Mowing lawns and opening hearts

G'day!

How ya goin'? My week was pretty great here in the best mission ever, in the best zone ever!

It is good to know that I will be here for another 6 weeks. I really love it here. I wouldn't even mind another 6 weeks on top of that! This area is truly Zion! We have had an awesome time together, the zone as a whole.

Elder Bartholomew is a musical genius!

So let me tell you about some of the new members of the zone. Elder Bartholomew (Elder B) is a musical genius! He is super funny and fun to be around. His response to the question "Is Elder B. a BYU fan?" is that he doesn't follow sports that much.... but if he did he would be a UVU (Utah Valley University) fan, because he went and is going there after the mission. Soooo I think you can still accept him as my companion. Because he didn't say that he isn't a fan....

Definitely drive with your hazard lights on! 

Favorite moment from the week with Elder B.: Last night, we got a phone call from some of the sisters in our zone, who were calling to inform us that their car had a metal hook stuck in the tire. The car was making a noise (as the hook would hit the frame of the car) and then they asked what to do. We asked some questions about the location of the hook and the depth, to which one sister responded hysterically "Oh okay, should I drive with my hazard lights on, or not, because I can only drive 20 k/hr...?" We looked at each other, and busted up laughing. Definitely drive with your hazard lights on! Hahahhahaahahah We aren't exactly sure what was so funny, but just the way she said it... Sigh... It was great!

The "Hectic Cow" - for explanation see video at end of post.  Also notice the duck...

Mowing lawns and opening hearts

A cool experience that we had this week: so we borrowed the lawn mower of one of the members in the ward, and we were asked to return it. So, we arrived with the lawnmower the next day (a day later than they wanted it) and we unloaded it from our car, and took it around the back of their house. We noticed that the lawn really needed a mowing, so we asked the partner of this member (partner isn't member) if we could do it for them (we had just returned from helping another member move out, so we were dressed for the occasion). She said don't worry about it, but we insisted, so she finally accepted the help.

We got right to it! We mowed the front yard, and then we weeded their garden. It felt great! After perhaps 40 min., the member drove into the driveway, and saw us doing his lawn. He quickly told us to stop, that we had done plenty, and that we didn't need to worry about it. We were almost done! The cool part is this brother is less-active, he has a strong desire to return to church, but in the past I have never really been close to him. With Elder Bartholomew and I working on his lawn, he opened right up. He shared with us his desires to return and to bring his whole family to church. He bore testimony profusely. And he invited us to come back more frequently. Sweet as! That was choice.

For you member missionaries out there, seek opportunities to serve! Because as you serve people, they become more open to you, and by default more open to the gospel. Think of the story of Ammon in the Book of Mormon. As Ammon served King Lamoni, the King became impressed with him, and much more open to receiving the message Ammon bore. (You don't necessarily have to chop off 300 arms defending the flocks of a king)....

Elder Larsen with some church members from Liverpool.

Ever-increasing faith in Christ

We taught P_ and O_ this week. Our lesson with them was as spiritual as always! And we finally got their phone numbers, so that we can stay in touch with them (text them their daily scripture reading assignment etc.). We taught the commandments "Obedience", "Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy", "Prayer", and "Scripture Study", and called it Spiritual CPR. They expressed their understanding and desire to continue to learn the commandments, so they can more fully follow God. Choice! They should be baptized by the end of October. Our main focus right now is finding fellowship for them that are the same age. They have parents and aunties and uncles that are all strong members and incredible fellowshippers. But they need friends they can relate better to. You asked what they are like. Well, their dad is Tongan, mom is Chilean. They are both really into basketball (which is awesome). O_ is in year 10 in college (high school), and P_ is in her first year of uni (college). They have ever-increasing faith in Christ and are looking forward to their baptisms.

Brett moved!!! We found out this past week that he moved up north somewhere.... Which is unfortunate. But hopefully we can get missionaries to visit him there.

Looks like we have a sincere investigator

So, another thing that we have to look forward to, our appointment with Teauiti's brother's fiance was moved back to tomorrow. And it should be at a member family home. Looks like we have a sincere investigator! Please pray for us! This first visit will make or break her desire to learn and accept the gospel. Please pray!

That is pretty much the highlights of the week. Oh we did actually have a really spiritual lesson with La and Rio, the Fijian cousins. Rio's desire to learn was sparked as we shared and bore testimony of the Restoration. It was cool! I will let you know how this week goes!

Okay, love you guys! I don't think that I took any pics really this week, so hopefully you have some extra's from last week to use for the blog!

042
Elder Larsen

Video - the Hectic Cow!

