Zack and an interesting blessing!

wow sounds fuN! sorry i didnt get to you on monday we h ad our Pday today on thanksgiving! anyway i love yall and miss ya and i hope you have a great thanksgiving! anyway i got the package thank you very much i was able to be very useful with those cookies! we had to deal with an emergence transfer this week and a couple apostate elders lost in the hills which i dont blame them, there is less up there than there is in wilton. you can google maps san andreas or murphys california and see what they have to deal with. well we had a really spiritual week this week! we got called into the hospital for the 4th time to do a blessing but this one was different. we came in and it was a girl named carol and she was not on the hospital records when we called and so we were freaked out because we had a voicemail of her on the phone and we thought its one of those ghost stories or she is in a coma and nobody knows her name and we will have to come and bless her back to life or something. turns out no such luck. we found her but when we walked into the room it was hallowed for sure there was such a strong spirit. the first thing she said is me and my son need to join your church... we dont have anything and dont want anything from the church other than my sons safety. i have seen the church in action and i know that they are the closest to christ. my son is really my grandson but i have full custody of him and his mom is a drug addict going to jail again. i cant ahve him in this situation. im going to die soon. (she has cancer and COPD) she said i wont live probably more than 2 months but please make sure my son is taken care of and that he is safe and can grow up to be a good boy. its was so crazy i was speachless i didnt even know what to say. i couldnt say anything other than what seemed to me missionary cliches about how christ will help her and we will too. it was crazy and a very real experience in the very importance of my calling as a missionary. people are truly relying on me to help them. the only thing she asked of the church was to take care of her son and give her a ride to church. she was so sincier. i went down to the jaw doc because my jaw has been straight up killing me even with the meds and splint and everything he said we may have to go to joint injections for pain andi dont want that :( so im trying another way but hopefully it works anything but those injections haha! i think my jaw has seen better days. tell jason im thinking of nursing school as well i was thinking about med-evac rescue for the civilian military but i think ill settle for firefighter nurse :) :) what can i say great minds think alike only ill be a nurse and a firefighter :) well i have noticed something about lodi, its pretty much utah only its not mormon churches on every corner its 7th day adventest THE RIVAL! we went down one street and counted 4 on the same small street. there is at least two opposing churches on every street and our most common reply is i am comfortable with my church family. our reply is we are teaching about gods church family haha :) but thats only when im really upset and not feeling charitable. i have come to a new saying i like to follow. "come what may and love it" - joseph B worthlin he is a great speaker and i like that because there are a ton of empty doors here. we as a zone are doing amazing this month we have baptized more tahn any other zone and our work is higher than the other zones. same story for december with 21 investigators committed to be baptized we have 3 that are committed to it and we are excited! its not really a measure of mission success but it is a big motivator. well a big shock we got a call from president and he told my comp that his gpa had passed away and that will be interesting to deal with im trying to be there for him without really being overbearing on him. in those situations there is a lot of wrong things you can say and not a lot of right ones. i will jsut be kind to him as best i can. well thats pretty much the week! when is the house selling? i love the cookies and the lettetrs i love yall muchly and hope you have the best thanksgiving evaaarrr!!!!!!!!! I LOVE MASH! well love you all and bye bye!!

New missionaries in Jeremys Zone!

