Oh Those Golden Days

Dear friends and family,

We've had more changes up here at the Priesthood Restoration Site! I have a new golden, Sister Baantjer. Her mom was born in Indonesia, but both her parents grew up in the Netherlands, so she grew up speaking Dutch in their home. Pretty cool!   

The PA State Line with Sister Baantjer

Oldies and Newbies:  Sister Bingham, Sister Anderson, Me, Sister Baantjer, Sister Mayer, Sister Shelley

And she has her degree in vocal performance, and can play absolutely anything on piano!! I'm glad that many of the traditions, like singing, we started here when we opened the site will continue to live on!

We were able to meet with Etta a few times this week and she is doing great! Because she is from Liberia and has some trouble with English (particularly reading it), we've been helping her read through the Book of Mormon, explaining as we go and she absolutely loves it. It is amazing to see little spiritual light bulbs go off for her! The other day we read 1 Nephi 2 together, where Lehi and his family depart into the wilderness, leaving their valuables behind so that they could follow the commandment of the Lord to leave Jerusalem before it was destroyed. We asked Etta what her favorite part of the chapter was and she went on to talk about how obedient Lehi was, and that we should all be more like him-- willing to leave behind anything to follow the Lord's commands. It was really quite a powerful testimony, and another confirmation to me that the Spirit is an universal teacher. 

We did a bit of finding this week as well and decided to stop by a family (Petar, Cheyanne and their daughter), who I had met here two transfers ago. And they just so happen to be the relatives of a less active family who used to be in our branch! We've tried to set appointments, but our schedules never worked out. We knocked on their door, Cheyanne answered and just as we squeezed out a "hello," said she was on her way to work, but had Wednesday and part of Thursday off if we could meet then. We said, "Yes!!!" And so we are excited to see them this week!

We watched the Worldwide Missionary Broadcast. There were some major schedule changes made (for the better!), but everything else was centered around the Doctrine of Christ. Something I particularly liked from the broadcast came up as the missionary board talked about the "enduring to the end" aspect of the Doctrine of Christ. They talked about "success," and how we can know we are successful missionaries. The question was asked, "How do you know when you are successful?" To which Elder Bednar responded, "When you quit worrying about it." He certainly didn't waste any time getting to the point, but it's so true! We just have to do our best, change and repent, and remember that Heavenly Father will give us success, and sometimes not in the ways we expect.

We are all enlisted in this great work! Missionary opportunities are all around us, we just have to look for them and choose to act!

Love, 

Sister Larsen

We woke up to this the day we went to go pick up our goldens

And the following pictures taken by a talented branch member, Brianne Hansen, who just graduated from BYU-I in photography:

...And then there were Three 👩🏻👩🏼👩🏻

Dear friends and family,

The Gold Plates from the Smith home!  And yes,
they really do weigh about 50 pounds.

Que semana mas loca!! Sister Young and I have been a trio with Sister Mayer for the past week which has been so fun! Practicando mi Español, trying to balance two different areas and the site, transfer news, and a ridiculous amount of laughing. It's been a crazy week, but a good one! 

Nos gusta cualquier cosa con Nutella!
(We like anything with Nutella!)

For the past little while we have been visiting Sister Khanna, who is the sweetest woman ever. She just has the biggest heart and incredible faith, despite all of the terrible things that have been and are happening in her life right now. This past week when we visited we read the story of the 2,000 Stripling Warriors and how in the face of death they did not fear because their mothers had taught them, "that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them." And amazingly enough, not a single one of those young men died in battle! Many of them were wounded, but none of them died. Sister Khanna was able to see that she could a courageous mother, just like these warriors' mothers had been. And she loved that even though the stripling warriors had been hurt, God did not let them down-- he continued to give protection from opposition because they had kept their faith and had hope. 

Little miracle! As we were driving from Montrose to Great Bend past the trailer park in our area we felt like we needed to see the Carvin family who we haven't been able to contact in a few weeks. So we pulled over, flipped around and took off down the dirt road to the Carvin's! Brother Carvin answered the door because everyone else was either sick or asleep, but we had a great conversation with him as we stood at his doorstep. He opened up a lot and we were able to understand a lot of his doubts and concerns. And we will be seeing the family again this weekend which we are super excited about! 

