12.28.09

Well christmas was pretty good. i was able to open a package from my parents christmas morning. we visited a few members and then sister watt and elder watt fed us christmas dinner.  it was just like home, we had turkey, jello, stuffing, mash potatoes, and salad. pretty much all the normal things from home.  but overall it was a good day.  president taylor gave all the missionaries little animal carvings and a card, i got an elephant.  i also got two letters on xmas eve.  that was sweet, one from my grandma and the other was a xmas card from whit and aj. this last week we have been lining up dinner appointments with all the members.  haha its been really good, they all want to feed us and we didn't want to cook, so it worked out great.  this friday is our zone conference, we are going to go down on thursday so we can celebrate new years eve with all the elders from our zone.  we also found out that there is a cheese factory in eldoret. so we are going to stock up on cheese.  i haven't had cheese for a long time.  haha then we can make a real pizza :)

12.21.09

Merry Christmas everybody!!!

so Saturday we had four baptisms.  i performed two of them and a father baptized his two of his sons.  i think it was the best service yet. we all showed up early and played games while the tank filled up.  we were playing soccer and frizbee and i bought a little bouncy baseball thingy, so we were throwing that around. someone threw the frizbee in a tall tree.  we all thought that it was lost of good until this little kid started shimmying up the tree.  that was pretty cool.  i'm glad he didn't fall, it probably woulda killed him.  then on sunday i was asked to confirm one of the guys i baptized.... so i did it. thats always an interesting expirence. 
i can't believe christmas is this friday.  i'm excited!  the AP's said i have a package in the office, so the couples will bring it back with them on thursday.  i'm excited, i get a present on christmas now the only thing missing is a few feet of snow :) 

Casey learning to play the guitar!

The church pic is the meeting house in Sikhendu.

A pic of the baptism on saturday on 12/19/09

A gourd that he made! 

12.14.09

This week has been fun, i worked with a branch missionary till friday when my new comp got here.  the BM is a funny kid, he is President Ndungu's son, Edward Njoroge.  Elder Molotsi is my new companion, he has been serving in Arusha for the last 7 months.  he is from South Africa.  i think we will get along pretty good.  he likes to eat as much as i do.... which is all the time.  but he's a funny guy, very relaxed but always ready to share the gospel.  i think this transfer will be fun.  which is good cuz it doesn't feel like christmas at all.  no snow, no family or friends, and no lights.  but we did find out from our meat lady that the couples bought a bug turkey for us for christmas, so that'll be good.  Elder Overson and i decided that we are going to try and make cinnamin rolls for christmas.... it should be interesting. this transfer the other elders moved out of our flat.  and president taylor sent up another set of missionaries.  so now there are six elders in kitale district and we all have our own flats.  some how i got stuck with being in charge of the working fund.  so now i have to pay all the bills and reimburse elders for transport and stuff. its gonna give me a headache.  but hakuna shida, it'll be ok. 

love ya tons take care and have a great week!

Elder Larsen

12.7.09

this week has been interesting, it was my comps last week so we spent a lot of time with members. i went on exchanges with overson and we went out to a members home in ndivisi and we made gourds. they're pretty sweet we wrote on them with a sharpi. i like em! i drew a sweet elephant. i'm gonna keep adding to it and then towards the end of my mission or whenever it gets full of stuff then i'll put a clear glaze on it. but anyway everything is pretty good here in kenya. i find out who my new comp is tonight. tottles!

11.30.09

This weekend we had three baptisms. we originally planned on six but we pushed three back to december. the baptisms were good, this was my first time conducting the meeting. so it was kinda cool to put the program together and see it all work out. we went on exchanges again this last week, its always fun to work with different elders.

i sure do hope that your thanksgiving was good, i almost forgot about it completely. but no worries i was reminded that evening after i had my dinner... a cup of hot coco... yum. it was pretty exciting, let me tell ya.

do ya know what i realized this weekend? i get to talk you fellers in about 26 days. i'm not gonna lie, i'm excited for it, i can't wait!

it honestly does not feel like december, its way to hot. its more like the weather in june or july.

transfers are next week, my comp is done so i'll be getting a new companion next week sometime. probably on wednesday. it should be interesting to have a different companion, i've finally gotten use to Katjotjo. but change is good, right?
love ya tons!

Elder Larsen

11.23.09

Dear Mom,

Well i got to say that i'm doing pretty good! today overson and i went to this animal sanctuary and we rode an ostrich! i'll sent some pics. we also fed a giraffee and saw two rihno's, a bunch of gazell's, impalla zebra's and i few other antelope species. it was pretty cool. we rode a piki piki (motorcycle) for about 45 minutes to get there. but it was fun.

we have 6 baptisms planned for saturday. it should be a good week! lately we have found some amazing people. they are really prepared for the gospel. one kid is only 16, but he has an amazing desire to learn. Friday was zone conference in Eldoret. it was good, president wants to put two more missionaries up here in kitale. we found a new apartment so the other elders will be moving out soon.

know that i love you tons and miss you like crazy.

