The Antidote for Nightmares

Aloha!

Hey family! looks like you all had a great Christmas! It was awesome to see you guys and hear your voices. I am short on time, so I will give a quick update on the past couple days.

Christmas Skype with the Larsen Family in Chico, California.

His 5 year old daughter was having night frights...

We went to see the K____ family twice in the past couple days. They are "Golden". Still. The father told Elder Cocker and I about an experience that he had with gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon. His 5 year old daughter was having night frights one night, and apparently he (the father) used to put the Bible under her pillow and that sometimes would help her sleep. This time he said that he had been reading and praying like we asked him to do, and decided to try the Book of Mormon out instead of the Bible. So, apparently he put the Book of Mormon under his daughter's pillow and then she slept well, not only for the rest of that night, but since we last talked to him. Crazy!

There truly is power in the Book of Mormon

There truly is power in the Book of Mormon. It is really neat that Heavenly Father was there to answer the father's prayer in that unique way. It won't necessarily work that way for everyone, but the father exercised faith and acted upon it, and because of that, he had an experience that he needed to have to gain that added testimony of the Book of Mormon. He has been expressing that he pretty much knows the Book of Mormon is the word of God, but that specific experience is exactly what he needed to have. God answers prayers!!! 

That's the coolest thing that happened. That was an incredible testimony to me of the power in the Book of Mormon and in prayer. I hope you guys see that as a miraculous experience as much as I see it, and the father. 

Sorry, I don't have any more time :(.  I love you guys.  Next week I will write heeaaaps more! :\

Love,

Elder Larsen

PS next week our investigator family is coming to Church!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Here's some pictures for the past couple weeks!

Me at Mount Ainslie this morning on a district hike for P-day!

That's where I am right now. Because all of the libraries in Canberra are closed, we got permission to go to email at members homes. 

E. Cocker after that lesson 2 Mondays ago I told you about in our Skype session.

Elder Shafer (Zone Leader) and I after our long-as day riding bikes! All sweaty and stuff!

Elder Cocker and I doing some missionary work in da bush!

Missionaries at a member's house on Christmas.  Much aroha to the whanau for loving and taking care of our missionaries!

Sunset this past Friday night, the 27th??

District training meeting Friday morning.

Funny picture!!!

The Church is a small world.  The bishop of Elder Jarrad Larsen's ward in Canberra, Australia is the son of the bishop from the last ward Elder Lynn Larsen (Jarrad's dad) had when he served in New Zealand, 23 years previous.

Da District, plus Ward Mission Leader and Bishop.

More of Da District and Woden Ward members.  Notice the awesome "Australia" ties made by Elder Larsen's mom!

Da District at a random house after a feed at a member home.

Elders Cocker and Larsen with a few willing listeners...

2013 Christmas Picture - Australia Sydney South Mission.  Find the huge Elder in the center, very back.  Jarrad is directly in front of him.

Photo courtesy of one of Woden Ward's terrific church members who took all 6 missionaries to dinner!

King of the Kangaroos!

We didn't receive our normal weekly email from Elder Larsen due to the Mission-wide Christmas Conference.  But we are looking forward to Skyping with Jarrad on Christmas Eve.

Here is a sweet handwritten letter delivered to us from the recently returned Elder Moala. Elder Larsen's penmanship, drawing skills and enthusiasm for the Mission are all on display.  Don't miss his tribute to the King of the Kangaroos at the end!

Here are a few more pictures of the Larsen Family and the Moala Family and the Oakland California LDS Temple.

Elder Moala is the Man.

Larsen kids behind Oakland Temple.

Ezra says his is going Tongan speaking on his mission.

JJ is going to speak Spanish on his mission.

Moana will speak Swedish.

We're not sure what language this is....

Ezra and Elder Moala share pizza!

A close up of the King of the Kangaroos!

The Chainsaw Miracle

My Christmas Poem

Christmas, Christmas fast approaches,
    Hopefully without cockroaches.
Australia is really hot.
    Is it Christmas? Is it not?
People, sunburned, everywhere,
    And yours truly, pink as a....pear?

That is my Christmas poem to you guys :D.

The Chainsaw Miracle

This week has been very....interesting. But good at the same time.

