You Will be Missed Elder Vest!

                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            
                            

Blessed with My Testimony!

Hey everyone! This week has been a little crazy! We picked up the new missionaries yesterday and got everyone in there new areas today for transfers. It has gone pretty smooth. This week I got my new companion, Elder Smith. He is from Calgary, Canada and is 24 years old. I’m gonna learn how to play some hockey!We will be rocking together for the next little while!

While it was Elder Vests last week we were able to do a lot of good teaching and see some cool miracles. Elder Vest is very talented at speaking and talking to people. It has been fun to learn from him! We were able to see some progression in a lady named Lakendra. She is someone that we met a couple weeks ago and have been reading the Book of Mormon with her. Its been awesome to see the Book of Mormon change peoples life. Its great to understand the principles that it teaches. 

While we were with the new missionaries from the airport and having a testimony meeting with them, I was thinking about testimonies and how unique and personal they are to each person individually. The scripture came to mind in D&C 62:3 

"Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you."

I was thinking back and remembered an experience that we had at a family reunion at Bear Lake a long time ago. I remember sitting at Pickleville Playhouse because we missed church or something and we went around the circle bearing our testimonies together. I was thinking about that experience, and then where I am now. My testimony is still mine but over time and through experiences I have been able to grow and strengthen my testimony and that is awesome!

Love you all!! I hope you are all doing well!:)

Love, Elder Larsen

Elder Vest and I

Sharing a Message!

Exchanges with Rankin/Eggiman

Goodbye to Elder Vest!

Happy Halloween!

                            
                            

Branch Trunk or Treat

Touchdown!

Hello everyone, this week was another one full of miracles!  We have been working really hard to help the branch be strengthened.  We had 3 families come back to church this Sunday which is awesome!  

Yesterday we were out teaching with a member of the Branch Presidency who is from Detroit.  After church the Lions were on TV and he was listening/watching it on his phone as we were driving to an appointment.  We got to the appointment and he was like hold on give me a minute… The lady we were visiting had a dog who started barking and she came outside so we walked up to the porch.  He was still playing the game on his phone as we start talking to this lady, he just turned the volume down.  Brother Weathersby is pretty straight up with people so he starts telling her the reason we came by was to get her back to church and that she needed to be there on Sundays. Mid sentence he looks down at his phone and the Lions score a game winning TD, he looks at us and puts his hands up signaling touchdown and continues talking to her hahahaha!  Elder Vest and I about died cause he was really sly about it.  It was pretty dang funny!  

The cool thing that seems to have been a theme this week is the power that the spirit has to bring things to our remembrance. 

John14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

We have had multiple experiences with people that may have forgotten their baptism day or the blessings that came to them as they were living the gospel, that were able to remember the special feelings that they had because of the spirit. It like a rushing water comes over them as they remember those memories.

The gospel is true. Thanks for all your support! Love you all!

Elder Larsen

Fun on Exchanges in Shreveport! Elders Prater and Smith

Monroe Zone Conference October

Dinner with The Alhalteh Family!

                                        
                                        
                           

                           

 

 

Beheading Shrimp!!

This week was a good one! We saw some cool miracles with our investigators as well as within the branch. We have made it a goal to visit every active member in the branch and share with them some of the things we have been doing. On Friday and Saturday we went on exchanges with Elder Bailey and Elder Weaver who are both studs! We also traveled down to Hattiesburg to go to their ZTM(zone training meeting). Its always fun to travel and see everyone! 

Exchanges in Hattiesburg with Elders Bailey/Weaver

As I was studying this week I was able to come across this cool scripture. The things we go through in this life will not compare to the things we will receive after this life!

Romans 8:18

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Things are going well!  The weather is starting to cool off here which is super nice! We had a good week of teaching and exchanges.  The Riches had us over for dinner and we had a shrimp boil!  The shrimp were really good. They were fresh from off the coast!  

Shrimp Boil with Riches Family

Beheading Shrimp!

Love you all!!!:)

Elder Larsen

Everyone Bailed!

So this week was a good one with lots of excitement! Tuesday-Thursday we were at different ZTMs. (zone training meetings)

Tuesday we were able to teach Jessica while we were in Shreveport. That was awesome! She hadn’t been in contact with the missionaries all of the past 2 weeks. So it was fun to see her again, we also taught her fiance Carlos. He is agnostic and so it was awesome that he listened to us! 

We got to go see the Osborn Family- on exchanges with Elder Smith in Shreveport!

Friday we were able to go on exchanges with Elder Bledsoe and Elder Gilbert. We went to Gary’s and he had his Systematic Theology book laid out ready to throw some stuff at us....... I was done.. After he went off for a few minutes we shared a few scriptures and then basically told him that what he read was insignificant because of the apostasy which he had already gained a testimony of. We told him that we could go back and forth sharing our different beliefs/opinions of the scriptures but it doesn’t matter because the gospel has been restored to the earth through a Prophet.  We told him that in a nicer way than what I just said though, don’t worry. 

Saturday we went to the Mississippi State Fair to try and contact people. We talked to a lot of people but most of them just told us they would talk to us after the fair was over haha..... 

Sunday we were planning on having some people in church and they had committed and everything but last minute everyone bailed!  That is alright though.

This week has been pretty successful!  We were able to make a lot a plans and goals for the branch and share them with the leaders. They were all on board and wanted to help us out!  Hopefully we can see the Jackson Branch grow in some sort of way to help the people here in Jackson!

I am doing good!!  We got to go have dinner at the Bradburns last night and share with them a video from Jeffery R. Holland!  Gary made some good strides but then bailed on coming to church... We have been working super hard though.  This week we are going to Hattiesburg and then we have an exchange, other than that we are just going to get to work really hard in our area!

Dinner with The Bradburn Family!

                               

Blake Bradburn- Recently returned Missionary!

                                                    

Hope you are all doing well!
Love, Elder Larsen