Stadthagen: Transfer 3

Nein Mutti, leide habe ich einen Anzug noch nicht "geboughten." But a few weeks ago we went on a scouting mission to find out which kind of suit I should get and where to buy it. We're making progress :). Not bad Mom, I hadn't thought to draw a Gospel parallel out of our adventure with our bird friend. I'll certainly be expecting a picture of this "awesome play set." Well Andy, I'm glad to hear that your old frisbee-dominating self is returning. The talk to text thing went great up to the second to last sentence Lisa, haha. Yeah, that would be awkward if ol Aaron was already back, seeing as he just got made zone leader in the zone next to mine, which hopefully means I'll get to see him sometime. Wouard, you mean Savannah is already done with kindergarten? Isn't she still like 2 years old? And don't worry, you get a couple months of a break before you have to have another baby, as long as there's a new one by the time I get back :). Sounds like a good commitment Joey. Elder Herbertson of the Seventy, who talked to us during Stake Conference last week, told us how we need to focus more on giving our families bread, rather than stones. But Joey, do you think it's possible to do a sit-up without being able to see or hear? Seems like a pretty legit playground Dad. I'll definitely take the advice in Mosiah 4:27; one step at a time.

So the first half of this week was pretty normal: finding, some service, a couple appointments, the usual. But as soon as Thursday rolled around things got pretty cray cray. From 8:00 to about 6:00 we were in Hannover for Zone Conference, which was pretty great. The last couple weeks I had thought a lot about testimonies: giving testimony more often, giving it powerfully and with the Holy Ghost, etc. And what happens to be one of the big themes of the Zone Conference? Giving testimony. My takeaway from it was pretty much that I need to be ready in EVERY situation to give testimony, and that testimony should be given from the heart, not from the head. Also, a week before the conference we were asked to prepare a 5 minute lesson for the law of chastity; a few hours into the meeting one of the Zone Leaders pulled out a container with the names of each companionship in the 2 participating zones and informed us that the companionship whose name was pulled out would have the opportunity to do a roleplay in front of everyone. Before he even pulled one of the slips of paper out, I knew exactly which Elders would be doing it. "Elder Barboza and Elder Larsen!" Fortunately we were prepared and did a pretty solid job teaching a "family" (consisting of 5 other missionaries). It just so happened that we also had it planned to teach one of our investigators the law of chastity the very next day, and the tips/feedback we got from our roleplay helped us out with that as well. The conference was just full of awesome little "coincidences."

Another exciting event of the week was a street display we did on Saturday, to invite people to the movie Meet the Mormons, which we'll be showing on Friday evening. After 15 minutes of consistent rejection I was afraid that we'd be in for a very long 3 hours, and that the awesome members who had volunteered to help out would end up having a somewhat disappointing experience. But after about half an hour things started to pick up, and our original goal of handing out 120 fliers jumped up to over 300 (our ward mission leader had to leave twice to print out more of them). The members there had a great time and in the end we could all say with confidence that a lot of people would be coming. It was definitely a testimony-boost for all of us, lots of miracles there.

Finally on Saturday evening we got our transfer calls; the reign of Elder Barboza and Larsen continues for a third! Which means that I'll be escorting the Captain to his grave, as he comes to the end of his mission. We've got some exciting weeks ahead of us: we're hoping to see lots of success with Meet the Mormons on Friday, and we've got a couple investigators that are making good progress (Frau Heumann has overcome her difficulties with the Word of Wisdom) :).

Anywho, that's everything for this week, keep being awesome!

Like a Bird in the Sky...

