week 39-40: Prayer Works!

5/28/17

Hey all,

Congrats to all who graduated in this last week, and to those who are receiving mission calls! It's crazy to think that Summer is starting up there when it's so cold down here. We've started using the electric blankets, and the electric heaters are always on full blast. I'm hoping for snow, but I don't think that's gonna happen.

This week our efforts to work with members have started paying off. We have 2 great new investigators who are references from members, 1 of which we're teaching in the house of the member. Until now, I thought that teaching situations like that were only possible in the magical world of the Preach My Gospel training videos. We also have members offering to accompany us in lessons and even to contact.

This week we also wrote a song for our zone. I'll try to send a video (Elder Olson tried but the internet connection was too slow this week).

Yesterday I had a cool little experience with prayer. The other Elders in my district were arguing, and left the house angry with each other.I prayed specifically for them and the sisters in my district before we left. When we got home, the Elders were super excited about all of the new investigators they found that day, including a professional chef who'd given them all kinds of food. I also talked to the sisters, who were thrilled about the 4 baptismal dates they were able to set that day. I love seeing answers to my prayers, even when they're small experiences like this one.

Much Love,
Elder Olson

Cool Old-Fashioned Car

Zone Pday gathering

Came across a car accident

Week 38: The Lord will Protect

5/15/17

Friends and Fam,

Wow, this transfer has been flying past. I'm still enjoying Buin, and Elder Villegas is still awesome. I'm thinking about asking President if he'll leave me here another transfer. ;-)

I loved being able to talk to my family this last weekend. Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms that have been such a big influence in my life.

Last Saturday we had an interesting experience with an investigator. After lunch as we were returning to the house, I felt the impression to pass by a future investigator we had contacted. They weren't home when we got there. As we were leaving, I though to pass by the home of an investigator that lived nearby. We got there, and he invited us onto his porch, and we realized that he was drunk...Like, incredibly very very super drunk. He began to swear at us profusely, and to threaten to beat up my companion, even to kill him. He threatened me a little bit too, but also told me that I'm his friend and I'm beautiful so he wasn't going to do anything to me. We were worried that he had a weapon. My heart was going about a thousand miles an hour, and I thought for sure that the situation would end up in a fight, but I passed my bike to my companion and moved the drunk slowly to the back of the patio, away from the gate. My companion quietly took the bikes out while I talked to the guy, then I followed. The drunk "investigator" tried to follow us out but we took off on the bikes. It was a wild experience and I definitely felt the protection of the Lord, and the guidance of the Spirit in handling that situation.

Speaking of protection from the Lord, I was reading Alma 43 today, and I invite you all to evaluate your spiritual armor so that you will be prepared to face your adversaries.

Love you all,
Elder Olson

The members in Buin often give them treats

The Mother's Day Skype call home. Elder Olson in Blue, Elder Villegas in foreground

Elder Villegas in the front, Elder Olson on the right and the Buin Zone in the background

Elders in his District (and housemates)

It's getting chilly in Chile.

Elder Olson titled this... "I'm not just any missionary. I'm a fat hipster missionary."

Week 37: Nasty Dog Bite but Great Investigators

May 8, 2017

Hey all,

I feel like we've been working on overdrive this last week. I spent the majority of Friday and Saturday this weekend in leadership trainings/meetings. I went down to the mission home in Rancagua friday. It was cool to see some other Elders from my group down there, and it's always great to have trainings with President (Harris). He has a big vision for elevating the mission, and works unlike anybody I've ever met. I have a lot of respect for him.

Another dog bit me this last Thursday. The funny part of that was that I was on my bike and the dog only had 3 good legs. I've just gotten too relaxed with the dogs, and in the middle of the night on a country road, I didn't see it coming. The bummer is that this time it broke skin, so I had to go to the hospital for shots (rabies shots). They sent us to the ER, where we waited for 5 hours. Eventually we made some calls and FINALLY Monday we got in to get treated.

We had a district (like a stake but smaller) conference this last Sunday. President Harris gave a great talk addressing one at a time each age group of members.

We have some investigators with baptismal dates who are progressing well. Jose Lara is a 43 year old shy single man who has a date for June 3rd. We're also teaching an awesome family; Cardina, Jose and their sone Jose Aladres. They have a baptismal date for June 17th and are currently working on church attendance and the Word of Wisdom.

I've recently taken Russell M. Nelson's challenge to read, mark, and study every scripture under Jesus Christ in the topical guide. I've enjoyed learning things about the life and ministry of the Savior. He lives. This is his church.

Love,
Elder Olson

Elder Olson's cousin Derek was down in the mission visiting his maternal grandparents (who live in the mission) and ran into Elder Olson in the attempt to deliver his package to the mission home. Elder Olson was there for a training. God must've had a hand in this crossing of paths because they haven't seen each other for nearly 3 years since Derek returned home from his mission to Chile a half hour after Elder Olson left on the plane for his mission to Chile.

Zone Pday group shot (Elder Olson front left)

The 3 legged dog's bite...not horrible...didn't tear his pants he said...but did break the skin.

