t's a strange feeling writing my last email on the mission. I prayed everyday that this moment would never come. I don't want my mission to come to an end. But, everything has a purpose.
I don't know who I would be with the mission. The things that I have learned during these 2 years have changed everything about me. It has changed the way that I am, the way that I think. The mission really opened my eyes on what is important in life, and what isn't. I have never been more thankful for you, the family than I am now. I know understand what I always took for grantee. The best part of my life is my family. After meeting so many people with run down homes, I finally understand how impossible it is to have a happy home without the teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The world is to hard, there isn't anyway to overcome the hardships in our days if it isn't for Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for the wonderful helped that I have recieved from all of you over these 2 years. The countless emails, letters, paackages, and pictures have helped me so much.
The biggest lesson that I have learnd on the mission is that the Savior Jesus Christ lives. That he loves me, and that he paid for my sins. I learned for myself that the Savior Jesus Christ knows me. He knows who I am, He knows what I need and what my problems are. I know in a very real way that the atonement is real. That we can recieve forgiveness for our sins. I love you all, i hope that we can have a eternal family. I love this gospel, I look forward to starting my next mission.
Hurrah for Israel
Elder Olsen
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
18 Jan 2011
Hello,
well i dont have a lot of time today, I will be going to the temple today, somebody that i baptized in my first area will be going through the temple this afternoon. I am really happy, she is also currently serving as President of the young women, she is a really special lady. This week we had 3 baptisms, it was great. I have the privillege to baptize 2 of them. It was really awesome. I love this gospel so much. I love you all.
Elder Olsen
well i dont have a lot of time today, I will be going to the temple today, somebody that i baptized in my first area will be going through the temple this afternoon. I am really happy, she is also currently serving as President of the young women, she is a really special lady. This week we had 3 baptisms, it was great. I have the privillege to baptize 2 of them. It was really awesome. I love this gospel so much. I love you all.
Elder Olsen
Thursday, January 13, 2011
12 Jan 2010
Family,
hello family. I am really excited. I have never seen so miracles in my entire mission. I am so blessed!!!! This last weekend Liliam was baptized, it was amazing!! She is definitely going to be a firm member of the church. On Sunday President Tanner went to my ward and talked, and Sister Tanner as well. It was a really good sacrament meeting. I talked, then sister, then president, all about missionary work, it was a great sacrament meeting. After i received 3 referrals from members, it was really cool. We are going to have 3 baptisms this week!!!!! I am so happy. Robson is by far the biggest elect i have ever met in my entire mission. He is amazing. I had a life changing day with him on Monday. On Monday we had a family night at the chapel with 4 families. and we left about 930, so i called Robson and told him we wouldn't be able to pass by his house, he was all no no you have to come by i need to talk to you urgently. So we went to his house we got there really late, it was funny, as i was walking, i am just going through my head all the things that i could use scriptures and stuff. I was totally ready to use "my knowledge" to help him be baptized. We got to his house and he said please sit down elders. He sat there quietly, and said, "elder's i have something to tell you, I just want you to know, i know that this is the true church of God, I have received a testimony..." he went on a bore his testimony to us about how he gained his testimony, he is already half way through the bom, he read the entire gospel principles book. he bore his testimony, started crying and said, i can't wait to be baptized on Saturday. It was an extremely special experience for me. I loved it, it showed me that I am nothing, i was getting all ready to show my missionary knowledge, and i realized that this isn't my work, it is the Lord's. he is in charge of this work. He leads and guides it. He prepares the hearts of people to hear the gospel. This week we are going to see a lot of miracles as well. We have 3 great baptisms. Robson, William, and Gisele. I am so happy. I am enjoying working with my new young comp. Elder Durate. Haha, he is really funny. President Tanner calls him the assistant's assistant. He really is excited. He is young and fired up. I am so thankful for all the blessings that I am receiving on the mission. I love the mission, it is going amazing. I need a lot of prayers. We are teaching a man named Aparecido, he has been going to church for 13 years, his wife and children are active members of the church. well he has never wanted to receive the missionaries. well his wife had a dream that i baptized her husband. well i told her, sister, for that to happen he would have to be baptized in the next 2 weeks. She said she really felt that it was a sign from God, well i went to her house and her husband said, you can enter... well we taught a powerful lesson. He accepted to work towards a baptismal date. He is going to need a lot of help.. so please everyone pray for him. I am really nervous... he is already an active member of the church, he just needs to be baptized. I need the Lord help a lot with this man. I love you all.
