Big Jo

Dear Family,

It is so wonderful to receive all your thoughts and words of encouragement in your emails. This week was a really good one with some challenges. We have been trying to get Mia and her Family and Jannett and her family to make it to church. They both didn't make it this week but one of our investigators did. Big Jo did. She sat with us and even though she didn't quite understand what was going on she had fun socializing with all the members. As Jo was walking up the church building she grabbed Elder Ryan Larson's hand and held it. When I saw the situation I laughed and Elder R. Larson was just feeling all awkward. We came to the conclusion that 83 year old ladies know that they can get away with stuff like that. What can we do.

We had an amazing experience with Jeff this week. We brought Bro. Ojukwu who is from Africa, and played College Basket ball because he is so big and tall. Jeff has been struggling with life and just want to find that peace and enjoyment of life. So we asked how he has been doing and about the Reading in the Book of Mormon. He was depressed and not reading the Book Of Mormon. Then as we talked Bro. Ojukwu share his life and conversion. Jeff is very opened minded and very honest with how he feels. He didn't feel like a story like that could happen to him with his experiences. But we all persisted and bore our hearts to him. Once we started talking about his relationship with his family he began to feel hope and at the end of the lesson we were all laughing so much and we were all filled with the love and joy of god. I love Jeff so much. He said that he would like to continue to meet with us. That was a miracle.

On Sunday we had a lot of success in finding new investigators, we also found a Alligator .............. Snapping Turtle. Jess and mom don't worry I didn't touch it. I still have all my toes and fingers. When we were in that part of the neighborhood we talked to this guy named Luis who was very open to us. He is into drugs but he is open to listening to us.

We went biking for the first time with elder Elizondo last week and he almost crashed about 5 times. We also ran out of english planners so now I am using a Spanish planner this transfer.

Davo and Annika I am so proud of all the choices that you are making. I always wished that I could've grown up where I had to be the example to others in living the gospel. Davo you are a great missionary already.You are a great example to me of the courage. It takes courage and faith to share with your friend something that can change their life for ever.

Kris here some of the answers to your questions.
I do get to teach the Plan of Salvation A lot. We actually just finished teaching Mia the Plan of Salvation. She really likes it. and I have gained a great knowledge and testimony of it as i have studied and taught it.
Most of the people we run into are catholics or Baptist so it is kind of hard to get them to listen passed their Family traditions.
Concerning My living quarters, I live in a pretty nice apartment complex, with hundreds of people living in them. All the people in our building know or have at least talked with us a little bit. The lady down below us really likes us and she even told us one day that she had a book of Mormon and she read a little of it.
On P-Days in this area it is hard to get together with a lot of missionaries together because everything is so spread out. but we usually try to go to the stake center and play some B-Ball. I actually have gotten a lot better at it.

Well I love you all, Take care and have fun.
--
Elder Spencer Larson