First week in Austria!
Hi everyone!
I am indeed in Austria now, and doing FANTASTIC. This area is so beautiful and open! I was really sad to leave my area, but that's life. I'll see them again :) it will hold a special place in my heart.
I'm so happy to know that you enjoyed the video of me singing in the meeting... Sister Mücke was bawling too. (She's like the missionary mom. She took care of us a lot) you'd love her, you're very similar. Thanks mom :) I miss you guys too. Seeing photos of you guys at home makes me feel closer to you too. Wiener Neustadt is one of the best places to spend Christmas, I've heard. Amazing members, amazing scenery and snow. And we have a Christmas market! I will be thinking of you guys a lot this Christmas season though...
That sounds like a huge elk!! Too bad you couldn't grab pics, but I can imagine it.
Well I'll give you the rundown of my week!
This week has been crazy. My second area. Things have been a blur as we're trying to get everything up to speed. Both Elder Kaufusi and I are new to the area (whitewash!) and the area has been closed for about six months. Luckily there were still sister missionaries before we got here, to help us get up to speed.
Monday: My last pday in Ellwangen!! We were super busy trying to get ready for transfers, so we just got ready and ate dinner with the Bullas for the last time. It was very sad. I grew to love those people very much. Now I have to do it all over again. But we had a wonderful time.
Tuesday: My last district meeting in Ellwangen!! For district lunch we had a huge potluck, with pasta, garlic bread, peach cobbler and ice cream. After district meeting, we took a train home and then drove to Michael's for my last time. He was very sad. But I reassured him we would stay in contact. I made him promise that he wouldn't give up on the missionaries or himself. I really hope things go well for him. We said goodbye, and we went home and I packed.
Wednesday: My last (half) day in Ellwangen. This was a day full of sadness, joy, hope, and uncertainty all rolled into one. Elder Hale and I had become best friends, and everything was going wonderfully in Ellwangen. But i also had the reassurance that it was time for me to move on. It was sad to see him go, though. I said goodbye to lots of good people I'd grown fond of. The zone leaders, the other missionaries. I grew up with them in a way. But over all the feelings and nerves I had that day, I was comforted. Because I knew that the Lord needed me in Wienerneustadt.
I boarded the train at 8:35 to Stuttgart. Then I boarded a train at 10:15 to München. I was traveling with two other missionaries heading to Wien zone, so it was nice to have someone for the ride. At München i got to see Elder Donald and Elder Lingen!! It was nice to reunite with them once again and laugh and chat for a few minutes. But again, I had to be off. I boarded the train to Salzburg with lots of missionaries. I sat next to a brand new missionary, fresh out of he MTC. I can't believe it was 6 months ago that I sat where he sits now. We had a great conversation on the way. He was a very gentle soul with a strong conviction to do his best and never give up. To be the missionary we all aspire to be. We even spoke German because he wanted to practice. Since I got here, I have never met a more motivated missionary than this brand new Greeny that sat beside me. He was like a child. So excited, ready to learn, and happy. As I spoke with him, it forced me to reflect on myself.
Who am I, compared to the brand new missionary that came into the mission six months ago? More experienced to be sure... but have I lost a little bit of that same fire he had in his eyes? Has my vision darkened? Have I become discouraged? Do I study as fervently as I should? Write in my journal every night? Do my morning workout? Am I exactly obedient? There's a lot I can work on, and none of it easy. But that's the beauty of a mission. You will have "success" no matter what you do. You wanna stay up late? Go for it. You wanna be disobedient and watch a movie? Go swimming? Listen to the wrong music? Go ahead. You'll still baptize. You'll still teach. But you will do absolutely NOTHING for yourself. You will not change. You will not grow. You will not be converted. As missionaries we forget all too often that this mission is not only about those we teach and serve, it is also for us. Our strongest converts on our mission should be us. And that comes through living within the boundaries set by the Lord, and doing our best to show others his light. It's the only way. This elder inspired me.
Anyways, we arrived in Salzburg, and waited for our train to Wien. I got to see some other missionaries I haven't seen for a while, which was really nice. On the train ride to Wien I got to try an Österreichischen drink called Amdudler. It's a Soda made from mountain herbs... whatever that means. It was really good! Btw, Austrian trains are so AWESOME! They have wifi, and tables, and even a restaurant! They go over 150 mph too. Way better than German trains. Anyway, I arrived in Wien and got to meet our zone leaders! They seem like really cool guys, and I bet we'll get along really well.
