Elder Jarrad Larsen: I locked our keys in the car...

Kia Ora!

Que Pasa? Malo! Ni hao! Malo e' leilei! How're y'all doin? This has been a full week!

I locked our keys in the car... So we are currently car-less

Hey guys! I decided I am going to write you guys first in case I get kicked off again. So I am going to write yall a letter first. Dad, can you translate something from Maori to English for me? Okay, so this is a text message from this guy that you know, Dad. I will explain further in my letter. It says "Tena koe Elder Larsen....Nau mai haere mai.....Yous are welcome to visit anytime brother..." (Loose translation: "Greetings Elder Larsen.... You are welcome here...")

So we had Zone Training Meeting (ZTM) this week and that was good! Our ZLs (Zone Leaders) are great teachers. Afterwards, I locked our keys in the car, though, so we are currently car-less. We ride with the Zone leaders everywhere hahaha. Gooood job Elder Larsen. What happened was I walked out to the car to put my jacket in the car, and right then we got the text from R_, and I was so excited about it that I forgot our keys were in the suit coat. Faaaail! But it is okay. Tomorrow we have Zone Conference with Pres. Lew, and he is bringing the spare key down. So we will have our own car again.

Elder Tito and I are already really good friends!

We have done a lot of stuff this week. Monday was only a half P-day because of our ZTM this past Friday. I went on a couple trade-offs this week with our zone leaders. Those were really good. The first one was pretty hectic, so I will tell you about the second one first....

On the second trade-off, I was with Elder Tito. Elder Tito is the man! We already are really good friends! He is so funny! And he can sing pretty dang well. We decided to do a finding activity called General Questioning, or GQ, where you pretty much just go out and talk to people on the streets. That was good. We picked up a few new potential investigators. And we saw a few other people, but nothing too exciting happened.

We found this video on a disk that Elder Larsen sent home. This is from Jarrad's first area.

I met heaps of people from Huntly

The first trade-off was fantastic! It was a normal day until the evening, when Brother T_______ picked Elder Olsen and I up to go to a funeral. Now we had planned to go to this funeral so that I could meet K____ and her partner. So we got there and the first person that we see is K____! (Note: K_____ is like a Maori sister for Jarrad, because her mother treated Jarrad's dad like a son when he was a missionary in Huntly, New Zealand) Cool beans!

I got to talk to her and her partner a bit, and that was really good. They said that they would like to have us over for tea sometime (meaning dinner I think). But that wasn't all. I met heeeeeeaaaaaps of people from Huntly that know an "Elder Larsen" or rather a former Elder Larsen. I met this guy named Steve B_______ that knows an Elder Larsen. He apparently lives north of Sydney, near New Castle. That was awesome. I got to tell him about how we went to NZ, and all the places I went to. Cool beans!

He said that he would take us out on the water with him

Met a guy named R____ R_____. That was the coolest miracle. His brother apparently is the Bishop of Huntly Ward back in New Zealand now. And he is an unbaptized member. He and his partner and kids live like 5 min. from us. We talked to that dude for agggeeees! Man he is cool! He was the one that sent me a text message. He apparently kept asking Bro T_______ to pass me his contact info, and then eventually he got to talk to me. Gave me his info too! Hope to visit him this week.

Dang I am getting kicked off again! Sorry it is so short! I will talk to you guys next week!... okay I am on a different computer so I will try to finish...

So anyways, R_ pretty much told E. Olsen and I that he grew up in the church, just wasn't baptized. Told us some good experiences with the church that he had, and how great it was for him and his brothers. And he wants us to come visit him! The Spirit is great! Man it was awesome to meet and talk to him! He is cool! Told us all about his tattoos and stuff! He apparently does Waka Ama too! He said that he would take us out on the water with him, which we unfortunately had to decline... It was cool! I am excited to meet his family. He remembers an Elder Larsen too, needless to say.

Stake Activities

Saturday we had this stake activity, where we all went to Campbeltown at this massive stadium, and they did like a track meet thing. Missionaries were the officials. That was fun! But long. I got sun burnt needless to say. :)

Sunday we were asked to go to a YSA fireside and sing. That was good. Elder Tito can really sing! Oh yeah! At the YSA fireside there was a gal that got her mission call to Bakersfield CA! I didn't get to talk to her though.

Did I mention my scriptures are locked inside the car?

Okay, now for some questions... Being a District Leader has been good! It is cool that I have the opportunity to be so close to the members of my district by going on trade-offs with them all. I have a bit of paper work to do too, but it isn't bad. And yes we have a car, but it is currently at the chapel, waiting for a spare key to open it. Did I mention my scriptures are locked inside the car? I am using straight BoM passages at the moment....

Apparently my package is in Canberra... So hopefully I get it soon! I hope I get to attend the Sydney temple, and the ZLs say that they have in the past.

Okay, I love you guys! Good to hear that you all are doing well! Oh yeah, for my b-day package, could you guys send me some basketball shorts, like a pair for me, and two for Elder B? Both larges. And E. Tito and E. B were wondering if you could send a few Cali t-shirts for them, XL for E. B and XXL tall for E. Tito. Oh yeah, and also more long black socks please? and Thank you!

Next week can you guys share with me your favorite BoM (Book of Mormon) missionary and why?

5 Months yesterday I entered the MTC! Today over there in the States.

Cool! Be good! Be member-missionaries! Love the Lord! Pray for opportunities to help one another! Just keep swimming! BTW 5 months yesterday I entered the MTC! Today over there in the States. WOW!

Love,

Elder Larsen

In honor of Jarrad's 5 month MTC anniversary, we are including some heretofore un-published pictures from his time in the MTC.