Peru

Peru

Monday, December 28, 2015

TWAS a very beautiful Christmas



At the beginning of the month i really was hopeful thinking ya with christmas being soon, more people are going to be willing to hear of the gospel and of christ and the way i found my christmas miracles was a little different than expected, but still the same. I felt myself become more aware of the way I act and the way I honor the tag i carry. Thankful for Him and the way he offers a new life and a clean start every week. There were a few experiences that helped me see why we share the gospel with family in particular
1. We were teaching the husband of a member whose wife and daughters are also members. At first he kind of said that he felt like it didnt matter what he did, all churches led him to god and that is all that mattered is if he believed in christ. At this point i just asked. What do you do to show that you believe in Christ. And he just basically said that he lives his life normal but knows that God lives. So in that moment i just felt like his daughter needed to share her testimony on what does it really mean to believe on him and how she came to know the way to follow. and in that moment i realized the importance and power of testimony.
2. Another member we were with we tried to teach her sister and she kind of ran away, but it was a spiritual experience for us and the member to see that she truly wanted to share the gospel but didnt know how. Fear is a concept that we all face. I sometimes ask, Why am I timid or scared to share the gospel with the people that I love most, but so easily walk up to a stranger and invite them to church and read the scriptures with them?? We share with those we love right? I just know that I need to be a better disciple of Christ and help all others, of course there is a time for everything, but if I love god and have desires to serve him, I am called to the work.

My companion and I made a Christmas for a family that doesnt have much and their mom just gave birth to a still born, and when we knocked on the door we ran to the side of the house and hid, but all of a sudden i heard footsteps and Edison who was just baptized came running out and chased us asking why we did this and all this stuff, and we told him not to tell his family. The next day he came strollin into church with the tie we put in there and he is the only one coming to church now after what happened, a rock for his family. So i am praying that their hearts can be comforted with everything that happened. 

As far as christmas festivities goes... 
Christmas Eve the President and Hermana Zobrist had us over and we ate BBQ ribs (so good) and played games did the white elephant. I told you all i made slippers out of womens hygenic pads and it turned out awesome. I will attach the photo of the elder who opened it. At the end of everyting hna. zobrist wanted them haha. and then watched the fireworks. So much better than the 4th of july it is the best. 
Christmas Day, we made German Pancakes and then went to lunch with my fav. family here that you all met and SKYPED WITH YÂLL. everyone is lookin good, havent changed a bit. 


Life is good. 




Monday, December 14, 2015

Just super grateful

Because i know that you are all dyin to hear about golf i will tell ya....We get to the course and they have like peruvian caddy`s that push your cart, but first they gave us a small bucket to hit. My nervousness had flown away the night before, and i was just more excited than anything. The sun was super hot and like what other option do i have i cant wait a skirt so i have my jeans on. Okay too many details. But first few swings went great and pres was all analyzing me and goes,,,,you got a good little swing hermana! you can hit the ball. next hit...duff..hahah But i started and was playing well. After the second hole i was feeling good and then all of a sudden i felt my stomach drop into my butt and was like aye yai yai que hago??? what do i do the peruvian poops are here and i was SO MAD because i was doing good. So hna. zobrist (the presidents wife) is way awesome and i told her, hna. zobrist where is the closest bathroom and she just laughed you will have to go back so i ran for like straight 7 minutes just praying that i would make it, not to mention it is BOILING hot so it was kinda miserable. But after that i made it to one of the better public bathrooms i have been in, with TP bythe way and it was all good. Then came back to finish golfing. So i missed a hole, but i played fairly well. got a par wahoo after a year and a half. I shot about a 49 assuming that i would have gotten a bogey on the hole i missed. not too shabby. I dontn know what president shot, he didnt take count so in the end we didnt really get the bet or anything. haha but it is all good, it was so fun. 
This week something super weirdly spiritual happened and i still dont really understand but it was allgood. We had a reunion with the district to say bye to my comp who leaves tomorrow, and i made pancakes for everyon ein the church but it took seriously the whole movie that we watched to cook them because the gas wasnt powerful at all but they were still good. anyway, we watched a mormon movie called A good man something like that. It is a story of a bishop and his family and his work and just how he has a lot of wweight to do and how he trusts in the lord to do it all and I dont know why but it just seriously called me attention that I want to be a person who helps lift the burdens and responsibilites of others instead of being the burden and problem. So I beg all yàñlls forgivemens for if one time i was a weight for you all. Especially my parents. sorry guys i love ya. The movie made me unusally emotional and i seriously had like that ``hermana moment`` I was laughin and crying at myself along with the district they were all laughing at me. After watching it I felt an impression to go pray and thank the lord for the gospel in my life, and so i went to a room and started to pray. It was one of the most spiritual experiences but at the same time the situation sounds so weird that i cant really describe it but I will tel you one thing it was spiritual and was just a moment of feeling so grateful for the gospel, and family, and my mission, and EVERYTHING!! 

