Dear Mom and Dad,
Whoa, those are some sweet pictures. That is a lot of snow. It looks like fun. I think I am going to print them off to show all the Haitians what snow is like. It sounds like everything is going pretty good.
Things are going great here. The work is continuing to go forth boldly, nobly, and independent. We have quite a few people that we are working with. We are just trying to use our time effectively so that we can see them all as often as possible. We are looking forward to a baptism, hopefully this weekend. Zac (Rosemond *Izarak) is his name and he is looking pretty good. We were worried that we wouldn't be able to do it because this week is a regional conference and we didn't think they would have a broadcast in our chapel because they are going to be doing some remodeling. It would have been to much of a hassle to get everyone to the nearest chapel. But, luckily the construction hasn't started quite yet. So we will have the broadcast and hopefully the baptism as well. We are also teaching a young Black American kid named Antonio. He is scheduled to be baptized on the 7th of Feb. Then this week we started teaching a few other people. There are two neighbor couples who are pretty positive. The most positive is Lucien. He has a date for Valentines day. We are still working with Rene, trying to get him married. It was pretty hard to see him this week. There are a few more people that we are working with as well. This weekend the branch had a temple trip. It seemed to be pretty well attended. It was cool to see some of the people I've taught go for the first time. It was really good timing for our branch to go. We talked to a few of the members about 3rd Nephi and how the people gathered together around the temple after all the signs of Christ's crucifixion. I really wish that I could go to the temple. That's the only complaint I have about this mission is that it doesn't have a temple in it. So, everything here is going great. I hope that everything is going well for you. Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Larson
P.S. I don't have my official release date, but we found out this week that we are officially extending. Based on when Elder Tremblay goes home and how long an MTC stay is I am about 98% sure that I will be coming home on June 23rd.
January 25, 2010
January 18, 2010
New e-mail address!!!
Hey,
I just want to let everyone know that the church is switching e-mail providers and so I will have a new address. You can now reach me at don.larson@myldsmail.net
Thanks,
Elder Larson
I just want to let everyone know that the church is switching e-mail providers and so I will have a new address. You can now reach me at don.larson@myldsmail.net
Thanks,
Elder Larson
Email of Jan. 18, 2010 (after the earthquake)
Dear Mom and Dad,
Well, it has been a roller coaster week to say the least. I think I am still in shock about the earthquake. It is hard to hear of all the suffering, but it is also interesting to notice God's hand in the events taking place now as well as the earthquake itself. We always read of the earthquakes that will happen in the last days, but it is something else to actually be witnessing it so closely. It was especially hard the first few days when we still didn't know very much. But we are finding out that most of our member's families are doing fine. Our main investigator, Zak, is from Carrefour. That was one of the hardest hit areas of Port-au-Prince. We were really worried for them but we found out that their family left Carrefour a few days before the earthquake and were in another city. Also, one of our strongest members, Seour Roselie, was supposed to be in Haiti for all of January but for some reason she stayed. We have heard many other stories of "close calls". We do have one member who was in Petion-ville at the time of the quake that we haven't heard from yet. He was just baptized in November. His name is Yves Boutin. We are really worried about him. I was also happy to hear that all of the missionaries and all of the chapels in the area were fine. I just wish there was something more I could do. I've been thinking about making a trip down there this summer to help rebuild. The branch had a special devotional on Thursday to talk about the quake and what people could do. The consensus was that the best thing to do right now is to donate money to the church's fund. I think it really helped the members. They are all doing pretty well for the most part. There may be some good things that come out of this earthquake. There will probably be more Haitians coming to Southwest Florida, and Haiti itself could be better off in the long run. But thanks for your prayers, both in behalf of me and also my people.
The work is still going forward. We are working with some good people. Zak is scheduled to be baptized on the 31st. He is looking good for that. Also, Rene is looking good. His dad was in Haiti but is alright. He's staying at the National Stadium. Rene just needs to talk to his girlfriend about their future and if they want to get married. So that should be good. Then we are working with two young boys named Lee and Harvey (They don't have any brothers named Oswald) and also an older couple named Janide and Lucien. So things are going good in that department.
I just want to tell you that I love you and I really appreciate everything that you do for me. I hope that everything is going well.
Sete,
Elder Larson
Well, it has been a roller coaster week to say the least. I think I am still in shock about the earthquake. It is hard to hear of all the suffering, but it is also interesting to notice God's hand in the events taking place now as well as the earthquake itself. We always read of the earthquakes that will happen in the last days, but it is something else to actually be witnessing it so closely. It was especially hard the first few days when we still didn't know very much. But we are finding out that most of our member's families are doing fine. Our main investigator, Zak, is from Carrefour. That was one of the hardest hit areas of Port-au-Prince. We were really worried for them but we found out that their family left Carrefour a few days before the earthquake and were in another city. Also, one of our strongest members, Seour Roselie, was supposed to be in Haiti for all of January but for some reason she stayed. We have heard many other stories of "close calls". We do have one member who was in Petion-ville at the time of the quake that we haven't heard from yet. He was just baptized in November. His name is Yves Boutin. We are really worried about him. I was also happy to hear that all of the missionaries and all of the chapels in the area were fine. I just wish there was something more I could do. I've been thinking about making a trip down there this summer to help rebuild. The branch had a special devotional on Thursday to talk about the quake and what people could do. The consensus was that the best thing to do right now is to donate money to the church's fund. I think it really helped the members. They are all doing pretty well for the most part. There may be some good things that come out of this earthquake. There will probably be more Haitians coming to Southwest Florida, and Haiti itself could be better off in the long run. But thanks for your prayers, both in behalf of me and also my people.
