Pray For the Area of South End

Dear Family,

Answers to your questions:

Question #1: What do you do on Transfer day? Do you spend much time at the mission office?

Transfers we met at the mission office with about 30ish other missionaries, talked with some buddies, and they rush you out of there.

Question #2: What is your new area like?

South End is pretty good so far. We live about a block or two from the sea which looks really nice, someday we need to wake up and take a jog on the beach, yes, I'll take pictures. The Town Center is one big street and there's lots of room to talk which is nice.

Question #3: What have you learned about your new companion?

Let's just say he is 18 years-old, Brazilian, and this is the roughest start to a transfer ever! Haha, don't worry, I won't ever give up. We had a total of 18 hours of work this week and the least I've ever gotten was double that, even when I was super sick.

Mom, I will take pictures of what I eat. The plan is that I take pictures of all my classic missionary meals and send you a cook book like you did me. Also a cook book of all the recipes you sent me that I make. For your Birthday! It may be late because all I've made so far is mashed potatoes. You see, in Cambridge we had a 10 minute lunch and ate dinner at 9:00 pm when we got back to the flat so no time really. Now we take an hour for both. . .

Sample Recipes
Big Mac and Fries: present your bus ticket to worker at McDonalds and give them 2 pounds.

Nutella and Toast: put bread in toaster and "carefully" get the nutella and wipe it on the toast. (Mom's note: One of the recipes I sent him was for peanut butter sandwiches and it featured a picture of his one year-old niece Savannah "carefully" dipping a knife in the jar.)

One Pound Pizza: put it in the oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees celsius. Haha. I love you guys.

Please pray for the area of South End that it can be a place of work. Today is once again Zone Meeting with Zone P-day. To be honest, usually I don't like it so much because we can't work for 3 hours on that p-day, but this time it is nice to see some other missionaries, truly to learn from them, and to be lifted up by my new zone leaders.

I know the Church is true, I know it is led by Jesus Christ who atoned for us and therefore knows us personally. Truly I will need to rely on him very much during this time. Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, receiving Authority to restore the Church back to the earth. He was led to the Book of Mormon, a volume of Holy Scripture that changes lives, especially my own. As we turn to the scriptures we find hope. Through the new and everlasting covenant we can be sealed to our families for time and all eternity. We come to know of the truth as we sincerely search for it and live the gospel. Every time we are down, if we turn to Jesus Christ, we will be picked up. I have experienced it for myself. I know that these things are true, and that is why I devote my time to my Saviour. Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet and I cannot wait to receive revelation from God in two weeks from the General Authorities. I love my Family.

I was reading the Ensign this week and they have a UK section that has a few pages. They were talking about the 400th anniversary of the bible and something I read really stuck out to me that is evidence of the restoration. When William Tindale was receiving a lot of anger for wanting the bible to be available for all and not distorted he said, "If God spares my life, I shall cause that a plowboy shall know more the scriptures than thou." How true that was. Later in 1820 the plowboy Joseph Smith read James 1:5, asked in faith, and was called to restore the Church on the Earth.

That story strengthened my own testimony of the restoration and will allow me to teach it better to others as well.

I love you guys, I'm a warrior.

Elder Larsen