Then I would clap my hands, shout and rejoice!

Haaaaaaaaaaaaayyy guys!

This week I am going to be typing in free prose. In other words, I am not going to make it scriptural language this week. Sorry! I have too much to say!  So this week. Hmmmm. Where to start? So much has happened! Well I guess I can start from the beginning! Last week for P-day we just did preparation stuff, then played basketball with the Elders in our zone. That was fun! I love basketball! Sounds like Kaysie and Mojo are beasting it up in Chico 2! Good on ya!

Left to right: Elder Ee, me, Elder Williams (AP), Elder Puriri (AP), Elder Cocker, Elder Boswell

A hectic miracle!

Tuesday we had a hectic miracle!! So, remember S_____?  Well, a while back, she gave us her address and told us to come visit her partner when he got back from New Zealand. So we decided to follow up on that referral, because we knew that he would be back this week.

So, we roll up to their house, say a quick prayer, and walk up, both unsure of how well it was going to go. They welcomed us in, we sat down and started catching up with T___ and S_____ (T___ is her partner). T___ is mid to late 50's, Cook Islander guy who moved to Queanbeyan like 20 or so years ago. Great guy! So, it turns out that he shares a last name with a missionary in our mission, and he has other family that are members of the church. He has a nephew serving his mission in Hawaii. So he knows about the church. That's cool!

Then I would clap my hands, shout and rejoice!

So, we just started talking to him about the Gospel, drawing it back frequently to his nephew, and what he must be doing. We talked to him about prophets. About the scriptures being the word of God. And how important they are to us. And he ate it up! He told us how important the Bible was to him. How much he treasured the words it contains. He clearly holds the scriptures very dearly. So we asked him "What would you think if you knew that there was more scripture available to read, more of God's words?" He leaned in close to me, starting out whispering, then getting louder, a grin appearing on his face... "Then I would clap my hands, shout and rejoice!"

I couldn't help but have a ginormous grin on my face! We told him that our bold claim to the world was that we have a book, The Book of Mormon, that contains more of God's words to his prophets, and that it functions as a map that leads to eternal life, that it complements and completes the Bible. He was sooooo excited! Before I could offer him the Book of Mormon in my hands, he asked if we could bring him one next time that we came to visit. I simply handed him the one I had, and if you could have seen the smile on his face, the way that he thanked us for it, I know that you would have smiled just as widely as I did. He told us he couldn't wait for us to come back! The Spirit was so strong! We counted ourselves blessed to have the opportunity to witness such a miracle.

Da district at the stake center after zone conference. 

Zone Conference and Stake Conference

Nothing too exciting happened after that until Friday. Friday, President Lew and the Assistants came down to Canberra and held a Zone Conference. It was fantastic! We learned a lot of valuable things from our former Stake President, President L_____ who was released two days later (I will talk about that later) about how to work more effectively with our members. We learned about how we can improve our teaching skills from the assistants. And we had a lot of great training about becoming better missionaries in general from our Mission mom and dad. The Lews are amazing!  We also had interviews, where we had the opportunity for a one-on-one chat with our President about our area etc. And that is always great!

Zone Conference normally happens.... Whenever President feels it should happen. It isn't a regular thing. He visited 3 other zones last week, and ended with ours, and stayed throughout stake conference. That may have been part of the reason. I have no idea!

Saturday was the Adult session of Conference. We had Elder Pearson from the States, first counselor in the Pacific Area Presidency come to speak with us. He is a fantaaaaaaastic speaker! In all three sessions of conference, I was amazed at the inspiration I was able to receive from the things he said. It was incredible. His companion speaker was Elder Orirden from Melbourne, now a Seventy also. He also delivered some powerful talks.

Looking for all of the "sixes and sevens"

One of the things Elder Pearson said that inspired me concerned member missionaries and missionaries combining efforts. Specifically speaking to the members, he told them that on average a person has 7 experiences with the church before they are baptized. He made a joke that was actually kind of true, that us missionaries are out looking for all of the "sixes and sevens", referring to the number of experiences with the church. But then he said that we can't only look or invite those that seem like they are interested, or will most likely accept the gospel. 0's need to become 1's. 1's need to become 2's. 2's need to become 3's. 3's need to become 4's. 4's need to become 5's. 5's need to become 6's. And 6's need to become 7's. He encouraged members to work with the missionaries. Missionaries shouldn't be asking "Do you know anyone who may be interested in hearing our message?" We should instead be asking "Do you know anyone?" That made me laugh! But it is so true!

Looking back, I wish I would have shared the gospel with every single one of my friends that is not a member, to give them a chance to accept the message. I had sooooooooooooooooooooooo many missed opportunities! Gaaaaaaahhh! But that is okay! Don't have regrets! Do you guys know anyone? Cool! Do you know the missionaries in your ward? Cool! The missionaries will be at your house on Thursday at 7, expecting all 900 of your Facebook friends to be at your home, waiting to be taught. Okay, that was a joke. But seriously! Open your mouth! Pray for opportunities to help out! I never realized the power and the wonderful opportunity that I had when I wasn't a missionary per se to share the gospel! You have sooooooo many opportunities! Use them!!!!! Pleaaaaaseeeee! Por Favor! I exhort thee!

Okay, sorry about that. I hope you can tell I feel strongly about that, and have regrets. Don't have regrets! Just sayin'.

Rain in Queanbeyan! I was excited so I took a picture, and a video, but I can't send that...

New Stake Presidency

So, as far as what happened to our stake presidency, President L_____ and his first counselor were released from the Presidency. 2nd Counselor President M___ (from our ward) became first counselor. Bishop O______ from the Belconnen ward became stake president.... And Bishop A___ from our ward is now the second counselor! What??? That is both awesome but terrible! He is such a good bishop! Man! But he will do well in the stake presidency. I am curious to see who will be bishop now.

Cool beans. Oh, I forgot to mention, the Assistants stayed with us the night after zone conference because we have a giant flat with only two elders (since E. Pedersen and E. Searle got transferred). That was awesome! I found out that the Assistants are real people too! What? (mock gasp) Surprising. I know. They are cool! One of them, Elder Puriri is related to Sister H___, so we went to their house for breakfast Saturday morning. That was awesome. The other one, Elder Williams, is really cool, from Adelaide, and he is a drummer too! They are awesome.

