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.

2.22.16

Hello!

Another great week here! (Sorry, pretty sure I say that almost every week. I will think about working on being more creative.) We have been busy this week which is good by me! Being busy is the best way to do missionary work. Here in the ward their is an investigator who has been working towards baptism for about a year. The reason he hasn't been baptized sooner is because he is on probation for somethings that happened over a year ago. Anyways, his probation ends this April and we have a date for him to be baptized at the end of April. The sad thing is that this last week he went in to report on his probation and pay his fine that he has to pay every few months or something like that and finds out that it was due on the 4th. For some reason he thought it was due on the 15th. So he is hoping to here back from them soon, but until he does here back from them we don't know if he is going to be arrested this week or if here is good. It is putting me through a bit of stress, I can only imagine what it is doing to him. The good news is he is still happy and go lucky. He is a great example to me on not letting my circumstances determine how happy I am. I am so grateful to work with so many amazing people!

K didn't make it to church again which we are sad about, we haven't been able to contact her yet to find out why. We are going to be meeting with her tomorrow. Hopefully we can help her understand the importance of coming to church a little more. We were also able to finish building her fence this week which was fun. I have to say that for what we had to work with it turned out pretty well. 

Yesterday during church I was being taught by the Holy Ghost about having more joy in life through focusing on the right things. Here is what I learned. When going through life there are ups and downs. Because of physics we generally go faster when we go down then when we go up. It takes work to go up. Now I am going to compare this to running. It is true that when running down hill is usually faster, but I want to focus mostly on the uphill push. Here is two ways to run hills. Either we slow down because up hill is hard, or we speed up because we enjoy making progress. The difference is the focus. When we slow down we are focusing on how hard life is. We are focusing on taking one more step at a time, just doing our best not to stop. No matter what we do, as we go through life we will run the hills like this at some hills or even just some parts of some hills. That is ok. Sometimes the best thing to focus on is making it one more step and one more day. Sometimes this all that we can do. The other focus is on how much we enjoy making progress, how much we enjoy the journey. Because running up hill is the hardest part of the run, it can also be the most rewarding. For that matter there comes a certain energy and excitement from running up hill that can make it so you push a little bit beyond your usual speed. When this is our focus, what is the hardest part of the journey also is the most rewarding. The time that we can find more joy and satisfaction.

Have a great week!

Elder Olsen

BONUS:

I received some texts from members this week!

February 15, 2016

Sister Smith

Your Elders gave us the BEST lesson for family night! Elder Olsen and Elder Weiss

Me the mom

Thank you so much. Great picture and I love hearing that

he is doing just what he should be and obviously enjoying.

Then in a separate text Sister Smith:

Your son is the BEST Elder that has served in our ward!! He has been

our favorite since the first time we met him! He literally glows with light and 

goodness! 

Me:

You made my day and I'm a little teary. It makes me so grateful t hear

he is touching lives. Thanks for loving him. He loves Ellsworth.

February 19, 2016

Having a great time with the Elders...They are happy and healthy! Good food...good times and now a lesson (thumbs up)

Christmas Cards or Packages

We just received a letter from the mission office requesting that we plan ahead so that all packages and cards for Christmas are received by the mission office (address on side bar) by December 8.  They should be sent by USPS and then the office forwards them to the missionaries so they need time for that process to happen.

Also they would like every missionary to receive something for Christmas so they suggested that in sending anything you include a little something for the companion. Suggest not sending perishable items as they may not be received fast enough.

I am not asking for you to send anything.  This is more a FYI in case you were already planning a card or something.  Wishing you all a very happy holiday season of giving thanks and giving love

Missionary Mom

Peter 9.2.12

Hello! 

this week has been pretty crazy we had an experince i've never had before. it started monday night as we were biking home. we stopped to talk to two older ladies that were out walking. pam informed us that she was missing a cat and had been for over 24 hours. she then described the cat and then we told her we'd let her know if we saw it. then on friday night we were biking down O Dr. and there was a cat that met the description. on the side of the sidewalk, only thing was that it was dead... we decided P needed to know so we left her a note at her house and informing he that her cat was "no longer among the living".  we also gave her our phone number like we give nearly everyone that will take it. and she called. and asked that we go with her to see the cat with her... so we did.  we buried it in her yard.

