Happy 1st Birthday Priesthood Restoration Site!!!

Dear friends and family,

Exactly 1 year ago today (August 29th) the Priesthood Restoration Site opened for tours!!!  

Happy Birthday, PRS!!

It has been so weird thinking about what we were all doing in the few days leading up to the opening of the site... It feels like yesterday all of us were standing outside the building, ready to start our three days of on-site training, not knowing each other or what was to come and the excitement of being trusted to open this brand new historic visitor center. We've all grown, grown together, and closer to Christ throughout the past year.

Something we've been doing since the site opened is singing together as sisters, which has added so much to my mission experience. Sister Walker and I have been working hard at getting music together for our upcoming fall concert, which will be called, "Come Unto Christ." We wanted to do a duet together like we have in the past, but couldn't find anything we really liked, so we decided to write music ourselves! Sister Walker had a piano solo for "Beautiful Savior," and we wrote a violin part to it. It is fun being able to work together on something we both love, but even better to be sharing our testimony of Christ through music. Although our song is instrumental, I love the message the lyrics this little Primary song shares too:

Fair is the sunshine,
Fairer the moonlight
And all the stars in heav’n above;
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer
And brings to all the world his love.

Fair are the meadows,
Fairer the woodlands,
Robed in the flowers of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer,
Jesus is purer.
He makes the sorrowing spirit sing.

Beautiful Savior!
Lord of the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Thee will I honor, praise, and give glory,
Give praise and glory evermore!
Evermore!

I remember in our days of training a year ago we talked about our role as visitor center sisters being no different than any other proselyting missionary in that our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ. At the site we always like to begin our tours at a statue, the bust of Jesus Christ. 

  

It is a reminder to us and our guests that everything we talk about comes back to Jesus Christ. All that was restored, revealed and translated here in what was once Harmony, Pennsylvania helps us strengthen our relationship and testimony of Him. The Book of Mormon, revelations in modern day and the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchezidek Priesthood all help us to know Christ more, and become more like Him as we use and learn from these gifts we've been given.

Waxing the statues

Feeling like a pro climbing on scaffolding

With Sis. Walker and our freshly waxed statues

Even though school has started and we aren't getting as many visitors and families, we are still getting guests fairly steadily coming in because of the Philadelphia Temple Open House. It has been so neat to meet so many wonderful people and couples who grew up in this part of the country coming back here to see the new temple and site. I love hearing of others converting experiences, whether it be through meeting with missionaries or discovering different pieces of testimony throughout their lives. Something that unifies everyone and their individual experiences is Jesus Christ because this is His restored church on the earth, and He is at the head of it. When we are actively exercising our faith in His restored gospel, our confidence in Him and his teachings will grow the most.

I know that I have a loving Savior who knows me perfectly. He set the perfect example for the way we should live our lives, and wants us to do our best to become like Him so that we can live with Him and our Heavenly Father again. There is a Mormon message for youth I recently rediscovered that I really love. It talks all about Christ and the attributes he possesses. (Here's a link if you like to watch: https://www.lds.org/youth/video/christlike-attributes?lang=eng) We can become like Jesus Christ as we learn, study and act on his teachings, and how grateful I am to be living at a time when all of the truths we need to do this have been restored.

"Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am." -3 Nephi 27:27

Love,
Sister Larsen

So fun to see the Wettsteins!

This Week in Sunny Susquehanna

Dear friends and family,

Another beautiful week here in Susquehanna, and I was able to meet more amazing people! That's something I absolutely love about being here, is hearing so many people's stories and how the restored gospel has blessed them. I realize just how amazing Heavenly Father's plan is for each and every one of us.

On Thursday we had our district meeting and we were talking about how the Bible and Book of Mormon complete each other and work together to testify of Jesus Christ. After district meeting Sister Walker and I went to make confirmation calls for people who request a Book of Mormon or Bible through mormon.org. I called a very sweet lady in Florida who had requested a copy of the Bible, and confirmed that we had the correct contact information to pass along to her local missionaries so they could deliver her Bible. I asked her if she would also like a copy of the Book of Mormon, and she said she’d never heard of it before. I explained that it is another book of ancient scripture we study from that testifies of Jesus Christ just like the Bible, and it also help clarify and add to the teachings we find in the Bible. She said that she wanted a copy because there were certain things in the Bible she doesn't quite understand and another book of scripture to help her further deepen her already existing faith is what she would love. So within just a few days missionaries will be meeting with her and sharing a Bible as well as the Book of Mormon with her.

