Transfers, yet again!

Its that time yet again, transfer time! I'm not going to lie, a lot of this past week has been ongoing debate about if and where I'd be going, and who would be my replacement. We had narrowed it down to 3 areas for me: Green Bay, Madison, or Milwaukee. We talked pros and cons, we talked companions, we talked places to shop, we talked active members, and ultimately, I thought it was most likely that I would go to Milwaukee, and least likely that I would go to Madison... WRONG!! On June 4th, I will be going to the wonderful city of MADISON WISCONSIN!! We got the text on saturday morning telling me that I was leaving, and then later in the day President called and told my companion that he would  be the district leader of the Wausau area. Then he told me that I would be going to Madison for another surprise... I'll be re-uniting with Elder Cook!! He has been in the area going on 6 transfers now, so he knows it very well, and I was told that he will be leaving after this next transfer. I get to spend one whole transfer with Elder Cook! Just like old times. We have had radically different missions, yet eerily similar. We haven't even served near each other, he was for a time switched to english speaking, I was district leader, etc.... BUT we've both served in wausau, we've both served with Elder Burgoyne AND Elder Thompson, and we were MTC companions! Strange world we live in... Anyway, we met very briefly with Chou and Mai this week. It seems that she is very willing to come to church, but he will be the only one holding them back. I have faith that he will come around, and that he will see all of the great things that are already happening in their lives. Mai told us that when we re-contacted her she had prayed for a job interview. After that, the phone rang and she was offered a job, and not 30 seconds later, we showed up at her door. Again, strange world we live in, but it is all guided by a loving Heavenly Father... LOVE YOU ALL!!!

MIRACLE!!!

We had a very pleasant surprise for us this week! I'm sure that I've said it more than once, but one of the hardest parts of Hmong work is getting a more than one lesson with promising families. Such was the case for Chou and Mai, a referral from a member in Rapids. We taught 2 fantastic lessons to them, they asked us to come back, and in between lessons Chou even called us to pray for him over the phone. However, we were disappointed when they dropped our next appointment and for the last 4 months haven't met with us. We had plans on Tuesday to see some potential investigators, but we were prompted to try by Chou and Mai's once more. They were home!! We had a fantastic lesson, and we will be going back on Wednesday to set a baptismal date with them! MIRACLE :)

Sorry about the semishort letter this week, we really did have a good week, just that sometimes there isn't much to write about. I love you all! Less than 300 days to go!!

Happy Mother's Day

Hopefully none of you forgot, and for those of you who did, it's probably too late, but yesterday was MOTHER'S DAY!! And I mean, this week was great and all, Sunday's are always fun, and things in wausau keep chuggin' along, but what could compare to getting to talk to my wonderful family? We were able to talk for quite a while, and skype didn't have any technical issues this time around (thank goodness!) We talked about everything from the new taco bell down the street from my house-- which I will be frequenting all too often-- to my Hmong, to what I'll be doing when I come back home. All in all, I was just so happy that none of my family had changed. Dad is still bald, Megan and Annie aren't married yet, Tanner is drooly as ever, Zach is still a lanky goofball, Taylor still thinks that he can beat me in football (never gonna happen, punk!) and Mom is still concerned with my happiness, health and safety. All was well. We also talked a little bit about the time I have left. Geez, I'm not dying, I meant the 10 months that I have left on my mission. I've decided now not to waste a single second. I'm going to make sure that I leave this mission just as firey as when I came out, and just as focused on the Lord's work. I love you all, and until next week!!

--Elder Larsen

Stake Conference

This week we had the opportunity to listen to the stake presidency, and a few others in stake conference. While my jaw still aches from about 4 hours straight translation (usually we only need to translate for just an hour) I was able to take some scattered notes. I have to say that this was probably one of my favorite stake conferences that I have ever been to for many reasons. Overall, I would have to say that it was just so... simple. That's one thing that I love about the gospel. Sometimes I think that we make things in this church so darn difficult!! So much of the time we try to be great orators, trying to please, convince, or even trick the human mind into believing what we are saying. But this stake conference was different. We had prospective elders, return missionaries, recent converts, and long time members again and again and again tell us that it all comes down to one thing: The Book of Mormon. Either it's true or its not. If it isn't true, then we have no prophet, no revelation, no modern scripture, no priesthood-- in essence, no religion. But if it is true, than this church, and all of the claims espousing it, are true. I have read the Book of Mormon for myself, and I know that it is true. We have convincing evidence of all of these things: Prophets, revelation, modern scripture, priesthood etc. Evidence that we can hold in our hands and read. We just need to READ :) Anywho... I ramble. Stake conference was fantastic :) Love Elder Larsen

WISCONSIN RAPIDS!

