tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24887067670615699102024-03-13T14:36:16.241-06:00 Alex's Mission BlogElder Alexander Steven Larsen has been called to serve in the
Hmong Speaking Milwaukee, Wisconsin Mission.Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.comBlogger101125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-12857576270145298152015-04-03T08:09:00.001-06:002015-04-03T08:11:08.101-06:00THE ENDSo we had a very good week! Alex's baptism is all set up and ready for action this Saturday at Noon. He was so awkward about setting everything up, you would have thought that he was a teenager or something!! Luckily his wife, Becky, was very proactive and held his hand through everything. She even called the people that he wanted there for talks and such, and sent out the invite on facebook for the service. We also had a SPECTACULAR lesson with Nou yesterday. Bishop Holmes came with his son and testified very very powerfully and promised some amazing blessings to her if she is to get baptized. She told us about a dream that she had had. Her Dad was dressed in white, calling her from the top of a staircase telling her to come and eat with him. She said she wanted to get there so badly but kept falling. Uh. Lehi's dream anyone? She is so solid and ready to be baptized... minus the fact that she hasn't been taught everything. With that in mind, her date has been pushed back to the 11th of April. I'll be there through pictures and updates, but of course it won't be the same.<br />
<br />
And now... The hard part. I've been serving the Lord for the past 2 years, and now I have to try and summarize it in the next 5 or 6 sentences. What is there to say? I am a better man because of my mission. I am more like my savior than I have been at any time in any other part of my life, and it isn't because I'm any more special or qualified than anyone else. It's because I'm doing all of the small things. I haven't missed church in 2 years, not including the frozen pipes day in Wausau... I read my scriptures every day, I pray no less than 10 times a day, I repent, I learn, I come closer to God, I lather, I rinse, I repeat. I'm not doing anything that anybody else can't do (except speak Hmong maybe, but that isn't really a saving ordinance) and I don't have any more power than anyone else is allowed to have. I'm so happy for the lives that I've touched and I sincerely hope that they will continue to progress and be better, and I hope that just like them, I can continue to progress. I love you all so much, and I'll see you in a few!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
--Elder LarsenAnniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-15148248178958125062015-04-03T08:08:00.002-06:002015-04-03T08:11:08.103-06:00104 down...1 to goThis week there has really only been one thing on my mind, and it might surprise you what that is... THE TEMPLE!!! What. An. Experience. There was a moment while I was there that I received revelation for myself and the thought came into my mind "oh, so THIS is what it feels like to have my soul distilled upon by the dews of heaven." I couldn't have had a better time. It just reaffirmed to me the importance of NEVER NOT going to the temple. It has been about 22 months since last I went, and boy oh boy, did I need it. I'm always going to remember that experience, and I'll have pictures in, you know, approximately 10 days ;). And just to say it, letting you know, I am keeping focused on the work. I've said it before, I'll say it again, Elder Dobyns is keeping me very on top of it, and he has been a perfect last companion. I think it also helps that we have had so many exciting things to look forward to, that I haven't even needed to be excited for going home! The work progresses unhindered even by MY unhallowed hand... LOVE!!!Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-72466321000749631202015-04-03T08:06:00.001-06:002015-04-03T08:11:08.105-06:00FINAL PARAGRAPH FOR PRESIDENT CUTLERDescribing your mission in a paragraph isn't possible. I don't believe that you would be able to fit it into a book, much less a small passage. I can't say that I changed lives, I can't say that I baptized hundreds, I can't say that I wore out my shoes, I don't know if I lived up to the names on my badge, I don't know if I will go back a different man, I don't know how I will retain everything I learned on my mission, I don't know what is next, I don't know who or when I'll marry, I can't say I know what jobs I want to pursue, hobbies I will lose myself in, or habits that I will form, I don't know what God wants me to do next, BUT I can say this: I am more converted now than I have been at any other point in my life. I know with more surety that the Book of Mormon changes lives, and that as one strives to live by the principles in that great book, they will not be the worse for doing so; On the contrary, they will find in their lives a stronger conviction to do that which is right in the sight of God. I can't say that I changed lives, but I know that I have had mine changed. Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-22795127594394666932015-02-24T19:44:00.001-07:002015-03-01T18:18:01.104-07:00Tuesday email...<span 13px="" 16.8999996185303px="" arial="" font-size:="" helvetica="" line-height:="" sans-serif="">Sorry for the late e-mail, but it comes late as the result of what I think is a pretty legitimate excuse-- Elder Dobyns and I had some sort of NASTY food bug yesterday. We honestly only got out of bed to go check our mailbox (empty unfortunately). However, today we are feeling good, and almost 100% better. So for some exciting news, we re-established contact with some former investigators this last week, the Changs. They are a part-member family that Elders in the past have worked on and off with. They have 2 girls baptized, and 2 unbaptized, and to be honest, they kind of remind me of my family like 10 years ago, and way more sugar-fuled. We went over to their house this week and had a fantastic time! They bounce off the walls, love to play games, and really love the missionaries. We committed them all to pray together every night until we came back, which is tonight</span><span 13px="" 16.8999996185303px="" arial="" font-size:="" helvetica="" line-height:="" sans-serif="">. They have been taught nearly everything, and if everything goes off without a hitch, we may be able to set a baptismal date with them tonight.