One of the highlights of the week/miracles was when we did service for the K____ family. The goal was to cut down this bush/tree thing that we had stripped of its branches in previous service opportunities. So, we borrowed a chainsaw from one of the members in our ward, and our Ward Mission Leader came along with us. But the chainsaw wasn't working. We tried to start it for about 10 minutes, with no success. I was saying silent prayers for help, but to no avail. The chainsaw just wouldn't start.

So, our ward mission leader said that we should go to a store to get an ax, and use that instead. So we left, went and bought what we thought would be a good, strong ax. This ax had a five-year waranty. The ax head came off of the body of the ax after three and a half minutes, when it was embedded in the wood of this bush thing. We had nothing else, so we just had to keep on putting the ax head on the body, and whacking the bush/stump/tree thing. After 15 minutes of taking turns with that, we realized that it was going nowhere. The ax was no good, and the bush was still far from being chopped down.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man in a Ute pulled to a stop, got out of his car, grabbed a chainsaw from the bed of the Ute, said "Don't worry, mates, I got it", threw on protective gear, started the engine of the chainsaw, cut down the bush thing in two minutes, packed up and left. It was awesome! So kind and selfless of him! I am confident that that experience was a direct answer to prayer.

What made it better was when we were talking about it with Mr. K____. He also recognized it as a blessing from God, and expressed to us once again that he knows we were sent by God to help him and his family. We have a baptismal date with him, and his wife, and he continues to progress. It was a huge testimony builder for me, to see how direct of an answer to prayer that we received. Very cool. I know that if we ask Heavenly Father that he will give (see D&C 112:10). If we pray sincerely, he will always answer our prayers. He probably will not answer our prayers in the way we want, or expect. But he ALWAYS answers. Trust God!

This is a street that reminds me of Chico, California.

We ended up staying there for three and a half hours!!!!

There is a lady in our area that we go and visit. We went to take her something the other day, and we ended up staying there for three and a half hours!!!! Gaaaaaaahhhhh!! I am glad that we got to help her out and spend some time with her. But that took forever!!!!! We tried to tell her that we had to go like ten times, but she just kept on talking away. It is pretty funny looking back at it now, but I was ready to leave by the time that we actually left.. Note to self: don't tell people that you aren't busy.

Elder Cocker and I on that one bridge again.  Me rockin' my new haircut.

I was reaaaaaally frustrated with our visit. So was Elder Cocker. But we were talking about it and decided that we just need to be more Christlike, and have charity. So, especially to my siblings, when someone does something that makes you frustrated, mad, or have other negative emotions, just think about what Jesus Christ did for us all. Think about how he feels when we do dumb things. Think about how much he suffered in Gethsemane, and at Calvary. He knows us each perfectly. Try to put yourself in their shoes. Maybe whoever offended you didn't do it on purpose? Maybe whoever offended you or made you mad or whatever intended to do it for good, to help you out. Then think about Christ and how he forgives us all if we ask. Do you really have any excuse to be mad at anyone? To feel offended? To not forgive? I don't think so.)  (see D&C 64:9-10)  When I think about my experience I realize the lady we visit is lonely, and this is Christmas time...

"Oh well, the Church is true"

There is a family that we found this week that we have been working with. We nicknamed them the Bordertown family (without telling them), because we don't know their last name. But they are cool! And all of them play American football. The family consists of a mom, daughter, and two sons. And the mom is a quarterback for her club team. Crazy huh? (side note; Aussies don't really play Gridiron, or American football. They play rugby. That is why finding out that this family plays Gridiron is so crazy).

This past Saturday, we had two massive feeds/parties to attend. One was a birthday party that a ward family put on for their four year old daughter. It was really good food, and a productive party because we had the opportunity to talk to a number of their family members who are not members. The second massive feed was our ward Christmas party, where Sister H____ and I took selfies using another member's iPad :). I guess she tagged you in some of them.

The H____ family are aweeesome! Random note: we go to their house for dinner fairly often, and one thing that Brother H____ says whenever we are talking about any form of adversity is "Oh well, the Church is true." They rock!

But anyways, the Ward Christmas party was really good. Some of the less-active families that we have been working with came. There was good food, though I couldn't eat like any of it, because I was so full. The members in our ward are all awesome. All around awesomelinessishness.

Woden Ward missionaries at the Christmas Party.

An Atheist, Agnostic, Practicing Protestant...

