2.16.26 #sweettreatneverhurtnoone

Ok gang 

This is is everything I ate this week 

🥭🍎🍄🌯🍪🥛🌰🫘🍌🍚🥥🥚🍠🍯🍫🍪🍔🫑🥑 

So its been a pretty good time 

Jumping in. 

So the last few weeks have been, to say the least. CRAZY. Not exactly, but a good time at least. 

So sorry I've been a little MIA this transfer, literally it's about to end, and I feel like I've not given my experience here good standing, so I'm here today to redeem myself. 

Some silly things that have gone down:

We've literally been having way too many lessons with pastors…. Like actually we've hit 4 this transfer… dont ask me i just work here. But one of them we did a little church swap, which meant we sang a spanish alabanza to the tune of “my country tis of thee” i was dying. After we got Mexican food, so I'm not gonna complain.. but actually the pastor and his wife pulled to church on Sunday, kinda chill 🤷🏼‍♀️ 

One day we got too tempted to get a little sweet treat while we were trying to do some public finding… (there was actually nobody out side) but as we were wondering this mexican tienda we see 1st one of our great friends Mario (we are gonna get him to the font soon just you wait) and his little girls #bars and then right after our recent convert and his brother who we are teaching walked right into the store and we were like pause this is a little tooo perfect. Turns out his brother is going on vacation to Mexico for like 6 months, don't worry, we were invited. And don't worry, we politely declined. But a good testimony that God takes our weaknesses and makes them strengths, #alittlesweettreatneverhurtnoone

Last p-day, we got to go to a Native American museum on the Indian reservation right next to us. And I was actually fascinated the whole time. I literally wish I could live so many different lifetimes so I can experience the different cultures I am learning about every day. I hope I can just implement things from each of them and create a life i love 🙏

I got to go to a mission call opening for the first time as a missionary. And HOLY there were tears streaming down my face. Literally to the day, 11 months since I opened my mission call…. There is something so special about seeing someone be called Jesus Christ. It's the best kind of atmosphere.  

I cried over cookies this week… don't exactly know why, but all pointed to the fact that I miss my mom… if you have a mother close to you, go give her a big hug for me. Please please please 

On the subject of crashing out… I've had a few these last few weeks, but especially this week. I don't know why, and I think that is why it's so frustrating. But I got to get a blessing from my district leader. And let me tell you its just what I need. I felt God's love so big and my saviors. I felt seen and understood. And I also got some loving advice on how to be better. And that night, I received further testimony that goodnight, this church is the restored church of Christ. That this is the same power he used, and all on earth and throughout all the scripture stories.

Lately me and my comp keep on finding ourselves in conversations where people are telling us how our church is wrong or confused, and we are crazy for believing in a prophet in our day. But through every tough situation i walked away with a calm knowledge of what i know and an assurance from the Holy Ghost that I am choosing the right path. And holy I am so blessed to know and belong to a church that loves so openly and to have faith in a God that loves his kids in every way and time of this earth. As I was studying in Come Follow Me last week, I read this talk that explains who God is and the merciful god he is throughout all of time. He is the “God who is urgently, lovingly, faithfully at work on every page of that record from its Old Testament beginning to its New Testament end. Yes, in an effort to give the world back its Bible and a correct view of Deity with it, what we have in the Book of Mormon is a uniform view of God in all His glory and goodness, all His richness and complexity—including and especially as again demonstrated through a personal appearance of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.” 

Elder Holland: The Grandeur of God

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2003/10/the-grandeur-of-god?lang=eng

From eveything that has gone down this week, it all led to la día de amor y amnistad (valentines day) where i gained a better understanding of Gods lobe for me. Everyone, go read and listen to the talk, please, please, please 

Anyway, I love and miss all my people. 

But know our Heavenly Father loves you so much and wholly he is in relentless pursuit of all of us. Don't forget it. 

♡/ Hermana Olsen 

2.3.26. Your graus is munched

Deborah Olsen	12:02 AM (16 hours ago)
to me

Its February lets gooo 

Practically I'm gonna try and do a little update since I chose to play nurtz on p day instead of writing an email. 