Alright, alright... Our trip to Wisconsin Rapids wasn't as nearly as exciting as the name of the city. Over the past couple of weeks, we have had some referrals trickle in from other missionaries in Wisconsin Rapids. Rapids is a smallish town about an hour away from where we live. We just wanted to make sure that we had enough miles to make the 140 mile trip, so we waited until the end of this month to make the trek there... Unfortunately, of the 4 addresses we were given, 3 didn't even exist, and one had already moved out... Grr... Elder Stegner and I definitely took this as a learning experience. We both know that getting disappointed and snippy with each other will only make the situation worse, so we turned the 3 hour journey into a pretty fun road trip. Other than that, again, this week has been focused towards finding new investigators. Fun fact about Wausau, it has the highest population of Hmong people per capita... Other fun fact, they are AAAAALLLLL old culture. That means that we can teach and teach and teach, and they will listen and listen and listen, but in the end, it all comes down to their desire to change, and in many of them, it just isn't there. They are too rooted in what they know, and I completely understand that. Annie had a missionary opportunity this week and said that it is much easier to just talk about your testimony than it is to stand up and say "I'd like to bear my testimony..." I completely agree. All missionary work is is stating the things that make you happy. All you have to do is let people know "[the] reason of the hope that is in you." I'm truly blessed to be called to do this, and I'm happy to labor all my days in the vineyard if this is all it takes!

5th time is the charm!

I'll start off with this... Boy was I surprised that I'm staying in Wausau!! Not a bad surprised at all either; I had all but resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to pack everything up and start again somewhere else, but I guess that the Lord has more work for me here. And I say bring it on! I'm very excited for what the next 6 weeks will bring, especially if Heavenly Father thinks that I have more things to do in Wausau! I think that Spring will be a great time for us, especially in street contacting. With spring comes many opportunities to help the Hmong people with their gardens and yard work. Last year we had many many opportunities to help some of the older generations to do some of the more backbreaking labor of having a garden. You'd be surprised at how spry some of these older Hmong people can be in their element. Other than this boring ish news, I'm happy healthy and well! We expected at least 4 or 5 people transfering (hmong) but were surprised to find out that only 2 were. That means I'm not the only one doing a 5 transfer, 3 with one companion stint! Next transfer will be HUGE, I'm sure, because we are also getting a new Hmong speaker!! Love you all!! Don't let those darn Earthquakes bother you!

Bikes...YIKES!

Hey gang! Transfers have sneaked up on us yet again, and in just one short week, I'll know where I'll be for the next 6. Isn't this missionary work a weird thing? I don't want to say that I'm leaving just yet, but I have already been here for 4 transfers, and going for 5 doesn't USUALLY happen unless you are training a new missionary, which I'm not. Another of my weekly weather reports? Cold again... We were SO CLOSE to spring!! We even thought about playing baseball for sports today, but we got dumped on last night. Anyway, this week was admittedly very slow for us. Mainly because we were again without a car (just a minor fix, but still, 3 days???) and so we had to resort to the lowest form of missionary work... Bikeriding. All I can say about that experience is A.) I am still sore, and B.) We were still able to find success!! We were still able to make all of the appointments that we had made, and even trying to plan out a trip to our church, about 6 miles away, we were blessed with rides from willing members. The Lord blessed us in a time of need for sure. But now, looking back at it, would it have been the worst thing to have to ride 6 miles? No. Could we have rescheduled appointments? Yes. Ultimately, the Lord in his infinite love, blessed us with those things that would make us happy. He truly is a loving God, and his tender mercies are over all of us, I can testify of that.

General Conference: 3 down, 1 to go!

