Thursday, March 13, 2014

Shout Out To My Aiti!

Hey y'all! What a week, what a week, what a mighty fine week.
Lemme just tell you about some highlights from this blessed week!
This week- we had a HUGE miracle- we were able to get a hold of a less active who's been hiding out away from everyone forever. And we committed him to come to church. Blesssingssssss.
Also- we had an incredible lesson with Kel and Cory. Poor Cory has been so shunned by members of the church and has become bitter because of it- but Kel is an incredibly kind, patient and loving woman and is exactly what Cory needs. We got him to pray at the end of our lesson which was a miracle in it's own right and it was a very powerful prayer.
We had an incredible training this week from our Zone Leaders about desires and the power of the Doctrine of Christ- MAN. It was so good.
Yesterday was an amazing day. We only had 4 hours of church. Why? Because no one told us it was daylight savings, and we totally dropped the ball and forgot ourselves (missionary bubble, I tell ya) and so we missed the meetings at the beginning of church, and then most of the singles ward ended up being cancelled because everyone was gone. 
Anyway- for our dinner thought last night we were talking about miracles. I read part of the definition of miracles in the bible dictionary and then I talked about a personal one that I had seen happen for my family, where Heavenly Father blessed us with the ability to send my mom to Finland for her father's funeral. At that point, the spirit testified to me of the strength my mother has. This testimony was born to me by the power of the Spirit:
Conversion is real, and it is powerful. Through being converted, my mom completely changed the course of not only her life but everyone she came in contact with. When my sweet mother joined the church- she put her faith in the Lord to help her through life. She had the humility to accept that she couldn't do it on her own. After her baptism, she made the choice to marry my dad- a man who is a worthy priesthood holder and a strong member of the church. This choice, once again, blessed my mother, her family, her future children, and everyone around her because when she chose to marry my father, she also chose to leave Finland behind, move to the United States, and start a life here, knowing very well that her connection to her family in Finland would be limited severely in comparison to how it had been. From that point, she began to build a family and a life with my dad- it wasn't always an easy situation but it was one full of blessings and my parents made things work! My aiti then made another giant step in her conversion- she and my dad were sealed for time and all eternity. That action has blessed our life eternally. Since that covenant was made, my momma has done her best to endure to the end. The gratitude I have for my aiti's faith is immense. She is an incredibly strong, powerful woman, and not only that, but a pioneer in her own right. She blazed the way for her future children to have the blessings of the gospel in their lives, and in her grand-children's lives. She is a true pioneer. And what is even more amazing? She never complains about having left Finland. In all my 22 years of life, not once have I ever heard my mom complain about leaving Finland behind or wanting to be in Finland.
My mother is an incredible woman, and through faith, a willingness to hear the message of two scrawny missionaries who had broken Finnish, and the power of conversion through the Spirit, my aiti has impacted the lives of all those who have met her, for the better. How grateful I am for my mother, and the love that I have for her is beyond words.
I hope that all of you take the time to ponder and pray about someone that you could share the gospel with in your life, whether they be a nonmember or a less-active member, so that they can help blaze the way for their families the way that my mother has for me and mine.
With that, I bid you farewell! I love you all and I'm grateful for you! Take care and know the Lord loves you!

Be safe, be strong, be good, be glad! The world is a beautiful place! :)

Sister Sofia Larson
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City

Email dated March 10, 2014

Friday, March 7, 2014

I'm So Sorry!

I don't have much time left, I'm so sorry folks.

It's been a good week. We've spent a lot of time driving around and we got lost a lot in the city. Good thing we had extra miles saved! We saw the Oklahoma City bombing memorial and that was incredibly haunting and sad and moving.

Alright. I'm so sorry. I have to go! We have a bunch of snow on the ground. It's been a crazy week. Spent a lot of time on base.

Alright. Well I love you all. Take good care and I'll write a better email next week!

Sister Sofia Larson
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City

PS- Here's a picture of me with the Reynolds, the night before I got transferred! Love you all! Stay safe and warm!


Email dated March 3, 2014

"Hi, I'm Desirae. I'm amazing, and I'm a Mormon"

Once again, I'm short on time. But- I want to tell you about the highlight of my week- Desirae's baptism. It was on Saturday.

Allow me to tell you just how amazing Saturday was.. because it was incredible.

