March/April Update

I feel like a broken record, apologizing for very late posts. Again I must beg you dear readers’ indulgence. March has past us by, but I would like to share the most wonderful news from that month.

We welcomed our second son, Julien Mitchell, on March 25th at 12:44 AM. He was 6 lbs. and 19 inches long. We are grateful to God for a very quick, relatively easy delivery and a healthy boy. I am also indebted to my midwife and the two nurses who were there to help. I don’t know if I could have done it without them.

                                          Trying to sleep in the bright new world

                                              Hello mom and dad

                                          Beautiful dark hair and eyes

                                         Liam meets baby brother for the first time
So far my recovery has been good and Julien is a jewel of a child, just like his brother. He is contented, growing like gangbusters. He also sleeps for 3-4 hours at a time. Which may not seem like much, but it is…Liam is being a great big brother. We are already having to make adjustments and know there will be more when Julien becomes more active, but for now we are doing pretty well going from 3 to 4.

As far was our Wycliffe work is concerned, we have been blessed with more support coming in from some unexpected places, slowly but surely we are making our way toward 100%. At this point we are hovering at around 17%. We are working on our “advocate” base.

Advocates are swiftly becoming the best way for us to get in touch with individuals who may be interested in supporting us. We are finding the old method of churches being the bulk of a missionaries support is not true anymore. Where we are having the most success is one-on-one encounters and smaller groups where we are “vouched for” by those who know us. Folks like you! If you have friends or a small group (even a church if you feel that is a good way of introducing us) you would like us to meet and speak with, PLEASE contact us and we will work out the details, send any literature you would like your way and drive anywhere!

In a related development, we have received word that Evan will not be taking the CAM (Construction and Maintainence) course at JAARS as we thought, but we will still be required to be there for the Intercultural Communication training in August. Only about 3 months away! Our current plan is to purchase an enclosed trailer, which we will load with everything we are going to ship to PNG. Evan will drive the trailer cross-country to JAARS and I will fly there with the kids. Ideally someone would drive with Evan (most likely his brother) and someone would fly with me. However, we cannot pay airfare for anyone other than ourselves, so this is a bit of an issue. This also means we will be finishing packing up the house in the next couple of months. Not always an easy task with a toddler who loves to “help”.

I will close with what is coming up in the month of May for us and a few things to keep in prayer…

We will celebrating Liam’s second birthday. Also, we will be having a day of rememberance for our niece Charlotte.

On the 15th we will be traveling up to Port Townsend, WA to speak at a dear friend’s church. If you are in that area and would like to get together, or know somewhere we should speak, please let us know.

Finally, we will be taking a break mid-month and going to Cascades camp with our church family.

Prayer requests:

For continued opportunities to meet with potential partners

For resolution for our travel plans to JAARS

For clear weather and a good time for Liam’s party and Charlotte’s day

For traveling mercies to Port Townsend and back, also that the speaking engagement goes well

For traveling mercies for our church up to Cascades and back, also for a time of relaxation and fellowship while we are there

Our latest Newsletter



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October/November Update

Well, I have done it again…I have been very neglectful of you faithful blog followers. Mia Culpa.
Thanksgiving is nearing and boy do the Larson’s have much to be thankful for! As was mentioned in our previous entry, we had an auction right before we left for onsite training in Orlando. It was amazingly successful. We raised the remainder of what we need to cover our training costs with $10 to spare!

Then we rushed off to Orlando. It was Liam’s first time on a plane, and there was some concern on our part about his painful ear popping and endless sitting our poor toddler would have to endure. ;) However, as he is apt to do, Liam handled the situation with great aplomb. Quickly learning how to open and close the window shade, turn the little tv on and off, and charm everyone around him. His ears didn’t even seem to bother him.

We had a few days of downtime, enjoyed the bliss of having others clean and cook for us (Well, it was bliss for me. Haha!) and had fun at the theme park Adventure Island.

Then we began the true adventure of training at Wycliffe headquarters. We were in class from about 7:30 AM to 4 PM with breaks for meals. Liam quite enjoyed his play time with the other kids and we were blessed and inspired by the classes and our new friends who were learning with us. Though, at times it felt like we were drinking from a fire hose.

On a side-note we got to spend a weekend with Evan’s Uncle Richard and Aunt Cindy. It was fun and we got to eat gator tail, yum! While we were there we learned about a group that is connected to their church called Love Haiti Missions Project. Check them out on facebook! One of the cool things they are trying to do is set up water filtration systems.

