January 4,2010

Happy New Year!
Here i am in Muskegon loving life! Im loving it here. I got to meet the ward and they are way cool. There was an eight year old that got baptized on saturday so i got to meet people there and then at church i got to talk to everyone so that was cool> There are some awesome people there, and im finally in a ward! Woohoo! There are actually teenagers here, haha. I didnt think teenagers were allowed in Michigan. I got to meet all of them and they were way cool. They invite us over to hang out with them and play ping pong and pool. I almost talked one of them into letting us go snowmobiling....so we will see, haha. But its a way fun ward. I might even be related to a guy there. He grew up in Boise and his mothers maiden name was Larsen. Hi name is Al Guysler, i dont know how it was spelled, thats how it sounds anyways, but i think we might be related somewhere. So he thought since we were related he would pick on me all day. And he did. Hah. him and another guy are both from Idaho. And for like 20 minutes in gospel principles they were talking about how awesome Idaho was and how Utah is lucky they let us have Cache Valley. They call it the Terrestrial Kingdom and then over the hill in Idaho is the celestial. Hah bunch of dorks. They both served in the Michigan Lansing mission too. Im not sure if thats where they met or what, but that was pretty sweet i thought. So there are some really funny members so im loving it here. Last night we had dinner at a members house and they had a bnch of kids .there so we played hockey with them and stuff for a long time. I got the little girl to promise to come to church. She is seven and had a bad experience in church and hasnt gone back. She made me promise that i would sit by her and bring chocolate and that we can write on each other with this invisible ink marker we were playing with. hah so that was pretty sweet i thought. Those are the appointments i like, haha. kids are the best. So im really loving thearea. Our apartment is pretty good too, and my comp is a stud. I dont have my camera or i would send you a picture of him. Next time i guess.
I dont know if you guys got the new ensign, but there is a pretty cool talk by Elder Holland that we have been sharing with people. Its about Looking towards the future and not dwelling on past mistakes or things that you had to leave behind. He talked about Lots wife, how they were fleeing from Sodom and Gammora and she looked back, and he said she looked back Longingly and so she was turned to stone. He related that to us and how we should always be moving forward and stop dwelling on past mistakes. Because Faith always points to the future and if we dont have faith about our future we are just spinning our wheels and not progressing and growing. So we thought that was a good message to share for the new years. We have been teaching that and about how we should always be trying to improve ourselves in the gospel and about how we should forget about those things that are holding us back and keeping us from progressing, because thats what this life is for to progress so we can return to Heaven and so i thought that was a really good talk for this time of year.
So it has been pretty dang cold here the last few days and its ticking me off. Its snowing right now and its supposed to get worse too. This winter so far has been cake. I hardly ever wear my jacket. I get scolded almost every day for not wearing it. I have a cold now so i guess they were right! Hah! Well wehave a dinner appointment soon so i better get off. I might write later tonight to the rest of yall or maybe tomorrow. Who knows. So i got to jet. Love you all. Have a happy one!

Elder Matthew Larsen
2612 Riverview apt 2
North Muskegon, Mi 49445



Happy Birthday!
So i was in bed and i decided to make a poem for you. I remember it was really funny and i was laughing as i went to bed and when i woke up i couldnt remember anything i was thinking about. Dad gum brains! They only work half the time i think! I hope you had a good one though. Our family usually throws pretty good parties. Thats way cool that you went biking at night, thats my pops! You need to tell me some of your crazy stories of your younger years. Did you ever get in any fights? Hah i know some stories but not all of them. I have the bestest coolest dad around. Everyone that sees your picture mentions how big you are and i mention other things about you and they are always blown away. Hah! Hope your heads all swolled up. I need some good stories though. Of body building and fights and stuff like that. haha . i better go to our dinner appointment. We arent supposed to wear deodarant there, sorry. hah The kid gets seizures if he smells anything a little different so we are supposed to wash up befre we go. so i love you and ill talk to you later.
Scott Says hi!(we email at his house)