Tuesday, August 2, 2016

08/01/16 - FAMILAY!!!!!! HOWS GOES IT!??!

What's the haps fam?!??

Holy tow....this week Ben got baptized!!!! IT WAS AWESOME!!!!! It's been an amazing journey with him and it was so sweet to see him baptized!!! I'll send pics! Haha he never said this to us but he asked about serving a mission when the zone leaders were doing his interview, that he wants to serve a mission!! This guy's 24 years old! Haha, the Lord works in mysterious ways!! 

Welp, like I said we started over last week with a clean slate besides those moving forward, and we're moving towards Fetu and Chris!! Chris slipped up a little bit this week but he's back at church and his recruiter is helping him with the smoking as well!! haha You can't really smoke while you're in the marines I guess! And Fetu, the old man, he's back on the ball and we're going to finish his lessons on Tuesday so hopefully he'll be ready to get baptized next week!! He wants to get baptized, but didn't want to pick the date til after his lessons were done, so we'll see hopefully for next week!! We also found Eli, a newly wed with his wife, who's not a member, but his wife is and we're hoping to be able to catch them tomorrow!! We taught them the Plan of Salvation, and he loved it from what his wife told us how families can be together forever and how after we die, it's not the end!! They've been busy all week and couldn't make it to church so tomorrow we'll maua se kala from him! 

Welp, year mark last Friday. Haha, earlier in my mission I thought it would be this big day, have a big celebration, ice cream...haha the only thing out of the ordinary we did for my year mark was a burned a shirt when we got back to the house! I've been thinking as the first year of my mission finished, did I do enough to be able to help those people come unto Christ?? It's been a roller coaster of emotions, experiences, comps, investigators, members....but I wouldn't give it up for ANYTHING! I know I still have a LONG way to go spiritually, but I have learned more from the Lord, the Spirit, investigators, members, kids, that has forever changed my life! I've had experiences that have solidified Doctrine of Christ that I will NEVER forget! I've had comps that we've had ups, downs, lefts, rights, but at the end of the day, he's still my brother! He's still someone who's imperfect, JUST LIKE ME. The line "Patience is a Virtue" will be forever burned in my mind as a reminder of all those times I've needed to understand where others are coming from, from what they've gone through, what trials they may have had, what experiences they may have had...I've learned that I can't change the past, no matter how much I ponder on it, it will never change...but what is fully dependent on me is my decision of today and tomorrow. Because that's what eternity is build upon...what I choose todayTomorrowtoday will be my past. My future is fully dependent on today, and my future is eternity. "Choose ye THIS DAY, whom ye will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." I've learned that God does not always come when we call him, but he will always come on time and to live near to God so that all things will appear small in comparison with eternal realities. I love this gospel and it's been a journey that will stay with me for eternity. Spiritually, I've been knocked down knocked down, trampled, screamed at for Christ....because he did the exact thing for me, and more. As a disciple of Christ, we live, breathe, think Christ. That's what missions are for. That's what our life after missions should be. Walking a thousand miles, begins with one step. Making it to eternity begins with our choices today.

Love Elder Larson

Ben's baptism!!

Miti, my soa, me, and  Clarence
Funny photo haha!

07/25/16 - HEY HEY HEY FAM!!!!!!

HOWS THE LIFE!?!? How's the 208??

Welp, this weeks been another one for the books!! Loving it!!! Haha we did weekly planning and had a really awesome talk with Alex Willis about his mission and questions we had and we went through our weekly planning and are going to keep those who really have a desire to move forward! It was cool cause we talked with Alex and he was explaining to us a talk that Brad Wilcox gave them about how the people they find really starts with when we as missionaries explain the First Vision and Joseph Smith...THAT is when Satan attacks the investigators once we begin to share and if they are receptive to the message of Joseph Smith, You have a sweet building block to go off of...if not, they'll go and start attacking Joseph Smith as a prophet....you'll know where to go from there, following the Spirit, You can't go wrong! 

Ben, from first ward, is getting baptized this Saturday!! He's way excited for it and we're way excited for him!! He's 24 and took lessons ages ago, but then lost contact with the elders, but we found him again, finished and he's ready to be baptized! Hopefully it will bring the less active family back to church as well!! We'll see how it goes!! Chris is still working on smoking almost done, he hasn't smoked for 4 days but the only problem is everyone around him...mom, friends, they all smoke... But he's sticking to it! We've just got to stay with him and keep in close contact during the week! 

Other than that, we're pretty much starting from scratch! We cleared everyone that was just moving in a circle, with no real intent to change, and we're going to start fresh!! It's giving us a new sense of hope that we'll prayerfully be able to find some people ready to go, prepared by the Lord!!!

And to finish...here's a quote that I JUST LOVE!!!!!(;

"Everything will work out in the end. If it does not work out...it's not the end." -Pres Gordon B Hinckley

You's have a great one this week!!! 
Love ya....Elder Larson

Paul Nielson and I on a split
Dabbing...I guess
This is after our split with Paul Nielsen and Taulelei Masima


07/18/16 - O Lo'u Aiga Fiafia e Faavavau!!!!