Hurrah for Israel
Elder Olsen
hello family. I am really excited. I have never seen so miracles in my entire mission. I am so blessed!!!! This last weekend Liliam was baptized, it was amazing!! She is definitely going to be a firm member of the church. On Sunday President Tanner went to my ward and talked, and Sister Tanner as well. It was a really good sacrament meeting. I talked, then sister, then president, all about missionary work, it was a great sacrament meeting. After i received 3 referrals from members, it was really cool. We are going to have 3 baptisms this week!!!!! I am so happy. Robson is by far the biggest elect i have ever met in my entire mission. He is amazing. I had a life changing day with him on Monday. On Monday we had a family night at the chapel with 4 families. and we left about 930, so i called Robson and told him we wouldn't be able to pass by his house, he was all no no you have to come by i need to talk to you urgently. So we went to his house we got there really late, it was funny, as i was walking, i am just going through my head all the things that i could use scriptures and stuff. I was totally ready to use "my knowledge" to help him be baptized. We got to his house and he said please sit down elders. He sat there quietly, and said, "elder's i have something to tell you, I just want you to know, i know that this is the true church of God, I have received a testimony..." he went on a bore his testimony to us about how he gained his testimony, he is already half way through the bom, he read the entire gospel principles book. he bore his testimony, started crying and said, i can't wait to be baptized on Saturday. It was an extremely special experience for me. I loved it, it showed me that I am nothing, i was getting all ready to show my missionary knowledge, and i realized that this isn't my work, it is the Lord's. he is in charge of this work. He leads and guides it. He prepares the hearts of people to hear the gospel. This week we are going to see a lot of miracles as well. We have 3 great baptisms. Robson, William, and Gisele. I am so happy. I am enjoying working with my new young comp. Elder Durate. Haha, he is really funny. President Tanner calls him the assistant's assistant. He really is excited. He is young and fired up. I am so thankful for all the blessings that I am receiving on the mission. I love the mission, it is going amazing. I need a lot of prayers. We are teaching a man named Aparecido, he has been going to church for 13 years, his wife and children are active members of the church. well he has never wanted to receive the missionaries. well his wife had a dream that i baptized her husband. well i told her, sister, for that to happen he would have to be baptized in the next 2 weeks. She said she really felt that it was a sign from God, well i went to her house and her husband said, you can enter... well we taught a powerful lesson. He accepted to work towards a baptismal date. He is going to need a lot of help.. so please everyone pray for him. I am really nervous... he is already an active member of the church, he just needs to be baptized. I need the Lord help a lot with this man. I love you all.
