Hola todos! We've had another incredible week here in the Sonora Branch, maybe the most successful week of my mission so far! We set records for lessons taught in a day and in a week, but most importantly, we are seeing tons of progress with our investigators! I don't even know where to start but this week has been filled with miracles!
First off, Juan is progressing incredibly fast! We had some of the most incredible lessons with him this last week. We usually end up spending at least an hour with him every night and he doesn't want us to leave. On Monday, we had planned something to teach him but then we felt prompted to teach him the word of wisdom. He is now 32 but he has been an alcoholic since he was 7. He was addicted to alcohol, coffee, and cigarettes. He had tried to quit many times before but he always fell back into his bad habits. We had an incredible lesson with him and he got really excited. To make a long story short, we dumped out all of his beer, crumpled up his cigarettes, and flushed his coffee down the toilet. Then we all knelt down and he committed to his Heavenly Father that he would never touch them again. He stopped them all cold turkey and his been clean for a week! Tell me that's not the power of God! We have seen an incredible transformation come over him since.
On Wednesday, he became a missionary. We had been really struggling with Raymond (who also has some word of wisdom problems) so we decided to take Juan with us to share his experience (they live in the same apartment complex). We then had another incredible experience. Juan took charge and basically taught the lesson! At this time we had known him for less than a week. For about 20 minutes he told Raymond the blessings he had seen and gave him encouragement! Then we all knelt down with Raymond and he offered a very heartfelt prayer, committing to keep the word of wisdom as well! We were all so filled with the spirit afterwards. Juan practically skipped back to his house because he was so happy!
That same night we had another sweet lesson with Frank (Julia's 14-year-old son). He has had a lot of negative peer pressure and he's kind of stubborn and very sensitive. He really wants to know if it's true though. We went back and shared the first vision with him, and then knelt down to pray. When we finished the prayer he didn't move. He stayed kneeling down for about 10 minutes and he was sobbing the whole time. The spirit was so strong! He now has a baptismal date for April 3rd!
Things are going pretty well with the other families we are teaching, the Valenzuelas and the Lopez. They are both still kind of at a standstill but they are making progress slowly but surely. We have awesome lessons planned with both of them tomorrow so we'll see how that goes.
I also got to go on exchanges with Elder Muniz (my trainer) this week so that was pretty cool. He is my zone leader now and we had a lot of fun. He also said that my Spanish has gotten a lot better so I was pretty happy about that. All six of the companions that I have had so far (including the MTC) are very close to me. Three of them are in my district and the other three are in the district that I just left. It's been really cool to get to work around all of them still! Just another tender mercy I guess.
I could go on and on about the other awesome experiences we had this last week but this is getting pretty long so I'll wrap up. I hope you all are doing amazing! Thanks for all of your support!
Elder Olsen
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Awesome Week!
Hey everyone! We have had a great week full of miracles! First and foremost, Julia got baptized on Saturday and it was a great experience for all of us! We had some really good lessons with her leading up to her baptism. The other day we shared the prophecy of the gospel going for the the Lamanite people in the last days (2 Nephi 30:5-6). As she read it, she choked up and didn't talk for a few minutes. It is SO awesome to see that prophecy being fulfilled.
She also became the answer to one of our prayers the other day. We were eating with the Banuelos family and Hna. Banuelos was really stressed out because their car had just broken down and she couldn't find a ride to the relief society activity that night. We left them with a prayer that she would be able to find a ride somehow. For some reason, Julia felt like she should swing by on her way to the activity to see if Hna. Banuelos wanted to go with her. How cool is that?
After church yesterday we went over to see the Lopez family and what do you know? There's Julia and another member already there, fellowshipping the other people we are teaching! She's excited to come out teaching with us sometime and share her testimony with others. Speaking of the Lopez family, they are doing really well. They have been going to all of the activities and even volunteered to help clean the church one night! Reina (the wife) has become really friendly with us too! She has given us food multiple times and signed up to feed us next week. She's also making some really good friends in the church so we are definitely seeing some progress there. They'll get baptized as soon as we can get them married.
The Valensuela Family was out of town this last weekend but we had a really awesome family home evening with them and the Banuelos family last week. We watched the Joseph Smith movie and it was really powerful. They learned a lot of things and the members were awesome! They have been praying for the faith to get baptized soon!
As far as Raymond, he's been super busy with work lately and hasn't been able to make it to church yet. We haven't even been able to see him much lately but hopefully we can soon. Even without him, we had six people come to church! We will likely have even more next week!
