Here's a Few Crumbs . . .

Some really great quotes from our mission tour this week, where the area President, President Ardern addressed us (some of these come from other sources, but I didn't write down exactly where it was coming from) :

-"You cannot put a crust (small piece of bread) on the altar of the Lord without receiving a loaf in return."

That's pretty much how I feel about every day of my mission, although I'm pretty sure it's more like a few crumbs rather than a crust. Even with those few crumbs though, I've definitely seen the "loaf" that the Lord gives to us, especially as missionaries right now.  That's like, a loaf of pumpkin bread (my favorite), haha.  But seriously, I feel so blessed at this point of my mission to be where I am, doing what I'm doing.  I really know when I give it my all the Lord will make up for my own weaknesses or the things I'm not perfect at.  Seen that time and time again here on the mission, and I'm more grateful than anything for it... because ultimately, people's lives have been changed to be happier (eternally) because of the Gospel and my few crumbs I've been able to offer.  

Another two quotes I liked, 

"There's no resting place on the path called faithfulness." - President Thomas S. Monson

Sometimes I think maybe my brain or body is about to just shut down with low battery, especially this far into my mission, but somehow I just keep going and I know that's through the Lord's help.  Super true there's no resting place, and I know that my mission right now is only preparing me for the next steps I need to be taking in life and especially the responsibilities  I'll be given to continue serving in the Church even after my mission.

And,
"It's not how many times you go through the scriptures, but how many times the scriptures go through you."  

Super true.  I'm so thankful for how President Ardern taught us to use the scriptures more wisely, to really ponder and apply them more effectively to every situation, especially as leaders in the mission to help others through using the scriptures.  

This week's been the craziest, busiest week of my mission life... two meetings with President Ardern (one for just the mission leaders, and one for a few zones where he further instructed us) and a temple day.  And this week starts all the exchanges we're going to be going on, but it's pretty crazy too because we have a million extra meetings this month and only so much time to actually do exchanges feasibly.  But.  It's gonna be great, and because we'll be so busy I know September's gonna just fly by... but, I plan on savoring every moment of the "loaf" I've been given right now at this point in my mission.

Fun stuff - we're teaching in a house where there's no lights and there's a family of the type of lizards Sister Bechachino and I always used to hear when we were on Palawan as we taught by candlelight.  Pretty awesome, I enjoy it.  I miss the province, but Paranaque definitely has its moments where it feels like we're in the province.

We also saw the official Azkal's team bus this week.  The Azkals are the Philippines national soccer team.  Too. Cool.  It drove right past us on the road and I wanted to run out and just make it stop so I could meet them... they're called "azkals" or in english "street dogs" because a lot of them started by playing soccer on the streets in the squatter areas.

I hope all of you keep living in a way that the Lord will be able to give you spiritual loafs  of the bread of life every day!  Love you all!

-Sister Larsen

(picture is of Sis Bechachino and I at the temple)