I am 19! What the heck?

Talofa Lava! How're ya'll doin?

I am 19! What the heck? That is weird. My birthday was pretty good! We did lots of good stuff. The sisters in the ward found out that it was my birthday in the morning at our MCM (Missionary Coordination Meeting), and they baked a cake for me, and gave it to me at PMG (Preach My Gospel) studies! How kind! And they gave me some Aussie lollies too, accompanied with two random bunny things.... That was random, but appreciated! I heard from the Assistants that my b-day package part 2 is at the mission office. We are going to the office today for a Mission Leadership Council. So I will be able to get it then. Before our MCM we got to play some basketball for morning exercises. It was great! Good times.

Birthday gifts from the sisters of the zone!

Sister Preach My Gospel Studies

You asked me how we decide what we train on for Sister Preach My Gospel (PMG) studies. Well, basically what happens is we will study something with the sisters that we feel they need a reminder of, or something that we feel that applies directly to the sisters. Normally, we will call the Sister Training Leaders in charge of our zone, which just happens to be two sisters in our ward (S. Paki, and S. Harris), and ask them what the sisters may be struggling with, or what they feel would be a beneficial study topic. We got feedback that we should study Christlike attributes, and the Power and Authority of our calling. So that is what we went with. We had great studies.

Update on President Lew

Let's see... What else happened this week.... Oh yeah! An update on President Lew; he is doing better, he is allowed to see visitors now. We had a Stake MCM yesterday with us and the zone leaders of Ingleburn zone (Liverpool and Ingleburn are the two zones in our stake) the bishops, ward mission leaders, stake presidency members, high councilors over missionaries, and President Hopkins, who is one of President Lew's counselors, and he updated us on his health. It will be a slow recovery but he is recovering. He is able to eat, to speak much better, and to concentrate. Which is great! They are still sorting out his other health issues, but he is doing well.

He told us the date that he wants to get baptized on!

We were able to meet with B_ this week. It was fantastic. He is so prepared! We actually had a cool experience getting fellowship for B_. We called up President S_ (I don't remember if I have mentioned him), President Lew's other counselor who happens to be in our ward, and a solid fellowshipper, and he said he was going to try to come. It turned out that he couldn't make it. So, we called up a Brother S_, and he was able to come. And he turned out to be the right fellowship for B_! They hit it off quite well, got along great. And Bro. S_ was able to share his conversion experience with B_, which touched B_ deeply. Once again, we didn't end up teaching what we thought we were going to teach. We just followed the Spirit, and taught according to needs. It was incredible.

B_ came to church Sunday, and he told us the date that he wants to get baptized on! June 14th! Woohoo! How exciting! He wants to make sure he has time to get as much of his family as possible to come to his baptism to see how special it is for him. He is so excited! He is truly prepared! We have two appointments with him this week to help him to continue to progress towards baptism.

They read from the Book of Mormon in Italian with their kids

We also met with M_ this last week. That was awesome! He is a studly cook. We also got to try some of his new desserts for his factory. They were delicious! We had a great lesson with him too. We tried to be non-confrontational with him by focusing on the entire family. We watched Elder Bednar's Mormon Message Patterns of Light, a 3 part series that tells us how to recognize and receive revelation from the Holy Ghost. M_ participated a great deal! It was hectic! He has a testimony. They read from the Book of Mormon in Italian with their kids every evening. He contributes heaps to our lessons. It is just going to be up to him to make the decision to act on it.

How we split the ward with 8 other missionaries

You also asked how we split the ward with 8 other missionaries. We all have chunks of the ward carved out and assigned to each companionship. That being said, our area before was twice as big, but we had to give half of it to Elder Trotter and Elder Perkins, who are walking. and because of that, we have too small of an area for car-drivers. So we pretty much see all of the members (active and less-active) who are looking to advance in the priesthood, or need an advancement in the priesthood, but don't necessarily want it, if that makes any sense. We also take on special assignments from different missionaries, if they feel that we can do a better job teaching people in their area (due to gender, or whatever it may be), and also we receive assignments from our ward's bishop.

There is our district! from left to right on top of that is S. Fuatimau, S. Manutulila, S. Bretzing, S. Mano'o. Elders Trotter, Perkins, Winkelman, Bourne, Larsen.

The district again.  Elder Naidu on the ground is our district leader.

Mothers day is coming up!

Mothers day is coming up! So we have been told that we will be skyping from member's homes, either on mothers day here in aussie world, or the day after, which will be mothers day for many of the families of missionaries here, whatever is more convenient. So just let me know when you would like us to call!

I mentioned that we have Mission Leadership Council today. Basically, what that is is all of the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders in the mission go to the mission office to report on how our individual zones are doing, and to recieve some training from the assistants and President. In this case, we will be recieving training from Presidents Hopkins and Simpson instead of President Lew. Sister Lew will also most likely train us too. I don't really know what to expect. It should be good though!

JJ! What is my favorite thing to do on my mission? Teach people! It is the best! What am I doing right now? Right now, I am emailing you guys!

Ezra! Thanks for praying for President "Rew" (how Jarrad's little brother pronounces Lew) :). That is very kind and thoughtful of you! How was my day? It has been great so far! Thanks!

Okay! That is pretty much my week at a glance. The main highlights and whatnot. Yous have a great week!

Alofa atu!
Elder Larsen

Good timber does not grow with ease

Hi guys!

This week has been another busy one. I got birthday package part one! Which was awwweeeesooommeeee!!! The pens are soooo cool! And I mean a lot! Both of them. I really like the Kauri tree wood, as a good reminder of our trip to NZ. I also like the prune tree one, as a reminder of our farm of trees. The black walnut pen is unfortunately worse for wear. So these two will help to replace the loss! Although I will take much better care of them.

I must be focused on missionary work or something...

Getting a package reminded me that there were a few birthdays in our family over the past 4 or 5 weeks that I missed! Wow! I must be focused on missionary work or something...

Dad, you turned like 33 (again)! And Alyssa would be 14 or 15? Kaysie can't be 17. That is just weird. She is almost as old as me! What is something Australian that wouldn't be incredibly expensive that yous would like for your birthday? Just for ideas. I may ignore them completely... We will see....