Since our return, we have been going non-stop. We went to four Wycliffe Associates banquets, and have started the process of setting up speaking engagements in several places. By the way, we will be in McMinnville, OR speaking at Calvary Chapel’s 7PM service on November 21st. If you are in the area come by and say hi! More engagements to come in the future! We have also been blessed by financial support coming from unexpected places. Thank to those who have chosen to give financially and those who are supporting us in prayer. Both have been an enormous boost to us during this time of starting out.

Evan was laid-off from work the first week of November. While we will be financially tight for a while, it has been a real blessing having him home and able to work full-time on building our partnership team. He has also been a big help with Liam as I have begun to slow down and be more tired by little things as baby continues to grow. We are very excited to be able to go in for our ultrasound the day before Thanksgiving and find out the gender.

We just sent in the draft for our next newsletter which hopefully will be printed soon and then sent out to you all. If you would like a copy (digital or physical) please send us the appropriate address and we will add you to the list. We are also now on Skype. Send us a message if you want to link up with us that way. I feel a bit nervous about putting it out for the whole world to access.
During our training in Orlando the theme of grace kept returning. We must, as people, whether missionaries or not, practice in extending grace to one another. This is a trait that Jesus exhibited most frequently alongside that of love. They do go hand in hand if you really think about it. Since we have returned home I began to understand why it was emphasized so heavily. Grace is what allows us to understand why some people who we think will be the most accepting and supportive are not. Grace is what allows others to accept when we say no to them. Grace is what allows for imperfection in life.

As we continue to make our way through this new path in our life journey we hope that grace will be extended to us as we may make mistakes, have to say no to dinner invites, are late in blogging…We ask that you come alongside us in prayer support. We love you all and hope this holiday season is a safe and joyous one!-The Larsons

August/September Update

I can’t believe we are already almost through September and I have not posted an August update. My apologies for such a late post. I hope this will suffice for an August and September.

Evan’s 30th birthday came and went with lots of joking about being old, and not being able to trust himself anymore.

We had a great time camping, lots of great memories…even though Liam decided to have a head-on meeting with a large rock. He quite enjoyed wandering around the campground collecting sticks and playing in the dirt. He also like feeding the chipmunks and climbing in and out of the tent.

The biggest news is that we are expecting our second child due on March 29th! So far the pregnancy has been MUCH better than when I was pregnant with Liam. I am grateful I am not very sick because we have had lots to do these last two months.

We have started and are nearing completion of the online portion of our online training course (Equip). It has been quite difficult to keep up, but the information is good and we are learning a lot. Evan is still working full-time and I am working part-time sitting for friends’ children. Also, we have been working hard at some other things, as you will read about below. We will be leaving to go to Orlando for the onsite portion on October 6th. We are flying in early and having a bit of a (much needed) family vacation. We will be there until October 22nd.

We are also part of a team leading a class at church called ALPHA. It is class for those who are enquiring into Christianity, those who are Christians who wish to ask questions or deepen their faith. It consists of getting together once a week, having dinner together, watching a DVD and then having discussion time in small groups. Any question can be asked. Ours is being conducted at Sunset Covenant on Monday nights from 6:30-8:30PM. Other area churches are also hosting classes currently or in the near future. If you live in the Portland Metro area you may have seen bus signs or billboards advertising the class.

Finally, right before we leave for Orlando, on October 2nd from 6:30-9 we are having our “Things, Stuff and Whatnot” Auction at our church. It is adults only and we are having Posh Sweets provide a decadent dessert bar. We will be speaking a little on our mission. So, in preparation for that we have been gathering items (over 40!) and getting them ready for sale (i.e. putting tags, getting a list ready for our auctioneer, arranging for set-up and the crew to manage it all).

I am looking forward to the coolness of fall, and hopefully some calmness will come with it. I am excited (as ever) for Thanksgiving and especially Christmas. I will sign off now and hoping this finds you all well.

Prayer requests this month:
1. That our auction goes well.
2. That we have a safe trip to, during and coming home from Equip.
3. That opportunities continue to open to us for speaking and PD (partnership development).

July Update

Reflecting back on the month of July I am amazed by what has been accomplished. We had our first successful fundraiser (Our Pie Auction, hosted by Sunset Covenant Church (our home church)) on July 17th. We raised a whopping $1,285! Thank you so much to everyone who baked pies, helped set-up, take-down, cooked, and of course bought pies! A special thank you to our pastor, Paul Burdick, for serving as auctioneer. You did a wonderful job!


