Monday, April 25, 2016

4/25/16 - SOLE!!! O A MAI SIKAKOU AIGA!?!??!

Holla back!!! Hows the fam doing!?!? Sounds like yous all had a pretty crazy week!!!

This week was crazy, it started off Sunday night!!!!! Last Sunday, we had a way cool experience! It was about 8:30pm, and we were heading on our way home from a visit, and then we got a call from a member ACROSS our area for help for a less active lady that was way sick and needed a blessing, so we headed over, but the family that she lives with is way strong LMS (London Missionary Society?), so they wouldn't allow the blessing to be done in or around the house, so we had to take her to bishop's house and we did the blessing there with bishop's son! Then we found out, this lady, Pei, hasn't been to church in ages, and bishop's wife knows her really well, so we found a lost sheep this week and are getting her reactivated! WOOOOOOP WOOOOOOOP!!! 

Then, no baptisms this week because of the cyclone, so they all got postponed to next week!! BUT, I'm not sure if yous remember Julian, he was pretty much ready to get baptized but then he fell off the face of the earth. He bounced from his house and is now living with some friends in 'Ili'Ili. So Esau, E Faalogo, and I went searching for him! For 2 and a half hours we searched for this kid, up and down this one road, asking everyone and their dogs where or if they know where he is! We're all getting blisters, Pres Hannemann told all missionaries to be in by 6pm cause of the cyclone warnings, and it's closing in on 5:30ish, and we cannot find this kid for the life of us. But there was one last house that we wanted to try and knock one last time, to see if he could actually be there. So we knocked. No one. Knocked again. Nothing. Then right before we were about to leave, I went to knock one more time before we left. Knocked and the door. Nothing. Welp, thinking we had totally failed we headed home so we could get home before 6. 
 
The next morning during studies, I was trying to figure out what the Lord wanted us to learn, cause I was frustrated as all get out. We were wet, blistered, and tired, we could not find this kid. All I wanted was to find him. His family situation isn't looking to great and we're trying to get him back on the straight and narrow before he leaves too far! So I kept praying and flipping through the scriptures for something...and then I found it with the help of the Spirit guiding....Endurance! 
I flipped to D&C 121:7-9, one of my faves!! I reread it and I got yet another meaning from it! 
Joseph Smith at this time si in Liberty Jail, suffering persecutions and afflictions, and all he is concerned about is his family and the persecuting that the saints are receiving. And then the Lord gives the Prophet, Joseph, this counsel and words of comfort.....

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; THINE ADVERSITY and thine AFFLICTIONS shall be but a SMALL MOMENT;
'And then, IF thou ENDURE it WELL, GOD shalt EXALT thee on HIGH; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.
'Thy FRIENDS do STAND by thee, and they shall HAIL thee AGAIN with warm hearts and friendly hands."

Anyone can endure, but we need to endure it well with Love in our hearts towards God and our friends and neighbors...The  2 GREATEST COMMANDMENTS!!!! THEN will we TRULY feel and know the first and greatest TRUTH...That God our eternal Father, Loves us with ALL His heart, ALL His might, with ALL His mind, and ALL His strength!!!

Love yous all and hope yous were able to pull something to apply this week to yous weeks!! LOVE YOUS ALL!!!
Elder Larson

George (the boxer), Elder Daley, Elder Faalogo, and Colby  (Elder Daley came back for a week so he could get his license so George when on splits with them.)

Another pic with the Book of Mormon in Samoan.

Tree of Life--this is from the top of the mountain or hill on American Samoa that you can see the whole island.  The missionaries call the tree at the top the Tree of Life.




Monday, April 18, 2016

4/18/16 - YES!!!!!!

Sweet as!! HOWS THE FAM!!!!!?????  

MY SON HAS LEFT FOR MANU'A!!!!!!!!)':  Pres called and said that he was needed in Manu'a as a ZL, so I went with the elders in Nuuuli, the area next to ours for the last couple days, and now I'm with Elder Faalogo!! He's from New Zealand and has been out about 5 months!! 