We weren't able to have a lesson with Tiffany and her kids this weekend, but we did have a couple Facebook chat lessons with Amanda, Tiffany's daughter. When we visited in person she was very closed off and responded to our questions with just a few words, so we were having a difficult time knowing how to help her. As we chatted with her, she opened up A LOT  which was so awesome! Strange as it sounds, I absolutely love Facebook! It has proved to be such a blessing, as we are able to hasten the work with the technology we have been given. It's just a testimony to me that this really is the Lord's work and we have the technology we do to help it along! We have so many resources and tools at our fingertips which can strengthen and uplift others, we just have to choose to use what we've been given for good. 

Great Bend sure will miss Sister Young!

I am grateful for this past transfer and all that I've been able to learn. Sister Young has taught me a lot, and I'm so glad that we were able to be companions, even if for one transfer. The Priesthood Restoration Site will be in good hands :) Heavenly Father has called wonderful sisters and senior couples to serve here, and He continues to do so.  More changes and experiences are ahead! Tengan una buena semana!! 

Love,

Sister Larsen

The last picture of the MTC trio.  Goodbye, Sister Agado!

Dinner at the Banners'

Dinner at the VanOrdens'!  And cutting pieces of
hand-painted wallpaper from the Hale home for keepsakes!

You Say Goodbye 👋🏻 And I Say Hello! 👋🏻

Dear friends and family,

This has been another week of change, with the new PRS Directors, the Abneys, coming to the site and the Walkers going home. As Elder Walker and I were talking this week he said, "All good things come to a... change." Haha.  And it's true. Change is just a part of God's plan! We are grateful for all the good times we've had with the Walkers -- all the laughs and fun memories -- but we are especially thankful for how our testimonies of the restored gospel have been strengthened as we've learned from each other.

All together from L-R:  The Richardsons, Sis. Young, Sis. Welker, Sis. Anderson,
the Walkers, Sis. Agado, Sis. Larsen, Sis. Vergara, the VanOrdens, the Abneys

We had a great lesson yesterday with Tiffany and her two teenaged kids, Eddie and Amanda. A young couple from our branch was also able to come with us, which was such a blessing because the things they said were exactly what Tiffany, Eddie and Amanda needed to hear. We got to know them a little bit more, and Tiffany has a strong belief in God and Christ and wants her children to feel the same way. She is a superstar mom, and was basically helping us teach as we talked to her kids! Eddie and Amanda are at that stage in life where they want to believe in God and Jesus Christ, but aren't sure they are really there, so we are trying to help them with their doubts. But I love in Alma the scripture in chapter 32, "But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words." I know that this desire that Eddie and Amanda have is enough to fuel their faith, and that it can and will grow as they continue to learn and act with open hearts. Tiffany is very receptive and told us (without us even asking!) she wanted to come to church next week with her kids and then meet with us afterwards and check out the visitor center too... I just wish everyone was as excited about the gospel as her! They are an amazing family!

The Walkers are officially on the road back to Wyoming today! We had a great training meeting with them on Tuesday, and read Oliver Cowdery's experience which is recorded at the end of Joseph Smith's history, and had a farewell testimony meeting. The Walkers also took me on my "final tour," that they take all of the departing sisters on before they leave. But rather than a regular tour, it's more like a walk down memory lane where we talk about our favorite experiences in each room of the homes. I am incredibly grateful to have served so long in such a sacred place. 

The PRS Sisters with the Walkers

Yesterday Elder and Sister Abney arrived, met with the Walkers for a few hours, and then we had one last PRS family dinner with the Walkers. But then it came time for hugs and "see you laters".  As they were driving away we stood in the parking lot and waved them goodbye until we couldn't see them anymore, just like we did all through the summer when the bus tours would leave. It's been hard to see the Walkers go; they really have become family and loved me enough to help me grow, but the Abneys are just as equally prepared to be here. They are similar to the Walkers in a lot of ways, and it's amazing to me how Heavenly Father calls exactly who is needed here and the work just continues on! I am so excited for the Abneys and all the amazing experiences that lie ahead of them!!

Hello, Elder and Sister Abney!

