They had like a fiesta thing and I thought their decorations were pretty cool. They are made out of plastic grocery bags- resourceful Filipinos.

thought you would appreciate some scenery:)

January 27 letter-Just another week in paradise!

I am so tired. Like sobrang pagod. But it's a good tired. It's the kind of tired that comes from a week of doing all you can to help others come unto Christ.  Of course there were things that I could have done better, maybe I could've talked to more people or testified more boldly.  But I feel pretty proud of our work this week.  Being a trainer has really made me stretch and reach toward my potential.  And it has been paying off. We had the highest attendance yesterday at church than we have had in a looooooong time. And I never thought that people would just fall into our laps for us to teach, but...that's kind of what happened this week. We had a few experiences where people came to us rather than the other way around.  Oh this gospel is true!! And everyone needs it in their life. It's not just for a chosen few.  I love the gospel of Jesus Christ!!! We are getting closer to Elize's baptism and it's kind of a hefty responsibility to do all we can to make sure that these people know how serious the covenant of baptism is and are ready to enter into that covenant.  But it is so awesome! I know that this is it.  If we want to live with our Father in Heaven again, we need baptism! So life is good, busy but good.

Just so you know, my kasama is 6 feet tall. It's awesome. We are having a good time trying to keep up with the language over here.  It's a good thing we have ward members that will work with us and translate when needed. Which reminds me...work with your ward missionaries! They need you! The Lord needs you! at least give them some referrals :) 

The weather is starting to warm up..again. Summer is just around the corner over here.  Word on the street is that around March it's pretty rough. Also Cabanatuan might be the hottest place in the Philippines because it is one of the most inland.  But I'm ready for it.  With the Lord we can do all things, right? 

Anyways, I can't really think of anything too exciting to share with you.  If you have any questions I'd love to hear em. 

 I love you!! Mahal na mahal ko kayo!! 

Sister Larson 

 Hindi sobrang masarap--they call this "day old" because it is literally a one day old chicken. and you just grill it and then eat it whole. and yes I did... eat it all. 

My new Kasama, Sister Laiti !  she is gorgeous! another samoan!

January 20 Letter-Walang asawa pero I'm a nanay!

When a missioanary first gets into the field they are basically a child. There are many things that they don't know how to do for themselves. And in a lot of ways they are helpless. I know because I was there.

So...you see. What had happened was... I'm a nanay. Which is Tagalog for "mother". I have an anak! (child) Because I am training a new missionary.And that is nuts. 

What is even more nuts is my trainee is also a foreigner. So a new missionary who doesn't really know Tagalog is training an even newer missionary who knows even less Tagalog. It's fun. 

But Sister Laiti is great. She is from Sydney, Australia and is Samoan. So far I have had more Samoan companions than Filippino. But she's one of those missionaries who came pre-trained. She's 22 and has a great desire to serve the Lord. She is a great example to me and I really am learning more from her than she probably is from me. 

That was the big news of the week. Things continue to progress in our little "branch" as we call it. Even though it's a ward, we have the attendance of a branch so... We are learning that it is better to be bold. Even though it's really scary sometimes. 

And I tried a new food! Day old baby chicken. Hindi sobrang masarap. Lets just say I won't be eating it everyday. But it was an experience. 

I was asked to speak in church yesterday. My talk was about priesthood and the power that it can bring to families. I love the priesthood and the more I learn about it the more I realize that it's way past my understanding. But I do love the priesthood. 

How was your week? Any missionary experiences? 

Mahal na mahal ko kayo!!! 

Sister Larson 

January 13 letter- 4 month mark!

This has been the most wonderful week! I love being a missionary! I think that our "miracles in December" were late bloomers because we have been seeing the miracles in January! I have to admit, I was feeling a little discouraged because I had not been able to contribute a baptism to the 1350 baptismal goal for 2013 for our mission. I was beginning to wonder if those "golden" investigators that I had heard everyone talk about even existed.  But then we found them! In the missionary call letter it says that if we serve God's children with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength we will experience more joy than we have yet experienced in our lives. When I first read that didn't really believe it.  I thought, "How can they promise that? The First Presidency doesn't know my life." Silly, silly me. As we taught these two 19 year old girls (that are SO ready to accept the gospel it blows my mind) I got a taste of exactly what the First Presidency was talking about. Words cannot describe the happiness Sister Mailo and I felt as we listened to them talk about their experiences receiving an answer to their prayers. They both felt the Spirit testify that this is Christ's church restored to the earth. They felt the Holy Spirit, they could not deny it, and they have welcomed the message of the Restoration with open arms.  Both of them had experiences earlier in the week were they were tempted to break the Word of Wisdom. Their friends had offered them coffee or iced tea, and although the temptation was very strong, their desire to be obedient was stronger. And here's the best part.....we haven't even taught them about the Word of Wisdom yet! They just knew that coffee and iced tea were some of the substances that were not allowed for "Mormons." WHAATTTTT?? They are so awesome!!!! I cannot wait to see these two girls dressed in white as they enter the waters of baptism next month.  I don't even care if I only get to see it through pictures. If I get transferred I know that is because the Lord needs me somewhere else and He needs different missionaries here.  Simple as that. And I love this area and the people here so much that I genuinely want whats best for them, even if it means I need to leave them. What a sacred privilege it is to be one of the Lord's missionaries! 