General Conference this weekend was absolutely amazing! It is honestly like Christmas out in the mission field. I went into conference with a few questions in mind, and a few of them received direct answers while others I was only given little threads to follow in my personal study. I made sure to make fairly detailed notes, but I can't wait until we get the Ensign next month so I can really begin to study the words from our prophet and apostles. We were supposed to see an investigator there, but unfortunately he bailed on us at the very last second. We did, however, find that a friend of one of the less actives in the ward is interested in our church, and he attended two sessions with the less active. We were astonished, and feel absolutely blessed! Chee Nou has no idea how much this church can bless his life, and we will (hopefully) be meeting with him on thursday to teach him more. In other news, we cracked the 60's yesterday, and I can see lake underneath all of the ice now. I've made a new goal this month to take a picture a day... I'm so bad at remembering to take pictures... Transfers in two weeks, but honestly, I would be lying if I said I was sure I'm going. I'm not sure at all! My time in Wausau has flown to who knows where, and if I were to stay another six weeks, I'm sure they would zoom just as quickly. I'm happy, healthy, and blessed as usual. Missionary work is the same today tomorrow and forever, and I'm glad to have even some part in the hastening that is going on. Everything is going well, and I love you all!! Elder Larsen

Good day t'ya!

Hello and good morning from Wausau Wisconsin! The birds are singing, the snow is melting, and the sun is shining (okay, it's about 32 degrees, windy, and overcast, but that's no way to start an e-mail!) The last week, lets see... Well I guess nothing of extreme import happened, but there was still a lot that went on. We had an appointment scheduled with a potential investigator and we picked up our member, all ready to go... And nobody was home. We were pretty embarrassed, so we tried stopping by some less actives and managed to have some good lessons anyway... but darn!!! I'm not sure if I have told you or not, but we have a member up in the Steven's Point branch (about 45 minutes away) and he has contacted us, willing to bring us to Steven's Point to do some tracting and visits with Hmong less actives in his branch. We of course were VERY excited, because our "area" is technically the entire stake, but we don't have the miles to travel everywhere. We will hopefully start the Saturday after General Conference. Feeling good, feeling happy, and we are WAY WAY WAY excited for General Conference this weekend. We pray for you, and love you!!

--Elder Larsen

Blessings!

This week we had a couple of great surprises for us... First of all (and I know, I know, least important) I reached my year mark this last Thursday! I was very excited, and we were able to celebrate at a member's house with pizza and cake. Our next surprise came while tracting. We knocked on a house and someone from inside shouted "who is it?" in Hmong. We answered her and everything went silent. We were so disappointed, because this is such a common occurrence in Hmong work. As we left to get back in our car, she shouted out of her door to come back! We went and taught a short lesson,  and have a return appointment where we can bring another male (we can't teach single women... no matter how old) and have a more in depth lesson. Our next two surprises came at church. We have been teaching a less active named Cha to try and get him to understand the importance of church. Ever since I have been here, he has promised to come 3 or 4 times, but has never shown. Well, this Sunday he came for the first time in three years!!! We know he is making great strides of progress. And finally, Anthony was ordained a Teacher this Sunday... So much happening, and so many blessings!!

--Elder Larsen

BAPTISM!!!

Anthony Chang Galvan was baptized this last Saturday!!! And it all went........ Well, it all went! So, of course, the baptism was just absolutely the best part of the week, but it certainly wasn't the easiest part! I'll take you through the day, and the many little stresses that tried (and failed) to take us down. It all started early that morning, we were up a little early (6) to make sure we had enough time to get through everything. We left the house at 7 to fill the font, but got stuck behind a train for (I KID YOU NOT) 30 minutes... Frustrating as that was, it was just a little hiccup. We got to the church and found out that the church wasn't unlocked like it was supposed to be. So we had to drive to the zone leaders to borrow their key... Still not too bad. We started filling the font, and I had to go buy a new camera (I checked mine the day before to find that it had a cracked screen... GRR!) THEN Anthony wasn't ready when his ride came to pick him up, delaying the program 20 minutes... Still, everything went well with the program. We were emptying the font afterwards and the pipes had frozen earlier, so water backed up EVERYWHERE! It was so bad that they cancelled church the next day... BUT... Anthony Chang Galvan was baptized!!! He did so well. He couldn't stop from laughing the whole time. The ward has been so supportive, and we had a fantastic showing. He was interviewed to recieve the priesthood and will be ordained and confirmed next week. As crazy as it all was... Was it worth it? 100%, even if it were 100x worse. Thank you for your prayers and continued support. As I come up to my year mark, looking back I can see the Lord's hand working in my mission. LOVE Elder Larsen

Blessed!

