RAIN, TRANSFERS & NANCY'S BAPTISM!!!

Squad,

This week has been a fantastic week. Luckily for each of you, this will be the last time you will have to read my weekly email because I will be returning home this Thursday. I have mixed feelings about entering into this next phase of my life, nevertheless, the past 2 years has been desirable above all other fruit. I wish that I could put all of the things that I learned and experienced here in Maryland! I sincerely encourage any of you that could potentially serve a mission to forget yourself and go to work in the service of the Lord. And for those of you who are past the age of serving a mission, there are a million other ways to lose yourself in the work of the Lord. I'm not going to even try to explain to you how you will be blessed for doing it, but you will and you won't regret a second of it!

On Tuesday we had the opportunity to go to the Washington DC temple, it was fantastic! If you are ever around the DC area, at least drive by that temple! It will take your breath away! There isn't really anything better than starting off your day in the house of the Lord, I invite you to go to the temple this week! After that we headed over to the mission home and began working on the transfer board with President Christiansen. We spent pretty much the rest of that day figuring out transfers and in the evening they took us to Sakura for some good Japanese food! It was amazing to be around the mission president and witness the inspiration that he receives on where the missionaries should be transferred!

On Wednesday we drove out to Frederick and picked up Elder Chambers and brought him back to Columbia for exchanges. We had an awesome exchange! While we were knocking doors we knocked into a lady, Sister Brown, taught her the Restoration and picked her up as an investigator! Solid! Then we had a lesson with a recent convert named Victor who is from China. He speaks very little English so we taught most of the lesson through Google Translate on his phone. That was a pretty cool experience! Then right after that we got a media referral for a kid named James. We contacted him and he told us that he was watching videos about Jesus online and the most legit ones that he saw were on the Mormon Channel! I agree! So he ordered a copy of the Book of Mormon and was interested in learning from us. We taught him the first lesson and he is seeking the truth out it's amazing! On Saturday we had the return appointment with him at the church. We gave him a church tour and he really enjoyed it! He is from China as well and his only hold ups are that he has social anxieties and that he isn't a native English speaker so he feels uncomfortable going to church with a majority American church. He's awesome though!

On Thursday we took a missionary that was returning home to the airport. His name is Elder Jenkins, he's a stud! Then on Friday we drove out to Chambersburg, PA for exchanges with the zone leaders there. I went there with Elder Bird, he's a stud! Unfortunately, that day it rained all day long and it wasn't light rain either. So we spent the entire day and evening walking around in the rain talking to people. That's missionary work right there! Everything worked out super well, we exchanged back and on our way back to Columbia we stopped in to see Nancy's baptism in Waynseboro! So sick!! She wanted me and Elder Jones to come to her baptism super bad because we were the ones that first started teaching her! It was awesome to see her and a bunch of the people in the Fairview ward again!

I can't believe my full-time service as a missionary ends this week, it has definitely been the greatest thing that I have ever decided to do. I know that the Savior lives and that he leads this work and this Church. I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for him. Whatever thoughts you have had to improve as you have read this letter, I invite you to do them because they were from the Holy Ghost. I love y'all!

Have a good week!

-Elder Larson

Mission Office Staff

Tracting in the rain

DC Temple

Temple trip with Burtenshaw

Nancy's baptism!

 

C1 IS GOING D1!!!

Howdy!

This week was solid! On Tuesday we drove all the way up to Lancaster, PA for district meeting at Elder Lehnig's district. It was pretty solid but we were 45 minutes late because there was a big crash on the freeway on the way up there, oops! After that we exchanged and Elder Jones (yes my last companion) came with me to our area here in Columbia. It was a ton of fun to be with him again!! When we were companions we made 2 raps about missionary work and had a member (who is professionally certified) record and mix them for us. They turned out pretty sweet!! It worked out great because the member finished them up and sent them to us the day before we went on exchanges so we got to listen to them together. I will attach the songs at the bottom here. Share them with your friends and they will probably get baptized!!

