Harvey Part 2

This week was crazy!!! It rained so much so it made for a good week of missionary work.  

To start off the week I went on exchanges with the Broadway Elders, Elder Price and Elder Bowers. They are in a trio so it was a trio exchange for the day! I took them to my area and we saw a lot of really cool things happen! We were able to get in with some less active members and they are going to be feeding us this week! On the way back from exchanges Elder Price's bike fell off the rack and was getting dragged so he lost like 2 inches of his handlebars hahaha! It was pretty freaky because I had to get out and fix it over this busy bridge but we made it!

The next day it rained so much here! We got caught out on our bikes and we got soakkedd. Our recent convert Art texted us that around his house was flooding so we hurried down there to help him since his mom and grandma were in the house. They turned out to be alright but we did get to walk through a ton of water. Right after we had a less active member take us to go get some sushi. I tried to take it like a champ but I almost threw up like 5 times. She noticed and made sure I ate something else. My shoes caused there to be a lake in the restaurant with how much water was in them so hopefully they invite us to dinner again!

SJ had her baptism this week and I got to perform the ordinance so that was really cool! We got a prompting the day of her baptism to text her and ask how she was doing and she told us the next day that it was right before she was about to drink some coffee but we were able to talk with her and help her out! 

SJ's Baptism

Sunday, we had the mission Presidents Fireside. Every month he has a fireside to help our investigators and less active members returning progress. Our recent convert Irene spoke about her conversion story and she is the sweetest person every! She did an awesome job and I know she helped out some people that were there. 

Other than that, I finished the Book of Mormon this week so that was amazing! I know that it is the word of God and that this gospel is true! It is such a joy to be on a mission and be able to teach people about the happiness they can find! Have an amazing week! Love you all! 

Elder Larson 

Are transfers next week?

Yes, transfers are next week. 

What is the pin that you wear on your suit?

 It is a Baytown pin. Brother Davis in the YSA branch presidency gave it to me

Is the 4^th of July just another day for you or do you get to attend some sort of celebration?

 I haven't really thought about the 4th of July yet so we might have somewhere to go. We will probably have to come in early for that night. 

The Hewletts said in their text that your recent convert spoke at the Mission President’s Fireside.  Which convert was that and what did they speak about?

The convert was Irene Espina and she talked about her conversion story and she has a powerful testimony! She is awesome!

 Any challenges you experienced this week and how did you overcome it?

We had all of our lessons fall through on a day and I got a flat but we made the most of the day and found some people to teach!

 What’s the deal with split pants…..do you need another pair, a bigger size?? ☺

No my pants still work they just got caught on something so I got them sewed up. I got some awesome Nike golf pants from the retail store for $30 this week. They breathe so well so they are the best!

All just because I ripped my pants...

"I thought that I had everybody on my side.  Then I went and blew it all sky high."

This week was really awesome! We had two exchanges so it seemed super busy. 

First exchange I was with my MTC companion Elder Padbury! It was a ton of fun and we got 3 new investigators in their area so that was really awesome. We were really able to help out this one kid that had bad feelings towards God because of some really hard things that have happened in his life but when we left he closed with a prayer and he was excited to read the book of mormon! I also got to interview their investigator Logan and he got baptized on Saturday!

Me and Elder Padbury saving a Turtle

The next exchange was with the AP's and that is where the mayhem happened. During lunch Elder Gill noticed that I had this rip in the bottom of my pants but I thought I would play it off but we were biking around all day and by the end it was super bad hahaha. But we made it! We had a really awesome day and he is a great missionary. We had no appointments so we got to talk to like 5 million people. One of them tried to spray me with a hose lol. Turns out people don't like when you bike on their driveway. 

Elder Storey and "Bikes" duo

Our investigator SJ is getting baptized this week so we are super excited for her! 

Father’s Day was awesome! We had stake conference and it was really powerful! The Stake presidency here is so amazing and it was a great meeting. Not to mention it was Fathers day! I am grateful for all the amazing fathers that I have had during my life! I have amazing grandfathers that taught me a lot and then and my dad played a big part in getting me out on a mission. I am also so grateful for my Heavenly Father who is always watching over usand will always love us! I know Heavnely Father loves each of you!! If you don't believe it just read the Book of Mormon and pray to ask if he really does love you! Love you all and thank you for the support. 

Elder Cameron Larson 

Quick Photo Shoot in the Car so I could send some pictures

Storey plus bikes duo

Me and Padbury rescuing a turtle

Mom’s Questions

Who took and sent the text video of you telling dad Happy Father’s Day?

So the video was from a member in the Lakeshore ward. Someone else had sent her a video of her missionary so she was tracking all of them down at stake conference. 

What have you learned from Elder Toledo?

 Elder Toledo does a really good job at always being obedient and making sure he does all of the little things right. 

When did you feel the spirit the most this week?

 The spirit was really strong during stake conference when the youth in the ward went up and sang I am a child of God. It was really awesome because our convert Art went up and sang it. This week he bought a brand new suit with his little money that doesn't go to tithing and to help support his family. He is doing so amazing! Makes me like a proud dad haha!