Sister Walker and I went on a tour with a husband and wife, and the wife's mother. The husband had had 2 strokes in the past year leaving him with the right side of his body paralyzed and very limited speech. The wife currently has cancer and is going through cancer treatments. And the wife's elderly mother was a World War II nurse, so she was a tough little lady, and has terrible arthritis, and she is also not a member.  The wife was so cute and happy and jokingly said, "Yeah, we're quite the trio!" This couple has been taking her mother to church and visitor centers for years, and the mother has missionaries over for dinner regularly, she just hasn't committed to becoming a member. But the couple knows she will develop her own testimony and have the desire to be baptized someday, but in the meantime they continue to bear testimony and give her experiences that will help her feel the Spirit. They keep in mind an eternal perspective, knowing this life is just a small piece of the picture, and trusting that their Heavenly Father will help them with their struggles and desires to do good.

There was another tour I took this week with a man from Italy and his family. As I told the story of Emma's childhood experience with prayer, and how she prayed that her father's heart would be open to religion, he had tears in his eyes. He said that like Emma he would attend church with his mother and siblings, but his father didn't want anything to do with the Mormon religion. When he was a little boy he was caught praying aloud by his father, and he had been praying specifically that his father would come to church with their family. He told his dad that the things he was saying were the things of his heart. After that, his father began to be softened towards their activity in the church. A few years later, his father was among the first to be baptized in Italy and has been a faithful member ever since.

The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is for all people, all over the world living in any circumstance. Many are prepared or are being prepared to receive it right now! I love a promise given in the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet, "As you [act on the gospel of Jesus Christ], the Lord will make much more out of your life than you can by yourself. He will increase your opportunities, expand your vision, and strengthen you.  He will give you the help you need to meet your trials and challenges. You will gain a stronger testimony and find true joy as you come to know your Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, and feel Their love for you.” Look unto Christ, act on His teachings, and blessings will come!

Love,
Sister Larsen

Pics from this week:

Emma's garden continues to grow!

Playing with our garden food...

Tell me this little guy isn't just the cutest!?!

Racing Elder VanOrden on the Jazzy (we won!)

Happy little guy who gets to hop on sacred ground!

    

Meet the Mormons

Dear friends and family,

This week has been a great start to a new transfer with Sister Walker! 

At our house... the "Hobbit House".  It's missionary legend here in the PPM.
Missionaries have been living here since the beginning of time,
and the house seems like it's been around that long too haha :)

...hence the nickname.  Ceilings throughout are low enough for a hobbit!
I'm 5'2 (and a half), so how Elders ever lived in this house I have no idea!!

Everyone calls us the "Musical Duo," since she is our amazing pianist and I play violin. So among the tours and online teaching center, we are happily planning, writing parts and practicing for our next concert in October. She is a wonderful companion!

This week we were able to watch the new "Meet the Mormon" segments the church has released exclusively to visitor centers. There is "The Artist," which is on DVD, but "The Horseman" and "The Entertainers" are completely new and amazing! They tell such inspiring stories and motivate you to want to be better. (If you have the opportunity, go to a visitor center and make a family home evening out of it!)

This week we were able to take a very neat woman, LaJean Carruth, on a tour. Sister Carruth is the woman who wove the cloth the gold plates (replica of course) are wrapped up in on the translation table in the Smith home. She was explaining how intricate the historic pattern is and how difficult. She had spent 60 hours weaving on her loom and had less than one inch of fabric to show for her work because of the difficulties and all kinds of bumps in the road she seemed to hit. But she had the strong impression that the work she was doing was sacred and if she gave it her best and her all everything would work out, so she continued to try. And after just 50 hours later she had several feet of fabric woven for the gold plate covering. Sometimes we struggle, but with patience and a little bit of effort on our part, we can reach righteous and worthy goals. In the new Meet the Mormons segment, "The Horseman," (which is definitely one of my very favorites!) the man quotes a rodeo cowboy who said, "If you're not winning, you're learning." And it is so true! Heavenly Father won't let us fail, but he does let us learn. The stumbling blocks we come across in life are all part of the journey.

Me, Sis. Martinez, and our little Peruvian friends

I've also been going on lots of Spanish tours with Sister Martinez in the past week which has been super fun! Can I speak Spanish? Barely. Luckily I can pick out what our Spanish speakers are saying because I know the key points we talk about in each room, and there's only so much they could be talking about. Sister Martinez usually does the talking and I keep the little kids occupied by pointing out "un pato y las manzanas" in the pantry and other exciting things to look at :) I was walking to the homes with a little boy who was telling me all about how Jesus loves children, so I asked if Jesus loved him and said, "of course he does!" I loved how he responded doubting absolutely nothing, but confidently knowing that he was a child of God, and he was loved. There is another Meet the Mormons segment called "The Entertainers," which is all about 4 Japanese siblings who are a famous pop music group. While one of the brothers is serving a mission, they make a recording of "I Am a Child of God." It is one of those truths that is so simple, yet incredibly powerful! Elder Hallstrom, in his most recent conference address said this about being children of God, "This doctrine is so basic, so oft stated, and so instinctively simple that it can seem to be ordinary, when in reality it is among the most extraordinary knowledge we can obtain."