Then I got to meet my new companion! I look up to him a lot. No, really. He's 6'8". He's so tall!! He was a college basketball and football player in Provo. And he is the funniest guy. So cool. And energetic! He's always ready to get up and go. We've been having a great time so far, and working really hard. Although my legs and feet hurt so bad trying to walk everywhere with him. Anyways, that night we arrived in Wienerneustadt around 7:30. I left Ellwangen at 8:30 am and arrived in my new area at 7:30 pm. We were tired. But the sisters greeted us, and holy smokes they are awesome. They already bought us groceries, set up appointments for us, and had our bikes ready. They are so helpful!! Hopefully we can return the favor. Sister Gudnason is About to go home. She's from Iceland! She's speaks perfect Englisch, Danish, Icelandic, and German. And she's a work horse. She's probably one of the best hardworking sister missionaries in the mission. Sister Mclellen is awesome too. She's a brand new golden! She doesn't speak a lot of German yet, but when she testifies, the spirit just fills the room. I've witnessed it on multiple occasions. We have good people here. Anyways, we went and helped at an institute class that night with the coolest member in our ward. Brother Pińol. He's from Spain, and he speaks perfect Englisch. He is amazing. He had us tell him our conversion stories and he took us out to Burger King. He is the funniest, nicest guy. With the biggest heart and the strongest testimony. His children are fluent in Deutsch, Englisch, and Spanisch. Very smart family. Our apartment is nice! Very small though. But it serves its purpose.
Thursday: I got up in the morning and realized that there are huge mountains right out our front window!! It looks so awesome. I could sit in front of the window for hours just staring at them. But I
won't, because I'm a missionary... and we have work to do. But I definitely could!!
We did some studies and hurried to an appointment with the sisters. It's weird not having a car. We have to bike or take trains. The investigators name that we went to is Hans. Hans is awesome. He's a big older guy with a huge heart. He wants to be baptized and is trying to quit smoking so he can. We read the scriptures with him and have these awesome spiritual discussions after a page or so. He's been taught all the lessons, but we're going through them again. He's such a nice guy. I pray he keeps making progress. He's now our investigator :)
After that we went talking to people on the street for an hour or two, and holy smokes the people are nice here!!! Lots of people in Germany wouldn't even stop to talk to us, but everyone here does! Maybe because Elder Kaufusi is a giant... but they stop! After a couple hours we had some phone numbers to call and smiles on our faces. After that we went to the church and talked a little bit about the area and people with the sisters. After that we went to visit a newly baptized member who was in the hospital. He was baptized last transfer. His name is Samir. This guy is so gentle and nice. He's a single Father, whose only daughter isn't allowed to live with him (she's twelve, and he has a tough past), but he loves her very much and visits her as often as he can. He speaks good German, but he mainly speaks Russian. He's so faithful, and grateful for what he has. If you could, he needs some prayers right now. Last week he started hearing voices in his head, unfamiliar and evil voices. He's very afraid. We gave him a great priesthood blessing, and he said he's already feeling much better, but he still needs prayers. After that we were going to teach a German class, but no one showed up! So we talked to people on our way home.
Friday: We went to Hans's place again and read in the Book of Mormon with him. He is so cool. He's just a guy in a tough place trying come closer to God. He's not confident that he can quit smoking. But he's trying. After that we had a lunch appointment with the Pińols again! They are such an amazing family. We ate rice with chicken and some kind of sauce. Then Brother Pińol shared a scripture with us and we gave him a spiritual thought. After that appointment we talked to people on the way and found some more people that are interested :) then we went home and planned for the upcoming week.