Other thing of the week: Edison the young man that was baptized a month ago, his mom was pregnant, and this morming he called and told us that the baby died shortly after it was born and so today we are going ot go to the hospital to visit his mom, it is so sad, and my heart dropped. All i know is that we have news of a plan of salvation and i know that it can help all people. 

Luh u all have a good week! 





Monday, December 7, 2015

Que venga la Navidad!!!



Christmas is sooooo soon i am so excited. It is seriously the best time to be preaching the gospel. Highlights of the week...

1. DIVISIONS with Hna. Ruiz
Hna. Ruiz is from columbia and when we were on divisions i got to know her super well, and it was probably one of the most spiritual moments i have had in the past month or so. She is super strong firecracker personality. We were eating breakfast and i just started asking her questions about her family like what she appreciates most of her dad, mom,...how it is with her brothers, and how her family came to know the church. Anyway, she was telling me what it was like for her growing up and some things that have happened in her family with addictions to drugs, and stuff like that. As I listened to her i felt truly humbled for the life I have, for the blessings I was given. I was shocked at how strong she was and we were both just like crying while eating breakfast (bless our hearts right) but seriously it was a way cool experience for me. After, while thinking more, i was just like that is what family history is about because we felt the spirit, we had a deeper appreciation from where we came from, and honestly just the love for her family was there. I told her that I really appreciated her and admired her because you would never know, she is the happiest person all the time. She then, told me that she had never told anyone some of those stories, and that she felt like she understood the power of family after that. so just a sentimental and way cool moment that i wanted to share.

2. We had leadership council this last week, and the training was how to work with the stake presidents and bishops. Basically i was humbled, because i realized that I have probably been the weight instead of taking part of the load. Sometimes, we just say bishop these people need interviews and list of things to do, but I understand now we need to see what visions they have and then use our resources to help them with that. So i am thankful for moments like that. Am i part of the problem or part of the solution?

3. Just grateful for small moments where i understand the simplicity of how the spirit testifies of the truth. We have been teaching Javier who is like 30ish and just has some serious questions. As we teach with the scriptures and add our testimonies i just feel like it is so right. The gospel is simple and true, we just think too much sometimes.

4. okay seriously i need someone to confirm this for me by next week because i am dying to know!! I heard that j.k. rowling is writing a new harry potter book.... if you love me you will update me next week with the deets if it is a rumor or if it is the truth. 

5.The christmas devotional made me soooo trunky haha i love the christmas lights, salt lake is beautiful. We watched it with the stake and we were sitting next to my fav. family here familia monserrate, and mercedes just hugged me and said that we were a family, and it just was a special moment. We eat breakfast and lunch with them and they are just so solid. Today their son left to go to school and they all knelt down in prayer before he left, and it was so sweet, they are such an example. 


