Short and Sweet!

"Oi

Thanks for the story. I really liked to hear about your mission.

Wanderson, our baptism last week, was confirmed this week and received the priesthood. He went on his first division with us yesterday. That was cool. He is really awesome and wants to serve a mission. We're working to get a family of five baptized this Sunday. I really think that they will. This is a family that accepted baptism a couple of times, but then quit.

Can you please send some new pillow cases? I let two get all moldy and now they're really gross.

Oh...the zone loved your presents! They say thank you.

I have to go now, but I love you all!"

Elder Christian

"I Thought You Forgot Me"

"Oi!

"Well, the phone call was great. We got to talk to him for 60 minutes, but it didn't come off without a hitch. We were supposed to call at 12 Noon Mountain Time which is 5 pm in Brazil. So, at the appointed time we dialed the number he had given us, but were told the number was not in service! Tried again, same result! I had his mother trying to find the phone # we used at Mother's Day to see how many digits were in that number. After several more tries, I noticed that the area codes in our phone book for three cities in Brazil were two digits, and he had a zero in front of two digits in the area code he had given us. I tried the call without the zero and it went through. That whole scenario took 17 sweaty minutes and his first words were, "I thought you forgot me." Whew!

He had spent the day with his companion tracting. Apparently Christmas Day is just like any other day in Brazil. Christmas Eve they celebrate with fireworks, barbeques, and beer. That's kind of like many summer activities in the northern hemisphere. Remember, it's 95 degrees where he is and extremely high humidity.

We learned that his companion is from a smaller city close to Sao Paulo on the coast, and has been a member for three years. The ward where they attend is weak with only about 70 members attending and only 7 or 8 priesthood holders. Many have apostatized, but they did have a baptism this past week and another is scheduled.

There are 170 missionaries in the mission and 13 zones, each with two zone leaders. There are eight missionaries in the office, two of which were formerly his companions. He reports that he must have an accent when he speaks Portuguese, because he has been accused of being from at least ten different countries, some in South America and others in Europe. The U. S. wasn't one of them.

He says that there are some great fruits there. I had asked him about the acai berry, fruit from the Amazon which is extremely high in antioxidents and now making waves in the nutritional market. He admits he has gained some weight, as evidenced by the tightness of his suit pants.

He apologizes that he cannot write to everyone as he would like. His schedule is so busy and every minute is taken up with some part of the work. He appreciates the cards and letters and thanks everyone for their support even though he can't reply as he would like.

It was great to hear the sound of his voice. This was our second phone call. There is one more at Mother's Day 09. He wasn't allowed to call home last Christmas from the CTM, because there were too many missionaries and not enough phone lines. Time flies.....he has 10 1/2 months left, but who's counting.

Christmas is NEXT Week?!!!!

Oi!

Ya, know, your question about the phone call is a really good one. To be honest, I thought we still had like three weeks until the phone call, but Christmas is NEXT week! AH! President hasn't said a word about the phone call, that is interesting. He might give some rules, he might not. We'll see. As for us, I'll find a member, get their number and try to schedule a time for you to call them. I'll try and schedule it for Dec. 25th, 5 pm Brazil time. I'll let you know on the 23rd or 24th and I'll confirm the time.

I love the packages that you've sent. Elder Santanna as well. He hasn't stopped talking about the little maglite you sent for the 15th day. He really appreciated that. It's really fun to open these presents one day at a time. That package was the latest that I've received from you.

We have two baptisms that will happen this Sunday. Two 20 year old guys named Fransisco and Wanderson. It is very likely that because of these two, five more will follow in the next few months. We have also started to animate the members here with a program that I learned with Bro. Quatel in Vinhedo. It is going to be really good and will animate the members. This ward is small and weak. There were only 50 or 60 members at church Sunday... and out of all of them nine priesthood holders....OUCH! alright, let's baptize! I am getting used to Rio Claro. I feel I'll be here for awhile.

I love you and am happy. I am excited to talk to all of you! I will let you know how that will work out next week. I know the church is true!

Ate mais!
Elder Christain

Transfer to Rio Claro

Oi!

I was transferred yesterday. I have left Vinhedo. I miss Vinhedo, Elder Nodal, Elder Bradford, and Elder Clark, but I'll get over it quick.

I'm now in a city called Rio Claro. I'm in the Rio Claro 2nd Ward. My comp is Elder Sant'anna.
He's a Brazilian from Sao Paulo and has 6 months left on the mission, but I am his senior. OOPA! He just hasn't qualified yet, that's all. I think I appreciate this change. I can take things with greater calm and sensibility. I feel like in Vinhedo, I rushed around like a chicken with it's head cut off and didn't get very far.

It's really hot here. REALLY HOT, and really noisy. We live in the downtown area and there are always cars, busses, and trucks passing by. We live in front of a high school, and we live with our zone leaders...again! LOL. Our zone leaders are Elder Martin and Elder Carvalhal. Elder Martin was Elder Clark's comp in the CTM. I bet we have fun together and baptize a lot. Rio Claro has the stigma of being one of the dead zones, but I'll forget all about that and everything will work out.

I'm very happy about my last week in Vinhedo..our numbers were awful, but something really special happened. There was a family in our ward whose newborn daughter died on Sunday morning. I was eating lunch with the bishop that day and we went back to the chapel for the funeral. I played the piano, and after the talk played postlude for nearly 45 minutes. The spirit was very strong and many people commented, but what was most special was one brother that come up to me, hugged me and said, 'You are always around to help with anything Elder Larsen, it's we that are failing you guys.' We had a lot of difficulty in Vinhedo, but with that one sentence, I felt like we had done our part, that we were appreciated and worthy missionaries. That night I played the piano at the stake again for their Christmas fireside. Beside this I have played in over 90% of all the sacrament meetings. My patriarchal blessing and the blessing that Pres. Broderick gave me when I was set apart as a missionary are being fulfilled. The piano is playing a big part in my mission.

There's a family in Vinhedo that has the same crock pot you have and they want some recipes, because they always burn stuff and don't know how to stop. Can you send some recipes. They speak English so don't worry about the language.

I love you and am happy and content. Thanks for everything. I know the church is true.

Elder Christian.

Thanksgiving at Paulo & Keiko's

"Oi!

Thanksgiving was wonderful. It was very fancy, but very American. We went over to Paulo and Keikos's and the whole house was decked out in Christmas. They had invited the new stake president because Paulo is also newly called to the stake presidency. I talked to Pres. Kawaii about the division of the ward and he said that it is happening, that it would happen at the beginning of the new year. He was very excited and supportive of us. Paulo and Keiko also invited two other families from our ward and one family from the other ward. I know all of them well and it was awesome! The turkey was perfect, the pumpkin pie as well. We are so visiting Brazil after my mission and I'll introduce you to this family. They are one of my favorites of my whole mission.

The best news is that we got a new Ward Mission Leader, Brother Iglezia! He was just released from the stake presidency and I bet is probably the best member in both of the wards combined. I could not be happier about his call.

Today we are going to Campinas to buy some clothes for Elder Nodal. I don't need anything, but I will look for music. I want to ask you to send the "Called to Serve" MoTab CD and the new MoTab Christmas CD called "Rejoice and Be Merry." Also try to send some orchestrated hymns and classical music (can you specifically look for Vivaldi, he has a bunch of beautiful violin music). I bet you can find a set of classical music with a bunch of music for cheap. Pres. just gave us new rules about music, so I have to refurbish my ipod when I get the chance. We can listen to anything from MoTab, any orchestrated hymns (on any classical instrument) and any classical music.

Oh, and guess what, my shoes already have a hole in them, do you believe it. I'll send a picture to you next week.

We don't know anything about transfers, but we both want to stay. Elder Nodal because he wants to pass Christmas here, and I because I want to work with Irmao Iglezia. We'll see what happens.

Oh, also this is cool. At lunch on Sunday, the member's parents were over and they just got back from a church history mission. He finished the mission, but is slow on writing the book, so I told him that I would bother him about this until the book is published and that I would do everything I could to help him. This was a surprise to me, but I really want to come back down here for a few weeks after the mission and help him put the book together. They have hundreds of stories of the pioneers in Brazil and this stuff is amazing and has to be published. We have a lot to do down here in Brazil in one year. LOL.

I love you and am working hard. Ate logo! Enjoy your acai!"

Elder Christian

Utah 48....BYU 24!!!

"Oi,
I'm super happy about the U of U/BYU game. These past few months as BYU was winning everything, Elder Clark and Elder Nodal have been rubbin it in a lot, and now Utah is in the spot BYU was in. I'll be sure not to rub it in though. The Lord cursed BYU for pride. LOL. ha ha

Stake conference was wonderful, but none of the ward splitting happened. That's because the first that our mission president had heard about it was in my interview with him. That's not good, he needs to know. So, I bet it will divide here soon. I got to go to all of the sessions of stake conference! I was super happy about that and I learned a lesson that I would not have otherwise learned.

I was sitting up on the stand observing all the stake leaders interact with each other and with the stake members and I noticed that they all had super social personalities...super good conversationalists, ya know that type. then I went down and there was an Asian couple making their way through the crowd, doing nothing more than nod and smile to most people, not social at all. I thought, 'there's no way he's a big leader here in the stake, I wonder what his calling is?' Well, imagine my surprise when this man was called as the stake president. His attitude was not a result of his new calling as he hadn't received his call when I first saw him. But the Lord taught me that anyone can be called, and that there is no perfect personality type for a leader.