</span><span 13px="" 16.8999996185303px="" arial="" font-size:="" helvetica="" line-height:="" sans-serif=""> Please pray for them! Also, Alex and Nou both missed out on church this week, so we might have to reconsider their dates for baptism. I firmly believe that they WILL be baptized, it is just a matter of when... Oooooother than that? Not much... I guess I'm just trying not to count down the seconds until I'm home! I guess I'll see you all soon!</span>Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-83004454481137584502015-02-17T07:16:00.002-07:002015-02-17T07:16:45.469-07:002/16/15Unfortunately, things this week didn't quiiiiiiiite go as we had planned... We switched apartments with the Spanish Elders due to some concerns with their living arrangement. So most of our week has been taken up with moving everything from one side of town to the other. Elder Dobyns and I are glad that it is over with, and now we get to do some real teaching. With the move and transfers and a little bit of sickness, this week wasn't the brightest spot that I've had. It does allow me to tell you a little bit about how my studies have been going. I don't know why, really nobody's fault but my own, but I've had a VERY hard time on my mission studying Preach My Gospel. If I could, I would read the Book of Mormon for an hour every day. That just doesn't work for a Preach my Gospel mission. President committed me to read 10 minutes a day, and now I am very pleased to be able to tell you that I have had a change of heart! I absolutely RELISH the time that I get to spend studying it. I have also been keeping some pretty studious notes in the margins and the notes section. I think my biggest problem was simply making marking it too difficult. This time I've simplified it to marking anything that sticks out to me or anything that I have notes on... Of course this is VERY simple, but as I continue studying it after I get home, I can expand the range of my notes. The same really goes for the Book of Mormon as well: I always get these GRAND ideas of how I want to mark it up, but in reality, the simplest things are the best. My favorite copy that I've had was our Christmas copy that had all of the Atonement marked in red or green. Anyway... I'll be more coherent next week as I'll have more time... <br /><br />
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
--Elder Larsen</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span><span style="color: #666666;"></span></span><br /></div>
</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-74194266644384230542015-01-24T08:59:00.001-07:002015-03-01T18:19:17.146-07:00Hey---<span style= font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.89px;"><span style="color: black;">Elder Stegner is a liiiiiiiittle bit excited, his Seahawks just won their NFC game and being from Seattle... well you get the gist. Another slowish week, but we had a little bit of exciting news this past week! We had a referral from our Bishop, and we were able to go contact her this week. Her name is Nou, and last week she asked the Bishop if she could do anything in the way of service for our church. We met with her on wednesday and set up service every <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1293907129" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">Sunday</span></span></span> morning where she will come and help us set up chairs. This last week she even stayed for the entire sacrament meeting! She made friends pretty easily, and we hope to continue meeting with her. Wish I could write longer, but duty calls, an early appointment today... </span></span>Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-16160312536238611352015-01-24T08:52:00.001-07:002015-01-24T08:59:19.361-07:00HELLO AGAIN!!!<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
The weeks get shorter and shorter, I swear! There is no way that I'm winding down my mission this quickly. Somebody let slip that I only have 10 weeks left. Again, its not like I'm beginning the countdown this early or anything, I just keep realizing that its all coming to an end. We went through a pretty brutal cold this past week, and being in a car share... Let's just say that it wasn't very practical for us to go tract for three hours. President tried to limit our outside activity to under 30 minutes, and in that same letter he said "<span style="background-color: #e7e6e2; color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.89px;">Missionaries in Canada and Siberia learn to dress warm as part of their normal proselyting so you may need to invest in some warm winter gear if you don't have it already in order to get through the winter</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.89px;"><span style="color: black;">" Wait.... Canada and Siberia? You're telling me that I get to take examples from the place where they exiled criminals from Russia? Great. Alright, I'll stop complaining about it, but our proselyting efforts did take quite a hit. We had interviews with our President this week. We studied the talk "free forever to act for themselves" by Elder Cristofferson this past General Conference. I would definitely recommend a review for those of you who haven't re-read this talk. We talked about it for a good while, especially his story about the man who wouldn't do anything for himself. He also mentioned an interesting fact: in the coming year, 75% of the missionaries currently serving will be going home. What?! We think that 10 of the 13 Hmong missionaries will be going home by September. Sorry that there isn't much to talk about this week, it has been a little bit dry... But I still love you all!!</span></span></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.89px;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.89px;"><span style="color: black;">--Elder Larsen</span></span></div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-73277558109195136302015-01-05T14:19:00.001-07:002015-01-05T14:19:27.932-07:00Sheboygan: Week 1<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