One of they people that came is named Juan. We found him a few days ago just out in a parking lot. He invited us to come back the next night so we did and we had an awesome lesson with him for about an hour and a half! He asked the perfect questions and the whole time he was really excited! The spirit was very strong and we set a baptismal date with him for April 10th! As we began to sing the opening hymn in sacrament meeting, I looked over and he was crying. He couldn't sing at all because he was so emotional. He had a great experience and is excited to learn more!
Well, I could go on and on about all the other awesome people we found this week and how they're doing but I think I'll wrap up now. We are definitely being so blessed right now! We've seen so many miracles this week! The church is true! I love you all!
Elder Olsen
P.S. Today is my 8 month mark. I'm 1/3 of the way done now. CRAZY!
She also became the answer to one of our prayers the other day. We were eating with the Banuelos family and Hna. Banuelos was really stressed out because their car had just broken down and she couldn't find a ride to the relief society activity that night. We left them with a prayer that she would be able to find a ride somehow. For some reason, Julia felt like she should swing by on her way to the activity to see if Hna. Banuelos wanted to go with her. How cool is that?
After church yesterday we went over to see the Lopez family and what do you know? There's Julia and another member already there, fellowshipping the other people we are teaching! She's excited to come out teaching with us sometime and share her testimony with others. Speaking of the Lopez family, they are doing really well. They have been going to all of the activities and even volunteered to help clean the church one night! Reina (the wife) has become really friendly with us too! She has given us food multiple times and signed up to feed us next week. She's also making some really good friends in the church so we are definitely seeing some progress there. They'll get baptized as soon as we can get them married.
The Valensuela Family was out of town this last weekend but we had a really awesome family home evening with them and the Banuelos family last week. We watched the Joseph Smith movie and it was really powerful. They learned a lot of things and the members were awesome! They have been praying for the faith to get baptized soon!
As far as Raymond, he's been super busy with work lately and hasn't been able to make it to church yet. We haven't even been able to see him much lately but hopefully we can soon. Even without him, we had six people come to church! We will likely have even more next week!
One of they people that came is named Juan. We found him a few days ago just out in a parking lot. He invited us to come back the next night so we did and we had an awesome lesson with him for about an hour and a half! He asked the perfect questions and the whole time he was really excited! The spirit was very strong and we set a baptismal date with him for April 10th! As we began to sing the opening hymn in sacrament meeting, I looked over and he was crying. He couldn't sing at all because he was so emotional. He had a great experience and is excited to learn more!
Well, I could go on and on about all the other awesome people we found this week and how they're doing but I think I'll wrap up now. We are definitely being so blessed right now! We've seen so many miracles this week! The church is true! I love you all!
Elder Olsen
P.S. Today is my 8 month mark. I'm 1/3 of the way done now. CRAZY!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Transferred!
Hey everyone! The biggest news from this last week is that I've been transferred but... just down the street again. The Douglas rumor proved to be false but I did get transferred so I guess it was half right. I have been transferred into the Sonora Branch which borders my last area. In fact, I was actually already in my new area when I received the transfer call. There is still some debate on what the borders are between the two. I found out that I've already done significant amount work in my new area because we worked in it a bit on accident my first couple months here. Anyway, I'm really excited! I loved the Valencia Branch but this was a much needed change. My new companion is Elder Farnsworth from Bountiful. He's only been out about a month and a half longer than me, but we have great unity already and we're going to do some good things! The thing I'm most excited for in my new area is the member support. The members are incredible and help us so much!
My first week here has been pretty good. We are teaching some solid people and we have a baptism coming up this next Saturday. Her name is Julia, and ironically enough, Elder Muniz and I had talked to her before because of the area boundary confusion. We had actually started teaching one of her sons, but one day she came out and told us she didn't believe in "the book of the mormons," and that her son wasn't interested either. She was even a bit hostile with us. Fast forward six months and now she's getting baptized! A member that lives nearby actually referred her a few weeks ago and I guess that changed her perspective. That's what made the difference in her joining the church! Members are SO crucial!
We are also teaching a couple other families. The Valensuelas have been investigating the church for about 15 months now. They are pretty much members but haven't taken the step of baptism. Last night we went over and went back to the basics. We shared the first vision and it brought the spirit in very strongly. They said they believe the Book of Mormon is true and that they need to get baptized. They just don't want to be pushed into it. We have a family home evening with them tonight in the house of some members! I'm excited to work with them and I think they will take that step in the near future.