Another random, unforgettably weird experience that Elder Cocker and I had this week; we went to try to visit the people in the government housing that I told y'all about. And we met some new, interesting people. One lady who was under the influence of something told us that she was an Atheist, Agnostic, practicing Protestant. She asked me to show her how to tie my tie, so that she could do it. She also told me that my "preacher" (she probably meant superiors) was really smart to have us wear paisley ties, because it attracts people. What??? I was wearing the tie that Elder Tanner sent me, you guys will have to tell him about it if he is still in the ward back home. It was very uncomfortable. But she asked me about my purpose as a missionary and so we eventually had a gospel conversation. She probably doesn't remember any of it.

Meanwhile, while I was talking to Crazy Tie Lady, Elder Cocker was having a mad stare-down with this dude who spoke so quiet you couldn't hear a word he said. This guy has sea-blue eyes, looks like a sailor (probably is a sailor) and doesn't ever, evvvverrrr blink. Elder Cocker still reckons he won the stare-down.

I fell asleep like 6 times

We have Ward Council every other Sunday, and yesterday just happened to be one of those Sundays. Because of that, we had to wake up super early to make it on time to Ward Council. As a result, I was extremely tired. During Elders Quorum, I fell asleep like 6 times, unfortunately. That is probably why the teacher kept on looking at me... I felt really bad, but it is what it is. :)

The members in our ward have been asking what they can do to help out the missionaries. And the response that we have been giving is that members should invite non-member friends to as many church related activities as possible! I have mentioned it in prior emails, but invite invite invite! It can only help.

That is pretty much my week at a glance.

Now for some question-answering...

We are going to have another FHE tonight with the Part member family. I feel like it will be a good one! But we haven't talked to them in a while, because they were up in Sydney.

Favorite teaching moment? The service stuff that we did, because they are so prepared! And awesome!

I think I will be skyping somewhere around 11am-1pm Sydney time on Christmas. I don't exactly know what time that is in CA. I will give you guys a better idea next week.

Christmas package? I haven't got it yet, but only because the office is holding on to all of the Christmas packages until we have our Christmas Conference on the 23rd of December. I cant wait to open it though!!

That is awesome that you guys met up with the Moala Family! Sooo cool! I am glad that he got to tell you guys about the Ward and the area etc. It is pretty surreal to see pictures of him with you guys, when he was here just two weeks ago.

Larsen Family and Moala Family at the Oakland Temple Visitors Center.

I really enjoyed your letter, and wish I had more time to respond to everything you said. Thanks also for sending those pictures. I love you! Have a greaaaat week!

Arohanui,
Elder Larsen

They offered us tea, which we couldn't accept

Kia ora!

I am sitting here in the National Library covered in white paint flecks on my skin that look like I am diseased or something.... Sweet as!

The District got up early today to go do some service for a family in our ward, and we painted the ceiling in their house. And because of that, flecks of paint fell down off of the paint rollers onto my hands, arms and face. It didn't help that everyone decided to wipe paint on me when they got paint on their fingers....

But, yeah. That is me right now! Nothing else happened this week.  Psych! This week was hectic!! But it flew by. I can't believe I am already emailing again.

They offered us tea, which we couldn't accept

Saturday was amazing! We did service for the K____ family.  And then we shared a message. We had the opportunity to talk a little bit about the Word of Wisdom, because they offered us tea, which we couldn't accept. Then we centered our message on Eternal families, the power of the Book of Mormon, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Throughout the whole message, the father essentially bore testimony to us to everything we said. For example, with the Word of Wisdom, he said the abstaining from those addictive things like tea and coffee helps to protect you from addiction to more harmful substances. It was really cool!

Following the lesson, we asked him if when he came to know that these things that we have been sharing are true, would he and his family be baptized by someone holding the proper priesthood authority? And he said "Of Course!" That was very exciting for Elder Cocker and I. The father then said that he will do whatever God wants him to do, and that he believes that the messages we share aren't from us. They are from God, through us. That was really incredible to hear from the mouth of an investigator. He also mentioned that he knows that God will help him to know that the Book of Mormon is true. He and his family really have been prepared to hear the Gospel message. Elder Cocker and I recognize that we have done nothing to deserve these miracles that we have been witnessing. But we are thanking the Lord daily for all of the opportunities we have!