They brought in the big guns to our zone!

Gday family members!

I am sure that you are all curious about the week that we had. It was quite dandy indeed! But crazy! Sad, exciting, and everything in between!

So you wanna know about transfers I am sure. Well I will tell you in a bit. Mwhaahahaha! The beach was incredible!! We had the whole zone come and enjoy one another's company, food, walking along the beach for the view, playing ultimate frisbee on the beach, and plain awesomeness!!! It was great! (pictures to be included) I honestly think that it was one of the best zone P-days that I have had since I started my mission. Good stuff!

Teauiti's baptism!

Another highlight of the week: Teauiti's baptism! Well, it didn't happen.... on Friday, but it happened on Saturday! Woohoo! All week long, Elder Tai and I were busy preparing for the baptismal service/interview/everything else involved. That was fun! The program was actually really good! The ordinance went well, Elder Tai said it perfectly, and the talks were great! I ended up giving a talk as well, but the others were great for clarification! :D Jokes - mine was fun! I think that the best part was all the missionary work that resulted from the baptism.

Elder Tai, Teauiti, and Elder Larsen.

Heaps of the family are not members, and they came to support Teauiti at his service. Particularly, his brother has a fiancee that we talked to. Apparently she has read the Book of Mormon already, and looked a bit into the Church. That's pretty cool! She was really suprised and keen to learn when we told her about how we have a living prophet, and we should be meeting with her this week hopefully with Teauiti's mom. That would be ideal! The confirmation went well. We were just glad that he had so much support from the ward and from his family. It was swell!

Charlie was unable to meet this week so we didn't have a lesson with Perlita and Ocean this past week. This week for sure though!

Elders Larsen and Tai, Naomi and her brother, Cains.

My companion is Elder Bartholomew!

Okay, I am sure that you are wondering about transfers now.... So.... I got transferred! And released! Then, I woke up from my dream. Actually, Elder Tai actually got transferred.... :( Very sad. He had to pack his bags. On Monday we took him to Mortdale where I awaited my new comp. 

Drum roll........ My companion is.... Elder Bartholomew! He is the man! He is from Springville, Utah, and was just serving as a zone leader in Dapto! And previous to that he served in Liverpool 1st Ward! Wha?? The man! Honestly, Elder Bartholomew is one of the most Christlike, loving, hard working, and fun missionaries in the mission field. I was soooo excited when I found out who my comp was. He has been a zone leader for 6 months, was called at the same time as me. And he spent the whole time in Dapto. He is musically inclined, loves the Lord, and loves the mission. So I think that we will have an amazing couple of transfers together! I am so excited!

Elder Bartholomew, Elder Tito, Elder Fiu, Me.

They brought in the big guns to our zone!

Guess what else? Half our zone left! I am the only leader that didn't leave. They shotgunned out two areas (our district leader areas) and sent in two just released zone leaders and one just released assistant to the Mission President to our zone. Wooooaaahh! And guess who one of those released zone leaders is? Elder Tito! Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha, so Dad you got your wish (kinda sorta). He is in the Samoan ward, and will be training. Elder Fiu (Samoan also from Melbourne) was just one of our Assistants, will be taking Elder Macfarlane's spot (who is now a zone leader in Mortdale zone) and will be a district leader/trainer. He is the MAN! He served around Elder Cocker quite a bit, and knows heaps of his jokes that he always told. And Elder Brice is in the Chinese branch, and was a zone leader in Canberra prior to this. They brought in the big guns to our zone! Sweet as! This transfer is going to be much easier than last. Our district leaders are so experienced, and our missionaries are even more motivated! A very positive outlook on the future! (P.S., Elder Tito said he forgot to write you guys this week, but he will next week).

We went to the temple today as well. That was incredible! The first time I saw the most recent presentation. WOW!

Any questions about transfers? Man. we talked to president and he looked at Elder B (Elder Bartholomew) and I, and shook his head with a smile, and said "Man, you two together [continues to shake head and smile].... And your zone! Now, we put in the big guns there! so we will be looking forward to all of the baptizing that you guys will be doing right?" "Of course, President!" "Looking forward to it, Elders". Ha! President knows that he spoiled me. The man!

Oh, Pres and Sis Back came to our Zone P-day last week! That was awesome! They brought a kite, and got it stuck in a tree (see video on camera card). Wheeeeeelp that's pretty much the week! I will try and send some pics, but we gotta go soon!

Love ya heaps!

Elder Larsen

Last week's P-day at the beach.  Sister Back trying to be tall.  :)

The beach!

Elder Macfarlane is trying to get Sister Back's kite from the tree.

