Are you kitten me?!

Dear friends and family,

It was a wild week at the PRS!! Lots of rainstorms and crazy adventures (aka lots of fun!)... And also lots of animals, and not just the chipmunks which have doubled in number in the past two weeks, or the wild turkeys who strut around the site!

Last Monday we were all sitting in our house writing letters and emails on our p-day when we heard what sounded like a kitten meowing. So we got everyone quiet and were tiptoeing around the house trying to figure out where it was coming from, and we even had search party run around the outside of the house. No cat. Fast forward to 9:00pm after our evening at the site, and we were a little chilly so we went to turn up the heat. All of a sudden there was quite a bit of loud meowing going on, so the four of us said a prayer together that we would be able to find the kitten. A few minutes later we came to the conclusion that it was coming from the basement, so we geared up in our boots, 1 inch flashlights, towels, a cardboard box, and some canned chicken. After doing some exploring in our creepy basement, clinging to each other we found a little hole in the wall which two little kittens poked their heads out of! After a good chunk of time with no success of getting the kittens out, we said another prayer to get them out. After a lot of coaxing with chicken we managed to snatch two kittens out of the hole in the basement wall, but there was still a third whining in the wall. We gave Elder Walker a call, he said, "Kittens?? Holy catfish!!" and came to rescue! (Which, by the way, was hilarious seeing Elder Walker meowing and calling to a kitten hiding in the wall!!). Just a few minutes before 11:00 we had all three kittens safe and sound, happy in a little box.

3 cute stowaways

Yes, she is really holding 2 black kittens.  They kind of blend in.  :)

It was just the craziest night ever! And in the morning all the other sisters ran to our house for their daily exercise and got to play with kittens :)

The next morning Sis. Francis and I were out running and ran past Sandy's house (who Sister Robison and I initially started teaching with her boys), but stopped because she looked a little frustrated... Turns out two of her ducks had gotten out of their fence and were wandering around the yard. We ran back to the house to round up some sisters and said a prayer that we would be able to catch the ducks. After a bit of corralling and plenty of laughs from Sandy, we were able to get the ducks back in their little fenced-in area.

"Here ducky ducky..."

Sister Anderson has some skills!

So, the lesson learned this week...prayer is real!!! Even if we are not answered in the very moment we pray, or in the way we would like to be answered, Heavenly Father does listen and is aware of us. Nothing is too insignificant to talk to Heavenly Father about, even if you are asking for help to catch kittens or ducks! Our VC training on Friday was all about prayer and how we can make it more personal by eliminating repetitious phrases, and really thinking about who we are praying about. Just like a parent and child, our Heavenly Father loves and cares about us, and wants to hear from us.

I love being able to help so many people who are all children of our Heavenly Father. Have a wonderful week, and a wonderful summer vacation now! :) Love you all! Hurrah for Israel!

Love, Sister Larsen

This video is their "first run" of a song the VC Director asked them to work on.  They practiced it one evening and shared it with Elder Walker and some guests the next night.  "I Am a Child of God"

🎶The Priesthood is Restored! 🎶

Dear friends and family,

Yesterday we celebrated 187 years of priesthood power being restored!  We had a busy weekend with visitors coming in for the commemoration of the Aaronic Priesthood on the very grounds where it happened, and it was a great week leading up to that!

Grounds crew:  Sisters Larsen, Gomm, Martinez, Francis

Sister Walker to the rescue!

Earlier this week we had a grounds work day with Sisters Gomm and Martinez. We pruned plants, dug around trees, spread mulch around...  all good stuff! I've never had as much fun doing yard work in my life as I have since being here at the site. But that was a promise we were given by President Nelson on dedication day, that if we didn't have fun here at the site, we wouldn't have fun anywhere. I think we've done a pretty good job at fulfilling that so far :)

After the grounds were looking spiffy for Priesthood commemoration weekend, Brother Steve Olsen from the historical department in Salt Lake, who was one of the main guys in the reconstruction of our site, came for a weekend visit. He is so awesome, and gave some really great insights we had never even thought of before. He spoke at our early Friday morning training meeting, at the Fathers & Sons Priesthood commemoration campout fireside our stake had at the site Friday night, and then in Sacrament meeting on Sunday.... He was a busy man, but we all learned so much and are grateful for him making the trip out.

