Planting Seeds

Hey guys. Before we begin, I would like to wish a Happy Birthday this upcoming week to a few good pals of mine-Sawyer Norman and Braden King. Please have days full of splendor of joy.

Anyways, in regards to my message for this week, I've got some good news that doesn't exactly have to do with me or my current area. The story begins back in my first area of Cabarroguis. My tatay and Elder Merza and I often taught a 19-year-old man named Reden. We had taught him most of the lessons and although he had a good understanding of the gospel and the principles we taught. But although he had a 17-year-old sister who was active in the church, he didn't really show an interest in being baptized and was usually busy when it came to us asking him if he would attend church on Sunday. However, he continued to listen to our teachings. Fast forward to now, five months after I was transferred from Cabarroguis: I recently got word that Reden, as well as 3 more of his family members, were baptized this last week.

We weren't the ones who ended up with the opportunity of baptizing them, but to me that is not the important thing. What is important is that this young man and his family continued to come closer to Christ and were able to enter into the waters of baptism and that we were able to play a part in his conversion and introducing him to the gospel. I guess that is where the title comes in-Elder Merza and I were not around for the actual baptism, but I am happy that we were able to 'plant the seed'.

We don't have to be full-time missionaries in order to plant seeds in the hearts of others, and we don't necessarily have to inform somebody all about our church to do the planting. As members of our church, we can do it through our every day example to others...This last week, I was studying Chapter 6 in Preach My Gospel (Christlike Attributes). Throughout my mission up to this point, I had really been focusing on trying to acquire the attribute of patience. Now I have decided to switch my focus to the attribute of charity and striving to develop a more Christlike love to everyone I come across. I know that if we all try a little harder to show our love towards others, people-whether they be fellow members of our church or not-will notice.

This last week, I also talked with my last companion Elder Mabini and he told me that Glen Delamente (the 17-year-old brother of our recent convert in Angadanan) will also be baptized this coming Saturday the 19th and I am very happy for him as well. As for Elder Sison and I here in San Pablo, we actually haven't been as lucky recently. We have had to do a lot of tracting lately-basically just walking around talking and getting to know as much people as we can-but right now we have only a few investigators in our teaching pool and nobody yet who seems all that interested. But I know that missionary work is not a walk in the park that is meant to easy and we just need to keep trying, and then eventually success will come and we will see the results of our work. Even if all we do is plant some seeds that can be nourished in the future.

Pair of dudes after some hard work in the pouring rain 

Yesterday was Elder Sison's birthday

Greetings from San Pablo

Well, I'm the new guy again. So let me answer the simple questions first that everyone is dying to know--I am in the San Pablo area (Tuguegarao South zone. Still very hot but luckily I got here in time for rainy season) but it is under the Cabagan ward. So there are two elders in Cabagan who we go to church with but we aren't in the same apartment. Their area has a lot more of the members because they are close to the church and we are kind of the outskirts. Our 10-minute tricee ride to sacrament meeting yesterday made me miss the 2-minute walk it took us in Angadanan, but all is well. The members in our area are nice. The ward seems more organized than Angadanan. I think Bishop likes me and other foreign missionaries, but as I sat next to and talked to him during a funeral service we had yesterday, he makes a lot of rather racist comments towards Americans; And I'm not sure he really realizes it. So I just think it's funny hahaha.

My companion is Elder Sison, from Manila. 20 years old. He has been out for like about a year and a half. I think the reason I have the 'special assignment' that I mentioned last week is for something that happened in the past and also because Elder Sison's last companion had to go to the hospital last cycle and they weren't able to work the last few weeks. However, he and I kind of seemed to click right away and I think everything will be fine. Our apartment is nice enough (I'm 3/3! Trust me-not all missionaries are as lucky as I have been with good apartments) and the only thing about the work is that we are kind of in a "finding" process for people to teach. But if we work hard, I know that everything will play out and be alright.

We had a district activity earlier at Callao Caves in commemoration of a sister's birthday (Pictures disclosed below). And speaking of birthdays, if anybody has forgotten, Bryce's (or umm Elder Larson's I mean) is in a month so if you really want to make an Asian guy happy, you can feel free to start preparing letters or something :) But if not..that's okay too. I still love you all. Have a superb week and if it ever gets really hot in Utah, there's a solid chance that it could be hotter here. Until next week.

 Callao Caves

 "Buddha" rock: Look closely and you can see his bald head and the side of his face

I'm on a boat and it's going fast (That's my comp next to me)

Transferred na Ako!