Pics include setting up christmas a little bit before council, me and my comp makin french toast for everyone, and a dog named zac.... :)

We had a few groups again planned up this week at the family history center this week, they both turned out great. there was a group of about 30 YW. Sometimes it is a little frustrating because they just say things that i am like come on just figure it out. hermana why is the screen white, hermana why is there nobody in my tree? Hermana why doesnt my brother show up? Well did your brother die? hahah ayyyy but it was also very beautiful because they were all way stoked, and want to come back, and a few are going to be family history consultants in their wards so the work of salvation is going along. 

This weeks plans...

1. Golfing with the President Zobrist: seriously guys pray harder than you did for me than when i was in state hahah jk it is going to just be a fun day
2. we have a talent show comin up that is for the ward so that is fun
3. Talking about the Birth of the Savior with every person we can find, and building good ol´Zion.
4. I will just let you know how it goes next week sound good?

hna larsen
tal jueguito






Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Dìa de Accion de Gracias

Another great week en el campo misional. We did celebrate thanksgiving to my surprise. President called and invited us and the office elders to his house for lunch and his family was there, it was sooo good. All the latinos were like what is this food, and all the gringos were happy. I didnt get a picture of it though bummer....just a few selfies with them haha Also, the zone had a dinner which wasnt turkey or anything but we had funeral potatoes and jello salad with mangoes. a nice peruvian twist.
But all that stuff doesnt really matter ya know what i mean....it was awesome but the best parts of the week was with some FH activities that we had. A whole branch like 2 hours outside of arequipa gathered about 30 members and were there sending names. It was such a fun environment. When they send a name they ring the bell. (my idea) just saying. still workin on that humility thing.. the spirit is so different there. One convert kept saying I have to go I have to go I have to go after he sent like 4 names meaning i have to go to the temple. Yet another testimony that family history truly retains converts and all members to keep or make covenants in the temple. 
Other than that, I dont really know what to say today other than than i am grateful. I am already listening to my christmas music because i love christmas, great excuse to talk about our lord and savior jesus christ. I dont know if you all have seen the new video the church made a Savior is Born but we are sharing it with everyon eand anyone that we can find. It is a season where more people are receptive to hearing about the savior. I know that when i feel the effects of the saviors atonement, that is when i have a deep appreciation for him, and want to truly follow the example that he has left for me. I am working on repenting because i feel like I have a long way to go and realize that now more than ever, i need to be more like the savior to be able to represent him as a full time misisonary, and be someone that reflects the way the savior acts. The scripture, be ye therefore perferct shouldnt be overwhelming, it is a commandment like others, and the lord doesnt look upon sin with the least bit of allowance. I realize i need to strive harder to be a little closer to perfect to be able to represent him. His love is real and his purpose is more than we can understand, but we can feel that it is true. 

Love you all, have a great week

hna larsen





Monday, November 23, 2015

FELIZ THANKSGIVING



Well first I would like to share with you all how much i LOVE YOU!! thanks for the turkey feathers, i was filled with gratitude as i put each one up on the wall. 

This week included mostly meetings with the family history and the people working in the center so they can be more self sufficient and bring groups from every stake in. Sometimes when i am kind of sick of meetings i think why cant we be teaching in our area, but then i immediately repent and think of the many blessings and the great opportunity it is to work in this assignment. President zobrist is amazing and i have learned so much from him about how to delegate and how to motivate people so #grateful. also we started filling up little jars with the temple ground dirt of arequipa for everyone that sends a name to take home and remember. too cute for words right? 

Our owners went to the temple for the week to be sealed :) and they left us with their turtle so that was fun. haha

Blessings from Repentance and the Atonement: Well i hate to tell you all this but i am still not perfect. The hardest thing for us here in our ward is something going on with an important leader of the ward, and i have kind of lost a lot of faith in the way things are working and i didnt like my attitute about it or the fact that I didnt have faith and it is definitely not my space to go in and train or tell them how to do their job. So i have been having this battle inside my head and i realized tuesday that it was really affecting my ability to love and respect anyway and so I just felt this really strong need to repent and so when i was in my personal study i went near my bed and began to tell the lord all my bottled up frustrations and everything and i just felt so much better after. I have learned a lot about patience here and i am still not patient and i have realized that i like things to be perfect and it will all just take time. so when i read D and C 123:17 it just calmed me down to understand that there are some things that just arent in my control, the only thing i can try and do is figure out a way to help him even though it is sometimes dissapointing and keep working. I testify that repentance is a way to use the power of the atonement and helps us feel free from many bad feelings.  I am Grateful for the Savior. 