Something Brother Olson talked about was D&C section 27 received here in Harmony, which was revelation on the sacrament. In the sacrament prayers the two verbs stated are "remember" and "witness." He said the reason the church builds and reconstructs historical sites is to help the saints remember the events that took place, and to allow them to become a witness to the spirit there. Not only that, but he said that these places allow us to witness to Heavenly Father that we remember what has been done for us. Brother Olson said even if nobody ever came to the site, all of the work that would be put into reconstruction would be worth it because it would still be a witness and remembrance to our Heavenly Father that revelations were received, the Book of Mormon translated, and the priesthood being restored.

With Brother Olson

Another neat thing he brought up was that there are only two places in the entire church that are dedicated by apostolic authority and never relocated--temples and historic sites. He thought of temple and historic sites as being the bookends of the dispensation. Historic sites are where blessings were promised and temples are where those blessings are received. And it's always fun to get a fresh perspective on things, especially being at the site 24/7.

I really do feel so lucky to be walking on sacred ground all day, every day. I'm so grateful for the Book of Mormon, which sparked Joseph's question to ask for the authority to baptize. I love that this gospel is one of having questions and acting on the answers. It is active! I know that the authority to act in God's name really has been restored, and was given back to us through the young prophet Joseph Smith. The priesthood is what allows us to receive SO many blessings... Taking the sacrament, baby blessings, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, father's blessings, baptism, blessings of comfort and counsel, temple sealings, blessings of healing, dedications, the power to set missionaries apart as representatives of Jesus Christ... And that's just the beginning of the general blessings available to us. Blessings for us, our families, friends, and even those beyond the veil. I love this gospel! Hurrah for Israel!

Love,
Sister Larsen

"My 9-month sisters in the sugar bush.  Honestly, who gets to serve basically their
entire mission with their MTC companions?  I love these two!!"
L-R:  Sisters Agado, Larsen, and Anderson

"Yes, that equals nine!"

Lead Me, Guide Me, Walk Beside Me

Facetiming on Mother's Day!

Dear friends and family,

I remember being at BYU-I last year and at every Tuesday devotional President Clark would open with, "It's another great day here at BYU-Idaho," so it seems fitting to say, "It's been another great week here at the PRS." Rain, still almost every day, but now tons of flowers and green, some fabulous families on tour, and Facetiming on Mother's Day of course :)

We gave a tour to the cutest mom and her little boy and girl, who were 4 and 2. They were adorable!! The mom, who is originally from Brazil, was telling us all about her love for the gospel and how it has blessed her family even with her husband who is not attending church with them. She was a "woman of great faith," and taught her kids so well. As we came to the doors of the Hale and Smith home she would crouch down to her kids and whisper, "This is a very special place, so we need to use our reverent voices and be good." We were caught by surprise when we were talking with normal voices, and the children would whisper back and fold their arms. So we continued through the rooms all whispering together. And the second they stepped foot outside the homes it was back to skipping down the path, or collecting rocks or picking dandelions to blow. But this sweet tour gave me so much respect for this mother who was able to foster a spiritual experience for her kids even though they were so little.