His wife is full of the Spirit. When she spoke on Sunday, she told everyone that she found a quote by President Eyring that says, basically, that the Lord will give us more than sufficient capacity to do what he calls us to do. She wrote that phrase down during the week with the intent to give it to the new stake president (or at least his wife). Imagine her surprise when she found out that the new stake president would be her husband!

The choir sang very well and I played very well also. Everyone complimented me (I felt like a rock star!) which made me feel very good, because the piano is something that I know I do well. Even if I don't feel like the perfect missionary, I know I did play the piano well and that I helped a lot of people with that.

We will have Thanksgiving. There's a super rich family in the ward that invites the missionaries every year and they invited us. But I called the president and he said that we could go if there was an investigator there. The family, however, didn't want to invite anyone else outside of the family, so we weren't going to go. But, she called the president and changed his mind...Oh my! Oh well, we'll get Thanksgiving! I'll send pictures. It's tomorrow.

I love you and am working hard. I'm going to the post office right now to find a box to ship a Christmas present to you. It's cool!

Ate pday" Elder Christian

Ward Divided....Urgent Choir Assignment!

Oi!
First, I'll answer your questions...
Yes, I got the debit card and it works. I haven't sent the package yet because I bought a small box and have to get a different one. We will go to the post office today and I think I can send it back next week. I bet it will cost a bundle. The next transfer is Dec. 9. I don't want to get transferred, but I bet I will. We have interviews tomorrow and I'll tell the Pres that I don't want to get transferred. I'll tell you why, it's really exciting. My zone has 14 elders and 2 sisters. My district has 4 of those elders and the 2 sisters. I assure you they would love anything.

So anyway, this week is super exciting! I'm more excited this week than any other week of my mission so far!!! We have stake conference on Sunday and the ward is going to divide!!!!

Remember how when I arrived here in Vindedo Elder Hancock told me that it was our goal to create a branch in the 'Bairro Capella.' (translated it means 'The Chapel Neighborhood') Well, it's going to happen, and what's more, it's going to be a full blown ward! Not just a branch. It's secret for now. I can't tell anyone here. Also, we're getting a new stake presidency and Elder Ulisses Soares of the First Quorum of the Seventy is coming. Exciting, huh!

What more?? Sunday night the ward called us urgently and said that the choir director had all of a sudden changed the music and that the pianist couldn't learn it in time, so they asked me to accompany the choir at the conference. I told them that the only thing I wanted in return were references of people inside the condominiums...so what did I get ...10 references! A choir of nonmember people will sing at the Itatiba and Socorro Wards in December and the stake has already prepared a thank you basket for each person, so I told them to give the baskets to us and we'll go teach them! How awesome! We've gotten up at 5 am this week to find time to practice. One of the pieces is a 7 page Be Still, My Soul, and another is a 4 page Silent Night. I've got them down, too. Suzanne (his music teacher) would be proud! And the cool thing is that I now get to go to the Saturday night adult session, which I otherwise would not have been able to go to.

And the best part? We have 5 baptisms marked for the 30th. Aginaldo, Cris, and Itala, a family of three is firm. another Marcos, accepted in the first lesson and is firm. Another Lucas accepted in the second lesson and is firm and excited!

Because of the split, I'll lose those 10 references and one of the baptisms, but that's ok...the Lord has a HUGE harvest waiting for us. If Bairro Capela wasn't prepared last week, it sure will be next week. Because the ward is dividing, the Lord is sending another legion of angels to help us! HOORAY!

I love you all and know that the church is true. Pray that we may find new, elect families, that they will accept the challenge and attend church and be baptized.

Elder Christian

New Approach to Our Area....New Investigators!

"My Bday was good! I hardly believe I'm 20. AH! OLD!

I went on division with Elder Kershaw (our strict former AP) and it was a really good division. I learned a lot and things have become a little more relaxed in the house.

Aparacida...remember she was the one that Elder Hancock and I baptized...well lunch that day was at her house because she found out it was my bday. She traded to have our lunch that day. She made a wonderful lunch and a great chocolate cake which we still haven't finished eating. LOL! She also gave me a white shirt which she spent forever trying to find. That is a great family.

I got all six packages yesterday. I'm sure now that no matter what else happens in my mission everyone will remember me as the elder who received the most packages. I don't have an exact count. I lost count after 22. I especially loved the camels from the 1st ward. I love that ward. Send everyone a hug.

Among those packages I got the debit card, but I think I'll give the Joseph Smith book to someone here in the ward that speaks English. Whomever I give it to will be super excited.

Yesteday was our mission conference and it was almost as good as General Conference. Pres. Castro Deus talked a lot about specific prayers and how we should teach about the Book of Mormon. He also gave a language study time to all Americans, and gave us a study plan which includes reading Preach My Gospel while biting on a pencil.

We've decided to take a different approach to our work here. Last week we were tired and sat down on a bench to think and talk. We realized that in 6 months with 5 different missionaries this area has only baptised 12 people...that's miserable! So we thought, what has been the common denominator? Every single missionary worked almost exclusively in one big neighborhood called Capella. Then as revelation we both felt that Capella isn't prepared yet. We need to focus on the other half of our area and it's there that we'll find the elect. We haven't been able to fully leave Capella yet, but on the first day of work in this other half, we found a family of four...Aginaldo, Cris, Itala, and Christopher (baby). They have their baptism marked for the 28th of November. They believe the Book of Mormon to be true. Aginaldo said, 'I just can't help but believe, I feel the urge to believe.' We taught them last night with the bishop. The bishop, who is normally really reserved, said that he felt the huge desire to meet this family. We were also able to teach Joao Batista again and this time WITH HIS WHOLE FAMILY!!!!! Elder Nodal and I put my inherited crafting skills to work and we made a family home evening kit with the March 08 Liahona about Christ, a dvd, a proclamation, the Living Christ, candy, and an Uno game. They were really grateful for the gift. Right before that lesson we ran into a member in our ward and he went with us and invited them to do a family night with them this coming Monday. Pray that Joao Bitista, Adelia, and Isadora will go to church this Sunday and to the family night on Monday.

I love you all and I'm happy and sure that miracles will occur in our area this month. Pray for a specific blessing for these people.

Tschau Elder Christian

Sadness Here and There!

"Oi!

I can't believe that Connie passed away. (Connie and Larry Kerr were Christian's trek parents and Larry was the other counselor in the Bayview YSA bishopric with Richard) This has all happened so fast that certainly she was needed on the other side.

Yep, my bday is Monday! It's just another day here in the mission, but the next day we have a mission conference and I'm really excited for it.

Elder Clark was transferred to Valinhos which is a city right next door to Vinhedo. He was made the ZL for all of Campinas! Elder Kershaw was transferred here. He is a past AP and is all business which makes us sad, because the laughter has basically died in our house. We are more obedient now, but I still think we can laugh and smile and be 100% obedient at the same time. I'll find a way. Elder Nodal and myself are still here in Vinhedo with Elder Bradford.

I got the pictures and letter from Casey! Looks like they get to go to the beach and take hikes and everything! Holy cow! Now I know I'm in a HARD WORKING mission! We'd never get to do that. He works hard, too, I know.

Everyone has been talking about the election and I guess Obama won? It's alright, I don't think he'll be as bad as we all think, but I don't think he'll win a second term.

We were out proselyting in a new bairro and we found a castle. I'll try and take a picture next pday. It's cool.

Well, I don't know what more to say this week...we're working really really really hard and we're happy. Throw a party for me on my bday. I love you guys! Let Larry know I love him too!

Tschau Elder Christian

10 Year Mission Baptism Record

"This week was tough, but we're happy!

The mission broke a record. We got the highest number of baptisms for one week in the last 10 years. The mission as a whole baptized 69 people!

Friday we have transfers, but it doesn't look like much is going to change in the whole mission. We're afraid that Elder Clark will get transferred (to be assistant) but we think that everyone else will stay put.

Today has already been great. We had breakfast at a member's house in the other ward and he made pancakes with the Krusteaz stuff you sent me. He just got back from vacation in the US so he's rich. He made pancakes and scrambled eggs and bacon. I used the last of the Lawford's Maple Cream Syrup which is considered by all of us to be the best maple syrup on the face of the planet!

Saturday Elder Clark's ward had a baptism and we helped. We sang with Elder Clark and Elder Bradford in a choir for the special musical number. Out of the 17 baptisms marked between the two of us, only that one happened...sad huh! But, oh well, we did our part, this I know.

Last Thursday, we prepared an inspired lesson about the priesthood for Antonio, Roseli, and Jader. When we walked in, the first thing she said to us was that it would be our last visit! Even before we got to the baptismal invite, she said that she was certain that she would never get baptized in our church, EVEN THOUGH she knows that everything we taught is true. So, we taught and bore testimony and personal experiences and invited them all to be baptized. They rejected, but in the closing prayer we felt the greatest sense of peace. We felt the Holy Ghost confirm to us with power that we had done all that was required of us, and that their future was in the hands of the Lord.

I also felt a peace similar to that as I looked at the roses in our neighbor's yard. I remember the garden that we have and feel like I can comprehend the perfection of God. The mission is pretty good!

I'm happy and love you all.

Elder Christian

This is a picture of Elder Nodal, our zone leaders, and myself at a member's house on Taco Day.

This is Elder Nodal and myself on the ground of the temple in Campinas.