she was a very southern baptist lady and we were hoping it would help her open up but nope, but at least we gave the church a nice name. and she'll remember that 2 mormon missionaries helped her. 

anyways we taught M again and he told us that he was struggling to recognize the spirit. so we taught him from galations 5:22-23 and taught him how to pray. we committed him to pray-specifically to know that this was true. he said he would. and we left. when we called him friday to follow up he said that he had felt and recognized the spirit! it was a miracle for him. we are excited to teach him again this tuesday 

I'm glad that everything is going well back home 

have a great labor day!

love ya  

Elder Olsen

Note from mom:  We received Peter's travel plans and he will be home the afternoon of November 28 - YEAH!

Emily 3.26.12

 (I got a call from Hermana Merrell.  she is third from the left and got home last week.  She said so many nice things about Emily. . . amazing, happy, hardworking, speaking Spanish well, talented.  Oh my it was so fun.)

The only thing constant is change and that's true in the mission too. We had transfers this week and hermana Gayol and I thought we were safe because the training program

is twelve weeks - and we only had six together. But well, I guess sheis just super prepared and ready because they called us Wednesday night and told us that we had transfers. Hermana Gayol went to La Pompa to open area and train a new sister, and I stayed here in Equipetrol to train another new sister. Seven new hermanas came this week which is super great because 5 left, but we were a little short on trainers for them. I am super happy for hermana gayol, she is gonna be a super great trainer. She is an amazing missionary. We worked really well together. Everyone always told us we were like sisters. We got along super well, and well, I am gonna miss that girl. In mission language I now officially have "three daughters" and "one
grandaughter" :)

and my new companion? Hermana Ramirez! She is from California, she`s
tall, skinny, and super full of energy. Her mom is from El Salvador
and her Dad is from Guatemala and she grew up speaking Spanish -
everyone thinks she is a native. Its a huge blessing for me, i was a
little nervous i was gonna have to teach her Spanish, but its the
other way around. She helps me a lot. She is 24, never thought about
going on a mission because she always wanted a big family and said
that if she wanted a big one she had to start early! She is the 6th of
8 kids, so we relate really well. She also is thinking about studying
elementary education with a special in PE - so we have a lot in
common. It should be a fun couple of transfers.I am excited.

Before the training meeting i had the opportunity to talk to some of
the sisters that are in my old areas and ask about some of the
investigators. Do you remember Gab from Guaracal? Well she was
baptized! and Ad has a baptismal date again, and passed his
interview - so I think he will be baptized soon too! There was also an
investigator in Braniff that married his "wife" and was baptized. They
showed me pictures and they are super happy. We had done several FHEs
with them because his wife and kids were inactive - but now they are
all members of the church and are happy. I also heard that the Ya
family that was baptized with me in San Pedro are super actives and
happy. It was a tender mercy to hear how things were going, and to
know that these people that i grew to love so much are progressing.

I think I told you last week that we had visited a brother in the
hospital - P. We went again this week and he is very humble. It is
a neat experience to teach in the hospital -they can`t hide or escape,
and they are more humbled, looking for God. He accepted a baptismal
date for April! But he needs to recuperate first - your prayers are
welcome and appreciated ;) We had gone two times and he hadn`t prayed,
he refused. The third time we went I felt that he just needed to do
it, to pray with us. I told him that i would say the first prayer, if
he would say the closing prayer. He said no. I asked why and he said
it was because he can`t talk - yep he SAID he couldn`t talk ;) I was a
little stubborn, and tried to encourage him, and he got a little upset.
oops. I just smiled and said I would say the opening prayer. I did, we
shared the lesson - the restoration. And then in the end i asked him
to say the closing prayer. At first he said no, but hermana  Ramirez
encouraged him a little too and - he did it! It is amazing how God
humbles people and prepares them for the gospel.

This week the RS helped a sister whose son died after years of
fighting cancer. They cleaned out his house and they said it was a
huge project. But it was neat to hear her thank all the sisters who
had gone to help her. It made me appreciate the RS and the opportunity
be a member of such a neat society. Hermana A told us that the
wish of her son was to have his body cremated - weird! But the
weirdest part is that the hermana asked the bishop to store his
remains in the church until his brother could come to pick them up.
haha Gross!

