Penguins, Giraffes, and Hedgehogs, oh my!

So if y'all cant tell by the title of this e-mail. I went to the zoo! That was so much fun! We got to feed the giraffes and actually crazy Elder Young decided he wanted to put the lettuce in his mouth and have the giraffe to eat it that way. So Elder Berenyi got a slow motion video of this giraffes giant purple tongue slapping Elder Young in the face a few times. I'm gonna get that video because it is hilarious!

Did you know that six missionaries in suits at the zoo get stared at a lot? Well if you didn't know that before you do now! I guess people just aren't used to that for some reason.

 

I think my favorite animals at the zoo were the penguins. At first they were all just standing around looking all cute like you wanted to pick them up and take them home. Especially when they taunt you by putting there wings out like they're pretending to give you a hug. Yeah, then there's this thick glass in the way. Well anyways then they all jumped in the water and were zippin all over the place! It was awesome because the water went up to the glass so they'd go right by you. Really good exhibit.

Well and of course the sharks were cool. I'd have a pet shark. I'm not sure what i would name him though... hmmm.

Oh and i got a video of these howler monkeys! Funniest thing ever! Be excited to see it!

 

Well we also had a zone meeting this week along with interviews. They actually announced something pretty awesome! So the church has now allowed for everyone to e-mail me (excluding those people that live within the mission boundaries, unless we get permission)! So yeah, friends, church people, random strangers, e-mailing is the future. So yeah, that's kind of cool!

 

Some more exciting news! Let me tell you about Isiah. Isiah is a 14 year old boy who recently moved here from New York with his family. Well we were going to another investigator and he was playing basketball. So we asked if we could come by later and play a game to 21 with him and then teach him a lesson. Well we came back and ended up playing with his 3 older brothers and his sister. We got owned, they're all really good. But then we went in and started teaching Isiah, then his brother came in, then his other brother, then his mom and sister, and it was awesome! We came back the next day and played again, met the father, and then we taught mom, dad, and Isiah and they're are on date to be baptized for the 30! They all have book of mormons too! So Isiah was the only one who came to church this week, the others wanted to learn a bit more. Well Isiah had an awesome time! After church he was invited to a members home for dinner (a lot of people from the ward were getting together), well this member lives in a small community with a small airport. All these houses have personal planes in their garage (including the members) well he let Isiah get in and flip some switches ( i got in there too of course). Well after all that the member said come back and I'll take you flying in it. So yeah, Isiah had a really good first experience.

Well basketball has become the tradition to play, and then to teach. So our neighbors have a hoop and we'll be practicing in the mornings. We may also start running... maybe.

 

So it's starting to warm up here now! I really just wish that i could have a swinging bench on the back porch so i could do my studies out there. That would be so awesome! I love the mornings here. Especially because we have the woods as our backyard (and front yard and side yard too). But it's just really peaceful. But yeah the temperature is jumping close to 75! We can almost take off the jackets again! I can't wait for that.

 

OH i almost forgot! So ya know Jeff and Anisha's daughter who lives with them and never comes out of her room to talk to us??? Welll the other day we had dinner at their house and she was there! I even taught the family how to deep fry oreos (and everything else) I absolutely love those things. Anyways she agreed to let us teach her the lessons on Tuesday. And she came to church yesterday, and she's going bowling with us today. She seems pretty confident that she's going to beat us. I'm pretty sure that she's right. So that's what we'll be doing all p-day, since we're bowling with Jeff and Anisha it's only a dollar a game. Boo yeah!

 

Well let me talk about some scripture missionary spiritual wisdom stuff. So this week I've been learning and pondering about God's will and sacrifice. I've always thought that sacrifice was getting rid of something bad. Ya know, you sacrifice drugs, or alcohol or something. But then I think about Abraham and Isaac, the Lord asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, "who he loved." Why is that? Why would God make Abraham go through something like that? Especially when Abraham was almost sacrificed by his father back in Egypt. He knew how terrifying it was to be on the altar. Well we know God didn't actually make Abraham sacrifice his son, but he wanted to see if he was willing to do it. At least that's what i got out of it.