Elder Harry has retrieved a rugby ball from on top of what looks like a church?

Forever a different person

G'day, mates!

How's things? I have another awesome week to report!

Forever a different person

Being a missionary definitely changes people, that is for sure. It is so hard to determine all of the changes. I think it will be much easier for you all to see (and hear) the changes in me when I get home. But as far as what I can see in how I have changed: I am much more confident. I am not nervous under pressure, the pressure actually helps me do better. I feel the Spirit daily, even constantly in my life. I enjoy scripture study, and gospel study in general. I have greater love, and desire to help others. I know how to make decisions.

I know how to keep myself alive (with physical nourishment and necessities). I am more organized. I know how to study better. I have an enhanced capacity to help people. I know how to talk to people, and have legitimate conversations. So, basically, I have grown up physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and every other aspect of my life. Yup, no more Jarrad Larsen here! I will forever be a different person as a result of my service.

Elder Larsen

Elder Tai

Elder Macfarlane trade off

This week we were able to have another lesson with Perlita and Ocean. That was awesome! Elder Macfarlane and I were on a trade off. It was really fun!! He is the man! He plays basketball, is going to BYU after the mission (probably to play ball there, he is that good) and is just an all-around good guy! It was good for both of us to be around another American for a while. He lives in a flat with the Samoan Elders and his companion is also Samoan. I live in a flat with my comp, Elder Tai (the man! just turned 24 on Friday) from Hong Kong, Elder Abquina from the Philippines, and Elder Harry from Vanuatu. Good stuff!

(Parent note: we do our best to stalk our missionary son.  Sometimes we get help from other missionaries' blogs, including Elder Macfarlane.  Check out Elder Macfarlane's blog here: eldermacfarlane.blogspot.com)

Elder Mac and Elder Abquina. 

Upcoming baptisms...

We had a miraculous day in that we were able to catch Naomi at home. Our lesson with Perlita and Ocean was amazing! We had dinner before the lesson (delicious) and then we sat down and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The teaching was fluid (fortunately Elder Mac is a great teacher), the Spirit was strong, and they were very involved (the girls). Charlie, their uncle, was a big help once again. During the lesson, it was cool how they made connections between The Restoration (with the Priesthood authority required for baptism) and the Plan of Salvation (with inheriting Celestial glory by enduring to the end). They had awesome questions. Best part of the lesson: We set a baptismal date for both of them for the 11th of October!! Trade-offs! Every time, I'm telling ya, bring miracles! What an uplifting day!

Teauiti (apparently this is how it is spelled) is indeed on track for his baptism this Saturday which is really exciting! We had to teach him 4 times last week, but we finally finished the lessons! He has his baptismal interview this Thursday with Elder Mac, and then baptism at 2pm on Saturday! Elder Tai will be performing the baptism, which is really exciting! The day we were on trade-offs, they went to see them, and Teauiti told them his grandpa couldn't do it, and asked Elder Tai. So that is awesome. I will be confirming him on Sunday. But I will make sure to take pictures!

The winter has been cold, but it is now over! It has been warming up the latter half of this week. Actually, the weather has been perfect! Sunny, a bit of a breeze, temperatures not too hot not too cold. During winter, I would bring a coat most every day in the car. But now there is no need to. It rained a bit, but apparently most winters it rains more.

Wow! My brothers have some awesome math skills!

Mom, that is soooo awesome that you went on trade offs with the sister missionaries in Chico. That sounds very much like what we experience here in Aussie-world. That is great to hear about the families you visited! Good work, Sister Larsen:).

Kaysie, I would still have no idea if da roo-bags jump backwards, but I will ask one.... Hahahaha!

They needed us... like immediately

Oh yeah, last night was a bit crazy! We had dinner right after church with our old ward mission leader (we got a new one just called two weeks ago, who is Maori, and is super excited for the work of the Lord!) and then we went to go visit some of the less-active members of our ward. We were about to leave the house of one of them, when we got a call from the Sister missionaries in our ward. They told us they have a problem, and they needed us to come give a blessing to their investigator and recent convert. Like immediately.

So, we came as quickly as possible (bear in mind this emergency kept us out much later than we should have been, we didn't get there till 9:30pm), and we had to give this blessing to the investigator, following which we had to calm down this brother who was enraged to the point of yelling and swearing (almost to blows). That was fun:). Eventually he calmed down, and was very apologetic for his behavior. He truly is an awesome man! Such strong faith! He just needed a bit of help. Anyways, we didn't get home till 10:30, so that was interesting. Hahaha I was tired when we woke up this morning. But excited to go to the beach!