That's right folks. The news is in. Elder Larson's time in Angadanan has come to an end. And normally we don't figure out our areas and companions until the day of transfers, which is Wednesday, but I found out that information a few days early because I've got my sources haha. Just kidding, actually it is because last night President Rahlf called me because I have a "special assignment". Usually he makes these calls to inform us of an upcoming situation that might be a little bit challenging, but I'm actually pretty excited and ready to see what this upcoming cycle has in store.

By the way, my next area is in Tuguegarao zone, which is the hottest part of the mission and also one of the hottest places in the whole Philippines. The average temperature during March and April is 100 degrees but luckily those months are over. So yah, wish me luck with that haha.

 

As for this last week in Angadanan, well same old same old I guess. Being in the same house as someone who is in the last week of their mission can make one feel a bit 'trunky' at times haha, but everything is chill. I be ight. A good news-bit is that yesterday Glen (the brother of our recent convert Mary Grace, who I am still trying to acquire a picture of for you guys) attended church for the fourth consecutive time. He also expressed a desire to us that he wanted to be baptized, so even though I won't be here, I am confident and hopeful that Elder Mabini and his new companion will be able to baptize Glen this cycle, and he will become a good addition to the Angadanan Branch which is in need of some worthy priesthood holders.

I'd say that's it for now but anyways, have a good 4th of July everyone! Unfortunately I won't be watching any fireworks or doing any celebrating because guess what-That's an American holiday. However, the birthday of my beloved home country (fun fact: To this day, I still get asked questions about life in Japan, but I've never been there so...) will still be in my heart and if I hear anyone talking about the world cup, (Not sure about that one either. I don't think Filipinos are huge on soccer? Could be wrong) I will be sure to try and put in a few good words for U-S-A. Peace out, for now.

With our fellowshippers - we like to teach the gospel and stuff.

Random pic with like 1/3 of our zone

Seek Ye First

Well folks, I've been here in Angadanan for 5 1/2 months now and these last 7 days were similar to most the rest so nothing too crazy to share. Transfers are next week and I'd say there's a pretty strong possibility that I will be relocating, but I guess there's always a chance that I could be staying as well.

This last week I finished Doctrine and Covenants as well as the Pearl of Great Price, so that leaves me with only the Old Testament and the Aklat ni Mormon. Since I don't have a lot else to say for the week, I suppose I will leave you all with another spiritual thought. It is found in Jacob 2:18-19. It may sound familliar: "But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good." Ladies and gentlemen, it's as simple as that. We need to put Christ first because he is our foundation, and we must not worry about all the little things in life. And when Christ becomes our cornerstone, all the other things will fall into place.

Yup, that's about it. Hold on tight because next week is when I shall find out my fate. This has been brought to you by Elder Bryce Larson, live from Philippines Cauayan Mission. Until next time. Good night.

Masaya Araw ng Mga Tatay

What's up friends? It's me again. First off, to my beloved sister Brooke, hope you had a good birthday this last week. But don't be too crazy being the teenage girl of the household! And to dear young Brittney McArthur, hope you had a splendid birthday as well! And lastly this coming week, Happy Birthday to one of my best buds, Miss Savanah Robinson! By the way, fun fact: If I was a girl, this last week I would have hit my halfway mark for the mission! But well, as I'm sure you may know, I am an elder. Holy cow though, 9 months! 

The highlight of this last week was that all of the Philippines had an area broadcast, which featured Michael John U. Teh of the Seventy and also Quentin L. Cook! So yesterday we had the privilege of hearing their messages. Elder Teh challenged us to be men and women of INTEGRITY. This is tested through our simple everyday acts. Also that we should not only do good things but strive to know the Lord's will that is specific to us.

Something I liked from Elder Cook's talk was his comparison of the sun and the moon in terms of the kingdoms of glory. He pointed out that the sun uses its own light, while the moon can only reflect borrowed light. As far us, we must be valiant in our testimonies and not used borrowed light if we want to obtain celestial glory. "If we haven't chosen the kingdom of God, the other choices we make won't matter much."

Our investigators with baptismal dates have had struggles keeping their commitments of coming to church so we will have to try to figure out how we can fix this in order to help them receive a new date. But Mary Grace's brother Glen attended the broadcast yesterday and he also came to our branch's mutual night, so hopefully there is some potential there.

As far as the pictures, well my old card kind of got corrupted. They are still on the camera; I just can't send them. I swear everything always breaks here haha...So you guys might not see those pics for a year or so. But I got a new card, so cross your fingers that something bad won't happen to it. And lastly, I guess Father's Day (the title translates to Happy Day of the Fathers) was also yesterday or something so S/O to my old man Dave! Thanks for all you Dad! And to all the other dads out there, just keep doing what you're doing. You're all great! The list of fathers who have been inspirational in my life is too many count! Have a fantastic week everyone!

My district homie Sister Pavino

The Angadanan elders-Looks like it should be on the cover of the Ensign or something right?