I heard a talk which mentioned how we have this sacrifice buffet table for the Lord to pick from. All of the things which we are WILLING to sacrifice. Such as reading a verse a day, or bearing our testimony in sacrament, or stuff like that. And the Lord really appreciates all of that. But then we take some things and try to hide them behind us. Things that we could just never get rid of. Such as certain music or movies, or coffee or tobacco, or in Abraham's case Isaac. Well that's when the Lord comes up to the buffet table and asks what you are hiding behind you. And THEN he asks you for it. Why? Because the Lord doesn't want you to become addicted to worldly things that you can't take with you into the next life, he doesn't want you to make wrong choices, he knows whats best for you. And when you take that thing that you are hiding behind you and finally submit to the Lord and give it to him. All of a sudden you grow closer to him, because he is all that's left. You realize how much happiness and joy he has to offer, and you feel more self confident because you sacrificed something that you previously thought was IMPOSSIBLE to get rid of. But with the Lord's help you did it. Does this not grow your faith in his power and his promises? Does this not want to make you do what he says because you know the happiness behind it? When sacrifice is viewed in the manner, we should be thankful that the Lord asks for those things we hide and could "never" get rid of. I suggest that everyone thinks and ponders (chances are you already know) about what you are not willing to give to the Lord. Then i suggest you pray about it, and then give it to him. He's has more blessings in store for you then you can imagine.

 

17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;

18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.

19 And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.

20 Wherefore, do the things which I have commanded you, saith your Redeemer, even the Son Ahman, who prepareth all things before he taketh you;

 

I love y'all!

Elder K. Olsen

 

P.S. Keep the faith, make His will your will, and Everything will be ok! :)

Zoo Day!

Hello!

 

Today is zoo day! I am so excited and am bringing my empty 16gb card and plan on taking a ton of pictures and videos and i may even include myself in some of them.

 

Anyways this week was pretty interesting. So we worked really hard the first few days and got zero lessons mon-wed. Which i admit beat me up quite a bit. It's hard to continue working hard sometimes when you're not getting good results. So the last half of the week we worked hard still... but just not as enthusiastically. But we've repented and are going to work hard again this week no matter what, and we're going to have fun doing it.

 

This chair i'm on right now is the most squeakiest and uncomfortable chair ever.

 

So we met Elder Nash this week from the 70. It was a really good experience and i learned a lot. It was great how in the beginning (first couple hours) we focused a lot on the Atonement. I've been studying that a lot lately and I've learned what i must study to better understand it. So i don't have a great understanding of the atonement right now. But i see the pathway on how to obtain a better understanding,

 

But it was really nice going to that meeting. I was able to see a lot of missionaries who i've become good friends over my mission. Plus i was able to see Elder Tippetts again which was awesome! I love that kid, we got a lot done and had a good time doing it. He did give me the update of Augusta though... our investigators have all fallen through by the sounds of it. So pray for him that he'll be able to find a lot more investigators down there.

 

Oh! In other news i am deep frying stuff again! I taught Elder young how to deep fry oreos, and as always they are delicious!

 

I love the south!

and y'all!

Elder K. Olsen

Baptisms!!

Well we had an amazing week!

 

First off Jeff and Anisha were baptized this weekend and it was awesome! They had Elder Young do the baptisms and it was his first time on his mission, it was a really special experience. Then after the baptism they asked me to confirm them. Of course i said yes! It's interesting, out of all the people who i've baptized i have confirmed half of them. Which i'm thankful for. Sometimes i feel that the confirmation is pushed to the side and forgotten about. That once you've come out of the water that's all that matters. But if you are not confirmed a memeber and given the holy ghost then your baptism was for nothing. So I'm thankful to have such a spiritual experience, and to have been worthy to be used as such a tool in the Lords hands.

 

Not as much biking this week. Which is nice because my legs really needed a break. We've been all over the place and we worked really hard! Elder Perry said that everyone is capable and should be teaching 20 lessons a week. Elder Young and i took that to heart and took that challenge. In the process we got 16 lessons, last week we had 15. This week we had 8 new investigators, last week we had 3. The Lord sees the desires of our heart and is blessing us for it. We're knocking doors hours at a time and seeing many people. For being such a small town in the south this is a miracle in itself.

 

Also the people here in the Gilbert ward spoil us to death! We practically don't even need to buy groceries. In fact today on my grocery list is milk, oreos, oil, and pancake batter. That's right, I"m back to deep frying everything! We have so much food i don't even know what to do with it. Then the members drop by a dinner every single day. I love it here.