A LOT has happened in the last couple days. Obviously, changing my living situation, companion, and workload is always a little difficult, but beyond that we went from 40 degrees to 0 in about 3 days. That is never ever ever fun. I love Sheboygan. I couldn't really believe it, but it is actually smaller than wausau by about 20,000 people. There aren't even any towns too close by to call sub-urbs, everything else is about 20 minutes out. AND on that note, we have a car here... or rather, we SHARE a car with the Spanish Elders. Not the most ideal of situations, but it sure beats taking the Sheboygan bus system (which I hear is a mess by the way.) The apartment is gorgeous, I can honestly say that it is probably the only apartment that I've been to on my mission that feels like a home. It even smells good! About a year ago, there was a fire in the complex, so they recently remodeled everything. We live right on the lakefront, and even though it is winter, the view can get pretty nice. As for teaching? We are officially in finding mode, and we are just looking to get a few more consistent investigators. We have a few already, but you never can have enough. anywho... I'm sure there will be more to update you all on next week and the weeks following, so on that note, I'll love you and leave you!</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Elder Larsen</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-38521435756016204442015-01-01T22:40:00.003-07:002015-01-01T22:41:01.127-07:00TRANSFERS!!!Before mentioning anything else, I have to say that transfers are a pretty big surprise to everyone! So just a little recap of what is going on, so that you'll understand why it is such a surprise... So I have only been here two transfers, I only have two left, I've only been with Elder Lor for one transfer, AND we have so much good work going on here... BUT! I found out this morning that I'm being transferred to SHEBOYGAN!!! That puts me back in a companionship with one of my favorite companions, Elder Stegner! I'm definitely not disappointed to be serving in Sheboygan, and to be with a companion that I already know and love? A very tender mercy. Another interesting thing is that the Hmong area here in Milwaukee is combining with the English area, so Elder Lor will be with Elder Goodale, our district leader........ Strange things are afoot at the MKE (10 points for those of you who can name THAT movie!)<br />Besides that, more good news with Van and Blia, they were both at church <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1853196743" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">on Sunday</span></span></span> again where we had another lesson. They want to be married some time soon in the new year! Also, we met a friend of Eh say and Say Paw, our investigators. His name is Nin, and he seems to have a good amount of interest in learning more. It has been a crazy morning, so I'm going to go do some sport... things to help me relax... LOVE!!!Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-10626531522981092902015-01-01T22:36:00.002-07:002015-01-01T22:37:07.444-07:00MERRY MILWAUKEESE CHRISTMAS!Another great step in the progression of Van and Blia happened this week: They came to church again this week where we had our first lesson with them! We taught the first half of the restoration, really focusing on the authority of Christ's church. Blia has gone to other churches in the past, and in fact, her mother is a pastor at one of those churches. They seemed to understand and take it very well. We had a few members in the lesson actually: Their mother, brother and sister xiong, and Maimoua yang. Unfortunately though, much of the rest of our week was spent finding because our appointments cancelled for the holidays. Speeeeeeeeaking of the holidays... MERRY MILWAUKEESE CHRISTMAS!!! We have quite a fun week planned out, of course Christmas is the highlight, but other than that, we have breakfast with the President, Christmas eve dinner, and a Hmong dinner where we get to eat squirrel (no joke!) I'm very much looking forward to having calls with my family, and I can't wait to tell them that I'll just talk to them in another 3 months! I can't believe that this is going to be my last call... Before I ramble on too much, I'll just wish you all a very merry Christmas, and a happy 2015! Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-87180914509481116702014-12-15T15:16:00.001-07:002014-12-15T15:16:23.896-07:00Hmong New Year!!!<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
We had a super exciting weekend! So I'll give a brief overview of everything else and get right to it. So this week, we met with Joyce again. She is as funny as ever, and surely as talkative! We spent the lesson talking about the Plan of Salvation, which she has had the most questions about. She seemed to understand and like most of it, but we are still trying to break through that wall between knowledge and application. She cried at one point in the lesson and asked "Do you ever feel really sad for Jesus Christ and all he went through?" I had the opportunity to bear my witness of the reality and enabling power of the atonement. It wasn't for nothing, and it wasn't just so one Man would suffer, but so that all men wouldn't have to. Skipping to <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1095305469" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">Saturday</span></span></span>, we went to the Hmong new year event! We didn't think that we would be able to make it, there were no buses to the sports complex where they held it, but at the last second, we got a ride with 2 investigators! It was awesome! I was able to do a little souvenir hunting, and scored 3 English movies translated into Hmong: Cars (Tsheb) Monsters University (Tsev Kawm Ntawv Dab) and Despicable me (something like... Saib kuv khawb qhov muag) We had great food, and saw quite a few members and investigators there. Afterwards we had our branch Christmas party, with more food, more members, and more investigators! I may have even snuck a picture with the big jolly elf himself!<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