We have been so blessed this week (and this coming week as well...) We exceeded every single one of our goals, had some pretty amazing lessons, and didn't die (okay more on that later, but don't get too disappointed in the over-exaggeration.) So, I guess the biggest news of this week is that Anthony had his baptismal interview this past weekend and he was okayed for his baptism... Saturday at 10:00!! I hate to mention it, but the Wausau Hmong area hasn't had a baptism in 2 1/2 years. We feel that this should only be one of many to come. Anthony, again, has just been so prepared. The ward has been so helpful to us, and when we went into the Relief Society room to announce his baptism, before we even asked, the question was posed "do you need us to provide refreshments?". Oh my goodness, I can't believe this day is here! I know that prayers from us, the ward, from home, and from temples across the world. Thank you to all! --Oh yeah... We had a small backing accident in a parking lot. We had spent the whole day tracting, and I felt that I had earned a well deserved little ceasars pizza (with garlic and parmesan crust). I decided it would be a good idea to take a corner parking spot, and somebody else thought it was a good idea to park behind me... I had my companion back me out-- per the missionary handbook rules-- and didn't stop as soon as he told me, and dented our car and the other one. Damage was minimal, no one was hurt, no ticket was given, I felt very sheepish, and my pizza was cold... But I didn't die.

Love Elder Larsen!

Updates!

Not too much interesting going on here in the field, but enough to give an e-mail full of some small updates and insights into my life as a missionary. So finally, the weather seems to be taking a turn for the better. We haven't seen below zero for a few days, and this week we can see as high as 40. Talk about balmy! If I was able to wear shorts, I totally would. Anthony is well on his way to baptism, and a member in the ward, Yee Lang Yang, has really become a father figure to Anthony. This week Yee took Anthony to see the new LEGO movie, and they both had a really great time. We had a small miracle this week. We went to go see a less active named Vang Mai Chang, but he wasn't there. As we sat in our car planning our next move, an Elderly Hmong woman approached our car. I thought maybe she was just getting in her car, but she just waited outside our car and smiled at us. I rolled down the window and said hi, and she asked for some help reading a couple of bills she had (she must have known missionaries can speak Hmong)... Anyway, long story short, we will be teaching her this upcoming week!! Valentines was... Meh. It's funny, as a missionary, that day means almost nothing (sorry to disappoint, ladies!) Other than that... Boring week=boring letter... Just know I love you all, and keep you in my prayers!

Dented, but not done

Yes, this week was another challenge, but honestly, what else is new? Just have to roll with it!! About 2 months back, we discovered a baseball sized dent above the rear driver side wheel on our car. After all of the registering, estimating, and waiting, last week we finally had our car taken in. We were without transportation for 3 days, and just had to try our best to be productive as possible. We did have a few good lessons, and even walked out in the bitter cold a few times. All in all, we survived, and even got our car back before the ward's famous annual chili cookoff. We were truly blessed ;) Anthony continues to progress to his March first baptismal date. We meet twice a week in preparation for his date, and we have seen leaps and bounds in his progression. He is a very different person than he was when I met him in November. Lilly has also bounded forward. She asked for every Sunday off from her boss, and even though she was denied, she said she will keep asking. Lent is a busy time for her work and that also prevents her from meeting with us and coming to church, but she is still progressing! As far as everything else goes, we are just extremely happy to be here! Happy valentines day!! :)

Shorty but a goody!

Like I said, this one will have to be a little bit shorter than normal, but I have some exciting updates! We have a very promising baptismal date! Anthony Galvan is scheduled to be baptized on the first of march!! He has been taking lessons for almost a year now, and finally thinks he is ready. We were talking to him the other day about it and he wasn't sure, but we went back and had another lesson, and he seemed 100x more excited. All I can say is that we are very very excited. I have a new companion, Elder Stegner. He comes from Seattle Washington and needless to say, he was very excited about the outcome of the super bowl (yes, we heard...) All I can say other than this, is that I'm doing extremely well! Almost halfway done, and it goes faster and faster and faster every single day. Again, sorry it's so short, but all is well, and the work is here for us to do, and we are thrusting in our sickles with all our might!