There was a baptism of record for our bishop's son, so he took us all and
his family to the RSL which is a Returned Soldiers' Leagues club or something.

Notice the four empty plates to the left of Elder Tai.... I claim those!

Welllll, that's my week! Oh yeah, I got the package! Thanks soo much! We have been having fun with the nerf guns and enjoying the snacks.

Ofa 'atu!
Elder Larsen

The crew at the RSL (Returned Soldier's League).

Every word was guided

Dear Family and Friends,

Thanks for everything that you guys are doing for the Lord. The work around the world is hastening! Someone must be helping out the missionaries back in Chico, because we are being helped out by members here!

Every word was guided

There were a few highlights of this week. The highlight for me, I reckon, would be Thurs. and Sunday, concerning two investigators that seemed to have dropped off the face of the planet. Perlita and Ocean! Their father's cousin finally got permission from the father for us to be able to meet with the daughters without him. So, on Thursday evening, we went over to Charlie's house and had dinner with Charlie, Charlie's mother, Perlita, and Ocean. Man, it was an awesome night. We had an amazing meal, following which we had a lesson. We followed up on how they felt about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and there was some pretty positive feedback. They felt that it was true after prayer and Book of Mormon study. Cool beans!

We taught the Plan of Salvation to them. That was one choice teaching experience. It was one lesson where I felt that every word I said was guided. My companion feels the same. The Spirit was so strong. It was cool, because some of the response was "That answered questions that I have had my entire life!" and "When members used to tell me that getting baptized changed their lives, I thought 'that's just a cliche, it can't really change your life', but now I understand and feel that the knowledge that this brings really does give hope." When we asked about how they felt about baptism, "I feel much better about it than before. Before I was going to do it just because she was (pointing to sister) but now I actually want it for myself." Man!! Awesome! We were going to set a baptismal date, but Charlie suggested we wait for their father's schedule. They are golden! So prepared!

Sunday, the entire family came to church, not just Perlita and Ocean. Man, it was a good day. We should be teaching them again on Tuesday (I will be on a trade-off with Elder Macfarlane).

Half the Zone at our P-day last week.

Setbacks, Spiders and Spanish?

We taught Te Auiti the Plan of Salvation as well. He is learning swiftly! We had a bit of a setback this week; his main fellowshipper's mother gave birth! So we are trying to work around that.... We will see what this week brings.

The scariest insect that I have come across probably would be the Huntsman Spiders that infested Dapto. There were heeeeeaaaapss! I also didn't enjoy the cockroach infested flat. That was interesting..

For the Spanish stuff, if I was asked to go Spanish speaking, I would be sent to the Spanish ward. So all of my time would be devoted to Spanish. Which would be sooo cool! I have been studying gospel language for Spanish, so perhaps I would be able to teach the lessons in Spanish, I don't know! I haven't tried yet.

Brett has been busy building stuff.. we will hopefully be meeting with him this week though. Will keep you updated!

Update on Sister Levine, who was injured in a car accident

Poor President Back! He had a Pacific Area Mission President's seminar in Melbourne last week till Friday, and he told us on an unrelated phone call about how he and Sister Back got back home and literally as they walked through the door, they got a phone call about Sister Levine. He said they threw the dirty clothes out of their bags and threw clean clothes in and hit the road again. They drove down to Canberra to see Sister Levine. Sister Levine for those that have not heard is a Sister Missionary serving in Canberra who was just hit in an accident. Here is President Back's description that he gave for us on our weekly email from him:

"She continues in critical but stable condition in the Canberra Hospital. Her family arrived Sunday night at about midnight. She continues in a coma and yet has no visible injuries other than a scrape on the right side of her forehead, a small bruise on her right shoulder and a very small cut on her left hand. The unknown issue is the trauma to her head. Through CT scans they know that she has not had significant swelling, which is good, but she does show bruising on the brain and we won’t know the full damage, if any, until she wakes up."

 She is miraculously alive. How could she have survived without the involvement of the Lord?

That is pretty much our week!

Love you guys heaps!
Elder Larsen

That's all we had last night - two servings of dessert!

PS - Funny story, yesterday was Fast Sunday of course, and after church all of the dinner appointments were taken, so we were just calling around to a few members that we figured would definitely feed us, and we were able to go over to a Tongan family's home. We shared a message, and then they offered us dessert, which we accepted. So my diet is not exactly healthy. That's all we had last night - two servings of dessert!

The two pics of Graf Park, which is also where Elder Abquina and I run in the mornings.

Elder Vaelua hugs Elder Abquina.

Like Captain America

G'day, mates! Hows things?