Being at a visitor center, I've been able to meet so many people, and so many amazing members! I love getting to know them and hear of their experiences and testimonies. I get to meet people from all walks of life and what I share with all of them is the same. The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone! The message of living prophets, a loving Heavenly Father and Savior, the Book of Mormon, and priesthood authority once again restored to the earth is for everyone. That knowledge is what helps us to improve and become better, and how grateful I am for it!

Love,
Sister Larsen

This is the surprise we walked into the other day.  We have the sweetest branch ever!
They found out about our birthdays after the fact, so they decided to celebrate all
of our birthdays together! 

Note from Alicia - the only mention of a milestone this week:
"Has it seriously been a year already?"

Stories of Faith

Dear friends and family,

It's the end of another transfer and this has been my last week with Sister Francis as my companion. I'm so glad I've been able to serve the last three transfers with her. She's incredible! We've had some wonderful experiences with amazing people!

Final selfie with Sis. Francis

Sister Francis, Sister Walker, the Elders, and I got to take two wonderful men on a tour, Brother Higginson and Brother Klopfer from Salt Lake. They are part of the music board of the church, dealing particularly with musical instrument selection, which was super cool! They shared with us amazing stories about their lives and loved ones, experiences that have helped shape them into who they are.

Brother Higginson told us a story of when he was a young father. He and his wife had a small apartment in the basement of their home they were trying to rent out. One day a very rough, tattooed, disheveled man carrying nothing but an army bag knocked on their door. He told Brother Higginson that he had nothing, but was looking for a small place to rent and asked if he could rent out his space.Brother Higginson was hesitant to allow the man to stay, especially with his young children at home, but decided to take the man to the basement to show him the space. As the man looked around, Brother Higginson felt a very clear impression to rent his basement to this man. Against what he thought was his "better judgment," he rented out the apartment to him. Nine years later, Brother Higginson and his family watched this man as he entered into the waters of baptism where he could have a clean start to his life.

Brother Klopfer is originally from Germany. His father was called to be the mission president of the East German Mission during World War II. While serving as mission president he was drafted into the war--serving as a soldier and mission president at the same time. As a soldier, Brother Klopfer's father was captured and placed into a concentration hospital where he was left to starve to death. The church has since recognized this mission president and father as a martyr for the church. After hearing of his father's death, Brother Klopfer's mother wanted to leave for America with her two young sons, Brother Klopfer and his younger brother who was 12 ½.  She decided they needed to split up to cross the border out of East Germany at two different locations. She sent 14-year-old Brother Klopfer alone on a bicycle to cross. He has absolutely no recollection of how he did it or what happened, which his mother told him was truly a blessing from our Heavenly Father. Brother Klopfer's mother and younger brother decided to ride in the car of the new mission president who had permission to cross the border. He told them that when they got to the border guards would surround them and floodlights would be shined on the vehicle, but he left them a promise through the priesthood which he held that if they remained as still and quiet as they could, the guards would not see them. And that's exactly what happened. At the border the floodlights shined right in their faces as they sat in the back seat and the guards looked in but did not see them and allowed the new president to cross. The family found each other on the other side of the border and made their way safely to America. Later Brother Klopfer was part of the hymn selection committee for the last revision of the LDS hymn book in 1985. He and his wife wrote the hymn "Home Can Be a Heaven on Earth."

These men both shared incredible stories of faith--putting their faith in the Lord in times of hardship and decision, trusting that He would guide, help and heal them. Faith in Christ and His Atonement is an active thing! Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all things can be made right. Everything bad, good and in-between! We just have to keep trusting and relying on Him. Through Him we can have fresh starts and return to live in our Heavenly Father's presence like Brother Klopfer's hymn, "Father, help us find the way, leading to our home in heaven, where we want to stay."

Love,
Sister Larsen

Other fun happenings this week:

Sis. Roesch!!!  (former companion in Philly 4th Ward)  Or Sydney? :) 
She made a surprise visit to the site with her family who came for the Philly Temple Open House

Check out "Emma's Garden"!  Only in PA can you plant a garden in July and have it look this good!

I LOVE to See the Temple (and apostles who come to visit!)

