June 20, 2011

Me by the pyramid in our area

Famige,

This is going to be very short... I don't have much time, but I loved the pictures.  Thanks for the update on Brad. I can't believe how good he looks.  He is tough and he really is fighting hard!  I will continue to keep him in my prayers!! I know the Lord is watching out for him!

We haven't baptized this week but we are working hard. We just need to find out what we are doing wrong. I dunno... it's tough!  But don't worry, we will continue to work hard and we hope we will be able to baptize this week.  We might be able to baptize  3 people...but we will see.

The singing guy, Dagoberto, is loving everything so I am hoping he might want to get baptized this week. Abril is pretty scared to get baptized because her whole family is Catholic and she is scared  of how they will react. But  she knows that she needs and wants to do it, so we will see.

In the meantime, my awesome comp Briones is teaching me some piano. Really, I have been thinking about playing an instrument after the mission and I was thinking guitar or piano...but i think i will go with piano. I want to learn something so I really want  to try that out. What do you think?  Well, that is what is happening here. I will have a better letter next time. 

OK! Thanks soooo much for everything! I love you guys soooo much and sorry this is a short letter but FELIZ DIA DE PADRE! BRY AND NICK AND DAD! You guys are awesome. Sorry I can't call you all for Father's day...that would be awesome! haha but I will write you all soon!

Love,

Elder $ean Larson

Small pyramid in our area

Me and the Elders just messing around

Catholic Church by the pyramid...it's really cool! 

June 13, 2011

Pictures we sent Sean

Nick and Dad loving life!

Dear Fam,

WOW! Those sailing pics are amazing! That is sooo cool and it makes me want to go sailing again. I totally forgot about that until now. Really there aren't lakes here or anything and if there is water.... it's really drity and poopy water. (and I'm not kidding about the poopy part! haha) That's really cool and I am glad that you guys  could go.

Mom I got the package! Thanks sooo much. I loved it all. Sadly we tried using the frizbee to play ultimate frisbee and it broke.... haha. Sorry mom, but I thought you were going to send the  frisbee like we have at home...it's bigger and stronger. (Nick knows which one) Maybe you can send it later because they don't sell those kind here...well at least I haven't found one. The water toys are super awesome...of course we can't swim but we tried them out in a thing we wash dishes in and  it was SWEET! haha We were loving it. It made think of going to  Bob and BJ's pool and playing basketball with  all of them haha!  Thanks mom they are really cool toys.  And thanks for the poptarts, peachie-os,  propel,  tide and the ring! It was all so great. Especially the "Wii-ner" dog card haha!  That was hillarious! So thanks once again for all the birthday stuff. Next year... i will be home! (wierd)

  Mom.... I knowIi said I am done with this ... but do you think you can get...2 more rings. REALLY I can pay for one and the the other person pay for the other. Just use my bank account or something.  I know how much money you have spent on the rings and sending  packages, so please just tell me how much they are or I will  please!  If you can check and see if they have the same ring in a size 10 and a size 9 1/2. Sorry mom. If you can't that's fine, they understand. One is for Briones and the other is for a member that already has a ring but his son is going on a mission and he wants to give him it. Just let me know. Thanks!

Well this week was better. We have some good people that are progressing. We thought we might be able  to baptize one this week but we didn't.... I think we bugged her too much and I don't know if she wants anything  to do with us now... :( We still have some other great people we are teaching this week. One is Abril.  Sheis a 18 year old girl that we've been teaching.  We  put a goal down for her , hopefully that will happen. We also have another guy that is a singer and sings in a family restaurant. He is really nice. Really a cool guy and he's been super excited to go to church and he  loves to hear us sing hymns haha! Actually he says that we sing well!! That's really weird!  I really love the hymns in Spanish. They are fun and they bring the spirit to the lesson so fast.  So he might get baptized this week too. We will see..... but this other family of 4 we found they were so ready to get baptized  this week but... they aren't married!! (that's really common here in Mexico) The man isn't divorced from his other relationship and he also has some other legal problems to take care of so we will see what happens.  But we were  sad that they won't be able to get baptized this week. They come to church and they come all by themselves.  So... its tough, but the Lord will bless them, I know that If they want to get baptized, He will help them get baptized.

