MI QUERIDA FAMILIA,
How is the Larsen Clan? i hope your thanksgiving was fun and full of food and stuff. i really hope you got my camera card that i sent to AZ, i wasn't sure when you were leaving and i got it sent off late so i overnighted it ... i would have just kept it but i realized that i had told you that i'd send it ... dumb dumb me, sorry, i hope i didn't cause too much stress. soooo my thanksgiving was actually pretty normal, i thought i'd be eating tamales or something, but we went to a kind of americanzed member family to eat, so we had to battle with the Football Game and we got to eat lots of turkey and regular thanksgiving stuff. then later in the day we got fed another thanksgiving meal by another member that wanted us to come over ... i'm trying to be grateful for the love the members have for us ... but i can only eat so much, i ate more than everyone but Elder Jenkins. so yeah, the bad thing about thanksgiving was that my poor companion got food poisoning 2 days before and was feeling pretty nasty, so he didn't get to enjoy it. what happened was that he had never had an "Elote" before, Elote is spanish for Corn on the Cob. and the street venders here make what is called Elotes. Corn on the cob smothered in mayonese,matrarella cheese, chili powder, sometimes butter and lemon/lime juice. it sounds really nasty, mayonese on corn ... but they are actually super good, when i come home i'll make them for you. anywho, so he had never had one of these gifts from above, so we saw(at like 7 PM) a "paletero" (street vender dude) and i told him to go chase her and get an elote cause he had never had one, now prior to this the day had been kind of hot, we had had some really hot winds from inland, i think they are called the Santa Ana Winds or something, so the day had been kind of hot, and this particular street vender had all her ingrediant stuff just in a shopping cart, no refridgeration. sooooo he chased her down, ate the elote, enjoyed it, and then was sick for 3 ish days cause of the mayonese that had sat out all day. he really doesn't have very good luck. alsoooooo there was a turkey bowl the day of thanksgiving, in presidents weekly email, he said that we were to have a "normal day" apparently that wasn't specific enough for some elders and so they justified playing in a turkey bowl. we had an appt so we went to teach that with another elder (Elder Kay) whose comp had gone to play flag football in the turkey bowl(Elder Kay didn't want to play). sooooo Elder Jenkins plowed over Elder Cortez (from SA) and broke his collar bone (i have sympathy for him) in the process. this all happened in a game of "flag football" Elder Jenkins thought it was Rugby cause he is a rugby player and likes to over-do things, so he, as another elder who saw it put it "destroyed his soul" (speaking of Elder Cortez). so president found out and everyone got their own personal chew out session with president, he was pretty ticked about it i heard. and Elder Jenkins still won't take any responsibility for it. anywho, so that was my 1st thanksgiving in the mission, very interesting. the rest of the week was normal, minus the food poisoning, workin hard, talking to people, doing missionary work. we're really struggling to find new investigators, and that area of the work is going through hard times, but, we are haviing alot of success with the less actives that we have been working with. Hna Guerrero has come to church 3 weeks in a row! and we have alot more that are progressing really well. now the trick is to find new investigators, man the people here are really heard hearted, lamanites man ...... transfers p-day is today, i'm staying with McCleskey, Elder beck and elder batemon are being whitewashed and we're getting 2 new Zone Leaders to come live with us now, alot of changes, alot of new people coming in. and Elder Jenkins is now my District Leader .... i love the kid, he helps me get better at being patient ;} so i'm almost over the hill, it's crazy how fast time flys, a week from thursday i'll be 1 year old ..... very weird. this week i have been studying of Chapter 4 of preach my gosple, it is entitled "recognizing the spirit" or something close to that. it's an excellent chapter with some very basic insights. i read studyied the "light of christ" that everyone has, it's quite a gift from our father in heaven. he really has given us all the tools, we just have to learn how to use them and then USE THEM. Father didn't send us here to fail. speaking of which, could someone maybe send me that crazy poem that dad always recietes? he sent it to me in an email but i can't print here cause i have no $$ on my library card, so with the next letter could someone sent it to me por favor? thanks. hey, so i'm gonna be sending a package of christmas gifts/stuff home for you guys from Cali, i haven't started collecting stuff yet, and i can't promise anything crazy cool, but i'll try and get you all something cool from here. i hope all is well in Utah, enjoy the christmas season, HA i finally get to start to listen to christmas music now!!!! my apartment mates made me wait until thanksgiving was over before i could start listening to christmas music. remember that the gosple is true, use the tools your father gave you to obtain exaltation, remember that you have a son, brother, grandson, or friend (depending on which of those categories i fit in which would depend on who is reading this :] ) in california who loves you alot, have a wonderful week!!!
