June 14, 2010

Hey family,
All sounds well. We have morning exercise here, and we also walk around throughout the day, but since I have not been doing anything rigorous since high school, I think I am gaining weight. I haven't thought to really check, but it just feels like I eat a lot at meals, so mom, don't worry about me not eating enough. Thank you for the letter grandma, I forgot to congratulate Blaine, but I think that is splendid. Erik, still exciting news, and those are outstanding numbers Shane is getting.

Tuesday night we came back to Kurgan on the train ride. we had been in Yekaterinburg to hear Elder Rasband and his wife speak, which was really amazing. The main points I got from his talk are being completely obedient, wearing yourself out in the work, and loving the people. He highly emphasized loving the people as a whole, and through that love you can find success and happiness on the mission. He said to find meaning in all the good deeds you do in the day. Sometimes, you don't really know how much a difference you are making. He also shared about how he had a huge hand with the Huntsman corporation in opening the Church in Russia.

On the train back, we taught a man the first lesson and gave him a Book of Mormon. I hope he contacts the Ekat (Yekaterinburg) missionaries and gets in touch with them. He seemed very interested, he asked good questions, and we taught the lesson with the Spirit. Wednesday was a fairly normal day, Thursday was planning, and we got to reserve a hotel for the mission president. He came to Kurgan to talk to our ward and establish some leadership changes. We went on splits with the assistants, and they speak really good Russian, and we altogether had a good learning experience with them. President (on Sunday and a Saturday fireside spoke on the importance to coming to church rather than the dacha on Sunday, and really establishing strong families. Later, we did a ward counsel, and my companion had an opportunity to translate. There he emphasized how important it is for the ward to work together and really help each other care for those who are struggling in the ward and also seeing what we could improve. Not as many people came to church as we would have liked, but I was excited to see a few inactive members there. After all the church business, President Alcott and his wife came over to our house for dinner. We had tacos and fruit salad, and it was a really great opportunity to spend some time with president, here his advice, and find out what we need to do. I feel like we might need to start work from the area book and really trying to get members help in finding contacts. That is the best way, and on the street, we haven't been finding a lot of interested people. It is important to always find all those elect people though, and every soul has a great worth in the sight of God.

Russian language is getting a lot better for me. the Lord is helping me a lot. Sometimes I do not understand, but I can usually understand now generally what people talk about. I can learn words quickly, but my speaking, grammar, and conjugation need to improve. I am having a great time. My companion's birthday is today, and he turns 20. Always remember to strengthen each other and follow the commandments. The Lord will greatly bless you for even doing the simply things. Just remember to love.

I love you all. Bye.-Elder Larson