End of May

G'day g'day!

Not too much to report this week... There was a lot of cold weather and crises with our sisters and a lot of us fixing things and trying to find new people to teach. But such is life.

 

We got to go to the temple this week, which was wonderful! I love being able to go with my fellow missionaries. It's cool to feel the spirit that is there with all of us as servants of the Lord. The only thing better is to be in the temple with my family.

 

It was President Maxwell's birthday! Sister Maxwell organized a massive celebration with nearly all the missionaries in attendance! There were wonderful musical numbers (a few of President's favorite hymns sung by a missionary choir, a selection from the Messiah by his son-in-law, and a few other hymns sung by the favorite mission singers) and a hilarous and adorable slideshow of President's life, followed by brownies and ice cream for everyone! We all stayed for nearly an hour afterwards and were just able to talk with each other and have fun with no pressure to rush back for appointments. It felt really good to just relax for a second! I think I've forgotten what that feels like.

 

We had dinner at Rudy's on Saturday like we usually do. Jorge got us another fabulously thoughtful cake! We watched Elder Holland's talk from conference, "Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet." It was so wonderful.

 

It was sad to hear about Elder L. Tom Perry's passing. Many missionaries, and I'm sure many others, are praying for his family. I am so grateful that we do have prophets and apostles on the earth today, and I am grateful that we can trust that whoever fills Elder Perry's place will be called of God just as he was.

 

Much Love,

 

Sister Larsen

PS, in the photo are Jorge, me, Sister Hatch, our friend Liga (she's going on her mission to Sydney in a month!), Mohsen, and Rudy. Cool people.

Persians are my favorite people

G'day g'day!

 

We are continuing to see miracles in Dandenong! We are so blessed to be able to serve here.

Mohsen, Rudy's Iranian friend, is doing AWESOME. He's all set to be baptized on June 13th! He could be baptized next week if it weren't for scheduling conflicts in the ward and Mohsen's trip to Sydney with Rudy and Jorge. But he is so ready! He's been praying and praying to know the right path to take. Yesterday he told us that since he's been learning from us there has been so much more positivity in his life and he can tell that this is good! He takes that as his answer that this is the right path for him. We taught him all the "big" commandments the other night (Word of Wisdom, law of chastity, tithing, all the ones that missionaries are scared to teach) and he's all goods with it. He said it will be hard but he is willing to change. Jorge shared his experience with changing to live all the commandments, and he told Mohsen about how it was hard for him too but he was able to adapt and now he's happier than before. Mohsen really looks up to Jorge. And we are so incredibly proud of our Jorge! He's only been a member for about two months and he's already teaching gospel principles and helping us so much with teaching his friends. Yesterday after church he took Mohsen to go meet Bishop. He takes such responsibility for things in the Church and shows so much commitment to the Savior. We're lucky to have him.

 

Remember our miracle Persian family from last week? They invited us to go to their church with them on Saturday, but the day of they texted us and told us that we couldn't come anymore because their priest doesn't welcome Mormons. Let me tell you how much we freaked out when we got that text!! So many things starting flashing through our minds... What did the priest tell them about us? What are they thinking now? Are they going to avoid us like lepers now?? I was so nervous. We dropped in on them yesterday morning to see how things were. Turns out they were really surprised that their priest didn't welcome us. Giselle was really upset about it. She didn't understand why someone wouldn't welcome someone else into the house of God, especially a fellow Christian. She and Dylan asked us a few questions about things their priest told them, about differences in our doctrines and such. We were able to answer them, but we always directed them back to gaining a witness from God and asking Him to direct us to truth. Giselle really wants answers, so she is going to Bible study at her church on Wednesday and asking her priest all her questions. She's going to tell him that she's reading the Book of Mormon and she doesn't care what he says because she wants answers! And if his answers don't convince her, she's going to come to our church on Sunday and ask our bishop. We are hoping and praying that they will be guided by the light of Christ and by the Holy Ghost to know what is true. It was just such a miracle to meet them! I guess we'll find out what happens after Wednesday...

 

We have been so blessed with wonderful people to teach! And it's such a blessing to work here among so many people of the holy land. We are able to teach people who would have no other way to hear the restored gospel because of the way their countries are. Mohsen was telling us how grateful he is to be here in Australia where he can learn about other religions and really find the truth. It's such a blessing to be able to teach here! I love the Lord's work!

 

Much Love,

Sister Larsen

Miracles

G'day g'day!

(Sister Hatch and I practiced our Aussie accents this morning. We're still not very good.)

We have been blessed with the BIGGEST miracles this week! We met the most amazing family who we already love so much and can't wait to teach more! A couple of days ago we were GQing at the Plaza, which can be pretty hectic on the weekends because all the other GQers come out too. I was looking around for who to talk to next when I saw this young guy from across the way. When I saw him, my heart just jumped inside of me and I knew he was someone special! When I talked to him I found out that his name is Dylan, he is from Iran, and he and his family moved here about 6 months ago...and they're Christians! If you don't know, it's so rare and amazing to find Iranian people who are Christians, because it's so dangerous to be a Christian in their country. I told him about the Book of Mormon and he agreed to have us bring him a copy. His parents came over a couple minutes into our conversation and they said they were happy to have us over!