Last interview with President T. Gary and Sister Pam Anderson

Here in the PPM we have interviews with President Anderson every other transfer, and with them leaving in 6 weeks, we had our last interviews with them this past week. Lucky for us, they love the site so much it won't be the last time they visit before they leave. Sister Anderson brought "the mission quilt," which is a quilt she had made with the mission logo on it for all of the departing missionaries to sign their names and release date.  Speaking of which, I can't believe I hit HUMP DAY (my halfway point) on Thursday!! Where has the time gone?!?!  Time on a mission really is the strangest thing! In interviews with President Anderson he gave everyone a temple recommend case with a picture of the new Philly temple on the front and our mission motto inside, on one condition.... that I stay worthy to hold a temple recommend for the rest of my life. He also talked to me about how he absolutely loves all the missionaries in the mission, but doesn't necessarily trust all of them. Talking about that trust he has with the PRS sisters and about the temple, made me think of our Heavenly Father. He loves us, his children, so so so much, but he doesn't always trust us to do the work he needs to be done. It is only when we do our part to do our best, keep the commandments, be like our Savior and place our trust in our Father, that He trusts us enough with his sacred work and gives us the blessings He so willingly wants to give.

I love the story of the 2,000 stripling warriors who loved God and loved their mothers. Pieces of Alma 56 say, "...behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth... And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it... They had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them." We have heavenly and earthly parents who can help, lead, and guide us. As individuals and as families, if we have faith and make our will our Heavenly Father's we will be more and more aware of His love for us. I am so lucky to have been taught in a faith-filled home, and to be out here in Susquehanna helping families strengthen their faith in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

 Have a great week everyone! Remember who you are! Hurrah for Israel!

 Love, Sister Larsen

Signs of spring -- the flowers are getting bigger.
Yes, it might have already hit 100 degrees in Arizona, but not here!

2 pretty red birds we spotted

The creek once again has water

We hit 100 referrals to local missionaries last week

April Showers bring... May Showers ☔️

Dear friends and family,

It's rained everyday this month!!...granted it’s only been 2 days, but it's a good thing! :)

Spring flowers are blooming

The site is starting to look greener and greener, and the people are coming in more and more! On Saturday we had more than 200 guests, it was so much fun!

This week we had a sweet young family come in who I have actually taken on tour twice before. They are awesome! I love their little girl, Lola. She is so cute! As we were walking to the Hale home she told me how a few months ago her Bishop asked her to talk in Sacrament Meeting (still several years shy of being in YW) on the Plan of Salvation and how excited she was to give her 7 minute talk! She also loves to bear her testimony in Sacrament Meeting every month, which the exception of being sick and not able to go to church on those Sundays. So as we were finishing up our tour at the Smith home we invited them all to bear their testimony of the site and the events that took place in either Sacrament Meeting or in a church class to strengthen other people's testimonies. Lola really wanted Sister Francis and I to be there when she bore her testimony, so her family actually came and attended our branch. She talked all about how important baptism and the Holy Ghost are, and it was so sweet watching this little girl with absolute no fear to share the gospel get up in front of a congregation to tell them what she knew to be true. And to put a cherry on top of all that, Lola and her family are planning to bring their nonmember neighbors to the site for a FHE tour soon!

At the Hale home

In the Hale home I love to tell a story about Emma when she was 7 years old (and I'm sorry if this is a repeat), how circuit riders or traveling preachers would come through the area frequently. Emma loved to listen to them and one a day a preacher asked everyone listening in the congregation to go out into the woods and pray for a spiritual experience, and so little Emma did. As she was kneeling the woods near her home praying aloud, her father, a hunter came across her and overheard her prayer which was actually for him. Emma was praying that his heart would be softened, and soon after that experience he allowed preachers to come use his home as a place for them to preach to congregations. It all came through Emma's childlike faith.

There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon I've come to really love since being here at the visitor center. It's Moroni 8:17, "And I am filled with charity, which is everlasting love; wherefore, all children are alike unto me; wherefore, I love little children with a perfect love; and they are all alike and partakers of salvation."  Having childlike faith helps us to truly feel of our Savior's love for us as we trust in Him and our Savior's plan.  Our faith is what leads to action, action that will keep on the right path which leads back to our heavenly home.

I'm so grateful for this restored gospel and to be a missionary! Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful women out there making a difference in so many lives!

Love,
Sister Larsen

Covering the online referral call system