Hurrah for Israel
Elder Olsen
5 Jan 2010
Family,
Wow, i am really happy to be a missionary. I can not believe the blessings the Lord has given me. I have so exciting news! I recieved a new companion! I have been spending alot of time with President making plans for the future leadership of the mission, especially the role of the assisents on the mission. So we both felt the assisent would do better if they had jr companions and worked in seprate areas. So my companion Elder Hansen moved areas, to a area close by, and I am staying here in costa e silva, with a newbie. His name is Elder Durate, he is brasilian. He is really cool, he is in his 2nd transfer on the mission. it is going to be a lot of fun the new model. This way the assistents will be able to grab a nwebie and train him up alot for a couple of weeks, then he can become senior after that. So it should be a lot of fun. Things in my area are going great. We are really seeing the Lords blessing here in my area.Lilam is going to be baptized this saturday. its all set. She is amazing, defintely the future relief society president. She has been going to church for about 6 months now. Also we are teaching a man named Robson, I can not believe him. So we found him last saturday, we taught him, and he loved it. He accepted all the inviatations. I gave him my number to confirm that he would be able to go to church. Well we left his house, about an hour later i recieved a phone call. "hey elder, it is robson, hey i read and prayed about the book of mormon, dont worry it's true, i'm going to be baptized!" Then the next day, we went to pick him up to go to church, we said we would be there at 845. we were about 5-10 minutes late. he called me, "hey where ya at? I dont want to be late my first day at church!" he is awesome!!! He went to church, made a ton of friends, he is really smart, he is psychiatrist. really smart. He is going to be baptized on the 15th. We are really excited. I am really happy to be a missionary. I kinda get sad a frustrated sometimes, i mean right now i feel i finally got it, i am finally the missionary that i needed to be all along. I know to how find, teach, and baptize. and now i have to go home? not cool. But I am praying alot so that the Lord will help me understand that. I love this work, i love serving. I have gained a real testimony on service. I know that it is amazing to serve others. I love you all. Pray for me.
Hurrah for Israel
Elder Olsen
Wow, i am really happy to be a missionary. I can not believe the blessings the Lord has given me. I have so exciting news! I recieved a new companion! I have been spending alot of time with President making plans for the future leadership of the mission, especially the role of the assisents on the mission. So we both felt the assisent would do better if they had jr companions and worked in seprate areas. So my companion Elder Hansen moved areas, to a area close by, and I am staying here in costa e silva, with a newbie. His name is Elder Durate, he is brasilian. He is really cool, he is in his 2nd transfer on the mission. it is going to be a lot of fun the new model. This way the assistents will be able to grab a nwebie and train him up alot for a couple of weeks, then he can become senior after that. So it should be a lot of fun. Things in my area are going great. We are really seeing the Lords blessing here in my area.Lilam is going to be baptized this saturday. its all set. She is amazing, defintely the future relief society president. She has been going to church for about 6 months now. Also we are teaching a man named Robson, I can not believe him. So we found him last saturday, we taught him, and he loved it. He accepted all the inviatations. I gave him my number to confirm that he would be able to go to church. Well we left his house, about an hour later i recieved a phone call. "hey elder, it is robson, hey i read and prayed about the book of mormon, dont worry it's true, i'm going to be baptized!" Then the next day, we went to pick him up to go to church, we said we would be there at 845. we were about 5-10 minutes late. he called me, "hey where ya at? I dont want to be late my first day at church!" he is awesome!!! He went to church, made a ton of friends, he is really smart, he is psychiatrist. really smart. He is going to be baptized on the 15th. We are really excited. I am really happy to be a missionary. I kinda get sad a frustrated sometimes, i mean right now i feel i finally got it, i am finally the missionary that i needed to be all along. I know to how find, teach, and baptize. and now i have to go home? not cool. But I am praying alot so that the Lord will help me understand that. I love this work, i love serving. I have gained a real testimony on service. I know that it is amazing to serve others. I love you all. Pray for me.