I love you! Like a lot, a lot. And I hope you have a fantastic week!!! 

-Sister Larson

I met Spiderman. No big deal.

FHE with one of our part member families. the parents are less active and the two boys on either side of me are hopefully going to get baptized in March. The whole family committed to come to church next week and I really hope that as we help their sons prepare for baptism they can remember their own baptismal covenants and come back to the church! 

 

so we helped one of our investigators with her "feeding program" she wanted to feed needy children with the money she would have used for a birthday party. She's amazing. And I taught (or tried to teach, anyways) the kids how to make a fish face. It was hilarious. Look at their faces!!! Oh I love them.. I really love these people!!

 

so we were just walking down the street and saw this man on his trike wearing this shirt! I had to take a picture! I asked him where he got it and he said, ukay-ukay (thrift shop) he had no idea what it really meant, but for me it really made my day and I know that home really isn't that far away. Plus I can't get homesick! "Home" is where the gospel is! 

 

 

okay and also I wanted to show you that the sign you sent me (Daily Decisions Determine Destiny) is on our little baby fridge and also I wanted you to see what the brooms are like here. they don't have brooms made out of plastic. and it is not a very effective sweeper. but hey, welcome to the Philippines! 

 

 

 

       this is our new years eve. the most delicious spaghetti I have ever tasted. ever.

 

the only house with real Christmas decorations. and they had a lot.

my kasama and I exchanging gift Christmas morning

 

we spent the evening of new years eve doing my laundry. yes my kasama loves me enough to help me wash my clothes! she's great. and we had fun, if you can't tell.

 

 

January 6 Letter-Happy New Year!!

SO!  New Years is a HUGE deal here. Bigger than Christmas and it was AWESOME!!! Everyone, including our neighbors were lighting off fireworks. And not like the wimpy sparklers, it was like the real thing. Basically we were in the middle of a war zone.  Afterward there was smoke everywhere. Nuts. So needless to say, I didn't exactly get to sleep at 10:30 but I tried really hard! It was just that our house was shaking because of the constant fireworks. No big deal. But don't worry, we were perfectly safe. Promise. And some of our neighbors even brought over food! Pancit and spaghetti (the best spaghetti that I've ever had in my life!) It was a great time. And the rest of the week flew by! 

I keep forgetting (Mom) that you don't know the details of my life. Just read the White Handbook and you'd know, geesh :) joke lang. So let me break it down for you. We wake up at 6:30 and exercise. Which for me, means yoga and some lame pushups and situps and such. Then we have breakfast. I ususally have oatmeal with a fresh mango or toast. Then personal study for an hour, companion study for 2 hours (because I'm still in training), and then we go out and work. For only one hour. After my training is over we'll have 1 hour of comp study and work for 2 hours in the morning. Then we come home, really sweaty, and eat lunch. Pancit (which is kind of like ramen noodles without the broth) and bread (tinapay). And then language study for an hour and then out to work from 2:30 until 8pm. We just visit anyone we have appointments with or that we have scheduled to visit and when we get "punted" (punted: verb. meaning that you try to teach someone that you probably had an appointment with but they say that they are too busy or they are not home or they send their kids out to tell you "wala sila daw" which means "they said they're not here".) and we try to talk to as many people that we can that we just pass by on the streets or whatnot and if they have a few minutes to spare we share a message about the Restoration with them . Then when we get home we update our planners, solidify our plans for the next day and update the area book. And then eat something for dinner. I usually eat popcorn. And then journal and bed. The end. Pretty glamorous. 

If you want to know specific things you're probably going to have to ask me a specific question...  

  But as for this week... Honestly, yesterday was probably one of the best days so far on my mission.  For a lot of reasons that are just hard to explain. Just know that I am loving life.  But after the New Year, we found out that as a mission we exceeded our goal for baptisms for 2013 (which was 1350, yeah one thousand three hundred and fifty souls) there were actually 1368 souls that entered the waters of baptism in 2013. And our goal for 2014 is 1650. No big deal we're just baptizing more than the population of St. David. AND ...We had a Gospel Principles Sunday School class for the first time since I've been in the area! We had one investigator and one recent convert in attendance.  It was a great lesson and it will be even greater when we get all of our investigators to come to church. Church attendance is the hardest thing for most of our investigators.  But we're working with them and hopefully the more they understand how sacred our covenants with God are it will be easier for them to go to church. 

     President Martino asked each of us during our last interviews if we would commit to become a "sanctified" missionary and I guess I just assumed that this was like a missionary thing.  I don't know why but I seemed to have missed the concept of sanctification until now. It's everywhere! I have found teachings of becoming sanctified in the Book of Mormon, in our Hymns, in the teachings of Isaiah and other Biblical prophets, in the words of our modern prophets, and even in the name of our Church.  We belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SAINTS. According to a footnote in Isaiah 13:3, the words "saints" and "sanctified ones" are synonymous. As my eyes have been open and my desire to become a sanctified missionary has increased I have been able to see the call for sanctification over and over again. 

     I relish this opportunity to give the Lord my all as I strive each day, each hour to become who He needs me to become so that I can help Him hasten His work and His glory. 

We each have our part in the work of salvation and we have to be one. So get out and help your ward missionaries and share the gospel with others!! Mahal ko kayo (like a lot, a lot) 

Sister Larson