Bracing for a bible-bashing attack

One other cool miracle that we had was yesterday. We went to go see T___ and S_____ again,  and as we knocked on the door, we could see some people sitting down at the table in their house through the screen door. We asked them if our investigator was there, and they called for him. The woman who was sitting there said "Wait, are you guys Mormons?" We told her yes. So she stood up, and walked briskly to the door. I know I was tensing up, bracing for a bible-bashing attack, or some other loud outburst.

She got to the door, opened it and came outside, and said "I'm a Mormon too!" Basically she told us that she was baptized some twenty years ago, and she fell out of the church slowly. But she still believed. She asked us for a Book of Mormon, which we gave her, and she said that she wanted to get her kids baptized into the church! We exchanged contact info, and we hope to meet with her later this week! It was pretty cool! We didn't get to meet with our investigator yesterday, but we will be able to on Tuesday. Very exciting!

I am going to send you guys part of my letter that I wrote to President Lew also. I talked about some insights that I had from reading the Book of Mormon that I think you may like. I said:

'I love reading the Book of Mormon! There are so many things and insights that I get from immersing myself daily in the Book of Mormon. One of those insights came from a verse in Mosiah chapter 28. Verse 3 says "Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble." I think that is a good reason to want to serve the Lord. It really made me think. Why am I serving a mission? What are my motives? Is it for selfish reasons? Or do I sincerely care for those I serve? I am working on that, for sure. I want to love the people with all my heart.'

I reaaaaaaaaaally like that verse a lot. When I read through the Book of Mormon for the first time other than seminary reading, that verse stuck out to me. It really provoked some thought. Unfortunately, the thought slipped my mind. But I plan to be better when I get home. You guys should read that chapter in the BoM! It's some good stuff!

That is pretty much my week at a glance.  The rings were indeed at R____'s house. And that is indeed a sweet as picture of the Waters of Mormon!

Oh yeah! We are meeting with the K____ Family today at 5 pm for the first time in ages! So pray for us please!

Looks like y'all are well! Thanks for being awesome!

I love you guys!
'Ofa 'atu

Elder Larsen

BONUS VIDEO - Elder Larsen Christmas Morning.  We found this video of Elder Larsen opening a gift from his younger brothers on Christmas morning.

An Epistle from the Land of Kangaroos

Hark all ye Larsenites and Friends!

Hearken unto the sound of my typing. Yea, the very keyboard doth tremble as the words flow from my fingers! I do now commence mine weekly epistle and do send it out unto the Larsenites, and unto the Gentile and to the Jew alike.

Yea, and it came to pass that I, Elder Larsen, did commence to read the epistle sent to me by the righteous people of Larsen, and I did behold many questions. I do now respond to these questions that were asked of me.

I, Elder Larsen, having been born of goodly parents....

The food most desirable above all

Now behold, that in response to a question concerning the foods that I have consumed while in the Land of the Kangaroos, I do report that the food most desirable above all is that flesh which doth come from a chicken, on pieces of buttered bread. Yea, behold thus it has been eaten many a time in the humble abode of the missionaries for its exceeding good taste and the cheapness of the material thereof.

This isn't Tonga, but we can still learn to crack coconuts!

That which is most abominable to consume

And I commence to respond to another question. And thus it was decided that the food least desirable above all foods in the Land of Kangaroos was that which came from rancid carrot cakes. Yea, the very thought of such an abominable substance doth cause my very soul to tremble in fear and disgust. O the wickedness of the children of cakes! Wo unto them that shall consume such, for unto them shall a horrible taste coat their tongues. And what more, their stomachs shall heave, and remove that which is most abominable to consume from their bodies. Thus I have written.

Yea, and it came to pass that I, Elder Larsen, did continue to drive the motor vehicle into the second week, yea, even in the commencement of the third week did I operate the vehicle safely in the Land of Backwards Driving, of Little Traffic, and of Large Distances to Travel. Yea at this time, I, Elder Larsen, have begun to travel with ease and with great efficiency in the Land of Scorching Sunlight.

She did come into the Chapel and did worship amongst the other believers

And now, I do respond concerning those to whom we declare the everlasting gospel unto; For behold, in the day preceding this one, I did behold that R______, the lover of the descendants of the Lamanites, did attend church. Yea, she did come into the chapel and did worship amongst the other believers! My heart rejoiceth of such! For she did have the opportunity to partake of the fruits of attending church, those fruits being the Spirit, friendship, and love. Now behold, I do suppose that R______ did have an experience that did cause her to have a mighty change of heart. But behold, I would do well not to get carried away in rejoicing. For as of yet, we have not had the opportunity to question her thoroughly concerning her worship yesterday. Yet we have made preparations to go unto her home and meet with her in the coming days.

Yea, and also he who has been mentioned in previous epistles, yea the returned missionary did attend church once more. And behold, he did much to assist the missionaries laboring in the Land of Kangaroos. And we do rejoice because of his progression.

The Southern Cross! on the ground.....

J____ does not live in our ward boundaries

Now, it also came to pass, that in the day preceding this one, that J_____ did also attend church with the Tongan boys. Yea, and he did likewise partake of the joy and spirit that church attendance provides. My heart was full, even unto bursting! For J_____ has progressed! He desires to come unto Christ, our Lord and Savior! To this point it has not been decided when he shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life. But it shall come to pass. But it has also come to our attention that said J_____ does not live in our ward boundaries. Yea, it is possible, even probable that I and my companion should have to pass J_____ along to our inspired leaders, yea the zone leaders of the Canberra zone, to receive the blessings of the Gospel. But alas! God doth call many to labor in the vineyard, and it mattereth not to whom may have the opportunity to administer of the ordinance of baptism unto the children of men.

Now I do write concerning the people of K____. Thus it came to pass, that my brother in the field, Elder Cocker, and I were unable to make contact with said family. Yea, in the final half-hour before the scheduled time and day, behold we received an epistle from the leader of the people of K____, explaining that said appointment must be postponed to a later date. And we wait.