The next day we exchanged back and on our way back from Pennsylvania we had to make a stop in Baltimore at one of the apartments to take care of some things there. It is an apartment that hasn't had missionaries in it for a while and in it we found an electric bike. If you were wondering, it has been cleared with President Christiansen for use by missionaries. Score!!!! We have been flying around on that thing! We just need to find another one now to go along with it!

On Thursday we helped set things up for the Sisters Specialized Conference (no we didn't attend).  But they hooked us up with some good breakfast! For work outs that morning Elder Burtenshaw rode the electric bike around while I jogged, good times! On Friday we drove out to good ole' Hagerstown and went on exchanges with the elders there. Hagerstown is the ward that I was trained to be a missionary in and it was pretty dang weird to be back there! We even got to work with some people that I worked with when I was there that are still working on getting baptized! Crazy!

On Sunday our investigator James came to church so we were pumped about that! The C1 (Columbia 1st) ward has been on fire with missionary work lately! We have put a bunch of effort into working with them this transfer and they have been coming in clutch! Some members invited their friend Isaac to church and we hooked him up with the missionaries in Ellicott City and they are going to start teaching him. #D1Bound!! Also we picked up 2 new investigators this week!

Have a good week!!

-Elder Larson

 

Office Staff - Elder Gerhart vs. the Shark

Office Staff - Elder Rudd vs. Satan

The District

BACK TO THE PEAKE (CHESAPEAKE)

What's good!!

This week was solid! Monday night we got out and hit the pavement too hard!! It was super hot and humid and I was very sweaty!! But I don't think that y'all are here to read about my sweat so I'll leave that out from now on. Tuesday was a magical day! We drove out to the town that is desirable above all other towns (Essex)(that's not necessarily truth) and went to district meeting with the Elders from the Jones Falls ward. Afterwards we exchanged with the Baltimore zone leaders and I got to go with Elder Skarda to my home back in Chesapeake:):):) Baltimore has not changed since I left it! We saw a man run (on foot) from the cops and impressively got away. It was super cool to see a bunch of the people that I used to work with all the time! We stopped by a recent convert that I taught, Katrina, and had a solid lesson with her. Instead of us teaching her anything, she taught us the lesson this time! In church on Sunday she learned about the spirit of Elijah and temple and family history work so she taught us about how Elijah came to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers and the hearts of the fathers to their children and that's why we have genealogy and family history. So solid!!!! She's killing it! We shared a scripture with her after she taught us and she said (paraphrasing) "Dang, my friend needs to hear that. I'm gonna show my friend that scripture. Can you give me another Book of Mormon? This will be my 4th one I've given out!" That's what's up!!! I miss Chesapeake!! It was so good to be back there. Also we knocked on a less active lady's door, she hadn't been to church in 40 years, and she told us that she would be at church on Sunday! It's her time to come back! Money!

On Wednesday we got up at 4 in the morning so we could drive back out to Chesapeake to pick up the other set of elders in Chesapeake and a bunch of other sets of missionaries on the way so we could be out in Martinsburg, WV by 8! It was for the New Missionary Meeting and that was a ton of fun! Maybe this is just because older missionaries get worn out by the end of their missions, but it was so refreshing to be around all the new missionaries all day! They brought so much hype it was so sick!!! They are all super solid! That meeting went until 4 and we got to instruct and help out with a bunch of that meeting. Afterwards on the way back home we stopped in at the beloved Cafe Rio for some dinner. That's a good day! Hopefully I will have pictures from it to send to you next week.

On Friday we drove out to Woodstock, VA and went on exchanges with the elders there. I went with Elder Petersen and he was in my math class in high school:) Haha he's a stud!!! We had a lot of fun and got to talk to a bunch of people! We also got to see blood stains that were spilled all over the carpet/wall in a sketchy apartment complex, I will not send you the pictures because that is not edifying! We finished off the week by driving up to Lancaster, PA to deliver some goods to the missionaries up there. We were in 4 states this week! #EastCoast

Have a good week!!

-Elder Larson

Elder Petersen & closest thing to mountains out here #VirginiaSwag

Bridge Life

Hammock Life

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Hey guys!

