5-3-17 Hello Family!!

Hello Family...Short and sweet!

Thanks for setting all that up for me! You are the Best!! sorry I don't have a ton of time, I'm getting transffered to Manu'a today with my son in Ta'u! haha The President said I'll probably finish there! But here's a pic of our last district meeting and my new comp Elder Liana! He's from Hawaii and is the bomb! I'll have to look for a degree after I get home but thanks for everything!! Hope you are having a bomb as week!

Love,
 Elder Larson

District meeting and transfers...crazy Elders!!

My new Soa!! Elder Liana is pretty awesome!! He's from Hawaii!
Fresh from the MTC!!!

4-18-17 HEY FAM!!!

HOW'S LIFE!??!

 Man this is the first pday in a while that we actually have time to do stuff!! Its awesome to relax a little bit!! 

So E. Barclay is actually my comp right now! We cover Safaatoa, Tanumalala, Faleseela tai, and Fasitoo uta! We cover 2 wards and 2 branches, and we've got just about all of Samoa in each area!! We've got a really really thick grassy vao area, we've got one in the mountains, and we've got one right next to the ocean...its' awesome!! The people here are just amazing! We're still teaching,but we mostly do a lot of errands as well as district meetings because we have 3 districts we cover. We also take the elders or sisters with their investigators to Pesega to do the visitor center tour I was telling you about! IT'S AMAZING!! Yesterday, for the first time on my mission, we went with our ward and some investigators that just got baptized and took their family names to do baptisms in the temple!!!!!!!!! IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!! One word... it was just Peaceful. This month we remember Easter and the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how he is the Prince of Peace! Because of His sacrifice, we can find eternal peace in His gospel! LOVE IT!!!

We have 2 baptisms this week, Olioli and Litala! SOOO EXCITED for them! A lot of our investigators.... I've realized, especially here, have 2 of the  biggest problems. One is the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom....BUT, it has strengthened my testimony in Jesus Christ seeing these sons and daughters of God take amazing steps to Him through faith and repentance, and finally through the waters of baptism!! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!

Sorry not lots of time, but love you and hope all is going well! Props to the bros on all their sports and school achievements!! You guys are killing it! And how tall and heavy is everyone?! Haha just curious! Tell ALL our family...on both side...I LOVE THEM ALL and APPRECIATE ALL THEIR SUPPORT!! Love you all!

Elda Laason

No pictures again...so sad!!

4-11-17 Having the time of my LIFE in Samoa!!

How's the Fam?

I am so sorry! I just wrote this massive paragraph to you and I just deleted it by accident... haha sorry!

ZL life is so crazy busy, but I'm having so much fun, because we get to see Pres. Hannemann so much more often and it literally just brings such a smile to my face! Well, I had this really detailed explanation of this cool new program that our Pres.and his wife set up at Pesega, but I deleted it all by accident): So, deleted story short....the mission is doing a visitors center right now. Just about everyday we get to go with elders or sisters in our zone with their investigators and have one of the most spiritual experiences ever! IT'S AWESOME!! So it's starts with these massive pictures of Christ, the first vision, the Restoration of the Priesthood, the Plan of Salvation, temple work, and Christs baptism in the River Jordan! And then a 20 min  Restoration movie to end it and almost every single non member that has gone through, walks out with a greater love for the Savior and what he did, and a date to be baptized!!!! IT'S INCREDIBLY SPIRITUAL and I absolutely love it every time we go through!! I've really grown to love the priesthood, the temples and the work done inside, and especially the Savior!! I LOVE IT!!!!

Kyle, Cade and Keato! You all need to memorize the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood! One thing that Pres Hannemann is really emphasized to our mission, and it's really hit me and the spirit has testified to me the importance of this, that EVERY priesthood holder should have memorized the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood!! Always remember the holy power that you hold and how you need to live clean in order to access that power of God!! I've come to love...and am sooo grateful for the Lord's trust in me to hold His holy power and He trusts us all to live worthy of it!! 

Love you all! Sorry... not a lot of time, but that's just how ZL life goes! Oh...and I just got the package this morning! You rock!!!!!!!  LOVE YOU!!! Have a bomb as week!!

