Happy 4th of July!!

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope yall had an amazingly fun fourth of July this past week, I know that I sure did!

Last Monday after emailing we had the opportunity to go do some service real quick for a member in our ward. His daughter and her family are moving in with him temporarily and so we helped them move some boxes and furniture which was fun. The member is one of the golf instructors at the golf course right by our apartment and after we got done with the moving he said he would take us golfing sometime so I'm looking forward to that :) After dinner we did another family home evening with the Smith family and one of their visiting teaching families which was fun. We talked about the temple and how they can be sealed together as a family next spring :)

Tuesday morning we biked around and talked to people, had a quick lesson with a less-active. In the afternoon we had a member come out teaching with us and everything fell through so that was frustrating. Before dinner we were walking around trying to find someone to talk to and knocked on the door of a lady who recently moved to Oklahoma and said that she was really glad that we had stopped by so that was a cool miracle :) After dinner we went with a member to teach Kelsey and Cori. (The less-active and his wife) The lesson was interesting. She really likes the Book of Mormon and thinks that it's probably true but doesn't have any desire to join the church. She says that we know where we're going when we die and she knows where she's going and that's all that matters. Hopefully they'll make it to church this week and be able to feel the spirit there.

Wednesday we had a zone leadership meeting in the morning and in the afternoon we went with a member to teach Danny again. Danny was the referral we received the week before and we were able to teach him the Restoration last week. He read the introduction and the testimonies in the Book of Mormon by the time we visited him this week. So we read 1 Nephi 1 with him and recommitted him to praying about the BofM and coming to church. It was an awesome lesson and we found out that his whole family is interested in coming to church as well. He has a wife and 2 kids ages 10 and 16 which is exciting :) The rest of the day was kind of crazy. We did some service at the assisted living center, helped Sister Smith with printing off names to take to the temple, visited some members, and finally had dinner.

Thursday we had planning in the morning. In the afternoon we visited a less-active and arranged a ride for him to come to church on Sunday. Afterwards we stopped by Danny's house to follow up on his BoM reading and praying. He read 1 Nephi 2-3, prayed specifically to know if the BoM is true, and wrote up a prayer that he wants to share in Church sometime. He is so amazing! Definitely a miracle find! The evening was slower, our plans fell through so we visited some members and talked with them about family mission plans. 

Friday after district meeting we had exchanges with the Elders in the 4th ward which was good. I stayed in the 2nd ward and we did lots of biking around and talking to people. No one was interested and some guy started bashing us so that was fun ;) Went out teaching with one of the youth in the evening and everything fell through. But one of our former investigators is still reading the BoM so that's a cool miracle :)

Saturday was a long and crazy day. Got a call at 8 in the morning that some person in Chickasha was moving to Norman in the afternoon and needed help unloading the truck. So we got a member set to come help us. Spent the morning biking around trying really hard to find some new investigators and not having much luck. At 2:30 we got a call from the Elders in Chickasha that the lady would be there in about 30 minutes. So we tried to get a hold of the member who said he could help us with the move but he didn't answer his phone. So we biked for 20 minutes across town to get there on time. At 3:15 the lady still wasn't there so we called her and she said it would be another 30 minutes. So we were bored for a while since we can't proselyte while wearing service clothes. She finally showed up at 4:10and we realized that this supposedly "easy and quick" move was anything but easy and quick. Eventually we had to call some other missionaries to come help us out so we could try and not be too late for the stake fourth of July celebration in Purcell. We finally got the truck unloaded around 5:30 and headed to the party. The party was at a members ranch and it was SO much fun! Free food and games for kids. There was even a huge firework show that we weren't able to stay for but that we heard was really cool. Danny and his family came to the party and had a great time so that was an awesome miracle! He said that him and his wife were planning on coming to church the next day as well. Also, our new mission president, President Mansell, showed up randomly with his family. It was their 2nd day in Oklahoma so we were some of the first missionaries who got to meet him. Him and his wife are awesome, I love them so much!