'Tis that time of the week again! Time for me to tell y'all how I am doing. Well, it has been a great week! As you know, very busy! But inspiring!

Like Captain America

Glad you guys got my package. And glad you are enjoying! Hahaha the nicknames are fun! Generally speaking, we are supposed to call each other "Elder _____" or "Sister _____" but occasionally we do have little nicknames that we use sometimes. My nickname in Canberra was "Larsbags". Right now, my nickname to most of my zone is "Captain". Hahahaha that one carried over from Liverpool. Elder Tai is "Lieutenant" or L-T for short. Heaps of the people here think I look like Captain America, so I guess that's where it came from.

Elder Larsen and Elder B, back in Dapto.

Heaps of meetings

We had heaps of meetings this week. We had zone conference on Wednesday. That was awesome. We learned a lot about the importance of obedience, increased faith, and love. The Assistants to the Mission President trained us about Teaching Skills: Asking Questions and Listening. That was really inspired training. Many of our zone members felt it was directed to them. Honestly, President and Sister Back are incredible. Oh yeah, I made Sister Back's notebook! Hahaha, we were talking about the recitations we recite at every meeting and comp study (Specifically Jacob 5:72; our others are "Our Purpose" [PMG p.1] and D&C 4), and in Jacob 5 it uses the word "mights" plural instead of "might". What's the difference? My thoughts were that we are all given different capacities to serve, and those capacities are God-given. It is up to us to do everything we are personally able to do. It may not be the same that someone else can do, but it is enough.

I also gave a short talk about obedience, that "Obedience is better than sacrifice". It was fun calling our zone to repentance. Ha! President Back organized a game to play with the zone at lunch and that was really fun. Good stuff!

MLC (Mission Leadership Conference) was incredible too! Man, Elder O'Riordan is soooo awesome! He taught us nothing that was prepared beforehand; it was all impromptu. Some quotes that I loved that he shared: "A good teacher is a good learner and listener." "Missionaries can be busy accomplishing nothing, so use your time wisely." "Just as taught in the Doctrine and Covenants, if we Preach the Gospel without the Spirit, then it is not of God. You can exercise great power in the work as you always rely solely on the Holy Ghost." He shared so many inspiring experiences that he has every week! Man, that guy has great faith! He told us about how he goes to the rescue nights of various wards with stake presidents. And they witness miracles always! Always! What is the difference between when we have the Holy Ghost and when we don't? The power of God cannot manifest itself without it. Wow! That will be the focus of my training this week at ZTM.

Thursday we were given a special assignment by President. He called us up just as we finished service (cleaning and gutting out a house) and asked if we could take two missionaries to the clinic from Mortdale Zone. Mortdale Zone had it's zone conference that day, so those zone leaders were occupied. So that smashed our day! The missionary got the help that he needed, so that's great. It took 6 1/2 hours out of our day. Shuxxx....

President and Sister Back

Missionary fireside

Sunday we had a missionary fireside in our ward. It was well organized, and we had a massive turnout. Have I mentioned that our ward is amazing? The fireside started with a few talks from returned mini-missionaries, then we split off into classrooms run by individual missionaries teamed up with auxilary and quorum leaders to show the members how to do missionary work. I had the young men, and the former young mens president Brother P_ (he is now the High Priest Group Leader) He is awesome! The young men are geared up to do missionary work! Also President Back came to that and spoke. He shared this analogy about missionary work.

Basically, there is this saintly woman that dies, and her nephew eventually dies and goes to heaven. He cannot find his auntie, so he talks to God, and asks where she is. He points down in hell. The nephew says "No, that can't be right. She was so good! Read her scriptures for three hours everyday, and went to church, did everything!" The reply was "Well, maybe you are right." So God calls an angel to go get auntie. Auntie is told to grab the angels legs as he flaps his wings and carries her to heaven (this angel has wings). Auntie starts to go up. People grab onto auntie's legs to get up to heaven. The angel struggles to fly. Auntie kicks the people off. And then when the load is light, the angel kicks auntie off. Nephew said "Hey, what happened there?" The reply was "That was aunties problem her whole life. She only ever cared about her own salvation." I thought it was really cool. Hopefully it inspires some to do missionary work!

Elder Abquina from Phillipines and Sister To'o, former stake pres wife. She cooks awesome samoan chop sui. 

All the people after the fireside. Hectic turn out! And that is probably only a quarter of them all in the Pic!

The food for the fireside! Far out!