Another family is the Lopez family. The husband is ready to get baptized but the wife doesn't want to. I guess she's started to change this last week though. She's become more friendly and open to us. We had some really good lessons with her and I think she'll accept the gospel in time too. The other thing is that they need to get married, so they may be a bit of a project.
So now I have a story. Once upon a time a few weeks ago Elder Jenne and I were at Wal-Mart. All of a sudden a lady shouted out his name. We came to find out that it was a girl who had recently been baptized in Douglas. She was with her boyfriend (Raymond) who would have been Elder Jenne's first baptism (he started his mission in Douglas). The couple had even separated so that he could live the law of chastity and get baptized. Unfortunately, Satan attacked him hard on the day of his baptism and he couldn't do it. Then they found out that his girlfriend was pregnant so they moved back in together. All that happened about 9 months ago in Douglas and then we randomly ran into them at Wal-Mart up here in Tucson! They moved up here with their new baby for college and work. We got their address and told them we'd go by. As it turns out, they live in my new area! We went by the first day I got to this area and found out that he's been reading the Book of Mormon and has gotten through 3 Nephi 27! He is ready to be baptized! The only thing holding him back now is that he and Michelle (his girlfriend) aren't married. But... they want to be! They just want to have a small wedding to get it taken care of and then have a party with their families some other time. It may happen as early as this week! We are really excited for them and there is no way that we ran into them that day at Wal-Mart by coincidence.
So that's what our teaching is looking like these days. As far as my last area, I think it's still doing really well. They could have a lot of success this transfer. It was actually kind of weird because we just switched companions. I took Elder Kinsey's spot and he took mine. I think it is going to be a good experience for both of us.
Church yesterday was pretty interesting. There were two baby blessings scheduled during sacrament meeting, but then the parents of the two babies decided to bring up their other kids to get blessed as well (even though they were older). More and more just kept coming up. When all was said and done, we had two babies blessed and four other kids received their baby blessings. I can't say I've ever seen that before. The branch presidency looked confused. They didn't know what to do so they just blessed them all. We also ran out of water for the sacrament so that took some extra time. We ended up with less than 10 minutes for testimonies. In priesthood, four men received the Melchezidek priesthood! It took the entire time but it was pretty neat.
Wow! This e-mail is really long now. I love you all!
Elder Olsen
P.S. Since I still live close to Elder Jenne, we're going to record the song we wrote one of these days. Then I'll attach it so you can all hear it!
My first week here has been pretty good. We are teaching some solid people and we have a baptism coming up this next Saturday. Her name is Julia, and ironically enough, Elder Muniz and I had talked to her before because of the area boundary confusion. We had actually started teaching one of her sons, but one day she came out and told us she didn't believe in "the book of the mormons," and that her son wasn't interested either. She was even a bit hostile with us. Fast forward six months and now she's getting baptized! A member that lives nearby actually referred her a few weeks ago and I guess that changed her perspective. That's what made the difference in her joining the church! Members are SO crucial!
We are also teaching a couple other families. The Valensuelas have been investigating the church for about 15 months now. They are pretty much members but haven't taken the step of baptism. Last night we went over and went back to the basics. We shared the first vision and it brought the spirit in very strongly. They said they believe the Book of Mormon is true and that they need to get baptized. They just don't want to be pushed into it. We have a family home evening with them tonight in the house of some members! I'm excited to work with them and I think they will take that step in the near future.
Another family is the Lopez family. The husband is ready to get baptized but the wife doesn't want to. I guess she's started to change this last week though. She's become more friendly and open to us. We had some really good lessons with her and I think she'll accept the gospel in time too. The other thing is that they need to get married, so they may be a bit of a project.
So now I have a story. Once upon a time a few weeks ago Elder Jenne and I were at Wal-Mart. All of a sudden a lady shouted out his name. We came to find out that it was a girl who had recently been baptized in Douglas. She was with her boyfriend (Raymond) who would have been Elder Jenne's first baptism (he started his mission in Douglas). The couple had even separated so that he could live the law of chastity and get baptized. Unfortunately, Satan attacked him hard on the day of his baptism and he couldn't do it. Then they found out that his girlfriend was pregnant so they moved back in together. All that happened about 9 months ago in Douglas and then we randomly ran into them at Wal-Mart up here in Tucson! They moved up here with their new baby for college and work. We got their address and told them we'd go by. As it turns out, they live in my new area! We went by the first day I got to this area and found out that he's been reading the Book of Mormon and has gotten through 3 Nephi 27! He is ready to be baptized! The only thing holding him back now is that he and Michelle (his girlfriend) aren't married. But... they want to be! They just want to have a small wedding to get it taken care of and then have a party with their families some other time. It may happen as early as this week! We are really excited for them and there is no way that we ran into them that day at Wal-Mart by coincidence.