Sunday was amazing! Danny didn't show up to church which was a huge disappointment but in the afternoon, by some miracle, we found 2 new investigators! I love being able to see the hand of the Lord in my life, he truly led us that afternoon as we exercised faith and followed the spirit. Missionary work is so much fun! When we got back to our apartment for dinner, the member family who invited us over later in the evening for a dessert night with their non member friends asked if someone was feeding us dinner. We said no and they, out of the goodness of their hearts, invited us and the sisters over for dinner. That was definitely a tender mercy :) 

Yesterday was probably the funnest P-day I've had on my mission thus far! In the morning we went shopping for groceries and then met the rest of the missionaries in the zone at the church for a cookout. The zone leaders borrowed a grill from a member in their ward, loaded it in their truck, and brought it to the church to grill up some hot dogs and corn. We did a potluck with the other missionaries and so we had plenty of delicious food to eat. When we weren't eating, we were running around in the gym playing all sorts of fun games and sports. In the evening we visited the Smith family and had some dinner. And then we went to another member's house and had dinner with them. Super fun and relaxing day! :)

In the spirit of the 4th of July, I'd like to share 2 Nephi 10:10-13

"10 But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land.
 11 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles.
 12 And I will fortify this land against all other nations.
 13 And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God."

I feel so blessed to live in such a wonderful country where we get to enjoy so many freedoms. Let us enjoy the freedom to "worship how, where, or what [we] may" and continue to fight for religious freedom! Happy 4th of July and have a wonderful week!

Love, Elder Larsen

Moroni 9:6

1. At the stake 4th of July Party

2. At the Smith's for dinner last night

3. With some super awesome members in our ward, the Bittles

11 months

Dear Family and Friends,

It's been another awesome, hot, humid, miracle-filled week here in Norman, Oklahoma!

Monday we had our first lesson with one of our investigators at Panera Bread which was interesting. She's curious in learning more about what we believe but doesn't seem too interested in changing beliefs. The baptismal invitation through her off guard though so that was pretty funny :) Later in the evening we did a family home evening with the recent-convert Smith family so that was cool.

Tuesday morning we did some family history with one of our recent converts which was fun. In the afternoon we had exchanges with the Elders in the 4th ward so I went to their area for the rest of day. We did lots of biking since they're low on miles. We were also able to find a new investigator so that was an awesome miracle!

Wednesday we did some biking in the morning and did some service in the afternoon at the assisted living center. In the evening our appointments fell through but the Lord provided for us. We were biking by Alex's house (a new investigator we found a couple of weeks ago through a miracle but hadn't been able to talk to since) and a car was there. So we decided to go knock on the door and his wife, Stephanie, answered. She is super nice and chill just like he is. She told us that Alex was asleep so we talked with her briefly on the doorstep. As we were talking to her, Alex woke up and came to the door with his hair frazzled. He was excited to see us and invited us in! Apparently he's been working for 20 days straight and hasn't been home hardly ever. But he's still super interested and committed to coming to church next week! And their son is dating one of the youth in our ward! #InstantFellowship #Miracle

Thursday afternoon we had one of the youth in the ward come out teaching with us. The appointments we had fell through but we were able to contact a referral named Danny that we got from some other missionaries in Norman. We taught him the Restoration and he committed to baptism in August! He received the message well and expressed that he needs to be baptized again and get back to church. So exciting! #Miracle

Friday afternoon everything fell through but the Lord led us to Tia and we were able to teach her more about the Book of Mormon! #NewInvestigator We didn't have any members feeding us dinner so we decided to use a coupon we got for Jersey Mike's Subs. Turns out one of the guys who works there in a member and so he paid for our dinner. So nice of him! #Blessings

Saturday morning we had breakfast/correlation with our ward mission leader so we could finish planning the upcoming ward activity/party. We're going to try and invite everyone in the ward to come, active and less-active. Hopefully it will be a big success. The rest of day was slightly disappointing. All of our investigators flaked out on us and wouldn't commit to coming to church.

Sunday we had 0 investigators at sacrament meeting. Again. But we're not discouraged! This is the Lord's work and he knows what he's doing. More patience and more faith is all it takes to witness miracles! In the evening we went out teaching with a member and our appointment fell through. So we tried one of our newer investigators named Randy, and him and his wife, Lindsey, were home! Randy and the member bonded really well since they both used to work for the same carpet cleaning company. We had an awesome, slightly crazy and random restoration lesson and they both committed to baptism! Yay for miracles!

