Peanut Boil!

This week was pretty good!!
Monday we went to the peanut boil with the Branch! Boiled peanuts are so weird… they are like soggy peanuts and they taste like baked potatoes…they are really weird.   While I was at the library this Pentecostal girl behind me was throwing paper at me and one hit me in the head!  She wrote "open it"on it and it said "Hi, what's up?:), and before I read it I turned around and said, "Why are you throwing stuff?"- kinda sounding rude but not meaning to and then I felt bad.

I honestly don't remember what we did on tuesday,  mom says I'm getting my days mixed up haha!

We had to go all the way up to Clinton wednesday to go to zone district meeting.  I don't really like when we have to go up there for things because it takes all day and we have no time to do anything else.  We did meet with Randy and were able to talk with him about President Monson and the word of wisdom.  He said he would come watch conference with us haha but he said he didn't know if he could sustain President Monson because he had never met him, he wanted to talk to him… haha.  If I find a way, I'll make sure you're there dad!:)  After that we went tracking and talked to no one except the very last house we knocked.  We met a lady named Bresha who was looking at finding a church to get back into.  After talking with her for a little bit we went home teaching with Brother Brewer and then went to DQ after.  We had 2 dinners that night because some other members had brought us pizza!

Thursday we had a decent day, we had a few appointments, and met a few nice people.  Thursday night we had a lesson with a lady who was super interested and excited about what we were talking about and she  had shown genuine interest when we met her and set up a return appointment.  So we went back today and she said "Hi guys! You're right on time…"and you'll never guess who was sitting at her table… her Pastor lol.  I was like, oh boy, here we go haha.  We sat down and listened to him preach for like an hour.  He wouldn't let anyone else talk, but finally I just started asking him some questions.  I asked him about 1 Cor. 15:29.  He read it and was like ummm… and kind of stumbled.  "I've never gave much thought to that…"  haha, it's kind of funny peoples interpretations of the bible.  He gave me some weird answer after that.  Finally after about 2 hours we left them with a commitment to study the Book of Mormon and they said they would, so we will see.   I was so done after that.

Friday we went on exchanges with the AP's and that was good!  They are so smart and could just talk forever about surf without it even phasing them…one day, haha I will be that smart…

Saturday we had a day of service and we went up and worked in the rhino pen at the zoo.  We had to haul a bunch of trees and stuff.  I had poison ivy all over me…and almost got attacked by a ton of red wasps!  I've recovered from the poison ivy, it wasn't to bad!  After that we had a few appointments but they all fell through.  We then had dinner and got fed ribs, and BBQ chicken. It was so good! We went to this guys house, Brother Manny, he is like one of the smartest people I know, he has a whole library full of just gospel books, it's crazy!

Sunday after church we met with Brother Cox and talked with him for a while, and then had dinner and got some stew thing that was pretty good!  We had to teach FHE there so we just talked about the prophets,  It was pretty good!  Brother Falvey is also one of the smartest guys I have ever met!  he knows how to explain things about the gospel so simply.  If I got to choose someone for a teammate in a bible bash it would be him haha!

Yesterday we had to go to Clinton for a specialized training.  We came home and went to some appointments and set Bresha with a baptismal date but she definitely has some things that she needs to work through before she can be baptized!  Then we had dinner again with the Jacksons.  They have three little girls and they are all really funny!  The youngest one is crazy and is always running around.

Things have been fine with Elder Davidson, we get along good and stuff!:)  We're doing good,  I have to pry a little to get him talking but he is talking a little more!  We have been fed every night this week and we got a ton of leftovers!  I have been feeling great! It was a good week!  We set up 3 people with baptismal dates!  Hopefully everyone comes to church!  That would be amazing!

Love, Elder Larsen

Getting ready for the PEANUT BOIL!

Our service day at the zoo!

Elder Ross and I at the rhino cage.

Visiting with Brother Cox!

Zone Conference

2 months down/ First baptisms!!

Hello Everyone!!

  Monday after Pday was over we went down to the Oglesby's for dinner and a lesson.  The kids were a lot calmer this time!:)   The lesson went well and they were still moving along great!!

