MIRACLES ARE EVERYWHERE

 Thanksgiving

Christmas lights in a little courtyard of our piso!

 snow!

Missionary baptism story: I hope you find this as funny as I did.  The elders had a baptism the other week, and after the ordinance, they forgot to unplug the font.  When we all went down to have refreshments, we realized it and nobody wanted to go in the water (they said it was cold during the baptism and a good 30 minutes more had passed).  So how did they get the plug out?  

Our recent convert (not the one who got baptized), Dantel, grabs a chair and puts it on two different steps.  He tries to balance on it and I yell to one of the elders to grab the chair.  He responds, don´t grab the chair, grab Dantel!  With one elder holding the chair, and the other holding Dantel, Dantel was able to reach down, grab the plug, and come back up without getting wet!  We were all impressed.  

Later, Hermana Palomino asked me how many elders it takes to unplug a baptismal font.  I responded, ¨2, and a recent convert"  It was SOOOO funny!

Hunger games metro:  This metro came into the station on the other side of the tracks, while we were waiting for ours.  I think I took a step back as my jaw dropped in awe.  It was so cool to see it come in, and leave.  A powerful ad.

Hola familia y amigos,

This week has been absolutely amazing.  We are finding, teaching, and working with the ward! Every day I go out and work my hardest.  I am so happy it is amazing.

We started teaching two new investigators this week.  We had great first lessons with them.   I am feeling myself become a powerful teacher.  This week, I have been working on asking inspired questions.  It has had an inpact on my teaching.  I am trying very hard to work and teach by the Spirit. Doing so makes the work so much easier and more successful.

I´ve been reading an English copy of the General Conference Ensign.  I think I recieved it on Wednesday and have already read the session we were not able to see, the Relief Society General Meeting and am halfway through the Saturday Morning session.  I love the words of the modern prophets!  I know their words are true!

For the month of December our goal is to have 3 baptisms.  We are so excited to work hard and find those people ready for the Gospel.  We are also looking for 25 Christmas miracles.  We already have 2!  This transfer is going to be full of miracles.

Thanksgiving was great!  We ended up not doing brazilian, but all the missionaries in our ward (there are 8 of us. 6 elders and 2 hermanas) went to KFC and we bought buckets of chicken.  Then we went to the Capilla and ate all our food together.  It wasn´t turkey but it was american!  and we all said things were grateful for!  It was a good little thanksgiving in Spain.

It snowed a bit the night before thanksgiving.  we woke up to a little bit of snow.  It is COLD here. 

Mom, I got the package.  The blouse is PERFECT.  and I´m wearing the shoes right now!  I loved the cookies too!  Mint chocolate chip.  I think I smelled the cookies before I saw them!

We had a cool experience with the Bolivar family last night.  Hermano had asked the elders to give him a blessing, but they left after church before the Elders could find them, so they came to our lesson with them yesterday.  They gave him a blessing and then their little 5 year old son Jesus went and sat on the chair and put his hands on his head and looked at Elder Lloyd.  He was clearly asking for a blessing, and so the Elders gave him one.

Then Hermana got one and lasty Rosalind (our 8 year old recent convert) decided she wanted one.  The blessings were beautiful, as they always are.  But what struck me most this time, was how grateful I am that we have the priesthood on the earth today!  And how grateful I was for 2 Elders that lived their lives right that they prepared and were serving missions and when the time was necessary, they were ready and prepared to offer a blessing!  4 in fact!

I know this gospel is true.  I have learned this week that we need not fear if our trust is in the Lord and if we are following in His path.  I know He will lead me and guide me in all of my endeavours.  He´s been doing it, more than ever, for the past 16 months and I know it will continue the rest of my life.

I understand the gospel better every day.  I am more dedicated now than ever to live it.  I love it and I love who it has shaped me to become!

Con amor,

Hermana Olsen

Me quedo en Barrio 1 (I´m staying in B1)

November 25, 2013

Hola familia y amigos,

I am beyond happy to report that me and Hna. Palomino will be staying together for another transfer.  Christmas Miracle numero 1.  I am so excited.  This transfer is going to be super exciting.  We are going to work hard, and see miracles.

This transfer is also going to be awesome becuase it is Thanksgiving, Christmas, the New Year and probably something else.  For Thanksgiving we already have some comidas.  We are going to a brazilian restaurant with the Elders and our ward mission leader.  I think we have a comida with a family in our ward as well!

We have great plans for Christmas too.  Christmas will be our P-day so we have plans to get together with a few Hermanas and do some fun stuff.  This transfer we also want to have an ugly sweater party.  So that will be fun!

