Beautiful Russia!

Beautiful Russia!


Our great friend, Roma made dinner for us!

Our great friend, Roma made dinner for us!

Elder Rasmussen is very excited to see real food!

Elder Rasmussen is very excited to see real food!


Companion and friend, Elder Jake Rasmussen

Companion and friend, Elder Jake Rasmussen


Trifecta's Last Time In Estonia

Trifecta's Last Time In Estonia

With my wonderful friend, Faik.

With my wonderful friend, Faik.

Sunrise, at One P.M.

Sunrise, at One P.M.

Petrozadovsk District

Petrozadovsk District

Lake at Petrozavodsk

Lake at Petrozavodsk


North Zone Conference Nov. 2011

North Zone Conference Nov. 2011

Thanksgiving Dinner 2011

Thanksgiving Dinner 2011

First Zone Conference with President Clark

First Zone Conference with President Clark

Neva River Fall 2011

Neva River Fall 2011

Visa trip, Oct 1st 2011

Visa trip, Oct 1st 2011

Oh my aching jaw...

Oh my aching jaw...

Hermitage Museum on P-day!

Hermitage Museum on P-day!

Me, Svetlana and Elder Loskutov

Me, Svetlana and Elder Loskutov

Birthday lunch with Kostya

Birthday lunch with Kostya

My friend, Grisha

My friend, Grisha

Service for Babushka

Service for Babushka

MTC Missionaries in Estonia

MTC Missionaries in Estonia

Waiting in Estonia...

Waiting in Estonia...


Visit from Elder Russell M. Nelson

Visit from Elder Russell M. Nelson

Elders Larsen and Anthony

Elders Larsen and Anthony

Our MTC teacher surprise visit!

Our MTC teacher surprise visit!


Podvodov family gave powerful talks!

Podvodov family gave powerful talks!
Pskov, Russia Branch


Vyborg Castle

Vyborg Castle

St Olaf's Castle Where We Do Service Work

St Olaf's Castle Where We Do Service Work

Beautiful Vyborg on the Sea of Finland

Beautiful Vyborg on the Sea of Finland

Vyborg

Vyborg

Misty day in Kaliningrad

Misty day in Kaliningrad

Kaliningrad District May 2010

Kaliningrad District May 2010

Russian MTC Group

Russian MTC Group

Russian MTC Zone at Provo Temple

Russian MTC Zone at Provo Temple

23 May 2011

Igor is getting baptized!

Hello... Been busy week... and will only get busier! That's a good thing though...
Elder Anthony's first name is Christopher, and he is from Tacoma, Washington. (near Seattle) He came in with Elder Berven's group. (By the way, Elder Berven is AP with Elder Punderson, but Elder Punderson is going home early this transfer, so there will be a new AP this transfer too.)

I will miss Pskov, but it wasn't as hard to leave there because I knew that I would be coming back to Vyborg and Kaliningrad and stuff.  Elder Loskutov is still there with Elder Nielsen, so all should be good down there. I like the city. We have to go to the office often for Zone leader stuff, and it is about an hour away from there, so that can be a pain, but other than that I love my area so far!

Busy week -wow, but it was really good. Since last P-day we have worked a lot with investigators and less active members, and did a lot of traveling. For the less active members we worked with a man named Faik, who used to work for the mafia many years ago before he became a member of the Church. It's some crazy stuff. We also met with a painter (really good by the way) named Myakishev, and a Babushka named Raisa. All really cool members, just need to find a way to help them back to church.
We also met with a branch member, McCartney Mueller, from South Africa. His ancesters are from Germany and he speaks English, Afrikanz, and another African language perfectly. He has lived in Russia 7 years, and will soon be graduating an international school of medicine in order to be a GP. He is a really really smart guy and really friendly. We had a meeting with him about the Sabbath day, as we thought he didn't come because someone offended him, but we talked with him and said, "It's my choice to be offended at something, and I don't choose to be offended" and then pulled out a talk about that he had just read and read it with us. He then came to church on Sunday and was really happy with how the branch loved to see him at church! I really like McCartney.

WE WERE IN VYBORG! Coolest story that has happened to me on my mission. Do you remember me talking about an Igor Shevchenko from Latvia who was living in Vyborg. Well he's getting BAPTIZED on Saturday!! We went up to Vyborg and I was allowed to do the interview with him and he passed with flying colors. He has grown so much since I left and has a great testimony now. Stronger than a lot of peoples. He is the first person I have seen the full process of conversion on my mission. I was there when he was contacted by missionaries, there during his teaching, there during his baptismal interview. Unfortunately I won't be able to be there for his baptism, as we have to go to Kaliningrad. (Which isn't bad at all, only in the aspect that I have to miss Igor's baptism) I really gained a testimony of how missionary work is the Lord's time and plan, not the missionary's. The Lord works through the missionaries though, and He has a plan for every person. Igor testified that to me after the interview. It was great to see that he still called me "Mister Elder Larsen" and remembered our handshake. Ha ha. SO HAPPY IGOR IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!