We had a good week out here in Maryland! Our preparation day was moved to Tuesday because it was the 4th of July, so we got to get out on Monday and hit the pavement! We had a ton of appointments so we were running around like crazy! It was good stuff! For the 4th of July we had a BBQ cookout with our zone and it was tastey!!! Elder Burtenshaw and I were on the grill. Then we played some ball re-assuring me that I am in fact out of shape. Then Elder Burtenshaw and I hiked up into the mountains and threw up the hammocks, it was some much needed rehab time for my weakened body. Later that night we got to stay out a little bit later and watch some fireworks here in Columbia on the lake, it was a good time!

Wednesday we got back to work and went on exchanges with the zone leaders from the Eldersburg ward. Elder Simmons came here to Columbia with me and we had a good exchange! We picked up Mylea as a new investigator and it was a solid lesson! At the beginning she told us about all the concerns and things she had heard about the church and we didn't even address them! We taught her the doctrine of the Restoration and every one of her concerns was resolved by the end of the lesson. It was pretty sweet to see how the Spirit was working with her. She closed the lesson with a very real intended prayer, there aren't too many things sweeter than to hear an investigator pray like that! Good stuff! Thursday we exchanged back and then drove some cars around so people could get around.

On Friday we had a meeting out in Frederick in my old stomping grounds (Walkersville) and that went well. It was the Mission Leadership Council and it seemed to have gone well. We were able to instruct to everyone and the Spirit was strong in the meeting! President Christiansen decided that it would be a good idea to show everyone the "Hello" by Adelle missionary parody  to everyone haha it was very edifying! Afterwards we had to drive up to Waynesboro and then back down here to Columbia, a total of 4 or 5 hours that day. Then we got a call from President that some missionaries needed to be moved around and they happened to be in one of the furthest areas of the mission! Luckily they drove here so we didn't have to pick them up but we still got to drive around Pennsylvania all day dropping people off! When we got back later that night we picked up a care taker for one of the older gentlemen in our ward. Then on Sunday we picked up a man named Tony as an investigator as well.

I hope that y'all have a good week!!

-Elder Larson 

4th of July BBQ

P Day hike

Hammocking:)

SO MUCH TEACHING!!!

Howdy!

This week was solid but it was crazy! We started off the week good with a money lesson with Eunice and Carol! Eunice is from Nigeria and Carol is from Africa somewhere as well. You know what that means, they are super solid and open to listening to the Spirit! We initially contacted both of them on the street and next time we are going to go back and teach the rest of their family as well. They both accepted baptism if they come to know that it is true and are new investigators! Solid! Tuesday morning we exchanged with the Ellicott City zone leaders, Elder Dyer and Elder Ewald, and Elder Ewald came here to our area with me. We had another solid day and were able to pick up 3 new investigators then too! One of them is Jim, he is an interesting guy for sure! He is older, probably in his 70s, and has met with missionaries in the past. We taught him the Restoration and he already knows that all of it is true! And I'm not talking about how he has faith in God so he says that he believes it's true or anything like that, he literally knows that it is true by the power of the Holy Ghost! He testified to us many times in that lesson that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that the world needs to read the Book of Mormon. He read the entire Book of Mormon and prayed and got a very strong answer that it is true! But, buzz kill, he has some weird concern where he is fine with just "living the New Testament" and drinking coffee and alcohol and stuff because the Book of Mormon is only for the newer generation. What the?? He doesn't want to get baptized, yet, but the Spirit has worked with him before and it will work with him again and he will be baptized one of these days! He even wants us to come teach his kids and grand kids because he knows it's true. He's gonna get there though! Later we taught Reggie and Liz and it was at the perfect timing, they were going through some crazy stuff and are going to be evicted soon.... But the message that we shared brought a ton of peace and joy to them. 

On Friday we had a meeting with President and then we drove out to Winchester, Virginia for exchanges with the elders there. It was a long haul out there! I went with Elder Shouse, he's a stud! While I was there we were able to have several lessons and we picked up 2 new investigators there! I feel like I'm in Brazil out here with how much we teach! Then we drove back to Columbia and found out that we needed to move an elder that was being intermediately transferred to his new area. So we spent the rest of the day/night driving missionaries to where they need to be. I am tired of driving! We didn't get back until late Saturday night so we didn't get a ton of sleep that night.

