A train of miracles

Far out! This has been a crazy week. Man! So much has happened. I will most likely only be able to include the major highlights.

A few thoughts from our Mission Conference

First thing first, I wanted to share a few thoughts that I learned from our mission conference yesterday, with Pres. and Sister Palmer accompanied by Elder O'Riordan of the Seventy as speakers:

• The Lord will guide a “moving missionary”
• People are watching you all the time
• You are always gaining trust or losing trust from the members
• If we focus on our purpose we will be changed and powerful missionaries 
• As missionaries better understand the doctrine of Christ their attitude will change in how they teach about repentance and baptism
• A missionary who really knows his purpose truly wants to know what is in the heart of his investigators and will not be afraid of the answers. He will be looking for ways to help them strengthen their faith, repent and be baptized.
• You won’t be effective if you don’t love Australians.
• Notice the miracles in your mission and share them each week
• Cast aside anything that is YSA about you – live your missionary purpose
• Require Heavenly Father to bless you with miracles because of your obedience and faithfulness
• Have a goal for ONE BAPTISM PER MONTH per companionship

These are just some of the many notes that I took at our conference yesterday. Man! it was inspiring. Such a needed conference. President Palmer is the man! He knows how to make things happen! I look forward to witnessing the growth that the mission has over the next little while.

We just came across this picture from a Canberra Zone Conference several months ago.

With six sisters helping I don't think anyone would complain

I also wanted to share a couple of miracles that Elder Wulf and I witnessed during this week. The first happened last Saturday. Saturday, we got up and went to the chapel to start playing b-ball at 6:30 with our ward, then we had MCM (Missionary Coordination Meeting) at 8am. Following MCM, we had a service project at one of the members homes that took up a long time! Heaps of time! And it was tiring. Yet rewarding. Friday, we committed to help an older man paint his house, not at a specific time. But this other service project took a great deal longer than we anticipated. But we had committed to help out, so we went over anyways. And they were all done. Dang! We felt bad. But the sister missionaries in our ward had all come to help out, so they weren't at all lacking hands (with six sisters helping, I don't think anyone would complain).

I volunteered the help of 4 young, strapping missionaries

So we went outside to go to the car. And I saw a family doing a bunch of yard work two doors down from this member's home. So I went over and volunteered the help of 4 young, strapping Elders. They were so gracious! We helped them do things that would have taken hours by themselves in a matter of 30 minutes. Lucky we were dressed in service clothes? Nawww, that was inspiration! Cool beans! They asked us to visit them and to share our message with them. They are very open, especially after that service that we were able to provide. They recognized and expressed that God had sent us to assist them in their time of need. We will continue to follow up, and hopefully help them return to the fold.

A train of miracles

Another miracle, or rather a chain of miracles, that we witnessed yesterday as we opened our mouth and talked with everyone: We decided that all of the Elders in our zone would take a train to Campbelltown, because there are not enough cars to have everyone drive. And we wanted to take advantage of that opportunity. So we did. After the conference was over, Elder Wulf and myself traveled swiftly to the train station from the chapel. As we got into the station, there was a woman of Polynesian descent that we started talking to. She apparently went to an LDS chapel for years in Hawaii, never was baptized, and knows that the church is true. Awesome! We got her details, and will soon be passing her on to the Campbelltown missionaries. We felt that it was a tender mercy.

We looked back into the train and saw her reading the Book of Mormon!

So we decided to continue trying to talk with everyone. We got on the train, sat in seats right next to each other, and started talking to separate people. The woman that I talked to has been prepared. She has cousins who have served and are currently serving LDS missions. I talked to her for a long time about her family members that are LDS. And she expressed that she never really knew what Mormons are about. She asked if I would tell her. I decided that I would take the opportunity. Of course I did!

We talked about prophets, and their significance in the lives of God's children. We talked about the basic principles of the Gospel, which she understood and accepted as truth. And then we talked about the Book of Mormon. That sparked a light. I taught what the Book of Mormon was, bore testimony of its truthfulness, then shared with her Moroni's Promise. When asked whether or not she thought that it could be true, she essentially expressed that she felt it was. The Spirit touched her heart. We exchanged contact info just as Elder Wulf and I walked off the train. She said that she was going to call her cousins about this. Apparently she lives in Liverpool during the week! Sweet as! And as icing on the cake, we looked back into the train and saw her reading the Book of Mormon! What a miracle!