I did say that which only the most vile of sinners do utter

And it came to pass, that as I commenced to read the epistle of the Larsenites, that I did ponder on a question asked of me, that question being "which moment brought you the most shame of your experiences in the Land of Kangaroos?" And I pondered. A moment that dost come to mind concerns a time when my brother in arms, Elder Cocker, did attempt to teach me to speak in the language of his fathers, the people of Tonga. And as I was thus practicing the language of his fathers, I did say that which only the most vile of sinners do utter in the land of his fathers, while attempting to articulate that which is wholesome and good. Yea, I did pollute my mouth without a knowledge of the thing I had done, and my brother in arms did stare in shock, and did commence to laugh at me. And thus did I learn that I, Elder Larsen, am not mighty unto speaking the language of the fathers of my brother in arms.

Behold, it came to pass that the Larsenites beheld the pictures sent forth from Elder Larsen.
And there was great joy and happiness in the Land of Stars and Stripes. 

Yea, and pertaining to the highlights of the week, I have save one more to report. Seven days previous, we did enter into a house of reptiles and did see the monsters of the Land of Kangaroos. We did behold deadly serpents in captivity, and creepers of the earth. And thus it was.

There he is.... The deadliest of the deadly. I got to pet him. Just kidding!

 


And I did behold that the people of the house of Larsen did fare well in the Land of Stars and Stripes. And it brought happiness and joy unto my heart to see such joy.

America! You can't tell.... But this is like right next to the massive lake in the center of Canberra,
between the parliament house and the war memorial.

Unto them, I do convey the love of my heart. Unto them I do also wish a great week. And thus, I, Elder Larsen, do end mine epistle. Amen.

Zone massage! (Elder Boswell from the MTC in front, followed by ZL Elder White, then Cederlof, ZL Elder Shafer, Elder Ee, Elder Roberts, Elder Cocker taking a video on the right [I can't tell who is behind Elder Roberts]).

At a member's house; his lion rings. The purple one is made of ruby..... :0

Piece of cake - or so I thought before the accident

Hi guys!

How ya going?

It has been a hectic week here in Canberra!  Some of the things that happened:

I went on trade-offs twice this week. So 2 of 7 days I spent with other missionaries. That was good for me to see how other missionaries work.

The first trade-off I went on was this past Thursday. I was with Elder Cederlof, who is currently working in Tuggeranong, which is the Ward just south of us. His comp, Elder Howse, and Elder Cocker had a district leader training up in Sydney. So Elder Cederlof and I were working in my area.

When they went up to Sydney, they took Elder Searle. So Elder Searle is officially no longer part of our district.... Unfortunately.

Larsen and Cocker.  They look tired and hot...

The first time at the wheel

The good news is; I am driving now! Actually that is kind of a funny story. So, the night before, Elder Cocker talked to our Zone Leaders on the phone about travel details. And they told him that I was going to be certified the following day to drive. So we assumed that meant that Elder Cederlof was going to certify me.

So, I got in the car for the first time at the wheel (in Aussie-land), and soon found that there is way too much "car" on the left side, and way too little "car" on the right. That was weird. So, Elder Cederlof and I got in and out of our appointment after I had drove all of the way. Then the Zone Leaders called and told us they were coming to certify me. *Face-palm*. So Elder Cederlof drove until the zone leaders came and certified me. So, now I am a driver of a mission vehicle! I am already used to it, don't worry. It is easier than I thought it was going to be. Granted, traffic here in Canberra is not bad.

Piece of cake - or so I thought before the accident...

For certification basically you just have to demonstrate that you know traffic rules, and can operate the car correctly. Piece of cake - or so I thought before the accident.....

JOOOOKES! I am kidding. No accident! Bad joke. Sorry. I am a safe little driver!

Our second trade-off was with the Zone-leaders the next day. I was with Elder White this time, working in his area, because last time I was with Elder Shafer, his companion. Elder White is the man!!! He is suuuuuch a good missionary, a great guy, and a great teacher, both of missionaries and otherwise. We had such a great time up in Ginnindera. (that's the area they work in). I learned alot about finding people to teach. The best thing really was to just open your mouth, and the Spirit takes care of the rest. It was cool!

Elder White is picking up uke now too! We gave him Elder Searle's old uke he didn't bring. And the whole trade-off, as I drove for more practice, he was strumming away at that uke! Good times!

The most valuable thing I own!

I found a reaaaaally cool scripture in the Book of Mormon. Reeeeeeaaaaaally cool. It was something that I had read before but it never stuck out to me this much. It has a greater meaning to me now that I am here on my mission. In 2 Nephi 33:10-11 it says:

And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.

And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words

He is basically saying believe in Christ, because he is there, even if you don't believe in the Book of Mormon. And if you believe in Christ, then you will believe in the Book of Mormon, because the Book of Mormon comes from Christ. He is challenging all to read and try not to believe.

That was an incredible study the day I found that scripture. I hope it means the same to you all as it does to me. Jesus Christ will show you that the words of his prophets are true! He can and will by the power of the Holy Ghost. If you are sincere in your desire to believe, "let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words." (Alma 32:27). Read the Book of Mormon! It is true! It is the most valuable thing I own! And when you read it, pray. Ask God if it is true. He will answer you! I know it!

We asked if they wanted to continue preparing for baptism

K____ family update: we were finally able to meet with the K____ family last night. We decided we wanted to spend some time to catch up with them and talk to them about their trip. All in all, they said it was awesome. Then we asked them if they wanted to continue preparing for baptism, and they said yes! So we are good! I think we will most likely need to push back the date of their baptism, possibly reteach them some things, just so they understand and gain a testimony for themselves of the importance of baptism. But we will be meeting with them again this Wednesday. So pray for them!

Baptism?  He wants to serve a mission!!

We had a killer lesson with J_____! It was the day I was with Elder Cederlof. We were planning on going to visit the Tongan boys, and share with them a lesson catered towards being member-missionaries. But J_____ ended up being there. So we were able to teach him about the ten commandments. We had fun doing the actions to help them remember what the commandments were. After the lesson, we asked J_____ if baptism was something that was still on his mind. And one of the boys chimed in "Baptism? He wants to serve a mission!" That was cool! J_____ said yeah, it was true. So we asked him if we could pray about a date, and set a date next time we met with him. He was all for it! Woohoo! How exciting!