I'm so grateful for Heavenly Father and His plan for each us. Nearly everyday I get to tell people about how Heavenly Father was so good in placing those involved in the restoration exactly where they needed to be, with the people they needed to be with, at the time they needed to be there. But He continues to do the same for us today! He loves us and wants the best for us, so as we were are obedient to Him and put our trust in Him, He helps us be where we need to be. Hurrah for Israel! 

Love,

Sister Larsen

❄️Tracting in a Winter Wonderland❄️

Dear friends and family,

There is so much that has happened since I last wrote... it's even a new year!  Happy 2017!! 2016 was a wonderful year which I spent entirely on a mission, so I'm thankful to be kicking off 2017 on a mission as well. There seems to be a million and one things that happen in a single day, so I'll just catch you up on a couple of highlights from the past two weeks. 

On Sunday Brother Lane was able to come to church; we were so excited!! And he bore his testimony in fast and testimony meeting. I loved something he said, "We don't have to pray for miracles, we just have to pray. God will always answer us in His time and way." It was so sweet and so sincere.... and true! When we turn to Heavenly Father and involve Him our lives, miracles big and small do happen.

We've had some ups and downs with a few investigators lately and had to let them go, which was really hard. So we've been having even more of a need to find new investigators. Yesterday the temperature didn't top 20 degrees, so it was super cold and windy and snowing... but we were sure that we would find someone to teach despite the weather!!  

Happy 2017!!  Love, your favorite popsicles

We walked down the street and decided to go to a particular house. We knocked twice, nobody was coming to the door, and just before we were about to knock one last time a teenage kid, named Eddy, came running from the across the street in a short sleeve shirt (crazy boy!!). He lived at the house we were knocking on and said he had been making a video blog. And since he liked filming, we asked him if we could show him and anyone else who might be home the Christmas initiative video. He went inside to get his mom and they both came out to watch and absolutely loved it! We asked if we could come back to talk about how we can find more happiness in life through Jesus Christ, and the mom (who has the best name ever... Tiffany!!!) said she would actually really love that because she has a daughter who has been having questions about religion and God lately. We will be seeing Tiffany and her family next week and are so excited and grateful that Heavenly Father helped lead us to them. 

 We must really like being in the cold because we taught Mae and Dalton at a park this week. So we were all huddled around this little wooden table and talked about the restoration and why it is important. We used our Restoration Jenga blocks and not being able to feel our fingers was definitely worth the outcome. We asked them to start reading the Book of Mormon as a couple, so we Facebook messaged them a passage to read. Dalton, who had especially been intrigued by our lesson, responded with what he had learned from reading, "What it means to me is always keep your head held high. Believe in the good Lord and have faith in him cause all good can be done by him through you. And always listen to others and be willing to learn cause you are never to old to learn new things. Always ask for forgiveness at the end of your day to be able to repent of your sins for that day. That way you can reunite with him in the after life. - Dalton." It was a simple witness to us that the Book of Mormon really can give us guidance on how we can bring our lives in closer harmony with Christ. 

We also had a special opportunity to go to the Philadelphia temple on Friday with the Walkers before they end their mission next Tuesday. 

At the temple with the Walkers, VanOrdens, and sisters

Out to Chinese after the temple

It has become more special to me since being on my mission, not being able to attend like I used to. It really is a house of God and His spirit can be felt there. Every time I go, it makes me even more excited to go back to continue to learn, come closer to God and receive peace, direction and added spiritual strength. I love the temple.

Sun or snow, the mission is oh so good and I love being here. There's nothing better than proclaiming the good news of the restored gospel! We all have opportunities to do so each and every day, whether we wear a tag or not, so pray for and look for those opportunities and they will come. Have a wonderful week everyone! 

Love,

Sister Larsen

A few other pics from the last 2 weeks:

New Year's Eve Jam Sesh:   President Randall gave us special permission to be
at the VanOrden's house with the senior couples until 8pm. So we ate a lot,
played games, and Elder Walker whipped out the guitar  and I pulled out
 my fiddle (as he'd call it) and we played together. Everyone knew the sisters
 at the PRS can sing, but boy can Elder Walker play the guitar! 

At the PRS - Pres. Randall's daughter Alli was visiting from BYU for the Christmas break

Pierogies!!  Finally bought some at the store because they are everywhere in PA...
and Sister Young loved them!  (Note from Alicia:  my grandmother was born in
Lithuania, so we have eaten many pierogies in our day!)