Saturday: We went to the church to finish some planning and area book work with the sisters. I don't know how to explain what happened next. We were sitting there when we heard someone come in the church building. We heard him walking down the hallway, and soon enough a man appeared in the doorway. He was middle eastern, and maybe in his early 30s. He looked confused, and really tired. He said hello, and we said hello back and asked him if we could help him. He said yes, that he just needed someone to talk to. We offered him a chair and he took it. We did some small talk and found out his name was David. He was from Armenia. He had no family besides his mother, who lived with him. He had no friends. He was really smart, a mechanical engineer. He escaped Armenia as a refugee and just got his visa to stay in Germany. But the Armenian government is still looking for him. We let him explain his story, and listened intently. He told us that he's very stressed, and he can't sleep at all. He said he hadn't slept for days. He definitely looked like it. He said when he tries to sleep he hears voices and they won't let him sleep. I then felt the spirit much stronger than I've felt in along time.... I told him we were disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that God had guided him to us. I told him we could help him if he had faith on Christ. He said he did, and we offered him a blessing. He accepted, and I gave him one of the most powerful blessings I've ever given. Afterwards it was very silent. He said he felt instantly sleepy. He told us he didn't want to fall asleep until later so he could sleep that night, so we took him out to lunch, and afterwards he went home and slept. He thanked us many times, and told me I was a good man. He's coming to church on Sunday and we have his phone number :) After that we went to talk to people. That day was a testimony to me that miracles happen, and that the Lord really does his work.
Sunday: We went to church and finally got to meet lots of members!! It was the primary program, so we got to see lots of little kids singing, it was awesome! During the second hour we had another miracle. I spotted a man standing outside the building doors looking in, and one of the sisters opened the door and invited him in. He was from Venezuela, and his name was Erickson. He's a Messiah Jew. Which is AWESOME. I've never met one, but always heard about them. They're Jews that accept Christ as their Messiah, but still obey the law of Moses. He said he was very interested to see what we believed. So we went to class with him. Sister Gudnason taught the Restoration beautifully, and her companion testified to tears. It was a very spiritual class. He gave such good feedback too!! All of his ideas were perfectly aligned with what we believed, and he was very impressed. He studied the Bible a lot, and was very intrigued by the concept of more scriptures. So he left with a Book of Mormon and a few other books. He even prayed to know if what we said was true right in front of us and said he would continue his study. What a great guy. After that we got to visit Samir again, and he was doing so much better!! He said the blessing really helped, and he was feeling a lot safer. We brought him banana cake. After that we had an eating appointment with our Ward Mission Leader. He's a really cool middle aged Austrian country man. Very interesting and fun to talk to. Very gentle soul, with a great passion for missionary work. Then we went home and planned some things for the next day!
AND that was my first half week in Austria. :) thank you so much.
I love you very much and am very excited to hear from you again.
I am so thankful to be a part of such a caring family...
Elder Larson
I am indeed in Austria now, and doing FANTASTIC. This area is so beautiful and open! I was really sad to leave my area, but that's life. I'll see them again :) it will hold a special place in my heart.
I'm so happy to know that you enjoyed the video of me singing in the meeting... Sister Mücke was bawling too. (She's like the missionary mom. She took care of us a lot) you'd love her, you're very similar. Thanks mom :) I miss you guys too. Seeing photos of you guys at home makes me feel closer to you too. Wiener Neustadt is one of the best places to spend Christmas, I've heard. Amazing members, amazing scenery and snow. And we have a Christmas market! I will be thinking of you guys a lot this Christmas season though...
That sounds like a huge elk!! Too bad you couldn't grab pics, but I can imagine it.
Well I'll give you the rundown of my week!
This week has been crazy. My second area. Things have been a blur as we're trying to get everything up to speed. Both Elder Kaufusi and I are new to the area (whitewash!) and the area has been closed for about six months. Luckily there were still sister missionaries before we got here, to help us get up to speed.
Monday: My last pday in Ellwangen!! We were super busy trying to get ready for transfers, so we just got ready and ate dinner with the Bullas for the last time. It was very sad. I grew to love those people very much. Now I have to do it all over again. But we had a wonderful time.
Tuesday: My last district meeting in Ellwangen!! For district lunch we had a huge potluck, with pasta, garlic bread, peach cobbler and ice cream. After district meeting, we took a train home and then drove to Michael's for my last time. He was very sad. But I reassured him we would stay in contact. I made him promise that he wouldn't give up on the missionaries or himself. I really hope things go well for him. We said goodbye, and we went home and I packed.
Wednesday: My last (half) day in Ellwangen. This was a day full of sadness, joy, hope, and uncertainty all rolled into one. Elder Hale and I had become best friends, and everything was going wonderfully in Ellwangen. But i also had the reassurance that it was time for me to move on. It was sad to see him go, though. I said goodbye to lots of good people I'd grown fond of. The zone leaders, the other missionaries. I grew up with them in a way. But over all the feelings and nerves I had that day, I was comforted. Because I knew that the Lord needed me in Wienerneustadt.