Well that was deep

If anyone would like to study something i studied i will invite you to do so!
Numbers 21:4-9
John 3:1-17
Alma 33:19-23
Alma 37:38-47
This was one of my studies and it was awesome for me. It is about the story of moses when he was traveling and people were complaining and then the lord sent snakes and they began to bite people, then moses held up a staff with the serpent and the only thing they had to do to be saved was to look upon it and they would be healed. Anyway, I invite you to read these scriptures and think of how it is a symbol of the lord being raised up and all we need to do is look up to it. Some people didnt believe the words of moses and didnt look and perished. It all begins with believing in the Lord and the prophet. I know the prophet recieves revelation from God, about all things going in our world. 
Happy Thanksgiving my family and friends I love you all and love this gospel. My plans for thanksgiving, my comp wants to go to the house of a gringo family that live here, we will see what happens. Eat lots of gravy and rolls for me and i will save you all some of my rice okay?
deal?


con mucho amor y cariño

hna larsen
 



Monday, November 16, 2015

las familias pueden ser eternas



BUENOS DÌAS a todos!

so from the title families can be together forever, i just feel like seeing the baptism of edison it truly made me see the real potencial in this family. As we were finishing teaching him all the commandments, we asked his mom how she felt about these things, and she said that after hearing the purpose behind tithing and fasting and word of wisdom and chastity she wants to obey god and be able to fulfuill all that he asks of us. Our goal preparing for the baptism was to do all we could so that the spirit could manifest more strongly like it does in all ordinances of the gospel, and it was a really spiritual experience for me. i felt the feeling of an active faith and it was a beautiful thing. When we asked him how he felt after he said a lot better than i was before. when we had time to share his testimony he said that when we has nervous to be baptized he prayed to know if he was doing the right thing and felt good about it. He came to his confirmation with pants and a tie and everything which is really rare. He is already excited to go to the temple and knows that is his goal. This was such a big step for this family, and we are getting excited to continue teaching them. Their next step would be for them to get married and so she can be baptized. 

This week we were talking with president and hna zobrist and it looks like we are going to be at all the stake conferences pushing more and more family history. the more time that i am in this assignment the more i feel like i should know a lot more of how to DO IT but truth is i dont know a lot i just know that with what i have studied and learned that it truly is the purpose and reason we are here. to do these things for them. President said to hna, z, honey where should we go to church tomorrow, and i said come check out cesar vallejo (our ward) and he goes done. we are coming. So they came and it was awesome. My favorite moment was when he came to our gospel doctorine class which is for all investigators and less actives who are coming back and all that and he sat next to an investigator who is a cut little old lady who doesnt talk very well and he was makin her fell all special and makin jokes iwth her it was fun. 

This work is the best. And I am thankful for my awesome companion who is a true friend and we praying and praying and fasting and it is just a beautiful thing to work together in unity. We were listening to a less active and i felt like i needed to tell him that the lord needs him back at this specific time and as i thought that my companion said it. It just made me realize that the spirit truly works and I feel lucky that we were both tuned into it. This work is true and I love all yàll. 

Our ward was pretty excited to have a baptism because they havent had one in over 8 months, so i hope it excites them to start being a part of the work a little more.

Anything that you guys want to hear about especifically that i dont really ever cover? Let me know, i would love to hear what you want to hear?