Apparently Elder Cocker and one of the Tongan boys had a good lesson with the American Indian lover. She said she would come to church, not this most recent sunday, but the upcoming sunday. That is cool!

That is pretty much the highlights of my week. And I think I incorporated the answers to your questions in my email?

Okay, well I love you guys! I will talk to you next week!

Ofa' atu!
Elder Larsen

Heaps of good, a bit of bad, a whole lot of in-between!

How ya going?

I have had a great week this week. Lots has happened. Heaps of good stuff, a bit of bad, and a whole lot of in-between stuff!

In a threesome

Elder Searle came back this past Tuesday. His companion is still sick. So he came down here with the car to work with Elder Cocker and I, in a threesome for the transfer. Or so we thought. Sunday, at a dinner appointment, Elder Searle got a call from President, and President has reassigned Elder Searle to a part of Sydney. He is going up Thursday.... So, unfortunately, we won't get to be a threesome for much longer. He isn't taking the car, so I may get certified to drive, but we would rather have Elder Searle here to taxi us around..... Man, the original district is dwindling! Only Elder Cocker and I are left! Ahhhh!

So now our district will only be four people; Elder Cocker and I, and the sisters. That will be weird. It will be okay, because we are a tight district. But still weird. It was weird when Elder Pedersen left. But this is going to be even more different!

Three Amigos!  Searle, Larsen, Cocker.

Some pretty good teaching experiences

We have had some pretty good teaching experiences this past week. We taught J_____ the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is still progressing! He was going to come to church, but he and his Church friends went up to Sydney for the weekend, so they didn't make it. But that is okay! He continues to express every time we meet with him that the things we share make him want to be better and follow Christ's example. Man, it is cool to see how prepared J_____ has been just by being around those boys.

J_____ is doing well on his baptismal preparation! He wants to come to church. He wants to make changes in his life. And he is enjoying the lessons we share with him, and reading the Book of Mormon. He mentioned that it makes him want to keep learning, because it feels good. We told him that was the Spirit confirming truth to his heart. He was excited about that. So he is doing well!

We also saw the American Indian fan. We talked to her more about Indians of course, but we were also able to share a bit about the Plan of Salvation with her. She told us about how she had had a number of deaths in her family, most recently her brother, who passed away last week. And she expressed to us that she was afraid of death. We told her a bit about God's plan for his children, and that she will be able to see her family members again after this life. She agreed with that. She said that she feels the presence of her nephew and her brother's spirits. We have set up a time to go and visit her tomorrow, and explain a bit more about that plan of happiness. We are excited for that!

I have been waiting as patiently as I could...

This past week, we also went to the K____ house while they were not home to do more of that service that we have been doing. We took some of the Bishop's boys with us for more man-power. And we tried to get the stumps out of the ground. Man those things are tough! There were probably 6 small ones that we were able to get out, but there are still 3 ginormous stumps that wouldn't budge... So we will have to go back with yet more reinforcements....

By the way, the K____ Family finally got back on Friday! We went over to see them Saturday, but the father was still at work, so we are going to meet with them this week. Man! It is about time! I have been waiting as patiently as I could for them to be back, but it has been hard! I can't wait to teach them again this week!

RFC - Roo Fighting Championships

One cool thing that happened was Elder Searle, Elder Cocker, and I watched some Kangaroos fight! I caught it on tape, and it sounds like the H___ Family sent you the video. Crazy stuff, huh?? I have talked to a number of people in the ward about it, and all of them have said that they have never seen a Roo fight! It was crrraaaaaaazzzyyyyy cool! The way they stand on their tails to kick is fascinating! Man! Only here in Australia...

(Note: we hope to have a video of the Roo Fight to post here in the future.)

Me with the roo-bags! It was nice and cool that day!

Brawling roo-bags!

The scene of the crime....

Roo-poo! I thought you would enjoy this one Dad, JJ and Ezra :)

Spanish investigators

Elder Searle and I went to teach one of his Spanish investigators, M____, along with his less-active wife. The wife doesn't speak like any English (M_____speaks pretty well though) so I got to use my Spanish talking to them. That was awesome! I am surprised at how well I was able to communicate after so long without speaking Spanish. It was a good lesson too, on the Atonement. Unfortunately for us, they are moving to Hawaii really soon. But they said that they are going to go to church there. Hopefully the missionaries are as awesome as us out there :).

10 lizards

At one of our dinner appointments, Elder Searle and Elder Cocker got peed on by a lizard. It was funnnnnnny! The members that we ate with own like 10 lizards, and let us hold them. One had to go, so when Elder Cocker was handing it off to Elder Searle, it started to go. Hahahahaha!

Oh, Australia Day was yesterday. Our ward celebrated by having a breakfast at a park. And all of the food was pretty American..... French toast with eggs and American and Australian Bacon. It was fantastic. I thought it was funny that we had an American meal for a purely Aussie day. It helps that half of our ward are Americans...

That is pretty much the highlights of the week! Studies have been great, I am learning heaps still, I am becoming much more comfortable in teaching situations. Life pretty much is good!

So now some question answering business

That returned missionary (RM) that I mentioned last week was not able to make it to church yesterday for various reasons. But he is still a keen little green bean to help us out! We are probably going to go visit him and invite him to lessons sometime this week.

How are J____ and J_____ related? They aren't.... At all. Unless I don't understand your question?

After church on Sunday.

The Lord helped me know what to teach

A recent experience where the Lord helped me to know what to teach someone? Well, there was one experience that we had last Monday, not yesterday, where we were teaching one of the nonmember boys who stays at Bishop's house, wants to be baptized, but cannot because his parents wont give him permission, and he is 17. Normally, Elder Searle and Elder Pedersen would teach him, but since they are gone/going Elder Cocker, the sisters, and I have been teaching him. So, when we got there, we didn't know what to talk about. This young man has been through all of the lessons multiple times, but Bishop wants us to continue to visit him and teach him so that he continues to prepare for his baptism in the near future.

