They have Father's Day a week early here. Silly Belgians.
How are you all? How was trek?? I bet it was amazing, as usual.
Sorry about last week's email, let me explain...So we were with the Stake President's wife and she took us to Tervuren Park, which is this massive old beautiful park that used to be the King's hunting grounds. You'll have to google it, it's just beautiful. And the site where Elder Holland consecrated Belgium for the preaching of the gospel is right in the center of it. (Insert note: this computer is special and I can't type exclamation marks and I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. So this all looks very unexcited but I'm just bursting out of my skin with excitement, just so you all know) At the site there's a meteor which fell forever ago and broke into three big pieces. And from that spot there are twelve paths that lead out into the park. Are you seeing the symbolism here? Cool huh? It was a very sacred feeling spot, the closest thing we get around here to the temple, besides member's homes :) On that note, be grateful for our house. There's such a good spirit there that few people have in their homes here. Love it, I can't wait to be with all you family people again :) Anyway so we spent all day at the park and only got to the library 15 minutes before it closed and I had to write my letter to the president... so then you guys got like five minutes. Sorry.
But this week I wanted to tell you about Dominique; Dominique is the most golden, most prepared man ever. So to preface this, last week Sister Judd and I got really fired up on the idea of testifying boldly and simply so that the Spirit could testify through us, and then we went out on a contacting spree around Brussels. I know it's not an original idea... told you I'm a slow learner :) But it was an amazing week, we gave away an entire box of copies of the Book of Mormon (there would be a lot of exclamation points here if I could figure out where they are on this keyboard). Anyway, back to Dominique. We were walking down the street testifying to people and getting rejected and Dominique was walking by, so he'd watched us get rejected by like four people in a row and then I decided to talk to him. He said he was busy and started walking away so I started walking with him and then he said he really didn't want to talk so I said ok, I'll just bear my testimony to you then. So I did, and he stopped in his tracks and we had a very interesting, very long conversation in which we found out that he had been a member of just about every church he could find and that everywhere he was disappointed because he was looking for a church of miracles. He wanted to know where the miracles had gone and had questions about faith. My dear friend, I thought, you have found the church of miracles :) We gave him a Book of Mormon and told him to read Alma 32 and fixed a rendezvous. When we went I was just blown away. First of all, he'd been transformed. He had this glow about him and just a presence of peace. And he had read not only Alma 32 but the whole intro, the testimonies of the 11 witnesses and Joseph Smith and 3 Ne. 11 and had written down notes and questions that he had. We've met with him three times since and he just can't seem to get enough. He's read through (skimming) the entire Book of Mormon and has read and written pages of questions and notes about certain chapters that intrigued him. He got onto the church website on his own and watched every video clip he could find. We've invited him to be baptized and he said yes. I can't wait for you to meet this man, he's going to be a bishop someday :) It's been amazing just to watch him and to realize how very little we as missionaries actually have to do when we let the Spirit lead us to those who have already been prepared. It's a testimony to the promise that the Lord would go before our faces and prepare the way. I love this work with all my heart and soul. I can't believe how perfect and complete it is, the more I learn about it. I read the story of Job yesterday and I still don't fully understand that book, I'll be honest, but I love the last three ish chapters when the Lord is speaking about how everything on the earth is in his hands. The more I learn about the Lord the more bashful I can imagine myself being when I finally see him and he reveals to me how much of everything was directed by him. Sister Judd and I have been memorizing Mosiah 2:22 to 24 and it talks about the same thing.
Other adventures... Oh yesterday the church basement flooded just before church was supposed to start, so we just had sacrament meeting, that was exciting. It was pretty fun afterwards, because everyone stuck around and talked and Didier and his family were meeting with the bishop so we ended up staying for the full three hours anyway. I LOVE my ward, they are the best. There are so many rock solid members and they are so good about teaching with us. Members being a part of missionary work makes ALL the difference in the world, so do missionary work, yay! (Found it). I really wish I could remember the other stuff I was going to tell you, I feel like this was such an eventful week. Oh, family, you would love to see me now. We make missionary jokes ALL DAY LONG. Jokes about Kolob and the Twelve Tribes, I feel like an official missionary now. I'm going to be so weird when I get back. Anyway the mission is funny, we laugh our heads off. It's like that quote from Sister Hinckley, "Life is hard, you have to either laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh; crying gives me a headache" :) something like that, anyway.
Oh that reminds me! This week was the start of a new transfer (Transfer 5! I'm so old!) and so we had transfer planning and I had recently been reading one of the letters from Paul to the saints and I just found a scripture that struck me as funny, because in it Paul ends the letter with 'be ye therefore perfect, and of good comfort, and loving towards everyone, and...' you get the gist. So in the spirit of that (and D and C 123:17) we decided that our transfer motto should be "Let us cheerfully do all things perfectly." Shouldn't be too hard to live up to, right?
Ok here is a random insert for Soeur Powers, because she emailed me and I can't email her back but she reads the blog so yeah, Sr. Powers, this is for you :) So just so you all know, Sr. Powers is a legend in the Paris Mission. Mostly probably for me, because she died in Versailles and I replaced her and everyone was in LOVE with her so she was all I heard about for a while. She was (according to legend) a contacting, loving, teaching, machine. She's the one who found Julia and Rui! Whom I love with all my heart, so I'm grateful. Also she served in Brussels so I get to hear all about her all over again! Just so you know, Sr. Powers, it was very hard to fill your shoes. Everyone I met who used to be taught by you was disappointed that I wasn't you :) All the ward members remember and love you too. You're like the missionary standard everyone else is now held up against. But thank you for your incredible example of love for the people, because that's what everyone says about you, that you were just so loving people couldn't help but love you back. I hope this isn't embarrassing or anything, I just thought you should know that the effects of your service already go on long past your actual mission and probably in ways you don't expect. Because I know that's what I would like to hear in a year or so when I'm back in Utah wishing I were still in the mission. And you're not creepy :) I might be... haha. I'm excited to meet you someday! And I will definitely hug Rachel for you, I LOVE her so much! She's the best! Tell her I said that :)
I have to say that I never expected to find so many amazing friends on the mission. Missionaries, members, and nonmembers, I've met so many who I already can't imagine my life without. I don't know if that sentence made sense. But I'm so grateful for the eternal nature of life and that these friendships can go on forever! I love all you people who get this email with all my heart and soul. I have the most bomb family and friends in the whole universe. One thing I have loved learning on this mission of mine is how there is no limit to love and forgiveness and possibility and laughter and happiness and life when we follow God. Any sense of limitation, of not being good enough or not being able to change, not being worth something, of there not being enough love or talent or happiness to go around, comes from that fiendish king of the liars. (That sounded rather shakespearian) I'm getting so good at recognizing him now :) Oh, speaking of Shakespeare, I was wondering if someone could send me a copy of the speech in Henry the Fifth about 'those men asleep in England will wish they'd stood with us...' something like that... I really wish I knew more about it. Anyway President Staheli quoted it to us at our last training and I would love to have a copy if you could.
This email felt very scattered. Sorry about that. That's the story of my life these days... Oh ps, what's with all the crazy weather over there in the states I keep hearing about? And have fun at girl's camp! I LOVE girl's camp, you should tell Bishop when I get back I want to go :)
Long story short, the work is going well, my french might be getting worse, my companion is the best, I LOVE you family people more than anyone else in the world, everybody hug each other for me :) I miss hugs, bises and handshakes just aren't the same...
Ok I really am done rambling now. Love you! See you next week! Write me letters! Haha :)
The church is true!
Soeur Larsen
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