Apr 4, 2011 - Teresina Brasil Week 4 - Mission Week 30

Boa Tarde,

I did not get to listen to conference in English, but I guess that was good in many ways. Every day I feel a little more accustomed to Portuguese, although no where near fluent. Some days are harder than others, but I am learning quick especially with Elder Magalhães. I would appreciate a conference ensign in english though when it comes out.

Conference in Brasil is really nice because all the members go to the church to watch it. I am so glad that we went with the Wilsons for all those many years and watched it there. Those are great memories.

Lately I have felt very separated from home. Being a missionary, you are separated from the world. Mail here is a lot different than in the states. All the mail gets sent to the mission office and then you pick it up when you get the chance, so I don´t know how many letters I´ll be sending, but I´ll appreciate letters that people send, so please encourage people to write!

How are you all doing? What have you all been up to?

This past week has still been unusual with conference and all. Since entering Brasil I have not had a normal week of missionary work. Today and Yesterday I have been having side pains while walking which really sucks. Hopefully that will get better. Elder Magalhães will be going to the hospital tomorrow to check on a stomach acid problem he has been having... Not a normal mission in the slightest! No mission is normal, but my mission has been incredibly abnormal. O_o

Thank you for your prayers and for your support. Serving the Lord is definitely not a cakewalk and I am grateful for all that you do for me!

Lately I have been having longings to go swimming. The weather feels exactly like it would in Nashua when it was the perfect day to go swimming. Its hot every day. ´´Its Hot in Tampico!´´

It's weird, every once in a while it hits me pretty hard. I am on my mission. I really didn´t know what to expect before the mission as to what a mission would be like. Lately it has been hard because I have not been able to feel like a missionary completely because I can´t teach that much but that will come in time. I have been trying more to show my love for the people and to bring them closer to Jesus Christ that way. I reflect a lot on how I am representing Jesus Christ right now. I have his name on my tag. It is humbling. I hope that I am able to be a good example for the people that I serve around.

Jesus Christ is the son of God. He atoned for our sins so that we can return with our families to our Heavenly Father. This message needs to be shared, and I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in this grand work of the Lord.

Have a great week! I love you and miss you all,

Love,

Elder Phillip Larsen

Pictures took forever to load, only could load 2. Teresina downtown, and I think the church picture got uploaded.