--Elder Larsen!</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-37800400475195623492014-12-10T07:08:00.000-07:002014-12-10T07:08:13.323-07:00Thanksgiving...and a LOT of it!I'm still working off all of that food that I ate this last Thursday. I'll just give a little recap of what went down. It all started on Sunday. We still had no invites to Thanksgiving, so we were debating whether or not we should mention it to anyone. Of course we didn't because, c'mon, that's just something that you don't do as a missionary. Church started, and our Branch president mentioned it over the pulpit, so we felt confident that something would happen, but by the end of church, still nobody had signed up. We weren't too terribly bugged by it, so we planned to eat out at one of our favorite restaurants. We got a text later that night though, inviting us to a 3 family Thanksgiving meal. So Thursday came and we had our turkey bowl at 8 (bus riding that early on a holiday STINKS!!) but we got there. It was only 15 degrees or so for most of the game, but we played hard and each shed layers by the end of the game. We're all still sore too. We then went home for a quick repose, and then traveled to the Leakes house where we had everything that you would imagine that a normal Thanksgiving would have-- turkey, rolls, potatoes, pies, ciders, stuffing... MMM!!! I even had sweet potato casserole for the first time in my life! I ate myself sick, and had to take a little break to let it all settle. Thanksgiving and a LOT of it! Unfortunately there is NOTHING else to report. A very slow week. All but 1 of our set appointments cancelled, so we tracted pretty heavily.... Anyway, 25 days til Christmas!! LOVE YOU!Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-81939833149718459612014-12-10T07:04:00.002-07:002014-12-10T07:05:01.481-07:00GRATITUDE<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Hello to one and all!!<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Elder Lor and I are having a GREAT time so far! We have had some things keeping us from doing a ton of work (cancellations, bus rides, missed appointments, bus rides, dinners, bus rides...) But, we're still having a blast! We've already decided that we're going to write a rap and put it to a music video of us just dinking around. It's weird to think how soon this Christmas is coming! Only a month from now what will I be doing? And along THAT train of thought, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1016857606" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">4 months from now</span></span></span> what will I be doing. There isn't much to report on other facets of the work, Tony is still reading the Book of Mormon, Eh Say and Say Paw are working towards a baptism date (I'll have to tell you more about them next week!) and Joyce rescheduled our appointment for next week. I'm gearing up for Thanksgiving with a list of gratitude, and here is a good little sample:</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Family, friends, Hmong people, my warm coat, my warm apartment, my companion, my scriptures and studies, my education, my health... Gosh, the list goes on... But my time doesn't. LOVE YOU, have a good Thanksgiving!</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-10038409885449297712014-11-20T14:32:00.002-07:002014-11-20T14:32:46.697-07:00Transfer Surprise!<div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
Well, we had quite the exciting news today... Elder Cutshaw is being transferred to Wausau! One of my top 4 areas (I hope y'all get that joke...) He is super excited to go and I just can't stop telling him all of the good things that are there in Wausau and all the people that I want him to go check up on. It seems like I was just there, but I got transferred there about a year ago! My new companion is Elder Lor, another Hmong companion, he said, "This is going to be the best freaking time of our missions." I haven't served around him, but I've talked with him a few times, and I don't deny that it will be the best time of our missions. Transfers are Wednesday morning so the rest of today and tomorrow are already packed with packing and saying goodbyes.<br />This week, I'll take a little break from the updates on Tony (he rescheduled the lesson for next week). I WILL however, tell you about our newest investigator, Joyce Hill. Joyce was a media referral that we got last week, and after one very unsuccessful attempt to contact her, we weren't very optimistic that she even lived there. The next time we tried, we were miraculously able to get in the apartment building because somebody thought that we rang their door. We knocked on her door, and she looked a little bit rough, so again we weren't too sure. We began speaking and she was pretty short with us, so AGAIN, we weren't sure about her. Then we mentioned that the referral mentioned that she needed a blessing. As soon as we said that, she broke down in tears and asked "can you bless me with a new heart?" She needs surgery soon, and we did our best to comfort and console her. We gave her a blessing and ultimately she warmed up to us and has now essentially adopted us as surrogate grandchildren. We have another appointment with her this Wednesday that we'll have to push back due to transfers, but we are VERY excited.<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
BE GOOD!!</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-29842633463268820152014-11-12T07:13:00.003-07:002014-11-12T07:13:23.764-07:00TONY!<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