However, I feel some trepidation about what is to come. I sort of feel like we, Evan, me and Liam are on a roller coaster. We have just been locked in and now we are going up, and up…clicking away to the top. The top I think being our trip to Orlando in October for our first round of training with Wycliffe (AKA “Equip”). However, I can’t focus too much on the future, even if it is looming on the horizon. We have lots of things upcoming to celebrate and plan…


Evan turns 30 today We will also be joining family for the annual Larson get-together at the end of the month. In the meantime we will be spending the next two months participating in the online portion of Equip. Lots and lots of reading.

Additionally we will be putting together the final arrangements for our next fundraiser. We are shooting for October 2nd. It will be a “Things, Stuff and Whatnot” Auction. It is shaping up to be a spectacular event (thanks to help from mother-in-law Debbie and Aunts Dondi and Diane)! If you are interested in donating time, items, want to attend, or just want more info…. Please do drop us a line: evan_larson@wycliffe.org

As the summer nears its end (I can hardly believe it) we are finally going camping. I am looking forward to a relaxing time and recharge the batteries and enjoy the lovely Pacific Northwest.

In closing things to keep in prayer for us:
Continued success in our support fundraising.Continued wisdom on our house issue…it seems to be getting resolved but it is early days yet.

June Update

Hello all,

June is now turned to July and we are ramping up for our first fundraiser. A Pie Auction (YUM!) at our home church Sunset Covenant July 17th 5-8PM. Please contact us (503-593-4162) if you would like to help and/or attend!

Additionally we are finally sending out prayer cards (You can stick them to your fridge!) and paper newsletters. If you would like to receive one please contact us!

Also, we are beginning our rounds for speaking engagements at churches or small groups. If we haven't contacted you yet, and you think we should come speak for you, please let us know!

Sorry it's so short this time, promise next month will be awesome!

Prayer requests for this month:
* God's guidence on what to do with our house.
* That our fundraiser goes well
* God brings us the speaking opportunities we are to have

May update

Sorry everyone for the late update. It has been a rather roller-coaster month and it's not looking like it's going to calm down soon.

We celebrated our son's 1st birthday. We had a wonderful time eating and visiting with family. Liam got some awesome toys too. We were especially grateful for the beautiful toybox his Grandad Rodman made for him. Now we will have a proper place to put his toys!

Evan and I had our 3rd wedding anniversary on the 12th. We are planning on going away just the two of us, sometime this summer to really celebrate.

Unfortunately this month there was sorrow as well as joy. Tragically, on the 14th we both welcomed and said goodbye to our sweet niece Charlotte Ava. She was born to Liz's brother and sister-in-law. Liz had the privledge of being able to hold her and kiss her goodbye. We know we will see her again in Heaven, but it is something still incomprehensible that she should be there before us. Your prayers for our family in this time of grief would be appreciated.

There is no easy way to transition from something like that into Wycliffe business, but as this is a blog primarily about our journey to Papua New Guinea, it should be done, so here goes...

We hoping to do a presentation in June at our church, Sunset Covenant during a Sunday morning service. When we get a date we will post on facebook. We are going to start putting together a list of churches that we are going to be speaking at in the next few months. If you have a church or small group you would like us to speak at, please contact us:
evan_larson@wycliffe.org

July 17th 5-8PM at Sunset Covenant we are having a Pie Auction. There will be a spaghetti dinner provided. Also, we will be "selling" tickets (the tickets are free but it's an easy way to get a head-count for the dinner). There will be a drawing at the auction for a gift basket, so be sure to either RSVP on facebook (we have a link to the event on our page) or get tickets from me in June...
If you RSVP online there will be tickets available at the event.

We are shooting for September as the month for our regular Aucti0n fundraiser. We are collecting items for auction between now and the end of August. If you have a service (ie Photography sessions, yard-work labor, etc.), art, hand-crafts, gently-used items you wish to donate....please let us know!

Remember, anything you donate is tax-deductable for the value of the item!

Other prayer requests:

Please pray for a solution to our house issue. We are not going to be able to keep it once Evan quits work at Gunderson. We are looking at trying to short-sell it, but we are not sure if it will work.

Prayer our fundraising efforts continue to go smoothly.

Prayer for opportunities to open up for us to speak about our mission and make new contacts.