THE FUNNY THINGS OF PERU
1. you will always see people walking down the streets with pans of uncooked or cooked food because they pay people to use their ovens. A lot of people dont have them. so that is your taste of peru this week.

luvs

hermana larsen









Tuesday, November 10, 2015

AMO ESTA OBRA

So i need to make up for last weeks lame email sorry. The lord is blessing us so much and we have seen how the lord truly has prepared the hearts of this area for me and my companion. There are many times here in the mission where i feel like ammon when he goes on about how awesome it was that the lord was able to make use of him as an instrument in his hands and that the lord was able to help the lamanites convert. You can just feel how stoked he is about the power of god and just cant stop talking of all the blessings and miracles that happen and i feel like that every week. There is nothing that brings ``joy to the rim`` like seeing fellow bretheren truly repentant and coming to the lord. 
alma 26 16 Therefore, let us gloryyea, we will glory in thLord;yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praiseour God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in theLord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, andof his mercyand of his longsuffering towards the childrenof men? Behold, say unto you, I cannot say the smallestpart which feel.  

tHE FUNNY
1. picture this lesson okay. We are teaching a family of the 1'0 commandments and law of chastity and my comp used their computer to pull of a picture of the temple. okso we are talking about how when we keep the commandments we are worthy to have gods spirit with us. so we need to treat our bodies with care as if it were a temple....my comp says i would like for you to look at this temple and points to the computer, we all look over and right then it fell asleep and the background came up like the screensaver and it is straight pornagraphic images and i couldnt help myself i just busted up laughing. it was such a disaster. The lesson ended up well because they were able to quickly discern what images words made them feel good and which ones didnt. we helped them change their screen saver and everything after too. now it is the temple. anyway the less actives son is getting baptized this saturday and we are really impressed with his testimony. 
ARLETH she is 15 and a golden investigator
1. k we taught her also law of chastity it went better than the puma family i just told but we told her that we knew that the laws of god seemed different to people from the world. and she goes on to tell us that last week on halloween people invited her to drink and she said the church i belong to doesnt allow that and was firm and everythign and told us she felt like someone was behind her on the decision. the best part was that we hadnt even taught her yet about the word of wisdom. 
2. next lesson with arleth she told us she had some questions. her professor at her school was taunting her for coming to church and asking what kind of church are you going to. do they even have authority to do baptisms? and all this stuff and she totally DEFENDED everything with what she had learned. and then after wanted us to answer the questions of how we have the priesthood and all that. i told her arleth you will have people criticize this decision maybe even your own family but this is the time where you can recieve a confirmation of what you believe. we talked of the restoration of the priesthood and where it comes from and her testimony was made stronger after that trial. After we taught she goes can i add something? of course! she goes on to share a scripture that she had read in the BOM in 3ne when it talkes about how if it is a church after the name of moses than it is mose`s church. but my church will have my name. and she goes this all makes sense and i believe the book of mormon is true. she reads more than doing her homework she said. I AM ALWAYS SO GIDDY AFTER TEACHING HER!! the spirit is always so strong. pray for permission from her parents that she can be baptized the 28th!

i forgot my camera cord so please forgive me. aghh i am so mad at myself because i had lots of good pics to send.....sorry. 

basically i love the mission still. and it pains me when people ask me how much time i have left but it gives me all the more reason to just work as hard as i can. 

love you all, thanks for all the support and prayers, you guys are part of this too

hna larsen

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS Y VIVOS Y CRIOLLA Y NO SE QUE MAS:.....

Happy Halloween to all. My day was spent fasting for the area and for the spirit to know how to help advance the work with our ward, and with our calling for family hisroty. Wasnt too hard because here they dont pig out on dulces like we do. But rather they take a plate of food to the grave of their dead ancestors so that they can eat. and bread. so ya that is that. 

As far as family history goes, we are doing great, hearing great things from many missionaries as they have come in. i think in this next month we are going to continue with an increaseof missionaries bringing people in or at least doing it. I can honestly say that i have a testimony that family history is the best source for retention. Last week i told you a less active came to the FHC and found a huge family and etc. When we saw her this week she told us that she was been going to internet for like 2 hours everyday and has continued finding out more of her family how her grandpa changed their last name and etc. anyway she said she now has a goal to go to the temple and in order to do that she needs to start coming to church. So she totally realized that to be able to do it she needs to get back in it. Grateful once again for the confirmations the lord sends in his plans to save every one of his children. 