Oy Veh!

"Oi familia,

First, I want to say that almost all of the baptisms fell through. We still have one marked for this Saturday, but he has real Word of Wisdom problems that we're working on, but he'll get over them. They fell through because they didn't go to church. I was so excited. We were finally seeing some major results from all our hard work, but then they all went away. I know this is just a trial of our faith, and it's impossible for me to stop working so we continue, enduring to the end.

Last night we taught Antonio, Roseli, and Jader and invited them to be baptized. We taught them an inspired lesson about the priesthood and bore powerful testimony. The spirit was there. She rejected even before I could invite her, but I still invited them and they rejected. We said the final prayer and in the prayer Elder Nodal and I both felt an overwhelming peace
and we knew that we had fulfilled our purpose with them. Afterwards, I bore testimony of the Savior in a way that I felt to be as powerful and personal as the testimony of Pres. Castro Deus. It's hard to describe, but it was a powerful confirmation.

Our zone leaders (with whom we live) are going to get a washing machine! That's exciting!

We're going to carve jack-o-lanterns today...out of watermelons! I got your Halloween package and it was amazing. You really put a lot of work into that package and we all appreciate it. Everyone is amazed at how well you pack the packages.

Dad, everyone here says Obama is winning...uh oh!

I noticed something alarming...my credit card says it expires this month. That is weird because I've only had it for one year, but maybe you should check that out. I drew out a whole bunch of money because the rate is super good...almost 2.5 to one. So, I have that as backup, but I know I can get by on just my mission money for awhile. You might want to call the bank.

I don't know what more to say than we are working hard, always, and that I know this is the work of God. I know that Jesus Christ lives and is my Savior. I love Him and I love you all. Ate mais!

Elder Christian

9 + 8 = 17

"Oi!

This has been an exciting week! We've worked hard and are doing very well. Let me remind you of the standard that we are trying to meet:

10 investigators in church
12 lessons with members
14 new investigators

This past week we reached:

3 investigators in church
13 lessons with members
17 new investigators

Along with another 18 lessons ourselves, that makes 31 lessons total. This sure isn't Germany, is it Dad?

Something amazing happened as well, which I'm still not quite believing. We found a family of seven, five of whom are 8 or older. We taught them the first lesson and less than half a second after we invited them to be baptized on October 25th, the eight year old son shouted "I will!" Then we went around the room and all five committed to be baptized. I'm still shocked by it all! They didn't go to church Sunday, so they'll have to be baptized on the 26th after church, and we haven't been able to talk with them all together again, but we've talked with a couple of the sons and the mom and each time they've said they're excited to be baptized. We're praying that this comes through. Their names are Damiro, Raimunda, Benicio, Pablinho, Fabrico, Milena, and Andre. Please put their names in the temple. I think that I'm so shocked that this has happened that we need a bunch more people to excercise their faith too!

We also have a baptism of an old investigator, Aparacido. He has been having a tough time overcoming smoking, alcohol, and coffee. He will be baptized on the 25th as well. Antonio, Roseli, and Jader are also marked for the 25th, but Roseli freaked out when she went to church. She thinks she's too poor and that everyone looks down on her and doesn't accept her. And now she won't give up coffee to save her life, but she know this is all true. She's just acting like a spoiled little child in response to their father. She'll come around, especially after Antonio and Jader get baptized.

So in total, October 25th, 2008 we plan to baptize nine people!!! The zone leaders also have eight people marked for that day. Can you imagine 17 people being baptized in one meeting! Nossa! I just really want this to happen. The ward has been really animated as they've heard about this.

We had interviews with Pres. Castro Deus on Monday and he is really happy with our work. One thing he always says in my interviews is, 'Elder Larsen, your companion really likes you.' That always makes me happy. And today in the leadership meeting he told Elder Clark that he really wants us to baptize, because 'they deserve it.' I'm super happy. This has been a good week.

I love you and am happy. I know this is the Lord's work.

Elder Christian

Ten Investigators at Conference

"Oi!

We just got back from the temple and the mission office. Holy cow, those were some heavy packages! lol!

This week has been nuts. Conference was amazing. I got to watch all five sessions in English. The best was priesthood. I enjoyed all of Pres. Uchtdorf's talks and I don't know how, but Pres. Eyring's talks always are directed to me, without fail. You should have seen our faces when Pres. Monson announced the Italy Rome temple. The four of us were astonished! That is so cool!

We were able to take 10 investigators to watch conference this past weekend. I was really proud of that. I didn't realize that we had 10 until Monday night when we ran into Aparacida and she told us that Luiz and Eduardo went to the priesthood session Saturday night.

Our district leader has been worried that we haven't been able to mark any baptisms for awhile, so he did a training on the baptismal invitation and called us to practice first . In that practice I felt the spirit as strong as I've ever felt here in my mission. That was a powerful testimony to me that we are doing very well and doing things right. We are working hard, everything will happen in the time of the Lord. We have marked one family to be baptized on the 18th...Antonio, Roseli, and Jader. They are awesome. We just met them and they went to church the first week we invited them and they know this is true.

The exciting thing this week is Elder Bradford's old area. They baptized 11 this past Saturday. Dad, can you imagine that ever happening in Germany! Eleven people in one baptismal service!

I read the email from Casey about casting out evil spirits...that's intense. I read it aloud to everyone in our house. Up north in Brazil they have a lot of problems with that kind of stuff. I've heard of it here in our mission, too, but it's not nearly as common.

Well, I'm sure tired. I'm going to go home and rest and do laundry before pday ends. I love you all. Tschau! Tschau!

Elder Christian

Parrot Poop and Motab Hymns!!

"Oi!

This week has been good...this last weekend in particular. These past few weeks were slow until Friday. We just dropped everything and walked our entire area teaching two minute lessons on the Restoration to anyone we saw. We marked appointments for this entire week and we've found some good families. One family is really good. They are really needy though, but that makes them humble. Their names are Antonio, Roseli, and a son Jader. We will also return to a family today and I hope all goes well. We taught the wife the first lesson and we'll teach the husband tonight. I pray that works out because they really are a good family. What may impede them is that she works on Sunday. Their names are Gilmar and Luiana.

Here is some other good news! Joao Batista came to church on Sunday!!! I expect he'll also come to at least one session of conference too! He is wonderful. His wife and daughter are still resisting to be taught, but he is firm.

Some more good news...remember Aparacida, whom Elder Hancock and I baptized. Well, her oldest son, Eduardo, has started coming to church! I was blown away when I saw him there. That is a good sign! We can only teach him on weekends, but I bet he'll go to conference and then we'll invite him to be baptized along with his dad, Luiz, who continues to go to church. I bet, if Eduardo gets baptized, Luiz will also and that family will be complete and will be able to be sealed in the temple in one year.

We had a Church Exhibition on the Square on Saturday. We set up a huge banner that we used in the open house and we had the four of us missionaries and about five members giving out cards and questioning people about their beliefs and whether they'd like a visit from the missionaries. We got about 30 references from that...some have already fallen through, but it was a good activity. We gave out almost 500 pass along cards, some of which I'm sure will turn into references. During the activity I got pooped on by a wild parrot. I didn't like the poop, but I thought it was cool that it was a wild parrot!!!

Speaking about parrots, have I told you about our parrot next door? He can whistle the Brazilian National Anthem and is learning the MoTab Hymns now!

We are SUPER excited for conference. There is nothing better than this! We'll get to watch everything in English, and we'll even get to watch it here in Vinhedo. We would normally have to go to the stake center in Itatiba which is a pain in the butt! But we can watch it here now.

I realized that I was close to the year mark, but I didn't realize how close until you said it was only 6 weeks away! NOSSA! Time has flown by and continues to fly!

We're working really really hard and we're happy. I love you."

Elder Christian.

New Shoes.......and Great Pizza!!

"First, I have to say that I have never received a better package than the shoe package! My bishop here passed by the mission home while he was in Campinas and picked up my package. That was after I had called Pres. Castro Deus and asked for permission. It was pretty awful walking around in strong rain with a hole in my shoe. Thank you for the socks, insoles, shoes and candy. Oh, and I'm sure that Elder Rossi will be grateful for the jerky seasoning. I'm certain that he can find someone in Brasilia that can translate the instructions for him.

This week was eventful. Saturday night we, together with Elder Clark and Elder Bradford, did a Musical Fireside. It was actually an activity for their ward and was part of the open house we did, but this open house involved the entire city, so we worked on it together (even though my ward didn't show up or pitch in, neither did the bishop announce it, so nothing good happened for our ward!). It was fun, because I played the piano for their choir and on Sunday I had to go to their sacrament meeting to play the piano, too. That made me feel good to do something that I was good at for them.

This week was crazy as well. The pizza here in Vinhedo is SUPER GOOD. We ate pizza five times this week...one to celebrate the transfer, one because we had another elder over on a division and three more. lol, oh well! It's prett nutty with four Americans. We laugh a lot , and just like the last time I lived with my ZLs, I think that I'm the only sane one in the house.