Sunday morning we had an awesome lesson with our investigator Dameon! He is hard core Catholic but he has super real intent in meeting with us and read the pamphlet like crazy that we left with him! He said he would be baptized if he finds that the Book of Mormon is true (which it is) so he is gonna get baptized!! Sick!!!:)

Have a good week!!

-Elder Larson

Our Friday and Saturday route

Our Friday and Saturday route

 

Elder Salazar, late night Taco Bell

Elder Shouse!

Chandler Leavitt, former missionary here!!  Stud!

COLUMBIA 1ST!!/ SLEEP?

Howdy!

This week was crazy! When we heard the news that both Elder Jones and I were getting transferred, everything seemed to go out of control haha! We had a ton of stuff that we had to do to get the area ready for the two missionaries coming into the area. Luckily while we were at it we were still seeing some sweet miracles! We had a church tour set up with our investigator Nancy and Sinda on Tuesday after district meeting and Sister Stiles was gonna be there too. We made a quick errand before the lesson and Nancy called us because she was waiting at the church for us 15 minutes early! The church tour went super well and the Spirit was very strong the whole time. It was pretty cool because both Sinda and Nancy recognized the Spirit in the lesson! Sister Stiles was perfect for them, especially Nancy because Sister Stile's father just passed away and Nancy's dad is close to dying. At the end of the lesson we put Nancy on date for July 29th!! The best part about it was that Nancy hadn't stepped foot in a church building since 1994. She came to church yesterday and apparently loved it, I wish I could have been there! 

Wednesday was crazy, I got to transfers and immediately went into the trainer trainee meeting and that went well! The A/C in the building wasn't working so we were sweating a little bit, but it was cool to see all the new missionaries bear their testimonies! Later that night we got to hang out with all the missionaries that were returning home at the mission home, and we were there all night! We dropped them off at the airport at 5 in the morning and didn't get home until 6. Then later that evening, only running on a few hours of sleep, we went back to the airport to pick up a missionary who was coming back on his mission after going home early and his flight didn't land until 11! We almost lost him too haha we were waiting for him at the wrong gate.... We didn't get home until around midnight and then he stayed the night with us. He is a cool kid, his name is Elder Salazar and he is from Mexico, he barely spoke any English!

This weekend was awesome, we were able to find 5 new investigators to teach! 2 of them are a young African family and the husband, Williams, has met with missionaries before and read from the Book of Mormon. He said it is something that interests him! Nobody was able to come to church this week but there should be some next week! Yesterday we had a meeting out in Martinsburg with our mission president that we went to, we missed our church block in doing so though... So we had to go to another ward in our area earlier in the morning.

Things are going well here, it's gonna be a fun transfer! Have a good week!

-Elder Larson

Fort McHenry

Fort McHenry

Fort McHenry

Fort McHenry

Fort McHenry

Fort McHenry

Recording our missionary raps (to be released soon)

Sinda, Nancy and Sister Stiles!

Fort McHenry

GOODBYE PENNSYLVANIA:(:(

Hey squad!

This week was another good one, we received some sad news last night though:/ I thought that I'd be staying here in Fairview for my last transfer but we got call outs and found out that we are both getting transferred out of the area:/ I'm gonna be going back to Maryland in Columbia and Elder Jones is going to Lititz, PA. We were super sad to be leaving!! But I'm excited for what lies ahead, hopefully Columbia is as cool as Waynesboro, PA!!

This week we had the privilege of having Elder Nielson, who is the director over the missionary executive council (it's a pretty big deal) come to our mission to tour it. We had a conference with him and his wife on Thursday and it was awesome! It was down in Martinsburg, WV which was sweet because I got to drive through Hagerstown, my old stomping grounds. The Spirit was very strong in the meeting and I felt like I learned a ton from it! Afterwards I got to go on exchanges with Elder Eubanks into the Gettysburg area and that was a lot of fun. That night we were walking around talking to people and he dared me to give a Book of Mormon to this couple that was sitting outside. Challenge accepted!! We gave them a Book of Mormon and they said that we could come back the next day to teach them. So we went back the next day and picked them both up as investigators! Their names are Ron and Barb, good stuff!