Fire and brimstone from the Doctrine and Covenants. Yay!

We have been promised so many miracles as we open our mouths and share the gospel. In D&C 100, it says "5) Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak‍ the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded‍ before men; 6) For it shall be given‍ you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say" I promise you members out there that this promise applies to you. As you open your mouths to your friends, your mouth will be filled, and you will know what to say, and who to say it to. That is a promise. I know it is true. Another scripture says that "it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn‍ his neighbor" (D&C 88:81). You have been warned. Do it! Warn your neighbors! If we don't, we are warned "He that is slothful‍ shall not be counted worthy‍ to stand, and he that learns not his duty and shows himself not approved shall not be counted worthy to stand" (D&C 107:100).

Fire and brimstone from the Doctrine and Covenants. Yay!

An update on the haps of other things here; we caught B_ at home last week. He has been sooo busy! But he is still so keen. We have an appointment with him today. So hopefully that goes well. My first week with Elder Wulf was awesome (as you can tell from the miracles that I shared). He continues to teach me so much, and we have become great friends! It is good to hear from the family. Looks like all is well!

The Lord doesn't want missionaries to be too comfortable

Ezra, I change companions because the Lord doesn't want missionaries to be too comfortable with anyone. And square dancing looks cool, JJ!

I love you guys heaps! Hope your week is fantastic! And remember to open your mouths this week! I hope to hear how it went next week when we email.

Love,
Elder Larsen

From South Africa and Very Spiritual

Hiya familia!

So this past week has been pretty crazy. Heaps of stuff has happened... Far out!

8 out of 20 missionaries in our zone got transferred

As you know, transfers happened this past week. There were heaps of changes that happened in our zone. The one that pertains to all of you, and myself, most is that my companion, Elder Winkelman was transferred... It was so sad! Man! We were together for only one transfer. We got along so well.... My new companion is Elder Wulf. And he is the MAN! He is from Auckland, NZ, has been serving for a year and a half, and is a stud missionary! I will share some experiences from just yesterday later on in my email.

Elder Wulf and Elder Larsen.

Elder Winkelman was transferred to Paramatta. That is one of the major cities within the greater Sydney area. He and Elder Wulf pretty much swapped... He was sad to go... And so was the ward, they were sad to see him go. I guess it was what the Lord wanted...

Elder Cocker is a lot closer now, though! He is in the Ingleburn zone. The same stake [as me]! Woohoo! So that is pretty exciting. Also, Elder Perkins' new companion is Elder Hammond! So we are all in the same flat together. Epic flat! Woohoo! 8 out of 20 missionaries in our zone got transferred. Pretty crazy.

From South Africa and very spiritual

Elder Winkelman and I had a hectic miracle last week! We decided to take one of the members who has his mission call to Samoa out with us to do some visits. We were walking around, trying to contact some people. And there was an African man sitting at a playground, probably 50 metres or so away. The member thought we should go talk to him. It was his initiative! The man! Bad examples of missionaries... Naw, just not perfect!

So anyways, we went over to talk to this man, and we got there, just casually say hello, then the member chimes in, saying "These are the missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They have a message to share with you now that will bless your life." So the man (his name is C_) said pretty much "That's fine, I don't mind hearing a message." We talked to him a bit more, learned he is from South Africa. And he is very spiritual. And we jumped right into the message. We shared pretty much the whole Restoration. It was awesome! He expressed that he really felt that we were called of God. And he is excited to learn more. We called him yesterday, and he is going to find time some time later this week to meet with us. So hopefully we have a great follow up visit.

Man, Aussies can sing!

There has been a lot of progression with some of the other people we have been working with. The B_ family finally came to church. Which is really exciting. Hopefully they will make it a habit. Many other less active members came to church. It was a great service. We had ward conference, and we heard great messages from our bishop, stake president, and other people.

We also had a ward missionary fireside on Sunday evening. And it was probably one of the most spiritually uplifting firesides I had ever been to. It was a musical fireside, with Mormon messages in-between. The theme was finding faith in Christ. Man, Aussies can sing! Jealous!

I learned how a real missionary goes tracting!

Now let me tell you a bit more about my day with Elder Wulf yesterday. Elder Wulf arrived around 3pm-ish yesterday. I worked with Elder Perkins until Elder Wulf and Elder Hammond came to our flat from transfers. Later in the day, probably like a half hour or so later (when the car was unloaded and such) we decided to go out and work. We tried to contact a less-active family in the ward. No one was there, so we decided to walk to the next place, in order to talk to as many people as possible. We knocked some doors and whatnot.