Drawing of Elder Larsen by his sister, Kaysie.  "That is weiiiiirrd! It actually does look like me! What the heck!?????"

He truly has felt the song of redeeming love

We finally caught one of our investigators at home this week, one that is due to be baptized soon. He has just been sooo busy with work and with his mother. His mother is going through some health issues, and needs some extra assistance. So we were lucky to catch him at home. But we had a great talk with him. We didn't get to do any of the stuff we had planned on sharing with him, because he was still a bit rushed. But we were able to encourage and build him up, and bear testimony of the Plan of Salvation and that God looks out for us all. He is so ready! His testimony is already quite strong. Now it is just a matter of finding the right fellowship for him.

His name is B_. He is the man! His faith is so strong, and he truly has felt the song of redeeming love that Alma describes. I feel that that was a miracle. He is a bit older than Mom and Dad are, works with cranes (the massive ones that you see working on the big building operations; not the birds). He also came to Church this Sunday, which is kinda irrelevant, but at the same time it is relevant.

We weren't able to go over to the T_ family's house this week (Italian part member family), only because they were on vacation in Wagga Wagga. Or maybe it was for school. I don't remember.... But we have an appointment for today around 5 pm, for amazing food, and a lesson. It should be awesome! Pray for us please! Oh yeah, and the husband (M_) came to Church yesterday on his own! Hectic turnout at church! Good stuff!

Mormon version of Werewolf

This past week was our zone P-day. Which was fun! There is a park literally right next to our flat that we used. We played basketball, played Ultimate Frisbee, played werewolf (or rather the Mormon version of it: Gadianton robbers), and had some amazing food provided by Elder Osmeni. He is from Albania. I don't remember if I have told you's about him. But anyways, he is a professional cook. He cooked us some hectic food! Lasagna, and some other dishes that I can't pronounce. Good stuff! Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures with my camera then, and I forgot my camera today, so I can't really send pictures from the pday, or for the rest of the week.... Oh well....

I am really excited for this week. We have a lot of things already set. In both of my last areas, it was hard to have set appointments. But this area seems to be pretty promising! We will be busy, at least. This Saturday (my birthday) we are having Sister Preach My Gospel studies with all 10 sisters in our zone. The zone leaders are supposed to have that every month. We have an opportunity to train on various topics that we feel the sisters need to learn about. The best part about it is I will probably get a shout for lunch (shout meaning someone will pay for me). Woohoo!

She invited a friend... and that friend decided to bring her whole family!

I did mention that the ward here is really good. Let me share with you an example... So our stake president is in our ward (actually his brother is our bishop), and the stake president's wife decided to do some member-missionary work. She invited a friend to come to church with them. And that friend decided to bring her whole family! It was hectic! Both seemed to be pretty interested (both the husband and wife, that is). There were also 2 kids. So hopefully Elder Winkelman and I can demonstrate the principle that Elder Ballard spoke on last week during general conference: following up.

That is pretty much it for this week. Elder Winkelman and I have been doing a lot of zone planning this week, and helping everyone out. Slaving away. The usual.

I love you guys! And I am excited for the miracles this week will bring!

Elder Laseni

A favorite poem:  Good Timber

This is one of my favorite poems, that President Monson shared in one of his recent conference addresses:

Good timber does not grow with ease
The stronger the wind, the stronger the trees
The further the sky, the greater length.
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow

(Note: poem quoted by President Monson in General Conference HERE.  Poem author is Douglas Malloch)

Pretty much we are the Zone Slaves

Hiya!

Hopefully this message isn't too short, but I am going to try my best to summarize all the important stuff.... This week has been crazzzzzyyyy!!

More things to do...

Your first question to me was what is different about being a zone leader than a district leader. Weeeeeell...... Just like...... Heeeaaapps! We have so many more things to do as zone leaders. We get a lot more phone calls, a lot more problems, a lot of things that are asked of us, a lot of special assignments. Just a lot.

Members of our zone call us to ask questions about pretty much everything; permission to go out of area, questions and clarification about rules, what is going on in the ward (because we have like 50 million missionaries in our ward). Every Wednesday night we collect key indicator actuals for the first half of the week (Monday to Wednesday) and every Sunday we collect the actuals for the whole week. When we get those, we report them to our assistants to the president. Also, every month we lead a zone training meeting, where we do pretty much the same stuff as district meetings, but on a larger scale, with higher expectations of us. We conduct trade-offs with the district leaders in our zone. Tonight I am going on a trade off with one of our district leaders, Elder Howse, who was district leader in Tuggeranong when I first came into the mission. So that is kinda funny and awkward at the same time! Now I am his zone leader.... It is okay. He is the man! No worries.

Pretty much we are the Zone Slaves

Every month, we also go to the mission office for what is called Missionary Leadership Council, where all of the zone leaders, and I think the sister training leaders go for a super long training from President Lew and his assistants. But it is nice, because we get to interact with the other zone leaders. And some of the zone leaders I am good friends with! (Elder Tito, Elder Olsen, Elder Winkelman etc..). We have a whole bunch of other responsibilities, but those are the main ones. Pretty much we are the zone slaves. We had to help everyone move flats last Tuesday. We drive people everywhere, because we are the only elders in the zone with a car. I am still learning a lot about it! But I know that associating this closely with such great missionaries will help me to learn and grow astronomically! I have some massive shoes to fill.

Thanks for the reminder about my setting apart blessing. It is really important that I do stay humble. And yes, I do think that it was the Spirit of Prophecy. I truly am humbled at the job I have ahead of me. It is nothing to be recognized for, I realize, and I know that I am more than under qualified. I still wonder why in the world I was called to be a zone leader. Especially at this phase of my mission.

Elders Larsen and Winkelman.  Brothers in arms.