This week was a fun week, lots of running too and fro. One of us lost the phone, so we had to take the hour bus ride to the mission office TWICE!! The first one we went and NOBODY WAS THERE!! We had no idea why and no way to call... We went again the next day and sheepishly forgot to mention that we had been there the day before. Again, just another update on our most promising investigator, Tony. We had yet another morning meeting with him on Wednesday. We followed up on our invitation we gave to him to pray. He had prayed, and his answer was-- get this-- I think that I need to read the Book of Mormon to find out if it's true. Uh, YEAH!! I don't think I've ever told an investigator NOT to read the book of Mormon, so he is right on par there. Oh my goodness, we were only slightly excited when he said that. Disappointed that he didn't get a Yes to baptism, but that's like being disappointed that you got cookies in stead of cake. It wasn't necessarily a yes I'll be baptized, but it might as well be because the power of the book of mormon is undeniable. He will know of its truthfulness, I know that. Tony is going to progress, and before you know it I'll be sending some pictures of him in white! <br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
LOVE Y'ALL</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-14582059435856372802014-11-04T11:57:00.002-07:002014-11-04T11:57:27.438-07:00An "off beat" week...We had sort of a strange week this week... not bad strange or anything, just... strange. I think what really kicked it off was an emergency exchange with my district leader, Elder Ward. His companion, Elder Allen has been very sick really ever since I have been here, and this week it progressed to a sinus infection. Anyway, Elder Ward and I covered the two areas for the day, spending most of our day with their investigators in their lessons. We also taught one of their recent converts, Victor, who is a funny little man with a mustache. Anyway, while we were out, Elder Cutshaw and Allen had a good lesson with Tony, they invited him solidly to be baptized and he responded with something to the effect of "that's a big decision, I'm going to have to pray about that!" We are excited to meet with him again <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1823889331" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ"><span style="color: #222222;">on Wednesday</span></span></span> to hear about that experience. We know that everyone has agency, and sometimes it can be hard to hear an investigator say "this isn't for me" when in reality we know that it's for everyone. We pray that Tony prays in sincerity of heart with real intent and then listens to that still small voice so that when we go back, he will be prepared to accept our message. And now... something totally different! I just thought it would be good to shoot over a couple of videos that I've really enjoyed watching the past few weeks... LOVE<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?im=true&v=3792885561001" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">http://www.mormonchannel.org/<wbr></wbr></span>video/mormon-messages?im=true&<wbr></wbr>v=3792885561001</a><br /><a href="http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=3701964025001" target="_blank">http://www.mormonchannel.org/<wbr></wbr>video/mormon-messages?v=<wbr></wbr>3701964025001</a><br /><a href="https://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/christs-authority-is-questioned?lang=eng" target="_blank">https://www.lds.org/bible-<wbr></wbr>videos/videos/christs-<wbr></wbr>authority-is-questioned?lang=<wbr></wbr>eng</a>Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-39611538603411476322014-10-28T11:49:00.003-06:002014-10-28T11:49:37.066-06:00Tony..and See!!!The best thing that happened to us this week was our lesson with Tony. First of all, we were on exchanges so it was Elder Allen and I, we got to his house and after some chatting for 2 minutes or so, he left the room to go grab us some water. While he was gone, his mother, See, came in the room and started talking, asking us who we were and why we were there. Needless to say, we were MORE than happy to tell her why we were there! We talked with her for a good while, even talking about temples, and we then turned our attention back to tony, and included her in a lesson about the Plan of Salvation. It was a VERY good lesson, if I do say so myself, and We have a return appointment with the two of them set up for every Thursday morning at the same time. As we left, she kept telling us, "God bless you! Please come back!" I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!!!Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-92187476213687613382014-10-22T07:48:00.002-06:002014-10-22T07:48:52.681-06:00hello there, friends!I am adjusting to the new pace of Milwaukee, because believe me, it is new to me. We are having success because we really are striving to be out as much as we possibly can, always knocking on one more door, being positive, and above all, having faith and a good humor about everything. We have been finding a lot because many of our scheduled lessons have fallen through, but that means we have EVEN MORE appointments for this week! We are going to be very very busy, and I can't wait. I am most excited for Tony. He is 29 and very prepared. He had a bad experience at his last church (greed) and he kept his faith. I know that we have the gospel that will answer every one of his questions. He recieved the first lesson well, and accepted the invitation to pray about our message and the Book of Mormon. Sorry for the choppiness of that letter, but we had a weird day today... LOVE YOU ALL!!Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-49080194162579628692014-10-14T08:30:00.002-06:002014-10-14T08:30:40.180-06:00hello hello hello...<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Hello, hello, hello!<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Greetings from the Library in Milwaukee! I have wanted to come to Milwaukee ever since the beginning of my mission, and so far it has exceeded my expectations. For one thing, the buses here are a million times better than the ones in Madison, for another, we live right on beautiful, scenic Marquette campus! Our apartment is a little bit small, but what do we need a big apartment for anyway? My companion is Elder Cutshaw, and we are pretty dang similar. Among other things, we are both Alexander and we have a younger brother named Zach. We don't have a ward here in Milwaukee, but rather we have a branch. I was pretty shocked coming to church this sunday where I found out that we normally have around 50 people show up... 50! I'll have to take you all on a video tour of the building because it is one of the most unique that I've seen. We have some promising investigators, but we're kind of waiting to see them a little bit more frequently before we know that they are ready. In other news... well, there isn't a lot of other news. I do have an address though, for all of those who are just dying to write me... (thanks mom ;))</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