Sorry dont have much to report this week other than I LOVE BEING HERE. the spirit of god truly does burn like a firre. and that peru is the best. 
i love my family. I love the lord. i am falling more in love with the families here in the ward which is helping me serve them more.

lots of love have a great week.
happy anniversary mommy and daddy. YOU 2 are the best

hna larsen


TACNA TACNA

last p day we went bowling. in companionships. and of course we won! is that even an option to lose?? you gotta be kiddin. k so it was another resfreshing start to the week to knock down some pins. 

The week was full of a pleathera of experiences scriptures lessons to be learned and of course the spirit of god. Some highlights....we took a less active to the family history center here in arequipa and she found a huge family of 9 kids to do the work for it was seriously so cool. i put her photo in here. 

We did a service for our owners of our room that needed help with some reconstruction andstuff in their house and it was fun hard work followed by PIZZA yummers. 

families are where it is at. ya know what i think thisfamily history toll is kinda hard sometimes because it makes me think so much  in my amazing family that i just truly cant wait for the day to be together with you all. you are my best fans and i love you so much. We traveled to tacna and helped out with sending names there. The missionaries hand in this work is seriously so crucial. it reaffirmed for me the inspiration that president z has for this mission. every member was invited to come to theworkshop but out of the ones that did, they were brought by missionaries. When you do so much family history of course you think of your own family and i toldmy comp of the story of when we went to the phoenix temple together. probably best larsen moment. karl. hahaha god bless him wherever he is. 

Something that i really enjoyd doing this week was we talked in district meeting of accountabiity before the lord. basically like telling the lord everything that has happened and being responsible for everything we do. it is a reallyhumbling experience but i have tried to truly go through the day during my prayer and recieve spiritual guidance correction and affirmations of things i need to change orwhy it went well.basically it is just a way to depend on the spirit and work hard to have it with us. i love the scriptures. this church is true. the words the the spirit of god like a fire is burning are true.
amen y amen

nos vemos familia

hna. larsen







Monday, October 19, 2015

The Work Continues



NEWS: this coming week we are going to Tacna ( 7 hours in bus....) to help them with their family history. It looks like we are going to be putting another center up there so that is exciting.

This week we have had a good week. Our investigators are awesome and they come to church everyweek they just i think are scared of the idea of being baptized. My happy was that this one girl that we are teaching Arlette has been coming to church for 2 months and we have only been able to teach her twice before. But we found out where she lived. she told us that she was scared of what her family think because they kind of bully her but we knocked on her door and she came out and we talked outside for about 10 minutes and her mom came out and said for us to come in! We then were able to talk with her mom and she proceeded to ask us questions like ´´Can you take my other daughter to church? Ever since Arlette has gone to church she is changing and doesnt raise her voice or complain. What is happening? She spends more time reading that bible book ( BOMM) than she does doing her homework. haha Basically it was just good evidence for me to see that the gospel truly does change peoples behavior and attitudes. 

I love reading the scriptures. I am in Mosiah and seriously the Prophet Abinidi is just the best. I was reading this week about the king Noah and how we is a wicked king and didnt obey the commandments and didnt walk in the ways of the Lord but rather`` walked in the ways of his heart`` and I was shocked at how strong the languague was from the prophet abinidi fortelling all of the doom and punishment he was going to unleash upon them unless they repented of their sins. And I was like wooww this town was freaking wicked and then i was humbled......How many times do I walk after the ways of my own heart? I have no right to judge how this king and his people were when I am here and everyday I choose to do my own desires instead of the Lords. The people preached things that they weren`t living truly because they didnt apply their hearts to understand. (Mos 12:27) Then i was like ouch how many times have i preached something that I wasnt practicing. Basically I was just thankful that all throughout these chapters Abinidi tells them that the lord will give them an opportunity to repent. That is the difference. The lord will always give us many chances to change and admit what we have done but to change move on and forget our old ways. 