What was something that he hadn't been taught? What could we share that would be different from what the other missionaries have been sharing with him for the past 8 months? Then I remembered what I had studied like on 4 separate occasions the week before; the role of the Book of Mormon in our religion and its significance. We had already started the lesson with him, and the other missionaries were asking him what he wanted to learn about. I butted in and asked "Why do we have the Book of Mormon?" Bishop's sons were there in the lesson with us. They all didn't know. So that is what we focused on. It was a spiritually uplifting experience for all of us. They learned heaps. And I had a testimony builder of the importance of studying. It was awesome!

Well that is it! Thank you for tuning in to Elder Larsen's weekly letter! I hope you all had a good time :)

Bye bye, now!
Love,
Elder Larsen

Pretty bird!

Me last week (pday) scaling a building near Mount Ainslie.

EC and I on da building.

That is what the building looks like.

Sunrise!!!

Summit of Mount Ainslie with the District during the sunrise!

On a random side-path at Mount Ainslie.

Just after our sunrise hike at Mount Ainslie!

Michael Jordan in Big W (basically a Kmart)!

Australia is on fire right now

Hey hey hey! Hi guys! How are y'all? I am doing great!

Australia is on fire right now

So as you may have heard, Australia is on fire right now. In a number of different ways, apparently.... I am fine! The fires are not close to us at all. They are up north of Canberra in NSW. Although, last week we had a heat wave! It was above 40 degrees Celsius almost every day! Today is nice and cool, which is fantastic. But it has been a warm week!

Does our flat have AC? (or Air Con as they call it here) Nooooope. So we basically die in the heat every night. Jokes! it isn't terrible at night. We can just prop open the window, and the breeze helps heaps!

Picture of Australian fires.  See article HERE.

We had a funny experience in the car with one of our members. We were talking about something else spiritual, and then the member who was driving us around said "Man, this country was designed to burn!" And I, being wonderfully gifted with blonde hair, thought he was reffering to things more spiritual. I said "Well, I guess you could say that...." I asked him why he said that, and he said "Everything is so dry, and it is so hot here." I was embarrassed. Good one, Elder Larsen.

So, this member that we happened to be driving with is a guy who is a returned missionary (RM), from a super-active family. He hasn't been to church in ages, because of various things. But a week or so ago, he said he wanted to come and help us missionaries out with lessons! Which was awesome. We know he has a testimony, and wants to go to church and stuff, just his health and other things have been keeping him back. So, we seized the opportunity to ask him to come with us to a lesson. And he was fantastic! He was probably one of the best members I have ever been to with a lesson! So on-to-it!

And it gets better! He finally came to church yesterday!!! Woohoo! And he loved it! We think he may be getting back into it for good! Keeping our hopes up! He is sooo coool and such a good member-missionary! We need him! The Lord needs him!

We should be inside, cooling off!

We had a really cool experience meeting a new investigator this past week. So, we were walking to an appointment, and we passed this woman, and she stopped and said that we should be inside, cooling off! We told her that we couldn't, we had to keep working. We explained to her that we were missionaries for our church. That didn't seem to bother her at all, which was good. We talked to her for a minute or so, in which time Elder Cocker noticed that she had a hat with a Native American on it. Elder Cocker has Native American ancestry, so he got to talk to her about that. It turns out that she was really interested in Native American culture, and just with the United States in general. We asked if we could go to her home and talk more about Native American things etc, and she said that she would probably be busy. So we parted ways, she went to go to lunch, and we continued walking to our appointment.

About 10 minutes later, we realized that we forgot to bring a "Finding Faith in Christ" DVD which we planned to use at this appointment with our investigator. So we had to turn around and go back to our flat and get it, deciding that we would push lunch until after our appointment. And when we were walking to our appointment again, we turned around and saw the same woman walking like 10 meters behind us! So we slowed down, and started walking and talking to her. We went practically the same way as she did to go home, as she and our investigator live in the same neighborhood. So we talked that whole time, mostly about Native American culture. We told her that we had a book (The Book of Mormon) that discusses where the Indians came from, and she said we could come over after her appointment and see her Native American things and we could show her our book!

That was exciting! We went and had our lesson with J___, which went really well, and then we went to her house. She had lots of Indian things and photos from when she went to the states and lots of awesome things to show! It was cool! Then we pulled out the Book of Mormon, talked about the Restoration, and she accepted everything well! We asked if we could come back, and she said of course! It was definitely another miraculous experience.

Wife-points for walking in the heat!

Random, yet related side-note: like 12 people this week have pulled over in their cars, or caught up to us while we were walking, in order to tell us that it is too hot! We need to go home and go inside! We actually found an inactive member who said we could come back and visit him that way. But the work of the Lord does not stop for weather! Humbug! The Red Sea didn't stop Moses from going where he needed to go. The Atlantic Ocean didn't stop Nephi! The freezing weather didn't stop the Pioneers! Never! We are getting wife-points for walking in the heat! :)

Which chapel did you say?

Something funny happened when we were supposed to go on trade offs. So our ward meets at a chapel in Woden, which is probably a 22 minute drive from our flat. There is a chapel that hasn't been used for a while in Queanbeyan that is a 4 minute drive from our flat.... So we were told to meet at the chapel for trade offs. We don't have a car, so we spent ages trying to organize a way to get to the Woden chapel.... When we arived promptly on time at the Woden chapel, we called them to say we were there. They told us they were there too. Which was confusing, considering the fact that there was only our car in the parking lot. Then they asked us which chapel we were at. And then they said that they were at the Queanbeyan chapel, because we don't have a car..... Whoops! So they had to come pick us up and use a bit more petrol (not gasoline here in Aussie-land). Our bad!

Sorry I don't have any photos of my week. I sent my camera card home with a package that has all of this weeks pictures....  So those are the highlights of this week! I realize it is a bit shorter than normal, but hey! I am writing something!

Time for some questions.....

Fisher dudes? Haven't seen them in ages, since they left for Wollongong....

The Caravan Park family are great! We passed by their place this week, and they were so happy to see us! They said that they have a place and they are moving in Tuesday. And they also said that they are going to have us over for dinner this week! He is cooking his specialty! Woohoo! We weren't able to teach them, but we will have many opportunities in the future. I can already tell. He expressed to us that he recognized that after they met us, things went consistently better every day!