Elder Larsen
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
last week of the transfer
Howdy do?!
well hello all you Utah'ns or Utatecos as we say here in Oxnard. how is everyone doing? from the look of the pics and movies and letter, everyone seems to be functioning just fine, which is good. well we are trying to stay positive this week, positiveness is good, and now that we've hit rock bottom as far as lessons and people not wanting to listen to us, the only way to go is up. it's interesting the patterns that the mission follows as far as numbers and such. but this coming week will be much better, we are really really hoping to stay together, we don't want to get transfered, i gotta fix this area somehow. the most important thing is that you work your best and if nothing happens, at least you did your best, no regrets. so we are doing our best to do our best :] this week on thursday night we were going to have correlation with our ward mission leader, Elder McCleskey and I were there as well as Hno. Magarino, the other 2 Elders weren't there yet and we were 30 mins late already and the other Elders had the Key, so we were basically waiting for them outside in the "COLD"(it was windy and humidy and nasty and dark and cold) soooo i asked my faithful comp to throw me the phone so i could call the other elders (Elder McCleskey was listening to a little micro tape someone had sent him and i was talking with Hno. M so we were about oh 10-ish ft apart). sooooo he threw it at me, the phones we use are bricks, and they are black, which made a perfect match to the black sky, and it wacked me right on the outer side of my left eye. soooo now i have a huge shiner that goes under my entire eye and i look like i got beat up. and everyone in the ward (especially at the ward thanksgiving party on friday) had to know what happpened. so i told them that we got in a fight with some Jehova's Witnesses haha funny funny, they laughed. anywho, you'll be getting pictures soon i think. so yeah, other than that i'm good, the black eye is now at the yucky green and brown stage of color. but it's gettin g better and it didn't affect my vision at all. Today we get to go to Ventura because Elder McCleskey has a doctor's appt. it should be fun.
ok to respond to you letters. Brandon, that's some nice peach fuzz goin on there, keep workin on it and eating raw fish. Ryan's wedding looked fun and great, they looked really happy. Mom, the class pics look great, but i'm acrediting it to you and not the mac ;} no really, they look very good, i wish i was as talented as you with comps and stuff like that. Grandma you need to take care of yourself this winter, i'd let you come out here and live with me (Cause the weather here is perfect always) but i don't think President would let me do that. do you know President Murri grandma? HA Sean would get called to germany, that fits him perfectly. thanks for the address, maybe i'll write him if i can find time (I'm really behind on my letter writing). so how can jordan be so fit and strong and tuff as he protests he is and still have an A1C that high? i'm confuzed. HA Hunters Ed, i remember that class, it was fun. gotta get that Blue Card. i remember they showed us this anti poaching video all about how poachers treat animals like poo. these one guys cut off an Elk's head with a chainsaw i think, it was gory. Megan wrote me on saturday, but didn't mention the thing about Sandra, keep me updated. my Friends in SA are good as far as i know. a few of them have not made some good decisions but, over all they are all good. ok mom honestly i haven't put any thought into any kind of wish list for Christmas, my mind doesn't really work how it used to. i'll put some thoughts together this week and mail you the list with the camera card....and i will mail it to Tucson. i don't really need or want anything, but i'll give some ideas if i can organize my thoughts. DPL, popping blood blisters is fun, try it.
Thanks for the Email dad, it's always good to hear from you. no worries, as long as i only have one email to read from president you can email me, i have enough time, although my typing skills are getting worse haha. lack of practice. wow i would have loved to hear you sing, you have an awesome voice. Elder McCleskey and I can harmonize really well and love to sing whenever we get a chance. i'm so excited for Christmas just because i get to listen to christmas music!!!!!! i'm already listening to it, it's my absolute favorite kind of music, i want to go charoling with the other elders if i'm still here in a week. sooo is someone staying with Gma L while you all leave? So Texas is finally gone huh? how sad, i hope someone takes care of him good, you do know that you are destined to have some kind of pet eventually haha you'll never be able to escape as long as you live with Jordan kenidee and derek....and mom ;] the car wash door broke on the station???? why was it open? isn't it too cold to run the car wash or does it stay open all winter??? i forget....soooo i have 2 requests, one, according to Elder McCleskey you can write to some office in salt lake and request to recieve you priesthood line of authority, so if maybe you could do that it'd be great cause i really would like to have it. 2nd. do you have any mission stories or cool experiences...well i know you do but until now i've never really apprieciated them, so maybe if you have some free time one of these days you could put some stuff down i dunno. thank you for everything that you do for me, you've set quite a high standard for me to grow into.
Ok family, no more time to write, remember that i love you lots and lots, say hi to Gma M and Rich Kim and Family. the Gosple is true, i've seen it change lifes. be grateful!
“Gratitude is a Spirit-filled principle. It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things, which gladden our hearts with their messages of God’s love. This grateful awareness heightens our sensitivity to divine direction. When we communicate gratitude, we can be filled with the Spirit and connected to those around us and the Lord. Gratitude inspires happiness and carries divine influence. ‘Live in thanksgiving daily,’ said Amulek, ‘for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.’ (Alma 34:38)
Love, Elder Larsen
well hello all you Utah'ns or Utatecos as we say here in Oxnard. how is everyone doing? from the look of the pics and movies and letter, everyone seems to be functioning just fine, which is good. well we are trying to stay positive this week, positiveness is good, and now that we've hit rock bottom as far as lessons and people not wanting to listen to us, the only way to go is up. it's interesting the patterns that the mission follows as far as numbers and such. but this coming week will be much better, we are really really hoping to stay together, we don't want to get transfered, i gotta fix this area somehow. the most important thing is that you work your best and if nothing happens, at least you did your best, no regrets. so we are doing our best to do our best :] this week on thursday night we were going to have correlation with our ward mission leader, Elder McCleskey and I were there as well as Hno. Magarino, the other 2 Elders weren't there yet and we were 30 mins late already and the other Elders had the Key, so we were basically waiting for them outside in the "COLD"(it was windy and humidy and nasty and dark and cold) soooo i asked my faithful comp to throw me the phone so i could call the other elders (Elder McCleskey was listening to a little micro tape someone had sent him and i was talking with Hno. M so we were about oh 10-ish ft apart). sooooo he threw it at me, the phones we use are bricks, and they are black, which made a perfect match to the black sky, and it wacked me right on the outer side of my left eye. soooo now i have a huge shiner that goes under my entire eye and i look like i got beat up. and everyone in the ward (especially at the ward thanksgiving party on friday) had to know what happpened. so i told them that we got in a fight with some Jehova's Witnesses haha funny funny, they laughed. anywho, you'll be getting pictures soon i think. so yeah, other than that i'm good, the black eye is now at the yucky green and brown stage of color. but it's gettin g better and it didn't affect my vision at all. Today we get to go to Ventura because Elder McCleskey has a doctor's appt. it should be fun.