525 N 20th St apt #105<br />Milwaukee Wi<br />53233<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
LOVE!!</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-87014813842306378312014-10-14T08:29:00.002-06:002014-10-14T08:30:23.643-06:00General Conference, baptism and TRANSFERS!<div class="gmail_default">
Wow! What a great week we had this week! For starters, we had a lesson with 9 year old hudson, our baptismal date, after the 1st session of conference yesterday. Hudson is the smartest, brightest young man I've met on my mission, and I have met a lot of them. We invited him and his brother, 18, to read the book of mormon together for 10 minutes a day, praying before and after. They both accepted readily, and agreed to be followed up on often.</div>
<div class="gmail_default">
Then, conference itself... I mean WOW!! I couldn't take notes fast enough!! I have to say, that if I had a favorite talk, it would be from Jorg Klebingat. I've said that I need to print out that talk, shrink it, laminate it, and take it everywhere I go, because he basically gave the keys of peace and happiness to me! My biggest takeaway is that God answers the questions that I didn't even know that I had. We had been teaching members for about 2 weeks to prepare for conference by praying and writing down questions that had for conference. I unfortunately procrastinated that day until friday night. I didn't give myself enough time to think of these questions, but God came through, and showed me how much he cares by answering those questions, and some that I didn't even know that I had. I was very blessed, and even though I didn't do my end or my share of the work in asking these questions, God still made up that difference.</div>
<div>
And now.... TRANSFERS!!! It has been revealed to us this morning that I.... Elder Alexander Steven Larsen... Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.... Will be transferred to.... MILWAUKEE!! This is exactly what I wanted, though not exactly what I suspected. I'm veryveryvery excited, and I'm already almost done packing!!</div>
<div>
Love you all, you'll have my address as soon as I do!</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-9993697956587400442014-10-02T17:53:00.001-06:002014-10-02T17:53:40.049-06:00MIRACLE!!!<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.89px;"><span style="color: black;">MIRACLE!!!! We had a member take us to Janesville yesterday where we had a Hmong gathering in the home of the less active Yangs that live there. They have progressed very very well, and they are on the edge of becoming active again and are striving to come to church. But that isn't the miracle part! They have a 9 year old son that they want to be baptized, and we set a date with him! Hudson will be baptized on November 16th! We have a couple of lessons set up already, and everybody in his family, including him, seem to be really excited! Not a lot of time today, I apologize... But God loves you!!</span></span>Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-77633531531907197832014-09-24T06:48:00.002-06:002014-09-24T06:48:13.961-06:00GOOOOOD MORNING---I'm just gonna go right for the good stuff... We taught an amazing lesson this week. Brother and sister goue have a friend (song Thao) who they took us to meet this last week. We were going into the lesson thinking there would be maybe 4 people there... NOPE! They had their family there, about 10 or 11 people total! They listened intently, participated, and asked great questions. Coming from a completely unchristian background, that is saying a lot. Not only was the lesson great, but afterward we had pho, cake, fruit, nava (a coconut, tapioca pearl drink) and talked for about another hour or so. We SO look forward to meeting with them, and I would ask that you all keep them in your prayers. On a sadder note-- I sent my SD card home last week in a package and in transit the package was damaged, and the SD card fell out. Frustrating!! There will be a little wait before more pictures are going to be put up.... But the gospel is still true :)Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-67285251689901804252014-09-17T13:04:00.000-06:002014-09-17T13:04:25.738-06:00MADISON!<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Goooooood Morning!!!!</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.89px;"><span style="color: black;">We had one of our best weeks this past week as far as getting out and talking to people. We had 17 other lessons which just BLEW our goal out of the water. We met with a lot of people and are going back to talk to a couple of them who showed great interest. Our biggest miracle this week was Song Thao. She contacted a member of our ward and said that she wanted the missionaries to come over and teach her entire family. Not only that, but her father is a clan leader, which would give us a great amount of influence with the Hmong people if we are to be received well. And to cap it all off: last night we had a madison Hmong family home evening. All of the Hmong members gathered, cooked, ate, talked, sang, and yes, played a little bit of football. We had an amazing time, and it was the perfect end to a nearly perfect week. LOVE</span></span></div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-91574326908256715202014-09-08T20:54:00.003-06:002014-09-08T20:54:56.517-06:00Doing Well....