So that's what our teaching is looking like these days. As far as my last area, I think it's still doing really well. They could have a lot of success this transfer. It was actually kind of weird because we just switched companions. I took Elder Kinsey's spot and he took mine. I think it is going to be a good experience for both of us.
Church yesterday was pretty interesting. There were two baby blessings scheduled during sacrament meeting, but then the parents of the two babies decided to bring up their other kids to get blessed as well (even though they were older). More and more just kept coming up. When all was said and done, we had two babies blessed and four other kids received their baby blessings. I can't say I've ever seen that before. The branch presidency looked confused. They didn't know what to do so they just blessed them all. We also ran out of water for the sacrament so that took some extra time. We ended up with less than 10 minutes for testimonies. In priesthood, four men received the Melchezidek priesthood! It took the entire time but it was pretty neat.
Wow! This e-mail is really long now. I love you all!
Elder Olsen
P.S. Since I still live close to Elder Jenne, we're going to record the song we wrote one of these days. Then I'll attach it so you can all hear it!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Hey everyone! This week has been pretty good overall. The biggest news that I have today is that I will be being transferred on Wednesday morning. I thought I would be transferred the last two times too because of rumors from the zone leaders, but this time is pretty concrete because President Walker told me in my interview on Thursday that I would more than likely be leaving. I won't find out for sure where I'm going until tonight but there was a rumor floating around that I might be going to Douglas, Arizona, which is right on the border. I've heard good things about that place but I've learned not to trust the rumors, so we'll see what happens tonight.
Gabriel and Catalina have finally returned from California! We were able to see them on Saturday night and they came to church again on Sunday. Apparently, they got a lot of negative family pressure while they were over there though. I guess Catalina stood up for us a bit though. She's still not sure so we'll see what happens.
The Contreras family came to church again this week which we were really excited about! We made a lot of progress with the dad this week and they're doing great! It's been a long process for them but everything is finally starting to come together.
We found another lady earlier this week named Rosa. We have taught her every night (long lessons) since we met her. She loves having us over and she LOVES to pray. Earlier this week we asked her to give the closing prayer so we all knelt down and she began but then she never stopped. She just kept going and going and going and going. When all was said and done, she had prayed for 25 minutes! It was a great prayer but it was the longest public prayer ever! So Elder Jenne and I decided we would teach "prayer" the next night. We did and it went really well. We all knelt down and asked her to say the closing prayer again. Not to be outdone by the previous night, she prayed for 35 minutes this time! They are really sincere and heartfelt prayers though, so if that's what it takes to get her an answer it's worth it. It's just not something you see every day.
Rosa also has also started to do missionary work for us. She took the "Finding Faith in Christ" DVD over to her friend's house to watch it. Then she told her friend (Norma) about us coming over every night and Norma asked if we could come visit her too! We visited her and we have started to teach her, her father (Marcario), and her son (Cesar). They all have baptismal dates for March 27th and want to get baptized! The only thing that will hold them back is being able to get to church every week.
We also had another cool experience the other day. We had been trying to visit a lady but she wasn't home, so we were walking back to our car when another woman saw us and stopped us. She asked who we were and then told us that her mother-in-law is a member down in Nogales. She said she had seen us in the area before but never got up the nerve to come out and talk to us until now. She told us that she wanted to start learning and come to church and just "get a new start", including getting baptized. She is a single mother raising four children under six but she is excited to learn and make time for the the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It's kind of sad that I have to leave all these awesome things behind now to go to a new area, but I'm glad I'm leaving the area how it is. Elder Jenne and his new companion could have 5 or more baptisms next transfer! It's hard to leave behind but I'm also excited for a change.
Thanks again for all the support you all give me! Have a great week!
Elder Olsen
P.S. Elder Jenne and I also wrote a sweet song this week. Maybe I'll attach the lyrics next week.
Gabriel and Catalina have finally returned from California! We were able to see them on Saturday night and they came to church again on Sunday. Apparently, they got a lot of negative family pressure while they were over there though. I guess Catalina stood up for us a bit though. She's still not sure so we'll see what happens.
The Contreras family came to church again this week which we were really excited about! We made a lot of progress with the dad this week and they're doing great! It's been a long process for them but everything is finally starting to come together.