Saturday I woke up in OKC. I was on exchanges with Sister Stewart (one of our STL's) and it was awesome. We went to a lesson that morning with a woman named Chelsie, and while we were there, some Jehovah's Witnesses walked up and I happened to see them before they got to the screen door, so Sister Stewart distracted Chelsie and I walked out and introduced myself. I was very friendly.. but they weren't. But it was okay! I smiled and said "Hi! I'm Sister Larson!" And they said, "Are you the lady of the house?" And so I said, "Nope. :) I'm actually a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We're just about to have a lesson with the woman that lives here. You can join us if you'd like! Would you like to join us?" And they said, "uhhhhhhhhhhh no. Have a good day ma'am." And before they walked away, I handed them a pass along card and went back inside. :)

It was incredible. After our awesome lesson with Chelsie, we headed back to Midwest City and exchanged back. I missed my Panion. We ate a quick lunch and drove up to The Village to get Sister Leavitt. Sister Ellis went with Sister Chevalier back to Midwest City, and SisLeav and I went down to Norman! It was such a party. Oh my heck. 

We got to the Norman building and Sister Freeman (my other old companion) was there with her trainee, and we swapped stories and talked and then Sister Leavitt and I went and practiced our musical number. Desirae showed up not too long after and I have never been more excited to see someone. Words cannot express how much I love Desirae. I gave her the biggest hug ever and we talked about how things have been since I was transferred and she was crying, which was kind of sad. She kept saying, "I miss how you teach and I miss laughing in lessons!" and then she said that her lessons now are more serious and doctrinal and less loving and personal. So that was sad. But she's doing great and I'm so excited for her. The baptism begun, and it was amazing. 

My favorite Norman folks were there- the Zukas family, the Zimmermans, Sister Reynolds, Desirae, Sister Freeman, Elder Tripp, and the Humphreys. I was ecstatic. After Desirae was baptized, Sister Leavitt and I did our musical number- she played piano and I sang- a medley of "Nearer My God to Thee" and "I Feel My Savior's Love". It went pretty good! Sister Leavitt is a bossssss at piano. After the baptism we went to dinner at the Zukas's house- happiest thing ever. Felt like I was at a family dinner! AND there was a bulldog there that was the funniest dog I've EVER seen in my life. His name was Max. And we're best friends now.

Anyway- we got back home right before curfew.. and it was an amazing day. Words cannot express how happy I am that I got to experience Desirae's baptism.
And with that- I must get going. But I love you all and I'm so appreciative of the support I receive from you! Never forget how much you mean to me, the Lord, and those who surround you!

Sister Sofia Larson
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City

Email dated February 24, 2014

SPEEDMAIL.

I appologize, I have been slacking on my posts lately. But as you will see, Sofie hasn't been feeling very well lately.

UBER FAST MASS EMAIL.

I'm so sorry. These computers are really cramping my style.

Basically I want to let you all know that I am safe, sound, happy to be alive and I love the gospel!

I'm also very excited because this weekend, I get to go on splits with my trainer (Momma Leavitt!) and go back to Norman for Desirae's baptism. I'm so excited.

She asked me to sing at it though.. not quite as excited about that.

I've had bronchitis or some sort of reallllly nasty cold for a couple weeks now so that's been a bummer.

We have some incredible investigators here. One of them, Kel, is 18 and she just had a baby and is a boss. She's so strong! I'm very impressed by her and she's going to be an amazing Mormon. :)

The wind is psychotic here. It's always trying to mess up your clothes and hair.

My companion is the sweetest person ever. Also she's hilarious. She's also very shy and quiet. But once she opens up.. oh heck. She's so funny.

We spoke in the Single's branch this last Sunday. It went really well! Sister Chevalier went first and totally blew everyone's spiritual socks off, and then I went in and was like, "NOW GIVE US YOUR FRIENDS SO WE CAN TEACH THEM."

Okay not really. But kind of.
Anyway. I love you all so much and I'm so grateful for the support you show me!

We have been learning this week about our desires and how they affect our actions. I'm constantly working on having more righteous desires and let me tell ya what, it's hard. But Heavenly Father gave us the ability to overcome our weaknesses and become like Jesus Christ.

:)

Anyway. I gotta go. I love you all so much! Take good care and know that the Lord (and I) love you A TON!

Sister Sofia Larson
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City

Email dated February 18, 2014

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The Lamest Email I've Ever Sent. :/

Hello from Midwest City!
I'm just about to run out of time so I am going to have to make this a quick email. (Missionaries only get a small amount of time set aside on their P-day to send emails.)