For reals though, it was sad as to see Tuimauga leave. We literally cried....I can guarantee that that will not happen again on my entire mission. I loved that guy and we clicked as soon as he got here!! I miss him heaps, it's like having a best friend move away and you have no idea when your gonna see him again. Anyways, it was bound to happen, just wish it didn't happen like that. 

Welp, happier note!! Ray got baptized this Saturday!!!!!! IT WAS AMAZING!!!! Honestly I was so proud of him, his wife bore her testimony after he got baptized and just balled. And she's a tough one!! It was such a spiritual day and was just straight up awesome!! I just wish Elder Tuimauga could have seen it and been there!! He left Thur morning after we got the call from our ZL's on Wed! But honestly it was just amazing!! They're going to the temple in a year with their 3 kids to be sealed together!!!! Sweet as!!!!!
And we got to go to George's boxing match, along with his younger brother and Ali'i, another one of our investigators who's getting baptized the 30th!!!! SO PUMPED!!!!!!! They did AWESOME!!! All of them won!!! YESH!!!

Welp, before Elder Tuimauga left, we had a great conversation about the difference between faith and hope during our comp study Tues morning!!! We went deep into it and I can't remember heaps about it, but I do remember this....."Going along with Alma 32:28, the scripture doesn't say liken faith to a seed, but to liken "the Word", or in other words, Christ! So we began talking about how when we strengthen and apply our faith, the soil that we're planting in is our hearts. If we love and follow Christ, that is when we strengthen our relationship with Christ, therefore, the seed begins to grow! And when it it full grown, it becomes the Tree of Life. And when we are able to partake of the fruit, Eternal Life, that is when the MOST blessings of our faith in Him will come!!"
This wasn't' all of it but this is what I most remember!! 

May we always remember Him, that we may have His spirit to be with us, amen.

Love Elder Larson!!!

Got to go watch Georges boxing match!!

RAY GOT BAPTIZED!!!!





4/11/16 - FAMALY!!!!!!

HEY FAMALY!!!

Welp!!! I just got an email from Bowen!! Haha he just got transferred to a Samoan ward and is learning Samoan!! Its sweet as!! Anyways!! We found an investigator that got dropped like 3 years ago and he's now getting baptized on the 23rd!!! Holy blessings!!! Honestly this week has been crazy spiritual!! Prayers on the hourly!! Blessings on blessings!! Here's what I sent Pres in the weekly email about Matt Tunoa, the investigator we found! 

We finally contacted an investigator from the area book from like 3 years ago! Speakman and I began looking for him since Jan!! And the rest of his family are members, just less active! But we met with him on Thursday, and had a lesson with him, his wife, and his sister in law, and we extended the invitation to be baptized and he accepted!! 1st meeting with this guy!! Matt Tunoa!! It was honestly one of the coolest experiences ever!! After my comp and I were talking about it and he told me, "Props for the invitation, cause if you hadn't done it, I was going to extend it too!!" Such a testimony to me that the Spirit was so strong there!! Afterwards we had been talking with Elder Knapp, and he was explaining that when in a lesson, and the Spirit is so strong, it needs to be a big invitation, otherwise it's like a waste of the Spirit! LOVED IT!!!

It was so awesome!!!! WAAAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Sweet as!! 
And Rays baptism is this Saturday!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!! He told us a story of when he was talking to one of his buddies waiting for a bus and his buddy asked if he wanted a joint, and then all of a sudden, all Ray could hear was the bus, which was 100 yards away. And then when the bus finally stopped, Ray got on then he could hear his buddy again say goodbye!! He says he knows it was God helping him stay away from the temptations being thrown at him left and right!! AWESOME!!!!! LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEEEE ITT!!!!! So excited for him and his decision to do this! It's going to bring his family closer and hopefully his kids from off island will come back!! One's getting ready to serve a mission!!!!! WOOOP WOOOOOP!!! And his wife was crying yesterday for him because this has been going on for the past 14 years!!!! WWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! The GOSPEL literally CHANGES LIVES!!!!!!!

