12.27.10

Mom,
Hey it was so good to talk to you all and to hear your voices. It's hard to believe that this was my last Christmas phone call, sometimes it feels like serving a mission just doesn't end. On Friday we went
to a local orphanage and took some cookies and stuffed dolls for the kids. It was a pretty cool little place, they mostly handle babies from 0-3 so we got to play with the babies and feed them. It was
pretty cool, it's been a long time since I've fed a baby. Saturday we went to the couple's flat and exchanged gifts with each other and then we ate food. We bought a turkey and Sister Fox cooked it for us. It was good, we still have the beard, it's only about 2 1/2 inches long, not a trophy, but it did taste good! :) Sister Fox also made a couple pumpkin pies, not quite like your's mom, but it was pretty good. it's been the only one that i've had since i got here, so i enjoyed it. Sunday was good as well, some members got together and fed all four of us dinner. haha they had a bowl of chicken, cut up in chunks. I
pulled out what i thought was a drumstick, but it was hard like a bone, haha it took me a minute but i finally realized that it wasn't a drumstick, it was the head. kinda funny, but it tasted pretty good.
Today i finally got a hair cut, Elder Bakker helped me out. My hair was getting long, so now my head feels pretty light. i hope that you all have a Happy New year. Don't forget to make some good new year's goals/resolutions. I was reading Pres. Uchtdorf's talk, "of things that matter most" this morning. it was really good, it inspired me to focus on those small, simple and basic things that will help us to get
through difficult times. If we don't do the little things then the big things that we all wish to accomplish in our lives will be next to impossible. It's funny how simple and yet intracrit the gospel is. But i do know that this gospel is true and that if we will do the things that the Lord has asked us to do through his prophets, then we will be blessed. There is always a way to be obedient. Well i love you all, and i hope that you have a great week. until next year,
love
Elder Larsen

this is me pretending to kill christmas dinner. it would've been cool to slaughter a turkey with a panga ( the thing in my hands) but i think it would've made a
huge mess!

12.20.10

Thanks for the pictures that you sent. Brody looks like a cute little kid.  He'll be a tough nut with all this stuff he's going through.  I can't believe that I guessed right with the weight. So when do     they plan on releasing him from the hospital? any time soon? Well  there has been a lot of changes for me over here.  I'm now in   Kisumu, it's right at the top of Lake Victoria and it is HOT.  It feels a lot like Phoenix. I now have a white companion, Elder Herr is    his name, he's from Tucson, AZ.  He's been out for about three   months.  This is now his third transfer in the field.  I replaced his    trainer and now I'm the District Leader.  It seems like these leadership callings never end.  The people here all speak english, its amazing. I'm gonna miss all the swahili.  We had two baptisms on Saturday along with the branch christmas party.  there was a ton of new people who i don't know, but i figure that i'll learn all of     there names eventually.  We have another baptism planned for a  little bit after christmas, this area is doing really good.  there is    plenty on work to do. So for Christmas I was thinking that it would be best for me in the evening sometime, which would make it   morning for you.  Maybe about 6 or 7 my time.  I'm not sure what   time that'll be for you.  but I hope that'll work out.  I know every  body will probably be all stung out at the hospital, so don't worry about it too much, May is just around the corner.  I've been thinking a lot about service and gratitude lately.  It's an amazing feeling to give a little and help someone else out.  It seems like when we do that then all of the things that are wrong or not going right are taken away and our burdens are lifted.  And showing gratitude has a similar effect.  I'm so grateful for all that you guys back there at home have done for me and for your support and help.  Thanks again and i hope that you all have a very merry christmas!!
Love ya
Elder Larsen

12.13.10

Well my time in Arusha has hit the end, wednesday morning i'm heading to Nairobi and Thursday i should be in Kisumu.  yippeeee i'm gonna get some fresh fish!!!  I'm going to be serving with a white guy for a change, not sure how that'll be but i'm looking forward to it.  His name is Elder Herr and I'm not sure where he's from exactly.  This last week was just fantasticly spiritual.  We had three baptisms.  Nahum asked me to baptize and confirm him.  Elder Ndhlovu baptized and confirmed Neema, and Brother Chinunda baptized and i confirmed Amos Kibanda.  It's been such a joy to watch these people progress in the gospel and make it to the waters of baptism.  There has been struggles all along the way, but they all pressed forward with His help.  This last week we've been doing our best to offer any kind of service available.  we were able to cut down a tree with an axe for Japhet, Elder Ndhlovu and I had it down in about ten minutes but I was really disappointed with my soft hands.  A little bit of manual labor killed my hands and gave me blisters.  It kinda made me feel like a little girl.  So i don't know about you guys, but i'm excited for these babies to get there.  whit asked me to guess how much he'll weigh, so i'm thinkin he's gonna be about 5lbs, 11 oz.  let me know how close i get, i'm not to good with babies but who knows, maybe i'll get close...... is there a prize for the winner? haha jk  today we went to the other guys' house and had lunch.  we all brought 1/2 kg ( 1 lb ) of meat each and cooked it over charcoal. it was good.  well not sure what else to say so i better get moving, we still have to hit the store before our Pday ends and i have to pack and get all my stuff organized.  this whole moving around and living out of a suit case is no fun at all.  Well take care and have a good week!  I love you all.
Love
Elder Larsen

12.6.10

So no i haven't gotten a package yet, and if you sent macaroni then i hope the cheese is still in there.  The burgenders came up this week so if it was in the office then i would've gotten it along with any letters, but i didn't get anything.  and i'm pretty sure that Elder Lipengah would have told me that they got a package for me.  So for chistmas, i'm not sure what time we'll be talking.  cuz transfers are next week and i might get moved, so i could be in a completely different part of east africa with a new companion by the time christmas rolls around.  but maybe plan on the morning sometime and then i'll plan on the evening sometime....that otta get us close to the right time. :)  haha its funny that the tree is covered with lights.  i told my companion that we need to cut down the tree in front of the gas station near our house.  then we can set it up and have a christmas tree.  :)  but he didn't like the idea, so we won't be stealing the tree in the middle of the night.  on friday we went and dug some holes for Nahum's banana trees.  Nahum is planning on getting baptized on saturday.  he is building a house and working like crazy to get it done, so it felt good to help him. Bro. chinunda's daughter Neema should also be getting baptized this weekend. we're gonna do the interviews this week to make sure that everything is good, but i don't expect any challenges.  it's been a joy to watch and help these two progress toward baptism.  it has been a roller coaster at times, but i one thing that i've learned is that even when we hit a low spot, the roller coaster still moves forward.  and with the Lord's help, we go up.  Well take care and have a good week.  i love you all
Elder Larsen