oct 7, 2009 Letter
Hey,I am doing good. This week was a good week but nothing really too cool happened. General Conference was really good.
Ok so here is a story. Well, first of all, I dont know if I ever said this but when I first got here to Newport News it was kind of hard to understand people. Cause the people here kind of talk with a funny accent. Like they would say "Howyaalldoon" really fast and mushed together instead of "how are you all doing?" Lol. Anyway, so when I first got here i had to really work to understand people. So on Thursday Elder Comer and the District leader when on exchanges so Elder Conlin (the DL) came to newport news with Elder Beckman and I and Elder comer went up to his area. And Elder Conlin is usually a pretty talkative guy but he has never been in a getto area before. So we warned him that people here can be hard to understand sometimes and he just said ok. But then we get to our first lesson, and Elder Beckman and I are doing all the talking and teaching. And then finally Elder Conlin says something, and the person we were teaching interupted him and asked Elder Conlin something and he just looked at us and didnt say anything back to her...he couldn't understand anything she was saying, and we had to finish his statement for him. Lol, and that one thing he said was all he said the whole lesson. And afterwards he was just like wow, I couldnt understand a word she said. So that was pretty funny. And I guess Im getting better at understanding people cause I was probably like Elder Conlin when I got here.
But actually now I am getting transferred. Yesterday we got our transfer calls and I am going to a place called Meadowbrook which is no the Southside of Richmond. I am going to be in a twosome now too with an Elder named Elder Pearce. So that will be good. Ive heard that its alot like Newport News so it should be fun. Im exctied but Im going to miss the Branch.
Anyway, I really enjoyed general conference too. For some reason it is so much more exciting as a missionary. Lol. I was really excited for it. My favorite talk was President Monson's on service and all the service the people had done. I really enjoyed hearing about that. I like Elder Bednars too and how he rebuked people who share their testimony for the wrong reason. And I liked Elder Andersens on repentance. They were all good though.
Everything else is going good. Pam is getting more and more excited about her baptism on the 24th. She is going to be a good member and i am excited for her. I dont know when Joe and Tammy are going to get baptized though. Its hard because they live in a room of a rooming house w/o a car or a phone and they have to hire a lawyer to get his divorce to take place, so they dont really have the money or transportation or anything. And they are living on Tammy's disability check so they cant really seperate either cause that would cost too much... So we will just have to see. We'll keep praying for them. It really makes you grateful for the blessings we have and the guidance and protection we recieve in life from living the commandments of the church.
Spencer:Thats cool you got new pajamas. You will have to send me a picture. Good job in soccer and school. How do you play "hit and sit?" That sounds like a fun game though. I love you too.
Kyle: Im sorry you got sick. Thats never good. So what are you learning in seminary? You should take notes. I wish I would have. :) But you probably dont want to and I understand. Lol. So who are your firends from the Greenbluff ward? Oh and who is your teacher? Well thanks for writing me. Have a good week. Love, Elder Larson
Annette:Good choices on the songs. Those are good songs. What are you learning about in school? Im glad you liked the prophets talk cause he was my favorite speaker too. Thanks for writing me annette. Love you, Elder Larson
Well thanks for writing me. I am doing great, always happy. :) If you send anything you can send it to my old adress and Elder Comer will forward it to me. I dont know my new address yet but I will let you know what it is next week.
Oh and dad another good scripture for the getto is alma 17:14-15. Lol. But then vs 16 is what we do. Lol. Thanks for the prayers.
Love you
Elder Larson
Ok so here is a story. Well, first of all, I dont know if I ever said this but when I first got here to Newport News it was kind of hard to understand people. Cause the people here kind of talk with a funny accent. Like they would say "Howyaalldoon" really fast and mushed together instead of "how are you all doing?" Lol. Anyway, so when I first got here i had to really work to understand people. So on Thursday Elder Comer and the District leader when on exchanges so Elder Conlin (the DL) came to newport news with Elder Beckman and I and Elder comer went up to his area. And Elder Conlin is usually a pretty talkative guy but he has never been in a getto area before. So we warned him that people here can be hard to understand sometimes and he just said ok. But then we get to our first lesson, and Elder Beckman and I are doing all the talking and teaching. And then finally Elder Conlin says something, and the person we were teaching interupted him and asked Elder Conlin something and he just looked at us and didnt say anything back to her...he couldn't understand anything she was saying, and we had to finish his statement for him. Lol, and that one thing he said was all he said the whole lesson. And afterwards he was just like wow, I couldnt understand a word she said. So that was pretty funny. And I guess Im getting better at understanding people cause I was probably like Elder Conlin when I got here.