Me and da shovel...

Elder Cocker and I after we did service and shared a message at the ____ home.

I had no idea where we were going..

So going back to Wednesday evening, we went on trade-offs with some of the ward members, and both Elder Cocker and I had good experiences. I went with a brother in his car, and we were trying to go and contact former investigators that hadn't been visited for years! It was pretty funny, because I thought I knew where the street was, so I told the brother I was with where to go, and after 10 minutes of driving I realized I had no idea where we were going.. So he had to look the names up on his iPhone, and all the while he laughed at me for my poor navigation. But it was all good-natured! We ended up finding two separate people from different households who said that we could come back to and visit. So it was really successful! Elder Cocker went with our Ward Mission Leader, and found a family we can go and visit also. We are excited for that!

Ultimate Frisbee: Woden/Tuggeranong vs. Ginindera/Balconnen

Thursday we had sports night, where the members of the Ward and missionaries go and play sports, and invite nonmembers to go to. And we met the new sisters in our district there. They are cool! And so ready to do missionary work. Sister Bushnell (from San Diego and my zone at the MTC) is training Sister Parr (from New Zealand).

Friday, we had a Zone Training Meeting/Zone Preparation day. The training was given by our beloved zone leaders (we nicknamed them the Red Leaders) Elder White and Elder Shafer. They are aweeesome! The training was about inviting everyone to hear the message that we share, and also on gaining the trust of members in our area. For our P-day, we played Ultimate Frisbee, Southside vs. Northside of the Zone. So it was the Woden and Tuggeranong Districts vs. the Ginindera and Balconnen Districts. And we dominated! Elder Searle can throw a frisbee faaaar! So pretty much, we would just give Searle the frisbee and then go and cherry-pick. Then we played some sports and enjoyed each others company. Good times!

We had dinner that night at the H____ family's house, and had enchiladas! That was awesome, because there isn't hardly any Mexican food here. They are always a great family to visit!

Elder Cocker found a frisbee last night after we visited the 3 Fisher Guys...

We got to participate in two blessings in one day!

Sunday, we went and had a feed at the K_____ family home, but it was only Bro. K____. His fam is in Tonga, and he leaves next week, and they will be gone for six weeks. And he was feeling sick, so he asked us to give him a blessing. That was a cool experience. We then went to visit the another family, and later a sister in our ward. This sister's niece was there, and also asked for a blessing. So we got to participate in two blessings in one day!

We also saw one of the three Fisher Guys who still lives in Queanbeyan, and we invited him to sports night. We hadn't seen him in ages!

That is pretty much my week!

The highlight was the K____ family for sure!

Anyways, you asked about skyping for Christmas. I will be able to skype from a member's home, so if you guys can give me your skype address, I will use that to skype y'all Christmas day here, and Christmas eve in California!

Da lights and Da Uke (apparently there is a story behind this...)

Ezra! You are going to be sooo old! In only 16 days! (Australian time that is) That is crazy! What do you want for your birthday? No, I haven't been kicked by a kangaroo yet:) and I don't plan to. Elder Cocker wanted to fight one, though.

Christmas lights that look like eye balls...

JJ, that is awesome that you get to make a pinewood derby car! Maybe Kaysie can help you, using her Physics skills! And that is waaaaay cool that you are playing basketball! Keep it up! We will have to play together when I get home!

Time Relativity doesn't make any sense, Kaysie. You are exactly right. I can speak in an Australian accent, but I don't have one. We will see if I end up with one...

Hi Moana! Elder Cocker gave me my first haircut like four weeks ago, and at the moment it looks like it did when I left. So, reallllly handsome :). Yeah, Elder Cocker is a stud at cutting hair!

That is cool that you have a new job, Cami. Hopefully it is better? How is your Spanish? I am working on my Spanish skills with Elder Pedersen, because he is a Spanish speaking missionary, and I want to hold on to the Spanish I already know. Also, he and I are going to go on trade-offs to visit some Latino people here in Canberra, because we speak Spanish. I am excited!

Elder Cocker takes down Elder Searle...

And that is way cool that you guys are going to meet Elder Moala and his family! Be sure to say hi for me!