My first week with Elder Winkelman

You also asked how my first week with Elder Winkelman was. It was really good! This area is awesome! Lots of good members, and lots of things to do. Our ward mission leader is on to it! The man! What has been my favorite experience? Probably seeing firsthand how powerful of an influence that members can be in missionary work. A former stake president, who is now a counselor to President Lew is in our ward, President Simpson. We took him with us to a few lessons. And he did awesome! He smashed it! We as missionaries didn't have to really do anything! He took control of the lesson, and led it directly where he wanted it to be, which just so happened to be where we wanted it to be too! He was fantastic! I really would encourage all of you back home to go out with the missionaries and help them out with lessons. Women and girls 16+, go out with the sister missionaries. Men and boys 16+, go out with the elders. They will love you for the rest of your life! Serious!

[Elder Winkelman and I practice our Spanish with each other. Especially if there is something we want to communicate that we don't want others to hear. So that is pretty fun :). My companionship reminds me of the letter that you wrote me about Jarrad Gallagher, Dad. A lot of the same qualities. Most of them actually. He just isn't 6'4". That is the only flaw. Jokes! No flaw there! But he is the man! He is going home with Elder Cocker, in August. So I may figuratively kill him off. (mission lingo) When a missionary goes home, he "dies". Same idea as missionary trainers being dads.]

Demographics of our zone

What are the cultural demographics of our zone? Well, being in the greater Sydney area, it is a melting pot. There are heaps of Lebanese people, heaps of Polys, heaps of Aussies, heaps of Indians. Just a lot of different cultures. The majority of people here are Lebanese, I would say. Lots of Muslims! They are good, though. Most are pretty nice.

The best Italian food. Ever.

Our ward struggles to feed all of us. Which is okay. There are 10 missionaries. It is to be expected. But when we do get fed, the ward members feed us good! There is one part member family, where the wife is an active member, and the husband is an investigator that we have been working with. The husband is from Italy, and makes the best Italian food. Ever. Everything from scratch.

Actually we had a pretty hectic lesson with him. His wife was a huge help. We pretty much talked about how he can receive an answer to his prayers that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. And his wife bore powerful testimony to him. Once again, another experience with having members at lessons with the missionaries.

Talk ideas for Dad

Hmmmm.... What can you share in your talk... Well, there are a bunch of scriptures about the atonement that I love in the Book of Mormon. There is Alma 7:11-13; Mosiah 5:7-12; Alma 34:9-10; 2 Nephi 2 (pretty much the whole chapter); 2 Nephi 9 (once again, pretty much the whole chapter); Alma 42; Alma 11:40-45 and maaaany more. I also know that Preach My Gospel has lots of answers and doctrine concerning the Atonement and it's significance in all aspects of life. Other than that, I don't know. Well I do, but I don't want to take away the opportunity that you have to prepare for your talk :).

That is pretty much it! Nothing else too incredibly exciting happened. We are working hard. And having much success! Hopefully I have more to tell you about the miracles we have serving here next week.

I love you guys!

Elder Laseni (as the Islanders have changed my name)/Elder Larsen

P.S. I lost my case for my retainer.... (weird thing to lose) I still have my retainer itself. I was wondering if you could send me another case sometime? I am not desperate though.

Transfer Letter from President Lew

Dear Elder Larsen,

Thank you for accepting the call to serve as a Zone Leader.  You have been obedient in keeping the mission rules and you stand as an example to the other missionaries.  Thank you for being an excellent teacher who has the ability to articulate your thoughts with clarity and ease.  You have a good understanding of the scriptures, and the doctrines taught therein.

The responsibility of being a Zone Leader is one of the greatest opportunities of leadership a missionary can have and it is certainly one of the most trusted.  It is a very special assignment, and will have far-reaching effects on the missionaries you serve here in the Australia Sydney South Mission.

You are a wonderful example of the teachings of the gospel and also a wonderful representative of your home.  I feel that you will continue to be a tower of strength for good in our great mission.

I love you,

President Larry J. Lew
AUSTRALIA SYDNEY SOUTH MISSION

A zone leader? I am totally unprepared for that

Hey Larsen family and friends!

Really super hectically crazy

As you know from your spies, this week has been pretty crazy. Really crazy in fact.  Really super hectically crazy. Man. As you also know, I was transferred this past weekend, and received a new assignment. As I know, you are all waiting at the computer to hear where I am serving now. As....... Okay, enough of As you know...

President asked to speak with me

On Saturday of this past week, while Elder B and I were driving to a birthday party at the chapel, we got a phone call from President Lew. Elder B answered, (it was on Bluetooth in our car, so I could hear) and President asked to speak with me.

"I have an assignment for you, Elder Larsen."
"Yes?" (Am I finally training??)
"I would like to call you to be a new zone leader in our mission."
"...Are you sure?"
"Yes I am sure. Which means you will need to pack your things. I have high expectations for zone leaders. I need you to be exactly obedient and lead your zone forward with faith. Can you do that for me?"
"...I guess, if that's what you want me to do."
"I expect it of you. Will you do that?"
"Yes. I will do that."
"Thanks, Elder Larsen. We will see you on Monday, then?"
"Yup. See ya then."
"Bye."
"Bye."

How Jarrad must have looked when he got the call from President Lew.

A zone leader? I am totally unprepared for that

What? This was not something even remotely on radar. What? I am still a bit unsure of exactly how I feel about it. A zone leader? I am totally unprepared for that. I have only been a district leader for 6 weeks. I have only been on my mission for 6 months (on the 9th of April). How can I be expected to carry out this assignment?

So clearly I am a bit frazzled at the moment. I really don't know how to feel about this. We found out that Elder Olsen was also getting transferred, and Elder Thomas from my district. Which was sad.

(Note: see Missionary Leadership to understand more about leadership roles in missions)

How transfers work

So we drove up to Mortdale on Monday, Elder B, Elder Tito, Elder Olsen, and I. We stopped in Bankstown for breakfast with the Bankstown zone leaders. And we went to the chapel. How transfers work here is you go into the gym at mission headquarters, and you look on the board at 10 pieces of paper (one for each zone) and you look for your name. When you find it, you can see what zone, district, and area you are serving in. Elder Thomas is now Elder B's companion! Crazy, eh?? They are pretty happy! Elder Olsen is a zone leader of the Ingleburn zone. Elder Tito's companion is Elder Bartholomew, another new zone leader (of 3). Oh yeah! Elder Shafer is our new assistant! He is the man! Remember, Elder Shafer from Canberra! One of my first zone leaders! The one yous emailed!

