Challenges are cool!! (week 18)

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYO EVERYONE!!!

So this week seriously felt like FOREVER LOOOOOONG!!! The last week of the transfer was good, looooong but good. Me and Elder Chaiña got into some fights, soooooo that was fun. Another funny thing that happened was Dora gave us each an album so we could collect all 100 and something of those Simpson Pokemon cards......and it became Elder Chaiñas personal goal to collect ALL OF THEM!! Him and Dora cheated though....we would open up the cards put the ones he already had back in their envelopes and trade with Dora XD in the end he did not fulfill his goal and was missing only about 10 cards hahahahaha

We also had Pasquals baptism....he wanted Elder Chaiña to be the one to baptize him and me to do the confirmation.....and I said NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO and he was like "that is fine Elder Florez can do it" bahjahahahahahaha ohhhhh man sooo yeah I baptized him and all went perfectly, so that is good!! He showed up a half hour late to his confirmation.......in his baptism clothes.......and they were still wet xD Buuuuuut yeah he is baptized so YAAAAAAAAAAAAY for my first baptism!

Okay, I know you're all curious about transfers so imma talk about that now!! Last night Elder Chaiña was like "okay Elder you need to start packing" and then we got the call and Elder Mcdermott was like "Elder Chaiña you are the one to leave" LOLOLOLOL he was sooo mad because he is still a district leader.....over the assistants.....and the secretaries.....in the same area as president xD I watched him freak out for like 2 hours it was pretty great.......I am still here in Ciudad Modelo with...........wait for it..........wait for it ELDER BRIZUELA from La Paz Bolivia.....he is chill so far, very obedient!! He was a district leader like 3 times and a zone leader in Palmira so we will see how it goes!! This transfer is shorter than usual.....long story short the first presidency gave Ipiales to another mission (Ecuador) and because of their transfers we are having a short transfer......makes me mad cause I really wanted to go there!!! That is the place with the cool cathedral!!!

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! That was my week!!! I am kinda mad.....nobody did my challenge, WHAT IS THIS!!! I put a lot of thought into those so you all need to repent!!! But this weeks challenge is simple.....buy a notebook, I am gonna call it the transfer notebook because a ton of the challenges I wanna do later in the future need a notebook......sooo A.) buy a notebook B.) decorate it and C.) on the first page write 10 things that you are grateful for and 10 ways you can help somebody else within the next week......try to accomplish your own goals!!! BUT FOREAL ACTUALLY DO THE CHALLENGE!!!

I did not have a ton of time so this letter is short but I looooooooooooooooooooooooove you all!!!!

Your Fav,

Elder Olsen

Last picture as a district

Elder Chaiña and Juan Estaban (Henrys Son) 

With Pasqual

With Pasqual and the hermanas

Hermano Favio......our ward mission leader!!!

I Love to See the Temple (week 17)

WWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOP!!!!!!!!!!! Hahaha heeeeeeeeeeeey guys!!!

So I am totally BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS ahora because transfers are in less than a week! The next time you hear from me I will FOR SURE have a new companion and maybe a new area (not really counting on that one though but we will see). I am kinda worried though because I am so used to the situation that I have now, and it could go either way....BUT I AM NOT GONNA FOCUS ON THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week waaaaaaas good, not too many interesting things went down!! Our investigators are okay.....Blanca did not come to stake conference this Sunday soooooooo she is officially not making her baptismal date....Pasqual came so he is all set to be baptized on Saturday!! We had an area 70 at the conference (Elder Maestre......this is the 2nd time I have heard him in person so that's cool). Pasqual went up to him and our stake president and invited them to his baptism so that's cool xD We were almost late to our ward bus because of that hahahaha.

