Family!!
Wow!! This week was a stressfull/delightful week, my comp and I have been knocking alottttttt of doors trying to find some people for December and we really have been working in the sweaty heat and its been hard! And at times the lord blesses us with great people on the other side of the door, and at other times, there are just some people who aren’t ready to make life changing covenants with our heavenly father! Sometimes it can be very stressfull, but in the long run, looking back at all we have done, we come to find out that its not all in vain, but really it was worth it. We did have the blessing of finding a lady named selva and she has three kids. She was baptized awhile back and moved to the are where we are and its been about 4 years since she has last gone because she had no idea that the church was in our area. So… we got her excited and talked to her kids who aren’t baptized and will be on the 17th of December!! What a blessing to be able to help out this single mother so she can have the gospel in her family!! We also visited this one lady named maritza, and with very little faith we taught her thinking that she only wants to bash on the mormons, but we didn´t let her go, we called her and told her we were going to pick her up so she could come with us to church Sunday and guess what, she came and guess what, she loved it and guess what, she wants to bring all of her family!!!! Its really been a strange week.
Well, how was thanksgiving?? We didn´t do anything here because first of all its not a holiday and second of all, we eat chicken every single day but we are super excited for Christmas. We have a small Christmas tree in the house with some ornaments and were really getting into the Christmas spirit!!! Were you guys able to talk to my companions family???? Were loving it here, were working hard and we see the blessings day by day, right now i´m studying the new testament and there is a lot that I am learning. Especially about paul and how well he taught the gospel and baptized everyone in his sight!! I´m really forcing myself to be more like the prophets and apostles because they have a spirit that just cuts to your heart and makes you want to be more like Christ!!! So for Christmas were only going to be able to call so you got to get everyone rounded up so we can all chattttttt!!! Its gonna be a good day. I´m super excited!!!
Dude i cant relieve that austin is already homeeeeeeeee!!! Sounds like things went well in his homecoming talk!! I miss the poop outta that kid and all the others as well!!!! keep in touch with them and let me know how austin is doing and dont forget to go to jakes homecoming also!! let me know how it goes!!
love you veryyyy much
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
November 20, 2011
Hey fam!!!
Well this week we had transfers and i am no longer with elder fuentes, he went to a different area and i stayed but guess what, my companion is elder packard from california and we are super excited to get to work with the ward and with all the investigators we have. Well Saturday morning i woke up with a raging headache and a sore body!! Thought i was going to die!! So for two days straight we had to stay in the house, i didn´t even get to go to church, but the good part is that we did splits and my comp went to sacrament meeting and him and a member brought the sacrament to the house and i was able to take it there! So as for this week, we havent had much time to work becuase of transfers and stayin in the house but something i did realize is just how much of new day scripture the liahona is. The bible and book of mormon was written by gods servents as well as the liahona. We have the privelige of getting it once a month. Pretty nice eh!! I have been reading alot of conference talks lately and they are really helping me out with life and with the mission!! Each prophet and apostle has such a specific topic that just cuts down to the bone and gets right to the point! I suggest each and everyone of you to truely study the scriptures in our days. …the liahona!! So my comp is sweet, hes from cali and we have just about the same amount of time here in the mission!!!
Call his family and get to know them and tell them that were companions… their number is (760)522-7149, or their email is fnmpackard@hotmail.com his dads name is forrest and his mom is michele. Call them and be friends!!!
I know that i am in the place where the lord wants me to be. Even though in life we might have some problems, its normal and thats how we grow! I know that our lord and savior is the one and only jesus christ who did die for each and every person that will and has ever lived on the earth! He knows you personally and better than you know yourself, thats why sometimes we dont understand some things but we simply need to realize that we are being guided by somebody that knows whats best! He lives. What hope there is that one day we will become just like god knowing everything and being able to live in his presence. That brings me joy, complete joy. The purpose of this life has 5 steps
1. Faith in jesus christ
2. Repentance
3. Baptism
4. Receiving the gift of the holy ghost
5. And the most important, enduring to the end!!
Let us all finish each step and i promise that we will be pleased with our reward!! I love you guys so much!!!
yes i did get your letter!! thankssssssss
Well this week we had transfers and i am no longer with elder fuentes, he went to a different area and i stayed but guess what, my companion is elder packard from california and we are super excited to get to work with the ward and with all the investigators we have. Well Saturday morning i woke up with a raging headache and a sore body!! Thought i was going to die!! So for two days straight we had to stay in the house, i didn´t even get to go to church, but the good part is that we did splits and my comp went to sacrament meeting and him and a member brought the sacrament to the house and i was able to take it there! So as for this week, we havent had much time to work becuase of transfers and stayin in the house but something i did realize is just how much of new day scripture the liahona is. The bible and book of mormon was written by gods servents as well as the liahona. We have the privelige of getting it once a month. Pretty nice eh!! I have been reading alot of conference talks lately and they are really helping me out with life and with the mission!! Each prophet and apostle has such a specific topic that just cuts down to the bone and gets right to the point! I suggest each and everyone of you to truely study the scriptures in our days. …the liahona!! So my comp is sweet, hes from cali and we have just about the same amount of time here in the mission!!!
Call his family and get to know them and tell them that were companions… their number is (760)522-7149, or their email is fnmpackard@hotmail.com his dads name is forrest and his mom is michele. Call them and be friends!!!
I know that i am in the place where the lord wants me to be. Even though in life we might have some problems, its normal and thats how we grow! I know that our lord and savior is the one and only jesus christ who did die for each and every person that will and has ever lived on the earth! He knows you personally and better than you know yourself, thats why sometimes we dont understand some things but we simply need to realize that we are being guided by somebody that knows whats best! He lives. What hope there is that one day we will become just like god knowing everything and being able to live in his presence. That brings me joy, complete joy. The purpose of this life has 5 steps
1. Faith in jesus christ
2. Repentance
3. Baptism
4. Receiving the gift of the holy ghost
5. And the most important, enduring to the end!!
Let us all finish each step and i promise that we will be pleased with our reward!! I love you guys so much!!!
yes i did get your letter!! thankssssssss
November 14, 2011
Querida Familia.
This week was wonderful. The romero family got baptized and that was a great day to see the two of them entering into the baptisimal font and getting baptized as a family, the spirit was strong and I just remember the first day we met them, we were doing contacts and asked them if we could teach them and they let us in, and from that day on they have changed the rest of their life, one simple decision they made has changed their entire life, Famous words from the prophet Nephi… for small and simple things the lord brings to pass big things. And we can see what he means by what happened this Saturday, the family got baptized. This is the last week of transfers and I think that i´ll still be staying. Because my companion has been here a lot longer than I have. But that’s all good because I love it here in campo rosa bajio! The ward is wonderful, the members are great and help us out a lot and we have been finding a lot of families that are soon to be getting baptized. I know how fast time is flying and I don’t know if I like it!! My time here is way to precious and I have to use it very wisely!! But I cant believe that Austin elder and jake are already coming home!!! I remember the day we went to their house before they left and wow it seems like it was yesterday!! Things are going really good here, its super hotttt and there is a lot of sand but don’t worry i´m taking a lot of pictures, everytime I have a chance! In my personal study I am reading the new testament and its so crazy how much it shows that the church of jesus Christ of latterday saints is the true church.. all the other religions just don’t understand but I guess like it says in doctrine and covenants, they don’t know the truth because they don’t know where to find it! And its so true, they just don’t know.!!! So ty is getting all ready for the mission, i´m almost positive that he is going to go to germany on his mission, he´s learning a lot of german and that is going to help him out a lot!!! But I guess we´ll just have to wait and see, but you gotta tell him to wait just a little bit so I can come home before he leaves cause I sure want to see him and give him some advice!!!! Deal! Well, we haven´t heard anything from maricruz, the person that was going to get baptized, haven’t seen here since but o whell you gotta press forward right!! well mom you gotta tell me how austin is and you gotta tell him to keep writing me!!! crazy sauce!
mom please send me in the next email your testimony.
take care and tell everyone hello for me!! love you very much
love elder olsen
This week was wonderful. The romero family got baptized and that was a great day to see the two of them entering into the baptisimal font and getting baptized as a family, the spirit was strong and I just remember the first day we met them, we were doing contacts and asked them if we could teach them and they let us in, and from that day on they have changed the rest of their life, one simple decision they made has changed their entire life, Famous words from the prophet Nephi… for small and simple things the lord brings to pass big things. And we can see what he means by what happened this Saturday, the family got baptized. This is the last week of transfers and I think that i´ll still be staying. Because my companion has been here a lot longer than I have. But that’s all good because I love it here in campo rosa bajio! The ward is wonderful, the members are great and help us out a lot and we have been finding a lot of families that are soon to be getting baptized. I know how fast time is flying and I don’t know if I like it!! My time here is way to precious and I have to use it very wisely!! But I cant believe that Austin elder and jake are already coming home!!! I remember the day we went to their house before they left and wow it seems like it was yesterday!! Things are going really good here, its super hotttt and there is a lot of sand but don’t worry i´m taking a lot of pictures, everytime I have a chance! In my personal study I am reading the new testament and its so crazy how much it shows that the church of jesus Christ of latterday saints is the true church.. all the other religions just don’t understand but I guess like it says in doctrine and covenants, they don’t know the truth because they don’t know where to find it! And its so true, they just don’t know.!!! So ty is getting all ready for the mission, i´m almost positive that he is going to go to germany on his mission, he´s learning a lot of german and that is going to help him out a lot!!! But I guess we´ll just have to wait and see, but you gotta tell him to wait just a little bit so I can come home before he leaves cause I sure want to see him and give him some advice!!!! Deal! Well, we haven´t heard anything from maricruz, the person that was going to get baptized, haven’t seen here since but o whell you gotta press forward right!! well mom you gotta tell me how austin is and you gotta tell him to keep writing me!!! crazy sauce!
mom please send me in the next email your testimony.
take care and tell everyone hello for me!! love you very much
love elder olsen
November 7, 2011
Bueno!
it was a so so kind of week, the romero family is super excited and
are keeping all the commandments that we teach them, they are going to
get baptised this saturday!! dont worry, i will send some snap shots.
enrique came to church also and is progressing little by little, he
still needs a firm testimony of joseph smith so thats what we are
working on, and the past saturday we were supposed to have a baptism,
remember maricruz, well saturday we went and filled up the baptisimal
font and got all ready and invited all the members then about 30
minutes before it was supposed to start she told us that her mom
didnt´want her to get baptised and we tried talking to her mom but she
is so hard in the heart that she would not let her! they all think
that baptism takes a year or more to prepare yourself to get baptised
and much more and etc. also the northamerican bill has not been
reading the book of mormon like he is supposed to. right now he is in
heleman and he wrote up a giant list of things why the book of mormon
isn´t true and he says he has been praying to know but we told him
that he hasnt got an answer because he doenst want to know if it is
true, the thing that i have realized here in bolivia, well outside of
the church of jesus christ of latter day saints is just how
spiritually blinded these people are, there way of thinking and
interpreting the bible it just makes me sad. we have a blessing and a
gift, the holy ghost, personal revelation, and much more to actually
be able to open our spiritual eyes and see really who got is and what
he wants us to do! be ever so thankful for what you have and the
blessing of being a member of the true church! i sure am. so how is
the family doing, i still havent got your letter but i´m positive i
will be getting it this wednesday! and the snow, tell it hi for me
please!! so mom get this, austin comes home in 2 weeks, super crazy,
you have to see that kid when he gets home!! and then jake comes home
2 weeks after! time flies, the present passes and the future comes. i
love you very much
love elder olsen
it was a so so kind of week, the romero family is super excited and
are keeping all the commandments that we teach them, they are going to
get baptised this saturday!! dont worry, i will send some snap shots.
enrique came to church also and is progressing little by little, he
still needs a firm testimony of joseph smith so thats what we are
working on, and the past saturday we were supposed to have a baptism,
remember maricruz, well saturday we went and filled up the baptisimal
font and got all ready and invited all the members then about 30
minutes before it was supposed to start she told us that her mom
didnt´want her to get baptised and we tried talking to her mom but she
is so hard in the heart that she would not let her! they all think
that baptism takes a year or more to prepare yourself to get baptised
and much more and etc. also the northamerican bill has not been
reading the book of mormon like he is supposed to. right now he is in
heleman and he wrote up a giant list of things why the book of mormon
isn´t true and he says he has been praying to know but we told him
that he hasnt got an answer because he doenst want to know if it is
true, the thing that i have realized here in bolivia, well outside of
the church of jesus christ of latter day saints is just how
spiritually blinded these people are, there way of thinking and
interpreting the bible it just makes me sad. we have a blessing and a
gift, the holy ghost, personal revelation, and much more to actually
be able to open our spiritual eyes and see really who got is and what
he wants us to do! be ever so thankful for what you have and the
blessing of being a member of the true church! i sure am. so how is
the family doing, i still havent got your letter but i´m positive i
will be getting it this wednesday! and the snow, tell it hi for me
please!! so mom get this, austin comes home in 2 weeks, super crazy,
you have to see that kid when he gets home!! and then jake comes home
2 weeks after! time flies, the present passes and the future comes. i
love you very much
love elder olsen
October 31, 2011
Que tal familia!!!
Bueno esta semana fue buena! El señor nos ha ayudado bastante!
Twas a good week. We did end up living bill a book of mormon in english and he told us to give him a few weeks to read it so were just waiting and praying!!! The romero family has been more and more excited to get baptized and love church. Maricruz also es getting to know more people and we also found 2 more people with a baptismal date. Enrique and Thomas. And yes, they both came to church yesterday. The lord really helped us a lot this week because we have been working hard trying to find new people and well, dream come true!! So…. Christina….. her husband went crazy, Christina already passed the baptisimal interview and was supposed to get baptized Saturday but her husband and her are having aloooooottttttt of problems. And he thinks that we are visiting her because we ¨like¨her and he is super jealous. But the good part is that Christina found a solution telling us to send the sister missionaries from the ward to visit her so we are in that process!!
This week I have been reading in the new testament and it is really interesting because in matthew mark luke and john they tell us the same things but with their own words about the life of jesus Christ so you can have four points of view on it. Lots of parables!!! But nothing really new happened this week, i´m trying to think of what went on but prettymuch what I said is what happened this week. Today is Halloween but they don’t do anything here, its just like anyother day. But you gotta let me know how it went there in the states!!! Well get this, i´m learning 2 other languages, quechua and portugues. Pretty cool huh, everyone here speaks quechua because its like the Indian language that was spoken long ago so its interesting and well portugues I just want to learn so I got a book of mormon in portugues and i´m reading it, the funny part is that I understand pretty much all of it!!!
Bueno. Para ser sincero es muy dificil hablar en inglés porque pienso en español y si pienso en inglés es un desastre. Pero quiero decirles que les quiero muchisimo y que estoy muy muy bien. La mision es la mejor decisión que he tomado en toda mi vida. Se que mi vida nunca sería lo mismo si no viniera aquí. Las cosas que he aprendido van a permanecer conmigo para siempre y se que mi vida sería totalmente diferente si no hubiese querido venir aquí. Por eso estoy eternamente agradecido por criarme en el evangelio de Jesucristo y por enseñarme las cosas mas importantes en la vida. Gracias a mi madre y padre, se lo que quiero ser y lo que quiero hacer en mi vida!!! Gracias
mom i need you to email me a recipe for homeade ice cream. because we are going to make some here shortly!!!!! thanxxxxxxxxxxxx
Les amo!!
I love you guys very much…. Enjoy the ride!
Elder olsen
Bueno esta semana fue buena! El señor nos ha ayudado bastante!
Twas a good week. We did end up living bill a book of mormon in english and he told us to give him a few weeks to read it so were just waiting and praying!!! The romero family has been more and more excited to get baptized and love church. Maricruz also es getting to know more people and we also found 2 more people with a baptismal date. Enrique and Thomas. And yes, they both came to church yesterday. The lord really helped us a lot this week because we have been working hard trying to find new people and well, dream come true!! So…. Christina….. her husband went crazy, Christina already passed the baptisimal interview and was supposed to get baptized Saturday but her husband and her are having aloooooottttttt of problems. And he thinks that we are visiting her because we ¨like¨her and he is super jealous. But the good part is that Christina found a solution telling us to send the sister missionaries from the ward to visit her so we are in that process!!
