Emily, 7.11.11, Noche Blanca

Before i forget, dad I would love to use the example of the cups, and
I was able to open it, but all of the titles for the cups weren`t
there. Only the instructions. MAybe you could send it to me snail
mail? or something. I think it could help a lot of my investigators.
ITs super important to understand the apostasy, so that they
understand that this is the only true church. Thanks!

Sounds like Nauvoo has been awesome! I really did love it when we
went. There is definitely so much to learn from Church History. ITs
amazing the example of other people. I`m glad you made it through the
trek, sounds great. If I remember correctly, I didn`t help much
anyway, because my leg was still.. healing. Its so crazy to think that
a year ago I couldn`t run, and now I walk all day long everyday, and
everythings good. My health is such a blessing. I`m so grateful. THats
great that Dane is healing, I hope dad is too.

It warmed up again this week, its super crazy the weather here. They
say its gonna get cold again, but who knows? He How`d you know us
Hermanas have been thinking about a future spouses this week? Weird!
:) Mom, thanks for sharing your dream! haha i promise i`ll tell you if
anyone proposes through a letter. So far most of my letters are from
you, so don`t worry to much! But Sarah Grass, my roommates wrote me
this week and it was SO good to hear from her! Sounds like she`s doing
great.

Grandpa thats so awesome you took someone through the veil in Spanish!
When I was in Peru I had to go through in Spanish, and it was some
rough stuff, but the gift of tongues is real. I`m super proud of you,
and super excited to receive a letter!

Speaking of the gift of tongues, I witnessed one of the neatest things
I`ve ever seen this Saturday. This Saturday was our last Saturday
before transfers, and Elder Hansen and Elder Sevilla (our zone
leaders) decided to have a "noche blanca" where all of the baptisms of
the zone come to one church and are all baptized together. Im happy to
tell you that 14 of your Bolivean brothers and sisters entered in the
waters of baptism this Saturday. SO NEAT. Hermana Patzi and I didn`t
have anyone... (we`re looking, praying, and working, and being
obedient to be sure that we`re worthy of all the blessings we so
desperately need), but when we entered the chapel with everyone, the
feeling was amazing. I got to talk to a woman that was going to be
baptized and she was SO excited. She was practically glowing, and it
was so neat to see. Hermana Merrell and Elder Haws sang ´sweet hour of
prayer´ and I had the privilege of accompanying them, and it was
awesome. The spirit was super strong, and wow, I can`t even explain
it, but the coolest thing was the Elder Rojas convert.

Theres this missionary in our mission that is deaf, he lives here, but
has a nametag and joins us for activities and I think he goes with the
elders to their lessons. His name is Elder Rojas, and on saturday he
baptized his friend, that is also deaf. He taught him and everything.
But like I said before, the gift of tongues is so real. Elder Rojas
was able to say the prayer and baptize his friend. He spoke, and we
understood him. I can`t explain how special it was. One of the times
in my life that I have felt the spirit the strongest. WHen is friend
came up out of the water, he was glowing... it was absolutely amazing.

I also learned something amazing this week. Diligence is amazing.
Every day we set goals of how many lessons we`re gonna teach, how many
new investigators we`re gonna find, how many contacts we`re gonna do,
and a few other things. The truth is that very few times have my
companion and I actually achieved all of our goals, but Tuesday
morning I prayed, a lot, that we`d be able to reach them. We left on
time, and we walked with a purpose. During lunch we talked about what
we still needed to do, and we were both filled with this, "we gotta go
we gotta go, there`s so much work to do!" feeling. We left lunch early
and worked really hard all day. Practically running from every
appointment. ANd you know what? Not only did we reach all of our
goals, we exceeded them! and It felt SO good. There`s a promise in
Preach My Gospel that if you are diligent you won`t be homesick,
you`ll be happy, you`ll have the spirit, and you`ll find success.
We`ve been working on having shorter lessons, and our last one was 15
minutes long. And it was the best lesson of the day. I felt the
spirit, and they did too. You could see it in their eyes. It is so
important to be diligent. To work hard every single day. Its also
pretty hard to have. The natural man is so strong. I also have a
testimony of prayer. Its real, and powerful.

Recently we started teaching the A`s. A young couple with one
little super cute daughter. The dad, I, is an artisan (is that a
word?) he makes little Deer JOhn tractors, for decoration I think. He
wanted me to ask you all if theres a company or something that he
could sell them too in the United States. Hes just starting up his
business, and is looking for buyers. I couldn`t think of anything that
he could do, but he wanted me to ask you all. If you have any ideas,
let me know! thanks!

This week is transfers already! I can hardly believe it! I think
Hermana Patzi and I hare going to stay in Braniff. Its almost a
guarantee that Hermana Merrell is gonna be transferred, I hope not. It
has been such a huge blessing in my life to have her as a roommate.
Shes super spunky, full of energy, and the spirit, and she gives me
pep talks right when I need them. Its been an honor to get to know
her.

Well, I love you all so much. I`m glad you`re safe. Thanks for your
prayers and support. Know that I think about you everyday. Our lesson
yesterday in Relief societ was about the family, and just feel so
lucky, and blessed, to be a part of this family. The church is true,
the gospel changes lives, the power of the priesthood is real. Thanks
again.

Love ya lots!

Hermana Olsen