This past week during studies I was pondering a lot about faith. I realized that there are so many parallels between physical health and spiritual health. 

1. Our physical health rarely stays the same. We are either becoming stronger or getting weaker. It is the same way spiritually (2 Nephi 28:30). Our faith is either growing stronger or it is getting weaker. And if we aren't making a concerted effort to strengthen it, it is likely becoming weaker.

2. In order to increase our physical strength, we need increasing amounts of resistance. You can only get so strong with a pair of 10 pound weights. If your goal is to be able to lift 100 pounds, you have to work up to it, increasing the weight each time until you are finally able to lift that much weight. It is the same way spiritually. Without opposition, we cannot grow stronger. Weight, resistance, and opposition are a necessary part of life. (2 Nephi 2:11) It has been said that, "Salvation is not a cheap experience". But what is salvation? Salvation is all about eternal progression, continually growing stronger and acquiring more attributes of light. If life was easy, there would be no opposition, no weight on the weight bench so to speak. This is why finding joy in the journey is so important. Becoming stronger requires effort, exertion, and action. But in the end, it is all worth it. Let us all become stronger both physically, and more importantly, spiritually. The healthier you are, the happier you are! :)

Anyways, I hope y'all have a wonderful week! Thank you for your love, support, and examples! I couldn't ask for better friends and family.

Love, Elder Larsen

Ether 12:5-6

Farewell President

Dear Family and Friends,

Time flies when you're having fun and we've been having lots of it!

Monday for zone p-day we went bowling so that was fun :) In the evening we had an awesome zone meeting about chapter 8 of Preach My Gospel: Planning.

Tuesday morning we had a leadership meeting with the zone leaders and the other district leaders so that was good. In the afternoon we were able to teach a potential the restoration and pick up a new investigator! Yay for new investigators! All in all we found 9 new investigators this past week thanks to zone conference. #MiraclesForDays In the evening we had a member come out teaching with us and picked up another new investigator.

Wednesday we had our last zone conference with President Walkenhorst. We probably won't see him again before he leaves so it was weird to have to say goodbye. President Mansell will be here in about a week and half. One of the trainings we received was on finding new investigators. Our mission has decided to go back to the PMG definition of new investigators and so we are now able to find them on the street as long as we teach them a lesson and get a return appointment. It's definitely been helping us to be always teaching and not just saying the same rote things to everyone we meet. So after zone conference we went out and found 2 new investigators! Yay for biking in the heat!

Thursday afternoon we had a cool finding miracle! After trying a potential, we felt prompted to take the longer route to our next destination. As we were riding our bikes, a guy pulled up in his car and we started talking to him. He said that he met with the missionaries about a year ago and went to church a couple of times but never got baptized because he moved away unexpectedly and had problems with alcohol. He's super chill and hopefully we can start teaching him this next week :) After dinner we went out teaching with one of the youth in our ward and everything fell through unfortunately.

Friday we had exchanges with the zone leaders and I got to stay in my area. We did lots of biking the afternoon and got really sweaty but had some awesome lessons with a less-active and with Marelyn!

Saturday morning we got a referral from a member so that was really awesome. In the afternoon we taught a lesson to Vance about eternal marriage. He lives in an assisted living home and really misses his wife a lot. Hopefully we can get him a large print Book of Mormon this next week :) We also had a child of record baptism that we went to. During the baptism, a huge storm came in and we got some pretty heavy rain and wind which kept us in the apartment for a little bit.

Sunday we didn't have any investigators at sacrament meeting so that stunk. But after church we were able to have a lesson with one of our investigators and found a new investigator and committed him to baptism! Awesome Father's Day!

Just found out that one of the kids I taught in my first area got baptized this past week!! Wahoo! The whole ward fasted for him and Bishop was able to get permission from his Mom! #Miracle So exciting! Hopefully his younger sister will be able to follow him soon.

I heard a quote about Fathers yesterday that I really liked.