Hola! Well today was transfers. For the most part our zone has really been buffed up. I've been drained these last few weeks but I look forward to this new transfer with some new faces. I think things will really go well and life is going to be good. As for the Q's you asked I think that I'm getting released the 17th of September, but don't quote me on that. I haven't even talked to him about it being negotiable or not, I dunno. Its not something I've been dwelling on a whole lot. Do you need me to ask soon? Also for the Christmas thing.... I could definitely use a new White Shirt size 15 34/35 (slim fit fosho) (Enro is preferred) If you could send Elder Moon something like a pillow case thats homemade that would be really cool. Dymatize Elite Protein Chocolate is nice (No Casein). Something home made is always cool. Smart wool stuff is appreciated to, its cold haha If its a tie get a copper or a burnt orange paisley, those are sick. Whats up with Katie going to New York??? Errybody needs to slow down and not grow up haha I feel like a little Peter Pan would be good for all you right now. Tell Gordo I love the guy and miss him. Turkey's are funny, I love seein them fight out here, its awesome haha. Did Jason get the sauces I sent him? Also they all settled in? Did Kevin get my letter? They were all in that huge box I sent. Speaking of Massage therapist I need a small Asian woman to dance on my back haha What are the plans for thanksgiving this week? We are playin ball early early, then eating and kickin it all day, its gonna be nice. We are going over to the Farr's for dessert just cause Bro. Farr sounds like Sean Connery. You can just feel the spirit from that family to. Its easy to tell the families that really live the gospel. Thanksgiving dinner is going to be interesting. Its going to be with a great family and also 3 atheists and a physics professor. I'm getting pumped haha This last Sunday we had the Fraser's come to church, this time with all their kids! So sick, I love this family, they're going to make the greatest members of the church. They came to a baptism on Saturday, church Sunday, then we had a lesson that night. Amy has really been noticing that her life has gotten harder since she has started to investigate the church and we started to talk about how Satan is trying to get her from doing the right thing. We had another family over that helped a lot in relating to her. I was able to cause I saw it first hand right before I came out on a mission and I muffed up big time. The saying that before and after every spiritual success is a spiritual darkness is so true. The spirit was crazy strong and they will be dunked soon. I've learned so much out here about God and how he works its just crazy. This has been the greatest experience of my life. I was hurtin pretty bad when I thought about how this was my last Fall here. Keep praying for them and our other Investigators, Doss, Rose-Cole, James and Lyndsay Marck, and Noah & Kye Iverson. I love ya'll and hope you have a great week! Elder Larsen Sr.

Jeremys Zone baptising toward a "White Christmas"

YO YO, A clean garage and pit? I don't think those words think what you think they mean.... Its not POSSIBLE!!! (Two movie quotes in one comment, I'm off to a good start this week... So its been another awesome week. Sounds like things really are going well for ya'll as well. I can't believe the house is ready to go do you have any offers on the house right now? I am glad that things are moving forward, just remember the hot tub..... Is everyone outta the place or what with the Sunday night thing??? Did Kevin move out?? You may have told me, my memory has been awful lately. I've had so much goin on upstairs that I don't even know where most my stuff ends up these days. We had a great week with missionary work. We have 3 baptisms solid in December, its looking like its going to be a White Christmas. We had zone conference this last week and now I have to teach ZTM this week and we have Stake Correlation meeting.... So many meetings, so little time.. We have found a few new investigators this week as well. We are getting referrals from the ward left and right which is cool. We are meeting with a gal from Jerusalem who is very interested in the BofM because of the history. We also finally had the Fraser's make it to church which was a miracle. Its been a good week missionary work wise. I also got to go down to my last ward and baptize a gal that we found when I was in Albany and her daughter wants me to baptize her as well. It was so awesome to see all the Recent Converts and the families down there again. I love those people. Gal's name was Traci Huffstutler. She was super anti when we first ran into her but she read and prayed and it happened like it always does. Today we went to the coast and I got some crazy pictures. It was a good time. I'll try and get you some soon. Well love ya'll I look forward to the Package!! Thank you again for all your support. I love all of you very much and pray for you daily! Elder Larsen Sr.

Zack leads top Zone in his mission!

