Attack the Day

Yeah Mom, you were accurate about me having a bit of indecision, but I think that's passed. My new return date is October 6th and I'll be starting studies in January. As for what happens in between, we'll see. Yes it most certainly is frustrating at times when people don't accept what we know 100% will help them. On Monday we knocked on doors and talked to people on the street for 5 or 6 hours...not one person was interested. It's hard and it hurts but I know that I tried and I know that God appreciates my efforts. Obviously there are things I can do better but Elder Sabin of the Seventy who visited the mission this week said that if we've tried, we've succeeded, and I think that's definitely true. Boy Lisa, I sure am jealous. Nothing more exciting than meeting the fairy king. I'm with you on looking forward to warm weather Andy, we're hoping to start up a sport evening thing sometime in the near future here. The youth in this city aren't typically immediately interested in being talked to about God, but pretty much everyone likes playing soccer. Wow Joey, sounds like you've got Marty going on the right path. At this rate he's going to beat me, Andy and Lisa. That's a good attitude, Joey. I should be grateful that we had enough appointments for three to be able to fall out in the first place. Good to hear you guys are still rocking the temple work Dad. I'll have to put the pedal to the metal if I'm going to keep up on my side of the work over here.

So we changed our pday to Wednesday this week in order to go to the Temple, since the Freiberg Temple is closed on Mondays. It was pretty dang awesome. When we came in the temple staff was low on manpower, so we acted as witnesses for baptisms. The temple worker there said we must have been help sent from heaven, because they had had no idea what to do with their shortage of workers. Then we were able to go through the whole set of ordinances for family names; if I'm not mistaken this was actually my first time having my own names for the temple. During our time there I happened to run into members from three of my previous areas, Stadthagen, Hildesheim and Werdau. The Freiberg Temple makes Germany seem a whole lot smaller. All in all it was pretty much the bomb.

Earlier this week, or I guess last week we went to Berlin for a conference with Elder Sabin of the seventy. He's a master when it comes to scriptures and one-liners, one being "attack the day!" It's pretty easy to just drift through each day and get caught in the rut of doing the same things every day. But it has been helpful in the last few days to really pray for the desire to do missionary work and to remind myself of why I'm here. Hopefully I can keep it up; after these kinds of meetings I always feel pumped for a few days but there's always the danger of going back to where I was before if I don't do something about it.

Speaking of ruts...we're still trying to get Schwarzenberg out of one. We found a guy last week who we were able to teach the restoration to and there was some definite interest, we're just working on getting around his busy schedule to set up another appointment. Though we aren't yet having a ton of obvious success, I'm happy. We're working hard, trying to be better and God is happy with our efforts. There are always little miracles that happen day by day.

I think that's all I've got for this week...have a good one!

Elder Larsen

Only Three Appointments Fell Out

Well Mom, though I sadly wasn't able to participate in the screech fest, we did have an eating appointment yesterday with a couple kids that reminded me quite a bit of Marty and Jake. The younger one was really small and I didn't really expect him to be able to really say much, but either he was a genius or older than he looked, because his English was probably about as good as mine. They're bilingual, the dad is German and the mom is American. Join the sick party, Lisa. It seems like everyone here is sick as well. We've had a few appointments fall through due to sickness and last Sunday church attendance was like half of what it's been the other weeks here. Hopefully that'll come to an end soon. Somehow through the mass sickness wave both here and in Werdau I've been able to stay healthy. Boy Andy, the clock is ticking...you're an old man now. So my return date if I extend would be October 6th, is that the week of the Dirty Devil? Yeah Heidi, President Fingerle said it wouldn't take more than the click of a mouse to let me extend. Hmm...if it's true that a boy invited Savannah to his birthday party that means Savannah's a bit further along than Andy is. That was a pretty good general conference talk, Dad. If there's any truth that needs to be spread among Germany it's that one about God being our perfectly loving father.

So I think we hit a new record this week in that only three of our appointments fell out. Most of them actually ended up working out, woohoo! All of our appointments this week were with people either older than 60 or younger than 15...which is something of a challenge. For the older generation the idea of there being one true church is really hard to grasp and for the younger generation worldly influences make it pretty difficult to live faithfully without support from the family.


A question I've asked probably thousands of times on my mission is "do you know anyone who would be interested in our message." This question has lead to a specific name I think twice on my mission...one of which was from this week. These two ladies gave us the name of a guy in an apartment building we were in front of, but after saying the name they couldn't hold back their laughter. So we were obviously pretty intrigued. Well it turns out this man, whose name they had given us had met with missionaries for some 15 years. The ward isn't too fond of him...to the point that they took his teaching record and shredded it so that missionaries would stop visiting him. But in all honesty so far he seems like a pretty nice guy. After talking to him a couple times he in turn gave us a referral of a lady in his apartment building who is interested in God, who we were able to talk to and invite to church. Anywho, that's the random story of the week...we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

The weeks get too mixed up for me to really remember what else happened these last few days and I'm also somewhat lazy when it comes to writing emails...so I think that's all I've got for this week. Have a good one!