ok to respond to you letters. Brandon, that's some nice peach fuzz goin on there, keep workin on it and eating raw fish. Ryan's wedding looked fun and great, they looked really happy. Mom, the class pics look great, but i'm acrediting it to you and not the mac ;} no really, they look very good, i wish i was as talented as you with comps and stuff like that. Grandma you need to take care of yourself this winter, i'd let you come out here and live with me (Cause the weather here is perfect always) but i don't think President would let me do that. do you know President Murri grandma? HA Sean would get called to germany, that fits him perfectly. thanks for the address, maybe i'll write him if i can find time (I'm really behind on my letter writing). so how can jordan be so fit and strong and tuff as he protests he is and still have an A1C that high? i'm confuzed. HA Hunters Ed, i remember that class, it was fun. gotta get that Blue Card. i remember they showed us this anti poaching video all about how poachers treat animals like poo. these one guys cut off an Elk's head with a chainsaw i think, it was gory. Megan wrote me on saturday, but didn't mention the thing about Sandra, keep me updated. my Friends in SA are good as far as i know. a few of them have not made some good decisions but, over all they are all good. ok mom honestly i haven't put any thought into any kind of wish list for Christmas, my mind doesn't really work how it used to. i'll put some thoughts together this week and mail you the list with the camera card....and i will mail it to Tucson. i don't really need or want anything, but i'll give some ideas if i can organize my thoughts. DPL, popping blood blisters is fun, try it.
Thanks for the Email dad, it's always good to hear from you. no worries, as long as i only have one email to read from president you can email me, i have enough time, although my typing skills are getting worse haha. lack of practice. wow i would have loved to hear you sing, you have an awesome voice. Elder McCleskey and I can harmonize really well and love to sing whenever we get a chance. i'm so excited for Christmas just because i get to listen to christmas music!!!!!! i'm already listening to it, it's my absolute favorite kind of music, i want to go charoling with the other elders if i'm still here in a week. sooo is someone staying with Gma L while you all leave? So Texas is finally gone huh? how sad, i hope someone takes care of him good, you do know that you are destined to have some kind of pet eventually haha you'll never be able to escape as long as you live with Jordan kenidee and derek....and mom ;] the car wash door broke on the station???? why was it open? isn't it too cold to run the car wash or does it stay open all winter??? i forget....soooo i have 2 requests, one, according to Elder McCleskey you can write to some office in salt lake and request to recieve you priesthood line of authority, so if maybe you could do that it'd be great cause i really would like to have it. 2nd. do you have any mission stories or cool experiences...well i know you do but until now i've never really apprieciated them, so maybe if you have some free time one of these days you could put some stuff down i dunno. thank you for everything that you do for me, you've set quite a high standard for me to grow into.
Ok family, no more time to write, remember that i love you lots and lots, say hi to Gma M and Rich Kim and Family. the Gosple is true, i've seen it change lifes. be grateful!
“Gratitude is a Spirit-filled principle. It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things, which gladden our hearts with their messages of God’s love. This grateful awareness heightens our sensitivity to divine direction. When we communicate gratitude, we can be filled with the Spirit and connected to those around us and the Lord. Gratitude inspires happiness and carries divine influence. ‘Live in thanksgiving daily,’ said Amulek, ‘for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.’ (Alma 34:38)
Love, Elder Larsen
Monday, November 16, 2009
Week 5 ya empieza
Hey family,
no worries about no letter, i understand how busy life can get. i'll try and write a "newsy" email. sounds like you are all sick or were sick ... jeezz, kinda glad i'm not in Utah right now. well keep warm and wash your hands so you don't get more sick. i'm doing just fine here, not sick at all .... not even a hint of getting sick and Me and my Compa are procrastinating the swine flu shot ....... still haven't gotten it .... cause we don't want to get sick for 3 days .... and no one in our zone has swine flu and it's not really hitting here in Oxnard too hard .... sooooooooo i don't think we're going to get it .... we're just trying to figure out how to tell the mission nurse cause we were kinda under orders to get it ..... but i don't think it's worth it. anywho .... we're all healthy here. and i can wait for the Camera card i'm doing my best to turn into a miser/penny pincher when it comes to the home debit card, only things that are absolutely necesary. and my budgeting thing with the mission money is working pretty well so far. that's awesome about president blair, ventura is a beautiful place, very expensive though. we're always working with the Less Actives and we're seeing some success with a few of them. there is this sister named Hermana Guerrero and she is super funny and really frank and sarcastic, so when we go over there to teach her, she and I really get going haha, she tells me to shut up and i tell her she can't run from God and stuff. she's funny and progressing fairly well, we're working with her to get her to read the BOM but i'm pretty sure she has ADD cause she wants to read the BOM with