Just so everyone knows, starting this next week (beginning in July) the mission no longer permits chats/google hangouts.
Monday, June 25, 2018 (transcription from Audio letter)
Hey everyone, this is Elder Olson here. This is week 1 of transfer 16. We got the changes, the transfers this week but I'm gonna make you wait to hear.
It's been a good week. We started off towards the beginning of the week in our zone meeting on wednesday, instead of doing a district class, we, as a zone, watched the devotional (I guess)...the celebration of the second official declaration of the announcement, the anniversary of the announcement, of the priesthood being extended to all worthy male members of the church. So it was celebrating a lot of African culture. And so that was pretty cool. I don't know how many of you saw it but it was fun...kind of something a little different, something that I don't normally see...a southern gospel type choir perform in the conference center. The music was pretty good. I really like that kind of music. It has a lot more energy...a lot more spirit...I mean more soul. So that was kind of fun. And after that, as a zone, we did exchanges. I went with Elder Perry in Curico in their ward there and his companion came to Licanten with my companion. Which was good to give my companion a chance to lead the sector before changes.
Then on Thursday, we finished the exchange and we did divisions with a couple of members from our branch, to be able to do two lessons at the same time. Which also turned out super good. We have this investigator we found a little over a week ago. I may have mentioned her. Her name is Marcia. We contacted her in a kind of a town square where we always contact in the morning because in this place there are people. She was waiting for a bus and we talked to her and her 6 year old son. She was super nice and told us we could pass by. So we called her and set an appointment and passed by with the branch president and his wife. And it turns out the branch president knows her mom very well and so he knows her pretty well as well. She used to be living with her boyfriend and they used to live almost right next to the branch president and his wife. And the branch president's wife is a teacher and Marcia is also a teacher and so they know each other pretty well and they are pretty good friends. So that was pretty awesome to be able to teach her with them and the branch president and his wife are just thrilled that we are teaching her. And she accepted a baptismal date this week for the 28th of July and I think she has a pretty good chance of getting baptized that day. She's awesome. But she didn't come to church because she was on a trip to Santiago. But if she comes next week, that's kind of the determining factor there...how willing to actually attend church she is. That's kind of a common theme here. But it looks like, I don't know...I believe her...It looks like she'll come. But that was really cool. It went super well.
And then on Saturday, we found out the changes, and I was pretty surprised, to be honest. So my companion will be staying here in Licanten. And I am moving. I will be in my last change, I'll be going back to Buin...which was my second zone in the mission, but it looks like I'll be in a different sector. I'll be in the same church building but a different Branch and this Branch is called Los Jardines(?). Los Jardines is the zone leader's sector, so basically I'll be going back up as a zone leader. Which is interesting...not something that happens very often. It's not very common that a missionary is a zone leader and then goes back to being like a district leader or a co-companion, we call it. We don't have senior or junior companions in our mission, just co-companions, which is what I am right now. Normally you don't go "down" from being a zone leader and then go "back up." So it's kind of interesting that they've asked me to go "back up" for my last transfer of the mission. I was honestly really excited when I found out. I loved Buin and the branch. It was awesome. I am super excited to see some of the people who were there. It sounds like one of my investigators I had while I was there, I know he was baptized soon after I left, but from what I heard he's married and is listed to get sealed in the temple. So I'm excited for that. I had a lot of good friends there and had a really good experience in that zone. I don't know if any of you remember a video I sent in my time there where we made a song. I played the guitar, my companion played the piano and then we had a third and another that was playing drums on a garbage bin. And that was in that zone. It was really just a great time there. And I'm with Elder Perry right now and He was in the sector where I'm going to. When I was in Rancagua, he was in Los Jardines(?) and he says it was his favorite sector. He says he loved it. So I'm pretty excited. My companion is going to be Elder Koche(?) and he's a Bolivian. I've met him a couple times. He seems like a really good missionary. He's really friendly, which is really cool. And I've heard only great things about him. My zone looks pretty good. There are going to be 5 of us who are...we say "dying" in the mission, who will be ending the mission this change. Which is kind of crazy. There are sooooooo many missionaries that are going home this change. There are 29 of us. And so, yeah, it should be fun. I'm really excited about these changes.