All is well here in the good ol Arequipa. Last week i told you the guy we knocked on his door that said that he was basically naked. We found him agian (with clothes dont worry) and he came to church WITH his daughter for the first time in 6 years. We feel so happy for him, and pray that the Lord will continue blessing him with the courage and strenghth to be an example for his family. 

My comp loves dogs. like every single dog it is so funny. Life is swell as it always is in the mission :) 

Que tengan una buena semana

hna. larsen

fotos 
painting service
ultimate frisbee team from last pday. We went so hard and it was probably one of my most favorite pdays. I have missed solid competition haha
cuttin torta por dias




Monday, October 12, 2015

THa WORK

So i will start by telling you a few of the funniest/worst excuses that we heard this week.

1. I can`t because my dog is feeling sick
2. we knock. A little flap opens with the mans face. me: Hermano pascual is that you? ahhh hermanas como estàn. es que estoy indecente  (means he was naked) hahahahahaahah we just laughed way hard and said ya we will come back another day. he is a less active

there were a few more but those were my favorites. It is so funny we just made jokes about it the whole day. Last night before we started planning i went to the bathroom and I came out feeling good and then my comp just like scared me and i screamed like a little peruvian boy an djust fell to the floor and then we laughed for a long time. Had i not gone to the bathroom i would have wet my skirt. and garments. So ya I pretty much love my companion. again. I am so lucky. 

The work is so amazing. We had leadership council again and i just realize every time how inspired the mission president is and that the lord uses all his servants to help his work. When i saw hna. zobrist she just gave me a nice big hug and started to scratch me where my shingles were haha it made my day seriously. She understands haha I also got to see Hna. Tituaña again (baby girl) :)

Favorite parts of the week....We had a day where EVERYONE was home and we got to teach the whole entire day. such a miracle. the lord is blessing us so much to find those who are ready. We talked with a young kid who has started to come to church with this less active father. He said, the first two times i felt obligated but now i come by myself and it is true. If his family doesnt come he does. So we are working with the family and he has a baptismal date for the end of october. 

FAMILY HISTORY MOMENT:  So saturday we went into the family history center and we were working for plans to get all the missionaries to bring in their converts and less active rescues. Anyway, this man came in who cant really see and doesnt write too well. We tried for an hour to set him up an account and the server was down church wide... :( So I just gave him the booklet ``mi familia`` and we started to fill it out together. I got to know a little bit about him and his family. the first question in the book says ``What do you want others to know about you`` He looked me in the eye and said I want them to know about the gospel of jesus christ. And when they join, that they may continue faithfully for the rest of their lives.`` I asked him how he felt about going to the temple to do this work for his ancestors and he just looks at me and cries and says, ``The temple is the biggest blessing for and and the best place to be.´´ he continued wiping his tears and i broke the rules and just touched his should trying to show my love for him the best way i could because there were no words that needed to be said. Gregorio made my week special, and moments like that make everything worth it. I know that this church is the way provided for us to come to know the true love of god. The lord, His work and His Children are the only things that matter. 

Also, a lady who had done a tone of research ended up sending over 40 ordinances of the temple and it was awesome. Everytime someone sends a name we have them ring the bell. IT IS THE BEST! 

the mission is wonderful, sure love you all!!

hna. larsen




Monday, October 5, 2015

Conference Report



Here in the mission there are so many opportunities to recieve guidance by leaders who create a place where the spirit is allowing one to get their own personal revelation which is why I LOVE CONFERENCE. There are amazing leaders who pray to know the will of the lord for their people and we ourselves recognize in what way we can become better and recieve all the comfort of the faith and plan that we are following. that being said, Conference has been such a pleasure. 

Okay well this week has included many things as far as farewell parties for Hna. Kuhn, working in a different area with my comp for the week hna. menlove, an earthquake ( lasted about 20 seconds, super awesome) , much needed guidance and redirection from the prophet and apostles. So cool because Elder Stevensen the new prophet came to the mission about a month ago and he truly has such a special spirit and strong testimony. 