We found another lady earlier this week named Rosa. We have taught her every night (long lessons) since we met her. She loves having us over and she LOVES to pray. Earlier this week we asked her to give the closing prayer so we all knelt down and she began but then she never stopped. She just kept going and going and going and going. When all was said and done, she had prayed for 25 minutes! It was a great prayer but it was the longest public prayer ever! So Elder Jenne and I decided we would teach "prayer" the next night. We did and it went really well. We all knelt down and asked her to say the closing prayer again. Not to be outdone by the previous night, she prayed for 35 minutes this time! They are really sincere and heartfelt prayers though, so if that's what it takes to get her an answer it's worth it. It's just not something you see every day.
Rosa also has also started to do missionary work for us. She took the "Finding Faith in Christ" DVD over to her friend's house to watch it. Then she told her friend (Norma) about us coming over every night and Norma asked if we could come visit her too! We visited her and we have started to teach her, her father (Marcario), and her son (Cesar). They all have baptismal dates for March 27th and want to get baptized! The only thing that will hold them back is being able to get to church every week.
We also had another cool experience the other day. We had been trying to visit a lady but she wasn't home, so we were walking back to our car when another woman saw us and stopped us. She asked who we were and then told us that her mother-in-law is a member down in Nogales. She said she had seen us in the area before but never got up the nerve to come out and talk to us until now. She told us that she wanted to start learning and come to church and just "get a new start", including getting baptized. She is a single mother raising four children under six but she is excited to learn and make time for the the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It's kind of sad that I have to leave all these awesome things behind now to go to a new area, but I'm glad I'm leaving the area how it is. Elder Jenne and his new companion could have 5 or more baptisms next transfer! It's hard to leave behind but I'm also excited for a change.
Thanks again for all the support you all give me! Have a great week!
Elder Olsen
P.S. Elder Jenne and I also wrote a sweet song this week. Maybe I'll attach the lyrics next week.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Hey everyone! This last week went pretty well over all until Sunday. We kind of had a let down yesterday but we're trying to stay positive.
We had some awesome lessons with the Contreras family this last week. We went over on Tuesday night and taught an awesome lesson about temples and how they can go there as a family once Evelyn and Roberto get baptized. We then set a baptismal date for the 27th of February which they were all excited about. I even jokingly said to mark it down on the calendar and the next think I knew, Evelyn jumped up and wrote it in. The only thing holding them back is the dad. His wife really wants him to baptize the kids, but he's not quite ready. We scheduled an interview with him and the branch president for Sunday to see if he'd be able to do it and we also set up the the baptismal interviews for the kids as well. Unfortunately, when we went by on Sunday morning, they weren't there. They just completely ditched. We haven't been able to see them since so hopefully we'll find out what happened tonight.
On to some happier news now. We found a really cool family this week! They are the Lopez family and have five kids! We were actually out trying to contact a former investigator in an apartment complex and some little kids asked us to play soccer with them. We played for about twenty minutes and then went and met the mom. We taught her breifly but she was just about to leave so we said we'd stop back another time. The kids were very insistent that we come play soccer with them again so the next day we went back. As we started walking in to the apartment complex, the kids went nuts! They started shouting "THEY'RE HERE! THEY'RE HERE!" We felt like celebrities! Then they all ran up to us and gave us hugs. We played with them again and then went and talked to both parents. We taught them a really awesome lesson and they are very interested in learning more. We are very excited to keep teaching them.
Yolanda (the cool lady we found last week) hasn't been home lately. We think she may have gone to Texas already, but hopefully we can get back in touch with her somehow. Gabriel and Catalina should be back from California tonight or tomorrow. We'll start teaching them again and hopefully they can get baptized soon. The English missionaries have started teaching the Julia lady that we found last week as well.
Miguel Ortega came to church again even though we still haven't been able to see him. He is always super busy and never home, but we're going to try to see him again tonight. He and his wife are going to have their baby blessed on March 7th so that's a good step.
I guess I'll wrap up with a funny story from this last week. Elder Jenne and I were contacting a guy that was outside his house when his son came out (probably about 30 years old). I began talking to the son while Elder Jenne talked to his dad. I could tell he was really drunk but we started talking for a bit. After about five minutes, he randomly gave me a hug and told me he loved me. Then he went inside. In a few minutes he came out with a shot glass of vodka and offered it to me. I declined but he just kept telling me how good it was and insisted that I drink it. After I turned it down three or four times, he went back inside looking dissappointed that I hadn't accepted. A few minutes later he came back outside. This time, he had put the shot glass on a barbie plate and cut up a lime to put on the side. I guess he figured that this extra effort would change my mind but I had to turn him down a few more times. I guess I didn't offend him too badly though because I got another big hug and another "I love you" before we left. I have a feeling he doesn't remember any of this.