So thats what's happening here. Sorry I sucked at taking pictures this week. I will do better next week but I got nothing to send. Thanks for everything and I love you all soooooo freaking much!  You all are the best. BEST FAMILY EVER!  Love you all!

Elder Sean Larson

June 6, 2011

Our Ward Mission Leader making tacos

Eating Tacos

Elder Briones

Elder Aguilar

Family,

So this 1st week  of the change has gone  alright, I guess.  We didn't have a whole lot of work most of the week. We have been searching and looking for the people and we would make appointments, but nobody would be there when we would  go by.  So it was kinda tough, and funny because I kept telling my new comp how cool this ward is and how much they help and well... he really wasn't too impressed. haha.  Finally on Saturday we went to a lot of appointments and we actually had some people at home. There was a family of 4 that we invited to church and they said "yes" and then... they actually came to the church! It was pretty cool.  I realize that the Lord never leaves us behind.  We just have to keep on working faithfully and diligently and he will send us success.  I love the Lord and all the blessings we have had in this mission. I really am growing so much and learning so much. I can't believe I did not  take the church as seriously as I should have.  I realize now, that it is the most important thing in my life.  And this mission is the best decision i have made!  Like I have said before, maybe it's not the best 2 years of my life, but it's the best 2 years FOR  my life.  Its amazing how much one can learn just from trusting and working for the Lord.

The new missionaries we got are good, but unfortunately.... every one has been getting SICK.  Man we started out with 20 missionaries and now we only have 16. Basically we don't have missionaries in 2 areas and that is really bad.  I can't believe it, but 2 elders in this zone got kidney stones. I think that is because they aren't drinking a whole lot of water. I am drinking water but I want to drink more now! haha.  And another elder got chicken pox  (i still haven't gotten that! ahhh!)  So I am trying to stay away from him haha.  (I had the vaccination right?).  It's tough now that people are sick.  That means we don't baptize as much too.  I don't remember if I told you but the last month we baptized 319 people in our mission! Thats  a record here! Usually the Vera Cruz mission beats us here in Mexico City but this time we won.  Of course it's not a competition! It's just cool to see success like that. It also means we have set a pretty high standard. So hopefully we do well this month.  

Elder Briones is really cool. He is a lot  funnier and not as serious as Aguilar. He is from Guadalajara and really is a smart kid. He went to school here at the Benemerito which is the church's high school in Mexico.  It's such a neat school and every time I hear more about it, it makes me want to study at BYU. But I am not really sure  because I still dont know what I want to do. haha You guys need to help me with that! I cant believe that there are only 8 months left in my mission. It's going by really really fast.  I know that I will miss this mission a lot. I will be very sad that last day but.... then of course, happy to see you all.  

Well.... that is it. i love you guys sooo much and I hope everything is well there.  I realize that  our family keeps growing and there are a lot more realtives that I don't know.  Man it's going to be soooo weird to come home to a whole bunch of new babies! haha. Thanks guys sooo much and I love every single one of you!

HASTA LA VISTA! 

Elder $ean Larson

Torres Mora family at the visitors center

Torres Mora family

May 30, 2011

 New Comp...Elder Briones,  Elder Walk and I 

Lorina Olvera's baptism

Family,

I am sooo sorry, but I really don't have a lot of time to write.  I just want to tell you that I am still here with my new comp Elder Briones. He is  Mexican but looks like an american and speaks English haha. But he is awesome, so he will be great.  And yup...Elder Aguilar just left. He was great  and yes, we worked everyday...but I do have to admit, we "died" one day which was yesterday. Haha really he just wanted to say goodbye to the people that we only just baptized haha.  But dont worry we are going to work again. ummmm Elder Walk from Huntington Beach is here in this zone. He knows Bob and BJ so tell them I will take good care of him. We had a baptism yesterday. Her name is Lorena Olvera. She is the mom of Fernanda and the aunt of Oliver. She is really excited. I am sorry but i gotta go. i love you all soooooooo much and will talk to you again. Thanks for ALL the letters ! NOS VEMOS!