Elder Meej Mom

Be careful what you wish for!!

We had another warning today that for the next two days, we are not to be outside any more than we need to be. Temperatures are expected to be 27 degrees below zero... AGAIN!! These temperatures are something that haven't been experienced since 1980-81... And I'm doing juuuuust fine! Everyone says it's cold, and it is... But like I've said before, cold is cold. Whether it is 0 or -20 outside, either way I dress warm and either way I end up being in a car or a house most of the day anyway. Something interesting to note... At 0 degrees, your breath is taken away when you walk outside, at -5 if you inhale through your nose at all your nose hairs freeze, at -10, without a hat your eyebrows begin to freeze, and at -15 it starts to snow... INSIDE your car. Life goes on here, missionary work is missionary work. We were able to stop by Elizabeth and John's house Saturday, just to check in and say Elder Burgoyne's goodbyes (more on that later). They were glad to see us, and were happy to have a short lesson. They know the church can help them, and they still read the book of mormon, but they just don't believe that they are ready, even though we know that they could be. We love them so much, but are so sad that their progress is being stopped only by fears... We may stop by in another month or two to track how their progress is going on their own.  Last Sunday, there was a talk that was given about having mountains to climb, trials that will make us better and bless our lives. I, thinking that my mission experience thus far has been easy enough, thought that I should pray for a change in my life that would make me struggle to become better... I was faithful that my prayer would be answered, and it certainly was. This week is transfer week. Elder Burgoyne and I had expectations of what WE thought was going to happen, but we were almost entirely wrong. Elder Burgoyne will be leaving to serve in Green Bay. I will be staying in Wausau to serve as the District Leader and Senior companion. WHAT?? I was called Friday night unexpectedly by President Cutler and was asked to fulfill this calling. My new companion has been out for about 6 months, which means the both of us will seriously have to step up our Hmong. I was very very very stressed out about this for quite a while, until I read a quote from a talk that my dad sent to me. It says "When we are on the Lord's errand we are entitled to the Lord's help."My heart was softened, I was humbled, and my fears and worries were calmed. I am grateful that the Lord has seen fit to bless me with this opportunity, and I ask for your prayers as I try to magnify this calling. I've certainly done my fair share of prayer!

Love Elder Larsen

Wausau is Wausau

What more can I say than that? This week has been much the same, many hard things, but many miracles as well! All I can say is that I have seen the Lord's hand in my life, and as it happens with many things, it may only come after all that we can do. I will be honest, this week was one of the hardest of my mission. I kid you not, one day this week we tried Every. Single. Investigator in our pool, and that only took us until 4 o'clock. For some reason, I feel that this week has just been a trial of our faith. BUT, like I said before, sometimes that is when we see some of our biggest blessings. This struggle has only strengthened my resolve to try my hardest to bring souls unto Christ. Every time when we reached the bottom of the barrel, something else popped up to save the day, every time we thought that we had worked our hardest and couldn't bear another denial, we found ourselves moving forward yet again. Each and every time one of us began to doubt or be depressed, the other has been able to pick him up. God is truly mindful of us, and I know that He knows me. I can bear testimony of the loving atonement of our Savior, because this week, maybe more than any week of my mission, I have had to rely on Him. Again, I can't wait to come home and see everyone smiling and happy faces! I love the Lord, and I love you all!

Love Elder Larsen

The "Wau-Sauna"