We have not been able to teach Allison this week.....she is kinda hard to get ahold of, and even when we can get ahold of her we can not always teach her because another dude has to be with us......it is soooooo hard hahaha

Dora and Victor are doing well too!!! They are just really hard to teach because they always have questions about our doctrine or what they believe and stuff.....and because of that we always spend the entire time answering their questions and not teaching the lessons. It is kinda frustrating but as long as they are learning that is good I guess!!

We also went with Hermana Julieth this week.....and she had one reference for us so we went and met her for 5 minutes. Hermana Julieth grabbed a bunch of spare Liahonas and we passed them out on the street we got about 3 contacts from that so hopefully we can visit them this week!!

I was not able to go on divisions this week.....the zone leaders were busy Wednesday so we planned for Thursday......but Elder Chaiña told them we had an important lesson with Blanca (which she did not even show up to) soooooo yeah we are planning for this Wednesday buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut we will see.

Other than all that nothing much happened this week!! OHHHHHHH I FOUND HOT CHEETOS.....but the hot cheetos here are like not the same....noooooooot at all....for starters they are the same color as normal cheetos and they BARELY have a kick.....like dad could eat a whole bag of those with no issues.....that is how you know there is a problem!!!! (My dad calls ketchup hot sauce...that's all you need to know.)

I thought a lot about what you guys all wrote me last week and something that mom wrote has came to my mind.....like alot this week. GORDAN B. HINCKLEY!!! I am very excited for my sacerdocio (priesthood) classes this year, and yes mom I have the manuel....but it is all in Spanish!! I do not remember much about him buuuuut I do remember that he was the prophet with the BRILLIANT idea of small temples.....I am forever grateful to President Hinckley for allowing people ALL OVER THE WORLD to have the very important blessing and ordinances of the temple!!! The temple is much more than a pretty building....it represents selfless service in this life and the life to come.....it represents a forever family! I miss the temple muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucho!!! That is where THIS WEEKS CHALLENGE comes along!! I am going to start giving specifics on my challenges cause people always have such a hard time knowing how to do them.....in order to get a handwritten letter you have to A) Find at least one name to take to the temple....and actually do it, or B) Do 3 batches of indexing!! Family History is so important....the full reward for doing so isn't always obvious, but it will be in the next life when our ancestors thank us......you guys got this!!! Try to make it a spiritual experience.

LOOOOOOOOOOVE YOU GUYS!!!

ELDER OLSEN

P.S I totally called Aubrey would have a girl......where is my trophy? Bahahahh let the hard time finding a name commence. (Dane and I don't agree on any girl names...)

 Okay so these are from today's zone activity we had a BBQ and a cake because Sister Sandoval is going home!!

 Me, Elder Thomas, and Elder Tingey (aka justin bieber) with some of the sisters

Sister Sandoval with her going home cake.

So Dora sells these Pokemon Go/Simpson pokemon cards so me and Elder Chaiña bought some.....and being the 12 year olds that we are we died laughing for like 15 minutes xD

My board during English class the other day.

Faith is Action (week 16)

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYOOOO ¿WHATSSSSSSSSSSSSSS NEW?

Hahahahhaha I would not be me if I did not have awesome introductions.

This week was another week!! I had my first zone conference so that was cool! The topic was how we can edify the church...I understood a bit, but not as much as I would have liked. I like anything to do with the zone though because it's a time for me to just talk to Elder Mcdermott, Elder Thomas, and Elder Tingey. Basically it's my "OMG PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY SPEAK ENGLISH" time hahaha But yeah we just listened to President and Hermana Pricoli....the assistants....had practices annnnnnnnnnnnd ate PIZZZZZZZZZZZZZA!!!!! NOM NOM NOM!! At the beginning Elder Mcdermott gave me my small package and in the middle of the conference Sister Pricoli called me up for my big package....I sat down and was looking at it when Elder Thomas was like "Elder Olsen look" he was pointing to where all the sisters were sitting and they were all looking at me with their pinkys up (it means they think I am rich hahahahahhaah) But yeah I love my blanket...Elder Zaugg has a pillowcase with the same fabric....I remember that because I wanted it!! My blanket is soooo rad...haha thanks Mom I love it!!!!

