05.17.10

This week started slow but it ended great!  We're working like slaves over here, only we get payment in the form of baptisms, we have a baptism planned for this Saturday.  It should be good.  then in a few weeks we're gonna have a bunch more if all goes well.  Yesterday at church we had 17 investigators total.  the chapel was full again, its so cool to see that building full of people on sundays.  Transfer news comes next monday, i hope i stick around.  Today we had some fun.  We went to a place called Mamba Village.  they have a ton of Crocodiles and a few other critters.  We were able to hold the baby crocodiles and I took a ton of pics.  It's kinda late, so i don't know if i'll be able to send very many right now, but i'll for sure send some next week.  I'm so excited for Destrie and Katie right now, I don't even know what to write.  I'm also happy for Bradie and Charity, that whole family has been blessed this week.  They're all awesome and i love them all so much!  Heavenly Father answers prayers!  I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Love
Elder Larsen  

05.10.10

Siku kuu ya akina mama enjema!!!  Well I hope all you mothers had a great week end!  I love you all!  This last week has flown by.  We've been working with this part member family and teaching the two daughters.  We were finally able to set a baptism date, a week from Saturday.  We were pointed to a young man who had the Book of Mormon.  He's been reading it and understanding it.  We taught the first lesson and when we went to teach the second lesson, he told us that he knew this is the correct church and that he wanted to be baptized.  We really weren't able to do any teaching with the second lesson, because he already understood the plan of salvation and knew all the answers.  it was amazing.  Church was also amazing, we had 16 investigators there.  8 from each area.  the chapel was so full, people who came a little late were having a hard time finding seats.  The classes were great and it was just fantabulus!  It was so good to speak to the family, hearing their voices was great.  They all said that i now have an African accent, but the people here still say that i sound like an American, so I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. To be honest I still think that i sound like Casey.  :)   Have a great week!
Love
Elder Larsen

05.03.10

So this week hasn't been to exciting to be honest.  We had zone conference on Tuesday, that was a good meeting.  The weeks seem to be flying by faster than the days.  We've been teaching a part member family and working with them a lot.  They have three kids that haven't been baptized yet.  If all goes well then we're hoping that two of them will be baptized in a couple weeks.  Saturday was horrible, we had all of our appointments fall through, so we tracted all freaking day, and we taught only one short lesson.  My feet were so tired by the end of the day. Well guys, have a good week don't forget to read the scriptures and to pray everyday!  Blessings come by obedience.  The Lord is just waiting to bless you, so give him a reason to do it.
I love you
Elder Larsen

Sister Nkosi and Casey.  She's from Zimbabwe. 

Casey and Elder Mutadhuba

04.26.10

Well this last weekend we finally were able to watch general conference.  It was great i enjoyed all the sessions, the only one they haven't shown yet is priesthood. If they don't show it this sunday then I'm gonna steal the dvd and find me a TV and a DVD player so i can watch it.  When we started the saturday morning session, there were 8 people total, 4 of us were missionaries.  but by the end of it there were a bunch more people.  sunday's attendance was much better.   Right now we are teaching a part member family, the parents were baptized last October so right now we're working with the kids.  Its really fun, we get to make the lessons more interesting and applicable to the kids.  Tomorrow is zone conference, it should be good i'm excited for it.  Elder Mutadhuba and i are getting along great, I'm really enjoying his friendship and also how well we work together.  I've taught him how to play a few card games and he is catching on really quickly.  Even though we have fun we're still working our butt's off at the same time.  so Paul Peterson was at church on sunday.  he brought that stuff that was sent with him.  thanks mom, your  awesome!  I knew you said that you sent tang, but i didn't expect so much.  thanks for the pic and the letters as well.  I put the pic in front of my study table so now i can look at you two everyday while i'm studying.  :)  well have a good week love ya tons!!

Elder Larsen

Casey and Elder Mutadhuba

Elder Mutadhuba in their flat!

04.19.10

Well this week has been interesting.  So Monday morning we left for Arusha, Tanzania.  It was about a 6 to 7 hour bus ride.   We stayed with the Elders down there.  me and Waiswa were with Elders Obinna and Clark and bakker and Mbao stayed with Elders Sithole and Kamara.  We didn't have really any time to see much but i was able to get a few pics and a braclet.  Arusha is a beautiful little town, I'd love to serve there.  Its basically in the foot hills of this huge mountain and its so green and purdy.  I got back from Arusha tuesday evening after being left at the border by my bus.  He left five people there, four missionaries and the dude sitting next to me.  We weren't to happy about that so we started calling the bus company and we got the drivers number.  Elder Waiswa talked to him and let him know how we felt.  He told us that he was a few KM down the road.  so we got a taxi and caught up to him, but then we lost the phone in the taxi.  but its all good, we made it back to Nairobi safely.  wednesday was pretty cool.  I was at the AP's flat cuz my comp hadn't arrived from the MTC yet and Elder Chikenge had to wait till thursday to fly to Dar es Salaam, so we hooked up and we went and worked in my area.  that was an awesome day.  I love that kid he's so cool.  I only got to go on exchanges once with him up in Kitale so i was happy that i was able to spend the day with him.  Thursday i went to the airport with the AP's,  we took three elders there and pick up three coming to Kenya.  Then i finally got to meet my kid in the office.  Elder Mutadhuba, he's from Uganda.  Pretty cool guy, he's way more prepared to serve a mission than i was.  he served as a branch missionary for a couple transfers before he came so he is a great teacher.  I tried to take him tracting on friday, but it didn't work, the first two doors that we knocked, we ended up teaching them lessons and we got return appointments.  I think this is the longest email that i've ever written for this blog thing, hope you guys aren't bored yet.  So the last few days have been fun.  Sister Magaqa left my district and Sister Nakisige came to be with Sister Lawino so now there are three Ugandan's in the district. 