Pictures and not the real thing .... funny lady. but yeah, Less Actives are very important. yeah i can't pray in english very well, stuff comes out weird according to the other elders. and i had to give the opening prayer in the english ward's sacrament yesterday and it was interesting. sooo because Elder Pulham was ET'd (Emergency Transfered) last week we have been in a Tri-companionship for the whole week, Elder Beck got his new comp last night, his name is Elder Bateman, and he went into the MTC the same day i did so we are exactly the same age, i will go home with him, he seems cool. anywho, so this week we have had to cover two areas and two languages. it has been interesting teaching in english (i'm not too good at that either), and doing english work and eating english food (best part of english work). and Poor Elder Beck has just been sitting in our lessons being bored cause he can't speak spanish. but all in all it was a good week, our numbers as spanish missionaries suffered, but as a companionship we taught well over 20 lessons, i learned to like Elder Beck and now consider him a friend, learned the lesson i should already know that we should never judge anyone, even if we think we know them. i thought elder beck was a pile missionary who never did anything and who was always negative, and honestly i regretted having to serve with him when i learned we were to be a trio. now i kinda miss serving with him, he is an excellent teacher and a hard worker, i've been humbled and i feel kinda dumb. soooo now my new goal is to not talk bad or critizise any missionary no matter how weird they are .... and we have some weird ones trust me. another highlight of my week isssss i can now solve a Rubik's Cube. Elder Durrant left one behind and i claimed it and this week Elder Beck taught me how to solve it .... so i feel accomplished in that aspect, i am now a "cuber". this week we are focusing our efforts on getting members to come out with us. cause members are the key to success, and this area needs a jump start to get out of the slump we're in. Elder McCleskey's spanish is improving, he's learning alot, and i'm doing my best to improve my grammar and increase my vocab. i feel as if we aren't really doing much, but for some odd reason we haven't had a normal week of work for a while, every week there has been something that has either distracted us or impeded us from doing something. so this week we are back to normal, and as far as i know we don't have anything to take up our time or distract us. minus a thanksgiving thing the ward is putting on that i think we have to go to. we do out best not to get discouraged. it's getting really cold here in the mornings and at night, the coldest it's gotten is 42 i think but with the humidity and the constant breezz it feels pretty cold. but i'm sure no where in comparison to the temperatures you are all feeling. and in tucson it should be nice and warm. is anyone staying with Gma Larsen? oh another cool thing about this week. The Church sells the mission vehicles when they reach 50,000 miles. so we are allotted 800 miles per month and the Zone Leaders have like 1300 or something like that cause they cover a city called Camarillo as well as their part of Oxnard, so they drive a ton more. soooo up to thursday the ZL's drove a 09 bright red Corrola and we had the traditional "SIlver Bullet" 07 silver corrola (piece of junk nasty car). soooo to "cycle out" our old car faster the mission had us switch cars. soooo now we have a brand spankin new red corrola to drive and it is oh so sweet. haha poor ZL's weren't too happy. oh and Sister Dunn, the sister from Cache Valley went home cause she broke her shoulder a few months ago and has just barely come back and she is now in Bakersfield. sooo if i remember i'll ask her about Bishop Wilson next time i see her, i might serve around her cause she is spanish. no tengo mas tiempo. The Gosple is true and Prayer is "according to Truman G Madsen" something that the saints need to work on. prayer is the key, i'm trying to better my prayers this week. if we don't ask for things, we won't receive them. i love you all, i hope you all get better and not more sick. i don't really know what to write in these emails, i find it hard to summarize my week, give me some suggestions por favor. stay strong
Elder Larsen
no worries about no letter, i understand how busy life can get. i'll try and write a "newsy" email. sounds like you are all sick or were sick ... jeezz, kinda glad i'm not in Utah right now. well keep warm and wash your hands so you don't get more sick. i'm doing just fine here, not sick at all .... not even a hint of getting sick and Me and my Compa are procrastinating the swine flu shot ....... still haven't gotten it .... cause we don't want to get sick for 3 days .... and no one in our zone has swine flu and it's not really hitting here in Oxnard too hard .... sooooooooo i don't think we're going to get it .... we're just trying to figure out how to tell the mission nurse cause we were kinda under orders to get it ..... but i don't think it's worth it. anywho .... we're all healthy here. and i can wait for the Camera card i'm doing my best to turn into a miser/penny pincher when it comes to the home debit card, only things that are absolutely necesary. and my budgeting thing with the mission money is working pretty well so far. that's awesome about president blair, ventura is a beautiful place, very expensive though. we're always working with the Less Actives and we're seeing some success with a few of them. there is this sister named Hermana Guerrero and she is super funny and really frank and sarcastic, so when we go over there to teach her, she and I really get