December 27, 2015

(every week will be christmas until i come home.)

I am doing good, Elder Foote and I are both EXHAUSTED, we woke up at 4:00 this morning to go and help with a CSP, i wish we could have been doing the other kind of CSP (Companion Sleeping Program) but.... maybe next time for that CSP. we got up to an area called Manlayag, it is about 30 minutes away by car, i took my sundang (machete) because the CSP was making "uling" (charcoal) well, when we got there we had a giant mango tree that all the limbs were cut down already we just had to saw them, and make them smaller to transport. well all of this was done on the edge of a cliff, well a very steep slope. i used a sundang and hacked away at some very large branches, i honestly think that machetes are better at that job than axes that we usually would use in America. It was way fun, and helped us continue to build good relationship with the ward. through our service we were able to see the changes in the attitudes of the members about a missionary, or missionaries, when you actually decide to bring Christlike Service into the work.

this week was a very long one, and the Key Indicators didn't show it. it was almost as if there were a couple of days that just got taken off of the week, because they were so low. Elder Foote and i have been rebuilding  or actually establishing a teaching pool. and we both said this week that we want a fun pool, not just some lame kiddie pool that can still be called a "pool" but we are working way hard. we found 13 new investigators this last week, and we have plans to have at least that many if not more this coming week... we have been using referrals for the most part, we received 16 referrals this last week, and contacted 12 of them. we just ran out of time to contact the other 4 of them, but we will contact them this week.

so my studies this week have been quite a bit better than in weeks past. i have been going back to read in PMG. i have also been listening to some General Conference talks from back in the 70's and 80's. trying to get a feel again with how to speak in church, and in English... neither of them being my strong suit. i have been listening to President Monson, President Hinckely, and Elder Holland... also some older ones, Bruce R. McConkey, N. Eldon Tanner. and trying to figure out how they produced such great results with the talks, and speeches  and things they did.

Um! later we are going to be eating more TURKEY! 3 more of them, for our Christmas/New Years dinner... Dont worry ashlee, i wont have pics of them,.... i wish i would though! ;PPP

I love you all, enjoy your NEW YEAR!!!

 

-Elder Larson

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