Here in Vinhedo we are trying to start from scratch. For that entire transfer with Elder Hancock we were working with old investigators that they had with his previous companion. Well, those people were going nowhere very, very slowly, so we dropped just about everybody and are trying to find new people. That is why these weeks have been so hard. I've never started with a clean slate before. I'm learning a lot. Those two women you asked about are hard to reach. Ana Maria, the one with the super nice house has been living in Sao Paulo these past few weeks, so I haven't even been able to talk to her again, though I call her everyday. I am praying hard that one of these days when I call her, she'll be home. Ivone is almost the same way...rich people are difficult. We're starting a new program of cards here in the ward with 48 little displays that we are putting around the city that hold pass along cards, so I expect we'll get a lot of references from this once it gets started. Also, this was the first week when I succeeded in marking for members to teach with us everyday. I'm happy, but yesterday and the day before didn't work out, so cross your fingers for the rest of the week.

I love you guys. Tell Tiffany that I'm proud of her because she is active in the church and doing well in high school.

Tchau! Ate mais! Elder Christian

Bad Week.....But I'm Happy!

"This has been an eventful week. First off, this has been one of the worst weeks of my mission, but I'm still super happy! It was bad because three of our families shut the door on us...half our teaching group. I think I cried, I can't remember. Also we threw a huge open house with our zone leaders ward and nobody...NOBODY came, so we lost a lot of time, but the open house was really good. I'll tell you about it later.

Yesterday Elder Hancock was transfered. My new comp is Elder Nodal from Albuquerque, NM. This is his second transfer and I'm his second companion. He is really new to the mission. My zone leader got a new companion, too, an Elder that I really like, Elder Bradford. His is super humble, super excited and super happy all of the time. We still live with our zone leaders, so it's still crazy at our house all of the time.

The open house was really well done. We had the church decorated really well and each room was about a different aspect of the church. Our room was the Missionary Work room and we had the baptizmal font open and running. It was cool! We had a bunch of neat banners from the mission and there was a room that had a pathway made out of old liahonas. It was pretty neat!

I saw everyone yesterday at the mission conference. Elder MeEwen was the happiest to see me. He got the present and said he nearly cried when he saw it. Elder Pereira nearly knocked me over when I gave him the ring you sent for him. I told him he didn't need to pay for it. Elder Benson, from my CTM group, was made senior companion and Elder Rossi, my old comp and (at the time) his comp said that Elder Benson was praying that he and I could be companions. I may not have baptized many people yet, but it seems like I'm making a big difference in the lives of many of the missionaries here.

We taught two rich ladies the other day...one lady's house was as fancy as anything in Park City. She called to receive a Book of Mormon. What happened was that she found the number to call while she was channel surfing waiting for her husband's surgery to finish. She happened upon a church film (about the Beck family, one of whom, the subject of the film, I know from Sunday Singing) and she called then and there in the hospital. When we invited her to be baptized she told us the she never thought she could be baptized, that she couldn't convert to Mormonism...that we were like the Jews and that you had to be born one. We were like OF COURSE YOU CAN! She said that she wanted to talk to her husband first. The other lady did something that nobody has ever done before. She wrote down the date and time of our baptizmal invitation! We will have to call both ladies to go back and that will happen tomorrow. Please pray for them. Their names are Ana Maria Mandoza and Ivone Wagner Bento. We also need to teach their families.

I'm happy and working and loving the mission. Thanks for the information on my friends. Will you find out if Casey (Bangerter) knows an Elder Monson in Fortaleza. He was one of the zone leaders that I got to help call and introduce while I was AP in the CTM.

I love you. Elder Christian.

Miracle Baptism...More Coming!

"This week was good, VERY tiring, but good. I think that I told you about what happened with Aparacida. Not this past Sunday, the Sunday before that we filled up the font after church and taught her and her husband that day and invited them to be baptized that night. That made a deep impression on her, deep enough that the following Tuesday she told her son that she wanted to be baptized the following Saturday. He immediately called me and told me and she was baptized by him on that Saturday. At the baptism she told me that she really wanted me to baptize her... even more than her son! But we both thought it better that he baptize her and I confirm her.... since I have the Melchizedek Priesthood and he does not. That was really good. That was a miracle baptism. We're working for another miracle baptism this week...Luiz, her husband. I think that he needs a lesson about agency and the atonement, that he has to act, make the choice. He is a "dry Mormon"... he only lacks the baptism.

I'm very happy about our other investigators. Joao Batista is totally elect. I can't even describe him! This is the guy that called to us on the street. He just needs to go to church and then I'm positive that he'll accept baptism. His wife and daughter are more difficult. His wife accepted the first visit, but then we met her in the street and she said (very happily and almost laughing) that she was 'passionate' about her church, that she believes that it is the only true church, and that is where she cries and feels good and that she would never, ever, ever change. The daughter does nothing more than study. She's very nice but she fights with her parents. I think they are probably a little overbearing, so she doesn't want anything to do with anything. Pray for them. Send their names to the temple. Joao Batista, Adelia, and Isadora. He is stake president material.

We have lots of other investigators. All of them are working on various problems, but they're all really good people. This weekend the other ward is throwing a big open house. It's HUGE and we're working with those missionaries to put this on, because it will affect both wards. I'm excited for this. Pray for the well being of our investigators, that they will act according to the knowledge they have so they can be touched by the spirit and choose to be baptized. But pray also that they will attend this open house and that many members will participate and be profoundly affected.

Dad, you should see the campaigning down here. They have an annoying peculiarity here called the sound car. They go around playing jingles for the candidates all day long! They congregate in the most densly populated neighborhoods where we also are and it begins to really get on your nerves.

This coming Tuesday are transfers. But, we're working and praying that Luiz can be baptized. I love you and am happy. Ate mais!

Elder Christian

Faith, Hard Work....And a Mission Record!

"Oi familia!

This week was an amazing week...we worked SO HARD! And exercised so much faith! We concentrated on everyone that was possible to be baptized that week and invited everyone for that Saturday, but nobody accepted. Sunday we filled up the font right after church as an act of faith and went directly to Luiz and Aparacida's home to invite them to be baptized that night at 8. I even told them that the water was waiting for them. They rejected, but she asked me, 'Will there be a baptism tonight?' I said, 'Well, not now.' And she said, 'I'll prepare myself then.' Yesterday, I got a call from her son, who told me that she just barely told him that she wanted to be baptized this Saturday! YES!! Elder Hancock and I nearly fainted, we were so overwhelmed. So happy! She'll be baptized this Saturday at 7. Pray for Luiz Carlos and Eduardo, her husband and son, so that they can be baptized with her.

On top of this we met a super prepared family Saturday night. We felt impressed by the Spirit to keep Saturday night planned for a baptism, even though we hadn't marked one, so we were walking to the church when a man across the street called to us. He asked what time church was and where the church was and if he could go. We told him and marked to go teach him. We taught him yesterday. He and his family live in the richer part of Vinhedo and asked every question that we answer before we answered them...'Are there prophets in our day? Is there modern day scripture? What do I need to do to know that this is true?' They'll accept our baptismal invitation after they go to Aparacida's baptism Saturday.

And what more this week, the mission hit a record. We baptized 204 people in the month of August, and 63 in this last week....a record unparalled in the history of this mission! YAY! It's truly a blessing, the Lord has seen our hard work, sacrifice, and faith and is blessing the mission like never before.

You don't need to worry about the packages. I'm getting every single one. The customs people don't take them. I need new shoes. I think I'll have these resoled, and maybe buy another pair. I left my other pair in Piracicaba, because they had a huge hole in the bottom. I'll take a picture and send it to you so you can get more from Missionary Mall, but I need some new shoes right away. You don't have to send much more mac and cheese. Please keep sending a few socks and maybe some insoles. I ate macaroni today and the four of us devoured the candy. I gave a lot of macaroni away to our zone and they appreciated it. Everyone thinks we're rich now. Ha ha

I can't wait to hear about Casey. I'd love to keep hearing about my missionary friends that are out. I don't hear much...and now that I'm senior, I can't find time to write either...

I'm super happy and love the mission. Thanks for everything!"

Elder Christian

This picture was taken of Elder Hancock and myself in front of the Campinas Temple. Elder Hancock is from Dugway, Utah. The picture was taken by my former companion Elder Rossi.

Look How Close We Got!

"Oi!
(You should know that I started typing this in Portuguese and realized that wouldn't work! HaHa)

This week has been another good week. Look at our numbers:

Ammon Pattern Our Numbers

12 lessons with a member 11 lessons with a member
14 new investigators 13 new investigators
10 investigators in church 10 investigators in church
2 baptisms 0 baptisms

LOOK HOW CLOSE WE GOT! President Castro Deus promised us that if we meet the first three indicators we'll be blessed with 2 baptisms. I'm praying hard that we can mark a baptism for this Saturday. The president made a goal for all the missionaries to baptise in the month of August and there are 62 who haven't yet, INCLUDING US.!

Here's a list of the possible people for this week: Edcarlos, Edma, Vivane, Natan, Luiz, Aparacida, Eduardo, Adrian. Here's who we marked to be baptized 13 September: Tereza, Manoel, Abel. Here's a few awesome people who are surely elect people: Leandro, Danilo, Celso, Sydiney. Would you call the temple and put them on the prayer roll along with mine and Elder Hancock's names.

We just got back from the temple. WE took the bus to Campinas and then grabbed another bus within Campinas. At the bus stop in Campinas I ran into two members of my ward in Campo Grande! Actually, they ran into me and yelled "Larsen" from across the street! That was so cool and it made me happy to know that they remembered me...even my very name!

At the temple, I ran into Elder Rossi. He reminded me to ask dad for the beef jerky recipe, he really wants that, lol. He is now the comp of Elder Benson from my CTM group, cool, huh! Elder Brewer was also there.