Olvera family

Happy Birthday to me!

My birthday cake....

My Birthday cake...on my face!

May 23, 2011

Eduardo's baptism!

Hello! My Dear Phamyly,

So this is the last week of the transfer and Elder Aguilar is going home! I am pretty  sure I am going to stay here another transfer and I am totally fine with that!  I love this ward, but we definitley need to find more new people to teach and BAPTIZE!  We are kinda running out I guess you could say.  So we are going to look for some "newbies" this week.

We had 2 baptisms this week!!  Whoo hooo! Eduardo Torres got baptized! He is the dad of the Torres Mora family. He is still smoking some but I am pretty sure he will do better because now he feels more committed. We are going to check up on them tomorrow. But now we baptized alll the family! Whoo hoo! Now they can put the temple as their next goal. They are such a cool family! I am sure they will grow strong in the church.  I know they have challenges but the church and this ward will really help them out!

The other baptism was Oliver Olvera. He is the nephew of the Fernanda Olvera who we baptized a little while ago. So this is the other family we are focusing on trying to complete.  The mom already wants to get baptized but she can't go to church because she works every Sunday and she can't quit her job because she is the one supporting all the family.  It's hard here in Mexico to find another job when you are older and there are SO many people wanting to work at  the same thing. We are going to talk with the bishop about that.

The conference with Elder Oaks was really cool! He is such an amazing man! He and his wife talked to us. (did you know he got remarried?) It was pretty short cuz he is doing so many other conferences here. By the way he doesn't speak Spanish so he had a translator.  It was way cool. He talks so powerfully but he is really funny too.  I am glad that the apostles of Christ aren't always sooo serious haha. He really talked about some cool things. I could tell you all about what he said most of it were things that we have heard before....." repetition is the best teacher!!! " (Brother Steele Larson haha.) He talked about how we are all insturments (he used a pen as an example)  in the Lords hands and we are to function correctly and be ready to work 24 7 (even on pday)  He told us we should write the Lords message and not another (like talking about other worldly things like sports and stuff) It was great and I learned a lot of personal things.  This time I really focused on how I felt and the thoughts I had.   Things that would just come  into mind even if he wasn't talking about that subject. I realized how I could help myself and my zone here. It was really a cool experience. I love my  mission and ALL of my leaders in the church. From an apostle... to a counselor in a YSA ward :) haha!!!  I love it all.  And it makes me  much more excited to receive future callings and be able help the people I love!  Plus, I  got to shake Elder Oaks hand... and he said he liked my Mexico pin! (the one that mom sent me) hahaha. I know that isnt much, but man...It was an apostle.....  I absolutely loved it. He is such a wonderful man.

I will let you know what happens this week and I will send pics the next time. I hope everyone is doing great!  I love you all! Oh and thanks for wishing me a Happy Birthday! love you all!

Elder $ean Larson

Conference with Elder Oakes

Fellow missionaries and Elder Bylund

May 16, 2011

Helping out our mission leader here with the "tacos del pastor".
He is really awesome and sells tacos in the street

Dear family,

Well... uh..... really I don't know what to talk about haha. No there are a few things to talk about but  this was really kind of a  slow week.  Sadly, we weren't able baptize this week. It stinks because our goal set by the President is  to baptize every week this month but oh well.... But we should be able to baptize Torres Mora's dad  next week.  We had a cool lesson witht the Family and dad. He is the one that is trying to quit smoking and we got permission to baptize him next week from the President.  So he  set the date for Sunday.  He is making some new goals so he can drop smoking, but it sure is hard for him and the family.  It's tough too beause the family tries to help but he gets mad when they try to tell him to stop.  But we have a lot of faith that he can do it and the members here are really helping us out a lot.  

