Surprise! Transfer to the office!

So this week was a great week. I feel that we are doing work here. Marabel and her son have a baptism date for the 12 of September. I'm really excited for her.

So we had interviews with President Lorenzana on Tuesday. He wanted to know if I could teach English. I said I am OK and that I could if he wanted me to. We also talked about the office and stuff. So I thought that I would have changes in 2 weeks.

Well I received a call last night and I'm here in the office right now. I'm not really sure what I'm going to be doing but we will see I guess. I really don't know what to think or what to do right now, but I know that everything happens for a reason. For some reason I'm here and I hope I can be a blessing to president and the missionaries here.

But I think my p-days are on Saturdays. I really feel like a freshmen going into high school for the first day. Not knowing what to expect but that this is going to be a new and really cool experience if I give it time and try to hit the ground running. We will see, I guess. I don't know if you guys will be shocked but I am just a little bit.

But on Thursday I did baptismal interviews for Pamelita. They had 5 baptisms. One big family. It was my first time interviewing but i think it went really well. Usually the interviews are pretty fast but i tried to make it more like a conversation. The parents seemed to know everything and the kids were sharp too. I really liked getting to know them and doing the interviews for them. They seemed to enjoy it and I was glad to do it for them.

Hope all is well and that you have a great week.

Elder Larson

Dionicia and children's baptism

Hey mom-

I think I've had one of my favorite weeks this week.

We had the baptisms for Dionicia, mom, and two of her kids, Keni 11, Pedro 9 on Saturday. She has two others but one is 6 and the other has 16 but she works on Sundays. We're working with her and were going to talk to her boss i think this week about it. But we had the baptism in the stake center because they were going to have a big stake activity at the same time. We had a nice baptism and after everyone that was at the baptism went and stayed at the activity.

We had two other of our investigators go as well. Marabel and her son Juan 9. They really liked it and she made us lunch on Sunday and because she is very grateful for the things we have helped her with. She didn't go to church but were looking at the 5th of Sept with her and her son.

Dionicia and her family look so happy. She works at this tortilla place just off the street and we have passed by everyday to talk with her and eat tortillas. I think it makes her day when we pass by. We can see a difference in the family and we are very grateful to be here with all of them. I hope Elder Rico and i can help more people see the light this week. It's going to be a great week.

Elder Larson

Elder Falabella's visit, getting family ready for baptism

I wrote my letter to you and then i tried to attach photos and it was all in Spanish and the computer restarted. That's what happens when you don't understand Spanish all the way. I'm trying to send photos but you'll get them soon. But thanks for the recipes and the email.

Elder Falabella came to the mission and he talked a lot about how we can become a better person and missionary. It was really good. We have been trying to focus and teach more families.

We have this mom, Dionicia and her two kids with a baptism date this Saturday. I'm excited for them and i hope they can do it.

Sorry for making this short but I'm doing well and Elder Rico and I are doing great. My house is nicer than in Coatepeque but the weather is just about the same. I'm on the edge of downtown Reu but still kind of in downtown. We have a cook for dinner and she said she'll make anything and she was asking for choc chip cookies and some other things.

Thanks mom.

Hope you have a great week mom.

Elder Larson

Hey dad-

After Elder Savage left I was senior companion and my companion was the district leader and right now I'm both. I don't think it means a whole lot because my companion knows the area more than I do and I like working together.

We have a baptism date with this mom and 2 of her kids for this Saturday. They are ready but were explaining tithing today and money is pretty low for them so we´ll see how it goes.

Elder Falabella came on Thursday and we learned a lot about how to contact, how to avoid Satan and how to use our time wisely. We learned a lot of different but really interesting and useful things that we can apply in our lives right now.

I'm doing good and trying to figure what is best to do with my time here in Guatemala. The Spanish in Chile is a little different in my opinion but I can hear the difference. Chile is the farthest country that a Latino missionary has come to our mission right now I think. It's pretty far. But I like talking to people about where I'm from and where he is from. It leads right in to what we want to talk about.

Hope all is well and you have a great week.

Elder Larson

Catching up with Erik's emails............

(Be sure to go down a few emails. I added some pictures we got in the mail this week..... Diane)

August 10, 2009

Hey dad-
I'm in Reu right now. President Lorenzana has me as district leader right now. I'm with Elder Rico and I really like working with him. We're having a lot of fun together. It's still taking some time to communicate with other people but with time I'll be able to.

I'm starting to realize that this will go by fast. I think that's why I really enjoyed this week because I can never get this week back so we tried to figure out what the best thing to do was with Elder Rico and tried to enjoy it at the same time.

People are a lot different here than in Coatepeque. People are a lot more open and we have been able to teach more.

Hope all is well.
Elder Larson

Mom,
We have a cook for dinner and she was talking about chocolate chip cookies and rice krispy treats. She was just wondering how to make them. If she could make them for us that would be AMAZING but I need a good recipe for them. And Ii know you have some good recipes because you make the best stuff.
Thanks mom

I haven't got the package and there is no more pouch I think. We can't send anything out through pouch and I haven't gotten anything through pouch. Sad day but life goes on.

Hey mom-

I got changed last Tuesday and I'm in Retalhuleu (Reu). I'm in Reu 1 and I'm the district leader here. It is so much different than Coatepeque. I really like it here.

My companion is Elder Rico and he's from Chile. He knows a lot and I really like teaching with him. We're having a lot of fun and its only been a week. Reu isn't too far from Coatepeque. I'm still in the coast but i like it.

We have taught a lot of lessons and we have 4-5 progressing investigators but the only thing they lack is a witness of what we've taught through prayer. I hope Elder Rico and i can really make a difference here in Reu.

Elder Larson

August 3, 2009

I just first want to say thanks for writing me. Its nice to hear from you and dad every week. Some elders don't get a email every week so that's why i say that.

Today is changes and I think I might get changed but we find out in about a hour, so who knows.

I'm starting to feel comfortable talking in Spanish. I still lack a ton but i feel comfortable talking which I really like. So we now have a new rule in the mission. The greengos or the North Americans need to speak Spanish when giving dates or at conferences because they said this is a Spanish speaking mission. You know what that means? In about a year and a half I will not be able to speak English. OK maybe a little but not a lot. No I don't know but I just thought i would share that.

Things are busy here. We haven't found a whole lot of people we can teach but were getting there. We think that if we keep on using the Book of Mormon and the spirit that we will find the people that are ready in this time.

We had a conference with Presidente Lorenzana Wednesday and he talked about CREER=HACER. To believe = To do. If one believes something then he will do it because he has the faith that he can do it. I really liked that and I'm just trying to do my part so I can increase the faith that i have through my actions.

Hope all is well and that you all enjoy this week.

Elder Larson

We cannot go to the temple. I think we can go if were a branch president and its the time for the branch to go or if one of our converts is getting sealed in the temple and invites us. I think we can go but probably not for these two years.Maria Fernanda went to the temple and i think she really enjoyed it.Last Mona Vie I'll use is tomorrow.I'm taking my vitamins and doing good.
Love you Mom.
Elder Larson