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.

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

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.

.

3/31/16 - Extra Pics and Story from Elder and Sister Schaefermeyer

Story from Elder and Sister Schaefermeyer upon meeting Colby when he arrived in American Samoa.

Elder Lamaroux - right (from Idaho, a trainer who has only been out 4 months, we met him in the MTC)

Elder Larson - left (from Idaho via the MTC) - His is a great story.  He get motion sickness very easily and the small plane ride from Apia to Pago was very rough.  He got sick and the fellow behind him kept handing him barf bags and patting his back.  When we met them, the Samoan fellow who had been behind him came up and asked, "How you feeling Kolipoki."  It was so cute.  Well, he was green all day.  We finally got him and Lamaroux to their home on the far west end of the island.  This is an area they whitewashed so they are both new to the area.  It gives us something to do, to keep in contact with them.

Playing rugby with his zone.

Playing a little towel volleyball.

Trying to eat an Oreo cookie from his forehead...we assume he failed with no cookie in his mouth.

One of the first photos of Colby on the far right in his first area.

American Samoa missionaries - Colby is second row, third from the left

Eating Thanksgiving dinner - you can see Colby's head looking at the food near the front of the table on the right.

Same picture as above, but from a different angle.

Colby is standing to the left holding a cup and either eating or licking his fingers.

3/28/16 - #BLESSED

Malo lava Aiga!!!!!

Mom, that dream you had was way amazing! Especially Easter weekend! It's so sad over here because all people talk about is Christ suffering on the cross and they don't ever talk about the actual Resurrection! Especially as members of the church, we're not supposed to focus on the pains, the afflictions, the sufferings that the Savior went through. Don't get me wrong, that's all super important, but that's not what we need to focus on. Like Dad was saying in his email, the Atonement entailed EVERYTHING, in 3 events...The Garden of Gethsemane, the Cross on Calvary, and the Garden Tomb! ALL 3 we need to focus on together!! That's what makes it special!!!

Welp, this week.....wow. ONLY word to describe this week. George got baptized on Saturday!!!!!! And we had spiritual on spiritual experiences this week!!!! I wish I could share all but I don't have time so I can only share a few! But the first one!! The POWER OF PRAYER!!! So Pres Hanneman came this week with the AP's and we had a zone conference together, but they all missed they're flight to Manu'a, and so they stayed and went with us to George's baptismal interview Friday night! Haha it was us, the ZL's, the AP's and Pres and his wife! We got there 8:30 at night, and George wasn't there. So we waited for a bit, but 20 minutes later, he still wasn't there. My comp and I were starting to get worried cause usually he would've tried to contact us by now. He wasn't one to just not show up. And we know how much Satan was trying to get him off the path of baptism the entire week, and we prayed that George would have the strength and diligence to overcome anything that came his way. We were all still standing there waiting, and George still wasn't picking up his phone. We were all about to leave but I wanted to try one more time and knock on the front door. I turned the corner to his house with E Tuimauga to go knock one more time. Still no one. We had no idea where he was or what he could even be doing, we just prayer he was alright. So we turned the corner in the back to where we usually teach him, but still no one. So we knelt and we prayed. Prayed the Lord would hear our prayer. Prayed the Lord would bless George with the strength to overcome any temptations. Prayed the Lord would bless him to keep George out of harms way, wherever he was. And then we closed. We literally walked around the corner, and Pres said, "Look someone's coming"...I don't know if I've ever been so speechless in my life. George was running our way in the dark across the field in front of where he lives. I was the first to meet him and grabbed him and just gave him a bro hug!! I have never been so blessed to see a Samoan in my life!!! He was baptized on Saturday and Pres and the AP's attended and when I say everyone knows George, I literally mean EVERYONE!! We all went to dinner and we didn't even make it into the restaurant before George spoke with 3 different people! Which brings me to my other way awesome experience!! We were all sitting at Jade, this Chinese restaurant that the only way I can describe it, is like the Chinese restaurant that's at the end of Christmas Story, with the waiters talking like that as well hahahahah!! Anyways, Pres, his wife, George and my comp and I are all talking, the AP's are outside making calls to the ZL's, and we're all just talking. We were in a private room, and I looked over out the door and an old as man was walking into the other private room next to us and I looked at him and I just smiled and waved. I didn't think he saw me, so I smiled and waved again, and he turned and came and walked into our room. He walked straight over to me and said,"I apologize for intruding and interrupting, but I just wanted to come and thank this young man here. He smiled and waved at me from the door and I wanted to come in because I was attracted by his light." I don't know this guy from Nom, I just thanked him and asked what his name was. Bill Satele. You can call it a coincidence or whatever, but I KNOW that God put him in that spot at that moment for Pres and his wife! This man's best friend, is Pres Hanneman's best friend!!!!! Short story shorter, we have no idea who is watching us! It was such a testimony to me to continually, no matter what I may have on my mind, to ALWAYS have a smile, and ALWAYS be happy to greet ANYONE we may come in contact with, whether it be on the street, in a passing car, or in a home! 