First of all, and most importantly, no, it isn't -50 anymore. It's an amazing 80 degrees warmer... 80 degrees!!! I just imagine if it was 80 degrees warmer than it is right now, it would be 110 degrees. What a huge difference it feels like. And yes, the rumors are true, people DO wear shorts in this weather. Okay... now for the good stuff :) Actually, this week was a little bit of a downer for us. We have a couple families that we just can't get in contact with. They all said that after the new year, they would be able to fit us into their busy schedules, but unfortunately, we have been turned down at every single attempt at an appointment. Grr! As frustrating as it is, I have certainly learned the value of patience, perseverance, and diligence on my mission! We just keep praying, keep loving, and keep trying, all while keeping our heads up. The most exciting thing that happened this week was our lesson with Jessica. (very less active, and I'm not sure if I have mentioned her before.) For the last 2 months we have been meeting with her and chipping away so so slowly at every concern, and every misunderstanding. We never went in with a planned lesson, because we knew that her questions were more important than anything that we might have to try and teach her. So last week we finally decided that it was time for us to go on the offensive, if you'll excuse the expression. We knew that at the root of her (and really anyone's) concern is the question of whether or not the Book of Mormon is true. She believes that there is more than one way to return to God, so we were there to tell her, that unfortunately, that is not the truth. "There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism". We spoke for about an hour and by the end, we knew that she had a lot to digest. We brought the spirit, and we just have to pray that it softens her heart. She wants so badly to believe, but is hanging on by threads to what she thought to be true.... Gah!! Pray for us! I love you all!!!

Love Elder Larsen

Elder-cicle

For those who care, and of COURSE I'm not complaining or anything... It is currently -25 degrees with a windchill making it feel like (Yes, LITERALLY) -50. The coldest weather that has hit in 20 years... It's so cold that it can kill you in minutes... But I'm nice and warm sitting in the Wausau County library :) On my walk from the car to the library however, my eyebrows froze. Stiff. Solid. 20 seconds tops. Lucky for us, our Mission President told us that for the next 2 days, we are to stay inside as much as possible. That means no outside activities, and unless you have appointments, no proselyting. We will be doing a lot of personal scripture study the next few days I'm sure... With the short amount of time that I have to write, I'll tell you of an experience we had just this last Saturday. We met with Chou and Mai (maybe I already mentioned them?) a few weeks ago, but for all of our return appointments, we get to their door only to find out that they aren't there, or are busy, even after we confirmed appointments with them that morning. So last week, after our radio show, we decided to just try and drop in unannounced. BUT, AS WE PULLED INTO THEIR DRIVEWAY we got a call from Chou. He was inconsolable for the first minute or so that we talked with him. Eventually we gathered that he had had some sort of meltdown and was in a very dark place. He has had many hardships and trials in his life, and we suspect that something from his past had reared its ugly head again. He called us to ask us to pray for him. What great faith he showed in calling two 20 year old boys to ask them to pray for him. We said a prayer over the phone and asked if he wanted us to stop by, but he declined, saying a friend was on the way to pick him up to talk to him. We challenged him to pray for himself, and promised blessings that come from prayer. He had the faith to call us, now he just needs the faith to call on God. We definitely hope to meet with them again, and hope that everything turned out well for Chou. That's all for now! Love you all, and have a warm week! Elder Larsen

Big ol' E-Mail...

First of all... A very Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope that you all had a great Christmas, I know that I most certainly did! I'll just give a brief overview of our day, and hope not to bore you to death... So first, naturally, we woke up at 6:30 to open our presents. We had a great time, going back and forth, and really really enjoyed everything we got. Some of my favorite presents: A replica copy of the first edition of the Book of Mormon, a big BYU blanket, and some cold medicine... We will DEFINITELY be needing that! After all of that, we got ready to go to our first meal of the day, breakfast at the Thomas house. We had some delish french toast with home made syrup. MMM!!! We definitely enjoyed ourselves, and they were so nice, and actually bought us some Christmas pajamas... SO SO nice! Next, we went home for some studies (yes, the missionary life NEVER stops) and then to our NEXT appointment at Txawjzoo's house. Txawjzoo is awesome, and we had another great time. I ate a plethora, and the hightlight was probably the Qabpon, which is sort of the Hmong version of Pho. Very good, very fun. They too were very nice, and gave us each new cardigans, which may I say, I look very dashing in. We ran home to do a quick clean and then again, off to our final dinner of the night. We ate at the Johnstons and had a grand old time, just playing a lot of Christmas themed games. By the end of the dinner, I was ready to pass out, and after a quick run through all our night activities (plan, journal, brush, pray) I knocked out. It was a GREAT first Christmas, and one I won't forget.
Now, I just want to take a quick second to say thank you to everyone. I definitely felt the love from home, and I'm glad to have such a wonderful support system :) Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!! Kuv Hlub Nej!!!!!