We were able to work really hard through the end of the week and my shingle body is free from pain so I am an even happier girl. This week was so beautiful, me and hermana menlove had such a great time together, she is such a strong and caring person and we were asking ourselves why we werent companions forever haha. My new companion will come in a few hours. Her name is Hermana Alducin and is from mexico, she is super cool i already know her. She will go home a little early from changes to make it home before christmas which will be so fun for her. We will still be in charge of Family History here and mostly our duties will just be helping the converts and everyone send names to the temple or (even better) organize a bus trip to the temple so they can take their own family names!! WAHOO for F.H. 

Some of my favorite conference sayings....

Renlund:`` It is about the Lord, the Work, and Heavenly Fathers children`` that is exactly what i feel now as a missionary and the more i think of those three things i will be able to be used as an insturment even though i am not perfect

Dallin H. Oaks: He siad something about how the savior has descendedbelow all things and that him having descended everything, he is in the perfect place to liftus up. 

Holland always knockin it out of the park . You know al lthe mothers and women of the church just love holland. But I guess more than anything i was just really appreciative to be ableto say that ya my mom is awesome and her love is similar to the lords. 

Probably the best one for me was hales. The way he talked to the youth and everything i felt like it wa sapplying to me. Just many talks encouraged me to have clean and pure thoughts that will reflect in actions. so there are many things for me to improve on and i will definitely pick a scripture to PONDERIZE and try to put into practice. love all yàll!!

pictures include birthdya of my comp. so they smash the cake in the face and spray you with flour and eggs. so fun. 








Just Grateful is all :)

So this week we finished ALL the conferences and we are just really happy that it all turned out a success. Only 1 day the internet was a little bleh but we made it through. so wahoo we had to pat ourselves on the back and all. 

One of my favorite moments this week was a lesson with a less active that is reactivating. So when we first met her every lesson we had she would be very emotional and tearsfordayz type but this last time we went she was super optimistic and truly happy. We asked her what is different what has changed for you and she said that she still has the same problems and still doesnt have answers for where to work or anything but that she understands the things that are most important. she is beginning to pay tithing again and has goals to go to the temple. More than anything I was just so grateful to see her change and her countenance is just much more radiant. I love seeing these changes in peoples lives. 

As i was studying my mind was focusing on the story of the woman who said if i could but just touch his robes i will be healed. upon exercising faith she was healed. But she tried to kind of sneak away, and christ asked Who has touched me. Of course he knew who it was but he was providing a chance for her to kind of own up to her action. what he knew is that she would feel better about it knowing htat it was also the Will of Christ to heal her. So I feel like she felt better after that even though she had already been healed. She needed that confirmation of knowing that it was also the lords will. 

So this week as far as shingles goes i have been taking half days on orders from president to work and it has been good, i am slowly making my way back into things. So he watched the womens conference with us saturday night haha that is that picture. also, I have been putting a lot of cream to calm the itchiness so thigns are good, dont worry about me, i will get there 100% soon. 

My awesome companion goes home this week which is always sad, she is  avery strong missionary and powerful in her teacing. It is always a reminder when people go home just how lucky it is to be here. I want to appreciate every day I have here and try to just focus on these people. Love them and help them discover the way to use the gospel in their lives. My testimony has grown stronger and gone deeper in me every day. All I can say is that I AM SO EXCITED FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE. When we come prepared to recieve guidance we will hear the lord speaking directly to us. this i know. have a super good week. hit em straight in st. george. Hit some ``riders`` avoid those one four letter words.. jhaha 

cant wait to golf. president came up to me the other day. Hna. Larsen I just bought golf vitamins i am so excited. they are coming in one week. He said that they are to keep you focues and it connects your neurons to your muscle reaction or something anyway, it was just really funny. Good guy. 

so keep em in the fairway

also another fun this week. A member from mollendo came to my church sunday to come see me and it was just so fun to see. 

All the shingle ladies are doin just fine. 

hna. larsen