The K____ Family return this week from Holiday! So next week I should have a better update on them. We are going to go and finish some of the service things they have been having us do with them sometime before they get home. So hopefully that makes them happy!

Kaysie, Australians love American accents. They think we sound good. They all wish they had American accents, and some of them can imitate them pretty good. My imitation of an Aussie accent is getting really good! New vocab for y'all: Fairdinkum (pronounced in Aussie-land- Fai-dink-come) It basically means nothing. It can be used as an exclamation like "Holy Cow!" or something. For example, "Well, Fairdinkum there, mate!"

Uke lessons are good! I can now play all of the hymns from the Simplified Hymnbook because it has all of the chords above the music, and all of the Children's Songbook stuff too! Next time I send home a memory card, I will record myself playing something so you guys can see what I can do! Yes I can still play surprisingly well with my drum pad. Which I am pretty happy about.

Elder Brown is home! That is awesome that you guys sent him off with a good meal!

Okay! Well, I had better get going! I hope yall have a great week! Oh, I found out that Elder Hammond and Elder Perkins from the MTC (who had experienced VISA delays) finally got here! Yay!

Ofa'tu!

Elder Larsen

The heavens have opened up!

I am constantly tired, but that is a good thing!

Whaaaat is up, ye fair elders and maidens of Israel!?

This week has been crazy awesome! Like every week. We have had so many teaching opportunities! Our teaching pool has expanded greater than I ever thought that it would! We have surprise opportunities everyday to share the message of the Restoration of Christ's Church. It is gooooooooood to be a missionary! I am constantly tired, but that is a good thing! It means I am not slacking off. :D

I want to smuggle a sign like that out of the country when my time is up...

Okay, so transfers.... I think I will tell you about the rest of my week first! How cruel of me! Mwahaha!

The heavens have opened up!

The coooooolest thing that happened this week happened yesterday. When we left our flat, we were walking to an appointment, and we decided to cross the road at a place we don't normally cross in order to walk a more shaded route. We walked on the outside of this Caravan park, along a fence. Out of nowhere, a man came up to the fence and asked us "Hey, are you Jehovah's Witnesses?" We replied that we were Mormons. He said "Oh. Do you have a Bible?" We said yes, and then asked him why.

He told us that he had been going through some rough times, and he thought that if he had a bible that he would have extra strength to overcome these trials. We asked him if we could go inside the park and talk to him. We did. We talked to him a bit more, and he told us more about his problems. I won't go too much in detail, but basically his immediate problem was that he had just moved down with his partner to Queanbeyan from Harvey Bay in Queensland, hoping to rent a room.

That morning, he went with his stuff to move in, but the lady apparently yelled and swore at them, told them she was raising the rent, and that if they couldn't afford it to get off her land. They couldn't afford that price, so they left and came back, and were setting up a tent again, just as we walked by. He then expressed that he needed some direction and purpose in life, and that he didn't know where to turn. So we gave him a Book of Mormon, read the third paragraph of the Introduction, talked to him about how the Book of Mormon brings comfort, peace, and direction. He accepted it graciously. We then asked them what they ate. They kind of brushed off the question. We invited them to come to a members house that night for a feed. They said that they would call us and tell us if they would be able to make it.

So we left, and went about our day. No call came, and they didn't pick up, so we went to our appointment for dinner. The members that we had dinner with made lots of extra food, and they gave us some to take to this family. So, right before we went to our flat, we stopped by this Caravan park, and gave them the food. They were ecstatic! So thankful for the food. He said "the heavens have opened up!" We felt really good about that.

Text message received.

The coolest part was around 9:50 PM last night we got a text message that basically expressed that they hadn't eaten in 2 days, and that we were very kind for what we did for them unknowingly. It was crazy!! Elder Cocker and I talked about it, and about the Lord's timing. He placed them in our path. There is no other explanation. I almost didn't bring a Book of Mormon with us, but I decided that I should. We almost rode bikes, but felt that it would be better to walk. And because of all of those little things, we were able to help out this family in dire need. I feel so blessed! The Lord saw fit to use Elder Cocker and I as a way to bless his children! What a great opportunity! It feels sooooo good to help someone for the sake of helping them. I love being a missionary!

For every person we convert, he was going to make another lose their faith

Monday evening through Tuesday, Elder Searle and I went on a trade-off, meaning that we were together instead of with our normal companions. It was great! It was cool to see how far that we had both come as missionaries, since we came in at the same time and have only been in the field for 3 months. Although saying 3 months sounds like a long time.... We had a very productive trade-off. We were able to see many people, and set up good appointments.

We met this atheist dude on the street who stopped, read our name-tags, and said "Oh, sorry, I thought you were Mormons." We told him we are, and then he said "Oh! Okay, I wish I had 3 hours and a bottle of wine for this..." and then he went off and tried to convince us that religion is bad, that the idea of a God is narcissistic, and he begged us to look outside of our faith. He also said that we were wasting our time, and that for every person we convert, he was going to make another lose their faith. We kindly smiled at him, and went on our way. Remember, everyone, "dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." That guy was definitely a trial of our faith. But my faith remains unshaken. Tell me, after I have had so many spiritual experiences and have witnessed the hand of God in my life and the lives of others, how could I be shaken?

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." Helaman 5:12

No tempests nor whirlwinds in the form of persons trying to get us to deny our faith, or other forms, can shake us if we build our foundations on the Savior, His teachings, and the words of His prophets.

Another baptism scheduled

Wednesday, we had a couple really good lessons with Jo___ and Ja____. We committed Ja____ to be baptized!!! Yay! And with Jo___, he loves everything that we teach! We are going to get him into a Addiction Recovery Program pretty soon to help him make changes in his life.

Another random experience that Elder Cocker and I had was when we were walking around Southern Queanbeyan, when this dude came up and started interrogating us about the influence of Christianity on Aboriginal people. We told him that we didn't know about it. So, he clapped his hands together, cocked his head to the side, said "Learn that." and walked away. What??

I also went on a trade-off with Elder Pedersen this past week. It was really good too! We met lots of new people, and I learned a lot from his example.