Wow, time is up already. I was thinking about school and class and
when its time to register? Maybe you could do a little research?

Enjoy general conference this weekend! I`ll be thinking about you all!

Love you all lots and lots!

Love
Hermana Olsen

Peter, 11.28.11

Hello!

 Here are some of the pics that i took this last week.

the picture of the gator is one that was just off the main road we were biking down after emailing last week. he was probably about 5" long.

the frog is one that was in the door window when we came home one night.

the one with the blue tarp and our bike just off of a little trail we came across we think it used to be a homeless persons camp.

the food  thats on our table was our thanksgiving dinner! and boy was it good.

sorry thier isn't much today,

Hope all is well with you all .

Elder Olsen

ps it looks like you had an awsome thanksgiving in idaho. thanks for sending the pictures.

Looks like they got to eat at home with each other for Thanksgiving.  I'm wondering why.  Next year he will be here with us.

pictures

Our birthday pictures we sent to Emily and Peter.

Emily, 8.29.11

Hey famª my keyboard is crazy right now and I can÷t use any of the the
exclamation points or periods or anything, so forgive me for my
awesome grammer... Mom is that last picture Jack? Your pictures are so
awesome, your camera must be super nice, they look beautiful.

Sounds like an awesome week with the fair. The mud scrammble sounds
like a blast, I÷m definitely missing mud volleyball. Next year for
sureª  I÷m glad JOhn got a deer, they bought a horse and trailer¨???
QUe crazyª I÷m defintely looking forward to letters from them. And
from Dane, it sounds like its been a summer of crazy amazing
adventures. I can÷t believe school is starting again. I wonder who is
the PE teacher at Manti Elementary, and who is coaching my soccer
team? Its crazy to think how much has changed in a year.
´
I have been thinking about Aunt Renon all week, and been praying for
all of her family. I read in Alma 27 yesterday, and it says that the
sting of death is swallowed up in the resurrection of Christ, and its
true. Its sad, and a little hard, but its ok. Because the best is yet
to come. Tell everyone hi for me, and know that you÷re all in my
prayers.

Well, this week was good. Monday we had two family home evenings, both
successes and super fun. During lunch we had a cool experience. We eat
in a small restaurant, so we always bless our food silently and
personally. I blessed mine and was eating when the man behind me
leaned over and said thanks for blessing your food, its always
important to bless the food and thank God for giving it to you. I said
ya, it isª haha and then he started quoting and singing scriptures
from teh bible... haha interesting, but we seized the moment and
taught him about the restoration of the gospel. He doesn÷t live in our
area, but we sent his reference to the elders. Hopefully they can
contact him and sing some more scriptures with him or somethin... hehe

 Tuesday we had a good day, worked hard. We were knocking a gate when
behind us a car stopped in the middle of the road. The man rolled down
his window and yelled "hey, what church are you from? I wanna talk
about religionª" and then the person came to teh gate. Hermana Patzi
talked to the home owner, and I went to talk to the man in the car.
Its not everyday that someone stops us and says he wants to talk. He
asked when our meetings hard and said he wanted to study the bible
with us. He of course, doesn÷t live in our area, but we took his
information and sent the reference. But its really cool to see that
people see us, watch us, and even with just our example we can teach
them.

Tuesday afternoon i felt a little sick, all of my body was aching and
my throat and head and I had a slight fever. I called hermana Calderon
and we ended up going to the doctor. He said it was probably that I
had dangue and he sent us to have an analysis taken. Told us to rest
in the house, and come back wednesday. We went back and he said yep,
its dangue, and sentenced us to the house until Saturday. I officially
had dangue this week :? but it was super light. I think I had the
worst part of it all weekend, I slept almost all day on Monday. But
Hermana Patzi and I had some good bonding time three days in the house
together. I studied a lot, we made cookies, and fixed a bunch of
things that I have been putting off, like my earings, my pants, and a
bunch more. It was a good time to catch up. The elders gave me a
blessing on Thursday, and I am feeling pretty good now. A little weak,
but I think i÷m almost back to my self.

