What would my missionary self think of me today?

G'day!

Sounds like it has been quite a hectic week for all involved!!

My week was another great one!

Lots to write about, lots of wonderful experiences to record! We had a trade-off this week with the Elders in Mittagong branch. I went with an Elder Madsa, from the Philippines. He is the man! He has a neat conversion experience. Apparently he is the only member in his immediate family, and the rest of the family is Catholic. He was baptized when he was 13, and has developed and furthered his testimony since. I loved hearing some of the experiences he shared, testifying of how Heavenly Father helped to prepare him to serve a mission. And we had some great experiences while trading off together. Do you remember where I used to say trade-off's bring miracles? Well it still holds true today!

The Legendary Kangaroo selfie - is this legit?

Hahahahahhaa this is Elder Losa (Rose) the Elder that was in the other Samoan ward in Campbelltown
at the same time. He is the man!!! Hahahahahaha

I have found the Filipino community... are very welcoming and kind

We decided to go and visit some Filipino former investigators and potential investigators, to see if having Elder Madsa and his language ability would be in any way helpful. We visited a woman named Helen, and she turned out to be quite receptive! I have found the Filipino community, like the Islander community, are very welcoming and kind to religious teachers, missionaries, and other ministers, even if they are from a different denomination. Helen allowed us to come in and share with her a bit of our message, and she agreed to listen once more, this coming week. Neat stuff!

We also met a couple guys, one named W_, the other E_. W_ is Filipino, and E_ was raised in Australia, but has Fijian background. W_ was raised Catholic, and E_ Jehovah's Witness. They were super cool! Very open to us and happy to listen to our message, after which they invited us to come back on specific days next week to accommodate both schedules individually. Honestly, Australia is the best! There are so many individuals with so many diverse backgrounds! What a neat place to serve! And thanks be to God for the blessings (however small) that came as we were on our trade-off.

Now, my brain is even more confused!!

Interviews with President Back were this week. I always really enjoy the interviews, because President Back and Sister Back are the best!! It is just a neat experience to be around them, counsel with them about how I can help others to grow spiritually, and personally too. They are indeed quite knowledgeable when it comes to the Gospel, and also in-tune with the Spirit when it comes to responding to and asking inspired questions. Some hints for the upcoming transfer... President has yet to decide if he will keep me in Wollongong. He told me to not count out moving to a different area for some other curve-ball... I don't know. We shall see. I still have heaps of time before the transfer, so I don't have to worry about it!

Another fun aspect of our week; so M_, one of the guys that is investigating the Church at the moment, has a strong desire to learn Tongan, so he found a Tongan class up in Mortdale ward boundary, and asked us to join him. We got permission, and had our first class on Saturday. That was super fun! Hahaha it is a great way for us to be involved in the community, showing that we love the Tongan people. And now, my brain is even more confused!! :) yay! We are excited for other finding opportunities that will come from the class. And also for the amount of travel time we get to spend with M_!

Thank you David Potts for this pic of Elders Kerr and Larsen!

What would my missionary self think of me today?

Sunday overall was just a fantastic day! Fantastic testimonies shared in the meeting, fantastic spirit guiding us as we taught gospel principles, fantastic new individual who has been prepared for the gospel, fantastic building of relationships with members, who have referrals for us in the future. Just an overall great day! Honestly, that was one of the most powerful Sacrament meetings I have been to. M_ commented on it as well. We were all edified by the spirit greatly. A couple thoughts that stuck out to me were as follows: "What would my missionary self think of me today?" (or myself at my spiritual peak) That was said by one of the Bishopric members, after he shared how he gained a testimony of the Restoration while bearing testimony as a missionary. Another individual said "It is not necessary to understand everything, we just need to know enough."

She sat there, thinking about the question. Her eyes started to glaze.

After Church, we went and visited some of our less progressing investigators. One of them has a daughter who is super prepared for the gospel. She came to the door as we knocked, and informed us her mom was out of town, due to the death of a member in the family. I almost wanted to walk off then, and simply try again later, but something held me back. We continued to talk with the daughter, and she began to open up and tell us about some particularly harrowing challenges that she has been going through. We were able to testify of the redeeming nature of the Atonement, and of the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in healing wounded souls. She invited us in, and we shared more. We gave her a Book of Mormon, shared how the book teaches purely and simply of Christ, gave a couple examples (Alma 7:10-11; Alma 36:3).

She told us how much her family means to her, especially her 2 year old son. We asked what it would mean to her to know that she could be with her son forever. And the Spirit kicked in powerfully! She sat there, thinking about the question. Her eyes started to glaze. She said "Sorry.... There's just been a lot on my mind, lately...." Then she excused herself for a moment, and came back, after composing herself. The words had sunk in. That was exactly what she wants and needs. She needs to feel the assurance that she can be with her family forever, that God lives and loves her. She was very grateful for our visit and we are excited for the future opportunities to meet with her!!

Quite a full week, that's for sure! Lots of appointments this coming week, and thank goodness for that! We are very excited for the work here, and how it is moving forward!

Love you guys heaps! Have a great week!
Elder Larsen