Some interesting things went down with Pasqual......basically we just need to teach a few more commandments and he will be down with all the pre baptism lessons!! BUUUUUUUUUUT he totally got kicked out of his house....Elder Chaiña let him sleep on our porch (I don't think that is allowed). Elder Chaiña stayed out there with him for a little while......he woke me up when he came back in and it was one in morning. I WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MADDDD!!! He ended finding a house the next day, but he asked Elder Chaiña for money.....who asked me for money and I was like "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" It says right there in the mission manual that our money is sacred....I am totally down to help Pasqual find a job and be able to pay for his house himself though!!

Blanca is not progressing at all....we went over there and her daughter was like "my mom is not home" but her grandaughter was screaming "my grandmom is home....my grandmom is home" and like kids do not lie......so that is no bueno!! BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT we found a new investigator on Saturday...her name is Allison she just stopped us and was like "hey what church are you guys from" so yeah we taught her a little bit about the Sabbath day cause she thinks it's Saturday xD But yeah she's 18 and has a ton of potential. We found her Saturday night and she came to church on Sunday morning, soooooooo yeah we are meeting with her tonight so I hope that goes well.

But yeah other than that nothing too interesting went down....Elder Mcdermott and Flores visited us one day...and I sat and ranted to Elder Mcdermott about how I cannot speak Spanish...he was telling me about how he struggles!!! He also told us that we have divisions this Wednesday! I AM STTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKED!!! Elder Chaiña is not cause he hates divisions, but I do. Elder Mcdermott told me forever ago that the next time we do divisions he is gonna teach me how to make mashed potatoes....so yeah can it be Wednesday yet?

Ohhhhh another interesting thing....do you guys remember how I wrote about Hermana Coronel wanting a tie....yeah well the sisters bought me and Elder Chaiña each a tie to wear to zone conferences.....it was kinda weird but I like my new fish tie xD

Buuuuut yeah I have been really struggling with understanding my new culture....people here are so different and have such difficult lives!! When I first got my patriarchal blessing it totally turned me off from a mission but now I see exactly why it says what it says......I do not know why Heavenly Father wants me to help them....but I do know he does!! It's hard....missions are soooo hard, like you think you know how hard it is before you leave, but you just do not!!! I am learning to trust my Heavenly Father.....through the good.......and the awful!! It is hard but it is so important for us to learn how to have a good relationship with him.....and to try to understand his plan for us! However, the way will not always be clear.....a big part of faith is action! He should not have to smack us with the Holy Ghost and answers all the time for us to act in faith. If you are trying to do what you think he would want for you at all times he will not lead you astray....I promise!! So that is this weeks challenge.....ACT!!! I wanna hear about how it goes....it's a little vague so be creative with it.....you caaaaaaaaaaaaan doooooooooooooooooo ittttttttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!

LOOOVE YOU TONS!!

ELDER OLSEN

This is the only picture I have!! Study sesh with the new blanket....and because I know I am gonna get questions about this, Gatorade is the same but with less flavoring so its not as good....and Cheese Tris are literally Cheetos...with less flavoring so they taste the same for a minute and they turn into corn puffs!!! We have Cheetos too (pronounced Cheh tos) but they are basically just cheese balls.....with less flavoring so they don't taste as good xD

(I'm mostly putting this on the blog so that I can have it to remember! And to toot my own horn because Garrett says I need a trophy. Oh, one more thing that I want to write down so I can remember! Dane and I find out the gender of our baby this week and so I told Garrett I was sorry that my letter was so full of baby stuff and he wrote back "Well the baby is kinda important....it's for sure a girl....calling it!" So there's his vote, we will see!!)

Love One Another as Jesus Loves You (week 15)

Hello Family!!!

