Another Week of Swag

Another week gone by: I think I will clip part of my LTP again to let y'all know how the work is going here...

Nothing too crazy happened this week but I feel like it went by really fast and things are still going well out here in Angadanan. A bright point is that we had 6 investigators come to church yesterday-for 4 of them it was their first time-which is more than we have been used to usually, in fact I think we haven't had any for the last few weeks. But I think that they had a good experience. We still don't have any investigators with a baptismal date, but there are a few who are showing some potential for the future.

Our church attendance has been ranging from only about 50-60 members each week so that is also something that we have been trying to work on. We are trying to get the branch more involved in home and visiting teaching and it's been a little difficult, but President Palay visited last week and talked to us so hopefully that will help us improve. We need to help rescue those who have gone less active because I'd say it is just important to bring someone back to the gospel as it is for them to accept it for the first time and be baptized. It is also crucial for the new members to have an ongoing conversion and to continue to be strengthened in the gospel instead of just being baptized and then falling away. 

Yeah that's about it. Same old, same old I guess. Saturday we had a big rain and wind storm but besides that, it has been freakishly hot lately. So my mugshot is my nice summer attire that I purchased recently. We also had FHE at Bro. and Sis. Pasion's house this last week and I gave the lesson and shared from 3 Nephi 12:14-16. They are an active couple but I stressed the importance of member missionary work. As members of the church, each one of us has the light that the verses refer to. We need to let that shine and be an example to others.

Stayin' fresh

Anyways, it's really crazy how fast time is going by. The school year is almost over for my friends back in the Grove. Which means prom should be coming up right, so if you haven't asked someone yet, get on that homeboys! As always, I send my love from here in the Philippines. Hope everyone's next 7 days go absolutely fantastic. May swag be ever present in the lives of each of you. Keep it chill.

Happy Easter!

Hey everyone, hope you all had a great Easter Sunday! It was another good week out here for us. Wednesday, we had zone conference, and we focused on two things: We talked about our Book of Mormon Power Read and also 'Easter Week'-the final week of our Jesus Christ's life. I have thought I had a pretty good testimony of the B.O.M, but on Wednesday I got an overwhelming confirmation of its truthfulness. There is simply no way that this book can be false and if you have that knowledge, everything else-from Joseph Smith, to the gospel, and our church-just adds up. The same thing happened with the latter topic. As we discussed Easter Week, I felt so strongly the love that our Savior has for each and every one of us. Safe to say, it was a pretty incredible and spiritual day!

Yesterday, we had a funeral service for a 21 year old less active man in our branch. I'm not sure exactly the cause of the death but I think it had to do with a hangover or something..It was a little sad and crazy simply because of how young he was, but that is another thing about Jesus Christ's atonement and this gospel. Since we have the knowledge that we can live together forever with our families even after this life, we know that death is not the end of everything, but just a temporal phase. We don't have all the answers, but we know God has a plan for each and every one of us.

Dad, you asked about our investigators. We have a lot so it's kind of hard to talk about each one specifically, but the work is still going good. We had a lot of good lessons this week but unfortunately, none of our investigators were at church yesterday. I guess I can give a shoutout to Tatay Guillermo though-this dude is 75 years old but such a homie. One of the funniest guys around.  He is always telling me of all the Filipino 'chicks' that I should hook up with, but I have to explain that I can't because I am a missionary...It's hard for him and his wife to come to church because they're so old and their bodies are kind of weak, but our lessons with them have gone good and they actually did say that they hoped to attend some time.

Tatay Guillermo

Saturday night, Elder Hall and I colored easter eggs (thanks mom and dad for the package by the way). The two of us had a pretty good time but I guess it's not exactly a tradition here in the Philippines because Elder Pawin and Elder Mabini just wanted to go to sleep haha. But anyways, things are still going great here. That's about all I have to say, so have a good week everyone!

I liked the white one the best

#LDSconf

Holy cow. I love Conference. When I was younger, it was kind of just another old weekend but now, I can honestly say it is like my two favorite weekends of the year. After all, just think about it. We have a true, living prophet Thomas S. Monson who leads our Church today and during Conference, he-as well as many others who have also been called of God-give us inspired revelation and guidance in order to help us to become better in our lives. Listening to all the messages while being out here in the mission field, it truly is amazing.

One theme that kind of jumped out to me was courage and standing up for what you believe in. We live in a world that is falling away from the truth but as members of the Church, we have to be the ones setting the example for others because we know what is right, even though sometimes doing what is right is not what is popular. The other thing that really stuck with me this weekend-how many of the speakers bore powerful testimonies of Jesus Christ and the love he and our Heavenly Father have for each and every one of us. With Easter coming up, it is a great time to remember that love, and also the life, sacrifice, and resurrection of our Savior.