<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Well, on this short week, again, not very much to report on. It does seem like I was just writing you all, 6 days is not a long time to a missionary. Elder Lee and I didn't have very much time to be out, about and teaching people, but we did have a GREAT Saturday where we taught 6 lessons in about an hour and a half. It has gotten to the point now though where we were weekly planning and we kind of just stopped, looked at each other and kind of came to the realization that we really didn't have anybody that we were teaching. We have had a couple lose interest, and a couple that have moved away. This week will be largely focused on finding those new people to teach. I just have to make a little mention of how excited I am for this weeks weather.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<h3 style="color: #ff8a00; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 20px;">
Local Weather<br /><small style="color: #999999; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1;">Madison, Wisconsin</small></h3>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">
Current Temp: <span style="padding-left: 1em;">70°F</span> <span style="padding-left: 1em;">21°C</span> <span style="padding-left: 1em;"><img src="https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/Ki0xhCzj1QcPhEC6pii_9q72hh7AV8uNRFO1SB931RKSnBlu5NXHsGTbM2SPE6KC9C6yZfh5d4BsPo08EsyjB1qXDSmLbthLIpYIpfy8UpApiCTXMbtfXjeNCs3kKXODdCaUinLL6f6mg31C=s0-d-e1-ft#https://edge.ldscdn.org/missionary/missionary-portal/2.8.5/static/img/weather/warm.png" style="border-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; max-width: 100%; min-height: 36.32px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto;" /></span></div>
<table style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; max-width: 100%; width: 243px;"><thead>
<tr><th style="padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: 12px;">
Mon</div>
<div style="color: #787878; font-size: 10px;">
Sep 08</div>
</th><th style="padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: 12px;">
Tue</div>
<div style="color: #787878; font-size: 10px;">
Sep 09</div>
</th><th style="padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: 12px;">
Wed</div>
<div style="color: #787878; font-size: 10px;">
Sep 10</div>
</th><th style="padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: 12px;">
Thu</div>
<div style="color: #787878; font-size: 10px;">
Sep 11</div>
</th><th style="padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: 12px;">
Fri</div>
<div style="color: #787878; font-size: 10px;">
Sep 12</div>
</th></tr>
</thead><tbody>
<tr><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;"><img src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/8If9rnFz4WuUg3bfWN5DkbdFifBG8mqi5-tcSmZ_oJ_IiRW08MUPbBGIvQZF9MZW-tTWpmR1J4_nhLf9Mrsnw-RWyBF0QJHoMgNtAyphdO-bNUulzOvgTPsbf62V4E7cRJ7r_0mcPp7ssK7tb9ORNppa9_-VGZpEZQfj0jErcZ3FT7AB=s0-d-e1-ft#https://edge.ldscdn.org/missionary/missionary-portal/2.8.5/static/img/weather/wsymbol_0002_sunny_intervals.png" style="border-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 46px;" /></td><td style="background-color: #e8e8e8; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;"><img src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/gLKZDKP8WPEZxd2N8MecjVO9_5iuMs-IGrakX3kARcvg_DPqS0SNCT_wizmBYSTU4LFJ5v-acOeTLlnv4KQHnuZm5NcP6FcVfD4rsTK2us4h3pCDMgnVTZxVyMi194GBDJeoMeDahGo2RV9lXBPcAiKK3qla1ZKfaHWQ6iy14ybT1tbb2SnE=s0-d-e1-ft#https://edge.ldscdn.org/missionary/missionary-portal/2.8.5/static/img/weather/wsymbol_0009_light_rain_showers.png" style="border-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 46px;" /></td><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;"><img src="https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/7lsw2pjLqfbaXXGNwKzVBsR80hHIujUegMp74W0DD4Y_Vr8j1LuOMdQUOCg9sn9aMQ-WAgPrUEi6Qi9QVNglFxsLADMR1OTcbWgW-Xbc9CEvNdtWDrsdPLVcEUaCVeXy4mUtUgRwGY1Y2h6TplfL-xBIR86Pevfouqh9z49gsilcTaJOLi_VNeHwmw=s0-d-e1-ft#https://edge.ldscdn.org/missionary/missionary-portal/2.8.5/static/img/weather/wsymbol_0018_cloudy_with_heavy_rain.png" style="border-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 46px;" /></td><td style="background-color: #e8e8e8; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;"><img src="https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/8If9rnFz4WuUg3bfWN5DkbdFifBG8mqi5-tcSmZ_oJ_IiRW08MUPbBGIvQZF9MZW-tTWpmR1J4_nhLf9Mrsnw-RWyBF0QJHoMgNtAyphdO-bNUulzOvgTPsbf62V4E7cRJ7r_0mcPp7ssK7tb9ORNppa9_-VGZpEZQfj0jErcZ3FT7AB=s0-d-e1-ft#https://edge.ldscdn.org/missionary/missionary-portal/2.8.5/static/img/weather/wsymbol_0002_sunny_intervals.png" style="border-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 46px;" /></td><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;"><img src="https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/4I16UVgcqG5BTppOup3_0hlXdavZ3Bw8byTRFTj5QgmCHze5y52UsAPfivaEjfK-BCdGbhTUQQpv6MgdNSFOM01Hkb_6IgKyrMGFlXTocEv9w9hjn02QUyns8sBl7IkBeKUnz9O1QmgtEWhQraRGKdR2v_RrWcw9dqo=s0-d-e1-ft#https://edge.ldscdn.org/missionary/missionary-portal/2.8.5/static/img/weather/wsymbol_0001_sunny.png" style="border-image: none; border: 0px currentColor; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 47px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #787878; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">High</td><td style="background-color: #e8e8e8; color: #787878; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">High</td><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #787878; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">High</td><td style="background-color: #e8e8e8; color: #787878; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">High</td><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #787878; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">High</td></tr>