going haha, she tells me to shut up and i tell her she can't run from God and stuff. she's funny and progressing fairly well, we're working with her to get her to read the BOM but i'm pretty sure she has ADD cause she wants to read the BOM with Pictures and not the real thing .... funny lady. but yeah, Less Actives are very important. yeah i can't pray in english very well, stuff comes out weird according to the other elders. and i had to give the opening prayer in the english ward's sacrament yesterday and it was interesting. sooo because Elder Pulham was ET'd (Emergency Transfered) last week we have been in a Tri-companionship for the whole week, Elder Beck got his new comp last night, his name is Elder Bateman, and he went into the MTC the same day i did so we are exactly the same age, i will go home with him, he seems cool. anywho, so this week we have had to cover two areas and two languages. it has been interesting teaching in english (i'm not too good at that either), and doing english work and eating english food (best part of english work). and Poor Elder Beck has just been sitting in our lessons being bored cause he can't speak spanish. but all in all it was a good week, our numbers as spanish missionaries suffered, but as a companionship we taught well over 20 lessons, i learned to like Elder Beck and now consider him a friend, learned the lesson i should already know that we should never judge anyone, even if we think we know them. i thought elder beck was a pile missionary who never did anything and who was always negative, and honestly i regretted having to serve with him when i learned we were to be a trio. now i kinda miss serving with him, he is an excellent teacher and a hard worker, i've been humbled and i feel kinda dumb. soooo now my new goal is to not talk bad or critizise any missionary no matter how weird they are .... and we have some weird ones trust me. another highlight of my week isssss i can now solve a Rubik's Cube. Elder Durrant left one behind and i claimed it and this week Elder Beck taught me how to solve it .... so i feel accomplished in that aspect, i am now a "cuber". this week we are focusing our efforts on getting members to come out with us. cause members are the key to success, and this area needs a jump start to get out of the slump we're in. Elder McCleskey's spanish is improving, he's learning alot, and i'm doing my best to improve my grammar and increase my vocab. i feel as if we aren't really doing much, but for some odd reason we haven't had a normal week of work for a while, every week there has been something that has either distracted us or impeded us from doing something. so this week we are back to normal, and as far as i know we don't have anything to take up our time or distract us. minus a thanksgiving thing the ward is putting on that i think we have to go to. we do out best not to get discouraged. it's getting really cold here in the mornings and at night, the coldest it's gotten is 42 i think but with the humidity and the constant breezz it feels pretty cold. but i'm sure no where in comparison to the temperatures you are all feeling. and in tucson it should be nice and warm. is anyone staying with Gma Larsen? oh another cool thing about this week. The Church sells the mission vehicles when they reach 50,000 miles. so we are allotted 800 miles per month and the Zone Leaders have like 1300 or something like that cause they cover a city called Camarillo as well as their part of Oxnard, so they drive a ton more. soooo up to thursday the ZL's drove a 09 bright red Corrola and we had the traditional "SIlver Bullet" 07 silver corrola (piece of junk nasty car). soooo to "cycle out" our old car faster the mission had us switch cars. soooo now we have a brand spankin new red corrola to drive and it is oh so sweet. haha poor ZL's weren't too happy. oh and Sister Dunn, the sister from Cache Valley went home cause she broke her shoulder a few months ago and has just barely come back and she is now in Bakersfield. sooo if i remember i'll ask her about Bishop Wilson next time i see her, i might serve around her cause she is spanish. no tengo mas tiempo. The Gosple is true and Prayer is "according to Truman G Madsen" something that the saints need to work on. prayer is the key, i'm trying to better my prayers this week. if we don't ask for things, we won't receive them. i love you all, i hope you all get better and not more sick. i don't really know what to write in these emails, i find it hard to summarize my week, give me some suggestions por favor. stay strong
Elder Larsen
Monday, November 9, 2009
week 3 gone
Que pasa mufasa?
hi guys whats up in smithfield? sooo first thing i guess is that president called us early this morning and Elder Pulham(famous roper/cowboy) is getting ET'd or Emergency Transfered, we think someone is going home that was in Fraiser Park (out in my old zone of South Bakersfield) so Elder Pulham is going out there to replace whoever is leaving. pretty crazy, we packed him up in 30 mins and the AP's came and got him and he was gone .... annnnnddddddd we get a Tri-panionship for a few days until president can find someone to come be with Elder Beck ..... very weird cause Elder Beck can't speak spanish and i can't really do anything in english very well. gave a blessing last night in english and my mind shut off and i couldn't translate this one word that i wanted to say from spanish to english ... interesting. anywho, so we'll see what happens this week, it should be interesting. this past week was hard, had a few "dilligence days" i'm not quite sure why things happen when or how they happen sometimes but the important thing i think is that we are working hard and doing our best, trying