a super week and a HILARIOUS SUNDAY

so i´ll start with the good week. We had zone conference this week so we all got our testimonies and ambitions kicked up a notch which was great. Our super investigator passed his special interview with the president so he´s getting baptized this week. Also our super investigador (his name is Ender Pereyra) pulled a super obedient this week. I was eating lunch saturday (rice, and cow stomach) and wondering what miracle i was going to get to see today. Well it didnt snow like i was hoping the miracle would be so i kept looking. We passed by a members house a few hours later to use their bathroom (yours truly has been digesting his food really fast if you know what i mean) and Ender was there because he is good friends with the member, references are great by the way. Well after i used the bathroom and flushed it down with a bucket of water we asked Ender how he was going with his new job. He had told us he got a job finally BUT like always our investigadors get jobs that makes them work on Sundays in the mornings from 9 to 12, a problem. Well he told us he didnt have a job which made us worried because he told us he had one. When we asked him why he told us because he didnt acept the job because if he worked on sundays he couldnt get baptized and then he couldnt go to the temple in one year..... i almost had to use the bathroom again i was so happy. Needless to say i was pretty pleased with the miracle and the faith God gave this humble child of
His.
Hiliarious Sunday time. Well this sunday el loco del barrio went to church. A harmless crazy guy who always talks to us in the street decided he would actually listen to our invitation that we give to everyone and walked in to church just after sacrament meeting. Well the members were pretty surprised and so was i. He dresses normal but he has his short sleeves rolled up always and he told me why sunday. Well after gospel principles he talked to me and my comp for 15 mins and told us about how he is crazy and how he goes to the catholic church always to talk to the bishop there but he doesnt want to talk to him. He told us he just wants to learn how to wrtie poetry and sing and dance like John Travolta in Grease, especialy John Travolta because when he was waiting to talk to the Catholic Bishop one of the nuns told him he looks like John Travolta and THAT is why he rolls up his short sleeves. Well he asked what we could do to help him talk to the catholic bishop and he was really sad when i told him i didnt know him personally BUT to cheer him up me and Elder Jaliri wrote a letter of recomendation to the Good Bishop that he could show him the next time he goes. Dont worry we didnt sign our names or write the churchs name just that he is a child of God and needs help (i was tempted to write ¨dear holy bishop, could you please teach our friend to write poetry and sing and dance like John Travolta, we are busy baptizing all the people who have found the truth.¨ but i didnt). he was happy with the note and went right away to the catherdaral down town. So funny. But as we were chuckling i realized what we really wrote was true,that he is a child of God and needs help so i called him back real quick and taught him how to pray and then let him go bother the his Holiness of SAnta marta. SO many adventures as a missionary and i love it.
Thanks for you love and prayers
Elder Larson

Feliz dia de la Virgen SANTISSIMA!!!

it was good to hear from you all. Dad i love the ward temple goal, here we have our little chant we say¨¿para que bautizamos? En un ano en el Templo, con nombre de sus antepasados?¨im sure you can figure it out. To go to the temple here is a bit more of a challenge (a lot). So we missionaries are working hard to baptize more families who want to pay tithing so they can get a temple here in the coast. The comp i have now is the one i had before Elder Jaliri. They switched us for like 4 days and then back again, kinda silly but in el ejercito de Dios you just smile and contact. But its good because he is a great missioary. Kinda clumsly but really humble and i learn alot from him. we have to buy bags of water to drink and he always puts them in the mini fridge wrong and they spill all over the floor, so we mop alot but its with expensive (for a missionary) water. There was a BIG catholic party the 16 El Dia de La Virgen del Carmen. How do they celebrate? just like everyother holiday, music, beer , and cheap fireworks. In front of the house a bunch of taxis and then buses and then semis went past honking horns with virgens on top. They also were selling shirts with the virgen on them and i was going to buy one but elder

Jaliri talked me out of it.... it was a good idea.

