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