Hurrah for Israel
Elder Olsen
29 Dec 2010
hello family i am so thankful for the wonderful family that I have! It was great to talk to everyone on the phone. Wow, everyone seems to have changed alot. I can't believe it. It was good to hear sammy tell me that I am still his best friend, and that mikey is still in second place. Haha, if i can matain my best friend mantle from another country game over!! when i get home we will still be best friends. I hope that Justin is good. I have been praying for him alot lately. This week was great. We had a baptism on sunday. Benedito was baptized. our third companion Elder Carlstrom got in the water for his first time on the mission! He was really excited. It has been fun working with a third companion, especially a new american. It has reminded me how much i have grown in 2 years. The struggles that I had to go through. the langauge, the food the culture, I had almost forgotten what it was like. Unfortunely we will be losing Elder Carlstrom this week.. A missionary will be going home tomorrow due to sickness, so he is needed else where. But these 2 weeks were alot of fun. I am really enjoying working hard at this time of season, the Lord has preparerd alot of people for the gospel this given time. I really hope to be able to help alot of people these last weeks of my mission. The Lord is so great. We are doing alot of training meetings on the mission, and alot of exchanges with missionaries, so time is going by even faster than normal. I sure dont like that. It is strange. My companion and I are doing great, I love him like a brother, we get along great (just like 2 brothers we get in alot of heated discussions, but that is what makes it fun.) He is a great missionary. We have alot of amazing people that we are teaching right now. We should have around 8-10 baptism in January. We are really excited. We have alot of special people. Especially Liliam. We already baptized her family, but now it is her turn. She has been waiting for her wedding papers, and now they are down after the new year, so she will be baptized on the 8th. We also have William, Henrique and Robson, who will be baptized on the 15th. They are all really special as well. I have seen the blessings of forget yourself and go to work. It is an amazing feeling. Serving others is the cure to all problems. When we serve we really can feel the Lord's presence. I got 2 new ties from recent converts, that was the best christmas present I have ever gotten. They are a very poor family, but to see them give away 2 ties was just a special moment, they have really embarced the gospel. I love them alot. I love you all, you are the best. I am so proud of my family, I consider it the best and most important thing in my life. I love you all. Please pray for me in all moments, so that I can continue to learn and grow as a person and missionary.
Hurrah for Israel
Elder Olsen
Hurrah for Israel
Elder Olsen
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
15 Dec 2010
Family,
this week was a pretty busy week. filled with lots of exciting changes in the mission. We had 2 traning meetings and others preparations for the transfer that is coming next monday. The last 2 weeks of the transfer are usually filled with lots of meetings with President and other mission leaders. We are starting to establish a teaching pool in our area, we are really excited about all the people that we are meeting. We have a great group of people that we are teaching. This week we had a great activity here in the center of the city. We all put on santa hats and went and sung hymns, we had a table out with tons of flyers about the church. So while 4 of us sang, the other 4 were out writing down address's and talking with everyone. It was a great sucess. we got over 200 adress's! It is going to bring in alot of results for the center's area. It was alot of fun. It is really interesting the christmas season here in Brasil isn't nearly as strong as in the states. Very few families put up christmas trees, nobody knows christmas hynms. it is a different culture. In our ward there are alot of wealthly people, so they all have a "normal" american christmas. but it the poor neighboorhoods, it is very normal for people to work up until the 24th of december and then start working again on the 26th. It is defintely a very different christmas. It is raining alot here. I think it has rained everyday for 2 weeks straight! Let's just say i am wet all day.
The mission is amazing. It is so amazing to feel of the spirit of the Lord during this great time of the year, I love you all and hope that we can all find a way to show our graitude during this wonderful season.
Hurrah for Israel
Elder Olsen
this week was a pretty busy week. filled with lots of exciting changes in the mission. We had 2 traning meetings and others preparations for the transfer that is coming next monday. The last 2 weeks of the transfer are usually filled with lots of meetings with President and other mission leaders. We are starting to establish a teaching pool in our area, we are really excited about all the people that we are meeting. We have a great group of people that we are teaching. This week we had a great activity here in the center of the city. We all put on santa hats and went and sung hymns, we had a table out with tons of flyers about the church. So while 4 of us sang, the other 4 were out writing down address's and talking with everyone. It was a great sucess. we got over 200 adress's! It is going to bring in alot of results for the center's area. It was alot of fun. It is really interesting the christmas season here in Brasil isn't nearly as strong as in the states. Very few families put up christmas trees, nobody knows christmas hynms. it is a different culture. In our ward there are alot of wealthly people, so they all have a "normal" american christmas. but it the poor neighboorhoods, it is very normal for people to work up until the 24th of december and then start working again on the 26th. It is defintely a very different christmas. It is raining alot here. I think it has rained everyday for 2 weeks straight! Let's just say i am wet all day.
The mission is amazing. It is so amazing to feel of the spirit of the Lord during this great time of the year, I love you all and hope that we can all find a way to show our graitude during this wonderful season.
Hurrah for Israel
Elder Olsen
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