Yeah Mom, I'm trying to imagine what would happen if you came to Lower Saxony in order to do "Genealogical research," while I just happened to be in Stadthagen, haha. Though I'm afraid I unfortunately won't have the opportunity to "snuggle" with any nieces or nephews in the near future, I'm happy to report that children in Germany also recognize immediately that it's ok to attack Elder Larsen. Yesterday during Stake Conference the Bishop's little son's arsenal consisted of fists, pigs and books; however as soon as pencils entered the picture the Bishop decided to put a stop to it. Not too many experiences can compete with having fun with little kiddies. Is that really how the conversation went, Lisa? I'm trying to picture Ho Young saying "you creeper." Too bad by the time I get back Allison will have (hopefully) lost her constant scowl face. That means you've got less than a year and a half before you have to have another one Heidi. Hey Joey, I'd sure B Flat-tered if you'd give it a shot. I'd reckon you're right about faith. That's been a very prominent topic for us the last few weeks, helping our investigators to exercise faith. I suppose another big part of it is us having the faith to say whatever the Lord wants us to say, even at the risk of investigators feeling "uncomfortable." Sometimes having a life changed for the better isn't entirely comfortable, but it is entirely worth it. We'll just have to have more faith ourselves and keep moving forward. That's awesome that you got to baptize/be baptized for some of those old relatives Dad.

 Well, this week we had a lot of random little "firsts." For the first time we visited the northern third of our area. For the first time I sealed the anointing of a blessing in German. For the first time I ate pancakes in Germany. For the first time (you may want to skip this one) I saw maggots eating moldy bananas which we perhaps should have thrown away a week or 2 ago..."cough cough." and for the first time a bird flew into our apartment and proceeded to dance on Elder Barboza's lunch, which was one of the few parts I unfortunately was not able to catch on film. Yep. Quite the exciting adventures.

On a more serious and perhaps even more stomach-wrenching note, the younger couple that we had been visiting with every week for a month or so "no longer have the time" to meet with us, which is a bit disappointing. But I think eventually, whether in a couple months or a few years, they'll start to realize how much they need God in their lives. On the bright side we now have even more time we can use to find those that God is preparing. This Saturday we'll be doing a street display in order to invite people to a showing of Meet the Mormons, which we'll be showing in the church building on June 3rd. We've been covering all the bases we can think of in order to get people there, and we're hoping and praying for a miracle.

This week we once again went on exchange with the Bielefeld Elders, and I once again went to Bielefeld, this time with our District Leader Elder Casperson. Unfortunately due to institute, ward council and a few other things we had to get taken care of, we didn't have a ton of time to go finding or teach anyone, though there were still a few good tips I got from Elder Casperson. He introduced me to this "purification process" thing, which basically consists of fasting for a day and writing down things that prevent the Spirit from being with you: disobedience, pride, distractions, etc., and then for the next 40 days you try to overcome whatever things you wrote down. And being the above-averagely-imperfect person that I am, there are many things that, with the Lord's help, I will hopefully be able to change.

At the end of the week we were able to enjoy Stake Conference, which was presided over by a certain Scottish Seventy by the name of Elder Herbertson. Not gonna lie, there are few people who can talk for a solid hour straight and not lose the attention of an audience of people that don't even speak the same language. He's certainly one of them. He had the audience laughing or in tears for pretty much the entire hour. The main points I got out of it are that first: God loves us and knows all the details of our lives and second: we should look to the future with hope, rather than looking to the past with regret. It was pretty much the bomb.

Anywho, have an awesome week! "I am with you...I love you!"

Elder Larsen

Surrounded by Hypocrites

If it makes you feel any better mom, the hillbilly look is quite common round these parts. Somehow Europe just doesn't seem to be able to catch up with ol' Merica when it comes to hygiene. I've yet to meet anyone with those last names, but I'll be on the look out. Why would Kellen and Ho Young give talks with the graduating seniors? They're definitely still juniors. Yeesh, I'm turning into an old man. I'm glad to hear that my unclehood has been renewed Lisa, I wasn't aware that my license was about to expire. Too bad ol' Wouard didn't want to give you a new niece for your birthday.

I think I've heard of Elder Petersen before, but I never met him. Flab naget Andrew, when I asked how long I was referring to time, not distance. Yeah, I'd say that Germans and Englanders have their own special brands of stubborness. Germans like their beer, and Englishmen like the f-bomb, or so I've heard. I can make the joke even better Andy: no matter how kind you are, German children are kinder. Heidi if you'd like a break you could send Allison to me. I'm sure people would be more willing to talk with us if we had a baby around. The weather has gotten colder Joey, but not much lightning. We'll keep movin forward Cap'n K'nuckles. That's crazy that Zane got called here, Dad. Quite the popular mission, apparently.