Elder Larsen

Missionaries Be Scary

Well Mom I'm quite sorry to hear that you weren't able to dance it up on Saturday. I can only imagine how disappointing that must have been. I feel the same though about having to always be working on our faith and abilities...after 17 months of being on a mission there are still millions of things that have room for improvement. It's a good thing that God doesn't expect immediate perfection. It's rough Andy, I've only touched a frisbee like 5 times in the last year and a half. But it shouldn't take too long before the Larsen bros are out dominating again. The first time you were stuck with the same person for over 2 days? Didn't you go on a mission? I want to extend but I still need a thumbs up from President Fingerle. If I don't get it then maybe fall semester would be better...I had just remembered that a couple years ago fall semester started at the end of august and I figured I wouldn't have any breathing room. Hopefully by next week I'll have it figured out. Yeah Dad, if I'm able to extend it will be sometime in the first half of October that I get home. I also got an email today from the mission office that in the case that I do go for fall semester I'd be able to go home a week or two earlier, around August 20th. It kind of scares me that I'm to the point that I need to start figuring this stuff out.

This week was good, nothing too out of the ordinary happened. On Wednesday we had an exchange with the Elders in Freiberg. Freiberg is a pretty cool city, it's pretty much the Utah of Germany because of the Temple. You see random members all the time and everyone knows about the church...and more than just the "fact" that we have multiple wives. As of a couple weeks ago I've officially started learning Spanish (while on the mission), and in Freiberg I was able to have my first legitimate conversation in Spanish with a guy on the street. It was more like a weird combination of German and Spanish, but it was still pretty cool. Sadly our area in Schwarzenberg isn't really spanish-speaking central. There was also a guy in Freiberg that put a lot of effort into avoiding us; he crossed the street twice and started walking in the opposite direction to get away from us. Missionaries be scary.

We've got one pretty solid investigator at the moment, he's muslim but is very open and has lived in Germany for almost 20 years. It's been really interesting teaching him; I've discovered there's actually quite a few similarities between our religion and theirs--things that most Christian churches don't really have an understanding of, such as the pre-earth life and the spirit world. Obviously there are lots of differences as well, but it was still surprising to me. It's a little hard to stay on topic with him, but he's open and wants to be on the right path to return to God. We're hoping and praying for the best.

Not really anything else super exciting from this week, so...yeah, Tschüß out. Adios 🙂

Elder Larsen

Swell Week

It's hard to believe that there are 51 great grand kids in the Hall family, Mom. That's more people than there are members here in a 15 kilometer radius. Boy Lisa, if I had a baby sleeping on top of me like that through the night he'd probably end up falling on the floor after 5 minutes. Props to Joseph and JJ. Cray cray how many babies there are. Yeah Andy, I'm not 100% sure what the plan is with Abe, he's planning on starting with fall semester and I (just barely today) requested to be deferred until Winter semester. Still need to figure out what the plan is there. Joey, there are so many myths about the German language, I'm glad to put this one to rest. Typically Germans will only answer in detail to "how are you" if 2 requirements are met. 1) you're a good friend or associate and 2) they feel like talking. In other cases it's somewhat similar to english, just used less frequently and people aren't afraid to respond in the negative. Elder Christoffersen is from Worland, Dad. That's awesome that one of your converts from 38 years ago wrote a card for you.

This week was pretty swell. We're still having problems with fallen out appointments, but we've had some success with visiting former investigators. Ironically it hasn't been with the former investigators themselves, rather with people in the area who the Lord has been preparing. One former investigator said she was sick and that we could come by another time and as we rang the doorbells of the other people in the building, a man let us right in and we were able to teach the first lesson (which is pretty rare in Germany). We have another appointment with him this week and it turns out he's friends with the former investigator, so hopefully we'll be able to help both of them.

Another time, just yesterday we visited another contact in a tiny village who wasn't at home, but as we walked away we met an older lady and her daughter who had interest and we were able to make an appointment for today. It's cool how God blesses us in ways that we don't always expect.

Anywho I don't have much time left, but have a fantabulous week!

Elder Larsen

Black Mountain--the Pearl of the Ore Mountain Range

Yep, Schwarzenberg is just a hop, skip and a jump away from Werdau, Mom. There's a car in my new area so I suppose sneaking off wouldn't be all that difficult. If President Fingerle finds out I'll just tell him my mom told me to do it. That's a pretty weird fact (that all of my siblings have graduated from college before I've even begun)...I guess I'm still just the family baby. But that'll change when I get married before Andy. Don't worry Lisa I'll find that crook in Turkey. With the 5 or so sentences I still know in Turkish I'm sure there's something I can do. Boy those chillun are a lot more focused on the tv than most of the members here were focused during testimony meeting. Not bad. Guatemala seems pretty appealing Andy, unless you feel like going somewhere where you'll freeze your nalgas off. Boy Heidi, only in the world of missionaries can a 7 year old be infinitely more excited about Valentine's day than a devilishly handsome 19 year old. 5.67 hours in the temple, Joey? That's pretty precise. I'll be sure to update you in terms of my progress toward becoming a true missionary. Elder Christofferson has been out about 13 months, Pops. He's from Wyoming. There are 40ish active members in the Schwarzenberg branch.