I boarded the train at 8:35 to Stuttgart. Then I boarded a train at 10:15 to München. I was traveling with two other missionaries heading to Wien zone, so it was nice to have someone for the ride. At München i got to see Elder Donald and Elder Lingen!! It was nice to reunite with them once again and laugh and chat for a few minutes. But again, I had to be off. I boarded the train to Salzburg with lots of missionaries. I sat next to a brand new missionary, fresh out of he MTC. I can't believe it was 6 months ago that I sat where he sits now. We had a great conversation on the way. He was a very gentle soul with a strong conviction to do his best and never give up. To be the missionary we all aspire to be. We even spoke German because he wanted to practice. Since I got here, I have never met a more motivated missionary than this brand new Greeny that sat beside me. He was like a child. So excited, ready to learn, and happy. As I spoke with him, it forced me to reflect on myself.
Who am I, compared to the brand new missionary that came into the mission six months ago? More experienced to be sure... but have I lost a little bit of that same fire he had in his eyes? Has my vision darkened? Have I become discouraged? Do I study as fervently as I should? Write in my journal every night? Do my morning workout? Am I exactly obedient? There's a lot I can work on, and none of it easy. But that's the beauty of a mission. You will have "success" no matter what you do. You wanna stay up late? Go for it. You wanna be disobedient and watch a movie? Go swimming? Listen to the wrong music? Go ahead. You'll still baptize. You'll still teach. But you will do absolutely NOTHING for yourself. You will not change. You will not grow. You will not be converted. As missionaries we forget all too often that this mission is not only about those we teach and serve, it is also for us. Our strongest converts on our mission should be us. And that comes through living within the boundaries set by the Lord, and doing our best to show others his light. It's the only way. This elder inspired me.
Anyways, we arrived in Salzburg, and waited for our train to Wien. I got to see some other missionaries I haven't seen for a while, which was really nice. On the train ride to Wien I got to try an Österreichischen drink called Amdudler. It's a Soda made from mountain herbs... whatever that means. It was really good! Btw, Austrian trains are so AWESOME! They have wifi, and tables, and even a restaurant! They go over 150 mph too. Way better than German trains. Anyway, I arrived in Wien and got to meet our zone leaders! They seem like really cool guys, and I bet we'll get along really well.
Then I got to meet my new companion! I look up to him a lot. No, really. He's 6'8". He's so tall!! He was a college basketball and football player in Provo. And he is the funniest guy. So cool. And energetic! He's always ready to get up and go. We've been having a great time so far, and working really hard. Although my legs and feet hurt so bad trying to walk everywhere with him. Anyways, that night we arrived in Wienerneustadt around 7:30. I left Ellwangen at 8:30 am and arrived in my new area at 7:30 pm. We were tired. But the sisters greeted us, and holy smokes they are awesome. They already bought us groceries, set up appointments for us, and had our bikes ready. They are so helpful!! Hopefully we can return the favor. Sister Gudnason is About to go home. She's from Iceland! She's speaks perfect Englisch, Danish, Icelandic, and German. And she's a work horse. She's probably one of the best hardworking sister missionaries in the mission. Sister Mclellen is awesome too. She's a brand new golden! She doesn't speak a lot of German yet, but when she testifies, the spirit just fills the room. I've witnessed it on multiple occasions. We have good people here. Anyways, we went and helped at an institute class that night with the coolest member in our ward. Brother Pińol. He's from Spain, and he speaks perfect Englisch. He is amazing. He had us tell him our conversion stories and he took us out to Burger King. He is the funniest, nicest guy. With the biggest heart and the strongest testimony. His children are fluent in Deutsch, Englisch, and Spanisch. Very smart family. Our apartment is nice! Very small though. But it serves its purpose.
Thursday: I got up in the morning and realized that there are huge mountains right out our front window!! It looks so awesome. I could sit in front of the window for hours just staring at them. But I
won't, because I'm a missionary... and we have work to do. But I definitely could!!