I could go on and on, but I'll leave it at that for now as far as the messages. But I do have a nice little side story about Conference. So we all watched the re-broadcast at the Alicia chapel. Which means that is where everyone in our whole stake attended. Anyways, we arrive at the church Sunday morning, and it is then I realize that I FORGOT my nametag. Typical huh? Luckily an elder in my district had an extra one handy, so it was kind of walking around as Elder Seuilli for the day. Which reminds me...since Elder De Guzman and Elder Loto'Aniu spent Tuesday packing up for transfers and attending to other final duties for their last day in Angadanan, I watched The RM (which I highly recommend by the way). It made me ponder of what I'll be like once I'm back home and not wearing my 'Elder' identity. Hopefully I'm not a complete weirdo haha. But I have plenty of time before I have to worry about all that...

Lastly, amidst all of this General Conference talk, there is another big thing that happened this week. I have a new companion! Elder Mabini is from Batangas (that's probably not how it is spelled) under the San Pablo mission. He is 19 (all of my other comps have been 22 years old so that's something different haha) and has been out here once cycle longer than me. Ironically enough, he was just barely companions with my tatay Elder Merza. And the two of them have the same trainer. So in mission terms, that makes him my uncle and we all have a nice little family tree going on here. He's a little bit quiet, but he's really nice and pretty chill so we have gotten off to a good start and I am excited for these next 6 weeks. 

I loved the quote that President Monson shared so I will leave you with this: "Perhaps we may forget tomorrow the kind words we say today, but the recipient may cherish them for a lifetime." Simply by showing our love to everyone through simple acts of kindness, it can make a huge difference. Love you all!

Pics Galore

We received the transfer list earlier today and this Wednesday, I will have a new companion here in Angadanan. The last six weeks has felt like being on a reality TV show so to keep things simple and nice as possible, I was very pleased to hear the news and I am excited to receive my new comp....I don't have a ton more to say, because I have a lot of pictures to share and those are worth a thousand words right? Umm the baptisms on Saturday for Flory Mae (21) and Mary Joyce (13) were successful. I am happy for the decisions they made and am excited for them to continue to grow in the gospel.

 Baptism of Flory Mae

Baptism of Mary Joyce

Earlier today, we had a zone activity at the chapel. We played Scum, basketball, announced the transfer list, and had a water fight. It was kind of nice to just relax and have some fun with all the missionaries. 

Zone pic

Action shot

Since the Philippines is like 14 hours ahead of Utah, we don't get to watch the rebroadcast of General Conference until this upcoming Saturday and Sunday. But I am so pumped to hear the words of our beloved prophet Thomas S. Monson and his apostles, for they are truly called of God! The last time I watched it, I was in the MTC and it was an incredible experience. Hopefully being able watch it here in the mission field (and in English, thank goodness) will be just as good! This time next week I will have a new companion and be on a spiritual high from the inspired messages from conference so I'm sorry but this is all I've got for now. So enjoy the pictures!

A couple of ducks chillin'

Mama's been asking a laundry pic for days

Adoption Thoughts

Seven more days have came and gone and here I am again without anything crazy to say. As for the threesome, things are going well. It really has been kind of like an adoption haha. Elder Loto'Aniu was kind of just delivered to us unexpectedly, like young Harry Potter was given to the Dursley family. (Although I consider myself more of a Dobby kind of guy rather than a Vernon or Petunia...) Anyways, Loto is a cycle behind me and doesn't know much Tagalog so he usually just bears his testimony after Elder De Guzman and I teach the lesson, but he is a stud and his company has been nice.

 Elder Loto'Aniu and me

As I mentioned last week, the three of us have to cover Angadanan as well as his area (Dagupan) which is kind of far away but we're managing. They have two investigators-Flory Mae and Mary Joyce-with a baptismal date on April 5th so lately we have been focusing to make sure they are prepared for baptism. I have only taught them a few lessons but I can already tell they have strong testimonies and are ready so I am excited for them!

The church in Dagupan

For an update on my (adopted language) Tagalog, I'd say it's going pretty good. I remember once upon a time when I thought there was no way I would ever learn it. However, slowly but surely, with patience and work, it has been coming and now I'd say I am pretty much perfect! Just kidding. There are still times when I don't totally understand what the investigator is asking when they have a question. But I would say I am finally to a point where I would consider myself fairly comfortable with the language. Even though obviously I still have much to improve on. 

Earlier this week, I went on member splits again with Albert, who recently got called to the Halifax, Canada Mission to preach the gospel in the English language. We were doing some role practice and I came to the realization that there are some lessons and principles of the gospel that I am probably better at teaching in Tagalog than I am in English. Never did I expect this to be the case. But it's kind of nice to see the progression that I've made. However, I know that by myself, I couldn't do it at all. The Lord has helped me every step of the way. The gospel is incredible my friends. Have a good week. Elder Larson is out.