Elder Puriri went home (one of our assistants [you's should know]). He gave his departing testimony, along with two sisters and two other elders at the transfer meeting. He bore a powerful testimony. Very powerful. And very long. Hopefully by the time I leave the mission field, I will have learned as much as Elder Puriri, and bear as powerful of a witness of the divinity of the Savior, and the truthfulness of the Church. Missions are weird things! But good!

Elder Cocker and his comp are still in Woden. Sis Bushnell got transferred to Bankstown zone, and Sister Parr is training. So I got to catch up with them at the meeting. Woden-ites reunite! Elder Pedersen got transferred. I don't remember where but he is companions with my MTC comp! Elder Hammond! And Elder Searle got transferred to Orange zone! Which is straight bush. Waaaaay the heck away from everything. I also saw Elder Toangutu at the meeting. He is still the man!

They invited the newly called zone leaders and sister training leaders to bear their testimonies. Elder Bartholomew went first, then I went, then Elder Roberts bore his testimony (previously serving in the Canberra zone, in Gininderra. He is the man).

My new area and companion

Oh. I still haven't told you about my new area or companion. Hahaha actually that was on purpose. So, I looked at the board when we first got to the Chapel, and I saw "Canberra Zone: Zone Leaders Elder White and Elder Larsen" Yeaaahh buddy! I am in Canberra again! Actually, it didn't say that...

What it actually said was "Liverpool Zone: Zone Leaders Elder Winkelman and Elder Larsen". I am in Liverpool! Which is part of south Sydney. An area that I have heard heeeaaps of good about. And I am with Elder Winkelman. He. Is. The. MAN! He actually trained Elder Pedersen, and was trained by Elder Puriri. He served in Dapto right before Liverpool, and was replaced by Elder Olsen 2 transfers ago. He speaks Spanish. He is funny. And he loves basketball! Oh, he's a pretty good missionary too. Like, the best! I met him before this transfer and heard heaps of good from his mission son, Elder Pedersen. I was really relieved to hear I was with him. Oh, he is from Kaysville, UT.

Liverpool area of South Sydney - Jarrad's new stomping grounds.

Yes.  10 missionaries in one ward.  Whaa?

So that's transfers. I am now in a library in Liverpool. We serve in the Liverpool 1st ward, along with 8 other missionaries. Yes. 10 missionaries in one ward. Whaaaa? Apparently this ward is reeeaally on to it. It is a huge ward I think, and the area that Elder Winkelman and I run is doing really well. We have two investigators with baptismal dates. And a couple others that are progressing. Sweet as!

As far as other people in our zone that I know, Elder Perkins from the MTC (same zone) shares a flat with us, along with his comp Elder Trotter, who came in at the same time as us, and was just in the same zone as me (Southcoast zone). Sister Sorenson is also in my zone. That's cool! I don't know anyone else, or rather I didn't know anyone else in our zone (I have met most of them now). Wait, that's a lie. Elder Howse, previously one of the District Leaders in Canberra is now a District leader here in our zone. And his comp is Elder Stewart, who also served in Canberra. There are 20 missionaries in our zone. Pretty decent sized.

I am the youngest age-wise in my zone

So I am happy for the moment. I know that there is a lot to learn, and a big responsibility to fill. But I also am relieved, to be honest, to be serving with Elder Winkelman. He will teach me a great deal this transfer, and hopefully a few more after this transfer. I am excited also to be able to get to know so many missionaries, too. It was also a bit intimidating knowing that I am the youngest age-wise in my zone, and the youngest in the mission out of everyone (except of course those that came in with me). But I really am learning to love the members of my zone.

So that is the haps of the mission. I have to go now. Stuff to do! I have a camera card with heaps of pics to send you. Next week I will send some of me and my comp.

I love you guys! Have a great week!

Elder Larsen

Drowning out the piano with his speakers

Heeellloo Family and Friends!

Whazzuuupp? This week has been an interesting week, that is for sure. Man! Time flies!

The first thing I should say is that we have transfers next week, so I probably won't be able to write till Tuesday. I anticipate that all of the Dapto Elders will stay, but in saying that I am probably jinxing it. Just sayin'. I really want to stay. Things are just starting to happen.

The weather here is weird! Within two hours, it will dump buckets of rain on us, stop raining, clear up, get hot and muggy, and then start raining again! What the heck?

Elders Olsen, Tito and Larsen

A strong woman

Some of the highlights of the week; we found some new Less-active members to teach this week, with the help of the ward. We also met B_ and her husband. B_ is a strong woman. Her husband is in the final stages of Alzheimer disease. So she is taking care of him completely. Talking to her, we saw how important the Plan of Salvation is in hers and all of our lives. The redeeming power of the Atonement and the Resurrection mean so much, especially in cases where family members and loved ones lose any sort of physical or mental capabilities.

We did another trade-off this week. That was pretty great! This time I was with Elder Te'o. He is the man! He was born in Australia, raised in Samoa. He is the man! He speaks perfect English. He said that he attended the only English-Speaking ward in Samoa or something. That's pretty cool!

We got to the designated spot and no one was there

It was fun picking up Elder Te'o. What we decided to do was meet halfway between Mittagong and Shellharbour at 8 PM on Wednesday night. Or at least that's what I told Elder Te'o's companion. Apparently, the Mittagong elders had Missionary Coordination Meeting (MCM) on Wednesday, so they decided that they would trade off on the drive down, so that representation from both companionships would be there at there meeting. So Elder Thomas and Elder Te'o would come down and meet Elder B and I at the top of Macquarie pass (yes that means I would have to drive through twice in one night). That night it was raining. Cool.