Love, 

Elda Laason

Busy...Busy... Busy!!! 4-4-17

Elder Larson's emails are getting shorter and shorter because he was made Zone Leader last week!
Here is this week's quick email...

Hi Fam!

Ah man... thank you so much for all you do!! I really hope to help you once I get home with the work and such! I am so blessed to have you as my family. I'm just super lucky!! 

Sorry... not a lot of time.  Everything is going well, and holy smokes... Zone Leader is busy! We didn't get home til 10:30 almost every night the past week... dropping off missionaries from the new visitors center in Pesega by the temple! It's super spiritual and absolutely the BEST!!!!!It's super spiritual and wonderful every time you walk into the office ...and we go just about every night with investigators of the zone! It's the absolute BEST!!! I LOVE IT! It's all centered around the Savior and baptism!! Then they watch a short restoration video after words! AWESOME!! 

 Love you all! Hope all is well and you are all having the time of your lives!

 Love and miss you, but we'll talk with you on Mother's Day... coming up!!!! 

Love you all! 

Elda Laason(;

No pictures again...:(

I'm Back!! (We haven't heard from Elder Larson in 1 month...ahhh!!!) This is his first email since Feb. 14th. YAY!!

Hey fam! 

Sorry, the internet went down in our area for a while and I just got ET to Upolu! I'm in Siumu now with an Elder Clark, he hasn't been out very long and we're white washing the area so it'll be a new adventure, but definitely people have loved serving in this area so I'm excited! 

haha, I'm really sad to have left Faala and the work, but I'm just glad that E Leatigaga and Griffiths will continue it! I just want to bear my testimony real quick on exact obedience! The first transfer E Leatigaga and I were together we were both looking for changes in our mission, and really quickly we found that one of the fastest ways to miracles was exact obedience. But that whole transfer, we did not get one soul saved. We had set a goal of 10 believing that that was a goal that we could reach through exact obedience and hard work. But we ended up with not one soul saved. The next transfer began and we were super excited to continue hopefully start reaping our sowing efforts! And with exact obedience, miracles began to happen. The first week, we had 2 baptisms. Then next week had another 2 baptisms! The week after that we had 1 set but because of it being a ward conference week, it got pushed to the next week, then we had 2 baptisms on the 4th of march, then another 2 this last week, and then we have 2 set for this week! My 2 most favorite investigators Faamaga and Felolini! They are a small little family of 4 who used to be lotu LMS, and were looking for a change! It began with the wife Felolini and for a month and a half we worked with the family to get them married and then the husband turned his life 180 through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and they got married and are set to be baptized together this Saturday. Then when the ZL's called that I was gonna get ET, this was the first moment on my mission, where I truly felt Christlike love for this couple because being able to be apart of their conversion process, it was beautiful! They have completely changed the village. All they want is blessings for the people, themselves and their two little ones! Faamaga and I cried like kids saying goodbye, not being able to attend they're baptism, but I told them that I would attend in spirit, and that will do! I bore my testimony to them that I hope and pray they continue to faithfully serve in the church and next year, plan to go to the temple and be sealed together as an eternal family! These 2 wonderful souls would complete the 10 beautiful souls saved for that transfer, our goal for the transfer before! Exact obedience brings miracles, and not just to me and my comp but to those we were blessed to be a part of their conversion to Jesus Christ and His Atonement and Gospel! I love this work, ready to work here in Siumu with Elder Clark, and work miracles with the Lord! I say these things humbly is the holy name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I was so sad leaving Faamaga and Felolini and missing their baptism this Saturday, but the Lord obviously has other plans for us, and we just need to trust! I wish I had my camera I forgot it back at the house so next week I'll send pics of this sweet fam! Honestly, my favorite fam on the mission!!! So great to be a part of their story!!! I love and miss them so much!! 

So sorry its' been ages since I've emailed, internet went down, but we're all good now with the internet over here! Love you... sorry no pics, but next week definitely!

Love Elder Larson :)

This is my zone with President Henneman and his wife.

2-7-17 Tatou te tau faamalo ile agalelei ma le alofa o le Tapa'au Sili oi le Lagi

Family...How are you doing!??