Elder Larson, Pawin, Betancourt, Mabini

Sacrament Meeting

Hey folks, how is everything going now that school is out? Well things are still just lovely out here. This week a sister in our branch received her mission call to Cagayan de Oro (another place in the Philippines). The excitement she had when she received it brought me back to a time a little over a year ago when I opened my call. And now some of my younger friends are just getting ready to leave, so I hope you are all preparing well for what will become the best two years of your life!

Yesterday, President and Sister Rahlf showed up in Angadanan for sacrament meeting, so we had the privilege to hear from them both. I always love it when I have the chance to hear them speak, so yesterday was great. Sis. Rahlf talked about Christlike love. President Rahlf talked about the importance of the sacrament. Something he said that stuck out to me is this: Heavenly Father lets people change. Every week, through the sacrament, we have the sacred opportunity to renew the covenants we made at baptism and remember our Savior Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice for us. A chance to start over for the week and be forgiven. Hopefully, if for no other reason, we attend church in order to partake of the sacrament and receive all those promised blessings that come in doing so. There is a reason Jesus instilled the sacrament just hours before he would be crucified. Hopefully we all remember these things each time we go to church and as we take the sacrament.

Before sacrament meeting yesterday, one of the crazy old tatays in our branch was asking me things like, "Who is richer-Barrack Obama or President Rahlf?" Taking just a guess, I said Obama and then he answered, "Well Mitt Romney is probably richer than both of them because of tithing." He also asked "Who is more powerful-Jesus Christ, Gordon B. Hinkley or President Rahlf?" When I said Jesus Christ of course, he responded, "But I thought President Rahlf will never die." It was a rather funny conversation with Tatay Pabz, but sometimes I really wonder where people get some of their thoughts hahaha.

Anyways, as for our investigators, unfortunately Miracle didn't show up to church, so we will have to set a new baptismal date.We recently started teaching Mary Grace's 17-year-old brother Glenn and yesterday he came to church. By the way, I do have pictures from her and Jazel's baptism, but for some reason I have been unable to send pics lately. I will keep working to try and figure out this problem but until then...sorry guys, no pictures. Have a good week everybody. I love you all!

E.Larson's Chill Wise Words-Act!

Time is seriously a blur. First of all, a lot of my younger homies just graduated and are getting ready to go on their missions. (Congrats to my man Jeffrey, heading to Texas!) It seems like not too long ago that I and my friends were in that same place. Now some of them are coming up on their one year marks. Second of all, another week flew by where I'm not really sure what I should say. Umm I saw my pal Elder Bangal earlier today for the first time since February and he asked me if I had lost weight. I hadn't noticed anything but I guess a fun fact for you all is that I'm not fat. So that's a good thing.

As far as the work, one thing we are focusing on is teaching Jazel and Mary Grace the recent converts lessons. Both of them bore their testimonies yesterday and I hope we can help them to continue in their progression of the gospel, because as I've said, baptism is not the end. It's only the beginning! Also, we have an investigator named Miracle (20 years old) that we started teaching lately and she has been very receptive. We even discussed a baptismal date and she seemed excited about it, but she will need to show her commitment through church attendance.

I restarted the Book of Mormon again a few weeks ago. You seriously can't get enough of this book! But anyways, my ultimate goal is actually to read it from cover to cover in Tagalog. It's been a little tricky and I certainly won't be finishing it any time soon, but wish me luck haha. However, since I don't have much else to say for the week, I guess I will leave you with this spiritual thought that I really like:

It is found in 1 Nephi 16:18-23, 28. At this point in time, Lehi's sons are hunting for food in the wilderness when-what do you know-Nephi's bow and arrow breaks. What rotten luck eh? So Nephi's brothers are not too happy with him. Even his father Lehi, who is a prophet, begins to murmur against the Lord because of their afflictions. But what does Nephi do? In verse 23, it tells us that he goes out and makes a new bow and arrow and reports to Lehi to ask him where he should go to hunt for food. What a boss!

Now, let's apply this to our lives. How often do trials come into our lives and we start to wonder why these things are happening. Sometimes we may even be as Laman and Lemuel, and place the blame on God. However, let us be more like Nephi, who went out and did something about his problem. In verse 28 of this same chapter, we read of the Liahona, which pointed the direction where Nephi should go for food, but only because of the faith and dilligence in which he displayed. When we have problems or hardships, it is for a purpose. They are all part of God's plan. He wants to help us, but we need to do our part and ACT. Complaining won't solve the problem. We must show our faith and diligence and then we can overcome anything through his help. Love you all! H.A.G.S! (Hopefully on Yearbook Day, you put more effort into your messages than saying have a good summer, but really guys, enjoy it!)