Tell me an experience of when you have had to trust the Lord.

We were on exchanges for the AP's and I was helping plan and I really felt like we should go to this one street which is really weird. There was nothing on it but we trusted it anyways and went. and there was this guy that has always wanted a Book of Mormon and was going to read it. He lives a long ways away so who knows where it will go but we were able to follow that and we saw that cool miracle!

Another One

Wow this week was a good one!  We had someone confirmed, receive the priesthood and found a couple of new investigators! 

On Tuesday we found this guy just by knocking some doors and he was pretty sincere! He loved when we talked about how we believe that God still reveals stuff to us so we left a Book of Mormon with him and we will be going back to see him tomorrow morning! 

This week I got to interview someone for baptism which was such a special experience. The lady's name was Carla and she had a very sweet testimony of the Gospel and how God has led her to this point. She was soooo determined to get her other 6 children baptized and 2 of them are getting close down in that area! 

We had a lesson with our investigator that got anti stuff and she is doing a lot better. We have really focused on getting her back into the book of Mormon and ever since she has been diong that she has been feeling the spirit a lot more. 

I got to go on exchanges this week with Elder Breakwell from Provo UT. He is such a funny kid and I was dying laughing all day. On exchanges we were able to get SJ back on date!! We also ran into a less active member of our ward who wanted to take his names off the records of the church that wanted to feed us so that was a miracle! 

Golf Course in our area

I got the opportunity to confirm Irene a member of the church which was a really cool experience. We ordained Art the same day and had a couple of investigators come to church so it was an amazing day! 

One thing I have been thinking a lot about is we all have problems and concerns in life and it is what we decide to do when those challenges arise that will determine who we will become. We can either sit and complain or we can exercise faith and keep trusting! That is something that I have learned a lot about on my mission and it has been amazing missions are the best! Love you all!!

Elder Cameron Larson

Mom’s Questions

How has your health been?  Any trouble with allergies?

 My health has been really good! No problems!

What will you be doing for Pday today?

 This week we are going to ball up just like usual!

What has been your favorite meal in your current area?

 Well I know tonight we are having Salmon so I'm going to say that already

How/When do you decide when to do exchanges?

We decide exchanges at the beginning of the transfer. We have 6 exchanges a transfer so pretty much 1 every week. We have to go to all 5 districts District meetings as well so we will usually go to those and then exchange right after with the district leaders. 

Irene's Baptism!

Hey friends and family this week was a good one! To start off we had MLT at Kingwood so I got to see a lot of my friends in the mission that are district leaders so that was super awesome.

I'm ballin right now at a chapel so I forgot my journal. All the weeks seem to blend into each other at this point. 1 crazy thing was we got a sweet referral from Sister Simpson. She sent over a referral to Baytown and they are really cool people so way to be a team player and help out the Lake Houston Zone. 

Friday, we had District Training so we went around and taught a meeting to 5 districts. It was a crazy busy but I got to see a ton of my friends. We talked about accountability and how important it is. When we are accountable we allow ourselves to repent and be forgiven and feel the joy of becoming better. It is something that we really feel will help the mission since we haven't been doing as well as we could. 

Sunday was super busy. To start off we had Arts confirmation which was a great experience. He is a great kid and will continue to do good things, next step is to get him to the temple! We had a meeting with President Rascone and President Hewlett to discuss missionary work in the stake and we are trying to get members more involved in inviting us to go on visits with them to reactivate people. 

Stole Sister Hewlett's phone!

Irene's Baptism was the best part of the week! She has been waiting sooooooo long for this since she had to get first presidency approval. We did her interview way back in the beginning of May. But President Hewlett and Rascone both came and spoke and the spirit that was there was super strong. 

We were driving our car to MLT and our window shattered and got glass everywhere. It was pretty crazy but I'm doing my part to get into a bike area. I've had 2 broken windows so maybe they will get the vibe I'm just bad luck and put me where I belong.

Nahhhhh you're good (it's getting supa hot 🔥🔥)  Elder Toledo kept his foot in the shade and said he wasn’t going out into the heat haha.

This next week we will be looking to get back into finding some more people because our 2 other investigstors that had a date isn't going to happen this week. 1 just isn't quite getting it and isn't ready and the other got antied so that was no bueno. Don't just go looking stuff up on the internet. But I'm grateful for the opportunity to go on a mission and the things I've learned! We had so many spirit filled lessons and I love it! Love you all and talk to you next week!

Did you watch the worldwide youth broadcast?  Did you take any investigators? 

We didn't get the chance to go to the broadcast but from what I heard it was really good. I wish Art would have been able to go but his mom is going in for surgery and things have been pretty crazy for him at home lately.  Missionary life just seems to get busier. Our ward mission leader moved so we have just been doing wayyy too much work to prepare for baptisms and things. And we had to get a lot of information compiled for President Hewlett and his meetings. But I'm hoping things settle down a little more so we can do some good old classic missionary work.