We did some studies and hurried to an appointment with the sisters. It's weird not having a car. We have to bike or take trains. The investigators name that we went to is Hans. Hans is awesome. He's a big older guy with a huge heart. He wants to be baptized and is trying to quit smoking so he can. We read the scriptures with him and have these awesome spiritual discussions after a page or so. He's been taught all the lessons, but we're going through them again. He's such a nice guy. I pray he keeps making progress. He's now our investigator :)
After that we went talking to people on the street for an hour or two, and holy smokes the people are nice here!!! Lots of people in Germany wouldn't even stop to talk to us, but everyone here does! Maybe because Elder Kaufusi is a giant... but they stop! After a couple hours we had some phone numbers to call and smiles on our faces. After that we went to the church and talked a little bit about the area and people with the sisters. After that we went to visit a newly baptized member who was in the hospital. He was baptized last transfer. His name is Samir. This guy is so gentle and nice. He's a single Father, whose only daughter isn't allowed to live with him (she's twelve, and he has a tough past), but he loves her very much and visits her as often as he can. He speaks good German, but he mainly speaks Russian. He's so faithful, and grateful for what he has. If you could, he needs some prayers right now. Last week he started hearing voices in his head, unfamiliar and evil voices. He's very afraid. We gave him a great priesthood blessing, and he said he's already feeling much better, but he still needs prayers. After that we were going to teach a German class, but no one showed up! So we talked to people on our way home.
Friday: We went to Hans's place again and read in the Book of Mormon with him. He is so cool. He's just a guy in a tough place trying come closer to God. He's not confident that he can quit smoking. But he's trying. After that we had a lunch appointment with the Pińols again! They are such an amazing family. We ate rice with chicken and some kind of sauce. Then Brother Pińol shared a scripture with us and we gave him a spiritual thought. After that appointment we talked to people on the way and found some more people that are interested :) then we went home and planned for the upcoming week.
Saturday: We went to the church to finish some planning and area book work with the sisters. I don't know how to explain what happened next. We were sitting there when we heard someone come in the church building. We heard him walking down the hallway, and soon enough a man appeared in the doorway. He was middle eastern, and maybe in his early 30s. He looked confused, and really tired. He said hello, and we said hello back and asked him if we could help him. He said yes, that he just needed someone to talk to. We offered him a chair and he took it. We did some small talk and found out his name was David. He was from Armenia. He had no family besides his mother, who lived with him. He had no friends. He was really smart, a mechanical engineer. He escaped Armenia as a refugee and just got his visa to stay in Germany. But the Armenian government is still looking for him. We let him explain his story, and listened intently. He told us that he's very stressed, and he can't sleep at all. He said he hadn't slept for days. He definitely looked like it. He said when he tries to sleep he hears voices and they won't let him sleep. I then felt the spirit much stronger than I've felt in along time.... I told him we were disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that God had guided him to us. I told him we could help him if he had faith on Christ. He said he did, and we offered him a blessing. He accepted, and I gave him one of the most powerful blessings I've ever given. Afterwards it was very silent. He said he felt instantly sleepy. He told us he didn't want to fall asleep until later so he could sleep that night, so we took him out to lunch, and afterwards he went home and slept. He thanked us many times, and told me I was a good man. He's coming to church on Sunday and we have his phone number :) After that we went to talk to people. That day was a testimony to me that miracles happen, and that the Lord really does his work.
Sunday: We went to church and finally got to meet lots of members!! It was the primary program, so we got to see lots of little kids singing, it was awesome! During the second hour we had another miracle. I spotted a man standing outside the building doors looking in, and one of the sisters opened the door and invited him in. He was from Venezuela, and his name was Erickson. He's a Messiah Jew. Which is AWESOME. I've never met one, but always heard about them. They're Jews that accept Christ as their Messiah, but still obey the law of Moses. He said he was very interested to see what we believed. So we went to class with him. Sister Gudnason taught the Restoration beautifully, and her companion testified to tears. It was a very spiritual class. He gave such good feedback too!! All of his ideas were perfectly aligned with what we believed, and he was very impressed. He studied the Bible a lot, and was very intrigued by the concept of more scriptures. So he left with a Book of Mormon and a few other books. He even prayed to know if what we said was true right in front of us and said he would continue his study. What a great guy. After that we got to visit Samir again, and he was doing so much better!! He said the blessing really helped, and he was feeling a lot safer. We brought him banana cake. After that we had an eating appointment with our Ward Mission Leader. He's a really cool middle aged Austrian country man. Very interesting and fun to talk to. Very gentle soul, with a great passion for missionary work. Then we went home and planned some things for the next day!
AND that was my first half week in Austria. :) thank you so much.
I love you very much and am very excited to hear from you again.
I am so thankful to be a part of such a caring family...
Elder Larson
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