So Elder B and I got out of our dinner appointment late, at 8 pm when we had planned with E Te'o's companion to be there. Shuck-a-roonboons! Oh well. So we start driving, and we are going up the pass, which obviously was scary and dangerous. Cool. We get near the top and got a call from the other two, asking us where we were. We told them, and they said "sweet" and hung up. So we assumed they were waiting. It turns out they hadn't even left yet! They apparently were waiting for us to call and tell them what is up at McDonald's. McDonald's! They weren't told anything by Elder Te'o's companion!

So we got to the designated spot and no one was there. It was like 8:40 pm. And on the top of the pass we had no cell service. So we didn't know where they were, when they were coming or anything! That was frustrating. So eventually we decided to just drive further and slow down after every car passed, to see if it was them. So we did that. We eventually found them, at like 9:10 pm. Sigh.... Bad planning on my part.

Missionaries clubbing!

The trade-off went well, anyways. Bro T_ took us out again to visit some people. He has really been involved in helping us out, like I mentioned last week. Which is fantastic! That was the day we went to B__'s. Good stuff! Then the T_ fam had signed up to feed us for dinner. So we ended up going with them to dinner at a club. Yeah! Missionaries clubbing! Woohoo! It was some good food! and it wasn't that kind of club, don't worry!

Yesterday, one of the Elders Quorum (EQ) members came with us pretty much all day after church, D_. He is the man! Returned Missionary (RM) who served in the Philippines, and has been back for 1 year. So cool! He helped us know who were some less-active members that could use a visit. It was great! We need more members to come and visit people with us!

Dodge ball ping pong

There were a few activities that we attended this week. The Elders Quorum had a ping-pong night that was fun. Our ward mission leader, bro Q_ and I had fun playing dodge ball-ping pong. We would take the ball and smack it as hard as we could at each other to try and hit the other, like dodge ball. It was ssssssssooooooo fun! Good stuff! And the Young men had a basketball activity that we helped them organize, to invite their nonmember friends to. That was great! One nonmember that we had met before showed up, so we all had a good time.

That is pretty much it on the highlights of the week. Except for one that I just remembered. This morning! Duh. Good one, Elder Larsen.

Showing up later than she expected

K_ invited us to come to her house yesterday, but we ended up showing up later than she expected. So she said we could come this morning instead. She made us a nice breakfast, and we got to catch up with her, and introduce Elder B to her and her son A_, who we are playing b-ball with this afternoon. I am keen!

Anyways, K_'s husband's cousin was there and we had a good chat with him. A nice enough guy. We shared a short scripture with them (Romans 8:16-17) and talked about our potential as sons and daughters of God, and he took that and talked for ages about perception, and traveling, and about knowing what is behind someones doors?, and goodness knows what else. It was all good fun! He definitely had the right idea when he said that he would pass judgment only when he had the details. And because of that, he respected us for our beliefs. Good guy! Good fun! We got some good food, shared a great scripture, and get to play a great sport this afternoon because of the visit! I think that was my favorite teaching experience. At least the one that I can have the best laugh at! Haha!

Drowning out the piano with his speakers

Oh yeah! I just remembered another funny, yet weird experience that we had! It was yesterday evening with D_. We went to go see this woman who we didn't know who D_ knew, and we pulled up in front of her house, and there was this Aussie dude in the neighboring lot in his ute, blasting music so loud that it literally sounded like a high school football games speakers. Ridiculously loud. Compleeeeeetely unnecessarily and unrealistically loud. He was blasting some '80's rock music, I think it was AC/DC. I can't remember. We walked passed him and he mouthed something to me (or yelled, I couldn't hear anyways) and I had no idea what he was trying to say. Eventually, he turned down his music a bit, and we talked to him, and he said he was getting back at his neighbor who apparently had no respect for him, because she played piano a lot.... Hmmm.... So he was drowning out the piano (and every other noise in the neighborhood) with his speakers. Apparently it was the woman that we were going to see. He said that he respected us, so he would turn off his music. But wow! Kinda extreme measures.... Good one!

Yeah, so that's really all of my highlights.

Answers to questions

How much English does Elder B speak? Fluent! He has a fun accent too! I also know his Fijian is fluent, because we met a Fijian dude yesterday, and he and Elder B had a great time laughing and talking together in the language. Good stuff!

I think that it is random that we have seen so much of President Lew. I happened to see him a couple times last transfer in Canberra because of the stuff that was going on down there. And I caught him a couple times this transfer with stuff going on in this zone. We are still pretty far away, so I doubt we will see too much of him and sister Lew. One can only hope! Oh yeah, interviews were good! It is always good to talk to Pres. Lew. He is so loving and kind! Such a big heart!

Are there Hershey's chocolate bars in Australia? Yes. Not as much as in the States though, there are a bunch of Australian equivalents to American lollies. What is my favorite football team? The Canberra Raiders! They are my team, now! First Area = Birth Area = Home team! Woohoo! Hahahah Ezra, you are a goofball!

Dad! You are a seminary teacher! Congrats! That is what you have been wanting to do for ever! And Mom! now you get to sleep in! Lucky you! or do you....? My favorite bad guy in the Book of Mormon? Alma the younger.. And that is because he is also my favorite good guy. :) And Ezra is right! There are only people that make bad choices, no bad people! :D

Snacks and such that I am missing? I miss nuts! I never got my last package (I am sure that E. Cocker and the new Queanbeyan Elders enjoyed it). So maybe you could send some of those? General Conference apparently gets broadcast a week late here in Aussie-world. Don't ask me why, I have no idea..

Okay! Now, a question for you guys! What is your favorite latter-day prophet/general authority quote?

I love you guys! Have a great week! I will send a few photos in a bit.

Talk to ya next Tuesday!
Elder Larsen

More bonus words from letter to Mission President

Reading the Book of Mormon continues to be a great experience for me! I really enjoy the War chapters in Alma, and because of that, the reading sucks me in, and before I realize it, I am 5 chapters ahead of the assigned reading! It is great! I loved reading about the faithfulness and obedience of the Stripling Warriors, as you mentioned in your email. I also enjoyed reading about Captain Moroni, and his diligence in protecting the Nephites. I love the Book of Mormon stories!