This week I have been reading in the new testament and it is really interesting because in matthew mark luke and john they tell us the same things but with their own words about the life of jesus Christ so you can have four points of view on it. Lots of parables!!! But nothing really new happened this week, i´m trying to think of what went on but prettymuch what I said is what happened this week. Today is Halloween but they don’t do anything here, its just like anyother day. But you gotta let me know how it went there in the states!!! Well get this, i´m learning 2 other languages, quechua and portugues. Pretty cool huh, everyone here speaks quechua because its like the Indian language that was spoken long ago so its interesting and well portugues I just want to learn so I got a book of mormon in portugues and i´m reading it, the funny part is that I understand pretty much all of it!!!
Bueno. Para ser sincero es muy dificil hablar en inglés porque pienso en español y si pienso en inglés es un desastre. Pero quiero decirles que les quiero muchisimo y que estoy muy muy bien. La mision es la mejor decisión que he tomado en toda mi vida. Se que mi vida nunca sería lo mismo si no viniera aquí. Las cosas que he aprendido van a permanecer conmigo para siempre y se que mi vida sería totalmente diferente si no hubiese querido venir aquí. Por eso estoy eternamente agradecido por criarme en el evangelio de Jesucristo y por enseñarme las cosas mas importantes en la vida. Gracias a mi madre y padre, se lo que quiero ser y lo que quiero hacer en mi vida!!! Gracias
mom i need you to email me a recipe for homeade ice cream. because we are going to make some here shortly!!!!! thanxxxxxxxxxxxx
Les amo!!
I love you guys very much…. Enjoy the ride!
Elder olsen
October 24, 2011
Querida Familia
Well let me just tell you how this week was. We have 4 people who are going to get baptized real soon. Maricruz, Christina, and the Romero Family!! We found the Romero family, mother and father and guess what, they came to church. It was wonderful, we had been teaching them about joseph smith and baptism and they told us that they will go to church to see how it is and they came, it was the best Sunday yet, the feeling of finding a family is so much stronger than finding anyone else because the family is where it all starts and you see the progression together. And you can see their lives changing. And Christina is having a lot of problems with her husband, he doent like the Mormons but she knows without a doubt that it’s the truth and she said she will always know it, so baptism is going to help her out a lot!! So get this, my comp is from Ecuador but some of his fam lives in utah, so he went to visit when he was younger and talks some English. The other day we knocked on a door and out came a new Yorker, not black, and we started talking and he was struggling a little with the Spanish and he knew who we were, he had done a lot of investigating about the Mormons and joseph smith, I was surprised, then I started talking to him in English and we got talking about church and he just wanted to argue and say that we are trying to earn salvation. And my comp asked him if we could sit down say a prayer and chat. So he let us in, and we taught entirely in English, my comp also. Wonderful. And he started saying that salvation is by grace, we don’t have to do anything, we aren’t going to be saved by our works and he says that we mormans think that what Christ did wasn´t enough because we have to work for our salvation but we showed him a bunch of scriptures but he refused to believe, then we started talking about the book of Mormon and he bashed that to the ground saying all sorts of incorrect information. Things about joseph smith being a freemason and a gold digger and he wrote the book of Mormon and all sorts of jibberish, but arguing wasn´t getting us anywhere, then get this he said that for him to be saved he has to get married in the temple and wear that funny underwear, and that really upset me, i talked to him very firmly saying that he cannot talk about the temple because he has no idea what they are and what goes on inside and told him to stop talking about that and to get his information correct the we ended it nicely saying, “ well why don’t you just read the book to see if what your saying is true or if what were saying is true” because he never has read it but was bashing so much and we told him he has no idea because he has never read it, and told him to just give it a chance, atleast read it so your information can be correct so you can actually know what it says. And he said ok, i´ll read it, but in English, so this Tuesday we are going to give him a book in English and give him time to read it!! I know that the purpose of that book is to convince so If he really wants to know he will be converted. Sometimes people can be really stressfull. But we ended it well!!! That’s about a wrap for this week. I´ll let you know how it went next week!!! I´m proud of all the fam for everything!! I sent letters and pics in the mail today so be on a watch out for them. i´m proud of ty and his talent, that is a gift from god and the new testament tells us what we must do with those gifts. as well as the rest of the family!!!! and guess what is coming up, christmas!! i´ll be gettin to chat with you all on the phone. rice is still on the menu and hand washing is what i do every monday morning, the clothes are fine because i can by new stuff here, there is a distribution center so if i ever need garments i just by them here!!! but thanks
love you very much
love elder olsen
Well let me just tell you how this week was. We have 4 people who are going to get baptized real soon. Maricruz, Christina, and the Romero Family!! We found the Romero family, mother and father and guess what, they came to church. It was wonderful, we had been teaching them about joseph smith and baptism and they told us that they will go to church to see how it is and they came, it was the best Sunday yet, the feeling of finding a family is so much stronger than finding anyone else because the family is where it all starts and you see the progression together. And you can see their lives changing. And Christina is having a lot of problems with her husband, he doent like the Mormons but she knows without a doubt that it’s the truth and she said she will always know it, so baptism is going to help her out a lot!! So get this, my comp is from Ecuador but some of his fam lives in utah, so he went to visit when he was younger and talks some English. The other day we knocked on a door and out came a new Yorker, not black, and we started talking and he was struggling a little with the Spanish and he knew who we were, he had done a lot of investigating about the Mormons and joseph smith, I was surprised, then I started talking to him in English and we got talking about church and he just wanted to argue and say that we are trying to earn salvation. And my comp asked him if we could sit down say a prayer and chat. So he let us in, and we taught entirely in English, my comp also. Wonderful. And he started saying that salvation is by grace, we don’t have to do anything, we aren’t going to be saved by our works and he says that we mormans think that what Christ did wasn´t enough because we have to work for our salvation but we showed him a bunch of scriptures but he refused to believe, then we started talking about the book of Mormon and he bashed that to the ground saying all sorts of incorrect information. Things about joseph smith being a freemason and a gold digger and he wrote the book of Mormon and all sorts of jibberish, but arguing wasn´t getting us anywhere, then get this he said that for him to be saved he has to get married in the temple and wear that funny underwear, and that really upset me, i talked to him very firmly saying that he cannot talk about the temple because he has no idea what they are and what goes on inside and told him to stop talking about that and to get his information correct the we ended it nicely saying, “ well why don’t you just read the book to see if what your saying is true or if what were saying is true” because he never has read it but was bashing so much and we told him he has no idea because he has never read it, and told him to just give it a chance, atleast read it so your information can be correct so you can actually know what it says. And he said ok, i´ll read it, but in English, so this Tuesday we are going to give him a book in English and give him time to read it!! I know that the purpose of that book is to convince so If he really wants to know he will be converted. Sometimes people can be really stressfull. But we ended it well!!! That’s about a wrap for this week. I´ll let you know how it went next week!!! I´m proud of all the fam for everything!! I sent letters and pics in the mail today so be on a watch out for them. i´m proud of ty and his talent, that is a gift from god and the new testament tells us what we must do with those gifts. as well as the rest of the family!!!! and guess what is coming up, christmas!! i´ll be gettin to chat with you all on the phone. rice is still on the menu and hand washing is what i do every monday morning, the clothes are fine because i can by new stuff here, there is a distribution center so if i ever need garments i just by them here!!! but thanks
love you very much
love elder olsen
October 17, 2011
hey family! thanks for the email. this week has been kinda frustrating. we had been doing alot of tracting but it seemed like nobody wanted to let us in. it was a good week weather wise, it rained all week as you can see in the photo, so atleast it wasnt hot. but the people finding part was a little hard!! we found another person named maricruz and now she has a baptisimal date for the 5 of november as well as christina for the 29 of october. so we are working with them and still trying to find other people. we have found a few people too that seem like they could be progressors. so get this a while back we found a dude named erwin but nothing really happened with him, we taught him like once or twice, but then recently we were passing by his house and he was outside washing and he looked at us and my comp and i knew that we needed to go to his house so we stopped by and he let us in and from that moment he just told us everything that is going on in his life. his ¨wife¨ is super sick and is on her death bed we could say, and in the hospital and they have a baby girl and its just super hard for him and her, he told us that they are straight up cousins and wants to know if that is bad, he told us how the parents of his wife pretty much hate him and he didn´t see his daughter for 2 years straight and he just wants someone to help him. and lucky enough we arrived and have been teaching him alot about the restoration and plan of salvation and he is learning so much and we invited him to pray to see if joseph smith was a prophet and he knows that he has to do it and he told us that he will. because he wants to have a spiritual experience just like we members have had when we prayed to know if its true!! its definately a spiritual experience teaching him, because we can only answer what the spirit tells us to say, some questions he asks are hard to answer about whats good and whats bad but thanks to the spirit and the mission president everything turns out great!!! my companion and i are still working hard and this next week we have done some great planning to try and find some new people to teach. sometimes it can be hard but its nothing to worry about, its life, its normal, but i just see the blessings day after day. in my personal study i started the book of mormon over again and i´m in 1 nephi, turns out nephi was a baller!! full of spirit. and he sure knows how to teach and be a leader. even when his brothers wanted to kill him. we must all learn from nephi. but not just by reading but by studying and really paying attention to the scriptures and what the lord wants to tell us. i promise you that if you say a short prayer before so the lord can help you understand that new pathways will be opened up even if you thought that there werent any!! but focus on the spirit and the teaching of the prophets. like it says in doctrine and covenants 1, ¨¨weather it be by my voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.!! how wonderful! i never want to leave the mission, i´m doing absolutley fine here and what more could i ask for, everyday i get to be guided by the spirit. thats not an everyday thing in the everday world! so i´m enjoying it while i can!!
love you all very very much
love
Elder Olsen
love you all very very much
love
Elder Olsen
October 10, 2011
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEC
dude dont worry i made you a homeade card also. but just need to send it!!!!! holy shnickeys, i cant believe that dude is 15 years of age. and almost sixteen when i get home, yeehaw!!! well this weeek was a crazy one, not much to say because we barely worked, wednesday were transfers and me and my comp stayed and were zone leaders so we had to do alot of sending elders to their new areas and getting them from airports and so we spent all day thursday in the airport until 930 at night, then the next day we had a conference all day as well, and we barely found anytime this week to teach, but christina is still progressing, she is super excited to get baptised, she is set now and knows that she wants to do it. she is getting to know some members and things are woriking out just great!! we also have a bunch of families that we are teaching but they arent going to church and not wanting to progress so we are trying to find these people who really want to go to church and get baptised!!!! but seriously that is about all that has happened this week, i´m still here in bajio with elder fuentes, its super hot here and very humid, there is sand everywhere like i explained before, its not dirt, its sand and nothing is paved but hey, thats bolivia for ya, its pretty gnarly. were finding alot of people and praying alot and working our behinds offfffff but the lord is the person that helps us alootttttt!!!
so hows the fam, hows ty, rebekah has how many kids now, 20?? dude whats new with you and bob, how are things going, hows oakley, does she know spanish fluently yet, if not now, very soon i´m sure, hows kessley and hayden and lauri and alec!!! i wanna see some up to date pics of them all!!!! well i hope that by this next week i have alot more to say, but hey what you can do is ask me a bunch of questions then i´ll have something more to write about!!! take care, i love you all, i´ll be sending some stuff in the mail shortly so be looking for it!
i love you very much!!
love elder olsen
dude dont worry i made you a homeade card also. but just need to send it!!!!! holy shnickeys, i cant believe that dude is 15 years of age. and almost sixteen when i get home, yeehaw!!! well this weeek was a crazy one, not much to say because we barely worked, wednesday were transfers and me and my comp stayed and were zone leaders so we had to do alot of sending elders to their new areas and getting them from airports and so we spent all day thursday in the airport until 930 at night, then the next day we had a conference all day as well, and we barely found anytime this week to teach, but christina is still progressing, she is super excited to get baptised, she is set now and knows that she wants to do it. she is getting to know some members and things are woriking out just great!! we also have a bunch of families that we are teaching but they arent going to church and not wanting to progress so we are trying to find these people who really want to go to church and get baptised!!!! but seriously that is about all that has happened this week, i´m still here in bajio with elder fuentes, its super hot here and very humid, there is sand everywhere like i explained before, its not dirt, its sand and nothing is paved but hey, thats bolivia for ya, its pretty gnarly. were finding alot of people and praying alot and working our behinds offfffff but the lord is the person that helps us alootttttt!!!
so hows the fam, hows ty, rebekah has how many kids now, 20?? dude whats new with you and bob, how are things going, hows oakley, does she know spanish fluently yet, if not now, very soon i´m sure, hows kessley and hayden and lauri and alec!!! i wanna see some up to date pics of them all!!!! well i hope that by this next week i have alot more to say, but hey what you can do is ask me a bunch of questions then i´ll have something more to write about!!! take care, i love you all, i´ll be sending some stuff in the mail shortly so be looking for it!
i love you very much!!
love elder olsen
October 3, 2011
I have oficially been blown away by the spirit!! I dont know how many prayers have been answered and how many questions have been answered!! All i can say is the prophet is a spiritually minded man and knows how to please god! So what i really had been wondering these past few months and days is what the prophet malachi says in the last two verses of the old testament. “ and he will turn the hearts of the children to their fathers and the heart of their fathers to their children” i had been wondering alot lately about what that really means and sure enough the apostle David A. Bednar answered my question. If we read what he says by sending elijah the prophet before the second coming we come to understand that its the sealing power of the priesthood that he gave to joseph smith and oliver cowdrey in the temple. The power to seal, the power to baptise for the dead. The temple work. I just hit me that gods plan is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, and how can he do it for the people who never had the chance to get baptised or sealed?? Temple work. We have the opportunity to seal and baptise our ancestors and turn their hearts of gratitude to us, and we have the opportunity to seal and baptise our children and turn their hearts of gratitude to us!! I never new how interested i would be in family history search! When i get home we are all doing family history search and we are going to go to temple and turn the hearts of our ancestors to us, their children!! I absolutely loved conference!! So much revelation. Another frase i loved from the prophet that really helps me be more humble is “I acknowledge gods hands in all things” in small and simple words, we are nothing. Everything we accomplish is thanks to god. We accomplish nothing save it be by god. I love the prophet and one day my goal is to hug Thomas S. Monson and tell him thanks! It will happen!! I hope each and everyone of you have learned something new and are applying it to our lives, because it does no good unless you apply it. Its like money, its no good unless you use it!! May the lord open your hearts and minds and may the treasures of god be opened up to you!! Obedience is the first law of heaven!
i cant believe how fast my family is learning and growing up!! i`m super proud of ty, i always tell people how good of a swimmer he is because nobody here knows how to swim so they are all amazed, and alec as well. kessley is going to be a teenager by the time i get back, she is growing up way to fast! and oakley, i´m serious she is a prodigy, she is going to be someone famouse when she gets older i just know it. i cant believe she already knows the articles of faith and wow, even spanish she is learning. to ten, now try to twenty... uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez, once, doce, trece, catorce, quince, dieciseis, diesisiete, diesiocho, diesinueve, veinte!!!! try that out!! and how great to hear that star valley is going to have a temple!!! yee-haw!! the prophet is funny. lets all learn from him!!! love you all very much
love elder olsen
i cant believe how fast my family is learning and growing up!! i`m super proud of ty, i always tell people how good of a swimmer he is because nobody here knows how to swim so they are all amazed, and alec as well. kessley is going to be a teenager by the time i get back, she is growing up way to fast! and oakley, i´m serious she is a prodigy, she is going to be someone famouse when she gets older i just know it. i cant believe she already knows the articles of faith and wow, even spanish she is learning. to ten, now try to twenty... uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez, once, doce, trece, catorce, quince, dieciseis, diesisiete, diesiocho, diesinueve, veinte!!!! try that out!! and how great to hear that star valley is going to have a temple!!! yee-haw!! the prophet is funny. lets all learn from him!!! love you all very much
love elder olsen
September 26, 2011
Wow!!
