I'm so sorry I don't have a ton of
time cause this p day the zone leaders didn't come pick us up til way
late so we only have a little bit of time! I loved hearing from
everyone, so sorry I can't reply to everyone know that I love ya all!
Here's kind of my weekly update...
So
I'll start things off back on Sept 9th and then the next paragraph is a
new journal entry....Elder Lamoreaux (my comp) and I both got to
Tutuila today
on the possibly the sketchest plane I have ever seen or ridden!! It was
only 30 minutes, but it possibly could have been the longest 30 minutes
of my life...I filled 2 barf bags and almost a third before it was
through so that was fun. So, Elder Lamoreaux has only been out 4 months
and just barely got done with his training and we're whitewashing an
area (which means we both get transferred to a new area) and honestly
now that I'm here, my samoan sucks.
So
to tell You where I'm at, Tutuila is the island of American Samoa and
our area is the western most tip of the island, but it's the biggest
area on the island (its about a fifth of the island)!
So
the Lord blessed us with 6 referrals and we were able to contact 2 of
them, the rest were'nt home but it was fantastic! One thing real quick
though, when you go to a foreign country, and you can barely speak the
language already, it gets way lonely. It gets way discouraging because
you can't understand what everyone around you is saying and this is when
you turn to the Lord for help! We cannot do this on our own! And you
know what? When I put on my tie yesterday morning,
I realized I grabbed the blue one that Papa used to wear. I could feel
that Papa was there with me and it made me tear up. When you think
something is too hard, and you feel like no one is around to help or
comfort, the Lord will always be there for you! It is up to us to reach
out to Him, and He will then be able to bless us with comfort! And to
know that Papa was with me yesterday!
So yesterday, I honestly felt like garbage. I felt alone, dumb, unqualified, like a flippin rock. And today,
I was looking at pictures of you all, and I lost it. I balled like a 2
year old. I want to help preach this gospel so badly, but I can't even
understand the people's concerns, problems, questions, anything! I felt
so alone, because I can' t communicate at all, as soon as my soa begins
in Samoan (his samoan is way good!), I feel like the odd man out, I feel
like I should totally have this but I don't. And I said possibly the
most heartfelt pray in a long time. Only then did I realize what I was
missing. I didn't fully understand the way the Lord was molding me as
His instrument. He needs to sometimes break us down, so that He can
build us up, 10x stronger. I didn't fully understand that I was actually
contributing, just not the way I thought I could. I didn't fully
understand why I wasn't picking up the language like I thought. But now I
do. We don't know how the Lord makes stronger or helps us before hand,
all we can do is put our trust and faith in Him. THis is when He will be
able to form us to best use the talents He has given us, to invite
others to come unto Christ. THis is what we know. God will ALWAYS love
us. When we feel alone, He is only a prayer away. When we learn and
build our faith through Christlike attributes and getting through
trials, that is how we show our Heavenly Father our diligence and faith,
enough for Him to entrust us with building up His kingdom and spreading
His gospel!
I got to read all your emails, thank you so much for all of them, I love em all!! Keep me updated on all the sports!!!
Kyle, no worries, you'll know when the right girl comes along!
Cade great job with your pick skux!! Defense for life!!
Keato,
you'll find a good sport, just keep toughing out with school! Keep
tossing the rugby ball around and get way good, cause it'll help ya
later!
Mom
and Dad, so sorry they had that crappy cleanup. You'll be blessed
immensly later, you just may not have seen it yet! The Lord blesses in
His own time and way! I hope you can find my area, you can't really miss
it its huge! I love ya'll! Keep up the good work!! I can send only 2
pics cause the data over here isnt' great, so I'll send those real
quick! I love you all, and yeah I got way sick, after that stupid plane
ride and that day we had to stay in cause I couldn't get up without
feeling like junk, but we're all good now!!
I
pray for you all everyday day!! I'll pray you find a better job, cause
that one sounds way junky! But you will be blessed, trust me!! Keep
leading your lives the way Christ did, and all will be well with you!! I
love you all forever and miss you like crazy!!!!
Alofa atu!!
Elder Larson
(NOTE: We will update with the pics as soon as we get them as they haven't come through yet.)
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