June 21, 2015

So before i get into how i almost died, i figured i would tell you all the great stuff!

So i was talking to some of our new investigators and they were trying to decide who i looked like most. i have heard Paul Walker, and John Cena the most. which i guess is not a bad thing, because they are both not bad looking! also, i have been told that i act a lot like Seth Rogan (from the Green Hornet) just the way i act, and my kind of funny. it was kind of shocking because i dont really know what his type of funny is. but i am sure that it would be right.

This week we were super lucky because we had the privilege for 2 different CSPs. 1 of them was in Catigbian which was about an hours drive from our area, it was probably one of the most difficult and most amazing, and worthwhile CSPs i have done in my mission. we built houses, mixed cement(that is DIFFICULT) we just used a few shovels, and then mixed it on the ground, it is super heavy. we were there for about 5 hours, and it was not easy work. lets just say that i am still sore from it. i am not very good at getting pictures because of many reasons, the main one is because i am too busy doing the work. especially when it comes to service, i can't get enough of service projects. there was 18 of us Elders that went to do the service.

alright so on Saturday we had another CSP where we did some clean up their land, and we (Elder Jennings and I) went and worked on their Payag (little hut) by re-roofing it with NIPA or leaves from a coconut tree. it was grand, the only bad part was that i cut my hand on the bamboo strips we were using, because they are so SHARP!!!

On Sunday there were about 28 Americans at church, most of them from ARIZONA, around Mesa area. it was pretty cool because we could speak to them, and Elder Jennings could participate and understand everything. they were here doing a service project repairing stuff from after the typhun Yulanda, and the Earthquake of 7.2 back in 2013. (REVIVESERVICETOURS.COM) they are awesome, we met the Executive Director Ryan Ogden from Utah. he served his mission here in Luzon (up north).

alright so this last week were doing a lot of finding, and we were blessed at the end of the week. we had a total of 14 new investigators. we have a family of 10 that we just met, they are so amazing the oldest child is 17 going to be 18 in august, and the youngest is about 1 year old. All of the names of the kids start with a "J" Jennylyn, James, Janice, Jarom, Jaya, Jessel, Joymi, and Joshua. They are so ready, they have been humbled through their trials and desire to come unto Christ. Brother Roney was SUPER drunk but wanted us to talk to him. we talked to him, and the only thing that he wanted was to help his family. so we told him about the "word of wisdom" and how he needs to start living it today, which means no more getting drunk, cigarettes, coffee, and tea. he could deal with everything besides the coffee. 

he then asked "WHY???" i think that he is the first person/filipino to actually ask "why?" we told him about how God revealed it unto a prophet in our day. we also had an amazing conversation with him about the restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith. we talked about the things that we need be doing in order to help our families, and then (even though he was drunk) the spirit in a way helped us to invite them to follow the example of Jesus Christ through baptism. it was crazy because the entire family accepted it.

we are going back to them tonight. but before we left, i said to Brother Roney (the father) that i had a question for him. my question was "can i hug you right now"? he said "yes," then Elder Jennings said "me too." it was so awesome!!! usually Filipinos are against PDA like that... so i was kind of shocked with his response. we also told him "Happy Fathers Day."

TO ALL OF YOU FATHERS, and WILL BECOME FATHERS, I WOULD LIKE TO WISH YOU ALL THE BEST FATHERS DAY!!!

TO MY DAD! i love you so much, i am so thankful for everything you have done for me up until now, i love you so much, and you (and the rest of the family) are in my prayers daily!

 

-Elder Larson the YOUNGER

PHILIPPINES CEBU EAST MISSION!!!! OCT 2013-JAN 2016