Thats all i can say, this week was stressfulllll!! Well, we did baptize 4 people and the zone baptized a total of 20 so we did really good, the stressfull part is trying to control everyone so everything works out good, doing finances here is a lot of work, we were up until 1 last night figuring out how and what and where is all the money that we have to handle as zone leaders. Its really a lot of work but it all pays off!! So the mother of ketty got baptized with her two kids, she still hasn’t tolk ketty, you know the girl who moved to the states, yeah, she is going to surprise her!! How wonderful. And also olver got baptized, hes 20 and super excited and progressing muchisimo!! We had been working very hard to get that family in the waters of baptism!! And as you can see the lord helped us a lot!! I am studying the scriptures deaply and trying to understand every single line!! Its pretty cool, nephi is smart. That’s all I can say, and I have come to realize that the book of mormon is a book of miracles, all the commandments the lord gives to the prophets that sound crazy and imposible, but youll notice at the end of every chapter it tells us how they completed everything the lord commanded. Miracles in movement!! So jake and Austin are doing really good and are just about on the plaine home”!!!!! that’s a little crazy!!!, eric vanderkuyl is getting married!1 how crazy, is it a girl he met out in his mission???? How did he meet her, how is he doing???? This next week is going to be good because we have a conference with all the elders and also general conference. I´m super excited for conference!! I cant wait to hear what the prophet has to say this time!!!!! I love this work, even though I am as tired as can be. Its so worth it and my dream is to see all my younger brothers following my footsteps and going on a mission!! The lord has a never ending love for the people who are willing to serve!!! Just do it!! i love you all!! cant wait to see how big oakley is when i get home, she sounds like a prodigy!!
love elder olsen
Thats all i can say, this week was stressfulllll!! Well, we did baptize 4 people and the zone baptized a total of 20 so we did really good, the stressfull part is trying to control everyone so everything works out good, doing finances here is a lot of work, we were up until 1 last night figuring out how and what and where is all the money that we have to handle as zone leaders. Its really a lot of work but it all pays off!! So the mother of ketty got baptized with her two kids, she still hasn’t tolk ketty, you know the girl who moved to the states, yeah, she is going to surprise her!! How wonderful. And also olver got baptized, hes 20 and super excited and progressing muchisimo!! We had been working very hard to get that family in the waters of baptism!! And as you can see the lord helped us a lot!! I am studying the scriptures deaply and trying to understand every single line!! Its pretty cool, nephi is smart. That’s all I can say, and I have come to realize that the book of mormon is a book of miracles, all the commandments the lord gives to the prophets that sound crazy and imposible, but youll notice at the end of every chapter it tells us how they completed everything the lord commanded. Miracles in movement!! So jake and Austin are doing really good and are just about on the plaine home”!!!!! that’s a little crazy!!!, eric vanderkuyl is getting married!1 how crazy, is it a girl he met out in his mission???? How did he meet her, how is he doing???? This next week is going to be good because we have a conference with all the elders and also general conference. I´m super excited for conference!! I cant wait to hear what the prophet has to say this time!!!!! I love this work, even though I am as tired as can be. Its so worth it and my dream is to see all my younger brothers following my footsteps and going on a mission!! The lord has a never ending love for the people who are willing to serve!!! Just do it!! i love you all!! cant wait to see how big oakley is when i get home, she sounds like a prodigy!!
love elder olsen
September 18, 2011
Que tal familia.!!!
Como están, que ha pasado! Parece que todos están bien y felices.
This week was a busy one. So yeah kety is baptized and she has left, she is in texas right now and you know how we have been working hard with her family. Trying to do everything possible to get them baptized. We had been calling them every night and asking her if she prayed to know if she should get baptized. And finally last night we asked her if she prayed and she said yes, and we asked her if she was going to go to church and said yes, so the next day we were anxiously waiting for her in church and guess what she said. Hey, elder this weekend is when were supposed to get baptized right,? I told her yes and she said, ok, we can get baptized.!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dude it was sweet, and I knew that she would say yes, also olver melendres has been getting really excited for his baptism this weekend also. Hes 20 years old and ready to enter into the waters of mormon! Me and my comp have been really busy this week babysitting these elders. Some are obedient but others aren’t. sometimes I ask myself why these people are here if they don’t want to even work. But its their deal, not mine!!! We had been contacting a lot of pastors and people from other churches, and i´ve come to find out just how much they don’t know. They are so ignorant and have no idea what this life realy is about. How can someone actually think that believing in god is enough. And the other things they say are just so ridiculous. All I know is that we have the truth and thanks to the restoration we know the answers to all of those questions. Life is simple and organized. You just gotta follow the recipe. Time is flying, I cant believe it. Austin will be coming home in November and jake in December. Isnt´that crazy.!!! Well for ty. You have to get excited about the mission. Nothing in the world is worth more than the mission. Youll find out who you really are when you step foot in the mission field but yes, I want to atleast be home before you leave. You can still start your papers and get them all ready so you can send them off asap. But I have to be home to give you some pointers!!!! You´ll love it! Sounds like the family is growing up and becoming grownups.!! Cant wait to see everyone again!!
Bueno les amo y espero que estén bien. Yo sé que el señor les esta bendiciendo bastante. Solo hay que sequir sus mandamientos, nada mas!!!! Cuídense
Les amo
Elder olsen
Como están, que ha pasado! Parece que todos están bien y felices.
This week was a busy one. So yeah kety is baptized and she has left, she is in texas right now and you know how we have been working hard with her family. Trying to do everything possible to get them baptized. We had been calling them every night and asking her if she prayed to know if she should get baptized. And finally last night we asked her if she prayed and she said yes, and we asked her if she was going to go to church and said yes, so the next day we were anxiously waiting for her in church and guess what she said. Hey, elder this weekend is when were supposed to get baptized right,? I told her yes and she said, ok, we can get baptized.!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dude it was sweet, and I knew that she would say yes, also olver melendres has been getting really excited for his baptism this weekend also. Hes 20 years old and ready to enter into the waters of mormon! Me and my comp have been really busy this week babysitting these elders. Some are obedient but others aren’t. sometimes I ask myself why these people are here if they don’t want to even work. But its their deal, not mine!!! We had been contacting a lot of pastors and people from other churches, and i´ve come to find out just how much they don’t know. They are so ignorant and have no idea what this life realy is about. How can someone actually think that believing in god is enough. And the other things they say are just so ridiculous. All I know is that we have the truth and thanks to the restoration we know the answers to all of those questions. Life is simple and organized. You just gotta follow the recipe. Time is flying, I cant believe it. Austin will be coming home in November and jake in December. Isnt´that crazy.!!! Well for ty. You have to get excited about the mission. Nothing in the world is worth more than the mission. Youll find out who you really are when you step foot in the mission field but yes, I want to atleast be home before you leave. You can still start your papers and get them all ready so you can send them off asap. But I have to be home to give you some pointers!!!! You´ll love it! Sounds like the family is growing up and becoming grownups.!! Cant wait to see everyone again!!
Bueno les amo y espero que estén bien. Yo sé que el señor les esta bendiciendo bastante. Solo hay que sequir sus mandamientos, nada mas!!!! Cuídense
Les amo
Elder olsen
September 12, 2011
hola Familia!!!!!
this week went by super duper fast!! my companion and i had concilio, which is all the zone leaders getting together with president calderon and he gives us a few pointers. there are about 25 zone leaders in the mission. and get this, more than half are from the usa and more than half are from my group.!!!!! crazy. my group is doing great and we are all working hard. so there is this person in our ward and her name is kety, her mom and sisters and brothers arent members but she is, she is 23 and get this, she is moving to the united states to get married, she is moving to houston texas then to salt lake, we talked for awhile about the usa and stuff and we have been talking to her family so they can get baptised, they always come to church and so we went to their house and put a baptisimal date and she said she would get baptised but she still isn´t sure and she wants to pray about it, but yesterday was very powerful, kety bore her testimony about how badly she suffers because her mom is losing very many opportunities that god has given her and how she wants to see her in the temple sealed and happy as can be. it was very spiritual and it helped us out alot. she is getting alot more certain about her baptisimal date, the other one with a baptisimal date named carlos is not wanting to obey the law of chastity and is´nt really trying hard to have a change in his life so he lost his baptisimal date!!! things are going good although like i said, we work our behinds off the entire week and then when sunday comes, nobody shows up.!!! it makes me upset because we want so badly that they come to church but they just dont want to, and theyre gonna regret it. like it says in mathew 25. the parable of the ten virgens, five of them were all ready and had oil and when the bridegroomcame the were ready to go wit him and the other 5 virgens werent prepared and asked them to lend them oil but they said to go buy it for themselves and they lost the opportunity. in life we need to always be ready, we dont know when the end is but we have to be ready in every second!!!! amy companion and i are getting along very well, i´m still in an area with complete sand, kinda weird, its poor but not as much as riberalta. and the weather is super duper hott and humiddddd.!!!!! thats all it is here, super hotttttt. the people are good, they always try to lie to us and tell us that they are busy when they arent´, we know when they are lying. alot of people think that we are false and stuff but it just makes us laugh because we have the truth and nothing but it. nobody else so whatever we say, its true nobody can take away the truth that we have!!!! enjoy it!!!! thanks family for everything!! keep working hard and reading the gold plates and learning more about whats most important, the life of christ and the atonement.!!!
love you
love elder brady cade olsen
this week went by super duper fast!! my companion and i had concilio, which is all the zone leaders getting together with president calderon and he gives us a few pointers. there are about 25 zone leaders in the mission. and get this, more than half are from the usa and more than half are from my group.!!!!! crazy. my group is doing great and we are all working hard. so there is this person in our ward and her name is kety, her mom and sisters and brothers arent members but she is, she is 23 and get this, she is moving to the united states to get married, she is moving to houston texas then to salt lake, we talked for awhile about the usa and stuff and we have been talking to her family so they can get baptised, they always come to church and so we went to their house and put a baptisimal date and she said she would get baptised but she still isn´t sure and she wants to pray about it, but yesterday was very powerful, kety bore her testimony about how badly she suffers because her mom is losing very many opportunities that god has given her and how she wants to see her in the temple sealed and happy as can be. it was very spiritual and it helped us out alot. she is getting alot more certain about her baptisimal date, the other one with a baptisimal date named carlos is not wanting to obey the law of chastity and is´nt really trying hard to have a change in his life so he lost his baptisimal date!!! things are going good although like i said, we work our behinds off the entire week and then when sunday comes, nobody shows up.!!! it makes me upset because we want so badly that they come to church but they just dont want to, and theyre gonna regret it. like it says in mathew 25. the parable of the ten virgens, five of them were all ready and had oil and when the bridegroomcame the were ready to go wit him and the other 5 virgens werent prepared and asked them to lend them oil but they said to go buy it for themselves and they lost the opportunity. in life we need to always be ready, we dont know when the end is but we have to be ready in every second!!!! amy companion and i are getting along very well, i´m still in an area with complete sand, kinda weird, its poor but not as much as riberalta. and the weather is super duper hott and humiddddd.!!!!! thats all it is here, super hotttttt. the people are good, they always try to lie to us and tell us that they are busy when they arent´, we know when they are lying. alot of people think that we are false and stuff but it just makes us laugh because we have the truth and nothing but it. nobody else so whatever we say, its true nobody can take away the truth that we have!!!! enjoy it!!!! thanks family for everything!! keep working hard and reading the gold plates and learning more about whats most important, the life of christ and the atonement.!!!
love you
love elder brady cade olsen
September 2, 2011
Hey que tal familia!!
This week has gone by super fast. My and my comp have been working hard and have found alot of people, we started out this transfer with nobody and now we have 7 people who are going to get baptised this month and it looks like the majority of them will be geting baptised on haydens birthday!!! Pretty gnarley eh???? So it kinda sucks when your week has been brutal, working harder than every finding every little soul you can, thinking that the fruits will show in church that Sunday morning, but when it arrives nobody shows up and you just get so devestated!!!! Thats what happened this week!! However every single one of them had a legitimate reason, they just all had emergency´s but they are all still excited about getting baptised!!! So the zone here is doing pretty good, like i said we have to babysit alot and some of the elders just dont know how to be obedient and just dont follow the rules and we have to get on their case and sometimes that can be fun and sometimes it´s not!! I cant believe that i have already been out an entire year!!! Its been way to short!! And i deffinately dont want to come home just quite yet!
So right now i am studying in the new testament, i´m reading in matthew, its pretty good! Jesus was a great teacher and he really taught with the spirit!!! You should try reading the first four gospels of matthew mark luke and john, they are all great books that talk about the life of jesus christ! I love this work and i want to see all of my little brothers out here in the mission field showing god the true desires of their hearts!!! Its crazy the mission, every one and everything just seems like a blurrrrr, the family, the friends, seems like a dream. When one focuses on the work your home turns into what your doing!! I feel like i have been here my entire life and that this is a home i have!! You guys have gotta come here and check it out one day, you´ll see what i mean!!!
i love you very much!!! whenever you get the chance, if its at all possible to send me a usa soccer jersey to show the bolivians whats up, that would be nice!!!
love elder olsen
This week has gone by super fast. My and my comp have been working hard and have found alot of people, we started out this transfer with nobody and now we have 7 people who are going to get baptised this month and it looks like the majority of them will be geting baptised on haydens birthday!!! Pretty gnarley eh???? So it kinda sucks when your week has been brutal, working harder than every finding every little soul you can, thinking that the fruits will show in church that Sunday morning, but when it arrives nobody shows up and you just get so devestated!!!! Thats what happened this week!! However every single one of them had a legitimate reason, they just all had emergency´s but they are all still excited about getting baptised!!! So the zone here is doing pretty good, like i said we have to babysit alot and some of the elders just dont know how to be obedient and just dont follow the rules and we have to get on their case and sometimes that can be fun and sometimes it´s not!! I cant believe that i have already been out an entire year!!! Its been way to short!! And i deffinately dont want to come home just quite yet!
So right now i am studying in the new testament, i´m reading in matthew, its pretty good! Jesus was a great teacher and he really taught with the spirit!!! You should try reading the first four gospels of matthew mark luke and john, they are all great books that talk about the life of jesus christ! I love this work and i want to see all of my little brothers out here in the mission field showing god the true desires of their hearts!!! Its crazy the mission, every one and everything just seems like a blurrrrr, the family, the friends, seems like a dream. When one focuses on the work your home turns into what your doing!! I feel like i have been here my entire life and that this is a home i have!! You guys have gotta come here and check it out one day, you´ll see what i mean!!!
i love you very much!!! whenever you get the chance, if its at all possible to send me a usa soccer jersey to show the bolivians whats up, that would be nice!!!
love elder olsen
Monday, August 29, 2011
August 29, 2011
helllooooo family!!!!
its good to hear from you, today is a great and shining day!!! we had cambios, i am no longer training but i´m zone leader now!! i´m with an elder from ecuador his name is elder fuentes!! its super sweet, zone leader is fresh sauce!! we are here in bajio santa cruz, another area full of sand but its nice being zone leader, we have to take care of all the missionaries in the zone! sometimes we have to babysit because they dont want to be obedient!! well i´m not sure if teo got baptised or not but its cool, faith comes in and he´ll be baptised!! when i got here there was´nt a single person with a baptisimal date and now at the end of the week we have 2 people!! on of them named carlos came to church and that very night we went to his house and put a date down and he accepted so you could say that the lord really helps us out!!!!
so mom i have some homework for you..... you are a mother and you need to be friends with all of my comps mothers from the states!!!! and get cool with them!!!
first of all, elder alex haws from sierra vista arizona
elder tyler hansen from pocatello idaho
elder burchill from la california
elder sainsburys mom is already your friend
i´ll get more info about their moms so you can find them on facebook and be thier friends!!!!!!
so guess what happens in 3 days!!!!!!!!!! i will officially complete one year in the mission field!! how crazy is that, i cant believe how fast time flies. i still feel like i am a newbeee but i guess not!!! not much happened this week because of transfers and all but i finished the book of mormon in spanish and now i´m starting it in portugues and then in quechua. quechua is an indian dialect that the bolivians speek here, itscrazy and i´m trying to learn in, ive already got a few words down!!! i love the mission and i´m so proud of all my fam!!! ty better be learning german cause its possible he goes there, and you know what its really really possible that he gets called to the bolivia santa cruz mission!!!!!!!!!!!! ojalá!! well take care and thanks for everything!! i love you very very much!
