Chirping birds and a European flute
Hey family!
Things are great
here! I have quite a few stories for you this week, as this week has
been very exciting! I'll get right into it!
Outside of the church |
So
we finally got an appointment with a former investigator! We'll call him
Johnny. Johnny is a Christ like man. He lives alone, and his life is
generally hard. He has a daughter who doesn't visit him, but he still
makes every effort to call her. His ex wife is in the hospital and he
visits her every day. He works all the time, and does his best to try to
help people. His lungs are about to fail because he's been smoking for
too many years. He's trying really hard to quit right now. We talked
about his life, and focused on the things he needs.
He said he believes
in miracles as well. He was surprised when we agreed, because I think most
churches don't believe God still performs miracles. My companion and I
wanted to help him stop smoking, so my companion was about to ask him if
he thought he could cut it down to eight cigarettes a day. As he did so
I got a very strong spiritual impression. I stopped my companion and
started to tell him about Priesthood blessings. After I explained it, I
offered to give him one and he accepted. Then I had a very strange
impression. I asked him: Do you have faith that Christ healed his
people? He said yes. Then I asked him: Do you have faith sufficient to
be healed and strengthened by his priesthood authority? He paused, and
then said yes. I then commenced to give him a blessing, that he would
have the strength and ability to quit smoking immediately. That God was
proud of him for the man he became. I told him that God will heal him,
and if he exercises his faith, he will no longer need another cigarette.
After I finished, he sat there motionless for a few moments, and said
thank you. He said it brought peace to him. We set a time to come by
each week, and left him with the spirit and a prayer. Long story short, I
love blessings.
Preparation Day activities |
Number two!
We
came home from finding (I believe he uses the term "finding" for proselyting), and entered our apartment building, and started
to go upstairs. Before the door shut behind us, we heard someone
shouting:"Hallo! Hallo! Hallo!", outside behind us. I turned around and
headed back outside because it sounded urgent. As I cleared the door
way, I found myself face to face with our landlord, and he had blood
running down his face from the bridge of his nose and his head. He had
black marks on his face, and a huge red mark on his forehead. I said
something that sounded like: oh, mensch! ( basically, "oh dang!" In
German) and couldn't think of anything else to say! He was very dazed
and just kept saying:"I need some help." Turns out, he had fallen
through the roof of his garage area, banged his head and landed shoulder first on a steel table. And there he lay until he heard us
walking into the building. He had a broken nose, and banged up face, and
a severely dislocated shoulder that needs surgery. Yikes! Luckily my
companion is in the army and had emergency medical training. He's doing
much better after a trip to the hospital.
We
set a baptism date for our Hungarian investigator! Woo! It's in August.
It takes so long for us to communicate with him, so we set it far out.
But that's not the story. The story is that during the lesson, he
randomly said to me: "I love your church. I love the Mormon church.
Because the people are full of light. You are a good man. You are pure
light. I can see it. When you talked in church, I understood it all. You
were talking about serving others. It really made me feel good. You are
a very good man." I told him that if I didn't have this church, I'd be a
very different person, and I wouldn't be a good person. He's an awesome
man.
"crazy kid in the church" |
I spoke in church!! In German! Whoah! I
spoke about consecrating our lives to the Lord. I talked about serving
others. I was nervous at first, but then I just kept speaking, and
really felt the words I was saying. It was great! :) I still can't
believe I'm in Germany. We were walking home from finding one night, and
we were walking down a little village street and the birds were
chirping, and someone was playing a European flute. It was beautiful. I
still have homesickness on Pday, there's so many things that remind me
of home, and sometimes I'd give anything just to spend 5 minutes with
you guys. But this work is so glorious. It's so rewarding. I love seeing
the peace that is brings to the hearts of those we teach. I feel the
comfort of angels as we work. There's hard times, but you get through
them. Music has been a huge thing for me here. It's amazing.
This week has been very good.
Lots of tender mercies, and little things that make the day just a
little better. I get homesick sometimes. It is hard to be away from
home. It is hard to go out every day and be rejected frequently. It is
hard to serve a mission. Sometimes I think of your hugs, or playing
games with the girls, or playing ping pong with Dad. I think of the last
couple days I had at home. The love I felt, and the feelings that were
shared. But no one said serving a mission would be easy. No one said it
would be a walk in the park. Alma was rejected many times, and he was a
prophet. I'm just a boy, in a foreign land, who cant speak very well. A
nervous boy. But a boy who is called of the Lord. There are moments when
i feel like Joseph Smith in his first vision. Encircled about by thick
darkness. Then just as I am about to surrender myself to destruction,
and give up, I am picked up. Heavenly Father waits until we do our best,
and then he sweeps us up into his loving arms. I have strength to keep
going. The work becomes delicious to me, and I thrust in my sickle. I am
part of something so much bigger.
You asked, "What have I found about the
people? Something very interesting. The Lord is preparing people for his
second coming. The older generation is very hard hearted. They don't
listen to anything we say. They don't want to change. But the next
generation... They are like night and day. We have not had ONE meeting
with a younger person "20-30" that was not well received. The Lord is
preparing his people. 40 years ago there were 3 baptisms a year in this
mission. Now there are about 160 baptisms a year. The Lord is preparing
them for his coming. I think I'm in the
period of transition for the people here. There is a prophecy about
Germany from one of the old prophets about how strong this country will
be in the gospel. I see it happening. Hearts are changing from
generation to generation. It's incredible!
I
love the quote you shared with me dad... "Live your life in such a way that when trials come your way, you will
know they are from the Lord and not your own stupidity. "... It's very true. I'm trying very hard. I'm trying so
hard to be strong. I think of you. Sometimes I cry when no one is
looking. But I have the strength within me. Thank you for everything
you've done for me, dad. That debt will never be paid. I am proud to be
your son :)
I'm glad to
hear you guys are doing great. It brings me joy. I'm so thankful for
your prayers. And for your support. I love you guys. Sounds like
everyone's doing pretty good! I'm glad dad had a good Father's Day! I'll
have to do something...
I
have not gotten a chance to sing yet, but I do have an opportunity
lined up. We're having a street display sometime in the future, and me
and one of the sister missionaries will be singing at it. I don't have
any details, but it'll be awesome!
Thank
you for the package! I'll look for it in the near future! I'll keep
praying for all of you, and working hard so you may be blessed. I'll
make you proud!! Love you guys so much. Love you mom. I love getting to
read everything from you guys every week. I'll send some pics before I
go. If I missed anything, be sure to let me know and I'll address it
next time. :)
"The only drinking fountain in all Germany...true story". |
With so much love, Elder Tanner William Larson.
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