that sounds like a crazy move! the pit is organized?!? along with the garage?!?! did you get my burn marks off the wall by the door :) oopps, figured i could tell ya now that im on a mission haha :) well things are are shaping up! we now have 4 people who will be ready for baptism and 2 of them have accepted a date and the other is going today :) we are going to hopefully get a fifth one on board for december :) its hard because he is 12 and wants to join the church really bad and is very grown up but his dad is anti religion and his mom is a Scientology person but is willing to let him make his own choice. we want to bring families into the church not individuals and thats hard because there really is no such thing as a family out here. without families the support is less and activity in the church is not so high. we have been working more in the country part of our 25 miles ward span and that was at my request, i feel like im more of a small town missionary and the town of clements only has 945 people :) we cover 4 lil towns and one big one :) the work is great and things are going well as a zone we have 18 investigators who have accepted to be baptized in december which makes us leading in the mission for missionary work! its awesome! we are jsut trying to keep everyone motivated and happy and working hard and most of all OBEDIENT! thats such a big issue in our mission! elders going to movies and all kinds of stuff so we focus on how to make it an obedient zone along with a fun one! if your not having fun your not doing it right :) i love the work but it can be hard! i hate the ghetto but we have lots of people were teaching there! ill learn to love it i guess but there is only so many times i can get chewed out for "not believing in jesus christ" or "not being christain" or being a "cult" and getting flipped off before i blow up, you know my temper haha. most time i just smile and wave and they get more mad or out of the car and confront us haha :) once someone told us that before joseph smith was a prophet he was a swindler and cheated people out of money for digging for artifacts and i said WOW that is the smartest 13 year old i have ever heard of maybe thats why he was the prophet. he didnt like that just cussed at me and slammed the door haha :) im still having fun and kinda in the lead, my comp is not really a leader but we are working well together and i love being a zone leader! as for christmas i think ill jsut go with a surprise i dunno what i really want. a KAR-98 K german rifle 1945 or earlier how about that :) i like that idea haha :) just keep it at home and dont send it out haha. i love you all so much and thanks for the package, i aint got it yet but im sure it will be awesome! : love ya! and whats going on with everyone, i aint heard from anyone in the fam in a long time? not just jason but anyone thats why i asked my question that is still unanswered from my last email :) love you!

Tough times in Salem

Hello family!!! BTW I have a bday present for Jason in that box, also a letter for Kevin, if you could get those to them I would appreciate that! Things have been going great! Super super super stressful and I've been going crazy but its been good. The harder it is for me out here the more prepared I'll be when I get back haha I hope that things are going well for Jason! Things have gotta be crazy for them. That is pretty nasty that there were animal parts down there.... Peach must have been much more intense then we ever knew; or wolves just took up residence down there during the winter haha. If by Hasidic you mean the super creepy painting then we can still be cool, the wallpaper was legit! It brought the value of that house way up I thought at least. If life continues the way its been going you'll have been moved out 2 months before we get back and Kevin will be married also, I'm plannin on it ha Tell Alex I call dibs on the next batch of cookies haha Liam is just a helpful little guy. I've grown to love kids, they are just the greatest. We are working with a family right now that are the greatest. It's a PM family, the mom, Amy, just went through a divorce. The husband was keeping her from church but now she's trying to get active. 2 of her kids, Noah and Kye are on date for the 7th of December which will be cool. Those kids mean the world to me. They are the greatest family. We are going to play football with them in just a bit. They are 9 and 11 yrs old. I need to write this before I forget, change my address to 1258 Jory Hill Rd, Salem Oregon, 97306. We are working with another guy named Doss Mckinney who is on date for the 23 of this month, then another awesome family called the Frasers. If you could pray for them each night I would appreciate that. This week I've had some crazy Zone Leader stuff... Moon is getting a crash course in mission craziness... I've had to go on a 5 day split with a companionship cause they couldn't get along. So when it ended we hoped that we would have helped them to start to apply a few ways they could get a long but it didn't work. So they called me up, I went over and this is what I saw: The shower curtain was hanging in the kitchen, the bathtub was running so one of them could "baptize a squirrel", the apartment was wrecked, and one of them had to wash his sheets cause the other said he did some nasty stuff to it.... I had a good 3hr convo with them.... I had a feeling like this is how you must have felt about me sometimes haha You give great advice, then they take a dump on you and do the craziest things in the world.... I've learned a lot about how to deal with bullcrap this transfer cause there has been a ton of it. This quote has given me a lot of comfort "BEFORE and AFTER every spiritual success is a spiritual darkness" Jefferey R. Holland. This has been a dark transfer.. I've had so much crap thrown at me its just been crazy. It's taught me to have more meaningful prayer though. I've learned more then ever before but its been nuts. Well I love you! Tell Kevin to write me response to my letter and tell Jason I'm in the process of writing him one now. I love ya padre! Elder Larsen Sr

Zack in Lodi..already 2 baptisms!