ELDER OLSEN
LA IGLESIA DE
JESUCRISTO
DE LOS SANTOS
DE LOS ULTIMOS DIAS
its good to hear from you, today is a great and shining day!!! we had cambios, i am no longer training but i´m zone leader now!! i´m with an elder from ecuador his name is elder fuentes!! its super sweet, zone leader is fresh sauce!! we are here in bajio santa cruz, another area full of sand but its nice being zone leader, we have to take care of all the missionaries in the zone! sometimes we have to babysit because they dont want to be obedient!! well i´m not sure if teo got baptised or not but its cool, faith comes in and he´ll be baptised!! when i got here there was´nt a single person with a baptisimal date and now at the end of the week we have 2 people!! on of them named carlos came to church and that very night we went to his house and put a date down and he accepted so you could say that the lord really helps us out!!!!
so mom i have some homework for you..... you are a mother and you need to be friends with all of my comps mothers from the states!!!! and get cool with them!!!
first of all, elder alex haws from sierra vista arizona
elder tyler hansen from pocatello idaho
elder burchill from la california
elder sainsburys mom is already your friend
i´ll get more info about their moms so you can find them on facebook and be thier friends!!!!!!
so guess what happens in 3 days!!!!!!!!!! i will officially complete one year in the mission field!! how crazy is that, i cant believe how fast time flies. i still feel like i am a newbeee but i guess not!!! not much happened this week because of transfers and all but i finished the book of mormon in spanish and now i´m starting it in portugues and then in quechua. quechua is an indian dialect that the bolivians speek here, itscrazy and i´m trying to learn in, ive already got a few words down!!! i love the mission and i´m so proud of all my fam!!! ty better be learning german cause its possible he goes there, and you know what its really really possible that he gets called to the bolivia santa cruz mission!!!!!!!!!!!! ojalá!! well take care and thanks for everything!! i love you very very much!
ELDER OLSEN
LA IGLESIA DE
JESUCRISTO
DE LOS SANTOS
DE LOS ULTIMOS DIAS
August 21, 2011
hello family!!!
thanks for the letter i know how life can be sometimes!! so fabiola got baptised all went well!!! and we passed for a little miracle yesterday!! i dont know if i ever told you about teo! well anyways about the first week into the transfer he came to church, but went to another ward and they told him that our ward was the ward he lives in! so we talked to him and he came to church with us the following week!! we were so excited, my comp and i, just thinking about baptism and how he was going to accept a date!! we casually and directly talked to him about baptism and when we put the date down he said no!! we were so confused, but he had told us that he needed more time and knowledge before getting baptised, we were so bummed, so we said ok,and had been teaching him a few more lessons, put down another date and said no!! WHATTTTT we didn´t know what to do with this guy, because he comes to church every sunday and its almost as if he were a member, he knows more than some of the members in our ward even!!! thats why we were so confused!!
we continued to teach him and pray for him but he kept saying he needed more time and he wanted to be sure and wanted to know more!!! so after a mountain of lessons and time with him, yesterday after church we taught him!!! in the morning my companion and i were thinking about what we should teach him, and the thought of temples came to my head so we decided to plan temples to teach him. when we got to church, the speakers, all three of them talked about temples and temple marriage, in sunday school they talked about the law of chastity and mariage in the tiemple and in priesthood we talked about temples and temple recommends!!! wow did we get insight from the spirit that morning!!! and so when we taught him westarted reading a book about temples and asking questions and the spirit was so strong!! testifying of the truthfulness of the temples, at the end of the lesson we invited him to get baptised on the 3rd of september!! he sat silent for a while and looked at us and said "do you think that i´m ready?" i looked at him and with a cracked voice i said " yes, i know your ready" and after a minute of silence he looked at us and said " ok.... i know its true" !!!!! YES it was so awesome the spirit was strong and it had testified to him the truth!!! i´m so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! were working hard with him so the 3rd can be a unforgettable day!
mother i know life can be hard sometimes and it always seems like a the weekest point and when were just about ready to give up, the lord gives us the help we need!! i have some scriptures for you, read DC 24:8, the lord is always with you no matter what, and on of my favorites is found in 1 corinthians 10:13 (i dont have my bible with me but i´m pretty sure its verse 13) but remeber that life is nothing without goals, and remember that dreams are only to become true, so now i dont sleep to rest i sleep to dream!!! but one quote i absolutely love that helps me become the person i want to be is "DARE TO BE DIFFERENT" - elder l. tom perry! like my patriarchal blessing says, "never compare your life to the life of others" i know that sometimes we want to give up and find the harder things come more than the easier things like as joseph smith says in joseph smith history! that when he was about to give in to the temptations of the devil and could barely hold him self up straight, his body week and ready to fall there appeared to him a pillar of light whose brightness and glory defy all description and standing above him in the air he saw two personages and one of them spake unto him, pointing to the other and said, this is my beloved son, hear him!! the lord always alway always give us the way out. because there is always always always right and wrong, good and bad, there are always opposites, if not the world wouldnt run!! therefore take some words of advice, and let me tell you mom, if theres a way in, theres a way out!! the lord loves his children and as it says in moses 1 39 his work and glory is to bring to pass the imortality and eternal life of man!! he gets his joy through us and nobody else, he never lets us suffer because thats not his work and glory, its satans, satan gives you the way in and our heavenly father gives us the way out!!! i just really want to let you know how greatful i am for the prophet joseph smith in giving us the truth and bringing back the church of jesus christ! read mormon 8:26-34 and notice that it talks about the time when a prophet (joseph smith) would bring to light the book of morman and in which time frame it would come to pass!!! i love that man to death and when i see him i am going to give him a big hug and say " thank you" and when you read that scripture, you know that all of it has come to pass!! on the side of the scipture i put " and it will come to pass in the year 1820" i love you mom, money is just a bunch of paper that goes from one place to another!!! it has no worth, only the things of heaven have worth.....the family!!!
i love you very much and keep on praying
love elder olsen
thanks for the letter i know how life can be sometimes!! so fabiola got baptised all went well!!! and we passed for a little miracle yesterday!! i dont know if i ever told you about teo! well anyways about the first week into the transfer he came to church, but went to another ward and they told him that our ward was the ward he lives in! so we talked to him and he came to church with us the following week!! we were so excited, my comp and i, just thinking about baptism and how he was going to accept a date!! we casually and directly talked to him about baptism and when we put the date down he said no!! we were so confused, but he had told us that he needed more time and knowledge before getting baptised, we were so bummed, so we said ok,and had been teaching him a few more lessons, put down another date and said no!! WHATTTTT we didn´t know what to do with this guy, because he comes to church every sunday and its almost as if he were a member, he knows more than some of the members in our ward even!!! thats why we were so confused!!
we continued to teach him and pray for him but he kept saying he needed more time and he wanted to be sure and wanted to know more!!! so after a mountain of lessons and time with him, yesterday after church we taught him!!! in the morning my companion and i were thinking about what we should teach him, and the thought of temples came to my head so we decided to plan temples to teach him. when we got to church, the speakers, all three of them talked about temples and temple marriage, in sunday school they talked about the law of chastity and mariage in the tiemple and in priesthood we talked about temples and temple recommends!!! wow did we get insight from the spirit that morning!!! and so when we taught him westarted reading a book about temples and asking questions and the spirit was so strong!! testifying of the truthfulness of the temples, at the end of the lesson we invited him to get baptised on the 3rd of september!! he sat silent for a while and looked at us and said "do you think that i´m ready?" i looked at him and with a cracked voice i said " yes, i know your ready" and after a minute of silence he looked at us and said " ok.... i know its true" !!!!! YES it was so awesome the spirit was strong and it had testified to him the truth!!! i´m so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! were working hard with him so the 3rd can be a unforgettable day!
mother i know life can be hard sometimes and it always seems like a the weekest point and when were just about ready to give up, the lord gives us the help we need!! i have some scriptures for you, read DC 24:8, the lord is always with you no matter what, and on of my favorites is found in 1 corinthians 10:13 (i dont have my bible with me but i´m pretty sure its verse 13) but remeber that life is nothing without goals, and remember that dreams are only to become true, so now i dont sleep to rest i sleep to dream!!! but one quote i absolutely love that helps me become the person i want to be is "DARE TO BE DIFFERENT" - elder l. tom perry! like my patriarchal blessing says, "never compare your life to the life of others" i know that sometimes we want to give up and find the harder things come more than the easier things like as joseph smith says in joseph smith history! that when he was about to give in to the temptations of the devil and could barely hold him self up straight, his body week and ready to fall there appeared to him a pillar of light whose brightness and glory defy all description and standing above him in the air he saw two personages and one of them spake unto him, pointing to the other and said, this is my beloved son, hear him!! the lord always alway always give us the way out. because there is always always always right and wrong, good and bad, there are always opposites, if not the world wouldnt run!! therefore take some words of advice, and let me tell you mom, if theres a way in, theres a way out!! the lord loves his children and as it says in moses 1 39 his work and glory is to bring to pass the imortality and eternal life of man!! he gets his joy through us and nobody else, he never lets us suffer because thats not his work and glory, its satans, satan gives you the way in and our heavenly father gives us the way out!!! i just really want to let you know how greatful i am for the prophet joseph smith in giving us the truth and bringing back the church of jesus christ! read mormon 8:26-34 and notice that it talks about the time when a prophet (joseph smith) would bring to light the book of morman and in which time frame it would come to pass!!! i love that man to death and when i see him i am going to give him a big hug and say " thank you" and when you read that scripture, you know that all of it has come to pass!! on the side of the scipture i put " and it will come to pass in the year 1820" i love you mom, money is just a bunch of paper that goes from one place to another!!! it has no worth, only the things of heaven have worth.....the family!!!
i love you very much and keep on praying
love elder olsen
August 14, 2011
hey guys
whats up, hows it going, thanks for the letters and packages, i absolutly love sour patch kids!! i´m happy!!! this week was alright, we haven´t found anyone new lately that wants to progress, however we continue to find crazy pastors and members of other churchs that think that only faith is important and not the church!!! its super old, but were trying to find these people, sometimes it can be hard and sometimes it can be easy, but it all depends on the choices that we make!!! we just gotta stay positive and keep working because its not my fault if they dont want to listen!!! we have a baptism this saturday, her name is fabiola and she is 16, really shy but ready to get baptised its going to be a good day!!! the lord really has blessed me and my companion, we opened up this are with nothing and the lord has given us alot of success, this transfer i have almost had the most baptisms in one transfer!! the lord is real!!! and blesses us if we are obedient!! not much really happened this week, just a mesh week and havent had anything new really happen, i did learn however that if somebody wants to bible bash or argue, you just gotta take sides with them and leave asap!! because in the future other elders are going to pass by and the people know us for our actions so if were yelling all the time and fighting, the people aren´t going to want to listen to the on coming elders!!!
well i am trying to find a journal all over bolivia and i cant find one, so i´ll keep you posted!!!! thanks for everything, twas a great birthday package!!! i love you very much, tell ty that i´m going to write a letter to mr. hamilton, my spanish teacher so he can give it to him when school starts!!! love you so much, keep reading the book of mormon
love elder olsen
August 7, 2011
y hey!!!!! i got your package about ten minutes ago but i still havent opened it yet!!!!! when i get home i will!!! so zulmas baptism was great we also had another one saturday, a kid of members!!! and we finally went and taught zulmas sisters and they are progressing but they couldnt go to church yesterday, and they still have to pray so see if joseph smith was a prophet and so today we are actually going to their house to verify their prayer!!! so i haaaattttttteeee catholics they are so gay°!!!!! the pastors are the worst and all they want to do is argue!!! i could say that wednesday was one of the hardest days in my mission!!!!! every single person that we talked to just wanted to argue, it was horrible, and just think, even the little kids of families were trying to argue with us!! we started out with a guy telling us that we praise joseph smith and we make people pay and they have to drink and smoke and that we idol images because of capitan moroni on the temples!! i got super mad and layed it down on him and told him that he doesnt know anything and he has no authority and he said that we are the false church and we just layed it hard and he finally sayed goodbye!!! i hate catholics, then we went to a family and they all say that any church is the true church then their 10 year old daughter starts to say the same thing and that jesus is in our hearts and it was super duper hard!!! its deffinalety a humbling and patience lession, its like the hymn be thou humble!!! wow it was super stressful!!! but we do have two more baptisms this 20th and their two teenage girls, carla and fabiola, super timid and shy but they are great!! we also have alot more but they didnt come to church so we have to wait another week!!! and friday, almost time to be in the house my comp and i hurring to find new people, found a family of 3 and taught them five minutes or so about the families thinking nothing of it, inviting them to church, not thinking that they would go,.....WENT all three of them and stayed all three hours, it was wonderful, now theyre going to have a baptisimal date too, the next time we go to their house!!! the lord blesses us!!!! i love the work and remember that excuses and failure go hand in hand"""}!!!!
love you}
love elder olsen
love you}
love elder olsen
July 31, 2011
hola familia!!!! dude today is the 11 month mark i cant believe it!!! the mission is slowley starting to go down hill and i´m not excited!!!!!! we had a baptism yesterday her name is zulma and she is the person that we found the second day here and she got baptized, and the best part is is that her family went to her baptism and then to church and now were teaching them so they can get baptised toooooo!!!! gotta love it man!!! the mission is the best thing in the world!! things are going great here in montero, my comp and i are working hard and being obedient and the lord loves to give us blessings and put prepared people in our path!!!! right now its so cold, i can barely type, my fingers are frozen!!!!!!! stillnothing on the packages yet but they should be here shortly!!! alec looks super old, by the time i get home i wont even recognize him!!! well austin and jake are doing really good on their missions and they come home the end of this year, how crazy is that!!!!!! well it kinda sucks because i never want to go home and they already have to!!! you already know that we do the same thing everyday but sometimes days are really good and sometimes they aren´t so good but all i can say is that if your obedient and diligent and seek after the things you want, the lord gives it to you!!! no doubts, you just gotta show him, and mother since you like quotes heres a good one for you..... justice overrules mercy, the lord is always fair, no matter what, we get what we disserve!!!
love you muchisimo mother and fam
love elder olsen
love you muchisimo mother and fam
love elder olsen
July 25, 2011
hey familia!!!!
thanks for everything and for the happy birthday wishes!!! things are going absolutely great and i never want to leave bolivia!! i love it here and the mission is the best thing in the entire world!! never would change it for the anything!!! this week was crazy hard work!! my comp and i have beeen talking to absolutely everyone and did alotttt of contacts and lessions and we have found some great people!!! so when we both got here, like the next day we found zulma medrano and she was already pre prepared and has been going to church and now she is getting baptised this saturday!! when she was younger she had gone to seminary and church a little but never got baptised and now she is 25 and my comp and i have been praying alot so the lord can help us find these people in this new area and weve been obedient and it looks like the spirit has been with us and thanks to some obedience and prayers we were able to listen to the spirit which told us to contact her and so we did and now look, she{s getting baptised this saturday!!! i love the lord and hey i found a scripture for the mission its in alma 26:26-31, its the best in the west!!!!! i am super happy and i love all of you, thanks for everything, oakley is getting giant and i cant wait to see her!!!!!!! love you
love elder olsen
thanks for everything and for the happy birthday wishes!!! things are going absolutely great and i never want to leave bolivia!! i love it here and the mission is the best thing in the entire world!! never would change it for the anything!!! this week was crazy hard work!! my comp and i have beeen talking to absolutely everyone and did alotttt of contacts and lessions and we have found some great people!!! so when we both got here, like the next day we found zulma medrano and she was already pre prepared and has been going to church and now she is getting baptised this saturday!! when she was younger she had gone to seminary and church a little but never got baptised and now she is 25 and my comp and i have been praying alot so the lord can help us find these people in this new area and weve been obedient and it looks like the spirit has been with us and thanks to some obedience and prayers we were able to listen to the spirit which told us to contact her and so we did and now look, she{s getting baptised this saturday!!! i love the lord and hey i found a scripture for the mission its in alma 26:26-31, its the best in the west!!!!! i am super happy and i love all of you, thanks for everything, oakley is getting giant and i cant wait to see her!!!!!!! love you
love elder olsen
Monday, July 18, 2011
July 17, 2011
Familia!!!