So keen to get baptised

Favorite Teaching experience? Te Auiti was great! We are now allowed to teach him more than once a week (which is great, because his baptism is in like 3 weeks). And they are so excited for our lesson on this Wednesday, The Plan of Salvation. Sister W_ was like "Oh that's my favorite!" with a massive smile on her face, when we told her and Te Auiti that that is what we will teach next. He is ready, that one! So keen to get baptised. Another thing that made me laugh was Te Auiti told his mom, referring to his baptismal service "Make sure that the Elders are there, okay? They have to come!" I don't think he knew that we pretty much have to come, and we wouldn't miss out anyways! Good stuff! He is awesome. He has great fellowship (the H_ family), and a great ward family waiting with open arms for him.

(Found this Crazy Koala video on Jarrad's camera card)

Brett rescheduled our appointment with him for this coming Tuesday, which we are looking forward to. And Toni was unavailable, so hopefully we catch them this week. We found a few new investigators, with the help of Bishop T_. He is awesome. We went with him Tuesday night for the rescue visits to a member that has been gone for some time. His partner and partner's auntie were there. We talked about the eternal nature of families (initiated by our wonderful bishop) and they are really keen to learn about family search. We have an appointment with them next Monday. Should be great!

That's pretty much my week! I included some pics from the fireside, and the first part of my haircut hahhahaha.

Love you guys!
Elder Larsen

Haircut time!

I finished Nefee, or however you pronounce it

Heeeeeeeeeeeeey Familia!

Sorry this letter is a day later than you expected. Once again, another surprise MLC (Mission Leadership Council). So you really can never predict when my letter will come. How exciting that must be for you!!

She would spell out words as she said them

'Twas a good week, 'tis so. You asked what's something funny about one of the cultures that I have encountered this week. Weeeell, do I have a story to tell. There is a member that referred us to his mother who lives in our ward boundaries. So we decided to go and contact this woman. When we got there, we met the sister of this member, who introduced us to the mother. She is a very nice woman. She said that she is in her 80's, and that she is a strong Mormon! All we were told is that she hasn't been to church in years. So we were happy to hear that! She showed us to her little house behind the main one. And then she set out on a mission to prove that she was a "Strong Mormon". Cool! She showed us all of her Church DVDs and her copy of the Standard Works. She proved to us by explaining her relationship with God.

I think that the coolest yet most funny part was just the way that she communicated. She used her hands 100% of the time. She would spell out words as she said them. She would sit down on the couch, then as she described an action she would stand up reaaaally fast and imitate that action. E.g.) while talking about taking a walk, she stood up quickly and started exaggeratedly strolling around the room. Hahahahaha! It almost seemed like we weren't there. She pretty much just talked to herself, while acknowledging our presence with brief nods and looks in our general direction. Her praying was awesome too! Very hard to describe, but quite humorous. Yet, at the same time, we could tell that she has incredible faith in God, and desires to serve him. The whole time, she talked about missionary work she was trying to do. Another funny thing, yet sweet, was that she wanted to go with us and talk to people on the streets about the Gospel, and when we told her that we had to go to our next appointment, she said "No, wait, I'm not ready to go yet." It was difficult explaining to her that we weren't able to take her with us. What an awesome older woman! She wasn't 100% coherent, but still awesome!

Our zone is doing really great!

Our zone is doing really great! We have a really good crew of missionaries. I think that the difference is that we have some incredibly proactive District Leaders, who do much of the hard work in keeping missionaries in line. And that makes Elder Tai and my calling so much easier! We get to focus on building and uplifting our missionaries. Some of the things that we do to do that: we have been visiting every companionship individually at night just before planning, and we have given them thoughtful notes of encouragement, along with a pack of Australian Tim Tams (which are cookies, probably the most delicious things on the planet). For one companionship going through a particularly difficult time, we framed a picture of the zone for each individual, and gave it to them. We really focus on working with our District Leaders more than anything. And we try to be examples in all phases of the work. We train, trade-off with, teach, and do all we can to help our missionaries to be successful in the work.

I finished Nefee, or however you pronounce it

One lesson that stuck out was with Brett. Man, he is awesome! He honestly is so prepared! Last time that we visited him, we gave him a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet to read on the doorstep. When we went to follow up with him this past Thursday, he allowed us in the home. We sat down at the dining room table, and pretty much just got straight into it. We followed up on his reading, and he said "Yeah, I flipped through it a bit..." Upon examination, the Book of Mormon look worn and well used, as if someone had been diligently opening and closing it every day over the course of a year.... Hmmmmm... We asked him how far he read. He showed us the page. "I finished Nefee, or however you pronounce it, and a little bit more." He showed us that he was reading in Omni. Wow! Over the course of four days, he read 140+ pages. FAR OUT! He is reading faster than me!