While we were on exchanges Elder Jones picked up a new investigator with the elder that he was with, her name is Cinda! She is good friends with our investigator Nancy and they are both planning on coming to church this week. That in itself is a miracle because Nancy hasn't stepped foot in a church since 1994 when her daughter died. She had a falling away and kinda blamed God for it. But ever since she has started meeting with us she has felt super good about it and wants to be baptized! Too bad we are both getting transferred out so we won't get to be a part of the teaching here.

I hope y'all have a good week!! Get that cake!!!

-Elder Larson

My new address:

4700 Dorsey Hall Dr. Apt 102

Ellicott City, MD 21042

1-5. Fishing Round 2!

FISHERS OF MEN AND FISH

Fam,

The Lord has been taking good care of us here and making sure that we have been able to find plenty of people to teach. It has been a lot of fun! To start the week off, once preparation day ended on Monday we got out and we were walking around knocking doors and talking to people. The second door that we knocked on was a lady named D

awn and she let us teach her right there on her porch, we picked her up as an investigator! In the prayer that she said at the end of the lesson she said that she feels like us knocking on her door was a sign from God and that she needs to really listen to what we teach. I fully agree with her!

While we were on exchanges, Elder Bird was with me in our area and we had an appointment with someone but it ended up falling through. It was unfortunate because we put a lot of preparation into that lesson with the investigator and we weren't able to use it. So we stopped by a potential in the area, named Nancy, and we taught her instead! It was amazing, the Spirit was so strong as we talked about the Plan of Salvation with her. It was exactly what she needed to hear because her daughter died a while ago and her father is going to pass away soon as well. I have a very strong testimony that the promise in ​Doctrine and Covenants 100:6 that says: "For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say." We hadn't necessarily planned to teach her that or to teach her anything but we did put forth our effort to prepare the best we could and because we did, the Spirit guided us to teach what Eva needed. I believe it works the same way with life and all that we do each day. If we sincerely prepare and do our best with the situation we are in, no matter what the outcome, the Lord will bless us to know what to do in that very hour.

On Saturday we were supposed to have dinner with a family in the ward but they couldn't end up doing it so they talked to another family in the ward to see if they could cover for them (it was meant to happen). So before we went to dinner we decided to knock doors by the member's house and the first door that we knocked on a guy named Matt answered. He immediately let us in to teach him. We had to leave in 10 minutes for dinner so we asked him if we could come back in an hour after dinner was over to continue teaching him and he said that we could. So we came back an hour later and he is so solid! He just went through a rough divorce and has been trying to recover from an alcohol addiction and has been looking for the true church that he can get baptized into. We had the best feeling about him, it was such a sweet miracle!

We had an awesome lesson with Eva and with her friend Beth (picked her up as an investigator) on the Plan of Salvation as well. At the end of the lesson we extended a baptism date to Eva for July 15 and she accepted and is preparing for that date! We're pumped!

Anyways, I hope y'all have a good week!!! Get that cake!!

-Elder Larson

1,2,3. Hammock swag on preparation day​

SUMMER BREAK 2K17 ADVENTURES:);)

Hey squad!

This week was money! Elder Jones and I have been on that diet grind because we are insecure about ourselves so please don't make fun of us!!!!!😌 The work has been amazing lately, the ward is super pumped up about missionary work and they are very willing to help us out, this is how it should be! On Monday we had a lesson with our investigator Josh in the home of some members, the Estes', and it was awesome! The Spirit was super strong!

