Elder Isaac Larsen – Email Excerpt

We delivered a Book of Mormon the other day that a lady had ordered. The lady wasn't in a position to talk with us. She was fixing her hair, or something silly like that. However, we talked to her husband who didn't know anything about her ordering the book. We taught him a mini lesson just on the Book of Mormon, and he committed to reading and praying about it. When I read Moroni 10:3-5 he said, "Wow that’s powerful!" He was 66 years old and Baptist, but he was prepared to hear about the Book of Mormon! Next time we go I’m definitely giving him a baptismal date and he will accept it.

I’ve experienced something very interesting lately. The spirit prompted me to say something I had never learned. Later I found it in the scriptures when I was studying. That was an interesting experience, and I’m really starting to enjoy studying. I’ve been out almost 5 months, but I’m just starting to really enjoy it. LOL.

I started reading Jesus the Christ before my mission. I couldn't get into it. Now I can't put it down, and somehow the vocabulary is not an obstacle. I understand it! The Lord has blessed me. I had been praying that I would have my understanding expanded and my mind enlightened. Although when I prayed, the words I used were, “Help me to be smarter,” but it’s the same thing essentially.

I love the lord with all of my heart!

I Loved Conference!

I loved General Conference. I’m so happy that I had the forethought to get a little notebook to take notes in. My favorite talks were:
Elder Uchtdorf: The Lord is the light that pierces through the darkness.
Elder Wirthlin: Learn to Laugh
*Elder Holland: Angels seen or unseen are usually sent to comfort and direct us.
Elder Christofferson: Give up the summer cottage in Babylon.
Elder Bednar: Meaningful prayers
Elder Iring: Speak well of each other
Elder Hales: Meekness is enduring injury without resentment
*Elaine S. Dalton: Return to virtue
President Monson: Find joy in the journey and express gratitude always
William D. Oswald (2nd councilor of the Sunday School General Presidency): Teaching is at the center of all we do.
Elder Cook: “I hope you know, I had a hard time.” We are all subject to hope and despair.
I didn’t take notes on the Relief Society broadcast because I forgot to bring anything to write on.

We did no tracking last week, and we got three new investigators. The Zone had a blitz in our area between Saturday conferences, and we got one investigator from that. We got two yesterday by having miracle timing, but they’re from Iraq. I don’t know how many the first presidency approves, but I hear not many. If it endangers the investigator’s life, we’re not allowed to baptize them.

I’m Driving Now!

My Companion’s name is Sara Jane Jordan. She fractured her ankle on Wednesday night. Her Fibula, the non-weight bearing bone, was broken at the nubby part of the ankle. She was walking off a sidewalk to a driveway, of a house we had just tracked, and didn’t see that it was a step down, and rolled her ankle. We heard it crack. We went home and she got a blessing from the member we stay with and his Home Teaching partner. Then on Thursday, her 22nd birthday, we went and had it x-rayed, she was given a partial cast so that the swelling would go down. Now she’s going to be put in a boot that she can take off to shower. That is, as soon as we get it.

We got a new investigator on Monday, and it was just me for awhile, because Sister Jordan had to catch up on her crutches. My first by myself (basically) investigator! We were walking to the car and I saw a man jogging, so I asked my comp if he was too far away. She said to go after him. I didn’t catch up to him, but I did travel quite a bit of parking lot, (maybe an 1 /8 of a mile) and got to a young woman who was just going out to her car to get something from the trunk. She’s the new investigator.

On Friday we were on “House Arrest” by the Mission Mom, and the one appointment that we got to go to we got a new investigator at! An Elder in our district called that a Sister Miracle :) . On Saturday Sister Pain, the lady of the home we stay in, gave me a bit of a voice lesson. I helped her record songs for one of her students on a voice recorder that was a bit too new-fangled for her. She opened it to 3 octaves, but she said that I have more than that. She said that I need to relax and push the sap (air) and not move the tree (me).