The lesson that we prepared was focused on Revelation through the Book of Mormon. So we continued to dig... We asked him about how he felt as he read it. Basically, he described peace, comfort, warmth, and every other feeling that we promised him that he would feel if he read. We asked him if he believed that it could be true. He said something along the lines of "I don't think that it is a matter of truth. There is no denying that this book is true. I think it more is a matter of what can this book do for me in my life. I really am enjoying what I am reading."

Comprehension is there. He loves and feels the Spirit confirming truth. He asked how much he should be studying at a time, worried that he may be reading too fast/slow. We counseled him to "Feast upon the Words of Christ" and showed him the scripture reference 2 Nephi 32:3, and he said that makes sense. We committed him to pray to find out for sure if the Book of Mormon is true, which he agreed to, no worries. Far out, he is awesome! (We set an appointment for this morning, and when we got there, he was apologetic, because he had to go to his uncles house, it was urgent. We invited him to come to church, which he agreed to do "Yes, I'm very interested in coming". So we will hopefully see him Sunday and then Next Tuesday our next appt.)

Proof that I'm in Bankstown!

He found himself absorbed in the Book of Mormon

We also had stake conference over the weekend. It was really focused on hastening the work of salvation, both missionary work, and temple and family history work. It was inspirational! One brother shared his conversion experience that really touched me. Basically, he was married to his wife for 30 years, wife was active member the whole time, while he was not. Finally, a really bold missionary came round and told him with power that he needs to pick up and read the Book of Mormon that was on the coffee table. He decided after much hesitation to do so. And he found himself absorbed in the Book of Mormon!

He could relate so well to the people, he felt power in reading. Actually, very similar to what Brett described. Within two months, he was baptized. Another highlight, President Barton, our stake pres (who is only 30!!!) spoke about the rescue, and quoted Pres Monson. There was a pic that Pres Monson described and decided to term the rescue. Pres Barton showed us that pic. And he talked about the need that we all have to go out and rescue our brothers and sisters. It is a beautiful painting, so much emotion in it!

Elder Tai selfie!

Difficult psychological issues

We had MLC yesterday, where Elder and Sister Taylor came over from Auckland, where they are stationed as the Pacific Area Mental Health Advisers or something. And they trained us on how to help our missionaries through difficult psychological issues. That was great! We have zone conference this week, also another MLC w/ Elder O'Riordan on Saturday. So hopefully next week I have lots to share with y'all from those experiences.

That is the highlights of my week! We have great appointments set up for our progressing investigators. OH! We set a baptismal date for Sept. 20th with Te Auiti! That's right. Kinda important! It was a good lesson, and he recieved it well. And he is really excited for his baptism! Coolio!

Sounds like all is well at home. Keep on keeping on! And give your missionaries referrals!!!

Love ya heaps!
Elder Larsen

PS - here's a few answers to questions:
JJ.... I have taught hundreds of people on my mission! Many of them progress slower than others, and so I tell you guys mostly about the ones that are progressing well. But heaaaaps of people! Kaysie, I have not touched a live Kangaroo but I have been plenty close many times. I told you's about roo-bag chasing in Canberra? Yeah, sometimes they just stop in their tracks, and wait and see what you do. So I get like 3 feet away, and then stop as well, and back away slowly so I don't get attacked! I have stepped on roo poo. Does that count, Dad?

Do you have one of those Mormon's books or something?

Hi guys!

We have had a few really great miracles this week! I don't remember if I told y'all but we found heaps of new investigators last week, and this week we did a lot of following up with those new investigators and had lots of miracles! I will get to those later.

Fijians are so nice!

We had a great experience with one part-member family from Fiji this past week. The family consists of a woman (member) and her cousin (nonmember) both renting a room in the same house. Fijians are so nice! Man! We sat down with them, and she opened up so much! She has been a member for maybe 4-5 yrs and she has been in Australia for maybe 2 years? Her husband and 5 children are living back in Fiji, and she is trying to work to save money to bring them over to Australia, as well as go to school at the same time. Her cousin is there to help her as much as he can, and things are going okay, although they are struggling. Rio (the cousin) is so keen to learn and to talk about what we believe! Man! They are solid!

They said that they were going to come to Church to support me as I gave my talk. Sunday rolled around and they weren't at church, so Elder Tai gave them a call, and La (the woman) said that she was sick and unable to get a ride to church. Elder Tai offered for us to go and give her a blessing, to which she accepted. So we took our Ward Mission Leader, Brother M_ with us to get her more involved with the ward. It turned out that was inspiration! Maka is an auto mechanic. La just got a new car. Maka was able to offer his service, which warmed her heart. But more importantly, Maka was in the same situation with his family only a year and a half ago. His family was all in Tonga, while he was struggling to find a way to get them over here to Australia. Then he shared his miraculous story where after much faith, prayer, fasting, and obedience to the commandments, things lined up perfectly and he was able to get his family's visas. Sister La was in tears. It is so great to always be an instrument in the Lords hand, and to see how he blesses his children.