Got to see a few of the branch members in Vyborg. It was great. While in Vyborg I was on a split with one of the new Elder's who came in this transfer, Elder Tekolvi. (He is American, but he has a Dutch last name and I don't know how to spell it so that is how close I can get at the moment) He is a good missionary already. Even though he doesn't understand the language, he is very brave and tries to talk with EVERYONE. He'll pick the language up pretty fast.

I have a really good district. It has a senior couple, the McArthur's (nice) so district meetings are in English. First time ever for me. Kind of weird to be honest, but I'm not complaining! 
Tell Chris good luck for me if you make it to his farewell. Can you make sure that he knows my mission address here in Russia.

Well, I gotta run. I love you guys a bunch! I hope all is well, that you are healthy, happy, and safe! I hope you feel God's love in your life and try to show that love for everyone else. Thanks for everything. I know the Lord is guiding me and everyone else here on earth. His plans are better than ours, and His plans always work. Follow his instructions for the plan He prepared, given to us in the scriptures and by living prophets, and everything will work our for your good. Talk to you later.

  God be with you til we meet again.
Love,
Blake

15 May 2011

Transfer~ Shuvalova Branch With Elder Anthony


Hello from Saint Petersburg! I'm sitting in the Hermitage Museum right now using internet... It's a REALLY COOL Museum and we get in for free as we do service for them all the time. If you haven't guessed yet I got transfered. I am now serving in St. Petersburg in the branch called Shuvalova.
Well, my gut feeling was right. Remember how I said when I talked to you on Sunday that I think Im going to be ZL? Well I'm now ZL with Elder Anthony in North Zone.  I'm PUMPED about this transfer as that means I get to go back to Kaliningrad and Vyborg on Splits! Also get to go to Petrozavodsk, which I hear is a beautiful city. Means lots of traveling still this transfer, even by airplanes-sorry Mom, but it's worth it. Elder Anthony is a really good friend here in our mission and I've always wanted to serve with him. Our area is really big too, and the branch has about 80 active members, so when we aren't doing splits in other areas, we will have plenty of stuff to do with working with members and finding investigators.

Elder Poulson and Elder McCleary are flying home as I type this, along with Elder Walters, Onyshuk... that is weird to think. Crazy how quick time flew by. I will be back before you know it... Weird. We're really going to miss those guys! ALL REALLY GOOD MISSIONARIES. I know Elder Poulson and McCleary the best, but they are all studs! Elder Poulson trained both me and Elder Anthony. Now the "Poulson offspring" are going forward to conquer the Shuvalova branch and tear it up in North Zone... look out. Excited to serve!

It was great to talk to you guys on Sunday! Too bad the dang company doesn't warn you until you have on 30 seconds left to talk. I didn't really get to say goodbye very well. (Not well at all) Tell Cole, Sorry I didn't get to talk to him. It was crazy to hear everyone's voices. It feels like you haven't heard them for so long, but then when you hear everyone, you remember them as if it was yesterday you heard them.

Mom, I understand about the letter and I'm sorry what I said came out that way. That's not exactly what I meant. I know that you can't just ignore the bad and that you were just telling me the news... I don't know... Just trying to focus on the good is what I was saying. I know things are hard right now. Sorry.
We don't express our appreciation to you enough. THANK YOU, MOM! Even though I don't express it like I should, I want you to know that because you raised me the way you did, I know that God loves me and that He blesses me through other people in my life. Even though I'm a pain in the neck sometimes, you still love me. That's one of the reasons I know that God loves me too!

You really don't have to send me anything... Whenever you ask I don't know what to say. I did however look at my shoes after I called you on Sunday and I think that it might be a good idea to get some new shoes soon.

I realized the other day I am in the single digits for months on my mission ~ less than 9 months now! We are slowly receiving new missionaries and a bunch of old missionaries have been or will be leaving. It is really crazy. If you think about it, time is not as long as we think sometimes.

The weather here is pretty warm now. Don't need to wear a jacket or anything anymore. I got an email from Nate Booth today, telling me about how he's been doing.  It's turning to winter there in Chile... Pass a little information on to him for me, as it takes so long to send letters to each other and I want him to know I'm still alive... Ha ha. I miss Booth and everyone.

Cody tells me that I called my suit a "costume" to you when I spoke with you on Sunday... Did I really say that? That's how you say it in Russian... My English isn't too bad now, is it? I got a letter from Reidhead the other day, and he said that I spelled the word "earnestly" like "urnestley"...
How did Cody get the little faces on the email... that's pretty cool.

Well I gotta go. That's okay though, as I'm just rambling now. I love you guys. Take care of yourselves! Don't forget the Lord is always near. He is always at our side. Just sometimes we forget to look around for Him.

Keep Smiling. Be of Good Cheer!
Love,
Blake

05 May 2011

Prayers for Meleea.


Dear Everyone!

I'm doing well and happy to hear from everyone!