I remembered what i was going to tell you last week.  so the week before, Elder Kikwaku was sick on thursday, so i finished the puzzle you sent me, i also finished a two liter bottle of coke and a back of twizzlers.  :)  it was a great day.  the puzzle looks great. 

I'm still excited about the turkey killer, the story was great!  Now we gots two more tags to fill so good luck. 

Well i'm outta things to say for the moment, so have a dandy week, Love ya

Elder Larsen

Arusha, Tanzania Pictures

                   Maise that is grown there!

         Elders Bakker, WAiswa, Mbao, Obinna, Kamara, Sithole, Clark and Casey Larsen

 Foothills of the mountain

The puzzle we sent him.  I didn't even know he drank Coke!!!

04.12.10

Well this week has been interesting.  Something happened earlier in the week that I was going to write about....but i forgot.  Right now I'm in Arusha, Tanzania.  My visa expired today and the immigration department isn't giving the church work permits anymore.  So the AP's put me on a bus this morning with 3 other Elders.  Tomorrow morning I'll get on another bus and head back to Kenya.  Thats the only way that I can renew my visa, jump the boarder and then come back.  It's kinda a crazy deal.  I heard that the church is going to bring in a lawyer from South Africa to see if they'll be a little nicer to us.  I think they're just looking for a bribe, the immigration department is number two for corruption in Kenya.  I've been taking a ton of pics on the way down.  Arusha's pretty, nice and green!

Dad, I'm so freakin excited for ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I can't believe you killed a turkey already. I wish i could of been there to see it, did you video tape it? I'll try and look at the pics in a bit.... if this internet will let me. 

We get transfer news tonight so next week I'll let you know what happens.  But i got grandma's letter, it was sweet, i love letters.  thanks a ton!!

Well i better get, love you guys, have a good week.

Love 

Elder Larsen 

04.05.10

Hey everybody, Happy Easter.  I hope all you guys got to watch conferance, cuz i didn't.  but i'll get to see it in a few weeks, so no worries.  So this last week hasn't been all that great, i've been feeling kinda sick.  We met a pretty cool kid this week, he is a maasai and he wants to give me some land so i can build a home there.  Its hard to tell him no, he won't take no for an answer.  He said it would take like 2-3 hours to get there from my area and i think he's dead set on taking us there.  But we won't be going, but he's a great kid, he came to church with us yesterday, i hope that he progresses. We'll be meeting his family this week.  I got my package today and i must say, i love chocolate.  Well i don't know what else to say so you all have a great week!  Love Elder Larsen

03.29.10

Hey guys, so this week hasn't been to exciting.  Just work, work, work.  so i guess that is exciting enough.  :)  A storm came through a few minutes ago and now the whole town is muddy, i'm all wet, and so are my clothes that are suppose to be drying.  we are suppose to be having a baptism on sunday but the guy got mugged a few weeks ago and so getting a hold of him has been tricky because he lost his phone.  but if we can get an interview lined up then he'll be baptized on sunday.  The stake here is taking some extreme measures in the branch that i'm in.  they've called a member of the stake presidency to be the branch president out here, he arrived the same time that i did.  but now things are starting go work the way they should, so far he's done a great job and i feel privliged to be able to serve in this area at this time.  they are working toward splitting the branch, that way there would be a branch out here in Rongai.  so when that happens then the work will go much quicker.  people won't have to travel to get to church.    other than that there ain't whole lot going on.  so have a  fantabulus week, i love all yall!

03.22.10

Hey everybody, how is it?  This last week was pretty fun.  Tuesday we did exchanges with the zone leaders, Elder Harris came to my area and Kikwaku went to his.  Elder Harris is from Lindon, UT.  i think its down by Provo.  then on Friday we had Zone Conference.  that was a really good meeting.  i learned a lot and it was very uplifting.  then this week end was the Nairobi Stake Conference.  We went to the sunday session.  that was a good meeting as well.  the GA was Elder Garith Hill.  He's from South Africa.  He had a really good message for us.  All of the missionaries from both zones in Nairobi were at the stake conference. it was great to see some of the other missionaries i haven't seen for awhile.  Other than that there hasn't been anything else going on, just teaching and meeting new people.  We are trying to get a baptism scheduled, hopefully if not this week then next week we can get it done.  well i think thats it.  have a great week!  love ya

This is where his new apartment is. Second floor is his!

This is in his door way looking at the compound.  Those are water tanks that is used for water in the apartments.

His companion Elder Kikwaku.

This is his room. There is a mosquito net over his comp. bed.

03.15.10

Well this week has been fun.  I planned and carried out my first real DDM (District Development Meeting) as a DL.  I'm still trying to get to know my new area, but its not that hard, its pretty much one long street.  so it's kinda hard to get lost.  Today we came into the office to get some supplies and stuff, and right now we are still here.  the AP's said that they would take us home a little later, the traffic is so bad here that it would be pointless to try and go anywhere at the moment.  But life is good, i really enjoy having an actual supermarket in our area. 

So i haven't gotten your package yet, but i hope it'll be here sometime within the next month.  I'm pretty sure that the package that i sent should be there either today or tomorrow, so keep an eye out and let me know when it arrives.i hope that nothing is broken in there, if it is then i'm gonna be sad.  Well have a fantabulus week everybody, i love you all!!