Elder Villegas (his new Columbian companion) trying to stay warm studying. The temperatures have begun to drop. Cold Fall weather and wet rains have begun.

Elder Olson drinking Mate to stay warm. He said he's worn his rain boot/galoshes and isn't a fan of the rain because they have to walk about 45 minutes just to get to the start of their sector and can't get the to furthest parts of their sector without their bikes (which they can't ride when the rain is bad)

Week 36: Changes

May 1, 2017

Family and Friends,

It's been a week of pure farewells here in Buin. We had five missionaries finishing the mission last week. We had a farewell, or two, for Elder Strong here in our branch, and we sent him off Friday morning.

On Saturday, we got the transfers. Elder Terrazas will be going down to Santa Cruz, a smaller zone (In terms of active members) out in the country. My new companion is Elder Villegas ("ll" makes a "y" sound) from Columbia. He's coming out of the office where he's been a Mission Secretary for the last few changes.

I've also been assigned to be a District Leader here in Buin. It'll be interesting adjusting to my new responsibilities.

The transfers meant more farewells, and seeing how Elder Terrazas was here for 6 months, there were a lot of people to say goodbye to.

I don't know if I ever mentioned how much Sushi we ate the last change. It was A LOT. At least three times a week, for six weeks. Sadly, without Elder Strong's deep pockets and Elder Terrazas' sushi addiction, I don't think we'll be eating quite as much next change.

Yesterday we went to Buin Zoo, which was open for the first time on a P-Day thanks to Labor Day. It was a bit small, but it was great to go. They had a massive white tiger, but I couldn't get a good picture of it.

When the Sisters in my district gave me their call-in report yesterday, I was really impressed by their work in their sector. I asked what they'd been applying that had been making such a difference in the success of their sector, and they told me it was thanks to their commitment to follow the first impressions of the Spirit. Elder Rasband gave a great talk on that topic in General Conference in April. I've learn a lot about the importance of listening to the Spirit and following its promptings.

Love you guys,
Elder Olson

Elder Strong and Elder Olson

Elder Olson and Elder Thomson (and Elder Haar with a walk through in the background)

On the way to the Buin Zoo...getting chilly and wetter now that Fall is in full force down there

Heading into the Buin Zoo

He found Utah...almost

Week 35: Earthquakes and Changes

4/26/2017

Hey everyone,

We're getting down to the end of the transfer down here. We just found out that one of my Zone Leaders is being called as Assistant to the President, so it'll be nice to have a little inside hook up.

We've been having a ton of tremors this last week. The biggest one was a 6.7 earthquake on Monday. We're all ok, it can just be kind of hard to sleep when we wake up in the middle of the night with the floor shaking.

This week we taught an interesting family. The mom was an author, and the Dad is a CrossFit nut. They had a stripper pole, and a 3 foot tall bong/hookah thing in their house , and they spoke English, and the mom's a Buddhist. They're smart and say they'll read, but they lack real intent and desire to learn.

Our super promising investigator with a baptismal date moved north for work for two months without saying anything to us. So that's nice.

We had a training with President last week in Rancagua. He's putting a big emphasis on asking for references from members. The members here in Buin are great about accompanying us, but I'm yet to receive a reference from a member from my own sector. I've gotten a few from investigators though, one of his has a baptismal date now!

President's been changing a lot of the rules. We won't be having Zone meetings anymore, which is a bummer. We'll just be meeting as a District. Also, we can't play soccer in Ward activities with investigators any more, or give English classes without also teaching a PMG (Preach My Gospel) lesson. I get it, but it's still kind of lame.

Love you guys,
Elder Olson

Quote from a personal email: "One of the big lessons I've learned this week is the blessing of sacrifice. As endowed members we covenant to sacrifice whatever God asks us too. The more completely that we keep this law and consecrate ourselves, the more fully that God can bless us."

Note from Mom: Elder Olson also told his little brother the Chileans don't really celebrate Easter down there the way we do up here. They eat a lot of fish as per the Catholic tradition but that's about it. But they were able to share a lot of the #princeofPeace videos from the church and that was really nice.  He told his other brother that right now, Elder Strong, who lives in the same house, buys and shares a lot of sushi with them. He's feeling pretty lucky on that count. He loves sushi. He's fortunate to have such a generous Elder in the house too. :-)

Drinking Chilean Mate

Chilean opening a Mini-Mission Call

Elder Haar and Elder Olson

Buin Zone

Week 34: No Water & Easter

April 17, 2017

Hey guys! ( I learned to say hello in Arabic this week but I don't know how to spell it so sorry),

    This last week was a long one. We spent half of it without water in the house. The water company sent us the months notice bill more than a month late, and it happened to be on a holiday, so we went Thursday-Sunday without running water. Luckily I had bottled a lot of extra water and some members let us use their shower.

    Also Elder Strong's birthday was this week! I sent a video of my companion and I messing with him, but it's in Spanish so hopefully you can understand what's happening.