It also was a little sad to leave Licanten. I know the branch president wasn't super excited to see me go. Talking with President Harris, I think he left me in Licanten for such a long time because I had a really good relationship with the Branch President...a lot of trust there...which frankly wasn't there before with the other missionaries...well I mean, the missionaries right before me, really didn't get along with the Branch President and basically the sector has been turned around a little bit. So I was really excited about that but I know that the Branch President was kind of bummed that I was leaving. It's kind of lame to say goodbye after such a long time to all of the people there. Last night we had a lesson scheduled with Darling and Karen. Darling is the girl who got baptized last transfer. That was also pretty sad. We went to the parents of, I don't know if you guys remember Camilla, the first girl who was baptized in my time here, but her family were the ones who...ok so, Camilla's step-dad's mom, is the cousin of Karen's mom and so the two girls that got baptized, Darling and Camilla, are like cousins twice removed, or like second or third cousins or something like that. I figured it out last night but I forgot exactly what they are. I think they're 3rd cousins. And so we did a lesson in the house of Camilla. The dad's name is Willy. And so we were in Camilla's house with Karen and Darling. We talked a little bit about missionary work and shared a really good message about enduring to the end...kind of trying to (motivate) them to keep doing what they know that they ought to be doing. And when we got there they were preparing soooooo much food. They were making guacamole (the audio get's garbled) and mexican and so we had celebrate that a little bit. And then we had Sopaipillas, which is basically piece of fried pumpkin bread and normally they have it with ketchup and mustard and maybe some hot sauce, but they also make it with this stuff called (?), which you basically melt some sugar and some Chancaca melted in a pot and then you take the sopapillas and you cook them in that sugar and they are sooooo good. I love it. I've only had them once before but they are really great. And then also they made a huge (?) pie...Which is kind of another difficult Chilean dessert. And they just made a ton of it, of all of it. There was so much stuff. So that was super tasty. And so we got there and they already were in the middle of preparing all of it and they were pretty determined to get it all done before we started having the lesson.
Now we're on the bus to Curico. We also stopped by to some friends here in Curico from my time here. And also my companion wants to buy a few things and probably print a couple of pictures and buy a frame for a letter of congratulations from President and Hermana, Sister, Harris to Darling. I don't know exactly what we're going to do for the activity. I think they said we're going to play minute to win it games. I'm hoping they brought a soccer ball but I kind of doubt it. But I brought my soccer shoes just in case.
So, yeah, I'm excited for changes.
I wanted to prepare a better spiritual thought, but I realized that my scriptures I brought with me are my Spanish scriptures so I can't share a scripture with you. But as a small spiritual thought, I was studying leadership yesterday and there's a talk by Spencer W Kimball called "Jesus the perfect leader" which I really really like. I studied in depth the first section about "fixed principles," and about how a leader should be consistent and constant in their principles and always live what they say, have no hypocrisy, and that should be in every moment and that will give the people you serve a stable reference point to know what they need to be doing as well. It talks a little bit about the Savior's example in that and his consistency, really his perfection. But it talks a little bit about how the Savior has that famous line, "come follow me," basically saying do what I do not just do what I say. And so I studied that a little bit and I found about 20 different scriptures where Jesus Christ, in a variety of different ways, says "come follow me." And I know that following his example is something that will bless us in our lives and as we strive to be an example to the people who look up to us, that together we will be able to go to Christ.
So I hope everyone is having a good week. We are getting pretty close into town here now so I'm gonna end. But I love you all. Have a good one. Ciao.
Elder Olson
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| Farewell Licanten Zone |
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| Last Lesson with Darling and Karen and family |
Elder Olson plays Teach Me to Walk
Singing God Be With You Til We Meet Again
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