<tr><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">75°F</td><td style="background-color: #e8e8e8; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">83°F</td><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">72°F</td><td style="background-color: #e8e8e8; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">58°F</td><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">60°F</td></tr>
<tr><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">24°C</td><td style="background-color: #e8e8e8; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">28°C</td><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">22°C</td><td style="background-color: #e8e8e8; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">14°C</td><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">15°C</td></tr>
<tr><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #787878; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">Low</td><td style="background-color: #e8e8e8; color: #787878; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">Low</td><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #787878; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">Low</td><td style="background-color: #e8e8e8; color: #787878; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">Low</td><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #787878; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">Low</td></tr>
<tr><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">55°F</td><td style="background-color: #e8e8e8; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">66°F</td><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">42°F</td><td style="background-color: #e8e8e8; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">32°F</td><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">35°F</td></tr>
<tr><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">13°C</td><td style="background-color: #e8e8e8; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">19°C</td><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">6°C</td><td style="background-color: #e8e8e8; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">0°C</td><td style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; text-align: center;">1°C</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
How about that?</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
LOVE</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488706767061569910.post-69783526088431281062014-09-05T14:19:00.002-06:002014-09-05T14:19:57.402-06:00RANDOM THOUGHTS...<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
So with a holiday weekend, this last week we saw fewer people than usual, but it was compensated for by service opportunities and a great conference yesterday!! The conference was for every single HMONG member in Wisconsin. We were able to make it (the conference was in Sheboygan, 2 hours away) and we had a blast! There were more there than was expected, between 100 and 150 people I would say, and we had 4 hours to socialize, learn, teach, and, my personal favorite, EAT! All I can say is that it was a major major success, and this is the sort of thing that will accelerate the work here in Wisconsin. </div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Due to a lack of super super exciting stories, I will share some brief (and very random) thoughts that I have recorded in a little book I carry with me. Bear with me...</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
God is a family man.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
There are such things as bad questions: The bad questions justify; "How little can I do?" Good questions bring knowledge and understanding; "How can I more fully..."</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
How could I trade what I know for what I don't know?</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
The only gift we can give God is our will. It is the only thing that he does not have.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Why settle for blessings when you can have miracles?</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
The Spirit is a most eager missionary.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
"Don't kill, don't steal, no adultery, respect your mom and dad, and be nice to everyone so God lets you live a long time. I'm 6 years old, so I must have been good!!"--random lady at the bus stop</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
To know and not to do is to not really know.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
The heart to the brain is the longest 12 inches in the world.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Choices are the little hinges of this life. Everything revolves around these little moments in time.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
"Women have been at the blunt end of a man's stupidity" --Sister Martin</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
We can cause earthquakes directly where people stand.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
"8 years ago I came to this church with a plethora of problems. 8 years later I still have a lot of problems but I'm a happy man" --President schubert</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
If you want to touch the past, touch a rock. If you want to touch the present, touch a flower. If you want to touch the future, touch a life.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
The chief reason for unhappiness and failure in this life is trading what we want most for what we want at the moment.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
If being a Christian was against the law, is there enough evidence to convict you?</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
"We might not be sleeping through the restoration, but some of us are dozing off" --Sister Braun</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
As a missionary, savor every chance you have to look at a calendar, because before you know it, it will change.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
--LOVE YOU ALL!!</div>
Anniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07497988850763024714noreply@blogger.com0