I learned how a real missionary goes tracting! Man! It was awesome! Elder Wulf, even when the person is clearly not interested, does not back down. He tries to get to the root of reasons for disinterest. You can tell that he cares a great deal about those that we contact. And as a result, we found 3 people that said that we could come back and share a bit more about our message with them. I have heaps to learn from Elder Wulf. And I am really excited for this transfer. Elder Wulf truly recognizes the urgency of our calling. He doesn't want to waste any time, or any opportunities. It is awesome.

B_ is good, I think. He wasn't at church, I think because of work. We plan to meet with him sometime this week. He is still on track to be baptized the 14th of June.

The Australian alphabet goes Aussie, Barby, Canberra, hEaps...

Sounds like a lot is going on. Gabriel Scheel will definitely be in my prayers. That is for sure.

Australians do like American music! It is everywhere. They also have more country music. Lots of Australian Country.  Kaysie, I have 6 favorite siblings. That is because I have 6 siblings. :)

JJ, the Australian alphabet goes Aussie, Barby, Canberra, Dingo, hEaps of cultures, Fairdinkum, G'day, How're ya goin'?...

Ezra! Sounds like [Father Son Campout was] heaps of fun! Lucky you!

Okay, well, there are lots of other things that happened this week, but those are the important things. This weekend should be great. We have a Mission Conference Monday of next week, so our P-day is probably Tuesday.

I love you guys! I will send a picture or two in a minute!
Elder Larsen

Kangaroo Steak for Mother's Day?

Instead of a normal letter Jarrad's family got to Skype with him for Mother's Day!  We did receive one very interesting photo emailed from Elder Larsen which must have a story behind it.  We are wondering if this was his Mother's Day dinner...

Kangaroo Steak.  On Mother's Day?

During our Skype session we asked Elder Larsen to share some experiences from his mission.  We don't have time to transcribe everything he said, but here are a couple:

Little miracles, but combined make awesome miracles, at least for me

"I enjoy smaller miracles.  Yesterday we were just walking around trying to make some contacts.  And there was this Turkish woman by the street weeding her grass.  We decided to stop and talk to her.  We talked about how we are Christians and are representatives of Jesus Christ, and we offered to give her service.  She said she was Muslim and didn't seem too interested, but she was really nice.  She pointed out how many Muslims were in her neighborhood.  “That person over there is Turkish Muslim, that person is a Pakistani Muslim, that person over there is another Turkish Muslim…”  But before we walked away, before we said “Have a good day” and left her a pamphlet, Elder Winkelman actually brought up that we offer free service again.  A light sparked up in her eye.  “Oh wow, free service.  I thought you were kidding.”  She seemed really happy about that.  We left her our number and she said she will definitely call us.

"We will probably stop by and say hi.  It’s just little things like that which will give us an ‘in’ with some people. We have little experiences [like that] all the time.  These are little miracles, but combined make awesome miracles, at least for me."

How we took J_ tracting the first time we met him

"I’m bummed that I missed out on J_'s baptism in Canberra.  Did I tell you about how we took him tracting like the first time we met him?  Hahaha.  So he was just hanging out at the A_ family house with the A_ boys. We went over to visit them because we were going to take them tracting.  We thought it would be a great way to get them excited about Church.  So we took G_ and J_ to go knock some doors (and J_'s not a member!).  We asked J_ “Do you know anything about Church?”  “No... I don’t think I do.”  The A_ boys hadn't told him anything about the Church and we were knocking doors [with him]!  It was pretty funny.  And then we said, “Why don’t we just stop and talk about it and we can tell you about our Church.”

"So he got baptized.  That was awesome, but I [missed it as I] was in Dapto.  It was choice seeing him progress and see his desire grow.  I think that his family will see lots of miracles.  Good times.  Really good times."

Folofola Mai a Sisu

We talked Elder Larsen into singing a song.  This is a Tongan hymn his first companion, Elder Cocker, taught him.  Poor video quality, but hope you enjoy.

Testimony from Elder Larsen

We asked Elder Larsen to share his testimony.  Here is a small portion.  Again the video quality isn't great, but the words are special.  Thanks for keeping Elder Larsen in your prayers.

Spanish, for real, with a real investigator!

Greetings to all!