The last week of this transfer was a little slow, but not bad.  Hna. Palomino was sick most of the week so we spent some time in the Piso for her to recuperate.  I think she is doing better now.

We found a lot more this week, and so hopefully we will start teaching more this transfer.  And we can start teaching new people.  This week, on Thursday, we had an amazing zone conference.  We talked about desire, a little about obedience, and also about finding.  I feel so determined to be a better missionary.  I am excited for this transfer and the opportunity to work every day to be a little bit better.  I haven´t much time left and I really want to be the best I can be!  I know great things are in store if I work hard, and I know I will work and be the best missionary I can be until my chapa is off.  But lets not think about that.  I still have plenty of time, and I am going to enjoy every minute of it and work hard every moment I can!

My intercambio in Villalba was great. A lot closer to the mountains.  It was beautiful.  I wasn´t there for long, but I really enjoyed the intercambio.  It definitely was not madrid.  It was still a city, but there was some country too. OH!  I saw horses and cows!  I haven´t seen horses and cows in 9 MONTHS!  I almost felt like I was in Logan.  We saw cows all the time in Logan.  So I really enjoyed Villalba. We had a ward noche de hogar that night too, and so I got to see the ward.  It was supportive.  I LOVE meeting members in Spain.  They are such wonderful people.

The Bolivar family is doing well.  They are going to be baptized on December 20th (Christmas Miracle numero 2) and we are so excited for them.

OH!  The mission is planning a huge Christmas concert.  We have to invite all our investigators and recent converts.  We, the missionaries, will be singing Christmas songs and they have a presentation to go with everything.  A Senior couple in our mission is planning it, they both used to be in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, so it is going to be pretty legit.  The 16th of December we will be having our concert.  I am super excited.  We have to memorize the songs and they want all of us to wear red (mom, I might need to buy something, because I don´t own anything red).  We have had a few practices and they have been pretty intense, but we are under the instruction of Mormon Tabernacle Choir vetrans, what can I expect?  i LOVE how I a serving in Spain, yet we have connections like this!  It amazes me!

I am looking forward to another transfer in Barrio 1.  Great things are going to happen.  Great things are a´foot in Madrid, Spain and at the Circle K.  I think I will look for 25 Christmas Miracles, I already have 2.

I KNOW this church is true.  I love the knowledge of the Gospel I have obtained and the strength of my testimony.  The mission is incredible.  I am so blessed, and I know that God and Jesus Christ love me!  I LOVE this Gospel and who it is helping me become.  I am changing and becoming someone better than I ever could have imagined!

I forgot my camera cord, so no pictures this week :( sorry!

Con amor,

Hermana Olsen

Another great week

Way out of service, not just a little bit?  It means the Via is out of service like the way or the path, the track.  But we thought the translation was funny!

P-day today!  We had a HUGE goodbye party for Hna. Blodgett.  A good 50-60 missionaries came.

Me and Hna. Blodgett (long brown hair)

 Me and my hija Hna. Okeefe (blue blouse)

 

Me and Hna Aagard (with the scarf)

 We have had a lot of rain this week and Hna. Palomino´s umbrella got stuck as we were walking.

Wrapped in the tinfoil is a giant and delicious burrito that we went and got with the B5 hermanas and elders for medio dia one day.

Hola familia y amigos,

Things have really started picking up this week.  We are working a lot with less actives, but we are teaching more!  

We also started teaching a lady that the other hermanas had been teaching.  Her name is Karmen and she is from the Dominican Republic.  She is good friends with a Hermana in our ward, and so we are working with her to teach Karmen.

We still haven´t been able to see Dantel´s aunt, but he introduced us to one of his friends.  We gave her a tour of the church, and are going to meet with her again hopefully tomorrow.  Dantel is amazing, he keeps sharing the gospel and bringing people to church!  He was out of town this weekend, baptizing his friend, but hopefully with him coming back, he can help us get in touch with his aunt.

The Bolivar family are doing well.  We are so excited to work with them and help prepare them for baptism!  And they have such love for missionaries.  They have known quite a few and have such love for all of them.  They ALWAYS feed us.  If I end my mission in this area (It´s quite possible) I might come home a little chubby (ok that´s probably an exageration) cause they feed us 2 or 3 times a week in this area.  I LOVE it.  The food at least.  It is soooo yummy!