My Mission President and his wife? President and Sister Lew are awesome! I honestly don't get the opportunity to see them very often, because the Canberra Zone is 4 hours South of the Mission Office. But they are truly inspired. They have a love for each of the missionaries in the mission that I can't even comprehend. They are incredible examples to me.

Okay! I hope yall are well!

Question for you guys; what is something Australian that you would like me to send home to y'all for Christmas? It will probably be a little late, but I do want to send you something...

I love you! have a fantastic week!

Elder Larsen

Cool sunset from last night.

An Aussie Thanksgiving

Whaddup, ye thankful people! How're y'all doin'? I am doing great! This week has been pretty crazy! Heeeaaps of stuff went on! Hopefully I can remember it all... We will see what happens... So I guess I will just hop right into it!

Thanksgiving was pretty good.  We spent it with a family in our ward. These guys are studs! They sacrifice so much for the missionaries! They fed us four times this past week; on Tuesday, on Friday, on Saturday, and on Sunday, one of those times being at the Hyatt Hotel in Canberra, which was some of the best food ever (it had to have been; it was like a 5-star buffet).

This family is incredible. I can't even imagine exactly how much they have done over the course of their life-times for the missionaries but they are studs. Fast and Testimony Meeting this past Sunday, the mom got up and bore testimony that everyone needs to feed the missionaries, because the ward is our substitute family while we are serving. And afterwards, we saw the effects of her testimony. Everyone wants to feed the missionaries! It is crazy!

The rest of the meeting people came up and talked about how great of an impact Elder Moala and T were on the ward. I hope that I can have the same effect in the various areas I serve in.

My meal at the Hyatt Hotel.

Alu'a (Farewell) Elder Moala

One of the missionaries in my district, Elder Moala goes home today, as this was his last transfer. So he is in Sydney right now about to catch a plane out! Elder Moala is the man! He is from Oakland, California, has both Tongan and Samoan ancestry, speaks BOTH Tongan and Samoan, and is pretty much a stud. He was Elder T's comp this past transfer. He is very humble, teaches powerfully, and has a great sense of humor. Elder Moala and Elder T were an awesome companionship.

Missionaries and youth at the Elder Moala send-off.

Last Saturday, the ward, threw a going away party at the Queanbeyan chapel (which was closed down about 8 years ago, I will mention it later in my letter). And it was amazing! We had a program before, where everyone gathered together, we sang a hymn, had an opening prayer, and split off into classes taught by us six missionaries (plus 4 sisters in our zone who decided to come and see Moala off). We taught the Plan of Salvation in three segments to Members and Non-Members alike. It was great, because everyone invited friends and family to come, so there were heaps of nonmembers that we had the opportunity to meet. We picked up two new investigators that night. I will mention one of them later...

Photo includes members and missionaries from the Woden Ward.

The food was amazing! Because there were about 70 people that showed up (which is around 40 more than we expected) we could basically only have one plate, but that is fine because I eat too much here anyways.

Pig for Moala send-off.

Elder Moala had the opportunity to share his testimony with all of us, which was short and simple, yet very powerful. He is a great example to me of what I should aspire to be.

We found out that same day the results of transfers. Elder T got transfered to Sydney, which is really quite sad, so the Moala send-off became a Moala/To'angutu send-off. T got to share his testimony also. He is also a stud. I will miss having both of them in our district. They really were the life of our district, and we all became very close. But at the same time, I am happy for Moala because he gets to see his family now, and for T because he gets to move on to bigger and better things.

I thought that I should mention that I wrote a note to y'all and gave it to Elder Moala to give to you guys, mostly so you can meet Elder Moala. I also gave him our home phone number, so he can call you guys. Maybe you can meet him at the Oakland Temple? You should talk to that guy about the mission. He will have lots to tell you, lots of neat experiences to share. Maybe he will teach you guys some Samoan or Tongan words?

Our District is going to be "Gun"!

As far as the rest of the transfer details go, the four Queanbeyan Elders get to stay! Elder Cocker has been called as the new District Leader of our area, because T is gone now. I am super-pumped for him! Now we get to go on trade-offs with the Zone Leaders! Woohoo! Also, since T and Moala are both gone, two sisters are being shotgunned into Woden ward. One will be training the other. And I know the trainer, Sister Bushnell! She was in my zone at the MTC! She is the man. Our district this transfer is going to be gun! ("gun" is used as like a synonym of awesome here in Aussie-land)

I still have heaps to tell y'all. Sheesh!