 

So i'm not sure if i mentioned. Jeff is a pro bowler and owns a pro bowl shop. Well when i mean a pro bowler i guess he's gone against the best of the nation and usually beats them. He has a whole bunch of 300 rings from getting a perfect game in a tournament when tons of people are all focused on him. Well anyway in his pro shop he has a whole bunch of michael jordan bowling balls that look like basketballs. They were in the shop when he bought it and they're not tournament grade so he can't sell them to his customers. So basically he's going to drill them to fit our hands and give them to us for free. And then yes i will probably be sending that home because it's awesome. After we e-mail we're going bowling and will take some pictures. Right now my highscore on my mission is 143, but those were with store bowling balls. Let's find out how good i am when i have one custom made.

 

OH and guess what!!! Next week we are going to the zoo! I am so excited i love the zoo so much! I actually remember the first day i came to south carolina we drove by the zoo and i've wanted to go there ever since. Noooow i get to go. Believe me y'all er gonna have a whole bunch a pictures of animals headin your way. I'll even stand in some of them to be nice.

 

Well that's my life i guess. I've been reading a lot in the old testament just to figure out what that's all about. Let me say that 1 Samuel is one of the most entertaining books ever. I was way into it just like if i was reading a novel. Pretty epic. Just sayin, there's way more to David than just Goliath. Awesome.

 

Well anyways, I love y'all!

Elder K. Olsen

Some pics...

Here are some random pics Kyle sent a couple weeks ago.  Enjoy.

Back in South Carolina!

Alrighty then!

 

So as everyone knows i got transfer calls last Saturday! I have now been transferred as of wednesday and am in... Gilbert, SC! Never heard of it you say? Well neither has anyone else for that matter. Basically imagine woods and trailers, lots and lots of trailers. And lots and lots and lots of dogs, some not so nice.

 

My new companion is Elder Young from Bountiful, Utah who just got finished being trained. He sure has a ton of energy. Back home he did all that biking and stuff and let me tell you he goes fast! It's so weird because now i'm this really old missionary, and i sure feel like i am too. I remember back in the good ol days when i was like that. Anyway we had such a fantastic week! There are two investigators here who are Jeff and Anisha who the past elders had worked with for a little bit and are going to be baptized this coming Saturday! So that's way exciting!

 

Also we've been knocking quite a bit and the other day we ran into a man named LJ. LJ is a really tall guy who was a biker for the last 40 years and that's exactly what he looks like. Handlebar mustache and a mullet. Evidently he had read the book of mormon back in vietnam. He doesn't remember anything from it, but still it's good. We were able to step in and teach a first lesson. After the closing prayer he told us that it was interesting that we came by. Just a couple days ago he had been praying to God because he didn't agree with his church and he didn't know what to do. So it was perfect!

 

We had a funny experience the second day i was here. So we biked about two hours and the whole time i could not for the life of me keep up with Elder Taylor. I felt as if i had absolutely no energy. We pulled over and checked my gears and my chain and everything seemed absolutely fine. Then we got back to the car and i spun the front tire. It stopped instantly. Evidently the brakes were too tight the entire time which stopped my front tire from working at all.

 

OH my goodness how could i forget! So two days ago the most amazing thing happened on my mission. We were doing companionship study when i looked out the window. And what did i see? SNOW! I saw snow falling from the sky! Can you believe it?! I've been praying for that stuff for my entire mission! So God even answers the little prayers that don't seem important. He just answers them in his own time.

 

Well it's kind of a short quick update but that's all i have at the moment.

 

Love y'all!

Elder K. Olsen

Transfers Are Here

Hey everybody!

 

So just to start off to let everyone know.... I'm being transferred!

I've spent the last six months here in Augusta and I've loved every moment of it. My testimony has grown so much as i've been here, I've never been closer to God and my Savior than i've been here. I love the people here and everything that has happened. Augusta will always have a special place in my heart.

 

But now I get to go somewhere else where the Lord has need of me. I'm so excited that i get to go see the church growing somewhere else in the vineyard. I'm not concerned at all (I'm a veteran), but it is a crazy thought that this could be the final area of my mission.