How's everyone doing!!??

Comps doing great!! We're putting in work, like I said this week FLEW BY!! Haha yeah my year mark is coming up, but honestly I'm not as pumped as I thought I was...it'll probs just pass and go and then that'll be it haha! Haha yeah we've been exercising heaps! I'm just getting bigger though, but bulky haha! We haven't had heaps of Samoan food lately which is a bummer, but we had lasagna for our toonai yesterday after church and salad!! IT WAS BOMB AS!!!
This week FLEW by!!! And it was wonderful!! We contacted Tui, a referral from E Tuimauga, a man from Manu'a whose wife and daughter got baptized just recently a few weeks ago!! Tui and his son, Tui, are both going out of town for 2 weeks for a surgery, but will be back by the end of the month!! We talked with him and he really liked the teachings of the church, and has a desire to be baptized....the only problem that still stands in the way is that he holds a really high position in a church over there in Manu'a. BUT, the faifeau has left to the states and he doesn't know if he'll be coming back soon. If not, he'll get baptized! So we're praying and hoping that we can get his lessons and things done before, or even if, the faifeau comes back!
And then we contacted Salele'a, another older man that Pres Lotulelei knows and he used to take discussions years ago, and as a kid, he grew up with his best friends as Mormons, the only thing that held him back was that his dad was a faifeau. BUT, we hope to continue with his kids and hopefully if his kids begin to be baptized, then he will have more support and leeway to come to the gospel!!!
We're working with Fetu and hopefully going to set a date for him for next week!! The bishopric just got changed in 2nd ward, so we don't have a ward mission leader now, but that's all goods, we'll make it work! But anyways!! Chris is doing really good, he's almost stopped smoking completely!!! He's getting help from his recruiter too cause he's going into the marines once he graduates so hopefully he'll be able to get baptized at the beginning of next month!! And Ben, from 1st ward, is doing phenomenal, we're onto lesson 3 with him, and he's loving it! He remembered the Plan of Salvation on Sunday, when we taught it and it totally on board!! Moving the work, seeing blessings in the lives of investigators and members, couldn't ask for a more blessed place to be right now!!
Lovin the work, and pushin it forward!! There are a couple quotes from conference and from a Thomas S Monson quote book we borrowed from a  member!!
"Decision is of little account unless it is followed by action"
"No one is proud of what he intends to do"
"Through the Holy Ghost, we experience "the multitude of [Christ's] tender mercies and miracles that do not cease"-E Robert D Hales
"Blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble"-Alma
Love Yous all and have a bomb as week!!
Elder Laason!!!

This was last p-day after service at Maliu Mai


Me, Josie, Hariet and Amataga....they got baptized in June


Monday, August 1, 2016

07/11/16 - July 11th!

HEY HEY HEY!!! How's the fam?!?!

So sorry this weeks is gonna be really short, we're low on time, but know I love yous!!!!

So this week, we met with President on Tuesday and E Tuimauga was there!!!! It was sweet as to see him!! Haha and he's still losing weight!! Haha but the training with President was way amazing!!! I learned so much, and this is one of the coolest things I learned.....each companion had to teach 3 principles from a chapter of the doctrine of Christ we were given! E Faalogo and I got 3 Nephi 27 and our 3 principles were Faith, Prayer and Repentance. But one of the coolest things I wanted to share was what I was pondering while another companionship was teaching! I was thinking about Prayer......and I am so guilty of it, at night and in the mornings, we are so tired that we just get up on our knees, say the same prayer we always say, and then pass out or get and get ready for the day...but I want to give to those, including me, a little way that I was thinking of prayer that day. 

Every time you kneel and close Your eyes, I want You to picture You're in a perfectly white room kneeling, You haven't' begun Your prayer yet though....a door opens to Your right and a Perfect Someone, in a Shining White Robe, and  walks into the room beaming. Neither of you say a word yet...You watch as He comes and kneels down in front of You, still beaming, like a proud father of his son...yet no words are still said. Then You begin and address Him as Your Father In Heaven, Your Creator. You thank Him for all that He has given You and blessed You with and You give an accounting of Your day. He stays sitting there, yet to speak a word, still smiling, as You also ask for help in the coming days for those around You, family, friends, and THEN for Yourself. And then You close in Jesus Christ, His Only Begotten, Amen. He never utters a word but as You finish, You feel His embrace around You as You finish and it's just a warm comforting feeling that everything is going to be OK. And then You open Your eyes and Your Prayer is finished. Now I don't give this as a must, but I've found that as we really picture what we are praying for and what Prayer actually is...Prayer is our ONLY COMMUNICATION with our Loving Father in Heaven and He desires to help us, but it's all according to us. He has every means to help us, but if we don't ask, we will never receive. "Ask and Ye shall Receive, Knock and it shall be Opened unto You"!!!!

LOVE YOUS FOREVER,
Elder Larson!!


Sorry this is way short, we're short on time but I love Yous!!


This one is for you Mom! (Papa used to call her "Famous Amos")