Last P-day, we went to the National Museum as a district to see all of the things that we missed (and the sisters had not been there yet). It was really cool! We all knew it was going to be the last P-day that we would be together as a district. Someone or some people were going. So we had a blast with the time that we had!

Friday, we had our district meeting on top of a hill at the National Arboretum in Canberra. That was awesome! It is so pretty! We knew it was likely to be our last gathering as a district before someone/s left. So we wanted to make it a memorable one, as we have grown very close. It was a good meeting, the training was great, and the place was gorgeous! Good times!

If you can't tell, we are sitting on like the digger part of a giant, ancient tractor.

I think that is a giant model of Australia.

The Cabin!

Will the Dynamic Duo remain together for another transfer?

Okay, now for transfers.............. Saturday, we got our transfer calls........ Elder Pedersen got transferred, and he is now in a Spanish ward in Sydney. Elder Searle is staying; he is currently up in Sydney, getting his new comp who is apparently in the hospital for reasons unknown to me. Sister Parr and Sister Bushnell are both staying..... Elder Cocker likewise is staying......

And there is Elder Cocker the night before transfers:)

I am staying tooooooooooo!!!! The dynamic duo are together for another transfer yet! Good thing too! Because things have really begun to pick up at a faster rate then ever before! :DDD It is sad that Elder Pedersen will not be in the district anymore... he is a funny guy, and a great missionary. But he is waaaaay happy that he is in a Spanish ward now.

So, Sunday was Pedersen's last day here. The ward was sad to see him go. But on a brighter note, the Tongan boys came to church with J____!!! That was awesome! They really liked it a lot! Also, we picked up a new investigator at church, who I had the opportunity to teach while on trade-offs with one of the Tongan boys, because E. Cocker had to go to a different class for some reason. It was a great experience for this boy. Now, this new investigator that we have came to church with one of the members of the bishopric, who is awweeeesome about missionary work. He (our investigator) was very interested. We talked about the Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith. So basically the Restoration. And he soaked it up! He wants to come to church next week, and he will read the Book of Mormon and pray about it. And I think we are going to meet with him this week! So many blessings!

Creepy men in the back... Or are they in the front?

We found out last week that February 19th, Russel M. Nelson is coming to our mission! We are having a massive mission conference, combined Sydney South mission and Sydney North mission. So there will be 400 missionaries there! Wow! I am excited!

That is pretty much my week!

Now for some question-answering

The K_____ family are currently on vacation. But the date still stands! February 15th. They are doing well, though we haven't been able to meet with them.

I did get the package from the Chico 2nd Ward. It was awesome! I love the book with all of the pictures and testimonies. That was really cool. Thank you!

JJ, I am sending the package this week. I finally have everything together, so I can do so:)

I like that motto. "We do hard things." I am definitely doing some hard things, but am enjoying every minute! Don't get discouraged by hard things, guys!

Sounds like all of you are well! That is good. Thank you for your letter! It is really good to hear from you all.

I love you guys! Have a fantastic week!

Ofa'lahi'atu!
Elder Larsen

It is a spider-fly crossbreed, or something...... We saw it as we walked through a tunnel on the way to an appointment.

The Telstra Tower seen from the National Arboratum (District Meeting).

The location of the last district meeting of the transfer.

Palm fronds are growing out of my head!!

Up in a tree, 6 meters up

Hey guys!  Week 6 of transfer 2 has just begun. That's.... weird.

Up in a tree, 6 meters up

Okay, so the K______ family I've been telling you about. We went over to their house this past Saturday to do service for them. We were going to use a chainsaw to cut branches, but chainsaws don't seem to like us very much. So instead, we had to use machetes. Hence, Elder Cocker ended up in a tree, 6 meters up, swinging a machete..... Cool beans!

After the service was done, they fed us dinner. Which was fan-flippin'-tastic! They fed us lamb curry without the chilies, which was delicious, along with fried rice, cassava, and naan bread. It was sooooooo good!!!!

Elder Cocker... high up in the trees with our Ward Mission Leader waiting to catch him!  Elder Cocker had to use the fence behind the tree, and then Elder Larsen's shoulders to get up there.

Elder Cocker chopping down branches. Yay for service!

Get baptized the "Mormon way"

But the best part of the visit was the message we shared afterwards. We talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End) based off of 2 Nephi 31. A good chapter. Actually, a great chapter! You should all read it! Anyways, the whole time the [family] expressed that it made so much sense! What was cool was when the father made an analogy to support what we were saying. He said that living the Gospel is like getting on a bus that drives you to Sydney. The Bus is the Gospel, the Road to Sydney is the straight and narrow path to heaven. There is only one way! That is what the father said. That was incredible.

The best part of the best part was when we talked about baptism. The father asked why he needed to be baptized again. Our ward mission leader, is the man! He drew on the analogy that the father gave us to explain the importance of Authority, and of the Baptism by Fire (the Holy Ghost). The family got sooo excited when they understood that! The father said that he was going to go tell all of his friends that they have had only half of a baptism and that they need to get baptized the "Mormon way" for it to be God's way! And then we set a solid baptismal date! February 15th!!!!!!!! Woohoo! soo coooool! That whole experience was one of the best I have had on my mission thus far. They have been prepared sooo much!!!!

They couldn't make it to church yesterday, but that doesn't faze me. They are progressing so much!

A minister for another church came to ours!

Church yesterday was fantabulously awesome-ish! The [Indian] family was not able to make it, but we have had incredibly awesome experiences this week with them. Everyone else came to church yesterday though. It was awwwweeeesommmee! Many of the less-active members that we have been working with came.

One of our Tongan investigators came to church (I don't think I have ever told you guys about him). He is a minister for another church. And he came to ours! Woohoo! During the third hour, we taught him a lesson. Which went very well, apparently.... it was all in Tongan. But I did notice that there were a lot of head nods and smiles. Elder Cocker tells me that he is very accepting, and that he WILL be baptized. He (our investigator) has had good experiences with the Spirit, and is gaining a testimony of the truthfulness of the message we share, and expresses that (in Tongan).

A motherly influence...