Our District with ____ Family taking a pic in front of the Hyatt.

"Are you Mormons? Don't talk to me then..."

Sunday we saw yet another example to how the Lord helps His servants accomplish the things he has commanded them (1 Nephi 3:7). We wanted to go see an Indian investigator we taught last week, so we decided to walk to his flat. As we were walking, we passed these old apartment buildings owned by the State, where people who can't afford their own homes are provided housing, and there were these people who were standing outside, talking, most of them were drunk.

We were already running later than we should have been for various reasons, but I distinctly felt that we needed to go talk to them. I told Elder Cocker, and he agreed, so we walked over there and just started talking to them. They were very nice, and very drunk. We talked to one dude, who was sober, about church and how it has a good influence on the lives of those who attend. There was this one lady who walked up to us and we had an interesting conversation that went something like this.

Lady: "Are you Mormons?"
Missionaries: "We are."
Lady: "Don't talk to me then. Wait, do you guys believe in blood transfusions?"

I was really confused, but Elder Cocker had it together, and told her that we do believe in blood transfusions. Then she totally opened up, and said that she didn't want to talk to us earlier because she thought Mormons didn't believe in blood transfusions. She found out Elder Cocker is a Kiwi, so she went and got her Husband to come out and talk to us, because he is a Cook Islander-Kiwi. Very nice guy. We got a return appointment with him. So cool! It is amazing that if we listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, we will be blessed in so many different ways!

"Those of your faith have a lot of confidence in the Book of Mormon"

Another teaching experience we had was last night for family home evening. There is this guy in the Elders Quorum Presidency in our ward who brought his sister (a less-active member), and her boyfriend (a non-member) to Elder Moala and T's send-off party. Elder Cocker and I talked to them for ages after we had finished the lesson, and also all throughout the meal! That was good, because they got to know us as real people, and not just missionaries.

Then elders quorum guy told us (when his sister and boyfriend stepped away) that his sister has been less-active for ages, but for the past few months or so they had been coming over to his house for family home evening. The elders quorum guy then invited Elder Cocker and I to come and share a message with them Monday evening, and to play games afterwards. So we did. We got there and shared a message centered on the Book of Mormon and the importance of that book to our church. It was great! We all felt the Spirit strongly, especially as we bore testimony and invited the sister and boyfriend to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith.

One thing that the boyfriend said that really stuck out to me was something along the lines of "I have noticed that those of your faith have a lot of confidence in the Book of Mormon, a great deal of faith in it, and truly believe it is the word of God". He accepted the Book of Mormon we offered him gratefully, and promised to read and pray about it. He was very sincere. He asked very good questions, and we can tell he really would like to know if the Book of Mormon is true. We plan to meet with him again sometime when the elders quorum guy invites them over again.

Another thought: it is really great that the elders quorum guy invited them to that activity! Because of his initiative, he has opened the door for his sister to receive the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If it weren't for the elders quorum guy, then his sister's boyfriend may not hear the message we share for years, if at all in this life. So, all you members out there, I really would encourage you to invite your non-member friends to church-related activities. Invite your friends to participate in Family Home Evening with you. Invite the missionaries to share short, sweet messages at either functions. In those simple ways you will be helping the missionaries heeeeaaaaaps!!!! We can't do the work without you!

A Tongan Hymn - Folofola Mai a Sisu

Random thought: we have been singing this one Tongan Hymn at pretty much every function that we could this past week ("we" being the missionaries and some of the ward leaders). The Hymn is "Folofola Mai a Sisu". Y'all should look it up on youtube. It is awesome! We sang it at Moala's send-off, Thanksgiving dinner for the other 40 Tongans at the member family home, and in Sacrament Meeting.

Update on K____ Family

We saw the K____ family last Tuesday evening, and brought a ward member with us. We taught them the Restoration, and gave them copies of the Book of Mormon, and invited them to read and to pray (similar to the lesson with the elders quorum guy, his sister and her boyfriend). And they are sooo receptive! They were very sincere, and were (are) willing to act on the things that we said. I am running out of time, so I won't write every detail, but it was as good, possibly better, than the lesson that we had with the boyfriend. We are going to see them tomorrow evening, and will most likely share the Plan of Salvation and invite them to church and to be baptized!! Woo hoo! I can't wait.