"Father is the noblest title a man can be given. It is more than a biological role. It signifies a patriarch, a leader, an exemplar, a confidant, a teacher, a hero, a friend, and ultimately, a perfect being." - Elder Robert L. Backman

I'm so grateful for fathers, both earthly and heavenly. Happy Father's Day Dad! You're the best!

Love, Elder Larsen

Ether 2:9-12

Banana flavored twinkies and chicken fried steak

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week has been very fun and adventurous, can't believe another whole week has flown by!

Monday we had a member come out teaching with us and everything fell through. But we were able to go visit his home teaching family (the recent convert family) which was really cool :)

Tuesday morning we had a lesson with one of our less-active members. In my studies that morning, I was led to Elder Bednar's most recent conference address about retaining a remission of our sins. So we talked about how only through the sacrament can we truly repent and receive forgiveness of our sins. Apparently she thought that all she had to do was pray to God and say sorry and she was good. So hopefully now she'll be able to make it church more often :) Funny side note: while we were having the lesson on her back porch, some random guy (who apparently tried to rob the less-active a while back) came by and tried to sell us expired Banana flavored twinkies. LOL We told him we didn't have any money so he ended up just giving us a box for free even though we didn't really want any to begin with. Afterwards we were able to teach a lesson to one of our potentials and pick up a new investigator :) Afternoon was pretty slow, we stopped by the brother in law of one of our crazy recent converts and we were actually able to talk to him a little bit. He didn't realize that his Brother in law had given us his address so when he found out that we knew his brother in law he got really excited and we set up a return appointment for Saturday. In the evening we taught Cori and Kelsey (the part member family we taught the restoration last Monday) the plan of salvation which was interesting. She really struggled with the concept of the degrees of glory instead of just heaven or hell. But she's very open minded and she said she would pray about it so hopefully they keep on progressing.

Wednesday was a fun day :) Everything fell through except for ward choir practice #GotToLoveIt Lots of biking and sweating in the morning and afternoon. After a fair amount of tracting, we went to go do service at an assisted living home before dinner. When we showed up, the lady in charge of the volunteer work there said the activity for that day was cancelled because she was going home early sick. So she told us to, "Go around and knock on people's doors and say hi to them." Yay for more tracting! We had a cool miracle though, we found a guy who let us in and talked to us for a while. He accepted a Restoration pamplet and said we could come back again next week :) 

Thursday we had weekly planning in the morning and ended up talking to a less-active in the afternoon. After dinner we biked out to visit Marilyn but she wasn't home. So we followed through with the plans we made earlier in the day to try and call her husband/boyfriend Martin. We talked to him on the phone briefly and right before he hung up, they pulled up to their house #Awkard Long story short, we were able to talk to Marilyn for a minute and figure out why she wasn't at church. She said she tried to get Martin to go with her but he didn't want to go and she felt weird going by herself. So she is still interested and still wants to go to church! So glad she is still solid.

Friday afternoon we had to drop one of our investigators which was no fun. We went and taught a catholic lady again which was interesting. Our appointments after dinner cancelled on us.

Saturday morning we helped some members move which was fun. In the afternoon we had our crazy recent convert Brother Black came teaching with us. We went to his Brother in law's and taught him an awesome restoration lesson. He was super interested and thought the first vision was "just beautiful man". So when he gets back in town in 2 weeks we will hopefully be able to teach him more :) In the evening before the adult session of Stake Conference, we went with the recent convert Smith family to a good 'ol southern restaurant named Kendall's. Elder Vincent tried to do the food challenge they have there because the recent convert thought he could do it. You have 1 hour to eat 3 ginormous chicken fried steaks, a salad, 2 sides of mashed potatoes, 2 sides of green beans, and 2 cinnamon rolls. So that was really fun to watch and I got to eat the leftovers :)

Sunday was stake conference and we sung in the choir so that was fun. President and Sister Walkenhorst were there to give their departing testimonies. Weird to think we're getting a new mission president soon...