Tuesday we had a below average day.  We didn't talk to very many people.  We went and visited the guy that let us watch some football with him. Luis.  The first thing he said was "sorry fellas, I saw a thing on the news about a polygamist mormon who had 75 wives or something like that.  We told him that he wasn't a mormon and that was something we didn't practice but he handed the Book of Mormon back to us and closed the door… after that we went to dinner with the first counselor in the bishopric out at Red Star, Seth Britt is his name.  We had wings!  They are an awesome family! They have a little 4 year old girl who is super funny.  I can make good friends with all the little kids because of all the little candy Betsy sent me, I always give it to them!

Wednesday we had a referral to basically a homeless guy that some members had met and put up in a hotel.  He had no car,no money, nothing, and was trying to get up to Montana.  We went and visited him on tuesday and he was good to talk to and all that, but not very interested in religion.  He saturated smoking while we were there haha…and when we went back on wednesday, he wasn't even there.  While we were tracting, we ran into a super drunk catholic dude who started swearing up a storm at us!  He was so confused on why we were doing what we were doing and why we would leave everything for 2 years.  It was interesting.  For dinner we went with all the young women in the ward to Dairy Queen.  The members take great care of us!!

Thursday none of our appointments were home so we went to get our car fixed because one of the tires was flat.  It took them 4 hours to fix it!  We had the Oglesby's interview that night as well and luckily we made it to that.  They both did great and were a lot more comfortable than I thought they would be. It was good to get that off our shoulders and out of the way.

Friday was a pretty good day.  We tracted a lot and met some really nice people and were able to teach them and get some return appointments with them.  While tracting we ran into a lady that had taken the discussions before and started a mini bible bash hahaha… She started going off about the name of the church and how it had to be the name of Christ.  She started pulling out scriptures that she had memorized like the one that says you aren't supposed to add anything to this book.  It says the same thing in Deuteronomy and so I started pulling out my bible to read it to her and she was like, "nope, I won't listen to you unless you can quote it to me…." What the heck hahaha after that I was just like k cya later. I'm done.  What is more reliable, reading it from the bible, or quoting it????  People are dumb haha.

Saturday was the baptism!!  It was a great day!  I gave the talk on baptism and shared my experience I had up at youth conference.  Then Heath, was able to baptize them!  (Heath is the husband/dad)  It took him 3 times to get Mary under, her elbow wouldn't go under the water.  Then when Michelle went, he did it on the first try!  After the service was over he said to the Bishop and I, "This is the happiest day of my life!"  It was really cool to be a part of!  Their older boy Neal is already a member,  their little boy is Shane and their little girl is Anna! They are a great family!

Sunday we were almost late to church because our ride was running late.  But we got there just in time and were able to stand in the circle and confirm Mary and Michelle!  It was awesome!  After church we went to the Bishops house to eat, and then for dinner we went to another dinner appointment haha!  It was a good week!!

Man I'm jealous of all your fishing trips!!  Did granny get my letter I sent to her?  Everyone here was freaking out about Ole miss winning!  I think I have decided that I am going to be a Mississippi State fan though haha!  Every Ole Miss fan is stuck up.  That is crazy they beat bama though!  I'm glad Bountiful won, all is right in the world again haha!  Sounds like sports were an interesting thing this weekend!

My companion is super quiet still and most of the time he just says "I don't know" but it's alright.  I almost taught the whole restoration to someone today because he doesn't speak up.  It's alright though!! I'm feeling good!  A lot better than last week!  I have a lot of stuff that I'm still learning but I feel good about things for the most part!:)   I got a package from Grandma with great books, one about how to be an effective missionary!  It will be a lot of help!  Grandma is taking on the job of 2 grandmas great, usually once a week I get something from her!!:)  We are headed shopping and to the store down here! the branch is having a peanut boil so I guess we're going to eat peanuts tonight!!  I have been eating lots of chicken, umm pasta, sandwiches, and my stomach has been feeling normal!!  The weather has been SO hot this week but it's raining today so its been a little cooler which is good!

I love you all!  Love, Elder Larsen

The Oglesby Family!

Having fun with Shane & Anna Oglesby!

Elder Davidson and I

The Hardest Week Yet!

Hello!! How are you!? How has your week  been?