I'm very happy and working hard. I love you.

Ate mais Elder Christian

New Investigators and Wild Monkeys

"This week was great! We met two of the key indicators (goals) for the Ammon Pattern of Excellence. We found 15 new investigators (we needed 14)and we taught 12 lessons with members (we needed 12). We only lacked 8 investigators in church (we had 2) and 2 baptisms, but those come as a consequence or blessing of meeting this key indicators. I was so super happy anyway!

We had a division this week with Elder Bowers (my old distric leader in Piracicaba, who is now my district leader here) and his comp., Elder Madsen. Elder Madsen stayed with me in Vinhedo because he needed to get qualified. That was a good day... he's an awesome missionary. I helped him with his qualification and he did very well.

This week was a week of revelation also. I was reading an article by Pres. Packer and he cited Alma 10: 6, so I opened to it and read the description of Amulek in Alma 10:4-11 and felt to powerfully and clearly that at lunch that day the members would know someone who met that description and would become a great leader in baptisms. It was so powerful! We met Sebastian last night who had been taught but didn't get baptized, who was RICH and lost everything, and who said that he wants to get baptized as fast as possible. The only thing left is for him to get married, but his wife doesn't even want to hear the lessons. He is fasting, praying, and going to church, and we scheduled his baptism for September 13 (because of getting married). Pray for his wife that we can teach her and she will accept. He wasn't presented to by these members, but they are the members that live the closest, so I thought, wow, could this be our Amulek. It's pretty powerful!

Also, I was studying an old conference Ensign and turned to the GA page and saw Pres. Ucthdorf, E. Cook, E. Christofferson in their old places in the Seventy and was so happy! I thought about all of the brethern around them and thought how happy they must have been on the call of these men to the Quorum and related to that because I felt joy for Elder McEwen when he was called to be a zone leader. He, like they, received higher opportunities and responsibilities and I couldn't help but be happy for him. It's really cool. (Did I tell you that Elder McEwen has baptized more that any other missionary in the mission...HE WAS MY COMP)!

I saw wild monkeys for the first time yesterday, they were really little and cute and we got really close.

I love you and am really happy! Ate mais!

Elder Christian Larsen

Vinhedo is Chique

"Oi!

Well, first off, yes, Vinhedo is SUPER chique. I am amazed at the affluence here. Most of our area is made up of giant condominiums that we can't proselyte in that are as good as Stone Ridge. There's one condominium here where famous soccer players and Brazilian actresses and politicians live. The ZL's had lunch with the old president of the Sao Paulo Temple the other day and guess what they had....SHRIMP! AH! This is one place we'll have to visit after the mission.

We mostly work in one neighborhood here called 'Bairro Capela' or Chapel Borough in English. It's the most humble part of town, but it's where people want to be baptized. This ward is awesome. They like to teach with us and are super excited. We have a bunch of ideas going right now to attract new investigators including English classes, an open house, and booths about the church set up in the square on the weekend. It's pretty cool what we're planning on doing.

The most difficult things are our living conditions. The apartment is small so it's cramped living with our zone leaders. Elder Hancock is a good companion. He reminds me of Cory in appearance. H's got 6 months on the mission, so he's got a bunch to learn like me, but it's good. We work well together.

I'll try and send pictures to you next week. We've got some good ones. This transfer is going to be a big growing experience for me and I'm excited! Thank you and I love you."

Elder Christian

Made Senior and Transferred

"Oi familia!

Well, your calculations were right, the next transfer should have occurred next week, but every year there's one transfer of 5 weeks, so the transfer happened yesterday.

I was transferred and made senior companion. I'm in a city a short distance from Campinas called Venhedo (pronounced "vehn-yeh-doh"). My comp is Elder Hancock from Dugway, Utah. He's a good guy, but it's going to be a very interesting transfer. We live with our zone leaders, so there's four of us and the house is SUPER tiny and our zone leaders, Elders Clark and Doogakushi are really cool. The area is excellent. I haven't met any members or taught many investigators yet, but the out going elder told me that all of the members help here and that it's a very blessed area. It certainly is the most well-off area I've seen in the mission yet. Elder Miranda said that it is one of the richest areas in the mission. That should be an interesting change.

Elder McEwen was transferred to Campinas and now is a zone leader! Nossa! Holy cow, I miss him, he was by far the best and we're sure we'll be good friends for life.

What happened two days ago was interesting. There is always a leadership meeting the day before the transfer, so Elder McEwen, being a district leader, thought maybe he needed to go, but the zone leaders told him no. Then, at 3 in the afternoon, the AP Elder Nascimento called and told him that we had to be in Campinas in one hour. Nossa! Good luck! So we ran to the bus station, missing one bus by only a minute and grabbed a bus to downtown Piracicaba to catch a bus to Campinas. We got there and we had missed the bus by 5 minutes so we bought tickets for the next bus. We called the assistants and told them that we would arrive in Campinas at the time the meeting ended and asked if we still needed to come. The Pres. came on the phone, told Elder McEwen that he was transferred and that I would stay in the area, extended the zone leader call to him and told him that he didn't need to come. So we got off the bus, walked to a different bus station and caught the wrong bus home. That bus took us around the perimeter of the city, passing through every single ward in Piracicaba except for ours. When it stopped, we caught a different bus to our zone leader's area and then caught a bus to our area. So, all in all, we lost 5 hours on the bus or waiting for it. I'm not complaining. I think it was really funny!! So we went home and packed his bags and were all set, then at 10:30 my zone leader called again and told me that I had just been transferred and that I should pack my bags. We did and went to bed at 1:30 am. That, too, I think is funny. We went to Campinas the next day at 7:00. I saw everyone! Elder Miranda goes home August 20. It was a good day and I am tired.

Elder McEwen and I set a goal and made plans for 20 baptisms in August or in this transfer, and we were all set to try and reach this month the Ammon Pattern of Excellence, so I kept it because we said, that even if we were transferred, we'd try for it together. Pray that we can do that. Elder Hancock has to improve in his teaching a lot, as do I, and we have to talk to a million people, but I'm excited.

I love you and am happy and excited. I know that the church is true and that Jesus Christ is our Savior. Ate mais!

Elder Christian Larsen

Zona Piracicaba

This is a picture of the members of my zone. The occasion was a birthday of one of the sisters and they brought paper ties and antennae for us to wear.

Another Great Week!

"This week has been great. The baptism of Victor went well....except I think his dad is going down hill. He'll eventually come around and accept, because of all the blessings that he is seeing his kids receive. I baptised Victor, but I didn't confirm him. The baptismal service was held together with the Piracicaba 5th Ward, our zone leader's ward. They baptized a man with whom I participated in a family night with Elder G. Silva the day I got qualified. The investigator amazingly remembered my name! That made me happy. It was really good, except for maybe the 2nd musical number, which was a hymn sung by the missionaries (I played the piano). But, oh well.

Yesterday, we had our conference with Elder Tobias!! Holy cow, it was awesome!! We came away with the desire to invite EVERYBODY to be baptized, even in the street! Pres. Castro Deus wants more 'Crazy Missionaries', more missionaries crazy to invite everyone. Elder McEwen and I are energized and excited, because we are going to make this month the Ammon Pattern of Excellence Month.

The picture is of E. Rossi, myself, and E. McEwen on the day of the transfer.

I love you and am having a great time. Keep praying for me and that we will be able to this Ammon Pattern.

Ate mais! Tchau! Elder C. Larsen

Great Week.....More Baptisms

"This week was a great week too! We went to the temple on Wednesday and that night we scheduled another baptism that took place on Saturday. It was the daughter of another family that has to get married. I was the one that baptized! Her name is Raquel and she 14. We are trying to schedule her parents marriage so the they can get baptized too. We've also scheduled the baptism of Diane's little brother for this Saturday. Her mom wants to get baptized, but can't because her husband doesn't want to get married. We're praying hard for them.....Jefferson and Kelly. The mom, Diane, and her little brother Victor, are awesome. We went and woke them up Sunday and reminded them about church, because they weren't going to go. Then, when it looked like they had missed the bus, and Jefferson refused to give them a ride, they set off to walk to church (which is a very long way, uphill....I've already walked it). That was when Jefferson was nice and gave them a ride. I was so proud of them! They were willing to walk all that way! YAY!

Sunday was amazingly stressful. Can you send me a car and a cell phone (that doesn't run out of minutes in two days! lol, just kidding). What happened was that was the day of Raquel's confirmation and we had arranged for a member to meet us at another investigator's house to pick him up. We arranged for a different member to come by a bit later to pick us up, but the first member showed up 1/2 hour late and because we were stuck with the investigator, we didn't have any way to let the second member know. Well, the first member arrived and we got to the church and walked in right at the moment that the bishop announced the confirmation, so we just walked straight up to the stand! Holy Cow! I have to find some stress management techniques, because that just about did me in! And when the second member came up to give me a bad time about not showing up for the ride, that was even worse, but when I told him what happened, he seemed sorry and his wife said she would give us a box of chocolates. Ha Ha. But the best part was during Sunday School, when I was trying to settle down from all of this, the 1st counselor came in and asked me to play the piano for the primary....and that was exactly what I needed! I was good after that.

Elder Tobias, a general authority is touring the mission on July 29th . I don't have any idea who he is, but it will be cool.

We found a big gecko running around our bathroom this morning. When we got home from Campinas he was on his back with his feet in the air...dead.

