Brazilians, Bears, and Baptisms

 Note from Alicia:  This was last week's group letter Sis. Larsen forgot to send.  Several of you asked what happened with the kittens they found.  She said they made a little bed in a box for them with soft towels, and they left the box outside near their porch when as they left for the Visitor's Center the morning after finding them.  When they returned home that night after 9:00 pm the kittens were gone and they never returned.  Sis. Larsen said she hoped the mother had come to get them and not "some pesky little boys".  :)

With Luka and his parents

Dear Friends and Family,

What an exciting week!!! Everyone wanted to come up here for Memorial Day weekend... the people and the blessings seemed to be pouring through the doors and windows. There was so much to write about this week I just had to sum it up into three main highlights- Brazilians, bears and baptism!

Brazilians: We took the cutest family on a tour who was from Brazil. This couple had a darling little boy named Luka who was three (but lied to us and said he was five). They been living in the States while Fernando, the father, is in med school on the east coast. As a visitor center missionary you learn quickly to bring back your babysitting skills... But the tour was SO much fun! Sister Francis and I took turns answering all of Luka's "whys?" while the other talked to the parents and told the story of what happened here. But Luka loved learning about the story of the barrel of beans. To get the gold plates safely here from Palmyra he hid them in a box which he placed in the bottom of a barrel, then topped off with beans so that nobody would suspect he had them with him. Even after being stopped several times along the way, the gold  plates were never uncovered and Joseph made it to Harmony safely. Besides the barrel story, Luka's other favorite thing was seeing all the chipmunks running across the trail and yelling, "Alvin!".  Hahaha!

Bears: So you all thought that baby cats were exciting; how about baby bears? Sister Francis and I were standing in the front lobby with Sister Walker, Sister Biesinger and a few guests when all of a sudden Sister Biesinger points to the window and yells out "THERE'S A BEAR!" We all run to the big wall window and see a 450 lb. black bear tromping up our path towards the parking lot! The second it saw guests walking it's direction (unknowingly haha) it took off at a run into the woods. So we kept a watchful eye out and had to warn our guests to be cautious walking in far paths of the grove. A few days later there was a black bear cub walking and sitting outside the Hale home while guests were on tour!! So Elder Lingmann and VanOrden took off in their four wheelers with their blow horns to scare off the little, not-so-little baby bear. But not to worry, we all take blow horns with us on tours now and whenever we go to lock up at night we are sure to make lots noise on our way (usually singing "we're going on a bear hunt...") as to scare the sow and cub off. Just trying to keep things exciting enough up here :)

With Lindsey, Robin, and Dave -- "I love this family!!"

Baptisms: ROBIN FINALLY GOT BAPTIZED!!!!! I am SO happy for her! Lindsey, Robin's daughter, joined the church about 2 years ago after she graduated high school. After going to a nearby college for a year she decided to transfer to BYU-Idaho. Sister Gomm and I took Robin and her family on a tour of the site on dedication day back in September, and Robin's interest in the church piqued. We would stop by and talk to her at church (which she had hardly ever missed since Lindsey's baptism), but she kept telling us she wasn't ready to start the lessons, partly because her husband's family was not supportive of the church. Sister Robison and I began seeing Robin frequently last fall to offer service and to share brief gospel messages, and she and her husband even began to invite us over for dinner. We started having a weekly Book of Mormon study together, and she wanted to start taking the lessons but didn't know if her husband would allow it. While I was in West Philly, Dave gave the okay to taking lessons because he knew how much this meant to her, and from there it was pretty quick progress! At her baptism on Saturday, her husband and all of his family came to support her decision and were so happy to be there. Lindsey even surprised her by buying a plane ticket out for her baptism.  Investigators came (including Sandy, TJ and Travis!), many branch members came to support her too, and luckily, Elder Walker worked it out so that all of the sisters who were involved in teaching Robin were able to attend her baptism.  

Robin with each of the sisters who taught her:
L-R  Sisters Hill, Larsen, Harvey, Gomm, Francis, and Brown

Our branch mission leader (whose kids befriended Lindsey and introduced her to the church) baptized her. It was so beautiful, and she was so beyond happy! After her baptism she bore her testimony which was so powerful. She talked a little bit about how this truly is Christ's church because this church expects not only to show up on Sundays for services, but to live like Christ every other day of the week, and her baptism just signified that commitment to live like Jesus Christ every single day for the rest of her life. She said that when she thought about the gospel, there was no reason why she wouldn't want it for herself because it allowed to not only be a good person, but to become her best self. She is truly an amazingly strong woman who I and so many of the other sisters and branch members have learned so much from, and who is a steadfast example to her family.

I know that this is Christ's church once again restored to the earth.   The doctrine of Jesus Christ taught within the church is what makes bad men good, and good men better. How grateful I am for a Savior makes change and growth possible so we can make it back to our Heavenly Father!  

Hurrah for Israel!

Love, Sister Larsen

Planting summer flowers and  trying to avoid being eaten by bears

Saying goodbye to Elder and Sister Hanks who were released.  "We will miss them!!"