Tuesday was transfer day and so we just sat at the church and played basketball and I met my new companion. His name is Elder Davidson from Idaho and he said he didn’t really do a lot at home but play video games.

Wednesday was pretty uneventful we all went to DDM and had a meeting and then after that nothing much happened. I have been super stressed out this week about getting the Oglesbys ready for their baptism so I spent a lot of time on Wednesday calling people to make sure everything was going ok and make sure we were all on the same page!

Thursday we had a few appointments but other than that we didn’t really do anything, we wrote our talks and my talk was on Covenants we make when partaking of the Sacrament. While we were tracting it started to rain so that was good hah!  It felt nice.

Friday we were pretty unsuccessful, it was a pretty rough day. We talked to about 2 people all day... Even while we were tracting no one would talk to us, it was rough!  But for dinner we went to Fox's and they had the Ute game on!!! They looked pretty good. I can’t believe Britain Covey is playing! And we got a free plate of wings so that was really good too haha!!

Saturday was a lot better!! We taught some really good lessons about the Plan of Salvation. The people we taught were Micah and Nydra, both are super open and love talking to us. Nydra always marks things we show her in the Bible and stuff and always talks about talking with her Pastor so I am pretty sure she is talking back and forth with her Pastor trying to prove us wrong.... So dumb.  After that we went and talked to a guy that Elder Ah Ching and I tracted into his name is Louis he is pretty cool. He is like 70 and likes talking to us too! He asked a lot of questions about what we believe and he wanted us to bring him back a bigger Book of Mormon so he could actually read it haha.  While we were there he had on football and liked to talk about that so it was nice to be able to talk about that kind of stuff! He said the Utes won and went on about some of the other games! I called Brother Cox as well that night and asked him if he was going to church on sunday and he said he would come. When I called him it was like 8 and we were just sitting down to eat, and he said “Hey do you guys want to come over and talk??” Haha and I felt bad saying no so we went over and talked with him for an hour he is a funny guy!

Sunday we gave our talks and then after church ran out to the other ward to talk to the Oglesby for a little bit. They are so hard to teach sometimes because they always are getting off track haha... But they came to church!!  Then we ate lunch at the Applewhites with them and after that we headed off to another lunch appointment haha the members are taking really good care of us out here! I have been eating a lot of chicken, some sandwiches, pulled pork, pasta and stuff like that!  After lunch we went to teach Brice about the stop smoking program and I think it is going to work! It is supposed to help people stop smoking in 7 days so hopefully he is committed enough to stop!! Then we went and met with Louis again and dropped off the other Book of Mormon to him and he talked to us for about an hour just about sports again hahaha it was good!

The first part of the week was pretty rough but it ended good so that’s all you can ask for I guess!!

I got the package and I was so relieved to get it! This week has been the hardest one yet! I was so stressed out and worried about everything, it was so nice to hear from you. I was praying for mail all week haha! My companion is very quiet, he hardly talks to me and I try to talk to him and stuff.... Everyone is looking good, but Tamora and Randy have kind of plateaued and aren’t progressing...we can’t get them to come to church! The GPS is great thank you sooo much!!   We are a full car now so we have it all the time. The salsa was really good! It was a little peppery which was different but it was good!!! Good job making it mom!! Granny has been here helping me get through this week. I have really needed her help! We have an appointment with the Oglesbys tonight!   Their baptism is schedules for Saturday!  I have their interviews scheduled,  pray for them that they won't be to nervous!

Thanks Mom Love you so much!

Survived My First Transfer Week!

     Hi I'm alive!! On Monday we had a cool finding experience, we prayed that we would find a family that we could teach and we were going to see a lady who was in the area book previously, so we knocked on the door and this guy answered and we asked if the lady lived there and he was like no, so we kept talking to him and told him what we did and asked if we could say a prayer with him and he was like no its ok, we're good, and his wife was sitting on the couch and she was like no, let them come in, everyone can use a prayer. Turns out they have talked to the missionaries before and have 2 Book of Mormons and read them sometimes. They had 2 little kids, so there is the family we prayed we could go and see! It was awesome they said we could come back and talk with them again!