Okay first things first, nobody needs to worry about my obedience hahaha gotta love typos!! I meant to say that I need to worry about my obedience and ONLY my obedience. Nobody else's! Hahahaa ohhhh man. 

Also the hearing aid has been fixed!! I am sure you all spent a great time worrying about that,  but it was literally fixed an hour and a half after I wrote last week....so all is well.

This week was long, like really looooooong it lasted forever....I have some interesting stories though so that should be fun!! My first story happened right after I wrote last week......we were walking home and this guy came up to us and was like "I do not know what church you guys are from, but I just have a feeling that you guys can change my life." Soooo yeah we taught this guy the next day.....his name is Pasqual!! We did not even spend 5 minutes with Pasqual before he accepted a BAPTISM DATE!!! He is solid too....we have worked with him a ton in the last week he already has the first 2 lessons and the word of wisdom down.....and he came to church!! He has a lot of life problems though....I guess the people he lives with do not want him to live with them or something...and he has no job....it's rough. We had to buy him dinner one night because he had no money :( makes me sad!! Hopefully we can help him, he already has a lot of knowledge so hopefully he can keep progressing!! Blanca unfortunately did not come to church.....it's been hard to feel the spirit teaching her lately...I think its because A) The ward mission leader flirts with her like crazy and B) Her Grandaughter who is like Greg's age runs around their house doing everything she can to get our attention....and she does a VERRRRRY GOOD JOB!!!

It's hard for me to feel the spirit while teaching her but this week me and Elder Chaiña had a practice and I feeeeeeeeeeeeeeelt the spirit like hard....haha I was trying so hard not to cry!! We were practicing for Blanca and were practicing lesson 3. Lesson 3 is all about the basic principles of the church which are faith in Jesus Christ......repentance....baptism....the gift of the Holy Ghost....and enduring to the end. When we got to the part about baptism I was talking about how special my baptism was me, and how cool it was that Ty got to be the one to do it. (When Garrett was eight he chose our older brother Ty to baptize him. Just for those who don't know who Ty is!) But I literally could not teach, I was trying so hard not to cry hahahaaha I just wish that could have happened during the real thing....Blanca is progressing but slowly.

Another fun story is one that just happened....the mouse of my computer stopped working so I had to switch....ohhh Colombia haha.

But another story I wanted to shared happened when we were teaching our barber friend Victor. People always come in and out of the shop so it's a great teaching opportunity for us....but this interesting guy came and put a tray of gum in front of my face (this is common....it's how people make money) and then in HOOOOORIBLE English he asked me for the time....but like his pronunciation was so bad I thought he was speaking Spanish. He got mad at me haha after that he asked us who we are and what we are doing...and Elder Chaiña explained all that and then this guy went a big rant to all the people in the shop about how the Mormon church only believes in the old testament (HELLO, the Book of Mormon DUUUUUH) and blah blah blah.....I did not really understand him but I understood the next part when the guy getting his haircut was asking him questions trying to figure out why he was acting so weird. I think he asked if he had a girlfriend and the guy replied "ohh noo I do not like girls....I am into men" bahahahahah I meet the most interesting people here that is for sure...I love it though :)

I would say my two biggest challenges so far on the mission are easily Spanish and loving the people....it's something that I need to work on. People here have such a different culture...and such different difficult lives. Luckily me and Elder Chaiña have been doing better but we are not perfect and both have things about each other that we don't like....which is fine!! I am learning to love others as I need to....love them regardless of any circumstance because that is the NEW commandment...love one another as Jesus loves you :) This weeks challenge is easy LOVE EVERYBODY....SERVE EVERYBODY.....BE THERE FOR EVERYBODY!! Not for any benefits but because you know that is what the Savior would do....we should always be trying to emulate his example :)

Sorry this week was boring and i have 0 pictures :(

LOVE YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU GUYYYYYYYYYYYYYS!!

Your fav,

Elder Olsen