Hopes for the Queanbeyan Chapel

I mentioned earlier that Moala's send-off was at the Queanbeyan chapel. This chapel is awesome! It was shut down 8 years ago by the Stake when they combined the Woden ward with the Queanbeyan branch. It is really small for a chapel, but it honestly is the coolest chapel I have been in. Anyways, this week we heard a lot more from some of the older members in Queanbeyan about the consequences of the chapel being shut down. There are a lot of members who went inactive because of it. Like, a LOT. Even the active members are still bitter about it.

So, Elder Cocker and I have a thought; there are four missionaries in the Queanbeyan area.... The work is hastening here, and we are having a lot of success... Maybe the Stake and Mission Presidents sent us here so that we can open the Queanbeyan chapel back up?  This would help reactivate many of those members, and make it easier for many to attend church. It would be convenient for us, because investigators would more likely be able to get to church when it is only 5 min drive away, vs 30 min. We don't know for sure, but those are our suspicions.

Okay, now to answer your questions

How much meat do I eat for dinner? Heeeeeaaaaps! Every members house that we go to normally has steak, lamb, chicken, or turkey. Many of them have multiple meats. The food here is really good. We eat lots of heavy food though. Exercise is really important.

Members that have been helpful? Lots of families our Ward Mission Leader for coming with us on trade offs, other members for the same reason, more members for introducing friends to missionaries (one of which was the other investigator we picked up at Moala's send off), and many other members for various reasons. These are just the first ones that came to mind. :)

Letters? I have received two of them. And they are great! I really enjoy having something to read from you, and I really have enjoyed the experiences that you have shared with me about your mission, Dad. I am really grateful that you served in New Zealand, because I have something to talk about with every Kiwi we meet. And there are heaps of them!

Ezra! JJ! You boys are lucky!!!! That is sooooooo coooooool that you got to shoot that gun that shot fast!

Elder Tanner, no we don't have iPhones unfortunately here. We should be gettng iPads sometime in 2014. Which will be sweeeeet! Elder Brown, good on ya for eating for me! Thats awesome that Chico 2 still has you two serving there still! Hopefully you guys stay for ages!

I love you guys! Hope my sisters are also doing well! And my parents for that matter! Good on y'all for your prayers! All of us missionaries appreciate it! Heaps!

Ofa 'atu!
Elder Larsen

P.S. The Kangaroo pics are on a member family's farm that they showed us last Saturday after we did service for them.

Some Kangas where the family took us last Friday.

Roo stare down.

Elder Cocker on the trail to victory!

P.P.S. One of the fisher dudes and his girlfriend moved to Wollongong this past week, so we got photos with them.

The Fisher Dude.

Fisher Dude's Korean girlfriend.

I woke up with the flu

So this past Friday, I went on exchanges with my District Leader, Elder T. And I woke up with the flu! That's funny, isn't it? Wait, you are probably wondering where the humor is. Let me explain.

So, after we had our district meeting in the morning, we had to go back to the flat, because I was having a great time feeling terrible. So Elder T had to stay in the flat with me while I slept and recovered from the flu. Poor guy! When he was about to leave, I got up, and told him "Hey, sorry for the lame exchange", and he was like "Are you kidding me? That was the best exchange I have ever had!", meaning that he enjoyed not working. He of course was kidding, both of us would have liked to go and do the work. Especially since we had planned to see like four of Elder Cocker and my investigators. But it definitely made me laugh, and feel better about the exchange.

Korean People AND Indian People are My Favorite

Elder Cocker and I picked up a new investigator yesterday (actually, two, because we taught a lesson to Mrs. K____ also). I don't remember if I mentioned meeting the Indian dude a couple weeks ago, but we ran into him, and he said that he used to go to one of the LDS chapels here in Canberra. We went and visited him yesterday, and found out that he isn't a member, but that he just went a couple times with his neighbor, who is a member. We shared a portion of the Restoration with him, and he told us that we are always welcome to come and talk to him, as long as we are talking about Jesus Christ. It was a cool experience, despite the fact that there was a language barrier. I have decided that Korean people AND Indian people are my favorite (I mentioned the K____ family are Indian, right?).