 

Another piece of news that might come as shocking is that this next transfer will only be five weeks long and then the remaining transfers will be six weeks again. So yes I will be coming home a week earlier than planned. Crazy!

 

Elder Tippetts isn't very happy that i'm going. I feel that he's in a stage of denial at the moment and won't accept that i'm going. Honestly haha i think he's taking this a lot harder than i am. He's concerned he's going to get some missionary robot who won't be very caring of our investigators agency. I assured him that i've been praying for a good missionary to come in and so has he so the Lord will take care of it. It's his work. I'm really gonna miss that guy though. We got a lot of work done together.

 

So I'll be sending a good chunk of stuff home today. I can't believe how much stuff you can accumulate over six months. I realized i send home a couple boxes every transfer and i'm gonna have quite the pile when i get home. I'm excited to look through all of my memories of my mission with y'all.

 

Oh! I almost forgot Elder Tippetts and i did our training of goal setting at Zone training meeting. It was intense. I was kind of nervous because we were going to be saying a lot of things that people wouldn't like. I was concerned about what they would think and if we should actually go with what we planned. But then i realized that everything that we were going to say was strictly from Preach My Gospel. We went up to the front and did a roleplay in front of 26 missionaries. We started the roleplay talking how we have all these great investigators and that 4 is an achievable goal. But then we said that we needed to make up for next month so we lowered the goal to 3 (that happens a lot here). Then we talked about how if we lowered our goal to 1 we would go to the temple for sure. Then we said, "yeah we're going to the temple!" and gave each other a high five.... then we turned to the missionaries and said, "now how did that go?"

Everyone was silent. It was such a golden moment! Nobody said anything so we went on to explain how this was common in the mission and that they knew it as well. It's just not always that apparent. So we talked about what a real goal is and why we should raise them according to our hearts desire, our investigators agency, and what we can accomplish. The Spirit helped us the whole time, it was amazing. It's something else to stand in front of people who don't know the gospel and ask them to change compared to missionaries. Especially when Elder Tippetts and i are often looked down upon because some of our views are different haha. But we got a lot of compliments on that training afterwards.

 

Now unfortunately tons of craziness has happened with practically all our investigators since we made our goal of 3. But we will still... well i guess Elder Tippetts will still work hard for 3. And i will never lower my goals in anything. I learned a lot from this experience. The end result is not the most important thing about a goal, it's the commitment and the effort which you put into obtaining that goal that matters.

 

So that's how I've been. Another week gone and by. I love being a missionary.

 

Elder K. Olsen

 

I just wanted to share this picture because of all the familiar faces.  From Left to Right, Elder Cramer, Elder Harding, Our Elder Olsen and Elder Brimhall.  Elder Cahoon is making a silly face behind Kyle.  Love these missionaries.

 

 

Transfers are Coming

Hey everyone!

 

So life is interesting at the moment. Transfers are coming up really soon and i really don't want to go. But I've been here for six months, and i've been with Elder Tippetts for three months. So statistically everything is against me to leave. But i really don't feel like it's my time to go. There's so much for me to do here still. Elder Tippetts and i have a goal of 3 baptisms this month. Which is pretty high actually, the zone leaders wanted us to lower it. But i know that we can achieve that goal. It's cause Elder Tippetts and i to work harder and be more focused and obedient then ever before. Even if i don't achieve the goal i'm happy that it's caused me to work harder.

 

Also Elder Tippets and i have been asked to give a training at the zone meeting tomorrow on setting goals. Which as of now our goal will look crazy next to everybodys goal of one. Especially because other missionaries will probably have a lot more on date for baptism then us. So we'll see how that goes.

 

I'm gonna be sending a lot of stuff home if i get transferred. I'm not sure if I'll be able to afford it all, i sure have acquired a lot of stuff over the last six months.

 

Wednesday night we had a pretty bad storm go right through Augusta. It was only really bad rain and winds. But i guess we were on a tornado watch. Someone showed us the weather channel for a moment and a lot of georgia was green because it was raining but there was this red line that went right through Augusta. So we ended up going in about an hour early.

 

I really can't think of a whole lot that has happened in this past week. None of our investigators have a big update since last week. Hopefully i'll be able to report a whole bunch of progress next Monday.

 

Well i love y'all!

 

Elder K. Olsen