Church was great! Oh, the Tongan boys came too! Since we now have church at 1 pm, we went over to their house around 11:30 am and woke them up, ironed their shirts, and basically mothered them to get them to church. And we are so glad that we did. They had interviews with the bishop for priesthood advancement and apparently for a Patriarchal blessing for one of them.. They are super excited about the gospel now and are progressing heaps!

The missionaries last night after an amazing lesson!

Testimony of the Book of Mormon

How else have I gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon? By reading it. By pondering the message it contains. And by "ask[ing] God, the Eternal Father, if these things are...true" through prayer. Every time, without fail, the Spirit confirms the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon to me. Every time! Cada vez! There is power in the promise given in Moroni Chapter 10 verses 3-5:

"3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

Because of the Book of Mormon, I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Christ's church once again restored to the earth. And you can all come to know the same thing, by gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon. If the Book of Mormon is false, then Joseph Smith wasn't a prophet. Then everything the church stands for is a lie. But likewise, if the Book of Mormon is in fact the word of God, which I testify that it is, then Joseph Smith was and is a prophet. Then he truly saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. Then we know that the Prophets, Apostles, and other leaders of the church truly have been called by God. Then we know exactly what we have to do to gain eternal life.

So much weighs on this one thing. It is crucial for us as members to have a testimony of the Book of Mormon, because without that, we have nothing. We have no religion. That is the message that missionaries around the world boldly share. That the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and was translated by the power of God by Joseph Smith as an added testimony that Jesus Christ Lives! He atoned for our sins! We have a prophet who tells us exactly what Christ wants us to know! And anyone can know that just by simply reading the book, and praying sincerely to know if it is true! I encourage anyone who does not know for themselves that the Book of Mormon is true to try the promise given in that scripture. I know that you will receive an answer to your prayer if you are sincere, and ask in faith. Do it! I dare you!

Roos are old news!

Our weekly planning session this week was fun! We drove north of Queanbeyan, out into the bush, and found a spot to plan! I took some pictures. Oh, and we saw a black kangaroo! That was random! There are sooooo many kangaroos here in Canberra. The weird thing is, apparently some missionaries from my intake still haven't seen a kangaroo... Now roos are old news!

Us four, exploring the Bush...

BUSH!

Bordertown family, ventriloquists and leprechauns

We went and visited the Bordertown family also this week and took our ward mission leader and his wife, who is in the Young Womens program. They are awesome!! We had a great lesson with them, and look forward to meeting with them further. And I finally found out their last name! I will still call them the Bordertown family. No way that is going!

Last week we met this dude in the park who is a ventriloquist. He had his leprechaun puppet with him, and his puppet talked to us the whole time. It was cool! Then we sang him a hymn (which we have been doing in pretty much every lesson setting) and he said that we should sing to him more if we find him in the park again. That was really random, but cool!

Prayer chains

Okay, now for debate-ably the coolest thing that happened this week. So our wonderfully inspired zone leaders gave us an idea to help us out during our day to day proselyting. They encouraged us to do prayer chains within the zone, meaning calling other missionaries and asking them to pray for us as we are about to go into lessons. They promised us that as we do this, that we will witness more miracles, especially as we ourselves offer mighty prayers in faith. So, Friday evening we decided to put this to the test....

So what happened is we were going to try and see an investigator, who we haven't seen in aaaaaaaaaggggeeeeeessss (ages). So, we called the zone leaders, and asked them to pray for us to have a miraculous experience. They agreed, and we went and knocked on [our investigator's] door. He was clearly home, made obvious by the open window, the loud television, and the noise of dishes clanking. But he didn't come to the door. We were there for literally 3 minutes, knocked four times, but he didn't answer. That confused us. Didn't we say a prayer, having faith that the Lord would answer it? Didn't we ask for extra prayers from the zone leaders?

As we were walking away and thinking things like that, a thought popped into my head; maybe we should go talk to the people who live in the government housing not far away, the same one where we met the crazy tie lady. I told Elder Cocker, and he agreed. So we went over there, and talked to the people that we talked to before, including Crazy Tie Lady. That was good, but nothing really came of it. We were walking away, when one of the ladies stopped us and said "Oh, I forgot, my brother lives over there. He is trying to change and become sober, and he wants to go to church. Wait here, I'll go get him!"

We waited, and she and her brother came back. We talked to them about the Atonement and the Book of Mormon, and set up a return appointment for the next day. Man, she is awesome! Faithful prayer is awesome too! Gosh, our leaders are awesome! We live on a world of awesomeness!

Anyways because we prayed and followed the counsel of our leaders, we met john and are now teaching him. We have invited him to be baptized, and he accepted. God is good, my friends. But honestly, it was a huge testimony to me that God watches over his children, and answers prayers. It was so cool!

Answers to questions

How did I celebrate the New Year? By going back to our flat at 5 pm and then going to bed at 10:30 pm! woohooo! It was nice to have a bit of time to relax, but it would have been nice to stay up and watch fireworks or something...

What are my goals for this year? I want to become more Christlike, and to always remember who I represent as a missionary. I have made some plans for how I will accomplish this, but that is the just of my goals.

Will the dynamic duo stay together? Unfortunately, I don't think so. I really want to stay here with Elder Cocker. In the past week, so much has happened, and things are just starting to pick up. I want to stay here and be able to help harvest the seeds that we have sown. But everyone seems to think that I will be training next transfer... That is an intimidating thought!

Moriah (Jarrad's cousin) is engaged????????? What?! That's crazy!! Hopefully he is a good guy! Looks nice enough. Do Aunt Kim and Uncle Ken approve?

Why did I get a new watch? My nice watch stopped working, so it needs to be fixed. In the meantime, I bought a cheap 10 dollar watch to tide me over.

It sounds like things are going well at home. I love your letters, by the way! It is good to hear about what is going on back home.

Selfie (pukana)!!

Final thoughts

Wheeeelllp, that is pretty much it! I hope you guys had a good week and have a good week. Transfer calls come this Saturday, and I am nervous for that. But the work is hastening! The Lord is preparing the hearts of His children!

I love you guys! talk to ya next week! Be good!

Ofa 'atu!

Elder Larsen

Da bush and river north of Queanbeyan.