Well got some news now!! We had transfers and they sent me away, another town about an hour away from santa cruz called montero!! And to top it off, im training again, number three, im district leader again, number three and we are opening a new area so first things first we don’t know anyone or anything and so the ward is really helping us out a lot its awesome and we had two baptisms Saturday, a girl named Roxana and her 8 year old boy, it was kinda nice to arrive here and three days later have a baptism!! And as far as gabriella goes, I hope she got baptized, I left the day before her baptism so I didn{t get to see her!!! Dang!! And the other girl named micaela was progressing a lot, we taught her and put a baptismal date for the 30 of july and she totally accepted!! And when me and my new comp got here in montero, all we can do is knock doors because we don’t know anyone, we found a woman named sulma the next day we got here and put a baptisimal date for the 6 of august and she accepted and she went to church so we are having a lot of success, the lord had been guiding us to the prepared people!! I{ve been praying a lot so the lord can help me!! Its crazy!! Well i{m glad you got the letter and I will be looking for the package!! Next p day is my b day, so i{ll be twenty the next time I write you!! Whattttttttt!!!!!!!! But the area here seems pretty beautiful, i{m living with another elder olsen from my group its pretty sweet!! My comp is elder villalobos from peru and wants to work so that’s just what were going to do!!!sounds like things are going great for you all and I hope the best for you and pray always for each and every one of you]!!!! sounds like the family reunion was great, wish i could have gone!! but tell everyone hello for me and that i miss them!! and yes mother i love reading now!! i take it back when i said it was a waste of time because it turns out i can never find enought time to read the book of mormon!!!! love you mom
love elder olsen
Well got some news now!! We had transfers and they sent me away, another town about an hour away from santa cruz called montero!! And to top it off, im training again, number three, im district leader again, number three and we are opening a new area so first things first we don’t know anyone or anything and so the ward is really helping us out a lot its awesome and we had two baptisms Saturday, a girl named Roxana and her 8 year old boy, it was kinda nice to arrive here and three days later have a baptism!! And as far as gabriella goes, I hope she got baptized, I left the day before her baptism so I didn{t get to see her!!! Dang!! And the other girl named micaela was progressing a lot, we taught her and put a baptismal date for the 30 of july and she totally accepted!! And when me and my new comp got here in montero, all we can do is knock doors because we don’t know anyone, we found a woman named sulma the next day we got here and put a baptisimal date for the 6 of august and she accepted and she went to church so we are having a lot of success, the lord had been guiding us to the prepared people!! I{ve been praying a lot so the lord can help me!! Its crazy!! Well i{m glad you got the letter and I will be looking for the package!! Next p day is my b day, so i{ll be twenty the next time I write you!! Whattttttttt!!!!!!!! But the area here seems pretty beautiful, i{m living with another elder olsen from my group its pretty sweet!! My comp is elder villalobos from peru and wants to work so that’s just what were going to do!!!sounds like things are going great for you all and I hope the best for you and pray always for each and every one of you]!!!! sounds like the family reunion was great, wish i could have gone!! but tell everyone hello for me and that i miss them!! and yes mother i love reading now!! i take it back when i said it was a waste of time because it turns out i can never find enought time to read the book of mormon!!!! love you mom
love elder olsen
July 10, 2011
hello mother!
well this week was a frustrating one, remember gabriella who had a baptismal date for saturday, yeah she ended up going to her aunts house during the weekend and my comp and i told her that if she goes she´s not going to go to her baptism, her aunt is going to hold her and not let her go and sure enough thats what happened!! it completely sucked!! but she´s going to het baptised this saturday because she is going to be here! but hey about an hour before the baptism we were contacting people and we found this one girl and talked to her for a little bit outside her fence, she told us her dad is hardcore evangelico and so we taught her with authority as usual and said hey go tell your dad that in order to have the true church there has to be prophets and apostoles like it says in efesians 2:20 so she went and told him and she actually stood up for us and he tried telling her that that was in the old time and its not like that anymore! but it was cool because she was siding with us then we said, hey go get changed and come to a baptism, we´ll wait for you right here, she said no, go and i´ll catch up and sure enough while we were at the baptism of other elders she showed up and said she liked it!! so now were working with her so she can get dunked!! well in 2 days we have transfers, dont know whats gonna happen, if i stay or if i go! who knows but the weather here is crazy, one day its cold the other its super hot and it never snows but it does rain, not very often but it does, last week was freezing and this week has been smoking hotttttt!!! kinda weird! but time is flying mother, i have completed 10 months and in 7 weeks i will complete a year!! then its all downhill from there!!! tell everyone hi for me and i´ll be looking for the package!! gracias por todo!!
love you mom, just read the book of mormon everyday and you will be fine, and your knowledge will increase like crazy!!! love you
love elder olsen
well this week was a frustrating one, remember gabriella who had a baptismal date for saturday, yeah she ended up going to her aunts house during the weekend and my comp and i told her that if she goes she´s not going to go to her baptism, her aunt is going to hold her and not let her go and sure enough thats what happened!! it completely sucked!! but she´s going to het baptised this saturday because she is going to be here! but hey about an hour before the baptism we were contacting people and we found this one girl and talked to her for a little bit outside her fence, she told us her dad is hardcore evangelico and so we taught her with authority as usual and said hey go tell your dad that in order to have the true church there has to be prophets and apostoles like it says in efesians 2:20 so she went and told him and she actually stood up for us and he tried telling her that that was in the old time and its not like that anymore! but it was cool because she was siding with us then we said, hey go get changed and come to a baptism, we´ll wait for you right here, she said no, go and i´ll catch up and sure enough while we were at the baptism of other elders she showed up and said she liked it!! so now were working with her so she can get dunked!! well in 2 days we have transfers, dont know whats gonna happen, if i stay or if i go! who knows but the weather here is crazy, one day its cold the other its super hot and it never snows but it does rain, not very often but it does, last week was freezing and this week has been smoking hotttttt!!! kinda weird! but time is flying mother, i have completed 10 months and in 7 weeks i will complete a year!! then its all downhill from there!!! tell everyone hi for me and i´ll be looking for the package!! gracias por todo!!
love you mom, just read the book of mormon everyday and you will be fine, and your knowledge will increase like crazy!!! love you
love elder olsen
July 4, 2011
Hola familia!!
I dont know why there are periods after every Word but oh well!1 this week was awesome, but really really cold!!! We have one investigator whos name is Gabriela and she is19 years old and is going to get baptized this Saturday!! Its kinda weird how we found her, we found one investigator named danise and she was progressing very well then she brought gabriella to church with her so we decided to put a baptisimal date for her also and she accepted and now it turns out that danise isn´t going to get baptized because her family is telling her a lot of things but gabriella is, so imagine if we never contacted danise, we never would have found gabriella, its weird how the lord works through other people!! Well its super cold here, its winter and its windy and wowsers!!! Supposedly for a month or so!! So guess what, I completed 10 months in the mission, how fast the time sure does fly!! My companion and I are working hard and finding new people because we only have one more week left in the transfer!! dude mother send me a chocolate chip cookie recipe because i want to make some really really bad!!!! and as far as garments go, yes i do need some more, but not thermals because i have plenty of warm clothes and the coldness only lasts for a little bit, by the end of july it´ll already pass by!! and sour patch kids of coarse!! but hey for real type me up some recipes of choco chip cookis, brownies, rice crispie treats, all sorts of goodies and send to me this next week, because our place where we eat is a member and she has an oven and she can make whatever!!! but garments would be nice i think i´m size 32! and some more fotos!!! so i can see how the fam is doing!!! well i´m studying in mosiah and its super skizz!!! alma the younger and the sons of mosiah we wicked but an angel appeared to them and they repented and became amazing missionaries!! repentance sure does work!! love you all take care and enjoy the heat
love elder olsen
I dont know why there are periods after every Word but oh well!1 this week was awesome, but really really cold!!! We have one investigator whos name is Gabriela and she is19 years old and is going to get baptized this Saturday!! Its kinda weird how we found her, we found one investigator named danise and she was progressing very well then she brought gabriella to church with her so we decided to put a baptisimal date for her also and she accepted and now it turns out that danise isn´t going to get baptized because her family is telling her a lot of things but gabriella is, so imagine if we never contacted danise, we never would have found gabriella, its weird how the lord works through other people!! Well its super cold here, its winter and its windy and wowsers!!! Supposedly for a month or so!! So guess what, I completed 10 months in the mission, how fast the time sure does fly!! My companion and I are working hard and finding new people because we only have one more week left in the transfer!! dude mother send me a chocolate chip cookie recipe because i want to make some really really bad!!!! and as far as garments go, yes i do need some more, but not thermals because i have plenty of warm clothes and the coldness only lasts for a little bit, by the end of july it´ll already pass by!! and sour patch kids of coarse!! but hey for real type me up some recipes of choco chip cookis, brownies, rice crispie treats, all sorts of goodies and send to me this next week, because our place where we eat is a member and she has an oven and she can make whatever!!! but garments would be nice i think i´m size 32! and some more fotos!!! so i can see how the fam is doing!!! well i´m studying in mosiah and its super skizz!!! alma the younger and the sons of mosiah we wicked but an angel appeared to them and they repented and became amazing missionaries!! repentance sure does work!! love you all take care and enjoy the heat
love elder olsen
Monday, June 20, 2011
June 20, 2011
hey mom whats up
well happy fathers day to bob yesterday!!! congrats
this week was awesome, my comp and i have been working our poopers off!!! we have found so many people doing contacts that are now going to get baptised!! well we have denise who is 22 and gabriella who is 19 and mario who is 17 and julia who is 45!! all of them are going to get baptised on the 2 of july!! yesterday they all came3 to church and loved it!! they are golden investigators and it is helpin us out alot!!! the lord is guiding us to the people who are ready to make the change in thier life!!! we barely have time to eat we are working so hard!! i gotta teach my kid how to work and were working!! bolivia is sooooo darn dirty!! the people here just throw their garbage in the street and it smells like crazy!!! but hey i´m not gonna say anything because if you saw what i lived in you would scream!! but dont worry we live fine and we eat fine and i get plenty to eat and drink!!! its just another world here!!!!! this week was super fast and we had just been working really hard with gabriela, she has so many great questions abot the purpose of this life, we taught her the plan of salvacion and helped her with alot of doubts!!! it seems like somebody has hurt her but she just wont say it, we gotta get it outtta her!!! but she is progressing alot!!!! i love you mother thats the wrap up on this week these four souls that shallsoon be saved
i lov eyou tell everyone hello!!! i still havent sent your letter because they are still not open!!! pretty gay
love elder olsen
well happy fathers day to bob yesterday!!! congrats
this week was awesome, my comp and i have been working our poopers off!!! we have found so many people doing contacts that are now going to get baptised!! well we have denise who is 22 and gabriella who is 19 and mario who is 17 and julia who is 45!! all of them are going to get baptised on the 2 of july!! yesterday they all came3 to church and loved it!! they are golden investigators and it is helpin us out alot!!! the lord is guiding us to the people who are ready to make the change in thier life!!! we barely have time to eat we are working so hard!! i gotta teach my kid how to work and were working!! bolivia is sooooo darn dirty!! the people here just throw their garbage in the street and it smells like crazy!!! but hey i´m not gonna say anything because if you saw what i lived in you would scream!! but dont worry we live fine and we eat fine and i get plenty to eat and drink!!! its just another world here!!!!! this week was super fast and we had just been working really hard with gabriela, she has so many great questions abot the purpose of this life, we taught her the plan of salvacion and helped her with alot of doubts!!! it seems like somebody has hurt her but she just wont say it, we gotta get it outtta her!!! but she is progressing alot!!!! i love you mother thats the wrap up on this week these four souls that shallsoon be saved
i lov eyou tell everyone hello!!! i still havent sent your letter because they are still not open!!! pretty gay
love elder olsen
June 12, 2011
whats up family!!! i´m so happy to hear everything that you tell me!!! and dont worry i didnt forget your birthday ty!! so HAPPY BIRTHDAY i have a letter to send off to you but the post office has been on strike for the past few weeks and i cant send anything!! they are just upset because the post office is old and it leaks on all the letters so they went on strike and i dont know for how long!!! but this week was awesome!! we have and investigator named denise and she is awesome, shes 22 and we´ve been teaching her for a while and she came to church yesterday and she has a baptisimal date on the 2nd of july and the better part is that she brought her friend and she also will have a baptisimal dat on the second of july wiht her!! you all sound like your going to be big grown ups when i get home!! congrats to alec for his talk and of coarse ty for the swimming records and his ability to slay it up in the ¡water!!!! and kess and oakley are probably big farts now!!! my comp and i are woking hard and trying to fiind alot of people and its working!!!! i love you very much!!! mom i have a giant favor i need you to do, my debit card expires in august of this year so i need someone to renew it and send me a new one, you can tell them not to activate it, and when i get it, i´ll email you and tell you that i got it son you can activate it!! thats the only thing i need!!!!!! please and thank you
ii llove you alllll
love elder olsen
ii llove you alllll
love elder olsen
June 5, 2011
Familia!!!
Whats up dudes whats going on!!! So guess what??? 9 months in the mission and going for ten!! Time sure does fly!! It sure does sound that everything continues to go well!! And i am so happy to hear the progress in the family! It makes me proud!! Well bolivia is doing good!! We had transfers and i stayed, i´m still district leader and i´m training a nig!!! A black boy!! Its sweet, he´s from the dominican republic and yes, they do speak spanish there and things are going great!!! Were working working working and we have one person with a baptisimal date for the 2 of july!! So when we got here with my new companion we went to a family which i had taught befor with my other companion and we taught them the resoration and the father got so excited and said that everytime we come to his house he just gets so excited and promised us that he would go to chruch on Sunday and guess what!!!!! They all went it was so awesome him, his wife and his two little kids!! And they promised us that next week they are going to come again!! We are going to visit them this week an put a baptisimal date!!!! Its sweet!! Time is flying so fast and i´ll be completing a year here shortly!!!
its nice to hear the progress of everyone!! i cant wait to play guitar with jake and swim with you all and milk cows with alec!! gonna be a blast!!! the mission is the best in the west and everyone of you little brothers of mine will serve a mission!!! thanks for the package and everything! sounds like you had fun in ogden and oakley riding the cat, i wanna try!!! i love you very much
love elder olsen
Whats up dudes whats going on!!! So guess what??? 9 months in the mission and going for ten!! Time sure does fly!! It sure does sound that everything continues to go well!! And i am so happy to hear the progress in the family! It makes me proud!! Well bolivia is doing good!! We had transfers and i stayed, i´m still district leader and i´m training a nig!!! A black boy!! Its sweet, he´s from the dominican republic and yes, they do speak spanish there and things are going great!!! Were working working working and we have one person with a baptisimal date for the 2 of july!! So when we got here with my new companion we went to a family which i had taught befor with my other companion and we taught them the resoration and the father got so excited and said that everytime we come to his house he just gets so excited and promised us that he would go to chruch on Sunday and guess what!!!!! They all went it was so awesome him, his wife and his two little kids!! And they promised us that next week they are going to come again!! We are going to visit them this week an put a baptisimal date!!!! Its sweet!! Time is flying so fast and i´ll be completing a year here shortly!!!
