Well, a lot has happened in the last couple of days. I am no longer living in Arlington, although I will still be running the area. I am in a companionship of three again. We live in Alexandria and the three of us will be running the two areas. From what it sounds like, I'm going to basically be running Bella Vista by myself and having to find member exchanges in order to be able to go back. So basically I'm just living with other sisters and don't really have a companion. The other two are still going to help me if I can't find exchanges, but I'm a little bit stressed about it. I don't know what it is about this ward, but my companion from before (Hermana Alvarado) was in this area without a companion for a while too. So...I'm going to need a lot of prayers...PLEASE!! Last night, when Hna. Basurto was saying goodbye to everyone it was like I could feel the weight being transferred to my shoulders. I don't know how long this little arrangement is going to last, but I guess I'll just have to trust in the Lord that He knows what He is doing. I now live about 45 minutes away from the chapel and am going to have to find a member that can meet us half-way every Sunday so that I can go to the PEC meetings and sacrament and everything. We have a baptism in Bella Vista this week...but there's also one in Oldetown (the other area that we are running). My day will start at about 8:00 when we have to leave in the morning, I'm going to be at the church all day until about 6:00 (preparing the font for the baptism and then the baptism itself) and then I'll get a ride to the baptism here in Oldetown and then we will go home at about 9:00. Don't ask me when I'm going to eat. I haven't figured that one out yet. I guess baptism refreshments will have to do. I hope I don't sound like I'm complaining. We all know that I like a good challenge:) I'm just grateful that I get to continue to work with the people in this ward. I really do love them. You always hear missionaries talk about that, but I never realized that you could love so many people so much. It's great to be able to feel a little piece of the love of God. It's a good reminder of how He is always there and that He has the same type of love for us. We are, after all, His children. So my companions right now are Hermana's Alvarado (yes, the same one as before) and Funch. They are both really good missionaries and they are going to be helping me out a ton. This transfer is definitely going to be one where I learn A LOT. Hopefully I'll be able to remember everything that I learn. The baptism this week is for Renata Vidal. She's 13 and her dad and sister are members. She was actually an investigator from before I got here. One day Hna. Alvarado called me from her other area to let me know that I should go check on her because she had been thinking about her a lot lately. When we went to see her, she told us that her sister had been wondering how to get a hold of the missionaries to come back and teach her. We set a baptismal date with her in the next lesson. She is great and so willing to obey all of the commandments. Remember her in your prayers. The last week before baptism is often the one filled with the most trials and difficulties. I hope everything is going well for everyone. If you're suffering hardships in your life right now just remember that "the Lord shapes the back to fit the burden placed upon it." That knowledge has helped me through more than I can ever tell you. I know that the Lord is aware of each of us and that He gives us the opportunities that we need to be able to become like He is. How can we expect to learn if we never have any experience or times to put our knowledge and faith into practice? We just have to let the Lord guide us through everything and trust that He knows what we need. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored and that we have a living prophet to lead and guide us. The Book of Mormon is true; and by reading it we can receive personal revelation, the strength, and knowledge that we need to overcome anything because it testifies of Christ. He is the source of all comfort, strength, and happiness. There is no other way.

Well, I think I'm officially ready to start a moving business. We helped a member and her family move from one apartment to another one day. The only problem was, we had a meeting with the Stake Presidency early that morning and we forgot to bring clothes to change into because we were running a little bit behind schedule. Oops. They had some t-shirts there to lend us, but we had to make do with the tracting shoes and skirts that we were wearing:) I wanted to take my nylons off so badly. It was a pretty hot and humid day. Then, we didn't have time to go home and shower before we went to the temple visitors center with our investigator to see the Joseph Smith movie. I felt bad for everyone that was in the car and watching the movie with us. We weren't the best smelling crew... It wouldn't have been that bad, but there was a TON of stuff. Literally. Probably even more than that. I don't know how they fit all of that stuff in a little apartment, but they had a gift for storage I guess. The good thing was that there were a bunch of brothers from the Elders' Quorum there to help. Helping one person move in a week isn't that bad. The fun part comes in when the next day we were working in a certain area and we thought of a former investigator that lived there. We had had some appointments fall through and felt like we should call her to see if we could go see her. When she answered, we found out that she was moving from her apartment, but that she was doing it by herself. We asked her if we could come help and she gladly agreed. When we got talking to her, she told us that she had been praying that someone would be able to help her. We called shortly after. She told us that we had truly been sent from God to help her. So there we were in our proselyting skirts again. Carrying matresses and boxes. Luckily, this move wasn't as big scale as the previous one, but we still needed some more muscle there. We called a recent convert named Oliver to come help us. It would have gone faster, but Glenka(the former investigator) has a definite gift for talking...A LOT. We finally got everything loaded in her vehicle and then piled in our cars to follow her to the new place to unload. We had just started taking the matresses off the top of the van when it started pouring rain. The drops were so big that it was kind of painful. Needless to say, we were soaked in a matter of moments, but we had a lot of fun. We went out to eat while we waited for the rain to stop and while we waited for the food we taught her the plan of salvation. I never ceased to be amazed at all of the questions people ask us like, "How did you know to call me today?" or "How did you know that I needed to hear that scripture?" It's been happening a lot lately, and I know that it is because the Lord is helping us and guiding us. He know what all of His children need and He is giving us the privilege to be instruments in His hands. I am so grateful for the time that I have to gain all of this experience and let my testimony grow. I know that this is the Lord's work and that He always provides help for ALL of us as His children. It's so AMAZING! I love you all. Have a happy Mother's Day! Hermana Larsen