Thanks for everything! I love you and the work! Keep praying for me! Tchau!
Ate logo, Elder C. Larsen.

Miracle Baptism and Qualified!!!

"So this week has been awesome!!! Last Wednesday night a miracle occurred! We were on splits and when Elder McEwen went to a member's house, the daughter in one of our families was there talking with Mayara. Before he even started to teach she asked, 'Can I ask you something...What do I need to do to be baptized?' OH!!! It was a miracle, and it was proof of the Lord's acceptance of our sacrifices and hard work. Well, she was baptized on Saturday and she is as happy and faithful as ever. Her name is Diane and she is 14 years old. Elder McEwen baptized her and I confirmed her. I also organized and conducted the baptismal service which I was nervous about, but loved! (Oh ya, Sunday was interesting. We blessed the sacrament, spoke in church, taught the Gospel Principles class, confirmed Diane, and gave three blessings that night.)

Aside from that, we went on splits with our zone leaders so we could "Qualify" It was three hours of grilling about our knowledge of Preach My Gospel and mission techniques and rules, but both of us passed. That means that I am THE FIRST junior companion in the entire mission to qualify according to the criteria for senior companions. I qualified before many of our zone and district leaders here in the mission, and was the first 20 or so of all the missionaries here to qualify. This is something I take great pride in. We qualified Tuesday morning and that afternoon we had interviews with the president and as I walked into his office, I whipped out my qualification sheet and said "Olhe aqui!' ('Look at this!') The president relates the qualification and the 'Padrao Amon' (Ammon Pattern) to mountains that we have to climb and I've climbed one peak and now we're going up the other! Another thing that makes me happy is that our faith is shown by our works and fulfilling this qualification process strengthens my faith and enthusiasm! It was so good to hear the president's praise. He told me that he has so much pride in us, that he is really happy with our work, and that we are examples of Christlike missionaries, and that we surely are climbing the mountain.

Studing for the qualification really unified us as a companionship. We were already a wonderful team, but because we prepared for this together, worked on this together, and talked about this together for the past three weeks, it really brought a level of unity I've yet to see in the mission. This transfer has been, is, and will be the best yet.

Thank you for everything you do! Thanks for the packages and letters and prayers. I love you and am having a great time! The church is true! Jesus Christ is our savior and he loves us! Ate mais!"

The now QUALIFIED Elder C. Larsen

New Companion, Same Joke, Pancakes

""Oi!
First...FELIZ ANIVERSARIO PAPA!!!! Parabens pravoce, nessa data querida, muito felicidades, e muitos anos de vida!! (that's the same song they sing at Rodizo!) haha! Happy Birthday!

Alright so we tried the pancakes and they turned out great! We held a a family night at a members house and we made pancakes..(well actually, she made the pancakes after we totally burned them! That family is SO SO wonderful) Everyone loved them, especially the maple syrup. The maple butter was completely eaten. I don't know why, I think the syrup was better...but for some reason we can't get it to be thick. What do you think we need to do? Anyway, they taste great and that was a fantastic idea to send those....thank you.

We pulled the prank on Elder McEwen and it worked perfectly...the past week he's been saying to himself...'Ela fala....Ela fala' or 'She speaks, she speaks!" It was really funny. He was already to baptize her and when she started singing, he just looked straight at me with the nasty ''Oh you' look. But I have to say he's the best companion I've had yet. I relate better to him than to any of the others. We're going to do a lot of good together. He's been out 10 months and he's our district leader here. He's a little funny, because he zones out a lot. He's definitely one that I want to keep in touch with.

This week we've been talking to more people than ever before. We've almost literally stopped every person we've passed on the street and talked to them. It's been quite amazing. I'm grateful that Elder McEwen is so comfortable and driven to talk to EVERYBODY. That is what I was hoping for in my companion when the transfer came around, because that's what I need the most help in. What has also been fun has been to see how well I've handled being the only one here who know what's what. Being new, he doesn't know who we've taught or where things are. I've had more responsibility and it's been fun. Sunday felt like home with a million different people swirling around me asking me questions and me finding out how I could help. In other works, it's been busy, and busy is good.

Tchau, tchau! Elder Christian

New Companion, New Goals

"Elder Rossi was transferred and now I'm with Elder McEwen from California. He is a great Elder and I am going to learn so much from him. I think this transfer will be by far the best yet. Also Elder M. Naschimento, our old zone leader was made Assistant. He is awesome! I got permission to open the package with Elder Rossi's oil vial there at the chapel, so I was able to give it to him. I also gave Elder Miranda the pistachios that were in that package and slyly distributed the cliff bars and gummy worms to some friends and all the elders on the bus back to Piricicaba. Everyone was pretty happy with me after that! Oh, and I got the slacks and I'm wearing them right now. They're great! We also got the pancakes...that's going to be fun. I think I'll try to make them tomorrow morning.

Do you remember that trick that they pulled on me when I first arrived? Well, we're pulling it again on Elder MckEwen. It's going to be funny! I'll let you know.

We have a few new things here in Campinas. First, the the Ammon Pattern of Excellance which includes two baptisms per week, ten investigators at church each Sunday, and fourteen new investigators each week. I am really excited to fulfill this new goal. We are far from it...as are most of the missionaries here, but it's very possible, and I have full confidence that somehow we'll pull it off. The other new thing is the Qualification System. The president put together a list of qualifications for senior missionaries according to Preach My Gospel. He wants us to improve in application and grow in knowledge about Preach My Gospel. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO EVERY PROSPECTIVE MISSIONARY TO QUALIFY HIMSELF ACCORDING TO THIS PATTERN BEFORE HE LEAVES!! This would be an excellent thing for a priest's quorum or mission prep. class. This is an excellent pattern and Elder McEwen and I are working to pass ourselves very soon.
Tchau Tchau Elder Christian

Bad,Bad Computer....Great New People!!!

"Alright, this is the third computer I've used trying to send you an email...sorry if this might be short.

Thanks for going to Sterling's farewell. I'm sure he appreciated that. I have another homecoming for you to go to if you want. It's Elder Jankowski. He lives in Riverton and was the mission secretary when I arrived and is a real leader in the mission. I hope you'll go. I don't know when it will be, but he goes home next Tuesday.

The transfer ends today, but nobody will be transferred...or so they say. There are about eight missionaries leaving and only one sister arriving, so there will be some changes this coming week. I highly doubt that I'll leave. I also highly doubt that Elder Rossi will stay through this entire transfer. He has been here for about five months now. We'll see.

This week has been crazy. Maria has been a little sick, but she's been getting better. But, we've met a lot of new, great people.... 14 to be exact. I can see a lot of baptisms on the horizon, if we can just excercise our faith and focus on their needs. I'd appreciate it if you would pray for our success.

How is everyone? I can't email anyone else today, because I've already gone over our one hour limit. Tell everybody I'd like to hear from them. I have to go now. Thanks for everything.

Elder Christian.

Welcome Maria!

"This week was interesting, a little hard because it seemed like we were rejected a lot more and our numbers were really low, but we baptized Maria! I got to do the baptism too. I will also confirm her this coming Sunday! YAY!

Her baptism was great. The happiest moment of the whole week was actually when Elder Rossi and I were cleaning the chapel for the baptism. When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God. I was kinda nervous during the baptism, because it was my first to perform, but all went perfectly. But while we were cleaning, I wrote WELCOME MARIA on the chalk board. When she arrived at the chapel and saw it, she was overwhelmed. I was sitting down so she kissed the top of my head! We took pictures at the baptism that I'll mail to youl

Sunday we had stake conference, but it was a little different. It was broadcast to all the stakes in the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Elder Scott and President Eyring spoke. It was perfect for Maria, because Elder Scott spoke about the immense value of women. That God counts their tears and that they have such great value that they should never discount. It was really good for her, because she used to be really negative, especially about herself. But, now, she's changing for the better.

It's getting cold here (only 60...we're wimps here in Brazil), but we have extra blankets to use. I use the raincoat you sent as a jacket and it works great. My favorite time now is study time before we leave, because I get to wear my hoodie and it's so comfy and warm.

I love you and pray for you and am working hard. I know this is the work of the Lord.

Sorry this is belated but: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY ! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!"

Elder Christian

"Let Elder Larsen Talk"....

"We have a baptism this Friday. Her name is Maria and I don't think I've met anyone so negative about herself. It's been hard keeping her excited and courageous enough to be baptized, but I know that after her baptism things will change for the better. I've promised her that about a million times. I am grateful for one family in this ward... Maria Alves and her family, who live down the street and who are a big influence in motivating and supporting her.

Sunday was really interesting. The pianist didn't show up in time so I was playing the prelude music. As I was playing, the bishop asked me if I could speak. Well, I told him sure, a little hesitantly ya know, and in between the first and sacrament hymns I searched for something to talk about. I was super nervous and even when I took the sacrament my hand was shaking. It was kinda funny! Well, I gave my talk wonderfully, no problem (I don't know if everyone understood me, because when I'm nervous my accent is stronger) but many people complimented me and I felt good about it. But after church I learned that the bishop had asked Elder Rossi, my comp, to speak and that he had said, 'Oh Elder Larsen loves to give improvised talks...let him do it'. Holy Cow!!! I was mad for only a split second and then it just seemed funny.

Thanks for going to Elder Segura's homecoming. I'm glad you could meet him. He is awesome.