its nice to hear the progress of everyone!! i cant wait to play guitar with jake and swim with you all and milk cows with alec!! gonna be a blast!!! the mission is the best in the west and everyone of you little brothers of mine will serve a mission!!! thanks for the package and everything! sounds like you had fun in ogden and oakley riding the cat, i wanna try!!! i love you very much
love elder olsen
May 30, 2011
mother sorry sorry sorry sorry for this letter being so short but i got your package and i wanted to thank you for it!! this week was great and we have a baptism this next week!! here name is angelica and she is super excited we also have anothe one in july but i´ll be telling you more about that later on in themonth!! things are still the same here in boliva, i held a bunny today and its really really sandy!!! mother please forgive me for this letter!!! its so short but as missionaries we barely have time to go to the bathroom, you know whey they call it p day, cuase its the only day you can! let me know how everything is doing and i love you very much!! next week will be a better letter i promise
thank you mucho for the package!! i love you mother!
love your son
elder olsen
thank you mucho for the package!! i love you mother!
love your son
elder olsen
Monday, May 23, 2011
May 23, 2011
whats up how are things going!!! and yes HAPPY BIRTHDAY KESSLEY! she´s old now and she´s turning into a girl!! ´but sounds like the angel food cake wants me to eat it!!! save me a piece for when i get home!!! so yes i´m eating and taking care of myself, i just dont want to because its the same everyday and it gets really really old!!! yay for rice!!!this week was alright, our investigators didnt come to chruch so they lost their baptisimal date which sucks!! but with my companion we pretty much just started over looking for new people and we found a cousin of some members who sounds like she is relly interested and wants to get baptised!!! there are alot of drunk people here!! last night we were waiting for micro, like a bus type deal and thees drunk people came out of the bar, a guy and a few girls and they started yelling and arguing and the girl hit the guy and he fell down, he got up, she hit him again and he fell down then he got up and they both just went at it!! she kicked him in the goodies and punched him in the face then he started hitting her and punching her and it got pretty vicious, i wanted to go stop him from hitting her but i´m a missionry and i cant!! but then they stopped and went back into the bar!!! crazy
well we still dont have a bishop, the stake presidency is going to preside until we have one so we´ll just wait and see!!!i miss you all, i´m glad you got my letter and i´m waiting for the package!!!!!!!!!! i love you all
love elder olsen
well we still dont have a bishop, the stake presidency is going to preside until we have one so we´ll just wait and see!!!i miss you all, i´m glad you got my letter and i´m waiting for the package!!!!!!!!!! i love you all
love elder olsen
Monday, May 2, 2011
May 2, 2011
May 2, 2011
hey hey hey mother and fam!! como estan!!
things are going great here in bolivia!! so santa cruz is like a state and beni is another one, riberalta is in beni and la merced where i´m at now is in santa cruz! my mission includes santa cruz, beni, and a little bit of tarija!! this week went good, we put a baptisimal date on two people and they both accepted for the 21 of may!! one of them is ervin and he´s 18 years old!! yesterday he came to church with us and liked it!! our ward is falling apart, there isn´t a bishop and the members are wicked!! i´m not sure what happaned but nobody wants the bishop so the 1st councelor is the guy that runs the church, so as for now there in process of finding a new one. sounds like the weather there is changing into summer and here in santa cruz the opposite, its getting to be winter and its getting quite cold actually, we had to wear our suits and long sleeves, cold! so the mission home is where you send everything, no matter where i am at you send it there and when they get it, they send it to me wherever i´m at!! sound good?? so hows the fam doing, today i am sending letters to you guys so be looking for it! hows all the aunts and uncles and cousins? one thing that always always helps us realize how much of a "nothingness" we actually are to make us humble ourselves and realize that christ had is much much worse is learning about the thing thats the most important... the atonement of jesus christ!! alma 7 is quite good, and i suggest that you read all of alma because he does a good job of explaining about the importance of life, ressurrection, judgement, atonement and the life of christ!!! alma was a great missionary and prophet, so start now from chapter one and just read, however the end of alma just talks about war after war but its still great!!! sooooo guess what, IMPORTANT NEWS, this saturday i will be calling home for a pre-call to tell you when i´m going to call on sunday, mothers day!!! saturday i will be calling in the morning here at about 11 a.m. i think you guys are two or three hours behind but dont go anywhere saturday morning!! kapish?????? this saturday i will be calling for only five minutes to tell you that sunday were going to talk!! so saturday in the morning dont go anywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well i love you guys very much and we will be talking pronto
love elder olsen
hey hey hey mother and fam!! como estan!!
things are going great here in bolivia!! so santa cruz is like a state and beni is another one, riberalta is in beni and la merced where i´m at now is in santa cruz! my mission includes santa cruz, beni, and a little bit of tarija!! this week went good, we put a baptisimal date on two people and they both accepted for the 21 of may!! one of them is ervin and he´s 18 years old!! yesterday he came to church with us and liked it!! our ward is falling apart, there isn´t a bishop and the members are wicked!! i´m not sure what happaned but nobody wants the bishop so the 1st councelor is the guy that runs the church, so as for now there in process of finding a new one. sounds like the weather there is changing into summer and here in santa cruz the opposite, its getting to be winter and its getting quite cold actually, we had to wear our suits and long sleeves, cold! so the mission home is where you send everything, no matter where i am at you send it there and when they get it, they send it to me wherever i´m at!! sound good?? so hows the fam doing, today i am sending letters to you guys so be looking for it! hows all the aunts and uncles and cousins? one thing that always always helps us realize how much of a "nothingness" we actually are to make us humble ourselves and realize that christ had is much much worse is learning about the thing thats the most important... the atonement of jesus christ!! alma 7 is quite good, and i suggest that you read all of alma because he does a good job of explaining about the importance of life, ressurrection, judgement, atonement and the life of christ!!! alma was a great missionary and prophet, so start now from chapter one and just read, however the end of alma just talks about war after war but its still great!!! sooooo guess what, IMPORTANT NEWS, this saturday i will be calling home for a pre-call to tell you when i´m going to call on sunday, mothers day!!! saturday i will be calling in the morning here at about 11 a.m. i think you guys are two or three hours behind but dont go anywhere saturday morning!! kapish?????? this saturday i will be calling for only five minutes to tell you that sunday were going to talk!! so saturday in the morning dont go anywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well i love you guys very much and we will be talking pronto
love elder olsen
April 25, 2011
fam.
wow this week has been crazy. so we had transfers and yes, i got transfered out of riberalta to santa cruz, another little town farther out from the center and instead of red dirt its all sand, kinda weird but yes sand everywhere and horses everywhere, its a little bit bigger than riberalta but not much nicer, the people here are pretty much the same but its alot more dangerous here! so as of right now i´m just getting to know my area and the members here and everything. i´m the district leader so ive got alot to take care of but its all working out great. my comp is elder albino from bolivia, hes super cool and were working hard to get our goals. we also had a baptism saturday, a 17 year old girl named jimena, it was pretty sweet but i barely know her so now i´m getting to know things here better. nothing much has really happened this week other than the transfers and me getting to know the area, this next week will be a good one because we have already found a person and put a baptisimal date on him, however his grandma is already a member but hey, another baptism.! lifes good here, its hard but good, the lord blesses me very much as well as he does you guys, i´m glad to hear that bob is starting to work, its better than nothing! mom. i want peanut butter!! i want 50 bottles of jiff peanut butter! well next week i´ll have more for you! i love you guys, tell everyone hello and congrats to cameron!
love elder olsen
wow this week has been crazy. so we had transfers and yes, i got transfered out of riberalta to santa cruz, another little town farther out from the center and instead of red dirt its all sand, kinda weird but yes sand everywhere and horses everywhere, its a little bit bigger than riberalta but not much nicer, the people here are pretty much the same but its alot more dangerous here! so as of right now i´m just getting to know my area and the members here and everything. i´m the district leader so ive got alot to take care of but its all working out great. my comp is elder albino from bolivia, hes super cool and were working hard to get our goals. we also had a baptism saturday, a 17 year old girl named jimena, it was pretty sweet but i barely know her so now i´m getting to know things here better. nothing much has really happened this week other than the transfers and me getting to know the area, this next week will be a good one because we have already found a person and put a baptisimal date on him, however his grandma is already a member but hey, another baptism.! lifes good here, its hard but good, the lord blesses me very much as well as he does you guys, i´m glad to hear that bob is starting to work, its better than nothing! mom. i want peanut butter!! i want 50 bottles of jiff peanut butter! well next week i´ll have more for you! i love you guys, tell everyone hello and congrats to cameron!
love elder olsen
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
April 18, 2011
Hola familia!!
This week was a hard one! Trying to complete all the goals and pushing
myself harder than ever to get stuff done!!! Turns out the mission can
be really hard work sometimes! We had our one investigator with a
baptisimal date and he is so not showing that he´s ready to get
baptised and he didn´t show up to church and now he´s lost his
baptisimal date! So we went and visited him and we told him and he
just said he´ll just wait until he gets back from brasil in about a
month or so!!! Ya totally bites!! So our weekly goal of lessons with a
member is 15 and up to yesterday we only had 5 so I sent my companion
with another elder who is still waiting for his companion and I worked
with a member! We left church at noon and skipped lunch and started
knocking doors trying to get lesson after lesson and contact after
contact! Well we ended up completing our goals and did 8 lessons with
a member, 2 new converts and less actives and 1 other lesson!! That’s
what I call work! I´m super tired by we completed our goals and that’s
all that matters! We´ve been trying to find people lately but were
just having a period of bad luck and we cant find the right people!!
We just keep finding the people that don´t want to progress and that
only want to talk about god!!! It can be very very stressfull
sometimes but the lord has blessed me with patience!! Well the
transfers are this Wednesday and i´m kinda thinking I might go because
I have been here in riberalta for 6 months, but Tuesday night they are
going to call and we shall find our fate!! Things are going good In
bolivia, the heat is comin on in, it continues to rain every once in a
while but mostly humidity is what settles here! Work, work and more
work like I said right now we haven´t found anyone “special” yet but
were working on it, we might have a few that could be progressors but
as of now were still searching!! Spanish Is coming really good, I wish
I was with a latino so I could speak more and learn more cause
training a gringo sure doesn´t help with my Spanish ya know!! But I
guess it really helps him!! So how are you all doing at home!! Whats
new! Glad to hear that blessings are getting handed out to you all
daily!! I´m learning a lot about the scriptures and I cant wait to get
home to share everything that’s being learned!!! Well I love you all
very much and I pray for you daily! Never forget that the next life is
better than this! And our success is a reflection of our choices we
make! Get to know yourselves!! Then you´ll know of your purpose here
in this life and the duties you are to complete to help the lord build
his kingdom on the earth! And I promise that as soon as you find out
who you are you will wish you would have tried harder! That’s a quote
from pres. Eyering! Lets all learn from it
I love you! Your all in my thoughts and prayers
Love elder olsen
This week was a hard one! Trying to complete all the goals and pushing
myself harder than ever to get stuff done!!! Turns out the mission can
be really hard work sometimes! We had our one investigator with a
baptisimal date and he is so not showing that he´s ready to get
baptised and he didn´t show up to church and now he´s lost his
baptisimal date! So we went and visited him and we told him and he
just said he´ll just wait until he gets back from brasil in about a
month or so!!! Ya totally bites!! So our weekly goal of lessons with a
member is 15 and up to yesterday we only had 5 so I sent my companion
with another elder who is still waiting for his companion and I worked
with a member! We left church at noon and skipped lunch and started
knocking doors trying to get lesson after lesson and contact after
contact! Well we ended up completing our goals and did 8 lessons with
a member, 2 new converts and less actives and 1 other lesson!! That’s
what I call work! I´m super tired by we completed our goals and that’s
all that matters! We´ve been trying to find people lately but were
just having a period of bad luck and we cant find the right people!!
We just keep finding the people that don´t want to progress and that
only want to talk about god!!! It can be very very stressfull
sometimes but the lord has blessed me with patience!! Well the
transfers are this Wednesday and i´m kinda thinking I might go because
I have been here in riberalta for 6 months, but Tuesday night they are
going to call and we shall find our fate!! Things are going good In
bolivia, the heat is comin on in, it continues to rain every once in a
while but mostly humidity is what settles here! Work, work and more
work like I said right now we haven´t found anyone “special” yet but
were working on it, we might have a few that could be progressors but
as of now were still searching!! Spanish Is coming really good, I wish
I was with a latino so I could speak more and learn more cause
training a gringo sure doesn´t help with my Spanish ya know!! But I
guess it really helps him!! So how are you all doing at home!! Whats
new! Glad to hear that blessings are getting handed out to you all
daily!! I´m learning a lot about the scriptures and I cant wait to get
home to share everything that’s being learned!!! Well I love you all
very much and I pray for you daily! Never forget that the next life is
better than this! And our success is a reflection of our choices we
make! Get to know yourselves!! Then you´ll know of your purpose here
in this life and the duties you are to complete to help the lord build
his kingdom on the earth! And I promise that as soon as you find out
who you are you will wish you would have tried harder! That’s a quote
from pres. Eyering! Lets all learn from it
I love you! Your all in my thoughts and prayers
Love elder olsen
Monday, April 11, 2011
April 11, 2011
Buenos Dias familia!!!
How is it all going dudes!!! Well this week was pretty good, minus the
investigator part!! So we have an investigator named Rony who is 17.
We found him contacting one day and he fell in love with the gospel.
We taught him the first time about families and then we went back and
slayed the baptisimal lesson!!! He accepted his date for the 16th of
april and we continued to teach him meanwhile, lesson after lesson, we
taught him the word of wisdom and that was hard for him because he
smokes and drinks like everyone else here but he accepted to live it,
then we taught him about the law of chastity and that pretty much
killed him!! He says he has a girlfriend and….ya…. but he accepted to
live it and everything was going great until Saturday. We had his
interview and he never showed up, then Sunday came along and he didn´t
show up at church!!we passed by his house in the morning to get him
and his two little sisters came out and said he wasn´t there but then
they both told us “ were going to go to church with you “ a 10 year
old and an 8 year old so sure enough they came to church with us and
they stayed for all and they absolutely loved it and said they´re
going to go everyweek!! Kinda weird but hey at least someone from his
family is going, so we had to go back to his house and move his
baptisimal date back a week until the 23rd because we needs to atleast
assist 3 times to church to get baptized. But he´s still excited!!! So
cambios are in a week and i´m super excited!! I think i´m outta here!!
I´ve been in riberalta for 6 months so I think its my turn to
bounce!!! Well this week my comp and I completed all of our daily
goals which president absolutely loves!! We found a lot of new
investigators that I think will progress so hey, i´m not
complaining!!! The lord sure guides us to the people he has prepared!
Spanish is great, life is great!! I love the mission and want it to
last forever! Although at times it can be difficult, the end result is
worth it all!!! Doctrine and covenants 15 truly describes what i´m
trying to say so go read it!! My English grammer is getting horrible
because i´m speaking too much Spanish!!! Nice!
well mother i did end up getting your package and thanks!!!! that was
perfect!! the tuna was delish!!! and yes i do need some more things..
i was wondering if you could send me a new journal one with alot of
pages prefferably, mines starting to run out, also maybe some packets
of double a batteries, the ones here are not the best, and also was
wondering if you could send me back my sd card with all my pics from
the mtc on it!!! those will be it for now if you could do that i would
love you even more!!!;) ha!! well i love you all and i pray for you
all every day!!! i pray for bob so keep that faith up!!
love elder olsen
How is it all going dudes!!! Well this week was pretty good, minus the
investigator part!! So we have an investigator named Rony who is 17.
We found him contacting one day and he fell in love with the gospel.
We taught him the first time about families and then we went back and
slayed the baptisimal lesson!!! He accepted his date for the 16th of
april and we continued to teach him meanwhile, lesson after lesson, we
taught him the word of wisdom and that was hard for him because he
smokes and drinks like everyone else here but he accepted to live it,
then we taught him about the law of chastity and that pretty much
killed him!! He says he has a girlfriend and….ya…. but he accepted to
live it and everything was going great until Saturday. We had his
interview and he never showed up, then Sunday came along and he didn´t
show up at church!!we passed by his house in the morning to get him
and his two little sisters came out and said he wasn´t there but then
they both told us “ were going to go to church with you “ a 10 year
old and an 8 year old so sure enough they came to church with us and
they stayed for all and they absolutely loved it and said they´re
going to go everyweek!! Kinda weird but hey at least someone from his
family is going, so we had to go back to his house and move his
baptisimal date back a week until the 23rd because we needs to atleast
assist 3 times to church to get baptized. But he´s still excited!!! So
cambios are in a week and i´m super excited!! I think i´m outta here!!