real hard not to get discouraged. Elder McCleskey is good at being happy so it helps to have him as a comp. we had a few Less active members at church yesterday that haven't been in quite a while, so that made me really happy. also we got dragged into the primary program so us 4 elders got to sing with the primary .... i don't remember those songs being so high .... but i guess they were. we got carlos to church so that was good, then we went over to his house after church and with a little bit of crafty-ness from Elder Larsen i got carlos to tell us that he's been smoking. i've known that he'd been smoking even though, according to him, he's been smoke free for 3 weeks. it's really sad that he's been lying to us for so long, but i finally got him to spill the beans and i think we are going to have to be forced to drop him for now, this is the 3rd or 4th time we've tryed to help him stop smoking and he just doesn't have the responsibility or the will to do it, and i feel really really sad having to drop him, but in the eternal aspect of things all we are doing is condeming him by going over there now. very sad, such is the life we live. so to respond to your letter yes mother i'm getting old, i still feel like a greeny though ..... i'm 11 months tomorrow. Dad "echale ganas" i don't know how to translate that cause it doesn't have a translation i don't think, but it envelopes the idea of "put yourself to work" or "just keep going". if you were spanish you'd know what i mean haha. i love you too and know that the lord loves you and that the lord will always provide a way. so how is the health of the family? Elder McCleskey and I are under strict orders to get the swine flu shot and the regular flu shot. Sister Benson, from Logan, told us we have to get it cause she cares about us ...... but i still don't want to cause you're like guranteed to get sick for 3 days or so(i don't think it's worth it .... but i'm under orders) ..... and being sick + being a missionary = angry frustrated missionaries. we might try and go get one tomorrow. thanks for the pics mom, i am enjoying them haha soooo BHL's new truck is quite a piece, stick shift and how is he able to sit inside the hood with still enough room? that's Crazy about Sarah Wilson .... very weird, i remember when she baby sat me ..... weird ...... tell her congrats for me if you could please. hahah i laughed at the whole "the days have warmed up a little and it gets up to 60 or so... " haha man i miss that weather. it's perfect sunny skys here .... all day everyday, although it's dark by 5 or 5:30 now so then it does get a bit chilly ... but not cold. thanks for the notes from the conference deal, it sounded way cool, President Eyring is an awesome guy. haha mom i never get tired of reading your letters no matter how long they are. yeah dad's letter .... i don't remember ever having gotten it. how is Grandma Larsen? haven't heard from or about her in a while. so you are going to Gma M's for thanksgiving (Dia de Gracias) should be lots of fun, anyone going to make a movie in my stead???? man i'm jealous, i'm going to be missing grandma's ..... dang brain dont work anymore .... at least the memory part ..... the yam thing she makes with the almond paste stuff on top that is like candy .... that thing, i'll miss it. we're eating with some members for Thanksgiving, at least some signed up so we'll see if they realized what they were doing when they signed up haha. i haven't had american food in quite a long time, and i refrain from eating out cause that stuff really isn't good for ya ... and i have no money haha. Kenidee thanks so much for your letter, it's always good to here from my favorite sister. that's cool that you went Babysitting, people trust you more now that you're older and the Moola isn't bad either. AHHH and the $450 isn't bad either, put it to a good use, save it up. HA and you're pumkin made me laugh haha good attitude. and yes i love my new/old comp, he's awesome, some kid at church yesterday walked up to us and said "if i didn't know you two were missionaries i'd say you were twins" haha we both got a kick out of that, we're pretty similar. and no i don't wrestle with him cause he's alot bigger than i am. he was a rock climber before the mission so his arms are quite big. he jumped on me last night and put me in some weird shape that about pulled my arms off without even breaking a sweat. butttttt he is super ticklish so i can always get him haha. and you're signature is very awesome, much cooler than mine. oh and if you could please send my camera card to me cause i have like 30 pics left so i'll be needing it soon. Jordan i hate how youre probably already stronger than me, crazy kid. the corn maze looked fun, i saw that JPL is following my example as a scarecrow haha. Derek you're pumkin looks awesome, you've got a talent for art, taylor you're starting to look like a beach bum again, time for a hair cut, cool pumkin, but i've come to the knowledge here on the mission that Chevy beats Ford anyday haha. i've seen some pretty sick looking cars here in Cali that you'd probably drool over. saw a lambrigini once. i don't understand the "doing strings" pic, Nancy looks good, Carter is getting big. and good sized stash of candy. for christmas i'll send you all a bunch of mexican candy haha. ok no more time to write, gotta shop and look for the dang make me sick for 3 days flu shot. remember to do the simple things, "Simple Gifts" it's a good song, listen to it. read the scriptures every day at least once and say ALL your prayers, nothing happens with out prayers. i love you all, i pray for your continued safty and healthiness and success. church is true, and jesus loves you!
TEAM JESUS!