We had interviews with Pres. Castro Deus on Friday. That was really good. I love him and am grateful for him.

I know that this work is the work of the Lord, that Jesus Christ lives and loves us and helps us in every aspect of our lives as we are worthy and look to Him. I'm excited and happy and well. Today I'll have time to write to people so everyone can sit easy.

I love you. Elder Christian

Curitiba Temple Dedication

"OH GUESS WHAT?! We got to participate in the Curatiba Temple dedication. Cool huh! It was broadcast to stake centers across Brazil. President Monson and Elder Nelson spoke and Pres. Monson dedicated the temple. We saw the cornerstone ceremony and everything. I remembered the Nauvoo Temple dedication when we sang "The Spirit of God" and waved the white hankerchiefs...except this time it was sung in Porguguese! The translator for Pres. Monson (whom I met in the CTM, he was in the presidency) was having a hard time translating everything he said as fast as he said it. The talks, of course, were already written out for him, but the off the cuff stuff outside at the cornerstone wasn't. At the end one of the members here...the shortest lady in the ward...said, 'it's not fair, you understood everything the prophet said'. Well, that's cool!.

We just got back from the temple and I was hoping to see Casey there...but, nope! I saw Zilda though, my old bishop's wife. She says that she misses me and that Campo Grande misses my piano playing in sacrament meeting. It was really good to see and talk to her.

We've scheduled two baptisms! Both are older women. One, Maria, is a little hard to keep animated, but she's quit drinking coffee and her baptism is scheduled for the 14th. The other is named Francisca and she is the mom of a member here. She fed us lunch yesterday. We taught her the first lesson as our message, and we scheduled her baptism for the 21st. Now, we'll work with them to see that these will happen. There is also another family, Patricia and Paulo, whose children have all been baptized, but they haven't because they need to get married. We went there yesterday and they agreed to take care of that. She really wants to be baptized and we are praying that he will follow her example and be baptized as well.

Thanks for all the packages, my zone is so envious of me. I'll share for sure. We are eating those mac and cheeses for sure! The hoodie is greatly appreciated, as are the pants and the jacket. The jacket works well with an umbrella. It's not very cold here, only like 65 degrees, but I guess I've been here for too long, because I'm getting cold. But, with these things, I won't feel it at all.

Well, I have to go...it's late because of the temple and I'm super hungry. Keep praying that we'll have baptisms and that I'll be able to climb these hills.

I love you
Elder Christian

Welcome to the Piracicaba 8th Ward

"Oi! Tudo Bom!

This past week has been awesome. I like this new area so much more than Campo Grande, although I did love all the members and investigators in C.G. Piracicaba 8 is really calm, much slower and more relaxed than busy Campinas. Piracicaba is a big city, too, but I have no idea how big. It certainly isn't like Campinas. Here the members are much more excited about missionary work and they help a lot more. For instance, we received precious few referrals in the four months I was in C. G., even though we worked hard and had the confidence of the members. Here we have already received nearly 20 referrals from the members! NOSSA! There is one family that in particular is fantistic. I'll tell you about them.

Prior to the transfer my comp and this family conspired to pull a prank on whatever elder was transferred to this ward. There are the parents, and an 18 year old daughter, and a 20ish mentally handicapped son. The mom was going to pretend to be the only active member of the church while the dad was going to pretend to be a drunk and the daughter was going to pretend to be a mute (she knows sign language so it was easy for her). Well, I arrived and my comp took me to their house. The daughter started signing to me and I actually had learned a few signs back in Campos Eliseos, because Elder Segura and Elder Santos, our zone leaders, were learning it. That only made their prank more perfect. So, I was sitting there signing with her and going along with the whole thing. The father kept acting drunk and offered me some alcohol of some kind. This went on for two whole days. Finally, at the end of my second day in the area, the mute girl, Mayara, played a song on the guitar, because, you know, mutes can hear but can't speak. So, she was playing and right when she got to the chorus she started to sing. HOLY COW was I shocked...I just sat there with an astonished look on my face! Then everyone jumped up and shouted 'Seja bem-vindos A Ala oito'! (Welcome to the 8th ward!) I have to admit that was a good one. That was a really good one!

Here we have it good. Our house is rather big with two floors and is clean! Elder Rossi has been out 9 months, almost 10 now and we can understand each other in Portuguese perfectly. I barely have any difficulty speaking and understanding now and every one here says I speak very well. That's good to hear. I never heard that in C. G.

We have a baptism scheduled for this Saturday. She is an older woman named Neuzita. Her daughter is a member and actually is serving a mission right now. Cool Huh! Church here is cool, too. It's a lot more organized than the C. G. ward. Attendance is higher and they have their own piano player (although he asked me if I played. When I said yes, he asked me to play and I did, but I think I showed him up a bit. I felt bad...lol).

Everything is great here! I know the work is true. I'll talk to you again soon. Tschau!

Elder C. Larsen (They changed my name to this to avoid that transfer mess again)

Transfer.....Which Elder Larsen?

"Well, I've been transferred! Here's the story, it's kinda funny. The AP called last night and told us that Elder Larsen would be transferred...well, of course, we asked which one? He said that my comp would be and that I would stay. So, my comp spent all night long packing his bags. His bags are completely broken, so when we left for the transfer meeting his wheels wouldn't turn and were ground flat, so it was really hard to take them and we had to call a taxi. Well, we got there REALLY late. We walked in and everyone was like..'OS LARSEN CHEGARAM!' (The Larsens have arrived). Well, the president announced our transfer and it turns out that I was the one transferred and he was staying. The AP's sure messed up on that one! So, we had to go
back to our house in another taxi and I had to pack my stuff. I've yet to go to my new area, which is in another city almost two hours away. It's in Piracicaba. I'm in the Piracibaba 8th ward. It's going to be good. My comp is Elder Rossi, from Brasilia, and doesn't speak a lick of English, so I'm going to really progress in Portuguese this time. It's going to be cool. My only regret is that Elder Larsen had a goal to baptize with every one of his companions and he never baptized with me. I feel really bad about that and hope that some day we can fix that. We both have a lot of time left on the mission, so who knows?

I think it is awesome that you are going to Elder Segura's homecoming. He has been awesome and I've wanted to be a missionarry like him from the beginning. I respect him and love him and hope to see him after the mission.

I am writing to Casey today to send next week. He's going to the highest baptising mission in Brasil. In Fortaleza they baptise about 600 people a month. Compare that to Campinas' 170 in December which was the highest in many years. He'll love it there.

Thanks for the pictures and the packages I've received. It will be harder to get and share packages now that I'm so far away from the center of Campinas.

I love you and I miss you and I'm working hard.

Elder Christian Larsen

Six Months--Burn A Tie Time!

"Sunday was awesome, I was so happy to talk to you guys. (Mother's Day).

This week is my zone leader's last week. Elder Segura goes home this Tuesday. Holy cow, I am going to miss him. He's really the only zone leader that I've known up until now. Monday at our zone meeting we sang 'We can be together forever someday' in Portuguese. He almost cried. I have the video. I don't blame him. It's gotta be hard. He's the one who lives in Draper. But anyway, he's going home!

Yesterday I went on a division with our zone leaders and I stayed with Elder Santos in his area. We ran into a drunk walking down the road quacking! The first street contact I made that day turned out to be the patriarch's son. I didn't realize that until half way through....oops! We ended the day by teaching the absolute best family I have ever met here in Brazil. They are so happy, so fun, and so curious! The zone leaders dang well better baptize them.

Here's something interesting. The buses are on strike! This is really inconvenient, because we have to take the bus to and from our area each day. I don't know what will happen if we can't use the bus or convince a member to give us a ride. We'll probably have to work here in our zone leaders's area, which would be good for them, because they have two areas. But I pray that the buses will start to work. Hmm...I wonder what will happen with transfers if buses are still on strike. I REALLY hope that I will stay with Elder Larsen for at least one more transfer.

You're right about my friends. I have really good friends. I don't think I ever realized how much they really do love me and respect me. I was humbled by that during the phone call.

I can't believe that it is still snowing there. It's in the 70s here and EVERYBODY is freezing! Everybody dresses their dogs up because they think it's freezing. Everyone has like 4 layers on. Everyone is shocked that we aren't cold in our short sleeves.

So, this morning Elder Krueger and Elder Thompson showed up. When I got out Elder Krueger hugged me and was all like 'Parabens!! Today is your 6 month mark!! I hadn't even realized it. Tonight I think I'll burn a tie!

Well, we are going. Thank you for all the packages, letters, and love. I love all of you. Tschau!
Elder Christian Larsen

Trials of a Missionary

"We didn't have a baptism Saturday. We were hoping for one, but the young man's mother wouldn't give him permission. But get this...this is wierd. This guy, Flavio, stopped us on the street and asked us to teach him. We went and taught him, but his brother is freaky and we can't teach him around his brother, so we have to teach him in the chapel. At our first lesson with him he gave us each a tie. At that lesson we found out he was imprisoned until last September for car theft. He came to church on Sunday and liked it and we taught him in the chapel afterwards. We scheduled another lesson with him for Monday at the chapel, but he didn't show up. Acutally he did, 15 min. early to give the BOM to our neighbor to give back to us. What the heck! Well, we still have hope for him.

Oh, my English is terrible now! I think I'm in the phase where its hard to communicate with anybody...in Portuguese or English. It must be a transition. My goal for Portuguese now is to speak slower and more distinctly. The worst thing about being with Elder Larsen is that everyone notices how good he is and how bad I am in comparison. I will improve.