Can't hardly remember what went on this week. We met with our investigator Frau Heumann, who basically told us that no matter what we say, her work is going to be more important to her than the Gospel. But she also said that she isn't giving up her goal of being baptized, she just needs time to put her work situation in order possibly find a new job. Until then, we'll just have to hope for the best.

We had exchanges with the Elders in Bielefeld and I ended up working in Bielefeld with Elder Despain (and yes, he actually does come from Spain), which was pretty solid. We taught a younger lady and I feel like the Lord has definitely prepared her. She's read all the way up to Alma in the Book of Mormon and you can tell that she really ponders about what we discuss with her. The thing right now is that she wants to be 100% sure about the church before she lets herself be baptized, so we talked to her about what faith is and how if she sincerely asks God (she also finds it a little bit new and uncomfortable to pray) about the Book of Mormon and baptism, she'll receive a confirmation. It's awesome to know that there really are people out there, searching for the truth.

We had some interesting interactions with members this last week, specifically during the priesthood meeting. Last week we talked about tithing, which basically ended up turning into a battle of whether or not we're supposed to pay 10% of everything we have or 10% of income. And then yesterday we had a nice conversation about scripture studies up until the member sitting next to me made a comment along the lines of: "Well, scripture study is all well and good, but I've been reading the scriptures for over 60 years, and that hasn't stopped me from making tons of mistakes. And I know I'm not the only one. I'm surrounded by liars and hypocrites, especially you (pointing to a member sitting behind us)! If scripture study helps us so much, why are we all such horrible people?" After a few minutes of chaos things started to settle down, and the rest of the lesson turned into the topic of judging others. A little bit crazy, but I think it makes a good point. We can go our whole lives doing what we're "supposed" to do, but that doesn't mean Heavenly Father is going to force us to make all the right decisions. We still have our agency, but if we have a sincere heart when we pray, study and attend church, then God will give us the direction and strength that we need to make good choices. And for those times that we mess up, which we all have, Heavenly Father sent his son to suffer and die for us, so that we can pick ourselves back up and keep moving forward. It's awesome how the Gospel applies to everyone no matter how long we've been in the church or how "experienced" we are.

That's all for this week, tchuess!

Elder Larsen

A Day for Christ or....Actually Beer

I'm glad you enjoyed hearing my voice mom, despite its scratchy deadness. I can't blame Abby, I often feel lost and out of my element out here as well. Perhaps crying as a strategy wouldn't be a bad idea. You're gonna have to get a little more patient though, cause that baby isn't allowed to come out for another year and a half. Yeah Lisa, I think a lot about continuing revelation. It's surprising to me how uninterested people seem to be in such a concept. They think it's so ridiculous that anything other than the Bible could contain God's word. Yet if you actually believe in the Bible and want to follow Christ, wouldn't you be interested in the concept that there are more scriptures and living prophets? It's quite the battle. Well Heidi, I'll just go ahead and pretend I know what on earth it means to be 2 cm dilated. Sure is a relief you werent 2.182 cm dilated! But as I already told Mom, you have a long wait ahead of you Wouard, tehee. Dang Andy, how long is a 1 km zipline ride? Yeah bro, I imagine you understand already that feelings of a missionary aren't all that different from life over there. One suggestion I have for you is to never say HAGS ever again. Yeah Dad, techonology is pretty great. Reminds me of the olden days when we had to communicate with Joey through letters. We did something similar with the young couple, where we had them say a repeat-prayer. Hopefully they'll start to get more comfortable with it.
"Marty, was it a real cow?"
"a cow!"
"Yes, but was the cow real?"
"a cow!"
"Yes I heard you, but was the cow alive?"
"A COW!!!"
Have you gone through any secret tunnels recently Joey?

Another solid week in the world of Stadthagen. This week we spent quite a bit of time with the members (because they're awesome). We were invited to family home evening, helped the bishop move and were invited to lunch with a part-member family. Their willingness to participate in missionary work is da bomb.