We went over the next day and brought a Book of Mormon in English and in Persian. Dylan speaks perfect English but his parents speak next to no English at all. When we came, we spoke with Dylan and his mom, Giselle. We talked about Jesus Christ and their conversion to Christianity, how they forsake their country and risked their lives to come here and be baptized. We spoke a bit about the Book of Mormon. Dylan would translate for his mom every now and then. When we said Mormon, Giselle perked up and listened more. We showed them a copy of the Book of Mormon in English and Giselle started talking in Persian. Apparently when their boat first landed in Australia, they were in a detention center for a while and Giselle spent some time in the hospital. One of the carers at the hospital was a member, and he gave her a Persian Book of Mormon to read. She read the entire thing while she was there! She loves the book! She says the stories are so easy to understand. When she finished it she loaned it to the other person in her hospital room to read, but she was discharged from the hospital before she could get it back. She has been looking for the Book of Mormon ever since! She asked her friends at the Persian church they attend, but no one knew anything about it. And then...here we were, showing them the Book of Mormon! She said she wanted to look for a Persian translation. So I pulled one out of my bag and gave it to her. She looked at the book like an old friend, and started reading it right then.

We invited them to come to church with us, and they were so excited to! On Sunday, Dylan, Giselle, her husband Sayed, and their younger son Amir all came. Even though Giselle and Sayed didn't understand much, they said they loved church! The ward was so warm and welcomed them. We hope to be seeing a lot more of them!!

It's amazing to see how Heavenly Father prepares His children, and how He leads them to His word! I know that this is God's work. He prepares people to hear the gospel and will always help those who want to follow Him! Especially those like Giselle who are brave enough to risk their lives and forsake everything to follow Him. It's such a blessing to be a part of this work.

xoxo Sister Larsen

Hello from Tasmania!

Heeellllooooooo!!!!

 

Sorry about the lack of letter last week! We went to the city for Pday last week and it was a public holiday so the library wasn't open. And the state library was entirely full. But we popped into the branch for a bit and saw some of my favorite people! It was amazing! It felt kind of different to be there and not be assigned as a missionary there. When I served in the city, I felt a responsibility, or a stewardship if you will, for the people there. I felt so compelled to talk to everyone because it was my job to take care of them. But since it wasn't my area anymore, it felt a little different. I can't quite explain it. 

 

 

But this Pday I am writing to you all from the wonderful city of Launcestion, Tasmania!!!! Sister Hatch and I are the sister training leaders for the sisters down here, so we get to come down for a couple of days for exchanges. And seriously, this is the most amazing place. It's a lot of country and even the city itself feels a bit small town-y. I adore it. And today we went to this wildlife preserve called Trawunna where I got to fulfill my lifelong dream (well, maybe not lifelong...but I've had it since I got my mission call anyway) of holding a wombat!!!! It was seriously the most amazing thing ever. Her name was Georgie and she was so cute and snuggly and aaaahh. I can't even. Aaand I'm really super sorry I don't have any photos because I forgot my card reader for my camera. Next week though! Promise!

 

 

Life in Dandenong is also pretty good. We're kind of struggling to find solid investigators at the moment, and we've been super busy with exchanges and giving trainings at various meetings and such. And we spent this weekend watching conference! We had one investigator come. His name is Juma and he's from Afghanistan. He doesn't speak much English but was plenty happy to introduce himself to people. He even found his own seat and sat down to listen happily to the talks. Not sure how much he understood...but he's always happy to come. He's great.

 

 

Life as a missionary is crazy! But so, so worth it. I love Australia and I love teaching people the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and I love seeing the atonement of Jesus Christ change people, whether they be investigators or fellow missionaries. The Church is true!

 

 

Love you all!!

xo Sister Larsen

 

Transfer Ten

G'day!

 

 

Sorry for the late letter! We only had thirty minutes to email on Monday because it was sisters p-day for all the sisters in the mission! We were running around like crazy making sure everything was organized and everyone had a ride and a place to stay for the night and wow. Just craziness. Today was sisters conference and it was wonderful! We had a lot of great trainings from various sisters, all centered on the theme "Be Loyal to the Royal Within." We talked about taking charge of your physical well-being (a la Elder Klebingat) by taking care of your flat, your physical fitness, and your eating habits. We had some other good trainings about dealing with anti-Mormon literature and overcoming feelings of inadequacy. Some interesting and maybe unconventional missionary topics, but we all left really uplifted. Least of all because it was great to see all the sisters. :)

 

 

We said goodbye to Sister Vermeulen last Tuesday! She's landed safely in South Africa, as some of the members who have talked to her on Facebook have let me know. And I got my new companion, Sister Hatch! She's from Arizona and is the bomb.com. She just came from serving in the city so we talk about the city branch all the time and all our favourite people, like Masaru. She has all these videos of him doing funny things and we just watch them and laugh.

