Week 4: Ciudad de Mehico   Tue, Aug 26, 2014 at 8:36 AM

 

This week was crazy! seriously nuts! it all started with beckstead throwing up. he had been sick for like 14 days and so he and elder thomas went to OUTSIDE the walls to get a check up at the clinic. they did some tests and got some x-rays and then they came back. and then the next day they had to got OUTSIDE the walls again to get the results. but they never came back. that was thursday and that was the day we were supposed to have TRC which meant we would teach in actives or people who arent members but we didnt have enough investigators so we just taught hermano medinas wife. that was awesome. she had a cute little baby which looked exactly like a mini medina. haha it was awesome. anyway, that night beckstead and thomas didnt come back. and i was freaking out! elder JBQ told me to "simmer down elder".  he thought i was totally overreacting and so he wouldnt let me stay up until they got back which was a very good thing because they never came back.... so during our personal study the next day, friday, around 7:30 a guy comes in and asks for elder bryson and elder larson. he told us how elder thomas and beckstead were at the hospital and that thomas had stayed overnight there because beckstead had a kidney infection. it was pretty freaky. so they told us we would go to the hospital to switch out thomas. so we went. we left the WALLS! for the first time! it was so cool! haha it is crazy in mexico city! everyone drives insane! i cant tell if everyone is super crappy at driving or super awesome at driving really close to other cars and almost getting into crashes. its crazy! its nuts and the air always smells terrible! its gross. when ever you stop at a red light, a ton of vendors come run around selling stuff adn there are randdom people offering windshield washes. but all they do is throw water on the windshield and smear the dirt around. its nuts. there are so many stray dogs too! its crazy! and they have playgrounds in the weirdest places. i saw one in the middle of an intersection right underneath the freeway. it was so weird and it was made entirely of concerete. it was funny to see. so when we got to the room, elder thomas looked so relieved to see us and he looked exhausted! so then edler bryson took a shift and elder thomas and i went back to the ccm. we got back in time to teach a lesson! yay! haha yeah i actually taught with elder JBQ with was awesome cause hes awesome and hes black which is awesome! Gyebi is pretty good at spanish. we taught an okay lesson, not the best, but certainly not the worst. so at 5:40 i was supposed to go to the hospital to switch out elder bryson but before that elder thomas and i wanted to teach a lesson together. and we totally did. it was seriously so good! we meshed so well! it was great we were definitely on the same page and i can only give thanks to God for that blessing. it was the best lesson ive ever been apart in. and it was onyl because we were intune with the spirit and inspired what to say and how to say it. it was invredible. hermano medina even said it was good. which means a lot cause hermano medina doesnt give that stuff out like ever. so after our lesson, i got my turn at the hospital. oh man! they speak so fast! i could hardly understand what they were saying! it was super frustrating! i wanted to understand so bad! but it was all good. elder beckstead and i made it out okay. i got to sleep over at the hospital. that was pretty crazy cause every like 2-3 hours a nurse would come in and check on beckstead. and it was always right when i was so close to falling asleep! haha oh well. anyway. beckstead got better and he came back actually on saturday. that was an awesome blessing. so i left around 10;00 from the hospital and elder JBQ took a shift. and that day the coolest thing happened! it rained for like 3-4 hours straight! it was so awesome! i love the rain! it just poured! and i ran through lots of puddles and it was so great! made me feel alive! haha 

sunday i got to play the piano agian in priesthood! yay! turns out im the only elder in my branch taht can play the piano haha i doubt it but oh well. its good for me to learn more hymns. haha but i love playing. it feels so good to play the piano! oh i miss the guitar too! aaahh!! so the oldest district in our branch left on monday and now my district is the oldest. we will be the oldest for like 2 weeks! haha that means im gonna get called on to speak on sunday! yay! 

haha an awesome experience my district had this week was our tuesday devotional was about specific prayers and that if we ask God specifically for something and if we have faith that he can provide and if we put in the effort he will answer. so a couple days before, the comedor served actual good food! it was amazing picante pollo. it was so crispy and it was way better than KFC! it was awesome! so we decided, as a district to pray for more picante pollo. haha it was awesome! and in 2 days, we got more picante pollo! it was seriously the coolest thing! greatest thing ever. so that was basically my week. on sunday we watched a movie about the construction of the salt lake temple. and it just got me thinking about how much i truly love the temple. like it was such a blessing in my life to live so close to so many temples. im grateful that i got to take advantage of that opportunity and go. and it just brought back memories of going with friends but the biggest was when Hope was sealed to us for time and all eternity. the biggest feeling i felt when i was 13 going in the temple was how peaceful and wonderful everything was and how peaceful i felt. its almost indescribable. i just felt so much love for my family and for everyone that it brought tears to my eyes and i just was filled with this love for everyone around me. it was the most incredible feeling. i had never felt that way before in my entire life and it was the best feeling in the world. you could just feel the love of the lord radiating thru the walls, floors, and ceilings. it was amazing. i realize now, how special that moment was, seeing my baby sister being sealed to my parents forever. for all eternity. and it made me realize how very special family is. because friends can come and go but family is always there. constant, unmovable, comforting and loyal. Just like Him. familes are just like Him and i love that. 

thank you all for your love and support. your letters and packages. emails. whatever. it makes me feel so blessed and loved. thank you! i know i couldnt do any of this without your support and most importantly the lords support. he is my rock. he has blessed me so much here in the CCM. with learning the language, understanding the gospel, teaching the lessons. everything. he is in every part of my life. and i love him so much!

with love unabound,

Elder Larson