We are doing intercambios tonight.  I am staying in Barrio 1 and the Hna. Leader Trainer is coming to visit our area and work with me.  Last week, Hermana Palomino went to work with her in her area.  I guess she wants to do intercambios with both Hermanas and see our area.  I never did it like that.  But she is the only Hna. Leader and I had another one.  Still, this will be my second intercambio with an Hna. Leader since being one myself.  It is super weird.  But the Hermana, Hermana cabellero is AMAZING.  She is Spanish and absolutely wonderful.  I am really excited to spend all of tomorrow with her.

On Thursday we have zone conference.  After, we are doing intercambios with the hermanas in Villalba.  Just north of Madrid.  Hermana Blodgett (I was companions with her for a week in Leganes) goes home this transfer and she started her mission in Barrio 1 so we got permission to do an intercambio because people here really want to see her.  She taught the Bolivar family as well.  So, I am going to Villalba.  I am so excited to do an intercambio out of madrid.  You can google Villalba, cause all I know it is north of madrid.  But I am stoked to get out of madrid.  I LOVE the city, but I have always wanted to see what it is like out of madrid!

Chruch this week was FANTASTICO!  We had 2 less actives come to church!  One, a 12 year old and we went and picked him up.  We are teaching his sister and want to do everything we can, even if it means picking him up, to get him back to church so that he can be a good example to his sister.  And we want him to receive the priesthood.  

Let me tell you he is no normal 12 year old.  He is so kind and so good.  I don´t know how to explain it, but he listens to us and really has the desire to go to church, but as the only member of his family, he is not going to go by himself.  We are working with the Young Mens leader, he was SO happy to see him in church yesterday, so hopefully he can pick him up future sundays.  

Our other less active, is an hermana that we visit every week, and their family seem super active.  They comment on the scriptures we share and pray really well and talk about how they are doing noche de hogar [Family Home Evening], but they don´t come to church.  And although only the mom came, it was good to see her there!

Relief Society was really good too.  We had a few minutes to talk about the importance of missionary work.  We talked about how we needed the Hermanas help, shared Heleman 6:3 and sent around a list asking for hermanas willing to help and when they are available.  I do this in almost every area, and about 3 people will sign it.  We had 20 some sign it!  Now we just need to find people to teach so that we can have these wonderful hermanas accompany us!

And that is our biggest struggle.  We are finding people who say they are willing to meet with us, but this WHOLE transfer, the only people we have begun to teach is Karmen and we have the potential of Dantel´s aunt and his friend.  But as hard as we try to find, we are not having much success.  And it is hard, because we spend a lot of time trying to visit less actives and they live out in the middle of know where so we can´t always find on the way.  

I am also, though, having a hard time talking to people.  I don´t know why, but this whole transfer it has been really hard for me to talk to people.  I will get all nervous and scared as people pass me on the street.  Prayers that I can open my mouth and talk to people, whether they be nice-looking Latins, or stern-looking Spaniards would be nice.

(The steryotype in the mission is that Latins are worth talking to, and Spaniards aren´t as much.  and I think that is making it hard, because I have always had more success teaching Latins.  But spaniards deserve the gospel too.  They are usually the rude ones who harshly turn us down though, so I think it is hard for me to talk to them.  But I want to overcome this!  I use to be able to do it!!!)  And prayers that we can find people who really want to listen and who will progress.  

Even though this has been one of the hardest transfers of my mission, (I have never found it difficult to find people.  We could at least fill our days with people who would meet with us once or so) it has been so rewarding.  There are little miracles that we see all the time.  The members need a lot of help to share the gospel and work with us, but I think they have great potential and desire.  And they sure love us.  We are well taken care of here.  

This is the last week of the Transfer, and I want so badly to be here for Christmas.  Actually I want to end my mission here.  Yikes, I said it!  I hope I am not jinxed now!  I feel like I could make these people my home.  I feel so much love for them, and I don´t really know them that well yet.  I LOVE how we can find joy and happiness even when times are hard!  Even in our trials, we can see miracles!  God is always there to bless us.

I LOVE this gospel, and I KNOW it is true!  The Atonement is real.  I know I need to work hard and do my part, but I know I can change and be better every day.  I know I can work to progress and turn my weaknesses to strengths.  I might fall a hundred times or so, make the same mistakes more than once, but I can get back up and start another day.  I can communicate with my Heavenly Father and tell Him what I am struggling with, and what I am trying to do.  Then together, we can make it happen!  I can always repent and strive to do better.  I am learning so much about the importance of persevering hasta el fin.  I CANNOT speak English sometimes.

Con amor,

Hermana Olsen