But as some of you know I changed areas… big sad but don't fret i am finally adjusting and I'm loving the new one. We are to say the least cheffing. 

But some neat miracles from my last area. My last day in Selah we visited out bestest girlie ️Estefany ️ and she told us about an incredible experience she had with prayer and God answered her prayers. It was beautiful and she crying and we were and after we all left and the Elders took over they put her on date the very next day. So Estefany and getting BAPTIZED! So so excited for her. 

️ Zillah ️ 

My little daughter came and picked me up from transfer cites and we hit the down but low key it was foggy and cloudy for my first 2 weeks so i honestly had no idea what my area looked like for a hot minute. But no worries the sun indeed came out last week!! It was a miracle sent straight from heaven. I always seem to forget that if I don't get to photosynthesise I tend to be IN THE TRENCHES. but they sun came out for like 2 days and one morning we actually had a sunrise and i've gotten like 2 sunsets! So to say the least we are on the up.  

Besides the weather throwing me and my compy for a loop we've actually been doing great! I get to live with the english set of sisters here and let me tell you its a dangerous thing to put 4 sisters together and expect them to get to bed on time, our nights consist of racing to put our jammies on and then either yapping or play 4 rounds of nertz and yes your girl is in fact racking in the points. Our district is also on top. Our area and zone is full of missionaries with 6 months or less on the mission so we are practically just a bunch of babies trying to figure things out. But literally it's been great and Gods really blessed me with some awesome people to serve with. 

Our day to day looks like fighting a little for our lives in lessons but my compy actually has some fire spanish but we are both still trying to figure out how to be missionaries. And then after leaving said lessons you can literally catch us running  to our car because its too cold to walk. One of the towns we work in has a wild amount of dinosaurs and we are either doing comp study on a dino or snagging a photo with one. And then the occasional sweet treat run to switch things up after grinding all day. 

But there are some really amazing people here. And actual Spanish members because we have spanish branch!! Which has been a wake up call for my spanish skills (everyone say a little prayer that I will get my brain together and actually conjugate my words) but they're awesome. 

A 50 year old spanish man said i looked like one of the women in ABBA so im feeling pretty good about myself and then he proceeded to tell me he needed to take a photo with me to show his mother. So if any of mamá mía and think I somehow made it to Grease dont worry I didn't… I'm just grinding here in the boonies of the great state of Washington. 

We also had Zone Conference this week and it was so fun to see all my mission friends  love them big and i walked away with sole great insight from our mission. Leadership. 

I've been having a lot of thoughts as of late and something is that God doesn't change our circumstances because he gave us agency to act. But he can change us. So the prayer is not to take this away but to give me the strength to become more through this. And to be frank i've been having a hard time with faith lately and knowing what is possible with the faith I have. But as I've thought more about it I am recognizing that the end goal and our end is to be with God and our families again. And the gospel of Jesus Christ is the means. And so everything we should be doing should be a means to that end. And so since we have been gifted the choice to choose what and who we become; I have a new hope to strive to become more then what I am now. Y ser Franco orta vez I don't know all my next steps but I do know that we have a Loving Heavenly Father and a brother who gave everything so we could come back is always ready to help us. 

Presidente Oaks said 

“Because of His atoning experience in mortality, our Savior is able to comfort, heal, and strengthen all men and women everywhere, but I believe He does so only for those who seek Him and ask for His help. The Apostle James taught, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:10). We qualify for that blessing when we believe in Him and pray for His help.” 

Anyway I truly don't know all my thoughts right now and you're probably just as confused as I am. But know that I know my savior lives and loves and our Father loves us well too. 

Love you all big timeee 

♡/ Hermana Olsen 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/enS6qVdNZ1tQC8b78

2.2.26. Mom notes

Dear Hermana Olsen (and all my kids),

As you know, we are very short on water.  We have not had a good snow. Isaac can tell you that there is only a foot on Skyline as he drove his car up to see it.  So my fast and continued prayers are for snow. Snow pack in the mountains, snow in the valleys, rain in April, May, and June if necessary.  We are not praying for moisture, as that is too general. We don't just need dew on the grass; we need to replenish our reservoirs and feed our trees.  I have daffodils about an inch or more above the ground.  I imagine Peter is watching his trees and water in general.  Now that we have Lake Powell plans, we need water there too.  Scott said yesterday that they will close the ramp in March due to low water until spring runoff starts. (runoff from where?) Obviously, we need rain and snow. We need lots of water.