 

 

We've started teaching this guy from Dubai named Adeel. We met him when I was with Sister Vermeulen and Sister Vakalahi still. We tracted into him and he invited us in and we had the most amazing lesson. He is so sincerely wanting to change his life and be a better person. We taught him at the chapel this week with Sister Hatch and invited him to be baptized! He said yes! We're aiming for April 25, but he works from 5am to 5pm every Sunday, so we'll see if that date works out. But he is so cool. I'm really excited to teach him, and to introduce him to Jorge. I think they will be great friends and Jorge will help him a lot to find the truth he is seeking.

 

 

On a random note, we had a crazy experience with this freaky super loud breathing noise that we heard outside our bathroom window in the middle of the night. We heard it on three separate occasions and we were super scared. Well, I was super scared. Sister Hatch is tougher than me. The third time we heard it we called the APs even though it was definitely past our bedtime and because they're the best APs ever they came and looked in our backyard. There was nothing. Then they said there's a possum that lives in the tree. So most likely it was just a possum and I freaked out for nothing. Now Elder Woodruff teases me about possums. It's fine.

 

 

And that's our adventures in Dandenong for this week. All is well in the land down under.

 

 

xo Sister Larsen

 

 

G'day g'day!

G'day g'day!

We had the wonderful privilege this week of witnesses Jorge's baptism!!! He was so prepared and so very excited to be baptized and make this covenant with Heavenly Father. Our wonderful bishop baptized and confirmed him. Jorge cried when he came up out of the water, the softie. He's been crying for the last two weeks or so because he's been feeling the Spirit a lot and been so happy to be a part of the gospel. We tease him a bit but really we're thrilled.

 

Jorge received the Aaronic priesthood yesterday, and is planning to attend the temple on Saturday to do baptisms for the dead! If all goes well, Samantha and Jancy will be coming too. It will be a blessed day.

 

Samantha and Jancy's mom, Shanti, has been so interested in the gospel. She doesn't speak much English, so after we leave Samantha and Jancy tell her everything we taught in Tamil. We saw a total miracle with their dad, who is Buddhist and doesn't really like Christians. He noticed that ever since Samantha and Jancy started coming to church, everything with their visa application has gone without a hitch. Normally it can take up to 2-3 years to get a visa here, but they got theirs in about 3 months! Their dad took that as a sign, and has since started coming to church! He even bought some nice shirts especially for church! :) We're so hoping to be able to teach them properly soon. If only I spoke Tamil!

 

I love you all!

xo Sister Larsen

 Sister Larsen with her beautiful companions from South Africa and Tonga teaching a man from Afghanistan. She is loving every minute of her mission! (Caption written by Kathy Larsen :-))

Elder Bednar and a Baptism!

Our mission had the priceless opportunity of spending three hours with Elder David A. Benar this week!! It was the most amazing learning experience! He asked us to study three of his articles beforehand, "Ask in Faith," "Converted Unto the Lord," and "Seek Learning By Faith." They were all spectacular and I learned so much from them. When we met with him I was expecting a three hour talk of amazingness and inspiration, but instead Elder Bednar chose to spend his time talking with us, not to us. He set some expectations, cracked some jokes to make everyone feel comfortable, and then asked us what we learned. Missionary after missionary answered with insights they had from studying the articles. After each insight was shared, Elder Bednar asked, "Elder, may I ask you a question?" and then would ask another question to help deepend the missionary's understanding and help him dig a little deeper and learn more. It was amazing to watch. After a few minutes of that, he asked us all, "What are you learning from the comments being shared?" And later, "What are you learning from this teaching pattern?" I honestly learned so much about teaching from his example, not from his words. He taught us about listening and discerning and understanding and loving, all by doing it himself. He showed us how agency is so important in the learning process, and how we must act in order for the Spirit to carry the message not only unto but into our hearts. He showed us how the Savior would teach by walking with us and helping us to truly understand and find answers for ourselves. It was so valuable. I want to always teach like the Savior does.

 

After our amazing afternoon with Elder Bednar, we sped off to Samantha and Jancy's baptism!! They were so beautiful in there white dresses. They were baptized by Bishop Lavaka, who is the most gentle, kind, Christlike man. There was such a special spirit during their baptisms and confirmations, and especially when they shared their testimonies with us. There bore testimony of the Savior, of the Book of Mormon, and of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was so amazing to hear them bear testimony of the things that the Spirit has witnessed to them are true. Samantha and Jancy were so filled with joy after their baptism, and are even more excited for their next step: going to the temple! <3

 

I love this work! I know it is the Lord's work. I have felt His hand so tangibly in my life. I have felt Him lift me and strengthen me and give me power and peace beyond my own. I love Him with all my heart! It is my greatest desire to be with Him again once my work here on earth is finished. And I'm taking everyone I can with me. :)

xo Sister Larsen