Anyway, that was our week! Lots of ups and downs and everything-in-betweens just like always! I love my mission though! Thanks for all the support you all give me!
Elder Olsen
We had some awesome lessons with the Contreras family this last week. We went over on Tuesday night and taught an awesome lesson about temples and how they can go there as a family once Evelyn and Roberto get baptized. We then set a baptismal date for the 27th of February which they were all excited about. I even jokingly said to mark it down on the calendar and the next think I knew, Evelyn jumped up and wrote it in. The only thing holding them back is the dad. His wife really wants him to baptize the kids, but he's not quite ready. We scheduled an interview with him and the branch president for Sunday to see if he'd be able to do it and we also set up the the baptismal interviews for the kids as well. Unfortunately, when we went by on Sunday morning, they weren't there. They just completely ditched. We haven't been able to see them since so hopefully we'll find out what happened tonight.
On to some happier news now. We found a really cool family this week! They are the Lopez family and have five kids! We were actually out trying to contact a former investigator in an apartment complex and some little kids asked us to play soccer with them. We played for about twenty minutes and then went and met the mom. We taught her breifly but she was just about to leave so we said we'd stop back another time. The kids were very insistent that we come play soccer with them again so the next day we went back. As we started walking in to the apartment complex, the kids went nuts! They started shouting "THEY'RE HERE! THEY'RE HERE!" We felt like celebrities! Then they all ran up to us and gave us hugs. We played with them again and then went and talked to both parents. We taught them a really awesome lesson and they are very interested in learning more. We are very excited to keep teaching them.
Yolanda (the cool lady we found last week) hasn't been home lately. We think she may have gone to Texas already, but hopefully we can get back in touch with her somehow. Gabriel and Catalina should be back from California tonight or tomorrow. We'll start teaching them again and hopefully they can get baptized soon. The English missionaries have started teaching the Julia lady that we found last week as well.
Miguel Ortega came to church again even though we still haven't been able to see him. He is always super busy and never home, but we're going to try to see him again tonight. He and his wife are going to have their baby blessed on March 7th so that's a good step.
I guess I'll wrap up with a funny story from this last week. Elder Jenne and I were contacting a guy that was outside his house when his son came out (probably about 30 years old). I began talking to the son while Elder Jenne talked to his dad. I could tell he was really drunk but we started talking for a bit. After about five minutes, he randomly gave me a hug and told me he loved me. Then he went inside. In a few minutes he came out with a shot glass of vodka and offered it to me. I declined but he just kept telling me how good it was and insisted that I drink it. After I turned it down three or four times, he went back inside looking dissappointed that I hadn't accepted. A few minutes later he came back outside. This time, he had put the shot glass on a barbie plate and cut up a lime to put on the side. I guess he figured that this extra effort would change my mind but I had to turn him down a few more times. I guess I didn't offend him too badly though because I got another big hug and another "I love you" before we left. I have a feeling he doesn't remember any of this.
Anyway, that was our week! Lots of ups and downs and everything-in-betweens just like always! I love my mission though! Thanks for all the support you all give me!
Elder Olsen
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Wow! This has been quite the week! A lot of things have happened this week and I'm not quite sure where to start or if I'll remember them all. First and foremost, we just found out some HUGE NEWS about this mission about five minutes ago. I guess it's still kind of a secret because President Walker hasn't announced it yet, but we found it out from the church website so I think it's ok to share.
The boundaries for the Arizona Tucson Mission are getting redrawn in June. They are forming a new mission called the New Mexico Farmington Mission which will take about 1/3 of our mission boundaries including El Paso, TX (where a good portion of the Spanish work is). That means that if I get transferred to New Mexico or El Paso by June, that's where I'll be to finish my mission. I'm kind of split on where I'd like to be. I love President and Sister Walker and everything about Tucson, but El Paso is where every Spanish missionary wants to be (because it's about 85% Spanish). Needless to say, these next few months will be very interesting.
The other big news... THE CONTRERAS FAMILY FINALLY CAME TO CHURCH!! We have been working with them sooo much and it's finally paid off. This last week we baked Evelyn a birthday cake, bought them a framed picture of the new Gila Valley Temple to put up, and on Sunday we went and made breakfast for them. Everything is looking good to get Eveyln and Roberto baptized soon. We're still not exactly sure when but we're hoping before this transfer is up which is about 2 1/2 weeks.