I´ve been in riberalta for 6 months so I think its my turn to
bounce!!! Well this week my comp and I completed all of our daily
goals which president absolutely loves!! We found a lot of new
investigators that I think will progress so hey, i´m not
complaining!!! The lord sure guides us to the people he has prepared!
Spanish is great, life is great!! I love the mission and want it to
last forever! Although at times it can be difficult, the end result is
worth it all!!! Doctrine and covenants 15 truly describes what i´m
trying to say so go read it!! My English grammer is getting horrible
because i´m speaking too much Spanish!!! Nice!
well mother i did end up getting your package and thanks!!!! that was
perfect!! the tuna was delish!!! and yes i do need some more things..
i was wondering if you could send me a new journal one with alot of
pages prefferably, mines starting to run out, also maybe some packets
of double a batteries, the ones here are not the best, and also was
wondering if you could send me back my sd card with all my pics from
the mtc on it!!! those will be it for now if you could do that i would
love you even more!!!;) ha!! well i love you all and i pray for you
all every day!!! i pray for bob so keep that faith up!!
love elder olsen
Monday, April 4, 2011
April 4, 2011
hello mother and family!!! this week was great! each and every day we
had something nice happen, but right after the saturday afternoon
conference session, which was amazing, my companion and i went out to
do some contacts! we completed all of them and started to head to a
lesson that we had planned, we passed a small wooden house and said
hello and kept walking but then i had the feeling to go back. so not
doubting the spirit i turned right around and started talking to her,
she gladly let us in her house and we started off by teaching about
faith!! all went well then i asked her if she had any questions or
anything she wanted to say,.. yes, she says, i´m not baptised, i grew
up all my life with my family and never got baptised, right now i go
to the catholic church but like i said i´m not baptised and i want you
guys to incluide me in your church and baptise
me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What!!!!!! is was super sweet!!! so we got
all excited and started telling her that we will start helping her so
she can and that we gotta keep visiting her to help her know of some
things the lord wants her to do so she´ll be ready!!! it was
awesome!!! as of now were just waiting for the next appointment to
slam the baptisimal question and put a date down!!! gnarly
so hows that mother!!! i know you wanna hear from me alot more and
wanna know alot more about the mission life and i´m sorry that i´m
slacking!! i´ll try my hardest, its just sometimes hare to focus on
what i did and remember what i did while i´m typing cause i´m trying
to answer all the questions people ask me and try to respond back to
how well it sounds like all the family is and forget to mention a
little somethin somethin about the mission life but i´ll change
that!!! i´m a totally different person now, if only you could talk to
me to see for yourself!! you may think that i´m not a talkative person
like i used to be, but the mission sure changes a person and makes you
do things sometimes even if you dont want to!! its quite the growing
experience!!! i feel like i´m 40 years old taking care of all these
crazy bolivians!! time is flying here in the mission, i have been out
over 7 months now and the time just keeps disappearing!! conference
was super sweet!! pres. monson is a wise man! didn´t you notice how
much they talked about the temple and families, interesting eh!!! GO
TO THE TEMPLE!!!! we have one 5 minutes away and dont take advantage
of it, the one here is hours and hours away and people do the
imposible to get there!!! we dont realize how lucky we are!!! the
temple is the mediator between heaven and earth!! the veil really is
as thin as paper!!! well fam. i love you all and keep telling me good
stuff!!
love elder olsen
had something nice happen, but right after the saturday afternoon
conference session, which was amazing, my companion and i went out to
do some contacts! we completed all of them and started to head to a
lesson that we had planned, we passed a small wooden house and said
hello and kept walking but then i had the feeling to go back. so not
doubting the spirit i turned right around and started talking to her,
she gladly let us in her house and we started off by teaching about
faith!! all went well then i asked her if she had any questions or
anything she wanted to say,.. yes, she says, i´m not baptised, i grew
up all my life with my family and never got baptised, right now i go
to the catholic church but like i said i´m not baptised and i want you
guys to incluide me in your church and baptise
me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What!!!!!! is was super sweet!!! so we got
all excited and started telling her that we will start helping her so
she can and that we gotta keep visiting her to help her know of some
things the lord wants her to do so she´ll be ready!!! it was
awesome!!! as of now were just waiting for the next appointment to
slam the baptisimal question and put a date down!!! gnarly
so hows that mother!!! i know you wanna hear from me alot more and
wanna know alot more about the mission life and i´m sorry that i´m
slacking!! i´ll try my hardest, its just sometimes hare to focus on
what i did and remember what i did while i´m typing cause i´m trying
to answer all the questions people ask me and try to respond back to
how well it sounds like all the family is and forget to mention a
little somethin somethin about the mission life but i´ll change
that!!! i´m a totally different person now, if only you could talk to
me to see for yourself!! you may think that i´m not a talkative person
like i used to be, but the mission sure changes a person and makes you
do things sometimes even if you dont want to!! its quite the growing
experience!!! i feel like i´m 40 years old taking care of all these
crazy bolivians!! time is flying here in the mission, i have been out
over 7 months now and the time just keeps disappearing!! conference
was super sweet!! pres. monson is a wise man! didn´t you notice how
much they talked about the temple and families, interesting eh!!! GO
TO THE TEMPLE!!!! we have one 5 minutes away and dont take advantage
of it, the one here is hours and hours away and people do the
imposible to get there!!! we dont realize how lucky we are!!! the
temple is the mediator between heaven and earth!! the veil really is
as thin as paper!!! well fam. i love you all and keep telling me good
stuff!!
love elder olsen
Monday, March 21, 2011
March 21, 2011
FAmilia!!!
first things first!! happy birthday to mother and oakley last week, i didn´t forget your birthdays, i just forgot to tell you last week!! but i promise i didn´t forget them and i even wrote you a letter with some pictures saying happy birthday so you´ll be getting that in a bit!!! and yes i have seen that movie, and its quite funny!!!!! its kinda what a mission is like but not really exactly!!! i´m still in riberalta but i´m training an elder from hawaii but moved to sandy when he was young!! look him up on facebook mika fonoimoana!! from sandy utah! go look him up and you´ll meet my companion! training is pretty fun and as well as the spanish goes, its perfect!!!! because my comp doesnt speak spanish so i´m the interpreter and helper for him!!! spanish really is awesome now, i can understand and speak just fine!! i love it!!! so tell me how your birthday was, guess what, i got sick too, right now ive got a cough and sore throat!! sounds like your luck came my way!!! i bet oakley is super huge now and talkes all the time!!! i miss that girl as well as everyone home!!! me and my comp are having some success, we have a lot of baptisimal dates on some families but the bad part is that they aren´t married!!! so we gotta get them all married which ends up being a hasstle but its all good!!! the next transfers are in april, 20 and i´m almost certain that i´ll be gone!!! i´ve been in riberalta for 6 months, thats a long long time!! but the time sure does fly!!!! well i love you guys so much, be looking for your letter mom!!! i promise i didn´t forget your birthdays! happy 29th birthday! enjoy being young! i love you aloooooooooottttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
love your son
elder brady cade olsen
first things first!! happy birthday to mother and oakley last week, i didn´t forget your birthdays, i just forgot to tell you last week!! but i promise i didn´t forget them and i even wrote you a letter with some pictures saying happy birthday so you´ll be getting that in a bit!!! and yes i have seen that movie, and its quite funny!!!!! its kinda what a mission is like but not really exactly!!! i´m still in riberalta but i´m training an elder from hawaii but moved to sandy when he was young!! look him up on facebook mika fonoimoana!! from sandy utah! go look him up and you´ll meet my companion! training is pretty fun and as well as the spanish goes, its perfect!!!! because my comp doesnt speak spanish so i´m the interpreter and helper for him!!! spanish really is awesome now, i can understand and speak just fine!! i love it!!! so tell me how your birthday was, guess what, i got sick too, right now ive got a cough and sore throat!! sounds like your luck came my way!!! i bet oakley is super huge now and talkes all the time!!! i miss that girl as well as everyone home!!! me and my comp are having some success, we have a lot of baptisimal dates on some families but the bad part is that they aren´t married!!! so we gotta get them all married which ends up being a hasstle but its all good!!! the next transfers are in april, 20 and i´m almost certain that i´ll be gone!!! i´ve been in riberalta for 6 months, thats a long long time!! but the time sure does fly!!!! well i love you guys so much, be looking for your letter mom!!! i promise i didn´t forget your birthdays! happy 29th birthday! enjoy being young! i love you aloooooooooottttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
love your son
elder brady cade olsen
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
February 28, 2011
hello mother dear!!! yes alottttttt of people sure did email me but
hey i´ll write as much as i can!!! first things first, we had three
baptisms this past saturday so the lord is making us successful! my
comp is super cool from arizona, we get along absolutely great no
contention between us! we find lots and lots of people! we work our
behinds off and have had lots and lots of success! this transfer we
have already had 5 baptisms and lots more to come! the jungle is where
i live, literally the jungle, right in the middle! lots and lots of
animals, we played with somebodys pet monkey the other day which was
super duper gnarly! lots and lots of just stray dogs in the streets,
they all have diseases and are half dead, literally billions of
chickens just everywhere! and bugs the size of a soccer ball!
mosquitoes like crazy but we sleep with a mosquito net, its rain
season and it litteraly floods the entire city, the streets are pure
water like noah and the arc, literally poors and poors and we cant
leave the house, it poors so much that all the little boliavans can
swim in the streets is so deep! but they say its like this until the
middle of march so well see!!! we already have transfers this 9th of
march so we´ll see if they send me out of riberalta, i´ve already been
here for 4 and a half months! thats 3 transfers! so here in south
america they have something called carnaval where they just party, i
mean everyone just goes out in the streets and is just party after
party after party, not sure what they do cause i´ve never experienced
one for myself but us missionaries will be stuck in the house until
its over and it goes on the entire week! so we´ll will be in the house
just reading, sleeping, not sure what we´ll be doing but for about 3
to four days i´m guessing we will be stuck in the house!! the people
hear just go crazy and dont respect the missionaries so we gotta take
care of ourselves and be safe!! so i´ve seen some sloths here, pretty
sweet and super super slow! got plenty of photos but when i´m in santa
cruz and the internet is better i´ll be able to send you some! i sent
you a letter so be looking for it!! i´ve gotten all my packages and
letters so far, they always come, just sometimes takes a little longer
but i get them!!! i´m certainly missing the snow!! lucky familia!!
happy birthday bob hope everything is going good, i pray for you all
every day! love you
love elder olsen
hey i´ll write as much as i can!!! first things first, we had three
baptisms this past saturday so the lord is making us successful! my
comp is super cool from arizona, we get along absolutely great no
contention between us! we find lots and lots of people! we work our
behinds off and have had lots and lots of success! this transfer we
have already had 5 baptisms and lots more to come! the jungle is where
i live, literally the jungle, right in the middle! lots and lots of
animals, we played with somebodys pet monkey the other day which was
super duper gnarly! lots and lots of just stray dogs in the streets,
they all have diseases and are half dead, literally billions of
chickens just everywhere! and bugs the size of a soccer ball!
mosquitoes like crazy but we sleep with a mosquito net, its rain
season and it litteraly floods the entire city, the streets are pure
water like noah and the arc, literally poors and poors and we cant
leave the house, it poors so much that all the little boliavans can
swim in the streets is so deep! but they say its like this until the
middle of march so well see!!! we already have transfers this 9th of
march so we´ll see if they send me out of riberalta, i´ve already been
here for 4 and a half months! thats 3 transfers! so here in south
america they have something called carnaval where they just party, i
mean everyone just goes out in the streets and is just party after
party after party, not sure what they do cause i´ve never experienced
one for myself but us missionaries will be stuck in the house until
its over and it goes on the entire week! so we´ll will be in the house
just reading, sleeping, not sure what we´ll be doing but for about 3
to four days i´m guessing we will be stuck in the house!! the people
hear just go crazy and dont respect the missionaries so we gotta take
care of ourselves and be safe!! so i´ve seen some sloths here, pretty
sweet and super super slow! got plenty of photos but when i´m in santa
cruz and the internet is better i´ll be able to send you some! i sent
you a letter so be looking for it!! i´ve gotten all my packages and
letters so far, they always come, just sometimes takes a little longer
but i get them!!! i´m certainly missing the snow!! lucky familia!!
happy birthday bob hope everything is going good, i pray for you all
every day! love you
love elder olsen
February 22, 2011
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! snow!!! that looks super
delicious to my eyeballs!! i wish i could exprience something like
that but no, its just super duper hot and its rain season!! it pretty
much poors everysingle day and floods the streets! but the people are
great! its not much different than anywhere else, they are all just
normal people who sometimes want to listen and sometimes dont! but all
in all its good, everyone usually listens but just thinks were other
believers there to talk about god! but tsall good! so i´m sure that
kessley is huge now and i am almost guaranteed that i wont recognize
her at all and as for oakley thats kind strange! but hey shes a little
kid with a giant imagination! everything is great in bolivia, we have
2 more bapisms this weekend a 23 year old and a 10 year old who are
ready to be baptized! they are both great people! so i got your
letters!! thnks muchisimo! everything seems to be going a.o.k. hows
everything going with bob and stuff! found anything yet? my companion
is great, we always talk in spaish but sometimes we need to speak in
english to get a point across! we get along absolutely great and love
it!! we have transfers the 9the of may!! i sent you letters with
photos so be looking for those!! i love you alll alot!!!!!!!!!!
muchisimo
love elder olsen p.s. i am pretty sure i have josh´s address and as
far as the news letter, doesn´t really matter to me, if you wan to
then i want to!!! :)
delicious to my eyeballs!! i wish i could exprience something like
that but no, its just super duper hot and its rain season!! it pretty
much poors everysingle day and floods the streets! but the people are
great! its not much different than anywhere else, they are all just
normal people who sometimes want to listen and sometimes dont! but all
in all its good, everyone usually listens but just thinks were other
believers there to talk about god! but tsall good! so i´m sure that
kessley is huge now and i am almost guaranteed that i wont recognize
her at all and as for oakley thats kind strange! but hey shes a little
kid with a giant imagination! everything is great in bolivia, we have
2 more bapisms this weekend a 23 year old and a 10 year old who are
ready to be baptized! they are both great people! so i got your
letters!! thnks muchisimo! everything seems to be going a.o.k. hows
everything going with bob and stuff! found anything yet? my companion
is great, we always talk in spaish but sometimes we need to speak in
english to get a point across! we get along absolutely great and love
it!! we have transfers the 9the of may!! i sent you letters with
photos so be looking for those!! i love you alll alot!!!!!!!!!!
muchisimo
love elder olsen p.s. i am pretty sure i have josh´s address and as
far as the news letter, doesn´t really matter to me, if you wan to
then i want to!!! :)
Monday, February 14, 2011
hola familia!!! sounds like the same things are happening to alec that happened to me except mine was two teeth and two root canals!! even cooler and more gnarley so go chip your other one and you´ll be even with me!!! hey the baptisms were great and everything was sweet!!! got your package!! thanks very much!! bolivia is crazy cool and i´m gonna try to send some pictures so hopefully it works!! but hey everyone is growing up and things seem to be working out for everyone!! and kessley excited for school and i can even imagine how big she is getting!! hey do me a favor and when i get home, dont cook me any more rice!! all i want is sloppy joes and spaghetti right now!! especially sloppy joes!! so they only have on type of cheese here and its white, not really sure what kind and its super duper salty!! but i learned how to make empanadas and when i get home were gonna make them!!! its just a delicious type of food stuffed with meat cheese and stuff!! sounds like the snow is totally gone too!! that bites but i guess its all good because i cant see it anyway!!! and the sounds for sunday sounds delightful!! what a wonderful day it sounds like you had!! still waiting for your letters but they´ll come, i always get everything weather it be sooner or later! tell everyone hello for me and that i´m doing good! i´ll print some more photos and send them cause i dont know if its gonna work through internet, the internet really chupa here and is super slow!! love you guys very much
love elder olsen
love elder olsen
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
February 8th letter
what up familia!!!
