Let Us Give Thanks!

*Note from Alicia:  Sis. Larsen's Mission President changed pday for all of the missionaries this week to Thanksgiving Day.  Sis. Larsen sent this email yesterday after her shopping, and just before heading to a Thanksgiving dinner appointment.*

Dear friends and family,

"I would consider it a blizzard; we got a foot of snow before Thanksgiving!"

I am so GRATEFUL for such a fantastic week and a half Sister Martinez and I have just had! At the beginning of last week we had absolutely no investigators. By Tuesday everyone we had taught or were wanting to teach either dropped us or we had still not been able to contact them after several weeks of trying.... so we got to start completely fresh. But just like Ether 12:6, "...ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith," we began to see miracle after miracle!

On Wednesday of last week we had exchanges, so Sister Harvey got to come to Great Bend with me and I love her! While we were walking back to our car after an appointment that fell through we saw Crystal, who is the daughter of Brother Powers, who is a less active because of his health. And to make a long story short, we had a great little lesson and Crystal, Brother Powers, Carl (Brother Power's friend), Mae (Crystal's daughter) and Mae's husband, Dalton, agreed to come to the site the following evening for a tour!

Unwrapping artwork by Liz Lemon Swindle
for a traveling art exhibit about the Savior

"Witnesses of Christ" traveling art exhibit here at the site from Nov. 18 -Dec. 6.
And guess where it was right before coming to us?  The Mesa Temple Visitor's Center!

The next evening they came and looked at the paintings and then we were able to go to the Smith home with Brother Powers, Crystal, Mae and her husband Dalton, and Carl. As we were talking about reading from the Book of Mormon in the very place where it was translated Carl asked, "So where can someone get a Book of Mormon?" And then Mae also asked for a copy, and Dalton too! So as we happy danced we quickly whisked them into the next room where the copies were sitting on the hutch!

A day after the tour with the Powers clan we messaged Carl on Facebook. He said he was pretty busy so he couldn't meet for the next few days, which we were bummed about. But then he said that he had been reading from the Book of Mormon! We asked him how he was liking it and he said it was pretty slow going because the text was small, and he was "only in 1 Nephi 14." Happy dancing commenced once again as we were shocked and thrilled as to how much he had read, and we talked a little bit about the Tree of Life. We are so excited to see Carl soon!!!!

Two days ago we also were going to stop by Brother Powers' place to see Mae because she takes care of him in the mornings. He wasn't well, so Mae came outside and told us that she had been talking with her husband and wanted to join the church, so she'd like to start taking the lessons. LOTS more happy dancing!!! We will be meeting with Mae and Dalton very soon as well! 

And if all of that wasn't enough, Sister Martinez and I were out knocking doors inviting everyone to the art exhibit at the site. We knocked on a door, and a cute lady answered the door. We gave her a little card to the exhibit and then asked if we could share a message with her about truths that have been restored to us by God. She smiled and said yes and told us to come in right then and there! That definitely took Sister Martinez and I by surprise, but we got to know her, Marni, a little bit and were able to teach her about the Restoration. We gave a Book of Mormon, and invited her to be baptized and she said would be if she came to know what we shared was true! We asked if we could come back after Thanksgiving and she said, "How about Friday?" By this point we didn't even remember how to happy dance, we were so shocked! So I'll be reporting back on our lesson with Marni in just a few days!

This Thanksgiving season I am grateful for so many things-- family, snow boots, smiles from strangers, thoughtful texts, snowflake designs, laughter, prayer, chocolate, scriptures, daily tender mercies and everything in between! But most of all I am grateful for a Savior, Jesus Christ, who makes second chances, forever families, and eternal joy possible. I know He lives and loves me, and each one of us! I am grateful for this time I have to dedicate all that I am to being a representative of Him. "God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son." 

Love,

Sister Larsen

Freezing and happy!!

A picture of our "sistrict" with the Zone Leaders.  (Note from Alicia:  
Sis. Larsen and Sis. Brown were called a few weeks ago as District Leaders, 
so they've nicknamed themselves the "sistrict".)