Sorry, the emails will be getting shorter cause the data over here is low and so they only want us emailing for about an hourish!! So sorry but this is what the haps was this week!! 

LOVE FOREVER!!
Elder Larson!!!
found a bus this morning....I think we're gonna try and use it to proselyte=P





Monday, April 4, 2016

04/04/16 - O ITATOU UMA LAVA O LE AIGA (Samoan rendition of "We are Family")

HELLO HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!! How are yous all doing!?!?!? 

WOOOP WWWOOOOOOOPPP!!!! CONFERENCE WAS SWEET AS. 

Favorite talks were BOTH of Pres Dieter F Uchtdorf's talks and Elder Kevin Duncan's!!!! Those were my top 3!!!!! Some quotes I wrote that I absolutely LOVED!!!!....

Pres Dieter F Uchtdorf
"Let Love CONQUER Pride" 

"We ALL can be Saviors of Strong Families" 

"What Legacy do you want to leave with your posterity?"

"Obedience is the Lifeblood of Faith"

"We are Designed to Become"

"The sheep is worthy of rescue simply because it is LOVED"

"There is nothing good unless you do it"

Abe Lincoln
"Most people are about as happy as their minds can be"

Pres Russell M Nelson
"Live up to the powers of Heaven"

Prophet Thomas S Monson
"May we choose the harder right than the easier wrong"

Welp, those were just  a couple of my favorites!!!! LOVED THEM ALL!! I hope everyone had an opportunity to listen to all of conference!! If not go back and listen to the talks!! If you did, go back and listen to the talks!!You can eat ice cream AND watch at the same time!! 


This week with the work, welp, it was a doozy!! In a good way!! I have never been so exhausted in my life and that is saying something!! We were on a split literally every day this week except for Wed, we were on our own! But George came out with us on Thursday and we did a way big split with another elder, long story short, he needed a home for a couple days before he left to go to Manu'a, and some other youth, it was sweet as!! And we got some sweet as pics too!! I just want to talk about one of our investigators real quick!! Ray, a 42 year old man, smoking and drinking most of his life, married with 3 kids, but the older 2 are in the states and Upolu.And his wife is a member as well as the 2 older, younger one isn't old enough yet. It started on last Saturday, we went to go visit him and he was trying to hide a drink he had in his hand but it fell and he just kept apologizing, but we just kept telling him everything is gonna be all goods! We then met with him again the next day after sacrament meeting and had one of the coolest lessons ever! He bore his testimony of wanting to change. (We've been meeting with Ray for the last 3 months just fyi). He just cried and cried and said he felt something strong, a strong desire for change and it was warm! We've been seeing him every day since then and he hasn't smoked or drank since that Saturday night!! He's getting baptized on the April 16th as of now! He's doing so well and came to BOTH sessions of Sunday morning conference!! This is what the missions about. This is why I'm doing what I'm doing. Seeing the change in these peoples lives as they come closer to their Savior and Redeemer and their lives take a 180 degree turn!!! I love it and bear testament that the powers of Heaven to change people's lives is REAL!!!!!!

Loves Yous all and hope this week has been sweet as for all of yous!!! 
Elder Larson

George is with Colby and Elder Tuimauga as they came back to wait for the ZLs...sadly that is not rain, but sweat!
Taking a quick nap while waiting for the second Sunday Conference session at 9am in American Samoa...the first session started at 5am and then stayed in the chapel waiting for the next session...his companion couldn't resist the temptation of the pic.  That is George behind him too.

George was pretty excited for his dinner this week...looks like KFC, but they like to call it tropical chicken.  Fifteen pieces of chicken, 8 rolls, and some mashed potatoes for the four of them..