Our flat is decently clean. We do need to do a bit of deep cleaning today, but other than that, we are being better about keeping the flat clean.

(Parent question: why did they need to be better about cleaning their flat?...)

Member referrals are the way to go!

Larsen Familia!

Greetings to my number one family! This has been a pretty hectic week.

(From this website: "To Australians from the Illawarra area, "hectic" can be used as an adjective roughly synonymous to "awesome", as in "She has a hectic singing voice." ...hectic carries with it a greater sense of pure excitement and enthusiasm for one's subject, such excitement that normal language cannot possibly convey and so an alternate word must be created.")

There it is! Lake Illawara!

Member referrals are the way to go!

One highlight of the week has been the opportunity that Elder B and I have had to work with the members of our ward. That has been a major focus for us. As a result, we made plans to visit many of the members of the ward council in their homes this week.

One family that we visited was the M_ family. Bro M_ is a priesthood leader here in my ward. He has an awesome family. He and his wife are from Tonga, and his kids (I think there are 6) were born in New Zealand and Australia. We talked to them about missionary efforts, and they told us about two families that they are working with. Not only that, they asked us to go and visit their neighbours on both sides of their house. Apparently they have talked to them both a fair bit about the church. Cool beans! Member referrals are the way to go! We tried to see the neighbours; one answered and said we could come back, and the other didn't answer. Awesome! Nothing may come of it, but we are very happy that the members were willing to give us people to see.

Another family we saw was the K_ family. Brother K_ is a young men's leader in our stake, from Ireland. And they have two young men's age boys, and two primary age kids, a boy and a girl. They are a cool family! Brother K_ is pretty funny. Love his jokes. But anyways, they basically gave us two names of people that they wanted us to follow up with them on Sunday; they plan to invite these people to dinner, along with the missionaries. We followed up with them, and they are making progress. Sweet as!

Wednesday was a bit slow. Elder B woke up sick, so we weren't able to go out and proselyte. So I took the time to fix a couple shirts, catch up on journal writing, lots of extra study etc. A productive unproductive day!

Coolest experience of the week

I think the coolest experience of the week was my trade-off with Elder Thomas. Man, it was hectic. First thing that he told me when he walked in the door of our flat was that his auntie served with a Former Elder Lynn Larsen in the Auckland, NZ mission. And she is Facebook friends with said person, too! His auntie is Leslie K_, although that is her married name. Does a Former Elder Lynn Larsen know said person? (Parent note: Yes, he does!)

E. Thomas and I ! Just before we went to the K_ Family! In the background you can see Lake Illawara (Beeeeaaaaautiful).

Apparently Elder Thomas has been writing his aunt, and she has been sending emails every now and then about an old mission mate that has a son in the same mission, and then she sent a picture to Elder Thomas, and it was me! Random! But cool. Elder Thomas is the man. Our trade-off was hectic! We started off the day with studies, and directly after we went to the T_ Family home, to talk to Bro T_ about missionary efforts with some of the people that he has been helping us work with. That was awesome. He is the man! Such an awesome member-missionary who gets things done! Definitely a doer of the word. He said that he could come to a lesson with us, with one of our investigators who isn't really progressing. We drove over there, to try and drop in. No one was home.

When we were at the door, Bro T_ got a returned phone call from K_! Apparently the whole car ride he had been attempting to make contact with those that we had been talking about earlier. And we were able to turn around and go to K_'s right away! We went over there, caught up a bit, and met her son, A_, who invited us to go play some Basketball! And K_ gave us the names of heeaaaaps of people in the area who we could visit. Man it was hectic. It was good I had Elder Thomas with me, because he knows heaps of the same people as both Bro T_ and K_, being from NZ.

Trade offs always bring miracles

We ended up going to play b-ball with A_ and his mates. I earned some respect on the court, and now we have more opportunities to share the gospel in a unique way! I love interacting with people through sports, and that seems to be the best way to connect with people. I have decided that Trade-offs always bring miracles. Without fail.

1. Elder Thomas's aunt and a Lynn Larsen served in the same mission together, and their respective nephew and son are serving together in the same district.
2. Bro T_ is the man.
3. Bro T_ became a segway to get into the homes of people that we by ourselves would not have been able to visit.
4. We had much success in visiting the members of our ward (that was the day we saw the K_ Family)
5. We have a number of new people that we have the opportunity to visit ex) A_, K_ and R_, A_'s mates, names given to us by K_ and K_ family.
6. Life is good!

Man. good times!

I had two minutes!  Oh well.

Friday we had a crazy day. The Mittagong Elders all came down to stay the night before for District Training Meeting (DTM), so our flat was packed. And we had been booked in to sing for a half-hour at a rest home for one of the women in our ward (who works there) with all 8 missionaries. At a time that was right in the middle of DTM time on Friday. Ughhh..... So we had to do our DTM much earlier than we would have, cutting off half of my training. I had asked Elder Anderson and Elder Te'o to give 10 min. trainings each on "The Role of the Holy Ghost in Conversion" and "The Role of Commitments in Teaching for Conversion". That was 20 min. gone. Then we had the start of meeting stuff. 20 min. gone. Role plays: 20 min. gone!

Da district: Thomas, Anderson, Te'o, B, Jenkins, Olsen, Tito, Larsen.

I had two minutes! Oh well. So I decided that I would save my training for next week (not this week, because we have interviews with President Lew). They all thought that I did that on purpose. It was definitely not on purpose! I was disappointed, to be honest. Oh well. The singing thing went well! There was an audience of about 40 elderly people. And they loved the church hymns that we did, some with a bit of a modern twist. We also talked to a 15 year old kid who was doing work experience stuff there and he gave us his contact info, and said we could visit him. Miracles! So maybe I have nothing to complain about!

Us again! Poor decision to open the blinds...

Much success in the Land of Kangaroos

Saturday was pretty discouraging. Literally no one was home. No one. We knocked doors of people that we had planned to visit. All day. Nada. Zip. Nil! It was a dry day! There was a famine in the land, not of food nor drink, but of hearing the word of God! Come on people! Why weren't they waiting at the door to offer us tea and crumpets? And a foot massage? Maybe even $1,000,000? Oh yeah, life isn't easy. Oh well.