So sorry...Our pdays have been changed to Wednesday over in our mission. That's why you didn't receive a letter on Sunday...our Monday!  Whats going on?? Whats happening?? The pics from the snowshoeing looked so fun! haha!  

Well, so this week and half is beginning to bring in the blessings that we waited a whole transfer for! We're both staying here in Faala so we'll be able to reap the benefits of our sowing! We have 4 baptisms planned for this week, Moaga, Salio, Francine, and Lina! Moaga is almost 30, and when we found him he was having a very hard time. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, he has turned 180 degrees and is consistently at church. He is strong and learning to have great faith and standing up for himself with his family of another religion. Salio, Francine, and Lina are all going to get baptized this Saturday too! They're all just little guys 12, 12, and 9, but they are very smart and understand and feel the love our Heavenly Father and Savior have for each of them! Really excited for all of them!! 

Nothing absolutely life changing happened this week, but I do want to share this. There's is a MASSIVE church history book we found in our house that goes over the whole church history beginning in the late 1700's! And it shares a lot on Joseph Smith Jr... the 14 yr. old boy that with the power and authority of God, went on to become 2nd behind Jesus Christ, in shaping the world for the Second Coming of our Savior, through the Restoration of his gospel! I can't really put my finger on it, but it just brings me so much joy to read about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon which he translated with the power and authority of God! I just feel really AMAZING! And at district meeting we all wrote our testimonies about the Book of Mormon, and it was just a really nice time to contemplate and strengthen my testimony by writing it down! Which is a really nice thing for investigators, because if they can gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon, then that leads to a testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet called of God to restore the Church of Jesus Christ, meaning the true church of God, is now upon the earth, and more than 15 million of Gods children are working to spread it to the 4 corners of the earth! Incredible, isn't it?? I'm just so thankful to be apart of it! 

Hope you are all doing great! Sorry its a little late, love you and can't wait to here whats happening!! 

Love,

Elder Larson

PS. We were walking to some homes and came across these HUGE PIGS, just chillin like villains.

PPS. We bought tons of saimini, but it expired and made us sick, so we kind of made a little bit of a mess in the house.  haha

Nothing like a good coconut find on Pday!

1-29-17O Fua a nai galuega o ma'ua!

Hey FAM!!!!

What's happening!?!? Haha don't you worry, it is very hot over here! Everyday, as we begin the day, we immediately start sweating which makes for a long, wet day!

Sounds like Mom and Keats are gonna go party in the snow with snow shoes! NICE! 

So this week....

We are beginning to see the works of our labors!! Five weeks of work is beginning to pay off!! For the past 3 weeks we haven't had anyone to church. We've been working morning to night, and we're FINALLY seeing the fruits of our labors!! It adds new meaning to the scripture in Ether from Moroni..."I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. "

So this last Sunday, we were just praying that we would have some souls at church! We get to Faala 2nd ward, and no one is there. We then went to Vaitoomuli after sacrament was over, praying we would have some investigators there, and we had 2!!! Moaga and Matalena! Moaga is going to be baptized on the 11th! His only problem has been that he hasn't come to church! But he did it! And then Matalena has been kind of a toss up cause we've been hearing from everyone... but her... that she wants to take lessons, but not from her specifically! And then she just showed up to church yesterday with a member! And then this week we found another little guy that just came from Apia to live with his fam here who are all members, so after lessons...he's getting baptized on 11th with Moaga! 

And so this week we're going to begin with the First Vision with Lolofi, the sweet old lady, and please pray for her because if she were to accept baptism, it would be amazing! So PLEASE pray for her to recognize the truth! 

Well, that's us this week, and this week I was going over my notes from a conference we had with a Seventy, Elder Neilsen, that came in October, and something his wife shared has never left me and I was reminded again of it. Sometimes, not just on a mission, we start feeling discouraged because we feel like we're doing all we can to overcome trials, obey the commandments, and love God, but nothing seems to be going right. All I ask is that YOU remember this scripture that Sister Nielsen shared with us in times of trial...in the words of Christ in the book of Psalms 82...

I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. 

So love yous all and hope yous all have a bomb as week!! Love and miss yous all!!

Elder Larson

Ps..we officially have a bunch of pet chickens now! My comps is Linguini and mine is Gerald!