Our car was in the shop this week so we did a ton of walking and biking which is super hard in our area because everything is pretty far away and there are a ton of hills! But it is good because we got to get out and talk to a ton of people! On Thursday night we were knocking some doors and this lady answered and was super pumped for us to come back! Her name is Cherish and she told us to come back the next day at 4 because she wanted to learn more about our message. She seemed super solid! So the next day we came back with a young man in our ward (Levi) for our appointment with her. There were a lot of people out around her town house and it got pretty awkward while we were standing there waiting for her to answer, one of the ladies outside even said "she's not gonna answer, she never answers the door". Then a 3 year old kid saw us knocking on the door next to his house and said "I'll go get my dad for you!!!" since we knocked on all those doors the night before we were hesitant and said "no bud don't worry about it it's all good!" "No don't worry, I'll get him for you" "No it's ok bud, thanks though!". Sure enough, he went and got his dad who didn't look happy to see us when he opened up the door. He wouldn't even shake our hands when we introduced ourselves.... But he was messing with us, and it turns out that he used to meet with missionaries in the past! He let us right in and we taught him the Restoration! His name is John Joseph. As soon as we got done with the lesson he was freaking out, in his own words he said: "Man this is crazy. The people you just taught me about have the same name as me (referring to John the Baptist and Joseph Smith) and while you were speaking I had those goosebumps, you know? Like those goosebumps that you feel when you know that God or Jesus is in the room with you but you just can't see them. I had those goosebumps 4 times while you guys were speaking!" "John that's the Holy Ghost, that is how you can know what is true!" It was awesome! The Spirit was so strong in the lesson and John already recognizes the Spirit, that's most of the battle! So solid!

Sunday came around and we still had to find another investigator to reach the standard of excellence and we picked up a lady named Eva when we were out working with a member in the ward, Rick. The lesson went really well and she accepted baptism!! Solid! The ward is getting super pumped about the success that we have been seeing, all is well!!

Elder Jones and I have been cooking up some home videos in our spare time out here, so be ready to jump into the missionary life (with some exaggeration haha). I'll send them when they upload.

Anyways, have a good week!!!

-Elder Larson

AVOCADO MASKS c:

Pavement Grinding

Who wants broccoli??

TEACHING = LIFE/GHOST PEPPERS

Fam,

This week was filled with miracles, calorie-burning activities, trailer parks and nature. I hope that your week was very similar!

Elder Jones and I had a very strong resolve to find a bunch of people to teach this week and to do what the Lord would have us do in His work. At the same time, we also faced the challenge of having a low amount of miles on our vehicle for the rest of the month. So we decided to hit the streets on our bikes and talk to as many people as we could! On Tuesday we knocked into a man named James who just moved up here from Florida. We taught him the Restoration and picked him up as an investigator and guess what!!! He lives on ELDER AVE hehe... It was bound to happen! After biking around all day and helping some people out, we had a long bike ride ahead of us to an appointment with some potentials. We either had to go all in or bail out! We really didn't want to bike 8 miles out and then 8 miles back for nothing! But we felt we should still go. As we were biking there we rode down this giant mountain (giant in east terms, hill in west coast terms) and we were flying down this thing going probably 40 mph (may or may not be exaggerated, I'm not sure how fast we were going) and the hill seemed like it was never going to end! It was super fun to ride down but the thought of biking up that to get back to the apartment haunted me! Luckily, we got to the appointment and they were there and they let us in to teach them! Their names are Brian and Luz, Brian is in high school and is actually good friends with several of the young men in the ward. We picked them up as investigators! After we left, he sent a picture of the Book of Mormon that we left him to his friends that are in our ward and he was pumped about it! So sick!

Rewind to my second day in this area, we got to dinner with a member and as we got out of the car we pointed at their neighbor's house and said to each other: "they are going to be investigators" when we asked the members about them they told us that we should go by to see them. So we went by on Wednesday and they let us in and we picked them up as investigators! Their names are Ed and Patsy and they are super old but super awesome! They used to meet with missionaries back in the day too, super cool! Also Josh and David that we picked up last week are doing really well, good stuff is happening here!! Have a good week!!

-Elder Larson

Crab swag Maryland style!!

Ghost peppers (yes, we ate them!)

Elder Ave

Mormon Church Road

Turkey calling with Greg

Nature