HOLA TODOS!

Hey everybody! I'm just sitting in the library at Pima Community College at the moment. I'm not quite sure where to start. Hmmm well it's now officially suit season. Apparently we have to wear suits here from October to April unless it's above 75 degrees which it has been so far. But we have to wear them after 5:00 regardless, and it can still be really hot after that time. It's fine though because so far the weather in October has been really nice and it's only going to keep cooling down.

On Tuesday we had district meeting at the top of "A" Mountain here in Tucson (University of Arizona). Luckily it's not anything like the hike to "Y" Mountain. You can drive all the way to the top here. It was a pretty cool experience and the view was awesome. I wish I had gotten pictures but I forgot my camera.

As far as the people we are teaching, we're having kind of a struggle right now. Things are at somewhat of a standstill because people won't keep their commitments and a bunch of unexpected roadblocks have come up:
Reynaldo was supposed to have his baptismal interview yesterday right after church. We called him a half hour before church and he was good to go but then he never showed up, never answered his phone, and wasn't home all day. We're thinking he might have gotten into some legal trouble but we're not sure. Hopefully we can get that situation worked out in time for his baptism next Saturday.
Ramiro has run into some problems with his family. He told us a few days ago that he wants to join but his entire family is against it (to the point where they hid his copy of The Book of Mormon). Hopefully their hearts can be softened eventually.
Melissa also had her baptismal interview scheduled for Sunday. She was ready for church but then her step dad never came home so she had to watch her little sister. Her mom still seems really against baptism. Every time we go over to her house her parents tell us that she isn't there even if she is.
We saw Martin several times this past week and things went very well. We found out that he had tried to come to conference last week but that he had gotten lost. He promised he'd be there this week. But then we went by on Saturday night and one of his neighbors told us that he was in New Mexico. He seems the most ready out of anybody but there's always something holding him back from coming to church.

Well, I guess those are our frustrations from this past week but we're trying to remain positive that things will work out with all of them. I'm sure ways will open up if they want it badly enough. We have also had some good moments from this past week though:
Ricardo returned from Mexico earlier this week and made it to church yesterday which we are really excited about. Things seem to be looking in the right direction for him and he lives right next door to two recent converts so that's helpful.
Earlier this week, we went through the area book and found a family that was formerly investigating the church (la familia Rios). We visited them and found that they had talked to missionaries many times before, but for one reason or another they had never joined. They are probably the most polite, kind, and friendly people I have met during my first month out. They seem very receptive to the things that we say. We have really high hopes for them.
We also found another guy named Ivan who we taught last night. The lesson was awesome, and he seems sincerely interested in our message. We are going back tonight to teach he and his wife about the plan of salvation.

Well, I don't really know what else to say. Missionary work is awesome and I love being out here! It's tough, especially with a language barrier, but it's definitely worth it. I love you all!

Elder Olsen