Gabriel and Catalina went to California for a funeral this last week so we haven't been able to see them. They won't be back until this next weekend so it looks like their baptismal dates will get pushed back a little bit. Hopefully we can get them baptized before this transfer is up too (I have a feeling that I'm finally going to be leaving the Valencia Branch).
Elder Cuevas and I had a really awesome experience when we went on exchanges together this last week. Everything we had planned for the first couple hours of the day had fallen through so even though we already had plans of where to tract for the day, we decided to put it in the Lord's hand. We prayed and felt prompted to contact former investigators, and if they weren't home we would knock around where they lived. Sure enough, the former investigators that we tried to contact weren't home, so we decided to knock around. The first door we knocked, an 80-year-old woman answered the door and invited us in. We taught her about the restoration of the gospel and the spirit was very strong. Afterwards, we offered a prayer and got ready to leave. As we stood up, the spirit hit her so hard. She clutched the Book of Mormon to her chest and let out a little gasp and then said: "I feel SO good right now! Wow! I am so happy! You have just brought me the most wonderful feeling I have ever felt! Thank you so much!" She was more overcome with joy from the spirit than anyone I'd ever see before. She could barely even breath she was so happy! It was an incredible experience and one I'll never forget. It was amazing how the spirit led us to her and then touched her like that. The only downside is that she's going to Texas for a couple months now. I'm confident that one day she will be a member of the church. It wasn't a coincidence that we met her.
As if that wasn't enough, Elder Jenne and I had a similar experience doing the same thing on Saturday. One of the first doors we knocked, an African-American lady named Julia answered it and invited us in. She said she had just moved in a week ago and that she was looking for a church. She already had a strong testimony of the Savior but she hadn't been able to find a church that was right yet. We taught her about the restoration for about a half hour and gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon. Everything went so well and it just made sense to her! She was really excited to read the Book of Mormon and come to church. She also felt that it wasn't a coincidence that we had found her. We had a good closing prayer and some 'hallelujahs', although this week they didn't come from Gabriel. She doesn't speak Spanish so we had to pass her on to the English missionaries, but I know we were led to her as well.
I'm pretty sure there were some other things that I was going to mention but I can't remember them now. I hope you are all doing well! Thanks for all of the support you give me! Have a great week!
Elder Olsen
New Mission Boundaries
Sandra's baptism (wearing black in the middle)
Jose's baptism
Evelyn's birthday
Breakfast with Eveyln and Roberto Contreras
The boundaries for the Arizona Tucson Mission are getting redrawn in June. They are forming a new mission called the New Mexico Farmington Mission which will take about 1/3 of our mission boundaries including El Paso, TX (where a good portion of the Spanish work is). That means that if I get transferred to New Mexico or El Paso by June, that's where I'll be to finish my mission. I'm kind of split on where I'd like to be. I love President and Sister Walker and everything about Tucson, but El Paso is where every Spanish missionary wants to be (because it's about 85% Spanish). Needless to say, these next few months will be very interesting.
The other big news... THE CONTRERAS FAMILY FINALLY CAME TO CHURCH!! We have been working with them sooo much and it's finally paid off. This last week we baked Evelyn a birthday cake, bought them a framed picture of the new Gila Valley Temple to put up, and on Sunday we went and made breakfast for them. Everything is looking good to get Eveyln and Roberto baptized soon. We're still not exactly sure when but we're hoping before this transfer is up which is about 2 1/2 weeks.
Gabriel and Catalina went to California for a funeral this last week so we haven't been able to see them. They won't be back until this next weekend so it looks like their baptismal dates will get pushed back a little bit. Hopefully we can get them baptized before this transfer is up too (I have a feeling that I'm finally going to be leaving the Valencia Branch).
Elder Cuevas and I had a really awesome experience when we went on exchanges together this last week. Everything we had planned for the first couple hours of the day had fallen through so even though we already had plans of where to tract for the day, we decided to put it in the Lord's hand. We prayed and felt prompted to contact former investigators, and if they weren't home we would knock around where they lived. Sure enough, the former investigators that we tried to contact weren't home, so we decided to knock around. The first door we knocked, an 80-year-old woman answered the door and invited us in. We taught her about the restoration of the gospel and the spirit was very strong. Afterwards, we offered a prayer and got ready to leave. As we stood up, the spirit hit her so hard. She clutched the Book of Mormon to her chest and let out a little gasp and then said: "I feel SO good right now! Wow! I am so happy! You have just brought me the most wonderful feeling I have ever felt! Thank you so much!" She was more overcome with joy from the spirit than anyone I'd ever see before. She could barely even breath she was so happy! It was an incredible experience and one I'll never forget. It was amazing how the spirit led us to her and then touched her like that. The only downside is that she's going to Texas for a couple months now. I'm confident that one day she will be a member of the church. It wasn't a coincidence that we met her.