Choose the right and the Lord will help you!

love

Elder Larsen

11.16.09

well this week has been good, elder overson and i went on splits on wednesday. it was kinda interesting with two white guys walking around town. but we made it fun!! the work is going pretty good around here. we have a baptism planned for the 28 of november. if everything works out then we will have about 15 baptisms before christmas. i'm pretty excited about it. we have tons of people to teach.


sorry its short but know that i love you and miss you tonz

love elder larsen

11.09.09

i sure do wish i could go huntin with them boys, i kinda miss playin with em. i was thinking about ryan, i wasn't sure if it was this week or next but tell them congrats for me. sounds like everything that use to work in the house is starting to die... sorry that sucks. but at least you have the washing machine. i was surprised my knuckles aren't raw this week, so thats nice. i sure do hope that the dentist office doesn't send anything that will have a heavy tax on it. but it would be nice to recieve something, i haven't got anything since i came to kenya. but zone conference is next week so maybe i'll get something then. we didn't go to the lake today, we are trying to get permission to get it approved so the couples can take us. so maybe next week. but i sent a letter this week so keep an eye out for it. tuesday katjotjo was sick so we stayed home and i wrote a letter and baked a cake.....yes it was good. i'm learning a ton about cooking, but some nights are interesting. there was a fair in town this week so saturday we went to it. it was pretty interesting, i rode a camel, bought a couple necklaces, and found some alfalfa among all the crops they were showing, it looked pretty sad.


take care and know that i love you

love

elder larsen

11.02.09

Mom,

its good to hear from ya, i've been thinkin about you all week. Sorry the surgery was long, but at least all the bad stuff is out of you. so now hopefully you won't have any more problems with your inerds. please take it easy for a little while and allow your body to heal properly. i know you won't like it, but just do it for me ok? i dont want you to have any other medical issues in the future.

things around here are pretty good, elder katjotjo and i are still together. Elder overson joined us. he's from AZ, some where near snowflake. good kid, i'm learning a lot from him. mostly about good, quick, easy meals and how to play the guitar. i've decided that i'm going to buy one while i'm here. Kitale doesn't have one so i'll use his till i leave and then buy one in my next area. but its a great stress reliever. i love playing.

haha i bet you thought that since i was gone there wouldn't be any dead critters hanging in the garage. haha i taught my brothers well. :) it looks like a little feller though, ha must have been a good shot!

i hope these pics work i'll try to send some every now and then. we are planning a trip to lake vic. next week with the couples so hopefully i'll get some good ones.

I love you tons!! tell everyone hi for me.

love elder larsen

10.26.09

Mom,


you know by the time i get to writing you my fingers are sore from typing :)

haha but hakuna matata

so this week has been interesting, we had four baptisms on saturday. i was able to do two of them. then on sunday i confirmed one of the girls i baptized. it was cool to stand in a circle with other guys, i think that was my first time.

transfer news will come in tonight so i don't know for sure if i'll get a new comp, but i gots a feeling that i will.

we were going to go to a park/sanctuary today but we ended up not going. we were told that we could ride ostriches and horses. they have a few other animals but nothing too exciting, just a rhino, giraffee, and a few different antelope.

i sure am glad that Mason can kill something cuz it sounds like destrie and connor couldn't pull through, haha jk. i kinda want to be there but i think i've realized how important it is for me to be here. life ain't easy, thats for sure. but i'm loving it, i learn something new everyday.

i'm glad to hear that your going to the temple. i wish we had a temple here, but we don't.

Dad,


Sounds like you couldn't figure out how to hunt with out me hahaha jk

i sure do wish that i was there to be with ya, but i find comfort in knowing that i'll only miss one more hunting season. cuz this one is basically over. i'm glad you could get off work to hunt, i always loved hunting with you and the boyz. i know they love it to. I'll check out the pics for sure. as for my pics i accidentally erased all of them on my sim card so i lost a few to say the least. most of them are on the Watt's computer so i just need to get a cd or something to burn them onto. so i'm pretty lucky. but tonight i'll hear about transfer news. i'm pretty sure i'll get a new comp cuz there have been some rumors going around town about him. we had to call the mission pres. they weren't good. so he'll probably go. we already know that elder cele is leaving, he is our DL. I'm gonna miss that one. i forgot my cord or else i woulda sent a few pics today. sorry i'll try again next week.

scratch Ford's ears for me!!

i love you and miss you to.

elder larsen

ps so i want you to send my ipod when you decide to send me something, maybe for christmas. i think if you get a box of granola bars ( green apple ) and take out a few and put my ipod inside and then super glue it shut, then maybe they won't find it. thats the best idea i gots, so if you come up with something better then let me know.