Short and Sweet

Very little time to email this week so there will not be much detail.

I tried shark meat, helped some old people unpack a truck, played with kittens and puppies, and built a planter box from scratch.

We had a good zone conference and I had a fun exchange with Elder Sawyer, my district leader.

I eat a lot because everybody loves to feed us so I'm trying my best to stay healthy.

Have a good week!

Elder Larkin Moss

Kitty

 Completed planter box

 Kitty in a pocket

 Elder Sawyer and Kitten

Small & Simple Miracles

We had a zone exchange this week! On Tuesday and Wednesday I got to work with Elder Hallmark! He was here in Portland just 3 weeks ago and the zone exchange brought him back.

We learned a lot about prayer during the exchange. As soon as we got ready to go back to our areas with our new temporary companions for the exchange, we ran into a little car trouble. There is a system called Tiwi that tracks who is driving but Elder Breck could not log in no matter how much he tried. We said a simple prayer for help and when we opened our eyes, the Tiwi rebooted. It was a small and simple miracle, but a miracle nonetheless. God loves us and is watching out for us.

Our biggest accomplishment this week was working with a less-active named Matthew Gonzales. We sat and talked with him for the first time this week after trying for these last two months. He hadn't come to church since last fall and he had found himself in a deep hole with drugs and other temptations. Just a couple days before we met with him, he made the decision to turn his life back around. We were able to invite him to Stake President Cluff's daughter's baptismal service and he was ready and there in under 30 minutes. He also helped another member move on Saturday, then made it to church on Sunday. He made the choice to correct his path and we were ready to help.

I also got to go on an exchange with Elder Breck. During both exchanges I stayed in my area but that's okay. With Elder Breck I got the opportunity to teach my first Law of Chastity lesson! We also threw in Word of Wisdom so the investigators were a bit impressed, but they took it well. I love being a missionary.

God loves you.

Elder Larkin Moss

P.S. I really need to start taking more photos.

"Come Back and Marry Dana!"

Last P-day we played in the mud! We went to the Dement's house and went to the field behind their house to play sports in the rain. 

We got to help a lady fix a tire. A woman in the ward named Sister Riley had a flat on her husband's truck so we offered to help. Her husband is gone for long periods of time so he will be pleased to see it fixed when he gets back. Brother Dement came to help and took the flat tire to the shop to get it fixed. I love serving!

This weekend was Stake Conference! Elder Foster came to speak to us and gave a great message about Family History! He really got everybody fired up about our ancestry. Just imagine what it would be like to be forgotten by your great, great grandchildren. That is how your great, great grandparents feel. Learn about your ancestors and compile their stories to share their awesome experiences. Their legacy is just as important as your own.

Also, President Maluenda was there. None of us missionaries expected to see him so luckily Portland District was on time. A lot of others were late so they got scolded. He is such a great man and there is such a grand aura about him. He does all he can to be involved with the missionaries and stake presidencies. Sister Maluenda is the nicest lady ever as well. 

I think the most awkward part of the week happened at the end of our visit with a Young Woman named Dana. Right before we left, the mother announced,"When you guys finish your missions, you can come back and marry Dana!" Not my favorite experience. They are a weird family anyways, so whatever.

Being a missionary is awesome. I love it.

Elder Larkin Moss

Stake Conference!

Mordida!

This week there was a three day exchange with our district leader, Elder Sawyer. The first day (Tuesday) he was with my companion, so I went with Elder Breck. We had a great time, especially when we had dinner with the Lear family.

The next two days Elder Sawyer was with Elder Breck so it was pretty normal for me and Elder Hutchinson other than having our DL hang out. On Wednesday, Elder Hutchinson and I sang a hymn to every person we visited, which worked out really well. We have begun to sing more throughout the day.

Elder Sawyer felt super sick Thursday morning and later we stopped by the apartment and found him curled up under a blanket. Apparently it had been food poisoning from some old oranges we had. Apparently he ate 4 even though they tasted weird. He could only blame himself. He got better the next day though.

On Friday we had my first zone conference! President Maluenda came to talk to the missionaries in the Corpus Christi Stake! We learned a lot about how we can improve as missionaries and really build our faith and confidence. Also, the main car guy from Church Headquarters came down to install "Tiwi"s in our cars. They keep a driving record for each missionary, tracking speeding and aggressive driving. It is lenient and is mainly designed to help us learn to drive better. The conference didn't leave much time to work but we went over to the Lear's home for dinner.

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On Saturday, we had a zone meeting. This was just the smaller meeting led by the Zone Leaders. We discussed a lot about what we learned the previous day and then had a party. It was ZL Elder Newland's birthday! Here in South Texas, of course we had to do the Mexican "Mordida" tradition. Mordida translates to bite. The birthday person takes a bite out of the cake and nearly 100% of the time someone else will shove their face in it. 

On Sunday, our investigators came to church! They loved it and are planning on coming back!

Everything is great!

Elder Larkin Moss

 ¡Mordida!

Portland on a rainy day! (Today is super rainy)

Super Squished!

Nothing super exciting this week but the work is still progressing!

First of all, I survived the transfer! No change in location or companion. I did get a new district leader though! Elder Sawyer is now leading with a cotton fist! He is more fun than strict so we should have a good time.

We didn't have a whole lot of miracles this week, in fact a bunch of our dinner appointments fell through. However, we still managed to have some good visits. As we stayed focused we taught some great lessons to our investigators Dustin and Khrystinah. They have not been able to come to church for awhile because he had a crazy work schedule. Actually, it wasn't a schedule, he was just on call 24/7. We, including Dustin and Khrystinah, had been praying that they would be able to come to church, and halfway through the week he was laid off. He works for an oil company and the business is in a lull right now. It's sad that he lost his job, but God always finds a way. Also, when he is needed again, they said they would rehire him, so it's not too bad.

After church we had two big lunches because everyone loves feeding us right after church. I've learned to eat a lot more since I've left home. Eating two meals in a row without letting the people know takes skill. #missionaryproblems

Also, we will be moving at the end of the month! The Portland apartment is a one bedroom one bath apartment with 4 guys in it. It's super squished. Our housing coordinator finally came up here to Portland to find somewhere else for us. He went down to our apartment office and got us a 2:2 apartment! Unfortunately, it is not available until the end of the month, but it's bigger and we don't have to go very far!

Have a good week... and I hope to as well!