I heard a really cool quote from President Marion G. Romney this week. It reads,

“Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made. Knowing that service is what gives our Father in Heaven fulfillment, and knowing that we want to be where He is and as He is, why must we be commanded to serve one another? … Service is what Godhood is all about.” (Ensign, Nov. 1982, p. 93.)

If service to others seems like a burden then we need to change our mindsets. Some of the greatest joy we experience in this life comes from selflessly serving all those around us. “True happiness comes only from making others happy.”—President David O. McKay

Hope y'all have another wonderful week of summer! Thank you for all your love and support, I really do appreciate it :)

Love, Elder Larsen

D&C 109

"The Rains Came Down and The Floods Came Up"

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week has been another awesome one filled with miracles and lots of rain! :)

Monday we visited one of the Elders in our district in the hospital who had a biking accident. He broke his leg and unfortunately had to go home on Friday to recover :( In the evening after dinner we had a lesson with a part-member family. The dad is a less-active member and the mom is not a member. They are a pretty young couple and actually got married a couple of weeks ago (after living together for a couple of years). We taught her the restoration and it went really well. When we stopped by on Friday she had already read to 2 Nephi 9 and started praying to know if the BoM is true so that was a cool miracle :)

Tuesday we had a typical missionary miracle :) Up til 4:30 in the afternoon, our day had been pretty slow but we were doing our best to stay positive and exercise faith. The last door we knocked on turned out to be a super cool guy named Alex. He invited us right in and gave us some water to drink. We gave him a BoM and were able to teach him more about it. We invited him to church and he said he would be more than willing to try it out since he once spent 2 years going to a different church each Sunday (how he never attended one of our services, I'm not sure). So that was a cool finding miracle :) After dinner we biked out to go visit some people and it started down pouring. We got completely soaked and it was awesome! Eventually we found some really nice members who let us in and gave us and our bikes a ride back to our apartment.

Wednesday morning was good, it starting raining again in the afternoon so we got completely soaked for the 2nd time :) Funny experience for the week: We just got done having a quick lesson on a less-active's doorstep and he told us to not let anyone mess with us. Right after he said that, this guy (who yelled at us the day before while we were biking way on the other side of town) drove by, rolled down his window, and proceeded to yell at us again to "stop preaching false doctrine" and to "read the new testament". Then he yelled at the less-active and asked him if he was meeting with us. He replied that he was already a Mormon and it caught the guy off guard so he said something lame like, "Well then act like a Mormon then!" Some people are crazy, I swear. 

Thursday was rough, everything we had planned fell through. And we got soaked for the 3rd day in row :) But we got fed dinner unexpectedly and had another funny experience. We visited one of our investigators who is an older lady and while we were talking to her she got really concerned because she thought my forehead was diseased. I tried to tell her it was just a little acne but she still seemed pretty concerned ;)

Friday we had lots of stuff fall through but we were able to get a new investigator and a member to come out teaching with us so that was definitely a miracle :)

Saturday was pretty awesome. In the morning the zone leaders dropped off some more BoMs which was nice because we ran out (they've been in really short supply recently which has been frustrating...). In the afternoon we biked out to the far edge of our area because when we left the apartment it was nice and sunny and we couldn't see any rain clouds anywhere. Within an hour though it started down pouring. We were visiting with a less-active member when it started though and he offered to give us a ride home. We asked him if he would come out teaching with us and he said he would. We went and taught one of our investigators and got a member present lesson so that was a total miracle :) In the evening we were able to finally meet with one of our potentials and teach her the restoration. The lesson was super awesome and afterwards when we got back to the apartment she texted us and said we were answer from God and that it wasn't a coincidence that she met with us. She committed to baptism and is super excited to come to church next week! #Miracles

Sunday was slightly disappointing. We had an investigator who we haven't taught in a month who showed up to church randomly for the first time so that was good. But our 2 main progressing investigators who gave us solid commitments to come the day before didn't show up. The agency of man is so frustrating at times! Anyways, everything fell through in the afternoon but the evening was good.

