Emily, 5.9.11

Family! I talked to you on the phone yesterday! It was so so so good
to hear you all and talk to you and wow, so great! Thanks so much for
being my family, i just love you all so much. Like dad said yesterday,
we had a pretty random conversation about a whole bunch of stuff that
isn`t that important, but wow, it was soo good, and I realized it is
the little things in life that we share together. I am so grateful to
know that you`re all living the gospel, loving the Savior, and doing
your best to follow him everyday. THanks for your advice, prayers,
support, everything. I am so so so grateful!

I can`t remember what pictures I`ve already sent you, I haven`t taken
any since last week, so sorry if these are repeats.

This week was awesome. Well, when I think about it, ya it was pretty
awesome, but who knows why? At least two of our days we had
appointments planned all day long, and they ALL fell through, the
people weren`t there, or they hid from us, you never know which one it
is :). But we taugh Yeltsin again on Saturday. He told us that he
wanted to more of an answer, this seems to be the problem with a lot
of our investigators lately. But I remembered that scripture that says
¨did i not speak peace to you mind? what more answer do you want then
from God¨ or something like that. I knew it in my head, in English,
but wasn`t sure where it was in my Spanish scriptures. I said a quick
prayer askign Heavenly Father to help me find it, and immediately
thought D&C 6. I looked, and there it was! He read it, and you could
see that his touched him. I challanged him to baptism, and he said
yes! He`s had several baptismal dates and backed away from them. He
needs to have an interview with President Calderon, so we don`t know
when yet. But I asked him to be baptized and he said yes, then I said
when? And he asked ¨when can I?´ ha so awesome. Hopefully this month!

We also found a sweet older women. She`s about 60, and really great.
When we teach her she always just says, I didn`t know that, I`ve never
heard that before. We taught her the Word of Wisdom yesterday and she
said I`m going to live it. No doubt nada, Just ya, I`m going to live
it. We taught her husband to, and he was more hesitant. He`s very
catholic, but super nice. He wouldn`t commit to living it, but she
said doesn`t matter, I`m gonna live this commandment. She also
accepted a baptismal date for June 4, hopefully she`ll come to church
so she can continue to prepare for this date. We`ve also met some of
her kids, and they`re super nice. When we went over to her house
yesterday just to pass by, she was reading the BOok of Mormon! She`s
really great, and hopefully she´ll be the example for all of her
family to follow.

There`s another girl that were teaching when we can. She comes to
church everyweek with her cousins that she lives with, but she lives
early to work. Her brother that lives with them was baptized a year
ago, and he leaves early too. We are trying to figure out why she
won`t be baptized. I`m not sure whats holding her back. But, we have a
family home evening planned tonight with her, and her cousins that are
members that she lives with, and hopefully it will just be awesome.
She studies and works a lot, and definitely doesn`t like to put us as
a priority in her life. I just want to show her taht life is so much
happier when we have the gospel, and that its absolutely necessary for
her eternal salvation. Hopefully she comes around soon.

Daniela is the other one we are teaching. She is about 18 years old,
and really awesome, but also says she hasn`t received an answer. We`ve
challanged her to baptism about 3 times and still hasn`t accepted. We
need to figure out why she`s not receiving an answer, or not
recognizing it, and help her see that the gospel is so awesome and
wonderful. Its so sad to see people that are struggling in life, and
we`re there, with the gospel at their fingertips, and they just don`t
understand that if they can just grab hold, everything is going to
change. Its going to give them hope, happiness, everything!

The mission is so wonderful, it really is. ITs fun and exciting, and
its so great to think that maybe someone is going to have a whole new
life, because I was here and able to share the gospel with them. ITs
also hard, but Hna THorpe and I were talking, and it is just so
important to enjoy every single minute of it. Its gonna go by so fast,
and like Bishop Bingham used to say, we will never pass this way
again. I will never again have this time to dedicate all that I have
to teh Lord again. I truly feel so lucky and blessed to be here. I
know the gospel is true, and that its the greatest thing ever! I love
you all so much. Its true, the plan of Salvation is to come here, get
sealed in the temple, have kids, and make sure you all go back
together. Thanks for praying for my future spouse mom, i`m praying for
him too :) Keep enjoying life, we are that we might have JOY! Love ya!

Love,
Hermana Olsen