Do you have one of those Mormon's books or something?

Unfortunately we were not able to catch Shane at home this week. However, we did have a really positive experience with another one of our new investigators. Her name is Tony. Tony is awesome! I can't remember if I shared with y'all her experience last week, but basically she is a cancer-survivor, and has questions about the purpose of life. She has been searching for the right church for her, and she has not yet found that church. When we knocked on her door and shared with her a bit about the plan of salvation, we gave her a pamphlet, and she said that she was very interested in learning more. Happily, we set a return appointment for 4 pm last Saturday. When the time came round, we went over and knocked on her door once again. Her son opened and then went to get mom.

She came to the door, and we greeted each other, then she blurted out "I did a fair bit of research on your church, and I like what I found." Man, she dug deep! She told us how she liked that we have an unpaid ministry, missionaries likewise are not paid. She liked the doctrine that we teach. She said that we were like a mix of JW and Catholic, or something, but a good mix. Then she asked "Do you have one of those Mormon's books or something?" I quickly produced one. She then expressed that she really wants to read from the source of the doctrine that we teach. We were able to teach and testify of the Restoration, and explained where the Book of Mormon comes from. We then invited her to read and pray to know of its truth. She said "Well, of course I will!" and that was that! We will hopefully be seeing her again this coming weekend. It was a simple miracle, but a miracle in that the Lord has been preparing her heart to receive the word of God. How great shall be her joy when she comes to know that it is true!

 My name is Brett

A funny, yet positive experience that we had this week: A couple weeks back, we ran into a gentleman who said that he would be mildly interested in hearing us out. We were able to follow up with him on Saturday, he told us to come back Sunday @11 am. We did so and when we got there, he answered the door. He caught us a bit off-guard when his first question after greeting us was "So, what's this about?" We quickly regained our wits and opened our mouths. Kay, so the funny part is in the morning we decided to do a role play with the other missionaries to prepare to teach him. In the role play (and what we previously thought was his name) we called the "investigator" Brice. So we role played in preparation to teach Brice. When we got there, and were referring to "Brice", he had a confused look on his face. We assumed that it was because of the doctrine, and asked him what was up. He told us "My name is Brett"....... Ohhhhhhhhhhhh........ Awkward! Hahahahaha we all laughed! That was so funny! Brett is pretty keen to learn more. We have another appointment with him this Thursday. Should be good!

Naomi A_ was in Brisbane this week, so nothing new there. We have an appointment with Te Auiti scheduled for this Wednesday. We didn't see Oceanly or Perlita (still trying to get into contact with them). But nonetheless, things are going great! We found 2 new investigators last week. They seem pretty solid as well. So all is well!

Living by Faith

Sunday, I gave my talk on "Living by faith". Pretty much I shared bit by bit Helaman 5:5-12 and talked about how the most important thing that we can do to live by faith is to "Remember". 1) Remember the words of our parents 2) Remember to keep the commandments 3) Remember our names and what/who they represent 4) Remember the words of the Prophets, and 5) Remember to build our foundation on the Savior Jesus Christ. As we learn to do these things and live by faith, we will be able to see the "evidence of things not seen", spoken about in the New Testament (Hebrews 11:1). I then shared the experience about JJ's heart that you's suggested last week to share. Overall, I grew spiritually quite a bit as I prepared and delivered the talk. Hopefully, others learned something too!

"I Love You" in Pidgeon

Hahaha, has Elder Harry taught me anything new in Pidgeon? He taught me how to say "I Love you" in Pidgeon. "Me likemu," or something. I am not exactly sure where to put the spaces.... Oh well!

Legos! Legos legos legos! How about I send Aussie money for you boys? It is soo cool! Did I already send some?

Kaysie, I think you should! That would be awesome! Cross Country would be hard, but you got it!

Mojo! Australian seasons have Summer, then Fall, then Winter, then Spring (during the same months that you have Winter, then Spring, then Summer, then Fall). So right now we are experiencing Aussie winter. And it is wet as! But it is great!

Hahaha! Elder Cocker used to say "Let's go Baptize the Hell out of 'em!" hahahaha!

That is pretty much my week! Hope y'all enjoy!

Me likemu!
Elder Larsen