Yeah..."Schwarzenberg--die Perle des Erzgebirges" sounds a bit better than its English counterpart (Black Mountain - the Pearl of the Ore Mountain Range). Schwarzenberg is a nice city, though it's even smaller than Werdau. In terms of landscape and nature this is probably the nicest area I've served in so far.

St Georgen Kirche and Palace

Things are going great with the new comp, Elder Christoffersen. We have the same birthday, were trained by the same missionary (shout out to Elder Anderson) and have both served as the other's district leader. I was his district leader in Werdau while he was serving in Zwickau and now he's my district leader here in Schwarzenberg. He's got a solid head on his shoulders and you can trust him with anything...aside from directions. He really gives his all to the work and doesn't let anything get between him and serving the Lord. We're going to have a fun time.

In terms of investigators we don't have a ton to work with at the moment. Unfortunately in my first 4 days here we had 7 appointments fall through, so more than anything we're searching for a solid, reliable investigator. Not too easy, but we're pressing forward. I finished and started over reading the Book of Mormon this week and it's surprising how much of the first few chapters is comparable to missionary work. Just as God commanded Lehi's family to get the brass plates, God has commanded us to proclaim His Gospel to the world. Just as it did for Nephi it takes more than just a couple tries and more than just a couple ideas, but God always provides a way. It's not too easy; despite the efforts of members and missionaries the prophecy of Germany being spotted with Stakes still feels like a long ways away. But with faith, patience and work it will happen.

It's great to be able to participate in this awesome work and I'm grateful for your prayers and efforts :). Have a great week!

Elder Larsen

Off to Schwarzenberg

Yeah Mom, I suppose 11 months early is one way to look at it. Though that certainly doesn't mean that I'll be getting nothing for this Christmas, tehee. A couple weeks ago we were also unable to go to the temple due to too much snow, though sadly walking to Freiberg wasn't necessarily an option. Well Lisa I'll avoid saying anything too offensive and not say which one of those two cakes looks more appealing. Though I must admit that baby (the wedding cake) is pretty stinkin impressive. I had similar thoughts as yours in regards to the Atonement, as two days ago we tried to offer help to a family that was moving and just got verbal abuse in response haha. Our joy isn't dependent on the actions of others. Andy I hope you're not getting too comfortable over there. I may not currently be in the greatest position to harass you about finding a woman, but the day will come soon enough. Well Heidi, thanks for giving me another reason to be grateful...I've yet to experience an "oozing diaper rash" on my mission. Sounds like you all had fun times with the cars this week. Joey you may be disappointed to hear that I haven't yet become a true missionary. I suppose I still have some time though. And yes, on preparation day we can play card games. Also thanks Michelle for the awesome picture :). Cool to hear that you had some pretty awesome success with college-age people, Dad. Hopefully in my new area there will be a university somewhere.

District Werdau

Well, the sad news came Saturday evening. I'll be leaving Werdau and hopping a bit further south-east to Schwarzenberg. Even more sad is that the Werdau Elders program is getting closed down, so no one will be coming to replace me and Elder Hunt, who is going to Hof. It was certainly a shock, as things were just starting to pick up again. The part member family we've been working with has been coming to church again consistently as well as our investigator Klaus, and Frau Putschli (our investigator who had a baptismal date but then had to go into the hospital) is finally healthy again. We have the Sisters in Gera who also serve in the area, but neither of them have a driver's license so hopping between Gera and Werdau won't be very easy. But all complaining aside, I'm really grateful for the time I was able to spend in Werdau and I'm excited to see what awaits me in Schwarzenberg.

Werdau Ward Munchkins

My new companion will be Elder Christofferson, which is funny because he was in my district for twelve weeks while he was in Zwickau. As we were on exchanges we had actually joked about how it would be if we were companions...and now here we are haha.

Werdau Missionary Crew

But getting transferred wasn't the only life-changing news this week. There was a world-wide missionary devotional and it was announced that there would be changes in the missionary schedule. Pretty much we as missionaries now have a bit more freedom in when we do what. For example we can plan for the day either in the morning or the evening and do our companionship study any time during the day. Nothing super huge, but as a missionary who has been living the same schedule every day for the last 500ish days, it's a bit weird.

So in the Leipzig stake a volunteer committee was recently formed by the stake presidency of a group of members who are interested in taking a more active role in missionary work. On Friday we were there with a bunch of other missionaries for the first meeting of this group. It was cool but we couldn't really figure out what the purpose of the meeting was...afterwards Elder Hunt and I noticed that in the 2 hours or so of teaching and discussing, Jesus Christ was referred to perhaps once or twice. It was a good reminder that if we don't put in the effort to involve the Lord in our missionary work there isn't really much purpose in what we do.

Well I'm out of time, but I hope you guys have a solid week :)

Elder Larsen

Leipzig South Zone