Saturday we worked for half a day, we also had our first English
classª and NOBODY came... haha deficil la vida... but they announced
it all day at church yesterday, and we÷re going to make some more
invitations and hopefully this saturday we÷ll have a better turn out.

Transfers were this week, and Hermana Patzi and I are together for one
more transfer here in Braniff. This is her last transfer, and she
feels even more this need to work work work. Shes awesome and I have a
feeling we÷re gonna do a lot of good this transfer, ojalaª

I don÷t remember what else I was going to tell you from last week. We
had intercambios and they were amazing. I learned a mountain of things
from Hermana Portillo. She is an awesome missionary stuffed full of
faith. She taught me to trust in the Lord, and to meet goals, but I
think one of the best lessons I learned was to use every single
moment. During lunch we talked about the area, the investigators, how
we could better it, if there was someone in the street, we went to
them to introduce ourselves and invite them to church, every single
minute we need to use to do this marvelous work, because we have
dedicated ALL of our time ot the Lord.

Right now we are working with a family where they are all members,
except teh dad. We challenged him to baptism last week, and didn÷t
want to accept. He says he still has his doubts, but I know that he
has felt the spirit and that he knows. We are praying like crazy for
him. I think President Calderon is going to visit him with us,
hopefully it will be really powerful. The hard part is that his family
is super active, but they go to the other ward, and he has to be
baptized in ours, because thats where they lives. We are working with
them and praying for them.

Well, times up. I÷m really sorry about last week. Hopefully this makes
up for itª I love you all, and pray for you everday. The church is
true, living the gospel is the only way that we can have eternal life,
and never ending happiness. The scriptures have all the secrets, and
if we just read them and put everything we learn in practice then we
can live "the good life."  I love you allª Se cuidanª

all my love,

Hermana Olsen


Mom note:
It is a real challenge to think that she has been sick and I can't do anything to help but I am very grateful for the many prayers of people for the missionaries, the healing power of the priesthood, and our amazing bodies that can  become well again.

Emily's Birthday!

last year's birthday at home

Emily's birthday is September 19.  It's just one month away which is about how long it takes to get letters or packages.  I'm sure she would really appreciate some birthday wishes coming her way.  If you would like to write her please use the address on the side bar or you can use dearelder which is easy and free.  You just choose write a letter and her mission, Bolivia Santa Cruz.  It is all online.  You write and push send.  The company prints it out and sends it with pouch mail.  It is a really easy way to mail Emily letters and it is free.

mothers day

We all talked to both missionaries today.  They sound just the same and yet so very different.  They sound confident, mature, and happy in the work.  Lots of love was shared.  Looking forward to more letters, pictures, and Christmas when we talk to them again.

Latter Day Warriors

A very nice thought from a fellow missionary mom


Latter Day Warrior

A young warrior prepares for his day ahead.  After all, he has known

this day would come since he took his very first steps. He was taught as
a little boy that he was a hero, saved for these final days of battle.
He was taught that the enemy was real and would try day after day to
stop him from learning and growing into what he has now become.  He is a
warrior, valiant, strong, mighty in his conviction, and unrelenting in
his beliefs of good versus evil.  He understands that right will prevail
over wrong, that one person can (and in his case) will make a
difference.  His friends, his family and those who know him best gather
for one last meal together to give final words of advice, encouragement,
gifts of love and to unite in a final prayer before he departs.  Yes, he
has been preparing for this day for as long as he could remember.  He
wonders, "How did it arrive so fast? Am I as ready as I need to be?"
Regardless of the answers, he has accepted the call.  He will assume the
responsibility that has been placed on his head.  He has been set apart,
dedicated his young life for this very day, this hour, this moment in
time.  He is ready, he is willing.  He will give all he 'has to give'
alongside the many others who have gone before him and who will yet
follow after him.