I listened to one of my favorite conference talks yesterday that is titled, "Converted to His Gospel through His Church" by Donald L. Hallstrom

"Some have come to think of activity in the Church as the ultimate goal. Therein lies a danger. It is possible to be active in the Church and less active in the gospel. Let me stress: activity in the Church is a highly desirable goal; however, it is insufficient. Activity in the Church is an outward indication of our spiritual desire. If we attend our meetings, hold and fulfill Church responsibilities, and serve others, it is publicly observed. By contrast, the things of the gospel are usually less visible and more difficult to measure, but they are of greater eternal importance. For example, how much faith do we really have? How repentant are we? How meaningful are the ordinances in our lives? How focused are we on our covenants?"

I love those questions he asks at the end. They are great questions that we need to ask ourselves from time to time to make sure we are active in the church AND in the gospel. He then gives 3 suggestions to help us with doing that.

1. Deepen our understanding of Deity

2. Focus on the ordinances and covenants

3. Unite the gospel with the Church

One of my favorite scriptures is Mosiah 2:41, "I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual" Truly living the gospel is the key to lasting happiness. Righteousness is Happiness!

Well, I hope y'all have another wonderful week of Summer! Thank you for your examples and for your love and support!

Love, Elder Larsen

D&C 78:17-18

P.S. Yay for sunglasses being approved for missionaries now!

Transfers

Dear Family and Friends,

First off we got transfer doctrine last night and I get to stay in the Norman 2nd ward for another transfer with Elder Vincent! So excited, we're going to keep on tearing it up!

Monday we realized that there is nothing to do in Norman (at least for missionaries). We asked so many people for fun things to do and the few people who actually had an answer said something that missionaries aren't allowed to do. So we ended up playing sand volley ball which was actually pretty fun :)

Tuesday we had members feed us breakfast, lunch, and dinner which was pretty awesome :) Aside from that though, we found a new investigator! We haven't been able to meet with her since but we have an appointment for tomorrow so hopefully it goes through. In the afternoon we visited some less-actives and tracted. After dinner we had an appointment with some of our new investigators from last week but they texted us last minute and said they weren't interested anymore. But we were still able to have a lesson with another investigator and with a less-active family so that was good :)

Wednesday morning we had a member come out teaching with us and we were able to teach a lesson so that was cool :) In the afternoon we did a ton of biking and it was super hot and humid. I haven't sweat that much in a long time so that was totally awesome! In the evening we met with the ward mission leader and worked on the ward mission plan.

Thursday we had lots of planning to do and we visited some less-actives.

Friday we had exchanges and I got to go to the 1st ward with one of our zone leaders. Everything fell through and we pulled straight 0's but it was still an awesome exchange and I learned a lot about faith :)

Saturday morning we got to do service for an elderly member with alzheimer's who is moving in with her daughter. It was probably the quickest and easiest move I've ever helped with :) In the afternoon I can't really remember what happened besides that we biked a lot... 

Sunday we didn't have any investigators at church (again) but the sisters had a family who came so that was super awesome! We also got to go teach the sharing time lesson in primary about the restoration of the priesthood so that was fun :) Rest of the day was good, we were able to teach some lessons.

Something we've been focusing a lot on recently in our ward is trying to help the members do member missionary work. Some of my favorite quotes from Presidents of the church on member missionary work are...

“We must share the gospel with others. That is our responsibility—every member a missionary. That is the call of prophets of God. … Member-missionary work is one of the great keys to the individual growth of our members. It is my conviction that member-missionary work will raise the spirituality in any ward where applied” - President Ezra Taft Benson

“That is your mission, my brethren and sisters of the Church, that is your responsibility. Freely you have received and our Heavenly Father will expect you freely to share with His other sons and daughters these glorious truths. We will attain our exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom only on the condition that we share with our Father’s other children the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and observe the commandments that will enrich our lives here and hereafter” - President George Albert Smith

So if you don't have a personal or family mission plan, make one! It's really easy and there's plenty of online resources to help you. Sharing the gospel is such a joy :)

Anyways, Happy Memorial Day! Hope y'all have a simply fantastic week!