I hope thou farest well. Unto thee I report much change and activity for the past week.

My favorite pic! Elder Winkelman and I hiding out under our stairs. Hahahahahahaha! We have fun together.

President Lew was released as our mission president

So I guess the biggest thing to report is that President Lew was released last Tuesday as our mission president, and will be flying home to Utah today (due to health concerns). Last Wednesday night, we received a text message from the assistants, telling the zone leaders that we had an important conference call that night. So we connected to the conference call, and Elder Williams informed us that 1) Elder Haleck of the Seventy flew into Sydney Monday evening 2) Elder Haleck released President Lew from his service as our mission president 3) A new mission president had been called up and flown in; President Palmer 4) President Palmer was set apart. And because of that, he holds the priesthood keys to lead and guide this mission. He has been called of God to fill the vacancy left by President Lew. The assistants told us that the important thing to remember is that he has been called of God, that this is all God's will, even though it is different, and that this is the best thing for President Lew.

Elder Winkelman and I both were in shock. We did not know what to think. We compared it to Gandalf's fall in The Lord of the Rings. That was how we felt. President Lew was and is incredible. Sister Lew is the best mission mom that anyone could ask for. They have soooooo much love. They are truly the kindest, most loving and caring people that I have ever met. All of the missionaries are devestated. But they all do recognize that this was ordained of God. This is what was supposed to happen. I don't like it, but I have a strong testimony of the Lord's timing. So I do know that this is the Lord's will.

If anyone can fill the hole and vacancy left... it will be President Palmer

I was able to meet President Palmer this past Thursday, along with most of my zone. We were at an activity at one of the chapels in Liverpool, playing basketball with less-active members and non-members. President Palmer came to interview one of the Elders to renew his temple recommend. So we were able to go up and introduce ourselves, and get to know President Palmer on a personal level. I don't think he expected so many missionaries:). He is the man! He is so loving! His smile is so big, and genuine. I really think that if anyone can fill the hole and vacancy left by President Lew, it will be him. He is from NZ (Christchurch), and he was a mission president in Spokane, WA from 2009-2012. Great guy! We have a zone conference with him and his wife, along with the assistants tomorrow. So hopefully we get to know him even better.

There and back again... to the temple!

Today we went to the temple! It was my first time going to the temple in Aussie land. Period. And I have been here for 7 months! It truly was a choice experience. I love the temple, the symbolism involved, and the spirit one can feel inside. I felt closer to God, and feel that I have received some measure of added spiritual strength because of my visit. And taking a train there and back again (Hobbit quote) allowed us to bond with the members of our zone. It was fantastic!

Sydney, Australia Temple

We got permission to participate in the ordination

One of Elder Winkelman's recent converts from Dapto received the Melchizedek Priesthood this past Sunday, at the MacArthur Stake Conference. I don't know if I told you about P_? The guy who took us rollerblading? Well, Elder Winkelman baptized him while he was in Dapto. So we got permission to participate in the ordination. It was a choice experience. It is soo cool to see people progress in the gospel and receive the ordinances of salvation. It was even better for Elder Winkelman. We saw heaaaaaaps of people from Dapto. And since we both served there it wasn't awkward for one companion who didn't know anyone. We both really had a great time. That's when I talked to Bro T_ from Dapto.

I guess the massive package was a dead give away

Last Monday (sooo long ago, it feels like) we had MLC (Mission Leadership Council). Which was awesome. This was before President Lew was released. So we were still in a state of ignorant bliss. President Simpson and President Hopkins attended that. They both gave trainings, along with the assistants. We learned a lot of really good things that we can apply to make our ward councils function better, and things that will help us to work better with the members. We were blessed with a special treat; Sister Lew was escorted in with President Hopkins and Elder and Sister Peterson (an office Senior missionary couple). You should have seen the smiles that broke out on everyone's faces.

And Sister Lew! Her testimony is so sweet and precious. She has such sincere and tender love both for her husband and for the missionaries. We did not know that that was going to be the last time that we would see President or Sister Lew while in the mission field. But we were happy to see her, and sad to see her go. She actually (in the middle of her testimony/words of wisdom) saw me and then she said "Oh Elder Larsen! Happy Birthday! I was going to call you and sing to you, but I didn't have the time!" Cool. Cover blown. Now everyone there knew it was my birthday. I guess the massive package with the quilt was a dead giveaway too (I loooooooooove the quilt, by the way! It must have taken heaps of effort and heeaaaaps of time! Thaaaaank youuu!! And Elder Tito was grateful for his stuff too! I was able to give it to him at the MLC meeting). It was a great experience though. I will really miss the Lews.