We may also be able to baptize another young woman that is really interested in everything we are teaching. I think we will invite her to be baptized this week.  She is awesome!! Her name is Karen Ponce.   It was real random, but one day she told us that she wanted to listen to us... so we taught her!  We teach her outside where she sells bread and stuff. It's really cool. She gets really excited and she really understands the truthfulness of what we are teaching.  So we will see with what happens with her.  There is also a chance that we will be able to baptize a  young man named Oliver. He is  the nephew of Fernanda who we baptized about a few weeks ago.  

Unfortunately the zone is off too. I dont know why, but we thought we were going to be able baptize 10 investigators this week.  Instead, we only baptized 2 people in the whole zone. (and that is bad for Mexico) but we will do better.  I am going to try and be more obedient and focus on what the Elders need in the this zone and what I can do to help them out. 

The good news is that..... ELDER OAKS IS COMING! Yup, this week is the big week. This Wednesday he will come just to talk to us in this mission.  We are going to fast to get ready because we are giong to learn a lot!!  We are so excited!! I will let you know how it goes. I am sure it will be amazing! :D

The other good news is, ITS BRY'S BDAY THIS WEEK! haha Man he is sooooooooo old. haha.  But I am really proud of him. Bry, I am sending your letter tomorrow. Sorry it won't get there on time, but I hope you like it. I am so happy for you and Bre and your new bambino and I hope its a fun birthday this year! :D

That's it. I don't know what else  to tell you.  Sorry I don't have any new pics this week. I will get some more though... that is for sure. (maybe with Elder Oaks!)  I love you all sooooo much and can't wait to to talk to you all again. (at christmas!! ha ha)  Thanks! Peace Out!

Elder $. Larson

 Lalos baptism with his family (without dad)

 Baptism of Jesus Delgado

May 9, 2011

Mother's Day iChat!

Hi family...

Well it sure was great to talk to you all yesterday.  I loved how we could actually see each other, that was really cool.  I really enjoyed seeing everyone and seeing the freaking cute nieces and nephews.  It was soo cool and I am so excited for dad and his new calling and for the next nephew/niece to come!  I  think the new young single adults ward is going to be awesome.  Dad you will do so great!  Sure dad you may be old but you still act like a kid haha.  Thanks so much everyone.

Well.... I  don't know what else to tell you now, haha. I mean, sure after talking to everyone, I am thinking about home but I am not trunky!  I guess I can't avoid thinking about it a little this month because  my comp is going home. I'm excited about the new ward with dad, Bre is pregnant, my birthday is this month and just a bunch of stuff like that, but it's not bad!  I think Blake understands what I am talking about it.  I love the mission and my comp told me the other day that he was actually really nervous about going back, and it's true. I think I would be really nervous after being a missionary for 2 years. It's a weird change,  but it will be really cool.  Don't worry about writing stuff about home. I  want to know what's up and what is everyone doing. So ya feeel free to tell me. ok? ç

The family that we were with last night (my converts) well.... now the dad is the only one that needs to be baptized but he is still smoking. The bishop talked to us yesterday and he said we could baptize him if we wanted to because he feels like he would get more help after from the ward and an addiction group that is here in the stake. Sooo.... we checked with the President here and he said that is alright!  Cool! So we will finally baptize allllll the family! Whoooo hooo! I think he will get baptized this week.  It will be really neat, he really wants to get baptized. So we are excited! That means I will have been here to be able to baptize all of this family which is a really neat experience. I am really happy for this family and the decisions they have made. 

Well... there's nothing else for now.  Thanks so much and I love you guys so much! Hope everyone has fun and is happy! Love you all and miss you all!

Elder $ean Larson

Our "Mother's Day" iChat with Sean!!