ELDER LARSEN
hi guys whats up in smithfield? sooo first thing i guess is that president called us early this morning and Elder Pulham(famous roper/cowboy) is getting ET'd or Emergency Transfered, we think someone is going home that was in Fraiser Park (out in my old zone of South Bakersfield) so Elder Pulham is going out there to replace whoever is leaving. pretty crazy, we packed him up in 30 mins and the AP's came and got him and he was gone .... annnnnddddddd we get a Tri-panionship for a few days until president can find someone to come be with Elder Beck ..... very weird cause Elder Beck can't speak spanish and i can't really do anything in english very well. gave a blessing last night in english and my mind shut off and i couldn't translate this one word that i wanted to say from spanish to english ... interesting. anywho, so we'll see what happens this week, it should be interesting. this past week was hard, had a few "dilligence days" i'm not quite sure why things happen when or how they happen sometimes but the important thing i think is that we are working hard and doing our best, trying real hard not to get discouraged. Elder McCleskey is good at being happy so it helps to have him as a comp. we had a few Less active members at church yesterday that haven't been in quite a while, so that made me really happy. also we got dragged into the primary program so us 4 elders got to sing with the primary .... i don't remember those songs being so high .... but i guess they were. we got carlos to church so that was good, then we went over to his house after church and with a little bit of crafty-ness from Elder Larsen i got carlos to tell us that he's been smoking. i've known that he'd been smoking even though, according to him, he's been smoke free for 3 weeks. it's really sad that he's been lying to us for so long, but i finally got him to spill the beans and i think we are going to have to be forced to drop him for now, this is the 3rd or 4th time we've tryed to help him stop smoking and he just doesn't have the responsibility or the will to do it, and i feel really really sad having to drop him, but in the eternal aspect of things all we are doing is condeming him by going over there now. very sad, such is the life we live. so to respond to your letter yes mother i'm getting old, i still feel like a greeny though ..... i'm 11 months tomorrow. Dad "echale ganas" i don't know how to translate that cause it doesn't have a translation i don't think, but it envelopes the idea of "put yourself to work" or "just keep going". if you were spanish you'd know what i mean haha. i love you too and know that the lord loves you and that the lord will always provide a way. so how is the health of the family? Elder McCleskey and I are under strict orders to get the swine flu shot and the regular flu shot. Sister Benson, from Logan, told us we have to get it cause she cares about us ...... but i still don't want to cause you're like guranteed to get sick for 3 days or so(i don't think it's worth it .... but i'm under orders) ..... and being sick + being a missionary = angry frustrated missionaries. we might try and go get one tomorrow. thanks for the pics mom, i am enjoying them haha soooo BHL's new truck is quite a piece, stick shift and how is he able to sit inside the hood with still enough room? that's Crazy about Sarah Wilson .... very weird, i remember when she baby sat me ..... weird ...... tell her congrats for me if you could please. hahah i laughed at the whole "the days have warmed up a little and it gets up to 60 or so... " haha man i miss that weather. it's perfect sunny skys here .... all day everyday, although it's dark by 5 or 5:30 now so then it does get a bit chilly ... but not cold. thanks for the notes from the conference deal, it sounded way cool, President Eyring is an awesome guy. haha mom i never get tired of reading your letters no matter how long they are. yeah dad's letter .... i don't remember ever having gotten it. how is Grandma Larsen? haven't heard from or about her in a while. so you are going to Gma M's for thanksgiving (Dia de Gracias) should be lots of fun, anyone going to make a movie in my stead???? man i'm jealous, i'm going to be missing grandma's ..... dang brain dont work anymore .... at least the memory part ..... the yam thing she makes with the almond paste stuff on top that is like candy .... that thing, i'll miss it. we're eating with some members for Thanksgiving, at least some signed up so we'll see if they realized what they were doing when they signed up haha. i haven't had american food in quite a long time, and i refrain from eating out cause that stuff really isn't good for ya ... and i have no money haha. Kenidee thanks so much for your letter, it's always good to here from my favorite sister. that's cool that you went Babysitting, people trust you more now that you're older and the Moola isn't bad either. AHHH and the $450 isn't bad either, put it to a good use, save it up. HA and you're pumkin made me laugh haha good attitude. and yes i love my new/old comp, he's awesome, some kid at church yesterday walked up to us and said "if i didn't know you two were missionaries i'd say you were twins" haha we both got a kick out of that, we're pretty similar. and no i don't wrestle with him cause he's alot bigger than i am. he was a rock climber before the mission so his arms are quite big. he jumped on me last night and put me in some weird shape that about pulled my arms off without even breaking a sweat. butttttt he is super ticklish so i can always get him haha. and you're signature is very awesome, much cooler than mine. oh and if you could please send my camera card to me cause i have like 30 pics left so i'll be needing it soon. Jordan i hate how youre probably already stronger than me, crazy kid. the corn maze looked fun, i saw that JPL is following my example as a scarecrow haha. Derek you're pumkin looks awesome, you've got a talent for art, taylor you're starting to look like a beach bum again, time for a hair cut, cool pumkin, but i've come to the knowledge here on the mission that Chevy beats Ford anyday haha. i've seen some pretty sick looking cars here in Cali that you'd probably drool over. saw a lambrigini once. i don't understand the "doing strings" pic, Nancy looks good, Carter is getting big. and good sized stash of candy. for christmas i'll send you all a bunch of mexican candy haha. ok no more time to write, gotta shop and look for the dang make me sick for 3 days flu shot. remember to do the simple things, "Simple Gifts" it's a good song, listen to it. read the scriptures every day at least once and say ALL your prayers, nothing happens with out prayers. i love you all, i pray for your continued safty and healthiness and success. church is true, and jesus loves you!
TEAM JESUS!
ELDER LARSEN
Monday, November 2, 2009
week 2...done...
thanks for the letter mom, no worries about it not being mailed, i know you're busy with jobs and stuff. man everyone seems to be getting sick, gotta be careful, i've had a little ity bit of a sore throat for 2 days, but it never gets worse or better, and it doesn't really hurt, it's just a little soreness... kinda weird. be careful about the swine flu, supposedly the symptoms go away and you think you're better then they come back and kill ya.... and there is a specific temperature that the swine flu has, i don't remember what it is though. but please be careful, wash your hands. tell judy to get better for me, that doesn't sound very fun at all. i got a wedding announcement from Ryan and Britney i'll write them back and tell them i can't come to the wedding unfortuatly haha. she seems cool, i'm sure they will be good together. wow jordan you're on a ball man... that's alot of money, how long do you have until your deadline? just double what you now have and then a little bit more and you'll have it, i'm rootin' for ya, if there is anything i can do to help let me know. hahahaha wow, i love how you said "16 or so stakes from Logan" haha their aren't even 16 stakes in my entire mission haha gotta love utah man. thats great that Austin has a good comp now, yeah some missionaries don't really care much about the rules of a mission, unfortunatly i've seen/heard of a whoooole bunch worse stuff that missionaries have done. obediance is the key, gotta have it. Elder McCleskey is a way good missionary, i have alot to learn from him, he's real obideiant too. no i haven't gotten dad's letter yet, when did he send it? i haven't checked the mail yet today so maybe it'll be in my mail box when i get home, if it is i'll respond to it today cause i've pretty much got all my letter writing done already. and today we're going to play SOCCER i think so i'm excited. HAHAHA Brandon bought another truck???? what was the point of selling the other one? what is so cool about this truck? model? color? year? cool features? haha i'll greatly anticipate the pictures haha.
