a unfortunatly dry weekend

well we had a great baptism all planned for this past weekend but something always shows up. the baptismal fount does not hold water so saturday night when it was all filled up and we were al happy was a false sense of happieness because when we got there domingo in the morning there was NO water. so there was no baptism. kinda sad for our investigator (and for his missionaries) but we pumped him up for this weekend so we are going to get everything ready and if we have to we will baptize him in smelly canal behind the church! sounds like thanksgiving was a good time, and im glad that BYU socked it to the utes but im so far from that train of thought that when you said football game i thought you were talking about soccer and i didnt understand why a soccer game would be the highlight of novembre for the state of utah, then i realized i was mistaken and imagened all the football players playing soccer and it was funny. The zone is did really well this week in inviting people to get baptized so thats happy, also as a zone we did about 1150 contacts which is really good. so we are getting ourselves out of the hole that we were in and in about 4 weeks there should be a goodly number of baptisms but most likely by then ill get moved to another zone that needs fixing... such is life. so far my experience here in cartagena with the missionaries, the members and myself has helped me learn alot about some things that arent the most fun to learn about such as humilty, pride, the consequences of disobidience, what happens to members when they stop progressing, what happens to wards/stakes when their leaders arent living quite like they should, and the importance of peace of consience. im glad mom said that even my brevity says something because many times ive been applying the great rule of if you cant say something nice, dont say anything at all. But i have really learned what a great reasurrance it is to be personally worthy, to do your best, to keep working even when it looks like you arent getting any results, or peace of consience. that also helps to know that when you are doing all that you can and should to recieve blessing and you arent reciving them, just be pacient and the lord will send them your way when its time. But as i said im happy with myself, with my work, and with my diligence and i know the lord will bless me for what ive been doing here in this crazy city of cartagena.
i got the package you sent and i liked the pictures and the missionaries in the house liked the mike and ikes. i didnt open the presents dont worry but im not too entrigued because mom wrote what they were on the declaration of content thing haha. mom good luck on your plans to help our family to continue to progress and migrate towards the raising sun... if you know what i mean. thanks for all your prayers and support and keep being GREAT!!!!
love
Elder larson

Carnival Pictures

the first one is what most of the youths did for the week, put up road blocks and if they dont get money paint people. they would also do this to cars and if the car didnt pay they would paint it.
2- when the misoneros did to me when they didnt want to study more, im holding the list of activities that the assitentes gave us... all of them rather boring.
3- throwing someone in a puddle of some kind of liquid
4- recyclers who got around and take scrap material and then sell it
5- day four of carnival
6 a jeep that played music really loud and drove around the block 6 times also sold bannas

PICTURES

here are some pictures of the countryside between Cartagena and Barranquilla when i was traveling to the leaders conferencia

writing you all

well here i am writing you all again. A good week of work, we had a more succesful week of inviting people to prepare to get baptized each area invited more or less 6 people so we have 36 people working on getting baptized the 19th of the nextmonth. Umm i guess ill tell you more about my comp because matthew asked. He is a little guy from chile and a really good worker. He is the youngest in his family and a bit sensitive. He likes to talk at night which is not always good because i get tired. Last night he was talking and i feel asleep listening to him talking but then he woke me up 10 mins later to tell me he tought someone was trying to get into the house. Well i went grumpily out in the bit room with the bat we have to make sure everything was fine and when i came back i was still half a asleep and mad because he woke me up so i shook my finger and him and growling told him not to wake me up anymore because i just want to sleep and i dont care if there is anyone in the house. he just laughed as i went back to sleep. thanksgiving will be fun im sure, here ill eat more rice, but to tell the truth if you all wouldnt have said anything i woul have forgotten. this week is zone conferencia so that will be exctiing. Also this weekend we have a baptism of that peruvian who came to church by himself 4 weeks ago. He is awesome and we are excited to help him out to get his mansion started in the celestial kingdom. he has progressed really quickly, which might be due to the fact that his girlfriends back in peru is mormona and for christmas she wants a mormon boyfriend but HEY its all good. also this week we had an 2 exciting incidents that are better told at home stories but il tell you one because it didnt happen to me. Two elders were taking the bus back to the house and just as they got off 3 guys with knives got on and starting robbing the bus and as when the got off the bus started to chase them (all the while full of people who were all game to chase them down) so they threw rocks at the bus and so the bus stopped and then the police started chasing them... thats as far as the missionaries saw... cool HUH!! As Pte. Howell said Cartagena is great to see... if you go to the right places. Also finally we are starting to find people who want to listen to us so we are happy campers.

What im thankful for is all you happy great gringos who make my life so blessed and put me in so much more debt to the lord. also i am thankful for a testimony that keeps me going when everything is going against it. and im thankful to know that God listens and answers prayers and that he has a plan for all of us to get back to live with him.

i love you all
Elder Larson

QUINNS CHRISTMAS WISH!

Hello all of Quinns friends and followers -

We asked Quinn what he wanted for Christmas and this is what he replied...

"hey mom i hope youhavent sent anything yet. ireally dont need a big box or anything, if i need clothes and stuff it is just easier to buy it here, also its cheaper and usually better quality than in the states! f i would also like if you get my friends to write a letter and youcould send it to me int he package and other family friends that ihavent heard about like the hicks or the boyces or the jacksons or all the great cousins aunts and uncles i have. it wouldbe funner if its handwritten but if they want they could just e-mail it to you (any of my cousins aunts and uncles can email me here). send me that and ill be happy. just send a flat box with letters and a cd and ill be happy you are alreadypaying for me to be here and that is a gift that i will be thankful for for my whole life!!
im healthy dont worry
love ya"

So if you could all help out and write him a letter it would be very much appreciated but all of us and Quinn would really enjoy it.

Send it to 1309 Richmond Place Downingtown PA 19335 and we will put them all together in one box and send it on its way! Thanks again..if you have any questions please let us know!

well im alive (november 17, 2009)

and real happy tobe out of that tiny apartment!! wellbecuase its tuesday and we lost our pday i only have20mins to write. mom i would like it if you ask aunt jalayne how much time Elder bangerter gets to write and then i´ll tell how much time i do and then you wont feel so bad. the week went by pretty slowly, i learned alot about beinga persuasive leader as i had to motivate the missionaries to study and now sleep or wrestle all day. I didnt forget about the pics from my window that im going to send to you all, they will be an enjoyable medley of painted drunks, firework toting teenagers, and water flinging latinos. At the corner of our house a big parade went by with all the people dancing and throwing flour and stuff... we didnt go see. Also what is neat is that during the carnival they have two bueaty pagents, one for senorita colombia and the other for senorita Bolivar (that is the state that im in now). Well lucky for us both of the winners are from cartagena so everyone is all pumped up here that they live in the city of the two prettiest girls in colombia so they´ve all continued to drink and throw stuff and light fireworks of at all hours. so with that we are going to go contact 50 people or so and i will enjoy it completly. im glad everyone is doing good and feeling happy. thanks for the scriptures i havent read them for awhile..... but really thanks i like it when you write me them. thanks for your words of encouragement and faith. One thing im learing here in Cartagena is that God always blesses the obidient but not always when and how we expect it.
Thanks for everything you are all SUPER great
Love
Elder Larson

fotos!