Thursday was a pretty unique day. Apparently May 5 is the day that Christ returned to heaven after being ressurected. How do the Germans celebrate this day, you may ask? With beer of course! Due to the potential dangers of going outside on such a day, and because the Book of Mormon is awesome, we had an entire day dedicated to reading in the Book of Mormon. Elder Bednar visited the mission a couple years ago and gave the suggestion of reading through the whole book with 1 question in mind, which is what President Fingerle invited us to do. Put simply, it's an awesome idea. I think I'll have to start doing it with every read-through of the Book of Mormon.

Anywho, time waits for no one, and mine is about up. So have a good week, keep reading, praying and living the gospel. Bis nächstes mal!

Elder Larsen

The Wicked Traditions of Their Fathers

Well Mom, though you may not know the Celestial Language as well as the people here, I'd say you're a good bit more celestial than a lot of them. I had a similar experience with the Holy Ghost in the mtc. It felt like doors were opening up in my brain that I never knew even existed in regard to the Gospel and the Atonement, things that were always in reach but that I never really put in the effort for. Life is indeed funny, Lisa. After times where I feel stressed out or frustrated, I always end up looking back and just kind of laughing at myself for choosing to feel that way. I think we tend to make life a little more difficult than it needs to be. Andy, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous. I suppose I can relate to some extent: I've seen a wild squirrel, walked by a lake (no place close to a volcano), and walked through the streets of Stadthagen. Not so different, eh? Sorry Heidi, I've actually decided you aren't allowed to have the baby till I get back. So you're gonna have to wait a little while. Jo-ey, how come Z don't dance no more? Well to be technical Joey, I've actually sung at both Musikalischenabends. Just amid 10-20 other missionaries, tehee. I have gained some mild interest in singing though. We went often with an investigator to choir practice in Neukölln and the choir director dude told me that I should keep working on it...not positive if that'll happen. That's cool that you found a couple names, Dad. Every Sunday we get 1 hour to do family history work here, though unfortunately I don't really know what to do other than tinker around with records and whatnot. I'll figure it out eventually.

Okie dokie

I'm pretty low on time, so I gotta book it. You know, finding is always just really random. Tuesday through Saturday we've got like 2-4 hours each day to do finding, and when do we find our new investigator? Monday, in the 30 or so minutes we had to go dooring. We had a good conversation with the guy and set up a time to meet on Thursday. Went pretty well; he's a very intellectual type guy, and we ended up going pretty deep into the Restoration. Hard to say if he has interest in finding the truth or if he's just interested for purely intellectual reasons, but I think there's potential.

Had some difficulties with a couple investigators this week. It's been a challenge getting people to grow and act on that seed of faith. The younger couple we meet with likes hearing what we have to say, and they've started reading in the Book of Mormon, but in terms of getting them to pray, you'd think that we were asking them to write a 100 page essay, as opposed to inviting them to have a 20 second conversation with their loving Father in Heaven. But, forward we shall go.

Random story of the week. So there we are Saturday morning, visiting some contacts in a city 10 or so miles away from Stadthagen. After a couple hours we head back to the train station so we can get home, eat lunch and then meet a member at the church, who would drive us to an appointment way down south in our area. Well, not only does our train arrive 20 minutes late, it also just happens to be jam-packed. Like literally. I spent 18 weeks in the biggest city in Germany, taking trains every single day, and it was never so packed as this train was. We walked by every door and there was no way we could enter. Why was it so packed, you may ask? Well, to be quite honest it was due to those wicked and perverse traditions of their fathers: soccer. I'm sure no one was more excited about this soccer game than the local beer companies; it was fairly rare to see someone not holding a good ol' can of beer. Well to make matters worse, some drunk soccer fans shoved their way between a set of train doors so that they could yell repeatedly some sort of cheer, and after repeated efforts of trying to close itself, the door malfunctions and can't be closed anymore. At this point we realize this ain't gonna happen, so we call a member (hooray for awesome members!) and arrange to be picked up. In the half hour we wait for our ride, 2 police cars show up and a helicopter starts circling around the train station. At last we were able to get back to Stadthagen, cram lunch down our faces, and get to the church with negative 7 minutes to spare. So I guess the lesson here is...soccer is evil.

Anywho, in all seriousness, life here is pretty awesome. The Gospel is great and so are the people who try to live it. So keep living it, and have an awesome week :).

Elder Larsen