soooooooo this week was an ok week, we've kinda hit a rough spot in the work, the whole zone has kind of, finding new investigators has really dropped. i'm just barely getting my feet under me as far as being senior, we just barely missed our goal of 20 lessons, made me a bit sad on sunday, kinda feel like getting discouraged... but then that is what satan wants and i can't let that happen, so i'm doing alright, we got 4 lessons on halloween and then on sunday i guess everyone had "Halloween Hangovers" and no one let us in the entire day minus one Less Active member. so it was rough, but we'll do better this week, we don't have any "distractions" i guess you could call them, no holidays no big meetings, just a regular week. we had Zone Conference last tuesday and it was tight. it was all about the spirit. i got some really good notes and ideas and instructions and felt the spirit (figurativly speaking) smack me in the face and tell me to do better. Zone Conference charges up your batteries for the transfer. it was good. thennnn on Halloween we only got yelled at twice..... and it was both by white people.... this is why i'm glad to be spanish, cause the mexicans are so much more nice to us. both of the comments directed toward us were them yelling at how our costumes made us look like mormons. "look at them costumes you must be mormons" haha i really had to resist yelling something back.... cause she wasn't dressed very modestly and i totally could have turned her comment around and got her back...... buuttttttt i'm wearing a name tag and living a life that requires a higher level of respect. just blows my mind that a 40 somethin year old lady would firstly dress like that and secondly act so child-ish... i dunno i laughed about it later. haha loved the cartoons mom haha when you print them i'll probably cut them out and use them to decorate something haha. how is grandma's health doing? mom's and dads? hey did you ever send that CD of pics (all the ones when i was with Elder hawes), come to think about it, they wouldn't all fit on one CD, to put them on a DVD would be better, he doesn't have to see them or print them now, Elder Hawes just wants a copy for when he goes home. he goes home in February so if you could send the CD's or DVD to me i'll get them to him, it will give me an excuse to see him, i miss the guy and he never has free time cause he's AP. man i'm almost 11 months old..... i still feel like a greeny. ok, i have to fill out some questionare thing president sent me so i don't have any more time to write, sorry for the letter being a bit short. i love you guys alot, thanks for being awesome! if there is anything i can do for any of you please let me know. the gosple is true, if it weren't i'd be doin' something else for 2 years of my life. until next week!
Con Amor,
Elder Larsen
soooooooo this week was an ok week, we've kinda hit a rough spot in the work, the whole zone has kind of, finding new investigators has really dropped. i'm just barely getting my feet under me as far as being senior, we just barely missed our goal of 20 lessons, made me a bit sad on sunday, kinda feel like getting discouraged... but then that is what satan wants and i can't let that happen, so i'm doing alright, we got 4 lessons on halloween and then on sunday i guess everyone had "Halloween Hangovers" and no one let us in the entire day minus one Less Active member. so it was rough, but we'll do better this week, we don't have any "distractions" i guess you could call them, no holidays no big meetings, just a regular week. we had Zone Conference last tuesday and it was tight. it was all about the spirit. i got some really good notes and ideas and instructions and felt the spirit (figurativly speaking) smack me in the face and tell me to do better. Zone Conference charges up your batteries for the transfer. it was good. thennnn on Halloween we only got yelled at twice..... and it was both by white people.... this is why i'm glad to be spanish, cause the mexicans are so much more nice to us. both of the comments directed toward us were them yelling at how our costumes made us look like mormons. "look at them costumes you must be mormons" haha i really had to resist yelling something back.... cause she wasn't dressed very modestly and i totally could have turned her comment around and got her back...... buuttttttt i'm wearing a name tag and living a life that requires a higher level of respect. just blows my mind that a 40 somethin year old lady would firstly dress like that and secondly act so child-ish... i dunno i laughed about it later. haha loved the cartoons mom haha when you print them i'll probably cut them out and use them to decorate something haha. how is grandma's health doing? mom's and dads? hey did you ever send that CD of pics (all the ones when i was with Elder hawes), come to think about it, they wouldn't all fit on one CD, to put them on a DVD would be better, he doesn't have to see them or print them now, Elder Hawes just wants a copy for when he goes home. he goes home in February so if you could send the CD's or DVD to me i'll get them to him, it will give me an excuse to see him, i miss the guy and he never has free time cause he's AP. man i'm almost 11 months old..... i still feel like a greeny. ok, i have to fill out some questionare thing president sent me so i don't have any more time to write, sorry for the letter being a bit short. i love you guys alot, thanks for being awesome! if there is anything i can do for any of you please let me know. the gosple is true, if it weren't i'd be doin' something else for 2 years of my life. until next week!
Con Amor,
Elder Larsen
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