Spencer's mission

Dear Annika and David

Dear Annika and David

Hey, everything is good here I don´t really need anything right now, but It is good hearing from all of you and to hear how all of you are doing. Now little bro,(David). No I am not teaching anybody right now, but I am practicing, and I´m sorry buddy I can´t come play with you this summer. I am eating a lot of beans and rice, meat, chicken, fish, salad and trying to eat as healthy as possible. Hey Annika, I am having fun but I haven´t seen any snakes, spiders or crazy bugs yet or been in the jungle. I have made some friends, and no the cafeteria isn´t very big. ´Eu Amor você´ is how you say I love you in Portuguese. Thanks for your letter. The World Cup has been crazy here. Times up . love you guys.

-Love Elder Stephen Larson

He is talking to my little brother and sister, Annika and David if you didn't know. Here are some pictures of them. (I like to show them off because they are just too cute to not show off!)

This was Halloween

This is a before going to school pic

This was at a family picnic

funeral service

Hey Mom,

I wrote you a letter this week so that is probably why I didn't write a lot last week. It seems like the days just get more mushed together and I hardly have any time to write letters anymore. Luckily in the mornings I have a little window of space that I can write letters.

I got the package that you all sent and I loved it. It was just what I needed at that moment in my life. This second transfer is something else, its almost like the beginning of another mission. I guess the Lord is preparing me for something down the road.

Today I had the opportunity to be a part of a funeral service. Sister Freeman, an old lady in the wards husband just past away this last week. We were able to say goodbye to him before he died, which was nice. In the funeral service I lead the music. I was way nervous because the service was held in the Catholic chapel and there were people of all kinds of faiths there. Bob the man who passed away was himself a strong Baptist. It reminded me of the time when Grandpa Rodabough died. I wish that I wasn't so scared to go see him while he was passing away. Anyway Sister Freeman really appreciated that I lead the music and she is doing just fine. In fact after the service we were talking with her and she was telling jokes and laughing with us. She said something that I will never forget. She said that when we talk, meaning us missionaries, it doesn't matter what we say because what we are saying is what Heavenly Father is saying. We are speaking Gods words. It hit me deep down in my heart that what she said was true. Then she said that for those who don't listen, well God doesn't want them in his church......... yet. Sister Freeman is a marvelous lady and I shared with her the experience when Grandpa Rodabough passed away. She said that she wishes the best for me and for Grandma Rodabough. She also asked me to say hi to you Grandma if you happen to read this.

It was a good week and I have grown alot since you have last seen or heard from me. I thought about what Bishop Belnap said to me before I left. He said, " Go 100 percent, but that doesn't mean that you can't have some fun with it." It is all about how I look at it and how I want to react to things on my mission.

I hope that I get back before the whole house falls down so I can at least help you move everything out. It is killing me that I can't help you all the way out here. However I have been praying for you a lot so the lord will look after you. I hope things continue to be better for you Mom. I miss you and I love you so much. I will be better about writing to you.

-Elder Spencer D. Larson

P.S If you can get me more of that hair paste stuff from Aunt Nita that would be so great. If not, then that's alright too.

Hey Family and Friends

Hey Family and Friends,
I am still doing good. I´m having fun joking around with my District. Our District have been playing jokes on each other, mostly with people's alarm clocks. Yesterday we played volleyball with another District and it was way fun. We missed out on the Temple last week because we had to go to the Federal Police for our visas. So that wasn´t fun. Other than that we go to the Temple every week on P-day. We have Brazilians staying in our room and they think I´ve been doing steroids because they think I look big, but I told them that I don´t take steroids. I think they're funny guys, they want to learn English really bad. So that's basically it everything else has been the same, really busy, feeling the spirit, learning the language for 8 hours a day, working out during gym, pushing myself to be better, reading and studying the scriptures and Preach My Gospel, and learning a lot through my comp, and having fun with my District. And Grandma, don´t worry, I´m laughing with them too. The Gospel blesses peoples' lives, the Book of Mormon is the word of God and it will lead us to Eternal Life. May the Lord bless you all, I love you and pray for you.
Sincerely Elder Stephen Larson.

sorry Im not there to take care of you while you are sick

Hi Mom,

That is too bad that I am not there to take care of you while you are sick. I hope you feel better soon. Thanks for getting those books together I was talking with my companion and the Mexicans(Spanish Elders) and I thought that it would be good to start reading.
Renan and Kris visited you? Aw, I am so jealous. Tell them Hi for me when they come over. Renan lost 40 lbs that is awesome, I knew he could do it. I still can't gain any weight out here, and I get fed a lot. Mostly by Mexicans and Patty Mitchall.

This past week I have been giving a lot of blessings to people who are not having good health. A lot of the members in the ward get sick or need to have surgery for something. So I spend a lot of time at the hospital.

Transfer calls were this past Saturday, it was like Christmas except worse. It turns out that Elder Graham is leaving to go down south to a place called Naples and the rest of us are staying here in Tampa 1. yea!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will miss Elder Graham a lot. He is from Hawaii, so when my two years are up we need to go visit him, OK? he he. Anyway I am happy that I am staying so that I can keep working with the people that I have gotten to know.

I am getting better and better at this mission stuff as the weeks pass by. I always thought of a mission as a strict time where you just teach and tract like robots and somehow have fun. It is totally different. It is not fun all the time just like life always is but we learn to have fun in our own silly ways. Yesterday and this morning I got into wrestling matches with Elder Welch and Elder Graham. I never laughed so hard in my life, because they know that I am very ticklish. Times like that are so much fun on the mission.

