12 Oct 2010

Oi,

Hello family. I am so grateful to be a missionary! This week might possibly be the most busy week of my mission, but i am really excited for the upcoming events in the next 7 days. It is going to be amazing. It all starts tomorrow. The presidency of the Brasil area is coming to visit our mission. Elder Soares, who is the President, comes here tomorrow. We are going to have a long 4 hour staff training, and he is going to interview us! Yikes! But it will be incredible. Then we are going on a mission tour, on thursday we are going to have meetings with half of the mission, and then next tuesday with the other half. He hasnt given us or our President any details about what is going to happen during the meetings or training, so we are preparing for everything and anything. It should be a real blast. We have been working on cleaning up and organizing the office, and putting together mission stats and stuff like that. So we are having to prepare all this stuff for the meetings that will happen this next and early next week. But it is alot of fun.

This saturday we had pedros baptism!!! It was a really special service. Pedros dad is totally reactived in the church, and we are really happy to see him come back. He bore his testimony during the service and started crying alot, he has had a rough life, he lost his wife in an accident 5 yrs ago. They were a strong active family in the church, but he couldnt overcome the death of his wife. We have talked alot about eternal families, they are a special family. I really hope that Richardo (pedros dad) can find a new wife, and get sealed in the temple. He is a special man. He went to church in a full suit and everything on sunday for pedros confirmation. The bishop interviewed him to a new calling! We are really excited!

Also this week, we have Luis and Aline's wedding!!!! On thursday! I am so excited. It has been a long time since we started teaching them. Almost 2 full months. Here in the city of campinas marriage takes longer than in the surrounding cities, so we are very anixous to have their wedding. Unfortunetly we are not going to be able to watch the wedding. :( we are really sad about that, but it is marked exactly during the time of our meeting with Elder Soares.. but the ward member will be there to do the wedding, so it should turn out great. Also we will have their baptism on saturday!!!! we are so excited. It was so funny, on sunday at church they got up in sacrament meeting and asked everyone to go to their baptism. The members are really excited about this family, every member wants to go out with us and visit our teaching group because we are being blessed with alot of families right now, which is great. On friday we found a new family, which was incredible. Me and my companion established the goal with Heavenly Father that we would talk with everyone that crossed our path, but the Lord would bless us with a extremely special family. So on thursday night we were talking, and this young couple went by with a baby boy in a stoller, and my companion talked with them, and we felt that we should invite them to be baptized on the street. They got really happy and accepted!! They are a special family Araujo and Patricia. Like Luis and Aline they're not married.... which is a bummer.. but they are extremely excited to mark their wedding. We also have brother Henrique. He is great. He is just pure elect. He went to the baptismal service on saturday and loved it. He always talks with the members about his baptism on the 23rd. We are really excited about him, he has alot of potencial to be a future leader in the church. He just needs to get married. Which we are already working on finding him a wife :) haha.
The Lord is bless us more than i could imagine. We are teaching alot of people in just a short few hours. The Lord is blessing us alot with prepared people, that want to hear the restored gospel. Aline's mom and sister are progressing really well! They were going to get baptized together with Aline on saturday, but her mom(Neide) suffered a car accident on saturday and is in the hospital. But she is out, and is going to watch Aline's baptism this saturday, we are going to work with them both to be baptized on the 23rd.
I love being a missionary. I see miracles everyday. It is incredible! The Lord truly blesses his servents. We are seeing alot of progess in such a short time, I am so thankful for the Help the Lord gives to me. I know that He loves me. and that he wants me to succed as a missionary, and as a child of God. I know that all things are possible through faith and hard work. I love you all, your prayers and letters help me with encoragment and exciment for the work. I talk about my family everyday, people just love it. I can truly testify of the importance of the family and of unity in the family. I am so thankful for you all. the great love that you give to me. Continue praying, it REALLY does HELP, and ALOT!!!
I love you all!!!
Elder Olsen!!!!!!!!