The work is still going forward. We are working with some good people. Zak is scheduled to be baptized on the 31st. He is looking good for that. Also, Rene is looking good. His dad was in Haiti but is alright. He's staying at the National Stadium. Rene just needs to talk to his girlfriend about their future and if they want to get married. So that should be good. Then we are working with two young boys named Lee and Harvey (They don't have any brothers named Oswald) and also an older couple named Janide and Lucien. So things are going good in that department.
I just want to tell you that I love you and I really appreciate everything that you do for me. I hope that everything is going well.
Sete,
Elder Larson
January 11, 2010
Elder Larson's email of Jan. 11, 2010
Dear Mom and Dad,
I'm great. It hardly gets below freezing at night and I don't have to ride a bike, so I'm fine.
Everything here is going good. We are working with quite a few people right now. Our baptism that we had scheduled for yesterday didn't go through. He has some stuff he has got to work out first. But he is still doing great, he just needs a couple more weeks. We're going to see him tonight and talk with him. It should be good. We also are working with a man named Zak. He has a date to be baptized on the 24th. He's a little apprehensive about it. He isn't sure that he will be ready by then. Also we got some referalls from the other elders. They are three young men. AJ-14, Trevon-12, and Dennis-10. Dennis and Trevon are brothers of a member and AJ is their friend. They all have dates as well. None of them are Haitian, but we translate sacrament meeting anyways and young men/Sunday school is all in English. So it will work fine. Then we also started teaching two couples who live right next door to each other. They seem pretty positive although there may be some issues with working on Sundays. But we are going to see them again today. That's pretty much all of our investigators. The work is going pretty well right now. We found out this week that of the 23 baptisms that happened here last year, all but one are still active. So things are on the up and up. We're looking forward to what this week will bring.
I'm excited to hear about Ryan. I'm excited to have another nephew who I can be the favorite uncle for. It sounds like everything is going well. I wish I had more time to write but I'm about to be kicked off so I'll talk to you later.
Love,
Elder Larson
I'm great. It hardly gets below freezing at night and I don't have to ride a bike, so I'm fine.
Everything here is going good. We are working with quite a few people right now. Our baptism that we had scheduled for yesterday didn't go through. He has some stuff he has got to work out first. But he is still doing great, he just needs a couple more weeks. We're going to see him tonight and talk with him. It should be good. We also are working with a man named Zak. He has a date to be baptized on the 24th. He's a little apprehensive about it. He isn't sure that he will be ready by then. Also we got some referalls from the other elders. They are three young men. AJ-14, Trevon-12, and Dennis-10. Dennis and Trevon are brothers of a member and AJ is their friend. They all have dates as well. None of them are Haitian, but we translate sacrament meeting anyways and young men/Sunday school is all in English. So it will work fine. Then we also started teaching two couples who live right next door to each other. They seem pretty positive although there may be some issues with working on Sundays. But we are going to see them again today. That's pretty much all of our investigators. The work is going pretty well right now. We found out this week that of the 23 baptisms that happened here last year, all but one are still active. So things are on the up and up. We're looking forward to what this week will bring.
I'm excited to hear about Ryan. I'm excited to have another nephew who I can be the favorite uncle for. It sounds like everything is going well. I wish I had more time to write but I'm about to be kicked off so I'll talk to you later.
Love,
Elder Larson
January 4, 2010
Email of Jan. 4, 2010
Dear Mom and Dad,
Wow, sounds like you have some decent snow. It's been pretty cold here. Yesterday it was around 50 all day. I had to wear a long sleeve shirt!
Things here are going pretty good. The work continues to progress. We have a few investigators. We are still working with Rene. He didn't come to church on Sunday so we are thinking about postponing his baptism again. But we'll see him tonight and get that all sorted out. Also, we are teaching a 27 year old man named Zak. He is a friend of a member and is looking fairly positive.
We had a great New Years/Premier Janvier. We drank a lot of pumpkin soup and visited a lot of members. I'm going to have to learn how to make it myself. It seems pretty simple.
This coming week should be pretty good. We have zone conference tomorrow, and we are hoping to see our investigators often and help them to progress. I'm looking forward to lots of good experiences. I hope that everything is going great at home and that you have a great week.
Love,
Elder Larson
Wow, sounds like you have some decent snow. It's been pretty cold here. Yesterday it was around 50 all day. I had to wear a long sleeve shirt!
Things here are going pretty good. The work continues to progress. We have a few investigators. We are still working with Rene. He didn't come to church on Sunday so we are thinking about postponing his baptism again. But we'll see him tonight and get that all sorted out. Also, we are teaching a 27 year old man named Zak. He is a friend of a member and is looking fairly positive.
We had a great New Years/Premier Janvier. We drank a lot of pumpkin soup and visited a lot of members. I'm going to have to learn how to make it myself. It seems pretty simple.
This coming week should be pretty good. We have zone conference tomorrow, and we are hoping to see our investigators often and help them to progress. I'm looking forward to lots of good experiences. I hope that everything is going great at home and that you have a great week.
Love,
Elder Larson
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