A Small Miracle & An Unexpected Companion

Ladies and gentleman, it's been kind of confusing last few days but the Angadanan branch now has a fifth missionary in the area. Let me explain the situation: Remember the big typhoon that hit Tacloban last November? So there was a missionary from there who got re-assigned here in Cauayan. However, his previous mission re-opened and he decided to return. Since he was a Zone Leader, somebody needed to fill his position and my good pal Elder Allred was just the man for the job. That left his companion, Elder Loto'Aniu, who was then sent here and now I am in a threesome. 

Elder Loto'Aniu is Tongan and a really nice guy, so for the time being, I think the whole threesome thing will be alright these last few weeks of the cycle. However, the hard part is, the three of us have to cover our area here in Angadanan, as well as Loto's previous area which by tricee is like 30 minutes away. I think we'll figure things out though.

Quite a while ago, I mentioned the Paggao family. Nanay and Tatay still haven't attended church, but there is still something that happened with this family that I would like to share. When I first got here, the Word of Wisdom was something that was kind of an issue for them. Every one of them was drinking coffee on a basis of about five times a day. When we first taught them the W.O.W, they felt like coffee was something they couldn't give up. Tatay Paggao was also drinking and smoking occasionally. However, over the last month and a half or so, this is something we have really focused on with them. 

After each lesson, we gave them a challenge to cut down just a little bit at a time. It was going to be hard for them but they said they were willing to try, because they knew it was a commandment of God and they wanted to be obedient. The next week, they were down to 4 times a day. Then 3. Then 2. We taught them this last Wednesday and asked them how they are doing with the Word of Wisdom. I am pleased to report that Nanay, Tatay, and Jazel haven't drunken coffee all week and Tatay is no longer smoking or drinking.

Alma 37:6 states 'by small and simple things are great things brought to pass'. It wasn't a sudden blink of an eye that these three went from drinking coffee 5 times a day to being obedient to the Word of Wisdom, but by taking small steps, they were able to do it and I know they will be blessed for it. So although Nay and Tay haven't been to church yet, (Jazel actually attended yesterday for the second time) I still consider this story a miracle and hopefully a stepping stone for them to come in the future.

Compare this scripture to us as members. We don't need to have a crazy life changing experience in order for us to have a testimony, but through small and simple things such as going to church, reading scriptures and praying every day, etc; we can have great things brought to pass. The little things are what make up the big picture and strengthen our testimonies and also all of us within our families. In school we always talked about how simply smiling or talking to someone can make their day.

So I guess that's it for this week. I don't always have a ton to say in my weekly emails, so maybe this will bring my happiness to my beloved parents. Yesterday marks 5 months since I have been here in the Philippines and I haven't stopped loving it. I'm just waiting for one of you seniors to get your calls to come kick it with me in Cauayan. I have plenty of faith that this can happen because if anyone hasn't heard the news yet, Sawyer Norman and Kurtley Meachem are currently a companions out in Jamaica. What a dynamic duo! To two of my very best friends...Riley, Emily...hope you guys had a great birthday! Have a good week everyone!

B.O.M. Power Read

Sooo hey guys! What's up? The exciting news of the week, as signified by the title, is that as a mission, we have all been invited to start over the Book of Mormon and do a 'Power Read'. The objective is basically highlighting any mention of Christ-prophecies, doctrine, his teaching, etc; This activity is similar to something I did with Elder St. Gelais back in the MTC except in this mission-wide challenge of ours, it's a little more specific and structured. Nonetheless, I am excited for this opportunity.. It is the keystone of our religion, and combined with the Holy Ghost, the most powerful resource to ones conversion. For all you seniors getting your mission calls, I would challenge you all to finish the B.O.M again before you leave. It really is such an incredible book!

Other highlights for the last seven days is that our whole district had a service project pulling weeds together. Since everybody just loves pictures, and a certain mother of mine is always requesting them, here we are:

A few missionaries hard at work

Ako, Elder Hall, Seuilli, and Young. We are hecka tough.

I also had splits on Wednesday with our DL Elder Young and it went well. For this special occasion, we went to this pretty nice restaurant for dinner and I had a nice pizza for the first time in quite a while. Sorry, no pictures though :/ Anyways, same old stuff out here in Angadanan. I guess I will clip part of my LTP again for an update on the work...

We have a lot of solid investigators who seem interested and had another week with a lot of good lessons. However, none of them were at church yesterday. This is a frequent pattern that has been a little discouraging and at times I wonder to myself what else I can do to help the people we teach, but I know that even at the times when it feels like they aren't really making progression, we can always be that example to them simply by showing our love. We can always be that instrument or tool in the hands of the Lord to help others come unto Christ. And although they might not be ready right away, we can be the ones planting and nourishing the seed for when the time comes that they are prepared to receive the gospel.

And I guess we can leave it at that. Have a good week everyone! And happy St. Patrick's Day.I think that's today right? With love...Elder Larson