Sister Larson's Blog: Week 4 – December 8, 2014

Hello my dear family and friends!

You will be happy to hear that this week has been really good. I am starting to get into the swing of things which is always super nice. Sister Bone sadly, however, has been under the weather all week which hasn't been fun for her, but she is a trooper! I luckily haven't caught anything from her. I guess all those vitamins I'm taking are paying off ;) The work is good! I am happy! And I know this Church is true and that it blesses lives!

Let's see what cool things I can tell you about this last week...

We have a darling investigator named Lesly. She is 15 years old and wants so badly to get baptized. You can see how strong her desire is and how her testimony is growing day by day. However, her parents aren't open to the idea of her getting baptized at this time in her life, but she is still choosing to do as much as she can to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She isn't able to go to seminary, but she has chosen on her own to study the seminary manual. Way to go! Lesly has such a strong desire to learn. Last time we met with her she bore her testimony to us how she knows God is her Father in Heaven. Tears came to her eyes as she tried to express the love she felt from her Father in Heaven and how much comfort she finds in knowing she is not alone. This sweet girl is also noticing blessing in her family's lives as she has started to change the way she is living her life. She told us that her parents have seemed to fight less and they seem to be more patient. I have such a testimony of the fact that the Gospel of Jesus Christ truly does bless families. Lesly is a wonderful example to me. I hope I can strive to have her same drive and desire.

So you all know how much I LOVE organizing, cleaning, and decorating... well I was able to put that to good work this week. First off, Sister Bone and I spent a whole afternoon at the library organizing our area book! For those of you who have gone on a mission you know how big of a task that is! However, once we were done with that thing it was looking good and now we will actually be able to use it. It will definitely help us be more effective and efficient with our time! One of the many blessings that come from being organized!

We also got to get to work and go to town at Sister Merecedes' apartment! Sister Merecedes is from South America and doesn't have a strong knowledge of the gospel so we have decided we want to help her understand the principles of the gospel more. So... we came up with a plan! We decided we needed to LOVE and SERVE her!!! Sneaky plan huh?! Any who, Sister Bone and I went over and met with her and her daughter Roshan and have decided that we are going to spend the month of December helping them redo their apartment. Their apartment is old and could use a little face lift ;) This week we went over three times and started the painting process. Oh my goodness! Can I just say it is already looking like a new place! The place is seriously getting a total makeover! It's crazy cool! I will have to send pictures once we are done!

So remember how I said their apartment was old, well, not only is it older, but it definitely needed a good cleaning! While we were over moving things around Sister Merecedes started SCREAMING at the top of her lungs! Next we heard her scream RAT! RAT! RAT! It totally reminded me of Mom when she see a mouse. It was kinda hilarious not gonna lie. Anyways, I had to step it up since both Sister Merecedes and Sister Bone were scared! So what did I do?! I CAUGHT IT! I trapped it under a bucket and then I slid something under the bucket so I could carry it outside. Ok so we were on the second floor so the little mouse may have gone for a little skydive experience, but I'm sure it was the time of this life ;)

Sister Merecedes is a wonderful cook. She loves making us treats while we are over there! Something kinda interesting she made us was homemade hot chocolate with fresh cheese IN it with toast on the side. She said it was a family favorite. And I have to say, it was actually very good! Who would have thought?! Fresh cheese is a very soft creamy white cheese that squeaks when you chew it. It's different, but fun!

Later this week Sister Bone and I had a wonderful experience! The elders had a referral for us and on Thursday night we went over to visit Sira. When we got to Sira's house she instantly let us in. She is from Mexico, probably in her 40's and is a single mom with a young daughter who is also a single mother. We weren't in her home for more than five minutes before she broke down to us and started sobbing.

She explained to us that her daughter and grandson had been living with her, but that her relationship with her daughter was rough and that about a month ago she told her daughter to move out. In that moment of anger, her daughter told Sira she would never see her or her grandson again. Sira cried as she told us she hasn't seen them or been able to get a hold of them since then. She explained how her heart hurt and that she knew she needed to turn to God, but instead she has found herself turning away from Him. She stopped going to her bible study group and even church became something that she didn't want to face. She explained how she knew the missionaries where an answer to her prayers. She said we were angels sent to her from God to help her feel His love for her. It was incredible! What a miracle!

It never stops amazing me how the Lord works through His children. Sister Bone and I felt so grateful that we were able to be there for Sira. She needed someone to listen to her, someone to love her, and someone to comfort her. I know God truly had Sira in mind when the elders knocked on her door. God was very aware of Sira and her needs at this time!

Since then we have met with Sira again. She has continued to open up her heart about some of the things she has had to go through in her life and she has been faced with some really hard things. But even with her trials there came a point in her life when she realized she NEEDED God!

This week we were able to share with her our message and are planning on meeting with her some more. I am so grateful to God and for the knowledge I have that He truly leads and guides His work through the Holy Ghost. I know we are truly led to the people God wants us to meet.

We also had a chance to do FHE with Sister Petersen and her three grandchildren. We go there every week and share a scripture story with them that they can act out. The more props and actions for the kids the better it is- so we always try and make a BIG production! Sister Petersen also cooked us up some amazing chili and corn bread. YUM!

Sis. Petersen's grandkids.

We also had a lot of fun teaching the Artegas three kids. We taught them how to it was important to have Jesus in their lives through a fun little paper object lesson we did with them. They ate that right up. We are hoping that if we can get through to the children maybe their parents hearts will be softened and that they will see how the gospel can bless their family.

We had dinner this week with Sister Odonely. And she is just a doll. She is probably in her 60's and is single and looking for love. While we were over at her house. She gave Sister Bone and myself this BING of a necklace to borrow because she thought we would just love wearing it! Oh my is it BIG, BOLD, AND SPARKLY! You would never see me wear that, however, I totally rocked it on Sunday at church so Sister Odonely could see me wearing it. As long as I am making someone feel good, I can put my pride aside and wear a big-o-necklace ;)

My bing necklace.

Sis. Larson and Sis. Bone

Well, I think I touched on a lot of good key points that happened this week! I hope all is well back home and that you are all getting ready for Christmas! I can't believe that is right around the corner. Speaking of Christmas I would recommend to ALL OF YOU to get on lds.org and watch the HE IS THE GIFT video clip. It is a short, but great remember what Christmas is all about.

Love and pray for you all!

Sister Larson