Monday- P-day. I spent most of the day drugged (after email) so I don't remember much. But that's okay! It was a good day I'm sure.
Tuesday- Went around and said goodbyes, had a couple appointments, packed.. it was crazy. I said goodbye to Desirae (broke my heart) and she wasn't ready to say goodbye, so she showed up again at our apartment and said goodbye again. We cried. I love Desirae. 
Wednesday- Transfer day! I have a new companion named Sister Chevalier (pronounced Sha-val-yay) and she's super quiet and nice. I was actually her host in the MTC so I already knew her. :) We came back, I unpacked, we went to a baptism and then went to correlation. We serve not only over a huuuuuuuge ward (over 700 on the roster.. but not enough worthy priesthood to split it) but also over a single's branch. It's awesome. :)
Thursday- Had a couple appointments. I feel bad because I've been medicated so I can't remember too much from this week and I'm really sorry.
OH WAIT. That was the day I got a call that DESIRAE SET A BAPTISMAL DATE. I wept with joy for a while. I'm so happy for her. And it'll be so great to go to that baptism.
Friday- District meeting! It was a good meeting. Our District leader is from my old zone so I know him, which is nice. After that, we had lunch at a place called Chileno's and we told them it was one of our elders' birthday, so they put a HUGE sombrero on him and then sang to him. IT was hilarious.
Saturday- We met with Sarrah and Leo! They're a couple recent converts and they're way nice! I love them. They're super funny and very down to earth.
Sunday- 7 hours of church! IT was nuttttts. But it was awesome too. I loved it. After that we went out to Choctaw and spoke at a fireside. It went really well! The youth seemed to really like what we said and seemed super energized about member missionary work. :)
Alright well, I'm sorry. This might be the lamest email I've ever sent out. But I'm on a huge time crunch and I'm super sorry. I love you all so much! Take care!

Sister Sofia Larson
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City

Email dated February 10, 2014

Just a heads up, if you took the address from Sofie's last email, IT WAS MISSPELLED. This is her actual address:

215 W McArthur Dr. Apt #81
Midwest City, OK 73110

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Transfers and the ER!

Well guys, this week we find out the real reason that Sister Larson got transferred. Just a warning, it's pretty sad.

So normally for my emails I type out each day.. but to be honest, I can't remember anything after Tuesday. Here's why:

Tuesday we were in a lesson and I bent over to grab something from my bag. At that point I had an incredibly sharp pain and it felt like someone stabbed me with a screwdriver. We happened to be very close to our doctor's office, so I wrote my companion a note in my planner that said "We need to go to Dr. Zukas right now." so we quickly finished our lesson and wet to Dr. Zukas. He sent us to the ER, and 7 hours and many many tests later, I was discharged with some light pain meds that weren't doing a thing for me. We went to the doctor a couple more times this week and had to get more tests done, and after some major trial and error with some of my medication (they made me really sick) We finally found some medications that were working at least somewhat.
Apparently I've said some really funny things on my drugs. For instance, I said this to my companion:
"Sister Freeman, you're like a sunflower. You're always facing the sun and so ready to give seeds." 
I also stole the elders' plastic sword and was running around saying "I'M MULAN." Yeah. 
There is also an elder from a tiny town called Burrville in Utah (his graduating class was like 16 people.. yeah I though Philomath was small.) And apparently I said "He's gonna get married in the Burrville temple! AKA a barn!" And they all thought it was really funny but I was sad that they were laughing at me. Yeah.
Last night we got transfer calls! I'm being transferred to Midwest City! Here's my new address! 
215 W McArther Dr. Apt #81
Midwest City, OK 73110
Alright, well, I must be going now. This is a real short email and I know it! I wish I remembered more of the week. 
Here's a picture of me me with a really cute puppy from a couple weeks ago:
Here's a less than attractive photo my companion took in the emergency room:
Alright! take care y'all, I'll write again next week! :) Love you so much!
Sister Sofia Larson
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City

Email dated February 3, 2014

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

This Week, I Met a Jesus Double.

Alrighty.


