Hey friends and family, in writing this to fill you all in about the last 3 months of my mission. I was in the Viera 2nd ward and I absolutely loved it. The people were amazing and the experiences there are lifelong memories. When I got there, we started teaching a girl names Kaity, she was 20 and the first lesson I ever had with her, she told us that this would be the last lesson we did together. Me and my companion talked with her and instead convinced her to come to church with us! She did and she absolutely loved it! She says she felt like she really belonged there. We continued to teach her and I had the privilege of baptizing her in July. It was so amazing, she has such a strong testimony and the ward really helped her and took her in. I am so very proud of her.
We also had the awesome experience of helping a guy named Storm! He was baptized into the church around 20 years old. He for various reasons fell away from the church. One day we got a referral for him! We didn't know who he was so we called him and set up an appointment. That following Sunday before the lesson, we saw a small family at church we didn't recognize it was a Dad and 3 young Daughters. We introduced ourselves obviously, and he told us that he was Storm Doddy! He wanted to reconnect with God and he wanted to be a good influence on his daughters. His oldest daughter was named Adelay, and she was 9! Which if you're familiar means that she needs to be taught by missionaries, which is always HYPE. The more we got to know this little family the more I was impressed by them. Storm is a super-intelligent man, he has multiple degrees and is constantly trying to learn. He also has a huge desire to be a good father. Which is uncommon in single dads I think. Adelay was a super energetic kid, she has ADHD so at first we weren't sure if she was fully grasping the lessons we were teaching. At the end of our first lesson, the restoration, she said some amazing things. She said "I wanna know if this is true, I don't know, but I feel that it's true" she also told us after we gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon that she would stay up all night after her sisters went to bed so that she could read it, she was so excited. This little girl had so much faith in the gospel and in the gentle spirit she could feel, it touched my heart a lot. As we taught her we also taught her father all the lessons again, so that he could remember and start teaching all of his children. As they both progressed we set a baptismal date for Adelay. She was so excited to be baptized. We also set up a meeting with the bishop so that Storm could receive the Aaronic Priesthood. Storm asked me if I would do that ordinance for him. I was so happy I got to help him bless his children. Adelay did get baptized and her dad Storm was the one to do that baptism. He was given a calling as the ward emergency preparedness specialist, and he wants to work hard to honor his priesthood. I know they are in good hands.
To speak a little about the ward members, there are so many people who have cared for me and loved me. From Bishop Collard, and his wife's delicious arepas, to my ward mission leader Chase Gants. The Viera 2nd ward has been such a blessing to me and I am so grateful to have served there.
The last transfer in my mission I got the opportunity to train 1 more missionary. Making this the 5th time I trained a new missionary. His name is Elder Pulsipher, he was from Dallas Texas and was a really hard worker. He really kept me motivated all the way through the end. In my last transfer I wanted to try and find at least 1 really strong investigator a week so that I could leave the area in a good place. I was able to hit that goal, and in my very last week grinded as hard as I could and found 8 new people in 2 days. I am so grateful for the miracles God places in my life.
2 of the people we found have a funny story attached to them. Wagner and Adelia are their names. They are husband and wife. We were out contacting an old grey dot (previous missionary contact) and we went to the door and the man there said that the person had moved and that he wasn't interested. We were walking back to the car when I made a comment to elder Nield who I was with (exchanges that day) that in the old days before covid, we would just keep knocking this whole neighborhood. We both paused before the car and we both got the impression that yes, we should tract out this area. I have not knocked a door since my first area but we felt prompted so we decided to break protocol a little bit and try some contacts. The very first house we went to, a women answered, we introduced ourselves as the missionaries and told her that we has an important message about Jesus Christ that we wanted to share with her. She told us that she had to leave in the next 30 minutes but if we came back the next day at the same time, she would love to hear it. We did come back the next day and her and her husband were sitting in the garage organizing things with their daughter. We asked if it was a good time and they said yes! Adelia the mom went inside and got her older daughter and we began to teach about Christ and the Book of Mormon. The spirit was strong and they asked for a copy, we were able to bear simple testimony that if they read it, and prayed with faith, they could know for themselves that it was true. The dad Wagnor told us that he had a bunch if LDS family members and that he always wanted to read the Book Of Mormon. The whole family is now meeting with the missionaries and I hope to hear of their success and growing faith soon.
I return home today at noon in Las Vegas. I will miss Florida, and I will never stop missing being a set-apart missionary for Jesus Christ. My testimony is in him, he is my savior and my redeemer. He loves me and wants me to return home to our father in heaven. I love this gospel, it brings me so much joy and happiness. I know forever that this church is true, and with all my heart I will serve God forever. I love you all, I cant wait to see you.
Love,
for the last time,
Elder Larkin
P.S. I got to do one last endowment session in the temple last night. I invite you all to go attend the temple. If you haven't been in a while go soon, if you can't go yet, become worthy to go. If you haven't learned for yourself that you want to be there, reach out to missionaries like me and ask them about it. The temple is truly God's home on the earth.
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