Also we went and took pictures kinda close to the beach which was scary. The picture with the big soccer player is a local of Santa Marta named Pebe and he played soccer from the 70´s to the 90´s and is super famous. A missionary here baptized his cousin and it got in the newspapers.

thanks for your love and prayers
Elder Larson

compañero nuevo

so my new comp is Elder Murcia from Leticia is the south of colombia. He
tells me its not more dangerous than here but its in the south of colombia
in the jungle, it is. He is finishing his mission here this transfer so
thats fun, someone has got to be dying elders compaions and it might as well
be me so i get the blessings for it. being in Nauvoo sounds super cool
especially going through the temple, i miss that more than i thought i
would. Being in the street all day everyday really makes me realize i grew
up in a pretty temptacion free environment. here in the happy streets of
santa marta you can find ways to break all 10 commandments in about 10 mins
if you wanted. But its a good place, they took out 2 more missionarys so
here in the city are only 12 missionarys (6 of them are in my district).
They arent many of us here in this city of half a million but thats good
because there never are excuses to not contact. Makes Jacob5:7 mean more.
There have been firworks going off at random moments because it is the dia
de la virgen del Carmen the protectora SANTISIMA de motor cycle drivers so
its a party. Also the evangelicos in the barrio had a big party thing in
the street for 3 nights straight complete with chanting and drums and
dancing and a guy who would blow a rams horn. Then the preacher likes to
get up and talk about how bad the USA is so that people wont talk to me (the
Lord prepared 2 of his neighbors to find the truth and i was able to help
them). all in all ive been really greatful for the TRUTH these past weeks
and to know the truth not by all of your wonderful testimonys and examples
and prayers (they sure help thats for sure) but becasue God cared enough
about me to give me one when i asked Him. Ive been feeling really happy
with the people these last couple weeks and the Lord has blessed me to be
more loving of them and more saddened by their weaknesses/ sins. And im
really happy to have latino comps again!!
Thanks for your love and letters keep saying thanks to eachother (we just
had to teach that to the family Vasquez because the wife didnt know how)
Love
Elder Larson

p.s. mom how are the other missionarys doing

p.p.s. DAd you forgot to send a scripture, i like them, so heres one for you
2 Cor. 12:1-3 and then DyC 131, arent you happy you make it up there!!

no one threw rocks while i whistled

So 4th of July is not celebrated in Colombia but NEVER FEAR i keep the spirit. I read D&C 101:88 (think thats it) and 1 nephi 13 about the formation of America for personal study (elder Jaliri didnt like the sharing time because i couldnt hide how proud i was very well). Also i wore blue pants and a red tie to compliment the everyday white (more off white) shirt. ANd i whislted God bless america and other patriotic songs all day and sang the anthem, all four verses, for the lady who makes us dinner. I´m glad i was there to see dad get set apart and im super happy that your going to have people come over. Thats one thing that you can do is just let the invest come over and be friends to them. As misioneros we dont expect the members to be BFF´s at first sight with the investç.just be interested in them. Also talk about how NORMAL you are,like that you listen to normal music and watch TV and you have friends and read books. Lots of my investigadores think all mormons are like the missionaries so at first they arent too pumped up to get dunked and burned (thats want we call baptism and confirmation here). Dad is going to be so great at this i know it. You´re all going to see alot of miracles because one thing is sure it that those who help others make their first steps to know God get to feel the Spirit that the Lord is pouring on the investigadores. I´m so excited that you get to play a more involved role in this wonderful work and wonder than im in all the time. Needless to say with the 4th of July and thinking about all the i´ve been given i´m super blessed and was almost upset that the Lord has blessed us so much when there are so many people here who just need to know who God really is. But then i remebered that blessings dont come from a limited source so i´m trucking away to get some more Colombians more blessed than i am. Thanks for the love and prayers.
Elder Larson

short but HAPPY

hey so sorry this is so short, internet problems i wont waste time esplaing. But we had cambios i´m staying here which is great because we have some good families. Pray for the familia Vasquez that they will learn how to forgive and want to get married. They are a family of 7 five kids and the mom and dad. Real humble and they need the gospel so bad. Alot of marriage problems that need to get resolved so thats where the Spirit comes in cuz i´ve never been married. We taught read and pray together 4 days ago and its amazing to see the change in them. WE are also using the familia Alvarez to get them excited which is completely AWESOME teaching with our converts. My comp is Elder Jaliri from Dacna Peru and is really good. real quite and shy but really nice and LOVES the NBA and always wants to talk about tim duncan. We had two baptisms this last saturday which was great, they were so happy to get baptized and complete the requirments to be born into the kingdom of heaven (moses 6:59 or 60 dont remember but its around there). Sorry its so short but thats the way it is sometimes here in the service of the Lord.
Love ya lots!!
Elder Larson