Love, Elder Larsen

3 Nephi 17:14-15

10 Months Already!?!

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week has flown by! We saw lots of miracles, found lots of new investigators, and the Lord is blessing us beyond measure :)

Monday evening we got a member out with us but all our appointments fell through so that was unfortunate. But we were able to have a lesson with the recent convert Smith family so that was awesome :)

Tuesday afternoon we had 2 appointments set up for 1:00 and 1 appointment for 2:00. We got a member out with us and they all fell through along with all our backups. Guess the Lord is trying to teach us some more patience ;) Did some tracting and member work in the afternoon. We had an appointment set up in the evening with a referral we received from a member but we couldn't find anyone available to go teaching with us. So we went there by ourselves and ended up teaching them the Restoration which was awesome! (even if there wasn't a member present...)

Wednesday morning we had a DLC (district leadership council) meeting which was good. In the afternoon we went out and tried to visit some people. We also had the opportunity to help some random elderly couple from the city with loading a piano they bought on craigslist. They picked us up at our apartment and we stopped at 7-11because he needed to use the restroom. We couldn't just sit in the car alone with his wife so we got out and followed him in. His wife decided to follow us in as well. When he was ready, we headed back out to the car. His wife was still inside the 7-11 so I figured we would just wait in the car for her. But then the guy started the car and started driving off. So I said something to the effect of, "Uh, is your wife planning on coming with us?" He replied, "Yeah". "You know she's still inside the 7-11 right?" He looked to his right at the passenger seat and realized she was gone. "Oh, I thought she was still in the car, better go back and get her". So that was pretty funny :) 

Thursday we had some planning in the morning and then we did exchanges in the afternoon. We did lots of biking around and trying to talk with people but no one was interested. We had dinner with a crazy recent convert named Brother Black. He loves science and theories and some of his ideas are pretty hilarious :) We had a member come out with us in the evening from 7-8 but our appointment and all the backups fell through. So with the last hour of the day we decided to go try and see some less-active members. As we were riding, I noticed the house of a potential investigator we hadn't seen in a while and I felt like we should go and knock on his door. He was home and he let us inside his house for the first time. We taught him a brief restoration lesson and he committed to reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. He's pretty open to the idea and wants to learn more. So being led to him was a cool miracle :)

Friday afternoon started off slow but at 4:00we had an appointment scheduled and a member coming out with us. And for the first time that week, everything went as planned! We were able to teach them the restoration and we also got another new investigator out it :) Definitely a miracle! In the evening we had a ward party at the church. The turnout wasn't too great but we had a fun time playing games with some of the members. We played that head banz game where everyone has a word on their forehead and everyone takes turns asking yes or no questions to figure out what their word is. My companion's word was "bra" so that was pretty hysterical. Everyone who walked by and saw it and started laughing ;)

Saturday morning we had a lesson scheduled at 8 which was pretty unusual. But we got one of the priests in our ward to go with us and we were able to teach an awesome plan of salvation lesson! I love being able to have actual lessons when we take the youth out. In the afternoon and evening we did some biking and committed some less-actives to coming to church. When we got back to the apartment in the evening we realized our AC was broken. So the past couple of days our apartment has been a nice warm 80 degrees :)

Sunday was awesome because we had ward conference and got to hear a lot from the stake leaders but also slightly disappointing because none of our investigators made it to church. But we're getting closer and I have faith that next week we'll be able to get at least one of them there! 

The stake's lesson in priesthood yesterday was super insightful. They talked a lot about President Nelson's most recent conference address he gave in the priesthood session about "The Price of Priesthood Power" One of my favorite quotes from it is, 

"I urgently plead with each one of us to live up to our privileges as bearers of the priesthood. In a coming day, only those men who have taken their priesthood seriously, by diligently seeking to be taught by the Lord Himself, will be able to bless, guide, protect, strengthen, and heal others. Only a man who has paid the price for priesthood power will be able to bring miracles to those he loves and keep his marriage and family safe, now and throughout eternity."

He could have said, "Now is the day when only those men who..." But rather he said, "In a coming day..." We need to prepare for that coming day by following the counsel of President Nelson and asking ourselves, "What am I willing to pay for more power in the priesthood?"

Well, I'm out of time now. We've got a birthday to go celebrate but I hope yall have a wonderful week!

Love, Elder Larsen

Mosiah 2:21-24