But actually now I am getting transferred. Yesterday we got our transfer calls and I am going to a place called Meadowbrook which is no the Southside of Richmond. I am going to be in a twosome now too with an Elder named Elder Pearce. So that will be good. Ive heard that its alot like Newport News so it should be fun. Im exctied but Im going to miss the Branch.
Anyway, I really enjoyed general conference too. For some reason it is so much more exciting as a missionary. Lol. I was really excited for it. My favorite talk was President Monson's on service and all the service the people had done. I really enjoyed hearing about that. I like Elder Bednars too and how he rebuked people who share their testimony for the wrong reason. And I liked Elder Andersens on repentance. They were all good though.
Everything else is going good. Pam is getting more and more excited about her baptism on the 24th. She is going to be a good member and i am excited for her. I dont know when Joe and Tammy are going to get baptized though. Its hard because they live in a room of a rooming house w/o a car or a phone and they have to hire a lawyer to get his divorce to take place, so they dont really have the money or transportation or anything. And they are living on Tammy's disability check so they cant really seperate either cause that would cost too much... So we will just have to see. We'll keep praying for them. It really makes you grateful for the blessings we have and the guidance and protection we recieve in life from living the commandments of the church.
Spencer:Thats cool you got new pajamas. You will have to send me a picture. Good job in soccer and school. How do you play "hit and sit?" That sounds like a fun game though. I love you too.
Kyle: Im sorry you got sick. Thats never good. So what are you learning in seminary? You should take notes. I wish I would have. :) But you probably dont want to and I understand. Lol. So who are your firends from the Greenbluff ward? Oh and who is your teacher? Well thanks for writing me. Have a good week. Love, Elder Larson
Annette:Good choices on the songs. Those are good songs. What are you learning about in school? Im glad you liked the prophets talk cause he was my favorite speaker too. Thanks for writing me annette. Love you, Elder Larson
Well thanks for writing me. I am doing great, always happy. :) If you send anything you can send it to my old adress and Elder Comer will forward it to me. I dont know my new address yet but I will let you know what it is next week.
Oh and dad another good scripture for the getto is alma 17:14-15. Lol. But then vs 16 is what we do. Lol. Thanks for the prayers.
Love you
Elder Larson
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Sept 30th 2009
Hey,
This week was a good week. Last Wednesday after we were done emailing we went bowling as a zone. It was pretty fun and nice to do something fun and relaxing. We have some unforutnate stories though. Last wednesday we went to see Joe and Tammy. And Joe and Tammy live in a one room house so we always teach them outisde. And Joe used to be a construction worker and he loves doing stuff like that so he has a bunch of nice power tools. But we went to go and see them lats wednesday and they told us that they got robbed. All of his power tools were stolen. I could tell he felt horrible. They really have like nothing and his power tools were something he really cared about and now they are gone. I felt really bad for them, especially Joe. But they live in a bad area and now Joe is determined to move so hopefully it will end up working for the better. It was unfortunate but they are still enjoying the church and they enjoy having us come over and teach them. And then one of the days we were teaching a lady on her doorstep and it was around the afternoon when school was getting out. And we were teaching her, and just a few houses down there was a group of like twenty to thirty guys walking home from school. And all of the sudden, a big fight broke out among all the guys. Lol. It was a little distracting. lol. It was a little difficult to teach with a fight going on three houses down. But it only lasted a few mins and then they all left and we continued the lesson. Lol. But anyway, thats the getto for you.