BUT before I start- I'm going to be getting transferred so I wouldn't recommend sending me anything at my Norman address after today. :)

Monday- P-DAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. To be honest P-day stresses me out. A lot. You'd think, "P-day. Missionary free day. They get to relax, right?" WRONG. It is SO CRAZY. We have so much to get done! We have to wake up even earlier to make sure we get everything that we need to do done by 6pm! It's crazy. Anyway. It was a great P-day and we had dinner with the Gorshe's! I love them. After that we went and checked on some folks. It was a great day. :)

Tuesday- Oh heck! It was a great day. We had lunch with Desirae at the Zukas's and we really helped her to understand and love modern day prophets. It was awesome. I love Desirae so much! Man alive. After that we had a couple other appointments with Melissa (this awesome woman who fosters adorable puppies) and Allan. It was awesome! That night we had dinner with the Blackburns and then we went and met with a couple of our potentials.

Wednesday-We went and did an online accident report for the scratches on our car (the last ice storm damaged our car :( ) and then we went and did some tracting. We went to the Zimmerman's and Sister Zimmerman taught Sister Freeman to quilt while I talked with Julie. That night we had dinner with the Walsers! After that we went on splits (Sister Barlow was down here from the office again) so I went with Sister Zimmerman to an appointment with the Jingozians. It was kind of a rough night.

Thursday- Weekly planning took forever. But after that we had lunch and then had an awesome appointment with Desirae! We read scriptures with her and talked with her about her concerns for baptism. We're working with her and she'll be getting baptized soon, no doubt about it. :) We had dinner that night with the Nelsons! It was awesome and they're way funny. They're the kind of people that you can tell used to live in Utah.

Friday- District meeeeting. It was a great one. :) After that we went to District lunch and met a guy who had been reading the Book of Mormon before the tornado but his trailer got taken during it and with it his Book of Mormon. Apparently he was all the way in about Alma he said. So that was awesome. We had a couple appointments and then had dinner with the McAdam's. My good heavens, their kids are smarter than I am and they're half (and some a third) my age. It's incredible. The little girls were so excited we were coming for dinner that they convinced their mom to let them use the fine china and they made us little "place tags"  that said "MiSionairey." it was adorable. That night we went and met with the Jingozians again and did some tracting, then went home.

Saturday- We had a zone lunch at the Martin's house! They're so cool. After that we had a meeting with the elders we share the ward with and the zone leaders. It was a good meeting. :) After that we went out to the Thacker's. They live about a half hour out of town. It was fun going out there! Reminded me of living in Blodgett. I played with their dog a lot (poor thing was desperate for someone to just throw it a ball) and we read the talk "One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism" (LeGrand Richards) with Brother Thacker. It was great. After that we had dinner with the Ellis's. Brother Ellis served his mission in Eugene! It was crazy! We talked about all kinds of stuff because he served in Corvallis. he said he really misses Local Boyz. A lot. But then again.. who doesn't? Haha. We had a lesson that night with Allan (the Reynolds came! Love them.) and it went really well. The Reynolds were able to answer questions that my companion and I weren't quite sure how to approach. It was a great lesson.

Sunday- CHURCH. I've been in the process of crocheting a tie, so that's been what I do during my free moments (mainly, lunch) and my fingers hurt! Haha. After church (which was AWESOME) we had dinner at the Hannah's. SISTER HANNAH MADE ME PULLA. I'm so happy. She sent me home with a bag of it and I've been munching on it like crazy. So yummy. We had an awesome Fireside put on by a couple who started "Mothers without Borders" and the husband is a Jesus model for Liz Lemon Swindle.. who is legitimately one of the most talented painters I have ever seen. It was so cool to hear their stories from Zambia. Ah. What a great day.

Oh! Random sidenote: Our heater broke last night. And ya know, that wouldn't be a huge deal except the wind was blowing so hard and our windows are leaky and it was 19 degrees out last night and it blew our patio door wide open. So this morning my companion and I stalked around our apartment with a sword and some pepper spray to make sure no one had broken in. But yeah. I have been awake since about 4 this morning. What a crazy way to start P-day! (did I mean for that to rhyme? Nope. But it did anyway! :D )

Alrighty well. I love all of you so much! Remember that the Lord loves you for your weaknesses and your strengths! :)

Take care! :)

Sister Sofia Larson
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City

Email dated January 27, 2014

Once again, a reminder that Sister Larson has been permanently reassigned to the Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission. It is not recommended to send her any letters or packages until further notice. Once we have a current mailing address it will be posted and I will make note of it. You can still send Dear Elders and emails, just not packages. Thanks!