    On Pday my comp and I went and got Arabic food. It was super tasty. I was a little nervous about eating there, because everybody down here is freaking out about the situation with the US and Syria, and I stand out a bit as a gringo. Luckily they were super nice and I don't think they spit in my food or anything.

      Also we found a gringo that lives in our sector! I was really excited to talk to him. Sadly the only things he said back before slamming his door in her face were swear words about how crazy Mormons are. It was different getting cussed out in English then it is in Spanish. I feel bad for the guy. Must've had some kind of bad experience with Mormons before.

      Happy Easter guys! I forgot to say that at the start. They don't really celebrate Easter down here. They just take the weekend off and eat a lot of fish, because the traditional Catholics don't eat meat this week.

      We've enjoyed sharing the #PrinceofPeace videos these last few weeks. They are awesome, and if any of you still haven't watch them, I highly recommend it. During this Easter time I'd like to bare my testimony about the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ. During my time here in Chile, I've repeatedly experienced the transforming power of the atonement of Christ as I've noticed my own flaws and repented of them. I know that the atonement of Christ allows us not only to be forgiven but to be perfected. He lives and loves us.

I love you guys,
Elder Olson

Our sector

kind of like the fields and mountains of Spanish Fork right here

Elder Strong

Elder Terrazas

 

Elder Strong Getting the bday cake smash

Elder Strong 

After messing with Elder Strong. He thought the other Elders had done something nefarious with the cake

The Arabian Restaurant

Week 33: Miracles

April 12, 2017

Hiya,

This week has been amazing. Seriously full of miracles and spiritually charged lessons.

I had an interview with President this last week, and he taught me a lot about listening to the spirit and following promptings.

This week I learned a lot about listening to the spirit. If we want guidance from the spirit we have to be in a situation where we're ready to use the guidance. For example, I can't pray in my house for God to show me where I can find a new investigator. I have to go out to my sector, say a lot more prayers, and find the general part of town where I need to be. That happened to me this week. We were in that part of town, praying about what we ought to do next. The thought came to my mind to maybe visit some members that we had planned to visit nearby. On our way there we passed a neighborhood, and I felt that maybe we should go into that neighborhood. As we turned around to return to the neighborhood we passed a seventeen year old kid with face tattoos. Didn't look very receptive, but I felt that I ought to talk to him as well. I did, and he told us we could pass by his house. When we did the next day, he wasn't interested but his older brother Andrés received us. He was full of questions. He reminded me a lot of a young Joseph Smith, in that he was very troubled about the state of his soul, and he wanted to know what church was true. He was full of questions. We taught him immediately when we contacted him, and he accepted a baptismal date for next month. He was incredibly prepared to receive us.

Another interesting side note, He lived in an area way out in the country, that we had found only 2 DAYS BEFORE. We would not have had a clue where this kid lived, and would never have found him if we hadn't already known the area. God was preparing us as much as he was preparing him.
He still has his agency, but I'm hopeful that he will be baptized.

In other news, our friend with a baptismal date for May 6 met a member this week, and firmly committed to come to church this week.

Also, we have some investigators who live way out in the middle of nowhere, and we go out there after dark and get chased by their dogs a lot. I knocked one out with a stick so that was pretty interesting.

(But to bring the point of the letter back), I know that God speaks to man through the Holy Ghost and that we can receive promptings when we are worthy, when we ask, and when we are prepared to act.

Love you guys,
Elder Olson

Elder "Kim Jong Un" 

Weird fruit

Week 32: Latter-day Prophets are a sign of God's love

April 4, 2017

Friends and Fam,

It's been another great week down here in mission Chile Rancagua. I started off by going with Elder Strong down to Rancagua to do some paperwork for my carnet (Chilean ID). I got to see a lot of old friends, and I ate a Subway sandwich for the first time in almost a year.

Also, in the last week we set a baptismal date with an investigator named Jorge. He should have had a one earlier, but he had told us that he and his "live-in girlfriend" weren't married, meaning that he'd be breaking the law of chastity. Turns out that when he said they weren't married, he meant that they weren't married by the Catholic Church, but they are legally married. Whoops.

On PDay, we went out an hung out with Elder Haar and the Elders of Hospital (a little country town) in their 2 story mansion of a house. There's room for 10 Elders, but all that live there are the 4 Elders and the rats. We just hung out, played ping pong and ate food, which was fun.

The highlight of the week though of course was General Conference. There were a ton of great talks. One of my personal favorites was from Gary B. Sabin, which helped me think about how I can be a more consecrated missionary. President Uchtdorf's in Priesthood session was also a great one on the role of humility in Priesthood service. It's such a blessing that we have living prophets to guide us in our day. It's a big sign of God's love for use. I testify that they receive revelation from God and that applying their teachings will bring you blessings.

Con muche amor,
Elder Olson

Watching conference with the Buin district

Elder Haar and Elder Olson, Watching Conference

Elder Haar and Elder Olson

Buin District

Elder Torres and Elder Olson, PDay in the big Hospital casa