We're excited about the Mother's Day call. Next Sunday, the 4th you'll do a test call. I'll answer for his parents and my companion will answer for me. You will have to call the bishop's house at 5 pm your time which is 8 pm here. This will only take a few minutes, but we have found this to be the best. At Christmas Elder Larsen waited for two hours for his parents to call because of some misunderstanding. Then, the real call will take place on the following Sunday at a time we determine. You should call his parents for more information. They know the drill.

If anybody is anxious about me writing them, tell them I will, in due time. We are SUPER busy and stressed, so honestly, I do my best. I really care about everyone and am so grateful for each and every letter. Please don't stop writing, because I don't get back to you right a way. It's pretty hectic here!

Thanks so much for fasting for us. Because of that, our zone leaders scheduled a baptism for May 17th with a guy who lives in our area. (I saved the best for last). We haven't found the house yet, but we will keep looking. Pray that this will hold true!

Elder Christian Larsen

Together Again!

This is a picture of some of my CTM district. (Larsen, Brewer, Pierce, Hahne, Benson) On transfer day the whole mission gathered and we were able to eat lunch together. This was a GREAT day!

New Companions, New Digs

"Living with Elders (l to r) Santos, Segura, Larsen, I'm learning patience. I thought that I had patience before, but I'm learning more and more here that I didn't. I really like all of them. I think Elder Santos is still growing on me. He jokes and stuff, but is really hardnosed, too. But he is a good missionary. I don't know why he isn't smiling in this picture, but that kinda, only kinda reflects his personality. Elder Segura is always nice and fun, but he knows what is important. Elder Larsen is really focused , but he is the most rowdy, too. I should tell you that Elder Larsen really devours the Cliff bars, even though they give him gas, haha! Our house has cockroaches, but I haven't seen any of them yet. Everyone else has except for me... weird, huh!

Ok, please pray hard for my faith and that the hearts of the people here will be opened and they will accept our invitations to be baptised. The president has established a new rule, that every Saturday night the baptismal font will be filled and the ward will know that there will be a baptism. He wants our focus to be on weekly baptisms. It scares me a little. I don't know if I have the faith and energy, but I will go and do! We have a baptism pretty much wrapped up for this Saturday. Its a boy of 11 years who has been coming to church with a member family for the past two months straight. Our other families...one hasn't been able to come to church because he keeps getting called to work, but he is awesome! He knows that this is true and wants to be baptized, he just needs to come to church and get married to her! Good heck, nobody is married here!!! She is the problem...she is afraid to get married. If these things happened I am certain we can baptise them and their six children. Another family has been having health problems lately and they haven't been to church because he has been in the hospital and she has been attending to him. She and her daughter could be baptized this week. They have already been to church and have a lot of faith, but the others of the family still need to come to church. We are working hard with them. Still another family, she wants to be baptized, but just needs to get married. And, another that we will start teaching tonight is pure gold. They should be ready. They've lost three children and the plan of salvation is just for them. Pray that they will accept! We simply need these people to progress and we need to meet more people that are prepared. These are our needs!

That's awesome about Steve! SOUTH AFRICA! That really stinks about Cory's dental ordeal! That might mean that he will serve stateside, but I have prayed that he would come here, because by the time he gets here I could be his trainer. Tell everyone, I will write. The postal strike here was a pain.

Oh! I have news about the Mother's Day phone call WAHOOO! You'll have to call a member's home here. I'll give you the number and that Sunday we'll do a test call. Elder Larsen will pick up your test call and I'll pick up his parents' test call. You'll get to call the bishop's house here. His wife is really excited, because she really wants to thank you for the hymnbook. I am so excited! It's less than one month away!

I got two packages today...obrigado! We are going to a churrascoria today! YAY! (note: a churrascoria is a restaurant like Rodizio Grill).

So that's it for me! Thanks for everything and pray that I'll have faith and energy. Eu te amo! Ate mais! "

Elder Larsen #1

Elders Larsen #1 and #2

"Elder Larsen (the new E. Larsen) is awesome, although right now I feel like the boring quiet elder here. (There are four elders with E. Segura & E. Santos). But I guess that's just my personality. I'll grow into it. I'm getting much better at Portuguese too, which is kind of surprising as now I have an American comp. But he is amazing at the language. I don't know how he's done it. I like the fact that we can speak in English and Portuguese whenever we want.

Elder Larsen played hockey and soccer back home. He is from Vernal. He has a shih tzu named Sophie whom he misses more than anything. He has a little brother named Christian. He plays the piano, paints, and draws very well. His scriptures are green just like mine. He has a girlfriend at home. The ward can hardly believe that they have two Elder Larsens. Everyone asks if we are brothers and everyone calls us #1 and #2. What was interesting and really special to me was that so many people in the ward told me that they were happy that I was able to stay. One lady even said that she was praying, 'Let Elder Larsen stay'. I felt so loved. I've found that there are all kinds of missionaries in the mission. Some relate to some members of the ward while others relate to someone else. Elder Miranda was very intense and driven. I'm more mellow and approachable. He helped me and I love him and my mission is so much better because of him.

Our president is really urging us to baptize. We have excellent investigators that will be baptized as soon as some of them get ready. There is a family of a grandma, her daughter, her daughter's husband, and their daughter that are all golden. Then there is another big family. I know we can baptize them.

All in all everything is great. I'll take some pictures of us and our house this week so I can send you some."

Com Amor
Elder Larsen #1

........All Over Again!!!

-------------------------------------Larsen & Larsen-------------------------------------------

Deja Vu.........

"Well, I was not transferred, but Elder Miranda was....and take a guess at who my new companion is!!!....Elder Larsen!!!! No, I'm not alone, remember that other Elder Larsen I knew in the CTM. Well, he is my new companion now. I still laugh at it! It's really funny. Our ward won't know what to do. Elder Larsen and Elder Larsen (yes, his name is spelled with an e also). It's so cool! We also moved in with our zone leaders. Our house is really close to them, but if we live there we will cut our travel time by about 30 min. So we have hot water now! But, aside from that, he doesn't know my area and he has been out for only one more transfer than I, so I really feel like we're two juniors that lost their seniors. I'm learning so much because before Elder Miranda basically did everything, and now I'm thrown into greater responsibility. My comp is technically senior, but there is so little difference between the two of us that it doesn't even matter. We had a mission conference to do the transfers. This has never happened before, the entire mission has never met together at once before. It was really, really good. The best was walking into the chapel and seeing the members of my old CTM district. When they saw me they were super happy and we hugged and laughed and everything. We all ate lunch together as a district when lunch time came. It was just like old times (well, only five months ago). Elder Benson told me that he and Elder Brewer were in the same zone and when they got the news that the entire mission would meet, Elder Brewer was like, "Dude, we're going to get to see Elder Larsen!!!" That made me feel really good!

As for general conference, it was amazing! We had to go to the stake center to watch it, but that wasn't hard, because we live in that area. All the American elders watched it in English in the relief society room while everybody else was in the chapel. I got to watch every session and had to wake up a 4 am to watch the retransmission of the priesthood session in English. That was so awesome to see President Monson wiggle his ears.

I have pictures to send, but all my stuff is at my old house and we slept in our new house last night, so I'll have to send them next week. You have no idea how much I want a scone now that you told me you made them. OOOOHHH!

I love you and I am so grateful for you. Please pray that we will have the spirit to guide us and strengthen us and that we will be able to speak a lot of Portuguese. The church is true. Jesus Christ lives and loves us. Thomas S. Monson is a prophet. Ate mais!"
Elder Christian Larsen

President Kimball Street Sign

"I thought you might enjoy seeing this street sign. Do we have any streets in SLC named after church presidents? There's one here for Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and James Faust, too. Pretty neat, huh!

No, we don't have hot water yet. They don't have water heaters here. They have some thing that goes on the shower to heat the water, and that is what is broken...and everything is a do it yourself type thing down here. We aren't being shocked though, so I guess that the managers of our apartment complex fixed that.

I didn't get your package yet. I checked the mission office just a few hours ago. I think it's because we have a postal service strike here. Please put that on the blog to let others know why they might not have gotten letters from me lately.

We do get to watch general conference, except for maybe the priesthood session, because that goes from 8-10 pm here, and we're supposed to be in our houses by 9 pm. I hope the president will make an exception for this.

We have an older lady, her daughter and granddaughters that we hope to baptise this Sunday. They came to church for a while, but weren't too excited about it. Then she kept having problem after problem in her life. Her son, who is a member, gave her a copy of the March Liahona about the Savior. She read it and immediately gained a strong testimony and now wants her son to baptise her. We have three other families that we are working with, but each has a problem to overcome at this point.

To Tiffany and everybody at Dr. Nelson's office: I'm so glad to hear from you. I'm really surprised to hear that I was one of your favorite patients. That makes me feel really good, thank you. I'm grateful for your support and prayers, and hope to hear from you once in a while. I don't have a retainer to worry about. Yahoo!!! My companion went to a dentist here who studied in Utah and worked for a Dr. Wilkinson. His office was in the old 5 points mall. Crazy! Small world! Ate mais!

The mission is good, I keep going. I can't wait for general conference. I expect to be transfered, and I miss you guys. The church is true and I know that our Savior lives and loves us. Ate mais!" Elder Christian Larsen