All this water on my mind, we show up fasting to sacrament meeting and are told the church doesn't have water.  No flushing toilets, no sinks to wash hands, and no water for the sacrament.  We find someone with a key to the city building, and they go get water from there for the sacrament.  Bishop Hintze mentions the issue and references the living water.  Here we are in a church with a beautiful mural of the woman at the well. Jesus taught her about living water. The story says she left her pot behind to share the good news that Jesus had just taught her.  

We enjoy the sacrament, and it is announced that the building has water again.  We are all grateful. It is testimony meeting, and some of us are still pondering water.  I have also been thinking about faith.   

I am praying for water. It is a righteous desire and a real need.  It could start snowing that day or the next. My phone says clear skies, but I believe that could change. I know many are praying for snow.  I know some of us are wondering if there are things we need to repent of to open the windows of heaven.  

The church normally has water. Today, it did not have water when we needed it.  We adjusted and made do.  It worked out, eventually. My prayers are like that.  I have faith. I ask in faith, believing.  But my faith can not be that I will receive snow. My faith is not in my ability to control the weather. My faith is in God.  My faith says that I have a loving Father in Heaven whom I pray to; I can ask with faith, and I can trust that He will bless me. I can trust that it is in his timing and wisdom.  He will bring snow, eventually. In the meantime, I/we may have to make adjustments, find other ways to move forward, and believe that, for now, His answers look different from what I would prefer.  The adventure begins. I may need to look at things differently, figure out what I might be able to learn along the way, and possibly how we can work together as a community to care for each other.  Or we might get lots of snow over the next couple of months and adjust to shoveling, dressing warmer, driving less and more carefully, preparing to enjoy a big garden, lots of lawn mowing, and plan some lake fun.

Water is essential to all living things. It is such a huge and basic need.  Water has so many lessons to teach me. So grateful that on one simply fast Sunday, I got to ponder, wonder, evaluate, explore, and determine how faith works.  What, why, or who do I have faith in? How do I exercise faith? How might I recognize the answers to my faithful petitions? How do I take the next step in strengthening my faith?

For now, I will keep praying for snow, keep repenting, keep watching the skies, and hoping. I believe in living water. That is the one I want to focus on.  If my pot is empty, that's okay because I have the living water. I need not thirst.

As for the rest of my life in Manti, it's good. We are healthy and active, and we are planning to start our kitchen remodel. I still feel like there are some details I would like to figure out. I want to make sure the kitchen meets my needs.  Is there a place for glasses? Do I have enough storage? Will the pantry be big enough for the counter and shelves I want? How should we do the windows? What should we do to finish the outside? How could we do a walk around to connect the decks?  How should we do the ceiling? Beadboard and beams? Is there a fun way to do the lighting that isn't just cans? How will we add on to the floor, and what about the transition to the pantry? Should I do the island a different color, or is that just a trend? Just to name a few.  

I am continuing to sort and de-junk, and it feels so good.  I won't do our room or closet (but it could use it). One of the hardest to face is the storage room under the porch.  How many decorations, frames, emergency supplies, and camping stuff do I need to keep?  At least it keeps me busy, and I feel productive each time a space gets organized. 

I am sure hoping you (all or any of you) write this week. I love hearing from you.  Talking is wonderful, but when we write, we think and share differently.  I appreciate both.   

I love you. I pray for you. I am proud of you.  Be good, stay true, love God, and let his love guide you.  We have stake conference next week, and then I will be preparing for teaching Noah in Sunday School.  If you have any insights, I am grateful. 

Love always,

Mom

PS We enjoyed driving the Mustang with the top down this week, working in the yard, and just sitting on the grass.