Larson, Josh

Hello everyone! Another week has come and gone and I still can't think of any better introductions to my emails! So here it is!  We did a lot of service this week! We have been helping an older Brother in the ward build a shed! And may I say I think it is coming along rather nicely! Another thing we did was help a lady who was being evicted from her home move alllll of her stuff into a storage unit, we have spent lots of time calling members, Coordinating trucks, and leaving voicemails! We have spent almost 6 hours between her home and the storage unit which has made things rather crazy.  We got transfer calls last night and I am staying here in Templeton and I will be receiving elder Sexton. Who I have only heard good things about. Interestingly enough Elder Kelsey is being sent to my last area in Camarillo! So I have been able to give him a solid list of members to visit and places to go! Now let me explain the title of this email. Last night we had a mission wide testimony ...

Well everyone, I think one thing I have learned this week is that the Lord has a sense of humor. I am pretty sure he looked at my email from last week and said "Oh that's great Elder Larson, buckle up" because on Tuesday afternoon I received news that Taiwan has closed their borders again, meaning that all progress on receiving my Visa has been temporarily halted for "a few months''. So I am buckling down for another few months here in Ventura.  Between that and some struggles I have had with my companion this week it has made it easy to feel like the victim, it has also been easy to feel impatient, part of me is truly just very sick of playing the "waiting game" with Taiwan. But there is not much I can do about it, and complaining only makes things worse. So I have learned a lot this week about the importance of having patience and about my purpose as a missionary.  I am called to serve where the lord needs me to be, not where I want to be. And som...

Hello everyone! This has been one of the most exciting weeks of my mission as I spent two days in the homeland of Utah! It was so weird to be back in the valley with the cold air, and all the familiar sights and sounds, it was super fun to be back! As far as Taiwan goes I dont have a date yet, but hopefully we will hear something relatively soon! So we landed in Salt Lake at about 8pm and headed to the Hotel where we spent the night, the next morning we woke up and drove down to the BYU Student Health Center where we got our chest X-Rays and they took some blood. Then we drove up to the airport and spent the rest of the day on flights or in Airports. One thing this experience has made me think about is the importance of being where you are and working in the moment. Many missionaries I met on the bus down to Provo seemed to have the mentality of "well it won't be much longer now" and "When I get to Taiwan''. It made me realize the importance of working where ...

Hey squad! It has been a pretty good week here in Templeton, lots of service, lots of people, and lots and lots of finding. We spent many hours this week out on the streets and on doorsteps trying to find the elect. Anyway in other news, we put our friend David on date for Baptism (hurray!!!) Then Saturday we were explaining commandments and we learned he has not been living some very key ones (not hurray). He is now unsure about whether he even wants to get baptized at all or even wants lessons. This has been pretty hard to deal with this week. We were really excited for him and hoping he would progress, but he is just sort of stuck in a rutt. But oh well.      All that we have experienced with David this week has had me thinking about the Altar of Sacrifice. Oftentimes we pick and choose what we want to give up for the Lord. For example, David is not willing to give up a bad habit. But when we put what the lord requires on the Altar, we experience more blessings than we...