thank you so so much for the letter my dearest mother!!! me hizo tener lagrimas!! find out what that means! so ty is the mascott!! super dope sounds like hes got a futer in making people laugh!! as well as the play, funny eh, ty made it and ashley didn´t!! he´s got quite the talent!! proud of him! and as far as alec, i´m sure hes giant, he was about to pass me up when i left and i wouldn´t be surprised if he did by the time i get home!! keep playing soccer and before you know it you´ll be on the highschool team!! super skizzy!! and oakly, i cant even imagine how big that fart is!! she probably has hair and talks like a maniac!! and when i get home, wow she´ll be a teenager!! as well as kessley!! seriously i believe that i wont recognize her when i get home!!! she will probably be starting her transfer from a girl into a woman, what a beautiful girl she is!!! don´t worry, i haven´t missed you guys in my prayers since the day i got in the mtc and in everysingle prayer i pray for bob to find a job and for you to be the happiest mother in the world and to have all the help that you need so you can get everything done!!! just know that in order for you guys to receive these blessings you have to do your part!!! just prayin isn´t gonna do anything!!! read james 2!! faith without works is dead! just like the body without spirit is dead, faith without works is dead!!! i know that you guys are doing amazing because i am so happy!!! and every letter makes me miss you even more!!!! the fact that i don´t have to wory about the world is amazing!! everyday i feel the spirit and have such love for the people, i just want everyone to know that they have to get baptized or they can not be saved!!!!!! always put got first and seriously dont worry about everything!!!! we have trials in our lives so god can see if we really have faith and what were gonna do, if we´ll follow satan or him!!! so show him you love him like you do everyday!!!! thanks for everthing mother i havent received anything yet but hopefully its on its way!!!! yes i moved houses and my new companion is from the usa from arizona!!! elder haws is his name and were just slaying it up here in bolivia!!!! the president must have alot of trust putting two new north americans together!!! my spanish is amazing!!! learn so much everyday as well as the scriptures, my knowledge of the scriptures both the bible and book of mormon are increasing tremendously!!! i love you blessed mother to whom i came into this life!! your everything to me just know that and forgive me for anything i have ever done to make you sad!!! thats never the way treat a mother!!!! go be happy and receive a blessings!!! i always give the example to people that god has a box of blessings that he wants to give to us and when we do whats right we receive them and when we do whats wrong, he takes them away one by one!!! the people always listen but never understand, they all think that all churches are ok because they all talk about god so we make them understand and pretty much rule the town!!! people get scared of us because we know so much and when we bible bash, the others just get made and run away!!! we have two baptisms this weekend and another one on the 26th. an investigator who we taught that recently just told us that he wants to get baptised!! how great!!! i love my life and i´m extremely happy!!! i would never have found this happiness if i didn´t come here!!! my mission makes my life and turns me into the man i want to become!!! never will i regret this decision and i hope for every brother of mine to follow in my footsteps, which are the footsteps of christ!!! i love you all and i´m doing amazing
love your son elder olsen
thank you so so much for the letter my dearest mother!!! me hizo tener lagrimas!! find out what that means! so ty is the mascott!! super dope sounds like hes got a futer in making people laugh!! as well as the play, funny eh, ty made it and ashley didn´t!! he´s got quite the talent!! proud of him! and as far as alec, i´m sure hes giant, he was about to pass me up when i left and i wouldn´t be surprised if he did by the time i get home!! keep playing soccer and before you know it you´ll be on the highschool team!! super skizzy!! and oakly, i cant even imagine how big that fart is!! she probably has hair and talks like a maniac!! and when i get home, wow she´ll be a teenager!! as well as kessley!! seriously i believe that i wont recognize her when i get home!!! she will probably be starting her transfer from a girl into a woman, what a beautiful girl she is!!! don´t worry, i haven´t missed you guys in my prayers since the day i got in the mtc and in everysingle prayer i pray for bob to find a job and for you to be the happiest mother in the world and to have all the help that you need so you can get everything done!!! just know that in order for you guys to receive these blessings you have to do your part!!! just prayin isn´t gonna do anything!!! read james 2!! faith without works is dead! just like the body without spirit is dead, faith without works is dead!!! i know that you guys are doing amazing because i am so happy!!! and every letter makes me miss you even more!!!! the fact that i don´t have to wory about the world is amazing!! everyday i feel the spirit and have such love for the people, i just want everyone to know that they have to get baptized or they can not be saved!!!!!! always put got first and seriously dont worry about everything!!!! we have trials in our lives so god can see if we really have faith and what were gonna do, if we´ll follow satan or him!!! so show him you love him like you do everyday!!!! thanks for everthing mother i havent received anything yet but hopefully its on its way!!!! yes i moved houses and my new companion is from the usa from arizona!!! elder haws is his name and were just slaying it up here in bolivia!!!! the president must have alot of trust putting two new north americans together!!! my spanish is amazing!!! learn so much everyday as well as the scriptures, my knowledge of the scriptures both the bible and book of mormon are increasing tremendously!!! i love you blessed mother to whom i came into this life!! your everything to me just know that and forgive me for anything i have ever done to make you sad!!! thats never the way treat a mother!!!! go be happy and receive a blessings!!! i always give the example to people that god has a box of blessings that he wants to give to us and when we do whats right we receive them and when we do whats wrong, he takes them away one by one!!! the people always listen but never understand, they all think that all churches are ok because they all talk about god so we make them understand and pretty much rule the town!!! people get scared of us because we know so much and when we bible bash, the others just get made and run away!!! we have two baptisms this weekend and another one on the 26th. an investigator who we taught that recently just told us that he wants to get baptised!! how great!!! i love my life and i´m extremely happy!!! i would never have found this happiness if i didn´t come here!!! my mission makes my life and turns me into the man i want to become!!! never will i regret this decision and i hope for every brother of mine to follow in my footsteps, which are the footsteps of christ!!! i love you all and i´m doing amazing
love your son elder olsen
Monday, January 31, 2011
January 31st letter
Hola Familia!!!
Comó Están? How in the wonderful world of Disney are you guys doing!!
I´m doing absolutely amazing!! Well yes I got transferred but guess
what,… right next door, i´m still in riberalta but just in a different
area its like as if I was in wellsville and got transferred to hyrum!
And my companion is elder haws, from my group another American! From
Arizona he´s great!! Were doing really good here and it’s a little bit
tougher for us cause were both Americans and don’t speak the best
Spanish but its coming along great, we really have to work hard to
have success!! I´m not too familiar with this area but yesterday we
met an investigator that a friend brought to church, we went to his
has last night and taught him bautism and put a baptismal date for the
19 of February and he accepted!! Were doing pretty good as gringos!
It’s the raining season so its really really really coming down, like
flash floods basically pretty skizzy! Every p day we take our laundry
to some lady so she can wash it for us and yes of coarse its all by
hand! Most of the people have electricity and running water…no!!! you
cant use the water for anything, the all use wells, the only type of
running water they would have is for a shower if their lucky! But yes
us missionaries do have everything, it may not be nice at all but we
have it! We have whats called a pension where we eat lunch everyday
and the church pays for it and its just rice rice and more rice so do
me a favor, when I get home, don’t ask me if I want rice!! Ok ?? well
how are you guys doing!! How is school and all the kids doing!! Is
there still snow, is it cold or whats up with the weather doc.!! Sorry
I don’t have much time ever to write everyone but let them know that I
try and I atleast sent some letters!! But anyways that’s the recap on
this week, not too much because i´m in a new area but its going along
quite well!! Miss you all like crazy and when I get home….were goin
campin.!! Always remember that you have the truth and always always
always!....BE HAPPY! You´ve got eternal life, don’t worry about a
single thing and just live everyday like it’s the last!! I love you
guys very very much and tell everyone hello for me!! Por favor! I´m
doing great! Just be happy! Its super super hottttt here then it rains
and cools down then its humid then its hottttt then it rains, you just
never know what the temperature is going to be!
Love superman
Elder olsen
Comó Están? How in the wonderful world of Disney are you guys doing!!
I´m doing absolutely amazing!! Well yes I got transferred but guess
what,… right next door, i´m still in riberalta but just in a different
area its like as if I was in wellsville and got transferred to hyrum!
And my companion is elder haws, from my group another American! From
Arizona he´s great!! Were doing really good here and it’s a little bit
tougher for us cause were both Americans and don’t speak the best
Spanish but its coming along great, we really have to work hard to
have success!! I´m not too familiar with this area but yesterday we
met an investigator that a friend brought to church, we went to his
has last night and taught him bautism and put a baptismal date for the
19 of February and he accepted!! Were doing pretty good as gringos!
It’s the raining season so its really really really coming down, like
flash floods basically pretty skizzy! Every p day we take our laundry
to some lady so she can wash it for us and yes of coarse its all by
hand! Most of the people have electricity and running water…no!!! you
cant use the water for anything, the all use wells, the only type of
running water they would have is for a shower if their lucky! But yes
us missionaries do have everything, it may not be nice at all but we
have it! We have whats called a pension where we eat lunch everyday
and the church pays for it and its just rice rice and more rice so do
me a favor, when I get home, don’t ask me if I want rice!! Ok ?? well
how are you guys doing!! How is school and all the kids doing!! Is
there still snow, is it cold or whats up with the weather doc.!! Sorry
I don’t have much time ever to write everyone but let them know that I
try and I atleast sent some letters!! But anyways that’s the recap on
this week, not too much because i´m in a new area but its going along
quite well!! Miss you all like crazy and when I get home….were goin
campin.!! Always remember that you have the truth and always always
always!....BE HAPPY! You´ve got eternal life, don’t worry about a
single thing and just live everyday like it’s the last!! I love you
guys very very much and tell everyone hello for me!! Por favor! I´m
doing great! Just be happy! Its super super hottttt here then it rains
and cools down then its humid then its hottttt then it rains, you just
never know what the temperature is going to be!
Love superman
Elder olsen
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
January 25, 2011 letter
January 25, 2011
Hola Familia!!!
Whats crackin in the valley of cache!! How are you all doing¬¬?? Well
guess what, we already have transfers and they are tomorrow!! Pretty
crazy huh, don’t know if i´ll be staying yet another transfer or if
i´ll be going! We will find that out tonight! How have you all been??
Whats new, I have a little bit more time today to write but I do want
to apologize for never being able to write you a good amount of what
i´m doing here in bolivia!! I´m still in riberalta like I said,
transfers tomorrow, we have about 8 investigators with a baptisimal
date in february, my Spanish is coming along absolutely positively
great! And my ability to teach is increasing tremendously. I have a
greater knowledge of the scriptures and what god wants for us! Its
amazing learning all this stuff, it makes me realize things that I
never would have realized! My thought s are far beyond my time right
now! Its crazy. I look at life a lot different now! So yesterday as a
zone we all went to this place called aquiles which is in the middle
of the jungle like 30 minutes from my area and its this open area of
beautiful spring water for swimming and canoeing, one separated from
the other, natural water to swim in with a diving board and a beach
and all sorts of stuff with beach volleyball which was super dope
sauce! And next to it was a small lake to take a canoe out and snap
some shots!! Pingpong, soccer field, tennis courts and anything you
need!! Twas the time of my life! We shredded it up with some beach
volleyball, took the canoe out, didn´t swim cause we cant! Took a zip
line across the lake!! A blast it was! Don’t worry i´ve got plenty of
pics to show you! It was amazing! Drank some coke and ate some turkey!
Got sunburnt and enjoyed every second of it!! Bolivia is still the
same except for one of our elders got kidnapped by a taxi and tried to
rob him and had a gun but the elder didn´t have any money so they beat
him up a little bit, no big deal but now he´s all good and safe, I
don´t really know much about it pretty much what I just told you is
all I know! I´m doing amazing here in Bolivia! I wouldn’t change it
for the world and I know this is where I need to be even though its
hard at times the blessings are beyond what I can imagine! I will
never ever regret the decision to serve a mission! Couldn´t imagine if
I chose not to!! Anyways how are you all doing, whats new? How is the
snow and the beav! Is let me know whats up dudes!!
love you all
elder olsen
Hola Familia!!!
Whats crackin in the valley of cache!! How are you all doing¬¬?? Well
guess what, we already have transfers and they are tomorrow!! Pretty
crazy huh, don’t know if i´ll be staying yet another transfer or if
i´ll be going! We will find that out tonight! How have you all been??
Whats new, I have a little bit more time today to write but I do want
to apologize for never being able to write you a good amount of what
i´m doing here in bolivia!! I´m still in riberalta like I said,
transfers tomorrow, we have about 8 investigators with a baptisimal
date in february, my Spanish is coming along absolutely positively
great! And my ability to teach is increasing tremendously. I have a
greater knowledge of the scriptures and what god wants for us! Its
amazing learning all this stuff, it makes me realize things that I
never would have realized! My thought s are far beyond my time right
now! Its crazy. I look at life a lot different now! So yesterday as a
zone we all went to this place called aquiles which is in the middle
of the jungle like 30 minutes from my area and its this open area of
beautiful spring water for swimming and canoeing, one separated from
the other, natural water to swim in with a diving board and a beach
and all sorts of stuff with beach volleyball which was super dope
sauce! And next to it was a small lake to take a canoe out and snap
some shots!! Pingpong, soccer field, tennis courts and anything you
need!! Twas the time of my life! We shredded it up with some beach
volleyball, took the canoe out, didn´t swim cause we cant! Took a zip
line across the lake!! A blast it was! Don’t worry i´ve got plenty of
pics to show you! It was amazing! Drank some coke and ate some turkey!
Got sunburnt and enjoyed every second of it!! Bolivia is still the
same except for one of our elders got kidnapped by a taxi and tried to
rob him and had a gun but the elder didn´t have any money so they beat
him up a little bit, no big deal but now he´s all good and safe, I
don´t really know much about it pretty much what I just told you is
all I know! I´m doing amazing here in Bolivia! I wouldn’t change it
for the world and I know this is where I need to be even though its
hard at times the blessings are beyond what I can imagine! I will
never ever regret the decision to serve a mission! Couldn´t imagine if
I chose not to!! Anyways how are you all doing, whats new? How is the
snow and the beav! Is let me know whats up dudes!!
love you all
elder olsen
Monday, January 3, 2011
January 3, 2011 letter
Whats up Familia! how in the world are you all doing!! its been two crazy weeks since i have talked to you all! but it sure is great to get your emails!! so you wanna know why i didn´t write you guys last week!!! well, we were on lockdown for three days straight and couldn´t leave the apartment. none of the missionaries in santa cruz bolivia! something with the government and the people go crazy here, up and down the streets and almost fought with one of our missionaries insulting him like crazy, " you mormons are worthless, you pay the taxi´s 2 pesos" pretty gnarly!! but christmas was just like any other day! nobody really decorates for christmas, its not big at all!! but it was nice because either everyone was gone or everyone was home with their families so we taught alot of families! my comp and i just bought some food and took pics and had a good ol time, as well as new years ever, we actually stayed up till 12 ssshhhhh took pics of fireworks and had a blast!! it is going great here in bolivia weve got some investigators that are improving! we put a baptisimal date on 2 investigators for the next couple weeks! should be great! my spanish is coming along super duper skizzy! still improving tho! but it sure is coming! sounds like you guys had a blast at christmas and oakley sounds like a big girl now! thats crazy, when i get home she is gonna be like a teenager!:) good to hear that you all had fun and were together with family! and yes alec told me that rozy is preg.) but hey, your already a gramma so who gives right! great to talk to you all!!! i sent a letter with some pictures in it so you shall be getting it soon! so so glad to hear your all doing good! its the same here, i´m improving everyday and its amazing! the jungle is crazy! my comp is chilean and is awesome! were having a good ol time! love you all a super amount and tell everyone hello for me and enjoy the snow while you can!! and enjoy the ride!
love you muchisimo y les amo
love elder olsen
love you muchisimo y les amo
love elder olsen
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