Loving the mission

The family in Leganes that I visited today!

 Next 3 pictures: Toledo

 

 

Hola Familia y amigos,

This week has been AMAZING.  One of the hardest working of my mission, but possibly the most successful.  We have found so many people to teach and had 5 new investigators this week! In gray is my letter to President.

We had an incredible week this week. We are finding people that I truly believe are prepared for this message. This has been one of the most productive weeks of my whole mission! But I feel like I am working harder than ever before. I am trying so hard to find and to teach, so that people can make the correct decision and understand the importance of baptism. We are talking about it more in our lessons and letting people know that we will be inviting them to be baptized, or we invite them to be baptized when they know it is true, without giving them a specific date. I hope this will help them progress, because they will understand better why we are here.


Things are going well with our two Muslim investigators.  They have both started reading the Book of Mormon. One almost came to church, but he was sick yesterday. We taught him how to pray though, and he said the last prayer in our second lesson with him. I think they both have great potential and I hope things continue to go well with them. Like I say every week, this is a work of MIRACLES!!

I love the mission so much. I really don´t want it to end. I know I will apply what I have learned after the mission, and that great things lie ahead, but I just don´t feel like anything can compare to the amazingness of being a full time representative of the Lord. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I wish it could last forever.

I know this church is true. I know that the Atonement is real. I think that is what I have come to understand most on my mission. The Atonement is more than just Christ suffering for our sins. Through Him and His sacrifice, we can change. We can become how He sees us. We have such amazing potential. As we live the Gospel and apply the Atonement to our lives, we can progress and keep trying. Because of the Atonement, we do not have to be perfect!

We also had 4 investigators at church.  We doubled our numbers. Our family comes without fail every sunday, but we have been working so hard to get some of our other investigators to church.  And we live really close to a few of them, so we offer to pick them up.  

On Saturday we had a lesson with one of our investigators, a lady from Columbia.  She has been meeting with missionaries on and off for 4 years and has read the Book of Mormon up to 3rd Nefi.  She hasn’t been to church in a really long time though.  But she came yesterday.  We picked her up and she came.  She knew a ton of people too!  

And the other hermanas were teaching this lady that actually lives in our ward but she goes to their ward with her cousin every sunday.  We started teaching her and are going to try and get her to come to our ward, but she is our investigator and she came to church, so we had 4.

Miracles are real!  The harder I work, the more I see. We have seen a lot of rejection this week, but if more rejection also brings more success, I will take it.  God has proven to me time after time that after the hardship comes the miracles.  It´s like a sunrise after a dark, cold night. Blessings are always around the corner of the trials.

We had a fireside yesterday.  I spoke, as well as 2 of our Elders, our ward Mission Leader, and President.  It was a great fireside, with really powerful talks.  We really wanted to inspire the members to participate in the missionary work.  I hope the 6 or 7 members that came enjoyed it.  

We tried SO hard to put it together and get the ward to announce it and all.  But not many people came.  It hurt, because of all the work I put into it, but I hope those that came were benifited.  Although most of them were our strong members who already help us.  On the bright side though, putting together a firside on the importance of missionary work really spoke to me and taught me even more about why this work is so important.  It wasn´t nearly the fireside we wanted, but it wasnt a wasted effort.

Some of the investigators we found this week:  We got a reference 2 or 3 weeks ago from the office.  We finally met with her on Saturday.  She is from Nicaragua and has a nephew on a mission.  She is super great and has a great spirit about her.  I am so excited to keep working with her.  She already had a Book of Mormon.

We found a really cool Dominican lady the day before her 25th birthday.  She said she never celebrated her birthday, and we asked if we could pass by and visit her on her birthday.  Her birthday was yesterday, and we passed by and shared the Book of Mormon with her.  She really seemed to enjoy it and we asked her if she would be baptized when she knew that these things were true.  She was a little hesitant, but said yes. 

Miracles are real.  I know that this church is true.  I know that this is the Lords work and that we can all take part in it!  There are people prepared for the missionaries to find and teach, but there are also people prepared for the members to find and fellowship.  We all have a role in finding.  Every member a missionary.  I invite you all this week to pray about someone you can share the gospel with!  There is someone out there waiting for you, God will help you find them and have the strength to talk to them!

Con amor, Hermana Olsen