Dear friends and family,

What a week of spiritual highlights!!!! I can't even begin to write everything down, there are so many neat things that happened this week. All I know is that Heavenly Father has been showering me with blessings, almost as much has He has been making it rain around here :)

Playing for Elder Dallin H. and Sis. Kristen Oaks

Best day ever shared with, and thanks to, the Walkers!!

On Friday Sister Francis and I got to go to Philadelphia with Elder and Sister Walker for the temple open house. Once we figured out what we were going to be doing and went outside to look around, Sister Francis and I saw Sister Gomm and her new companions walking down the street!!

Reunited with FAVORITES!!  Oh happy heart!
Sister Robison and Sister Gomm (with Sis. Francis and I)

We talked and caught up for a minute and I turned around and Sister Robison was coming our direction too!!! I felt like my heart was about to overflow! I'm so lucky that we were able to run into them, and take tours with them, especially since they both go home in a week. There was no better place to see my sisters for the last time for a while!

We took some senior citizens in wheelchairs through the temple open house on a VIP tour, and because there were so many of them, we got to go through twice! The Philly temple is so, so beautiful. It is colonial looking inside, and everything is muted red, blue, green, and gold.  (Pictures available here:  http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/open-house-begins-philadelphia-pennsylvania-temple)   In the baptistry the mural walls are of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery baptizing each other in the Susquehanna River (and done by the same artist who did our pieces at the site), which was so fun for all of us from the PRS to see! The celestial room is amazing, with a huge chandelier much like Gilbert's. We walked through all of the rooms occasionally stopping as Elder or Sister Coons (our Area Seventy) explained what the room was used for, but we were able to stop for a couple of minutes and sit in the Celestial Room. The spirit was there and I know there were several who felt of that peace as we were there because of a little Q&A we were able to do in one of the sealing rooms which is actually on the top floor. I know that this temple will be the start to a lot of miracles here in the PPM because people were asking great questions and continued to comment on the peace they felt. One woman who was very touched asked a question that made every missionary in the room just beam ear to ear, "So how do you become a member of this church?" :) There are so many prepared people who have gone and will go through the open house. I'm so excited to hear about all of the miracles that come of it!

After the temple we and the Walkers went to Reading Terminal Market for Elder and Sister Walker's first taste of an actual Philly Cheesesteak (which they really liked!), and we got Amish donuts which were absolutely divine!!

Note to Dad:  This beats all chocolate donuts you've ever eaten!

Then the almost-4 hour drive back home, chatting all the way. They are seriously the best site directors we could have ever, ever asked for!!!

We came back to the site, but the spiritual experiences kept on happening!! Sister Francis and I met former General Young Men's President, Brother Charles Dalqhuist, and took Elder Clay, an Area Seventy, and his family and all his little grandkids on a tour of the site after Elder Clay spoke in our sacrament meeting. Elder Clay's grandkids all had so many cute questions and were a ton of fun!

We also got a call early in the week that Elder Dallin H. Oaks and his wife would be coming to visit while they were on vacation here in the east. His flight was delayed yesterday, and the rained slowed things down, but he and his wife, Kristin, made it here safe and sound last night to watch the film, and we were able to sing a few numbers for them. Talk about intimidating! Playing violin for an apostle, but also the apostle who raised Jenny Oaks Baker!?! (For those who don’t know who she is, she is a Grammy-nominated violinist who is amazingly talented.) But something I've noticed with all of the general authorities who have come through is they have this feeling about them, it's kind of like a great calm feeling. You just feel it when they are in the room with you--it just fills the whole space, I don't really know how to describe how strong the spirit is, you just know it's there!

The PRS Sisters with Elder and Sister Oaks

Elder Oaks reading his favorite Book of Mormon scripture
in the Smith home.  2 Nephi 2:2

With all of the PRS missionaries

But Elder and Sister Oaks are the most darling couple I have ever seen!! Sister Oaks is so sweet and real, and Elder Oaks' shoulders shake up and down when he laughs! They did our VC training meeting this morning and talked about a couple of things, but something I loved was when he talked to us about our calls, that there was absolutely nothing "random" about us all being here together at this time. He said there are 10 of the 12 who assign missionaries their calls, so technically speaking it's likely he assigned at least one of us here to this mission and historic site. He said there is absolutely nothing random about it, and we all need to know that we were called by servants of the Lord to labor where Heavenly Father needed us. As missionaries we hear that, but how often does an apostle tell you something like that face to face?!

I know that we are children of a Heavenly Father who loves us all so deeply he provides each of us with opportunities and experiences that help us remember how aware He is of each of us. We can feel that love and recognition as we go to the holy temple and feel of the spirit there, or listen to the words of living prophets and apostles who are so incredibly close to Him. How grateful I am for this gospel! Hurrah for Israel!

Love, Sister Larsen