I am having a very good time here and we have baptized and mainly helped people learn how to be as happy as you ever could be. I love it. Thanks for your emails and love. I will send pictures in my next email of all the fun times I have been having. I love you Mom.

-Elder Spencer Larson

p.s. Give Renan a good smack for me OK? and say hi to Liz and the rest of my friends if you see them.

Dear Dad and Kris

Thanks for sending all the letters and emails. It just makes my day a little better when I receive a letter from family and friends. I am sorry my emails have been brief and my letters are few. Just know that I am very busy doing the Lords work. And every time I am about to write to someone I get into a wrestling match with Elder Welch and Elder Graham. I love the companions that I have been with. They are so loving and fun to be with. Transfers calls came in this past Saturday and The Office Elders told us where we are going. I am going to stay here in Tampa 1 for another transfer along with Elder Welch and Elder Treseler. As for Elder Graham, my Hawaiian brother, he is going down south to a place called Naples. I am sad that he is leaving but I am very excited to be working with the same people that I have been working with for the past month.

So far for this whole transfer we have had one baptism for every week except for the first week. The people that have been baptized and confirmed are Kelly Parr, David Cucarella, Leshawn Alt, Nabi, and Kayla Hlaverty. They are doing pretty good.

I have made a lot of good friends out here, not only missionaries. My teaching is improving every week, but one thing that I have learned is that no matter how long you have been out here or how good a teacher you are, if you don't have the spirit then you are nothing. I learned this the hard way. We were teaching two black ladies, Shaquitta and Yadasha. We taught them lesson one the night before and it rocked, but lesson two wasn't as good. I felt like I was all alone in my teaching. It was painful to push through that lesson when I knew the spirit was not there helping me. One of the reasons this happened is because of the conditions that we taught in, screaming kids, tv on and off, dirty house. But I think that the main thing that was wrong is that we didn't get to know them and their situation the way we should have. When we left I felt terrible, like someone I cared for had just passed away. I learned a lot and I started listening with love to the people that I teach and the next day I taught a family with Elder Treseler and the spirit brought tears to their eyes. And we were able to set a date with them for Baptism.

This spiritual stuff really wears a person out, I have never slept so good in my life. he he. I am having fun and I love the people here in Florida . Thanks for the letter Kris I really love it and thank you for the Wendy's card, you shouldn't have. Now Elder Welch wants to go to Wendy's all the time. he he. I love you guys take care and I will write a letter back about more stuff if I am not wrestling someone.


Elder Spencer Larson

Thanks for the encouragement Dad!

Dear Dad,

I appreciate your letters. Thanks. Your letters seem to come right at the times when I need them. I was having a hard week this week. I’m not having a hard time with the work; I am having a hard time with companion/missionary rules. I am striving with all my might to be as obedient as I possibly can, but sometimes missionaries I am with come close to these boundaries. I just didn’t know how to act and it was dragging the work down. So I talked with Elder Welch about my concerns. He taught me something I will never forget. “Missionaries aren’t perfect; some will listen to the wrong music, watch TV, and break a lot of small rules. Don’t get angry with them, and argue about it. Try to meet them half way or better. Contention between companions is way worse that slightly breaking a small rule.” Then he pointed at the investigator board and said, “This is what you concentrate on. After you learn how to do this, then you start perfecting yourself by keeping the rules more strictly.”

I’m sorry if this sounds apostate, but I know that he is right. It is very destructive to the work if you have contention. After this I felt like a 50lb weight had been taken off my shoulders. This mission is not what I expected it to be, but I am learning so much.

I have a baptism in two days on the 29th for a woman named Antanella. She is awesome, we have been working with her for a whole month and we are finally here. It’s funny how when I concentrate on myself I’m miserable, but when I teach or focus on others my joy is full.

I love this work God has called me to do. I’m thankful for your hand in my life that helped me toward my mission. You know, one of the reasons I came on a mission is because of an experience with you. We were in California and we were on our way to church. You had your white truck and we were little kids. We were whining because we did not want to sing in sacrament meeting or something. We were arguing as well I think, and it was getting to you a bit so you yelled “Enough” and it was perfectly silent the rest of the way to church. Then you said sorry and encouraged us to sing. So we ended up singing the missionary song. I can still remember the feeling of the spirit when we sang. I guess I didn’t know what it was at that time, but I did know in a pure way that I wanted to be a missionary. A missionary like you.

Thanks for everything Dad. I miss you and Kris a lot. Oh and especially Annika and David. Thanks for your encouragement

I love you

Elder Spencer D Larson

Blessed with the gift of tongues

Portuguese is coming slowly; my comp can understand all the Brazilians and speaks very well. He has been blessed with the gift of tongues. The food is good, not the best, some of the other missionaries complain most of the time, but the food is ok. During gym I've been playing volleyball a lot, I am now able to spike it. My comp is from Richland, Washington and has done a lot of crazy things in his life. He’s way funny. We have 34 more days in the CTM here. I've been doing good here I feel very humbled all the time. Jess, I hope you’re having fun working. Ben, you're awesome and good job on your Eagle. I slipped three times here, twice on the stairs when they've been mopping and once today during gym in a puddle of water. Each time I’ve fallen, I fell hard and I got laughed at every time, mostly by my comp. It’s all good. The guys have given me a nickname and it is Captain Falcon.

Love

Elder Stephen Larson