It was great to hear about the amazing blessing that Meleea got the other day. I wish I could have been there. I felt really strongly that I needed to pray for Lee a couple days ago, that she would be strong with what she found out about the MRI and I felt better after I prayed. I felt even better when I heard about the blessing Dad gave her. The Priesthood is a wonderful thing, isn't it? Amazing the feelings that we feel and the blessings we receive from a righteous priesthood blessing.

The last little while I have been really studying the Sermon on the Mount. These teachings from the Savior himself are amazing if you really want to analyze them. "Consider the Lilies."... They are blessed by God everyday, and they grow just as we grow... Through the mercy and blessings that God gives us. I find it interesting that Christ chose to close the Sermon with two principles~ Don't judge unrighteously and go and do the things that He has just taught us. Must be very important if He wanted to end with that and leave that on the minds of the people He taught.

It is already the end of the transfer. That is strange to think. It has been a challenging transfer but also an enjoyable one, and I've learned a lot from it. I really will miss Pskov, if I'm transfered on Monday... We will see though. Ha ha.

We had a fairly successful week too. Since last Thursday, we've been continuing to visit the houses of former investigators, trying to contact them and we've also done a lot of tracting. Thursday we talked with a former investigator at her house about the Book of Mormon. She was kind and listened to us, but didn't want to accept it because it's not the bible. Her name is Olga and we'll continue to try to talk with her.

We met again with Nina, the mom of Elder Kazharskii, and taught her the full first lesson. She listen to us and she answered our questions and asked some good questions of her own, but we feel she still doesn't want to share her feelings very much with us. She appreciates the support we give her while her son is on his mission, though and wants to continue to meet with us.

We had a lesson with Ilya who I have talked about before. We talked about our relationship with God and the importance of establishing one with Him. It was a good lesson. The Spirit was strong and Ilya really started to think about what we were saying.

We had a great meeting with a former investigator family yesterday. They met the missionaries 5 years ago, but then changed phone numbers and missionaries lost contact with them. We stopped by last week and set up a meeting. They accepted everything that we talked about and loved the message. She should be meeting with them again Friday. There names are Aleksay, Galina, and Vitaliy.

Thanks for the photos you sent me by mail. They are great and people love to see photos from hom when we meet with them. They will go in my album to show others. Too bad we can't have hair like Uncle Bob had in the picture you sent me... Ha ha. Kidding. Speaking of hair... Code-ski is going bald?... Do you have a picture? I can't quite imagine it...

Well, I gotta run. Love you all. I know that the Church is true and that the Savior and our Heavenly Father love us very much. I'm VERY happy to be serving Them right now.

Love you. Be of Good Cheer. Keep Smiling!
Blake

PS- Will send more pictures soon hopefully. Computer wouldn't read them today.


01 May 2011

Nice Easter


Hello! It was a busy week here in Pskov!

Last P-day when we started to do missionary work, Elder Loskutov felt that we should go and talk with the mom of one of the missionaries from here. We went to their house and found out that she had never talked with the missionaries before. She was a nice lady and we got to know her and talked about her son on his mission in Samara. We testified that we know he was doing the work of the Lord, and she loved our visit.

Sunday was an Easter I will never forget... The talks that were given by Sister Elena and Brother Oleg were really good, but I will not forget it too because it was the first time that I conducted a sacrament meeting... The branch president had to travel somewhere, and I found that if the branch president isn't there, then it is up to the senior companion to conduct sacrament meeting. I will be conducting again on Sunday too, as he will be gone again next week. After sacrament we met with Sister Hilma, a little grandma~babushka that has a hard time getting to church, but treats the missionaries like her own grandchildren. Whenever I call her to see how she is doing she always says, "How is my Larsen doing?" ha ha.

I made banana bread for Nina, (the mom of the missionary) and then Elder Loskutov and Elder Gillete had a meeting with her on Monday again and I was on a split with another elder. It was hard to be on a split with him! He openly admits that he is lazy and doesn't want to work, and I tried to talk with him about it and ask him why he was here then and he didn't want to talk. I know he could be a great missionary if he tried, but he just doesn't try.

Wednesday we did service for Sister Hilma, cleaning out her garden. It hadn't been done in a while. You are all gardening at home, and I am too in Russia. The weather is pretty nice here. It's making me kind of trunky when it comes to sports back home. Perfect weather for running with Millie girl right now! 

Great day yesterday as we met with 2 former investigators. The first was Gennady. He's a photographer. Next is Ivan. He is really religious and at first wanted to Bible bash, but we wouldn't and we just talked with him about his beliefs and explained ours. I think that he was really surprised to talk with us.

Tell me how Meleea's results come back, which I know you will of course. Tell her good luck and to get feeling better. Sounds like KB is still the great helper she always was. ha ha.

I've included some more pictures, but don't have time to explain what they are. Pictures say a thousand words, though and I hope you like them. Sorry that the letter is so short. Gotta run.
Love you all. Keep Smiling. Don't worry, be happy!

Love,
Blake