As if that wasn't enough, Elder Jenne and I had a similar experience doing the same thing on Saturday. One of the first doors we knocked, an African-American lady named Julia answered it and invited us in. She said she had just moved in a week ago and that she was looking for a church. She already had a strong testimony of the Savior but she hadn't been able to find a church that was right yet. We taught her about the restoration for about a half hour and gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon. Everything went so well and it just made sense to her! She was really excited to read the Book of Mormon and come to church. She also felt that it wasn't a coincidence that we had found her. We had a good closing prayer and some 'hallelujahs', although this week they didn't come from Gabriel. She doesn't speak Spanish so we had to pass her on to the English missionaries, but I know we were led to her as well.
I'm pretty sure there were some other things that I was going to mention but I can't remember them now. I hope you are all doing well! Thanks for all of the support you give me! Have a great week!
Elder Olsen
New Mission Boundaries
Sandra's baptism (wearing black in the middle)
Jose's baptism
Evelyn's birthday
Breakfast with Eveyln and Roberto ContrerasMonday, February 8, 2010
Hey everyone! I only have a few minutes this week so I'll be pretty brief. Things are going great here! Catalina and Gabriel came to church again this last week and they are getting closer to baptism. They have dates for the 13th but it will likely be pushed to the 19th or 20th because they are going out of town. Hopefully everything will go well! We've had some great lessons with them again this week. We ran into an obstacle because Catalina didn't want to give up praying to the saints, but I think we've taken care of that. She has had some awesome experiences praying the right way. Yesterday morning we went over and cooked them breakfast which was pretty fun. We cooked pancakes, eggs, and hashbrowns. We were going to cook breakfast for the Contreras family too but they called and postponed until next week. Hopefully that will help them come to church.
Jose Morales (Sandra's brother) got baptized this week! Catalina and Gabriel were able to attend the service to see a baptism for themselves. It went really well and he's on fire! He will be receiving the preisthood next week and go to the Mesa temple as well! Even though we weren't the ones teaching Jose, it was great to see him take that step. It's also cool because Elder Jenne and I were the ones that actually started teaching him when we were on an exchange a couple months ago. I also taught him with Elder Cuevas for awhile before I got transferred. He's doing great and I'm so happy for him!
One last little random story. A couple weeks ago some guy in his 80s showed up at church. He said he is from Canada but he had just come from Mexico, where he was helping the missionaries by getting them referrals. Apparently, he'll be in Tucson for awhile now. He travels around and helps missionaries in different areas for awhile and then moves on. I guess he just lives in his truck in church parking lots. He's kind of an interesting guy but it's cool what he does.
Anyway, that's all for today. I love you all!
Elder Olsen
P.S. I have a few more things to add to the "Gabriel's pockets" list. Two empty lighters and a little Dora the Explorer pouch that holds his "medicine" (lip gloss and fingernail polish).
Jose Morales (Sandra's brother) got baptized this week! Catalina and Gabriel were able to attend the service to see a baptism for themselves. It went really well and he's on fire! He will be receiving the preisthood next week and go to the Mesa temple as well! Even though we weren't the ones teaching Jose, it was great to see him take that step. It's also cool because Elder Jenne and I were the ones that actually started teaching him when we were on an exchange a couple months ago. I also taught him with Elder Cuevas for awhile before I got transferred. He's doing great and I'm so happy for him!
One last little random story. A couple weeks ago some guy in his 80s showed up at church. He said he is from Canada but he had just come from Mexico, where he was helping the missionaries by getting them referrals. Apparently, he'll be in Tucson for awhile now. He travels around and helps missionaries in different areas for awhile and then moves on. I guess he just lives in his truck in church parking lots. He's kind of an interesting guy but it's cool what he does.
Anyway, that's all for today. I love you all!
Elder Olsen
P.S. I have a few more things to add to the "Gabriel's pockets" list. Two empty lighters and a little Dora the Explorer pouch that holds his "medicine" (lip gloss and fingernail polish).
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