And we got a new mission leader on Sunday. I have to tell you about him cause he is a genius. He has a PHd in some religious field, so he knows a ton about everything that has to do with religion. Like he seriously knows everything. lol. And he is a convert to the church. But when the missionaries found him, he decided to prove the Book of Mormon wrong. So he read it and read it but he could never prove it wrong. And so now he is writing a book on how everyone needs the book of Mormon in their life. Its cool. He knows so much. Its really fun to talk with him. And he spends all of his time just reading religious books and learning more. And on Thursday he invited us over for dinner. He fed us a fish called gar. It is apparently considered a trash fish but he loves it and so he fed us some. I liked it. Its funny though, everything down here is deep fried. So for his fish he just made gar nuggets and fried them and fed them to us. It probably wasnt the most healthy but it tasted good.
But thats about it for this week. We are still teaching Joe and Tammy and Pam. Last night we went out with President Pettaway, the branch president, and he talked to Pam for awhile and got her excited for her baptism. She's excited for it. She has already invited one of her friends to church and to her baptism. :) And I dont know if Joe and Tammy are going to be baptized soon or not. We had them set for baptism on the 10th, but its all going to depend on if he can find his exwife or not. But hopefully it will work out and we are praying for them.
.....Thanks for you emails. Im glad you got a new bike dad. That sounds cool. So when are you seeing Elder Bednar? Or did you see him already? I really like him and Im excited to hear about it.
Im really excited to watch general conference too. Its alot more exciting now. Lol. I think its cause we spend so much of our time telling people how there is one true prophet on the earth and so now its really cool to acutally see him speak. Im excited for it. Well Im out of time. Thanks for the emails and support and love.
Love you all,Elder Larson
This week was a good week. Last Wednesday after we were done emailing we went bowling as a zone. It was pretty fun and nice to do something fun and relaxing. We have some unforutnate stories though. Last wednesday we went to see Joe and Tammy. And Joe and Tammy live in a one room house so we always teach them outisde. And Joe used to be a construction worker and he loves doing stuff like that so he has a bunch of nice power tools. But we went to go and see them lats wednesday and they told us that they got robbed. All of his power tools were stolen. I could tell he felt horrible. They really have like nothing and his power tools were something he really cared about and now they are gone. I felt really bad for them, especially Joe. But they live in a bad area and now Joe is determined to move so hopefully it will end up working for the better. It was unfortunate but they are still enjoying the church and they enjoy having us come over and teach them. And then one of the days we were teaching a lady on her doorstep and it was around the afternoon when school was getting out. And we were teaching her, and just a few houses down there was a group of like twenty to thirty guys walking home from school. And all of the sudden, a big fight broke out among all the guys. Lol. It was a little distracting. lol. It was a little difficult to teach with a fight going on three houses down. But it only lasted a few mins and then they all left and we continued the lesson. Lol. But anyway, thats the getto for you.
And we got a new mission leader on Sunday. I have to tell you about him cause he is a genius. He has a PHd in some religious field, so he knows a ton about everything that has to do with religion. Like he seriously knows everything. lol. And he is a convert to the church. But when the missionaries found him, he decided to prove the Book of Mormon wrong. So he read it and read it but he could never prove it wrong. And so now he is writing a book on how everyone needs the book of Mormon in their life. Its cool. He knows so much. Its really fun to talk with him. And he spends all of his time just reading religious books and learning more. And on Thursday he invited us over for dinner. He fed us a fish called gar. It is apparently considered a trash fish but he loves it and so he fed us some. I liked it. Its funny though, everything down here is deep fried. So for his fish he just made gar nuggets and fried them and fed them to us. It probably wasnt the most healthy but it tasted good.
But thats about it for this week. We are still teaching Joe and Tammy and Pam. Last night we went out with President Pettaway, the branch president, and he talked to Pam for awhile and got her excited for her baptism. She's excited for it. She has already invited one of her friends to church and to her baptism. :) And I dont know if Joe and Tammy are going to be baptized soon or not. We had them set for baptism on the 10th, but its all going to depend on if he can find his exwife or not. But hopefully it will work out and we are praying for them.
.....Thanks for you emails. Im glad you got a new bike dad. That sounds cool. So when are you seeing Elder Bednar? Or did you see him already? I really like him and Im excited to hear about it.
Im really excited to watch general conference too. Its alot more exciting now. Lol. I think its cause we spend so much of our time telling people how there is one true prophet on the earth and so now its really cool to acutally see him speak. Im excited for it. Well Im out of time. Thanks for the emails and support and love.
Love you all,Elder Larson
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
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