     Tuesday was pretty rough, we didn't talk to anyone all day, no one wanted to listen but then we knocked on this one door and a lady came out and started talking to us and had a ton of questions, she was wondering who was the Jesus Christ we believed in haha, and she said she was looking for a new church and was super interested in learning about what we believed! She didn't believe her church taught all the right things so its like well...here we are! Read this book and we will come back and talk to you haha! Then we went to the Oglesby for dinner and a lesson. They had some really good questions about where we are going after this life and that was a good lesson, except during it their 2 little kids were running around and I couldn't concentrate! I blanked like 3 times, it was bad but they are still moving towards their baptismal date in 2 weeks. And Elder Ah Ching is getting transferred. I wasn't very stressed about anything because I had him to lean back on, but I am getting an Elder who has only been out one transfer longer than me, so we will be 2 brand new missionaries trying to figure out everything and make sure the Oglesby are ready for their baptism, thats what I am most worried about. Oh ya, and that GPS I asked about, I might be needing that, so if you could send one that would be great haha!!

     Wednesday was our last DDM together because our district is getting split, that was kinda sad! But after that we went and taught a lesson to Randy, and then to Tamora about the importance of church. They just won't come to church! They don't think it is necessary and I don't know how we can help them realize that it is something they need to do!! We went to some apartments after that and all the little kids came running up to us, there was probably 20 of them talking to us asking for pictures. We ran out and told them we would come back, but we went there and played pass and talked with all the little kids for about 20 minutes haha. We had a guy call us and ask about the stop smoking program and I was looking over it and it's crazy, it's designed to help people stop smoking in 7 days... So if you know anyone that wants to stop smoking call them and get them with the missionaries!

     Thursday we had apartment inspections and then went tracting after that and we talked to a blind guy. Apparently his son is going over seas to teach people about Christianity illegally haha... Then we went back to the Apartments and all the kids were there again and all of them wanted us to talk to their moms so we went and talked to all of them and rescheduled with 2 people! That was kinda funny, we are getting referrals from little kids! haha. 

     Friday we went tracting again and we talked to this 1 lady. The lady let us in and started talking to us and let us say a prayer with her and while we were praying she started crying. It was pretty cool, the spirit was super strong hopefully she is there when we go back!! That night we went to Brother Wests, he is a less active guy who has got himself into a pretty crappy situation, he started going off to us about things that had happened in his life, drugs and his divorce and stuff, it was really interesting. He was the blackest white guy you will ever meet haha!

     Saturday we went to Tamoras house and did about 3 hours of service. We helped clean up their yard and stuff! After, we stayed for a little bit and played basketball with Tamaya.  After that is when we found out Elder Ah Ching was getting transferred. We went to Backwoods Bayou for dinner and then to the Hazlehursts baptism, that was a cool experience!

     Sunday we went to the Red Star ward which is nice because there is more than 30 people at church haha! We went to the Applewhites for lunch and taught the Oglesby again, they are still progressing great!! We went to dinner with the Webbs that night, they are just an awesome family!! They take great care of the missionaries!! 

     Yesterday Elder Ah Ching finished packing and then we had to go say bye to everyone, it's kinda sad, haha, it's like saying goodbye to people forever haha!!

     My new companions name is Elder Davidson and he is from Idaho! He’s supppper quiet so getting to know him might be a little difficult but we will see! Ah Ching is going to Shrieveport! He was surprised! And yes pretty sad! I am sad, I liked him, we got along really well!! I am sad and stressed out haha!  I’m just worried about getting the Oglesby baptized, once I have that figured out things will be good!!:)  Sister Webb is heading to Salt lake this week to go to the oil thingy convention, do you know what I am talking about?? I will give you her cell if you are bored give her a call sometime and take her to dinner haha! She gets in tomorrow night and then comes home Saturday!!  I’ve been eating pretty good, lots of chicken! I have been blessed and have not had to eat anything crazy. Granny is looking out for me because we honestly get fed more than any other area in the mission! How are things back home?? I have a letter so be looking for that in the mail! I hate saying goodbye haha!  Love you guys hope you have a good week!!:)

Love, Elder Larsen

Our District!

Elder Rankin- We get along well!

Out tracking with Ah Ching! Gonna miss him!

Exchanges!