About Jarrad's Missionary Flat Mates

Okay, so you asked what have I learned from Elder Cocker, and you  wanted to hear about the other missionaries from my flat. Elder Cocker is a stud! He is a great trainer, and has lots of experience to share with me. One thing that he told me that stuck out to me is that we have to recognize that all good comes from God. All of the blessings that we have, everything good that happens in our lives is from God, and we need to acknowledge His hand in all things. (see Moroni 7:13)

Elders Larsen and Cocker working on their Area Book.

The other missionaries in our flat are Elders Pedersen and Searle. Elder Pedersen is from Highland, Utah and plays Gridiron (what Aussies call American football). He will be playing as a wide receiver for Southern Utah University when he gets home from his mission, where his brothers play. He plays basketball too, and has a good sense of humor! Elder Searle is from Cache Valley, Utah. He is good at soccer and basketball, and will also be attending Southern Utah when he gets home from the mission.

That's really cool that the Presiding Bishop of the Church is going to be at Sacrament Meeting in your ward in Chico. Elder Searle is good friends with the Presiding Bishop's son, they live close to him I think.

Teaching Experiences

We saw a family yesterday, only for like 20 minutes. But it was good! Really good! We talked about Biblical prophets and how they are important, and then shared with them that our church has a unique message; that a prophet is again on the earth after centuries of no prophets. And they truly enjoyed the message. We have a return appointment for this Tuesday evening with them. I can't wait!

We haven't been able to see the fisher guy and his Korean girlfriend this week. We planned to see them Friday, but of course I was sick, and then we were also going to see them yesterday, but we got really busy with some other stuff. But we will for sure see them some time this week.

Water spout seen from Mount Ainslie. We stopped there today for the view with the District.

With the Tongan guy, we haven't had any luck. It seems like he has dropped off the face of the planet. Part of that I am sure is that he has a job now, so he is busy. I think that he still has a desire to learn about the Book of Mormon more, and to hear what other messages that we as missionaries share. He just hasn't found time.

There is the capital of Australia! You can see at the far end of the line Parliament Building, and on this side of the line is the War Memorial. To the right on the far side of the river is the National Library.

Of Flies and Spiders

What is the weirdest bug that I have seen? The flies! They are ginormous! And annoying. Elder Cocker and I witnessed a dead fly give birth. That was nasty! We were studying one day, and then Elder Cocker yelled out "Dude, this dead fly is giving birth!" So, naturally I had to go see this phenomenon. It was..... weird. I think I will spare y'all the nausea from describing it, but just know, that it was incredibly.... strange.

Our flat is really nice, there aren't really any spiders that I have found. I have seen redbacks here, but not at the house. Redbacks are similar to Black Widow spiders that are found in the states, only their backs are red, not their bellies. Similar sting, from what I have heard.

The Australian Redback Spider is related to the American Black Widow spider

Answers to Miscellaneous Questions

I don't think that anyone in the Canberra zone can go to the temple. All of the other zones can, but Canberra is really far south. So, I will have to wait until I am transferred somewhere north of here. But I don't really want to be transferred. I love it here!

The new bike is good! I have only ridden it twice, because Elder Cocker has a busted tire already. After two rides! Unlucky. But the bike rides very nicely. It is a bit hot to be riding bikes here around now, so I am glad to be walking. It may take longer, but I am not drenched in sweat when I am done. At least we aren't in Sydney. It is hoooot there!

Those were some cool pictures of the albino buck! Reminds me of all the good times out on the farm!

Blacktail deer picture taken by Jarrad's old boss, Brian M.

I will have to teach JJ how to play uke! I will just have to learn how to play first... Or maybe JJ can learn, and teach me when I get home! :)

Jarrad's Ukulele, which he spent an undisclosed sum of money on.  ;)

Final Thoughts

I like the pictures that you guys sent me. Very cool! What's on Moana's face?

Okay! Well that's about it! I hope y'all have a good week! Thanks for the prayers and for the love! Much appreciated. Be good and remember who you are! Peace out!

Elder Larsen

PS - Ezra, you are a goof! Thanks Kaysie, I appreciate your desire to share [your cold] with me.... Oh, and I forgot to answer one of your questions. I did meet Elder Macfarland, but not until we were traveling. He is a good guy! I don't know him too well, he was in a different zone, but a good guy nonetheless.

Another cool bird...