He begins to arm himself, by kneeling in prayer.  When he arises he
feels the armor surrounding him like a warm blanket of comfort.  After
dressing he takes the symbol of whom he is now and whom he represents
and pins it proudly on his freshly pressed white shirt.  It is but a
small black and white badge but it is the very symbol of righteous,
proclaiming for all to see whom he is and what he stands for.  Next the
young warrior takes his instructions, his guide, and tucks it reverently
in his pack.  When in doubt he knows to open the pages and there he will
find the answers to what he needs.  Fully armed he walks out, a little
timid at first, but then lengthens his stride.  Hugging his family
goodbye, he smiles and waves.  He is sad but for a moment as he leaves
his family behind.  Soon, his heart is filled with peace and a calmness
of mind.  He is ready; he will battle with all of his might, mind and
strength as he has been taught.  He has received a witness that this is
where he needs to be, this is his time, and he is in the right place.

Two years later, this same young warrior prepares for his day ahead.
For two years, he has battled with all of his might.  He has been a true
warrior standing for truth and right.  He has blessed those in need, he
has taught the powers of good, he has lead those seeking the truth, and
helped those who have fallen and lost their way.  Each day for two
years, he has battled without rest, without thoughts of home, without
thoughts of himself.  His eye was set on the final victory, the prize
for those who endured to the end.  He has been a valiant warrior and
given all he has day after day, hour after hour, minute by minute.  His
badge is now worn, tattered and old.  His battle plans show scars of
battles; the pages folded, tattered, and worn from hours of study and
preparation.  His knees now calloused from hours bent in prayer; not for
him but for those he has served with, learned from and for those he has
yet to find.  He has given all he has, there is now nothing left to
give.  His time as a young warrior is fast coming to an end.  He feels
the pressure of time weighing down upon him day by day.

An older, wiser warrior now prepares for his day.  He knew this day
would come from the very first steps he took into this new land.  He at
first thought this battle would be hard; he questioned himself and his
inner strength.  Now looking back, he wonders, "How did it all go so
fast?  Have I done all that I came to do? Have I helped fight the
adversary with all of my might mind and strength? Is there anyone still
lost that I need to find?  Have I done my best?"  He lifts his head to
look in the mirror.  "Yes", he whispers "I have battled well, I can be
proud of who I am and what I have done."  Slowly he walks out and with a
humble heart, and kneels in prayer one last time as a warrior.  With
courage he stands, places his badge once again over his heart, packs his
belongings and prepares to say his final goodbyes to those he has served
and grown to love so much.  This foreign soil has become his home and he
is sad to leave.  These people he now calls family, where once they were
strangers.  Opening his battle plans one last time, he seeks for
answers, for peace, and for strength to face the day ahead.

His head and shoulders erect, he takes his first steps back on his home
soil. When he first left it, now seems so long ago, a lifetime ago in
his mind.  He feels like a stranger here now.  Timidly he gathers his
pack, lifts himself to his full size and proudly walks forward to meet
his family and friends who he knows are waiting to welcome this battle
worn warrior back home.  "It went all too fast." he whispers to himself.
"I am but a stranger here".  One last thought races through his mind,
"This morning I left my home, to come home".  His love of those he
served beside, those he taught and those he grew to love now linger in
his heart and forever there, they will stay.

A warrior valiant and strong, mighty in his conviction, unrelenting in
his beliefs of good versus evil, knowing that right has indeed
prevailed; returned home this day.  As he walks towards those waiting to
see his face, he passes another young warrior taking his first timed
steps away from home, preparing to go into battle.  The older warrior
tilts his head and smiles; the new warrior stands a little taller as
they pass.  They know this is their time, their battle; they were saved
for these latter days.  The mantle of responsibility is passed onto
another warrior; who like him had been preparing for this day from the
time he took his very first steps.  Yes, the battle rages on, but for
this returning warrior his battle will be at home now.   He will
continue to serve with honor.  He will use what he has learned these
past two years to raise up other young warriors to serve in the years
that lie ahead.

Yes, a warrior has returned with honor to those he left behind, knowing
he is the one who gained so much.  He will never be able to repay the
debt, his service was but for a moment in time, but who he is now strong
and sure, dedicated and determined to follow the right, will stay with
him for a lifetime.  He lifts his head once again, and looks forward
with a smile to those he can see in the distance waiting with open arms
to welcome him home.



Dedicated to LDS RM's worldwide!

Debbie Blair
Missionary mom.