i dunno if i got the whole email but i hope so. anyway sounds like a lot of work. so my for sure release date is aug 28th 2014. i dont know if i can extend my mission any longer than it is. president doesnt like to extend missions and also we will be switching mission presidents in july so it will be kinda messy in august. we will see, see if jeremy can get a decrease in his mission time. well sounds like the move is going smoothly. i figured there would be dead something in the pit thats why we call it the pit. make sure all the stuff we have stored away in the room are taken care of well and non are lost because most of that stuff is what im taking to college which since its boxed up the transition will go a lil faster :) Lodi is so different, we have over 350 members but only about 100 to 125 show up in a week. the ward is really old so not a ton of support but at least our ward mission leader is solid, its the first ward mission leader that has actually done his job with the missionaries its great! i dont really like being in ghetto, i thought it was country but thats our neighbors the galt wards. ghetto makes me sad because i love these people, even though i dont know them but i want to help them so bad but they just want to live like this. in the last week i have rejected a heroine dealer, helped an inv return a stolen car, almost got dosed by shaking hands with someone that had wet acid (the drug) on thier hand and gone to the hospital to give a blessing and given 2 other blessings. on top of that lots of meetings. i love being a zone leader because its a position to help the missionaries! i love the meetings because i feel more involved in the mission goals and trainings. Lodi will take some getting use to thats all it is. i know i get called to where i get called to where i need to be. i love the mission and we still have work, we have 2 invs with a baptismal date and all is well. i feel like i need to be better at missionary work because now im a zone leader. i love the mission and im learning a lot. my comp is not really training me to be a zone leader, in fact he looks to me to make choices and i jsut got here so its kinda tough because i dont know whats going on haha! thats how you learn though, just go out and do it. well i love you all so much and i love the family talk to yall next week!

Zack moves to Lodi and is a ZL!!

well congrats to jason! thats awesome that he is now hitched. glad things are working out! hopefully things will keep going well :) thanks for the things you haev sent me in the past i appriciate it! glad you liked the cowboy vids :) and you got me he is brother hererra he is a less active family that we fellowshipped back into church and now him and his family are SEALED! its awesome! i love that guy he has ADHD and it shows with his job he keeps changing every 5 years its a new career but its working out for him! he is such a great guy! he took us doorbell ditching which was fun :) anyway i aint heard from kev in a while whats he doing where is he moving is he dating? i dont hear from anyone really anymore haha. so whats up? is everything going ok because usually when i dont hear from people i get this feeling that something is a miss and not going right. hey have you seen the new movie ephraims rescue? its good you should buy it! it was a huge impact on me and my mission. anyway this week we were blessed to see 2 baptisms :) im also being transferred :( im going to be a zone leader in the Lodi area. still in the country which is good but sad to leave :( we ended on a good note. we built a stair case i learned how to use a bobcat and lifted the stairs on a members truck and we drove it down to the area where i poured and mixed concrete and built a foundation for a mobile home :) all is well though! i have been excited the whole time i was in wilton and im sure thats where we will spend the most time when you pick me up! i love the area! i dunno about moving it to the 14th because that's not a transfer for us the next one is in October. but i will see what i can do if he can move his down a lil bit that would be good and then i could move it a couple days up and we could get closer. ill figure out more in a bit. love you all so much and i dig the shard of narcile pic :) so the name of the converts are brandy and Sylvia Giordano! i don't know exactly when they are coming ill keep you posted :) ill give them your number :) anyway they are so cool! i love ya! and i hope that all is well! alex is a stud i always new he would be! :)well bye!!

"White Christmas" going strong in Oregon!

I have had an insane week. To be honest though to think about all of the things you all had to do this week I bet you have had a crazier one. I will have a letter to Jason this week. Tell him how much I love him and congrats for them both. Where is the Honeymoon? Was Ammon Jason's best man? where they headed for the HM??? I hope ya'll got a lot of video for me to watch... Both yours padre and Jasons weddings better be fully taped. I've been on a week long exchange with an Elder who has been struggling with his companion for about 9 weeks. It was rough at first. He just wasn't a happy guy about anything. Luckily throughout the week things started to get a bit better. I had several long talks with him about a lot of things and I think he's going to be on the right path again. It was definitely a life drainer for a bit. I'm glad to be back with Moon again. This coming week is going to be crazy also. Its just not slowing down here at all, but its a good thing. White Christmas is in full tilt in the mission now. Life is good and this is going by way to quickly. I miss ya'll and hope all is well at home. Sorry for the shorty but its all I got time for right now. Love ya and have a great week! Elder Larsen Sr.