Hopefully that pulls him even more in the right direction

An update on B_; this past week, he was asked by his work to go to South Australia to work at one of the mine sights, so unfortunately he has been out all week. We aren't sure when he will be back.

We also were not able to meet with M_, because he had to work during our appointment. However, he did come to a mission-wide Recent Convert Fireside, where missionaries, investigators, and members (normally recent converts) alike attend to hear the testimonies of those that have recently been baptized members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. M_'s 10 year-old son (who was baptized in March) spoke, and shared his experience, along with a number of other recent converts. And their testimonies were very powerful. We know that M_ had a great time, and felt the Spirit. So hopefully that pulls him even more in the right direction.

We ran down to meet them and saw heaps of blood

We had another small miracle this week. Last Thursday, there was a blessing in disguise. We were visiting an investigator that two of the sisters had passed to us to teach (so it was in their area), and we were sitting on the porch of this investigator, having a good discussion before we opened up the lesson. We saw (after a few minutes of being on the porch) the sisters (Sister B_ and Sister M_) walking towards their car on the street literally 10 metres from where we had parked our car. We waved. All of the sudden, Sister M_ swayed, stumbled, then sat down on the curb. We were a bit too far away to see what exactly had happened. Then she was on the ground. One of the neighbors came out, and walked up to see if she was okay. Sister B_ waved us over. So all three of us kicked into gear (Elder Winkelman, our investigator, and myself).

We ran down to meet them and saw heaps of blood, then ran back to the car to get some stuff to dress the wound. What had happened was when Sis. M_ stumbled, she stuck her hand out to this tree to catch her, but this tree was full of foot-long spikes up and down the trunk (a certain kind of palm tree I think). And it stabbed her hand. We helped them to clean up the wound, and took them to the hospital to make sure there was no infection. The cut wasn't terrible, but we wanted to make sure. So, we helped them go to the hospital where everything was taken care of.

It was a bit of a traumatic experience I am sure for Sis. M_, but it shows that the Lord places his servants in the right place at the right time. We almost didn't go visit this particular investigator, but then suddenly decided to go. And we were there when we needed to be there. Definitely a testimony-builder.

Spanish, for real, with a real investigator!

We were able to see this investigator yesterday, after our shortened visit on Thursday (thanks to the sisters), and we had a hectic lesson with him! His name is C_. He is from Chile, so he speaks Spanish. And English too. But I have another opportunity to practice my Spanish, for real, with a real investigator! I have been doing Spanish Language study with Elder Winkelman, and we have been able to put it into practice. We talked to him heaps! He is so funny! He has strong faith in Christ, was previously Catholic. He told us a lot about his daily struggles and concerns. We were able to apply the gospel to his concerns, specifically the Atonement, and CPR (Church, Prayer and Reading the Scriptures). We read some scriptures with him, and he really felt the Spirit. He is excited to read the Book of Mormon this week till our appointment on Friday with him, and he said he loves coming to church (apparently he has been once before). He has truly felt the joy that the Holy Ghost and the Gospel bring. We hope to continue to help him to have these experiences over the upcoming weeks and months, so that he can realize his full potential. What a choice soul!

Another Aussie sunset.

An invitation to all of you

I thought that it would be a good idea to extend an invitation to all of you, especially the kids. More so to the kids. One thing that I have thought about a lot since I have been out here in the mission field is that I had sooooo many opportunities to share the gospel growing up. I just didn't think that it was that important. That is what they have missionaries for, right? Wrong! "Every member a missionary!" I have a lot of regrets as far as missionary work is concerned. I wish I would have opened my mouth more. Which is why I would like to extend this invitation to the youth and primary aged children. So that you all don't have the same regrets on your missions.

I would like to invite you to think about one friend that you could either 1) invite to mutual or a primary activity 2) Invite to church 3) Invite to dinner (while simultaniously inviting the missionaries to dinner) or 4) if it feels right, invite to hear the missionary message in your home from the missionaries. I will follow up next week! Next week I will ask you to actually cary out this assignment. So this week, think of a person. next week, do it!

Okay, that is pretty much it! I love you guys! I will talk to you next Monday (Sunday) around 8 am!

Ofa'lahi'atu!
Elder Larsen