Larson, Josh

Well everyone, it's been about two days since the last email so I will keep this brief. We got our transfer news this week and I am staying here in the Dos Vientos ward. I am super excited to remain here, and keep working with the awesome people of Newbury Park. I will be receiving the one and only Elder Huff! (We sat next to each other on the flight from Phoenix to Santa Barbara) It is going to be an awesome, and exciting transfer.  A huge thanks to all of you who sent me Christmas/Birthday messages, they were greatly appreciated. I couldn't do what I do without the support from you all.  A realization hit me this morning as I woke up and realized it was in fact my birthday. I thought about previous birthdays and how I have spent them, then I compared it to how I was spending it today. At home I normally would have slept in, opened a few presents, drank some ginger beer, and maybe gone skiing. This year for my birthday I am opening presents, doing my laundry, and then we will...

聖誕節快樂! Merry Christmas everyone! It has been another wonderful week here in Newbury Park, it has also been an especially wet week this week. I have seen more rain in the past week than ever in my mission. It's been crazy. We have been busy doing gift delivery for the bishopric, which has led to some awesome contacts and some great interactions with Less active members.  As we were driving around in the rain and standing out in the cold, wet, rain. I realized I was happier than I have ever been in my entire life, it was quite a weird feeling despite the rain and cold and such. But I realized how much I love my mission and the chance I have had to serve. Anyway it was a weird thought but I wanted to share. Anyway, I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas so far, and I hope you continue to have a great one. Don't forget the reason for the season and all that. Remember to focus on the savior no matter what happens and keep the spirit in your life! 1. We made sushi! 2. Exchange...

Oh hello again everyone. It's yours truly. So I apologize for keeping this one short but we did a crazy long hike this morning which was fun, but has also messed with the day a little. Anyway let me give you all some sweet highlights! On Saturday night I had the privilege of confirming the Thai twins members of the church. It was such a sweet experience and I was so grateful for the chance to participate in their baptism.  Our friend Natisse is doing well, she is still working through some of the commandments but is otherwise doing well.  We met a sweet family of 5 this week named the Czubecks! (Pronouced Zubek). They know a lot of members and we talked to them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Anyway, here is a quick spiritual thought from our hike this morning. As we started our 10 mile journey it felt like the peak was completely out of reach, I forgot the fact that I had done plenty of hikes like this previously. What I learned though is, as I put one foot in front of the ...

Hey everyone, it's been a..... long week this week, we have worked hard and met some cool people this week. Honestly though it's been sort of bland, I won't sugarcoat it too much for you all haha. We have worked hard and done our best. We were finally able to get back in touch with Natisse though which was awesome! We finally have another visit set up for Thursday!  There were two little bright spots this week though. Their names are Emma and Mia Thai. And I had the privilege of conducting their Baptismal interviews. They are 8 year old twins that the sisters in our Zone have been teaching for a while now. They were fairly quiet but they passed the interview! I would like to share some impressions I had from Emma Thais interview, at the end of the interview I asked Emma to share with me her testimony. She wasn't quite sure what to say. I explained to her that a testimony was a statement of what we know to be true. I said "What do you know is true Emma?" She th...