Anyways, I love Yous all and I hope Yous have a bomb as week!! Love YOUS!!!!

Elder Larson

 

After thoughts from other emails:

 

The joy that they feel is so much more to me! George sat next to us in sacrament meeting yesterday, after we confirmed him, and we were singing the sacrament hymn, he stopped singing during the song for the sisters part in the hymn, and then when the men are supposed to come in, I didn't hear him singing. So I glanced over, and tears were just rolling down his face, and I just put my arm around him and kept singing and it was so awesome!!!!
 

This is the road to Heaven

Colby was getting up and then all of sudden they said, "Stop!" and decided to take a picture.  He's crazy!

 

 

This is George, "the boxer" who knows everyone on the island, at his baptism!  He is an amazing man and was ready to accept the gospel!

 

 

3/21/16 - Another day, Another March, and it's still hotter than a...

Hey hey hye!!! 

Hows the life fam?!?!? Thankyous so much for sending that package!! We finally got the sd card and the little goodies and shirt!! Thankyous so much!! It's for reals a sick as shirt!! All goods about transfers, it's not for another 4 weeks haha! This transfer is the long 8 week transfer!

Welp, this week, yes. 

This week was a blur. Literally. I went on a split with E Faletoi, my MTC comp's dad, so my uncle, sort of haha anyways! Being a ZL over here is way hard, there's so much stuff they have to do over here, their basically like the AP's of this island. Welp, I can't remember if I let yous know about George, but we had another lesson with him and he's getting baptized this Saturday!! Haha and Pres Hannemann was in on the lesson with his wife! Haha they were the members present! (They spoke at our stake conference yesterday and then just stayed with us after to sit in on our lesson)...it was honestly a sweet as experience because the spirit was so strong!!! He bore just a bomb as testimony of things that have happened lately in his life and work!! He's got a bomb as testimony of the gospel and just an all around skux!!!

Welp, for the spiritual thought this week...I actually wanted to just ask yous to do what I did, and then yous pull out what would best help yous all through anything yous are going through right now!!

1.) Read Joseph Smith History ( and also Oliver Cowdry's testimony after it)

2.) And then LISTEN to, NOT READ, Safety for the Soul by Jeffrey R Holland!

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2009/11/safety-for-the-soul.p1?lang=eng

I know everyone is crazy busy, but all I ask it you take 15 minutes of your day to LISTEN to Elder Hollands talk!! I PROMISE it will strengthen yous testimony of the Book of Mormon!!!!

THat was this week, love yous all and have a bomb as week!!

Love

Elder Larson

After thoughts from additional emails:

Over here, everyone believes in Christ, everyone believes in God, but its hard because I think Samoa has the Most churches worldwide percentage to land size!! There is literally a church on EVERY STREET!

Fam we had fafaga with and they were dropping us off at our next appt!

haha another fafaga with the Williams! The little guy's name is Naiya! Sound familiar!