Fortunately for Elder B and I, yesterday everyone opened the door to us, offered us tea and crumpets, and foot massages and millions of dollars. Jokes! But most everyone was home. Which was much better than any of those things. We visited a number of less-active families, contacted the M_ Family's neighbour, and had much success in the Land of Kangaroos. One particularly good lesson was a lesson with the C_ family. They are a part-member family; the mom is less-active, along with the two oldest kids, and the partner to mom and two baptism age kids are not members. Well, anyways, yesterday we went and saw them. And we were finally able to meet all of the family. We had a great lesson, where all of the kids actually participated! We committed the whole family to pray, and then invited them to come to a Family Home Evening with us, not today, but next Monday, which they graciously accepted! Woohoo! Progress, baby! Totally made up for Saturday's failures.

That was pretty much my week. Now I will respond to your questions.

Where the idea for the 7-day Fast came from

You asked where the idea for a 7 day fast came from. Well, I am not really sure. The ward here has done 40 day fasts (which I think you know how they work) and has seen much success from them. I knew that I had to do something to change the dynamics of our district; we all seemed to be in a bit of a rut. So, I put a lot of thought into what could be changed. And the 7 day fast came to mind. Everyone agreed that it should be done. So we did it. As a result (or I feel was a result) Elder Tito and Olsen extended a baptismal commitment that was accepted; Elder B and I have a bunnnncccchhh of new people to see, new contacts to make, new opportunities to share the Gospel. The Mittagong Elders have a baptism coming up soon.  I am so excited to see what this week has in store for us. We have set ourselves up for success.

I think it will probably be better to send my package to the office, just in case I get transferred to a new area. Transfers are not this Saturday, but next Saturday. I don't think I will go, but there is always a possibility.

We didn't see P_ at all this week. We haven't figured out what to do about her partner. But we do want to see her this week sometime. Hopefully all goes well.

What I like most about my new area

What do I like most about my new area? The contacts that I have made, forsure. Contact with people that know an Elder Larsen that served in NZ. People that are related to people that know that same Elder. An awesome ward family. Awesome opportunities to share the gospel.

What is my favourite color, Ez? You should know! Royal Blue! TITANS! Woohoo! And I am coming back next year in October. So pretty soon! (Kinda) You have to make sure Sirius Black is nice by the time I come back, okay Ezra?

My favorite Book of Mormon story

What is my favourite Book of Mormon story, JJ? Ugghhh... That is the  hardest question I have ever been asked in my life. It relates to the question "would you rather have apple pie, or cherry pie?" Such a hard choice! One of my favourite Book of Mormon stories is the story about Teancum and Amalakiah. I read that this morning. It was hectic! Teancum is leading part of the Nephite army, and Amalakiah is a Nephite disenter who, by trickery and deceit, became king of the Lamanites. Well, anyways, they fight all day long, and at night they camp out. Teancum and his servant sneak into the Lamanite camp, kill Amalakiah in his sleep without alerting his servants, and get out safe. The next morning the Lamanites don't know what to do, so they retreat. Not exactly the most Spiritual chapter in the book, but it was a great story! I enjoyed it. I have too many favourite stories to count.

Well, that is about it! I will send some photos in a minute! In the meantime, Be good! Remember who you are and what you stand for! And be good member-missionaries!

Alu a e?
Love,
Elder Larsen

Bonus paragraph from Jarrad's letter to his mission president

Sometimes Elder Larsen sends his family a copy of his letter to his mission president.  Here are some choice words he uses in this week's letter to president to describe how the Holy Ghost touches his heart:

"Reading the Book of Mormon as always has brought the influence of the Spirit in my life. I am finding that I am becoming truly converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As I sincerely read the Book of Mormon, and pray to be enlightened, the Holy Ghost touches my heart in such a way that I can no longer have any doubts about the truthfulness of that book. As is said by many of the prophets, the Holy Ghost has brought conviction that I don't believe a heavenly manifestation could bring. I really look forward to my studies, every day. They always build me up, when I am down, and give me insights that I would miss otherwise."

Elder Anderson and I... Cool cats!

Weird colored sky here in Aussie land...

Husband says "Stay away." Wife says "Come back!"

Ye faire Larsen familie and friendze...

Hi! How're we doing? I am doing great! This week has been pretty hectic...

Random thought; J_____ from (Canberra) is getting baptized this month! I heard it a week and a half ago! And the K_____ Family are back on track, soon to be baptized too! What the heck! Crazy, eh?

Zone Conference

So we didn't really get the chance to do any proselyting this week until Wednesday! Crazy! Monday was our P-day of course, then after we did P-day stuff, we went to dinner at a member's home, then we had to drive to Campbeltown for Zone conference. We met at the Stake Center there, and had a conference with President and Sister Lew, the assistants, and the South Coast Zone, combined with the MacArthur Zone. It was pretty dang good!

Some of the cool things that stood out to me: the people we work with need to experience a change of heart, not just a change of behaviour (it appears Jarrad is picking up some Aussie spelling) in order to repent. That includes members, non-members, and missionaries alike.

Beautiful Kiama! This is the prettiest part of our area! And I didn't even get any good shots.

The Spirit has become my drug

Another thing was that as missionaries, the most important thing that we do is study. That is why we devote so much time to study on our missions. If you think about it, 1/12th of a missionary's entire service is study. That is pretty much 2 months worth of study over the course of two years (for elders that is). That is heaaaaaps! Studies for me brighten my day, give me spiritual nourishment that helps me to focus on my purpose as a missionary, and to prepare to share the message that we have to share with others. In all seriousness, the Spirit has become my drug. It feels soooo gooooood! I can't get enough of it!

Speaking of which, the third cool thing that I learned was that members of the church may not know who is prepared, which could be some of the reason why they hold back names from missionaries. But there is someone who knows everyone that is prepared; that person being the Holy Ghost. So, you members out there, pray for the guidance of the Holy Ghost in knowing which of your friends is prepared to hear the Message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He will answer you! I promise!

Anyways, so that was on Tuesday. We found out that neither President Lew, nor the assistants brought our car key down from Mortdale, so Elder Tito, Olsen, B. and myself had to drive up to the mission office to get the spare key. So that was that day gone! Zone Conference went from 9am to 4pm. Then we had to drive to the office. And then back to Dapto. Oh well, we got our car back...

And Elder Tito and I on our trade off (couldn't send this last week).

Husband says "Stay away."  Wife says "Come back!"

You asked what my favourite (more Aussie spelling) teaching experience was. I would have to say that it was Wednesday with the Young men. Although the most memorable experience happened this Friday....

We went to see one of our potential investigators, P_______. She is a really sweet woman. She is currently battling cancer, and has chemo therapy regularly. But she is going strong. We drove up to their house at a prearranged time. Just then they pulled up. Her and her partner (maybe husband) got out of the car. She was happy to see us, as she always is. She went upstairs to open the front door, and left her husband to unload stuff from the car. Trying to be friendly, I said "Hey brother, what's your name?" He stopped fidgeting in the car. Turned around slowly. Looked at us for a few seconds, then said "Doesn't matter" with a frown on his face. The smile fell off of my face "Okay, fair enough..." I said. He said "I am not happy with you coming around". "Okay..." "Make sure this is the last of it." Sneer. Garage door slams. Hmmmmmmmm.

So, we walked upstairs and P_______ came to the door, and came out on the porch for a lesson. We pretty much got to know her. She expressed how nice missionaries had been to her in the past, and that we were always welcome. Okay. Now we had a problem. Husband says stay away. Wife says come back! What the heck? We tried to approach her and ask her if we were still okay to continue visiting, or if we were bothering her husband too much. She told us of course we were welcome! Man.... We don't really know what to do. Her husband meant business.... Gaaaahhh!

Working closely with the young men

One thing that Elder B. and I have been doing is working closely with the young men. Youth always have friends that are prepared to hear the gospel. Teenagers are open, a lot more receptive than 40+ year old people. So this week we went to Mutual with the 7 young men in our ward, and we asked them to write down the names of their friends in my planner who they would invite to a young men's activity in a couple of weeks. And then they told us about the friend that they gave. There were 11 names that were written down. So that is 11 people that through the young men, the Lord is preparing to hear the gospel! Crazy!

We followed up with them yesterday at church and every single one of them invited their friend. Almost all said they would come. That is the first step! Check! It is so cool to see how willing the youth are to participate in missionary work. Some of the feedback we received was promising. One of the boys said his friend is already interested in missionary work! Cool beans! The next step for us is to visit the young men in their homes with their families and devise a plan to further the work with their friends.

What's the deal with computer stuff in Shellharbour? Yeah, people wait in line to use computers... It is kinda annoying, but the staff is normally good about getting us onto different computers.

We braved Macquarrie Pass again!

This Thursday, Elder B and I went to Mittagong to do a trade-off with Elder Jenkins and Elder Te'o. I was with Elder Jenkins. Oh yeah, we braved the Macquarrie Pass again! And were successful! Anyways, my trade-off with Elder Jenkins went really well! We met heaps of new people, visited a large number of people that we helped (we gave two blessings) and we were pretty much on a Spiritual high the whole time!

We ended our trade-off with something called a Miracle Walk. Since they have two cars, none of the four Mittagong Elders walk too much, which is good when you have lots of appointments, but you don't get to meet as many people. So we decided to walk around the neighbourhood (sic) for 40 min. in faith to see what would come of it. It was great! We found 3 potential investigators! Which is huge! It was a great trade-off! It was cool to be around Elder Jenkins again (as we were in the same MTC district).

Here is Elder Jenkins and I on our miracle walk!

Our teaching pool is fairly small

We have visited other people this week, but we weren't able to see R____yet, we texted him and he said that he was going to be gone this week, but that we could probably catch him this upcoming Friday. So hopefully that happens.

Our teaching pool is fairly small. So we are looking to build it. But other than that, we are doing well. Last night, I gathered everyone in the Shellharbour flat together, and had the Mittagong elders on speaker phone gather together, and invited them all to participate in what I call a "Seven-day Fast"; seven days of EXACT obedience. Where we give up those few minutes of extra sleep, exercise when we need to, study on time, proselyte during proselyting time. All of the little things that we maybe were slacking a bit on. Everyone agreed to it. So I look forward to the miracles that will come as a result of it! Hopefully this "Fast" fosters an environment of exact obedience that will continue after the week is over. And I really hope the Lord blesses us with more teaching opportunities. Even if He sees fit to withhold the blessings, the knowledge that we are more in-line with God will be enough.

That is pretty much the highlights of the week.

What is the best food I have had here in Dapto? Fish n' Chips! There is a swweeeeettt-as place that Bro T______ took Elder B and I too, and we went back again with the other two Elders. It is that good! Although we do have some really good cooks in our ward.

Favourite Book of Mormon Missionaries

Thanks for telling me about your favourite Book of Mormon missionaries! I appreciate all of the answers you gave. JJ, Ezra, those are some greeeeeaaat missionaries you chose! Pretty funny reasons. Made me laugh. :) Mojojojo, the sons of Mosiah are inspirational! I especially like reading in Alma 18, and 22 about the conversion of King Lamoni, and his father. Good stuff!

I have to say that Alma is also my favourite BoM prophet/missionary. He is the man! I love the stories about him fighting the "bad guys" in Alma 3. I love the story about the Zoramite people too, Dad. Those are some of my favourite chapters. I enjoy Alma 36-42 where Alma gives words of wisdom to his sons. I love in Alma 14 and there-abouts reading about Alma and Amulek, and the power team that they are. He really is my hero. As far as the BoM goes, at least.

Sounds like y'all are having fun on vacation! Keep on keeping on!

Okay. You guys have a great week. I can't wait till next week to tell you about all of the miracles! It is exciting to be a missionary!

Ofa'lahi'atu!
Elder Larsen

P.S. Stay in school. Don't do drugs. Be good, and remember who you are. :D