I'm Getting Transferred!

Good morning back!

Alright just to let everyone know because everyone wants to know. I'm getting transferred! It was rough i really  really really don't wanna go. On Saturday i got a call in the middle of the day and all they told me was that they were releasing me as a district leader. I didn't know that they did that but whatever, i basically figured out at that point i was being transferred.

So then later we got the transfer calls, guess what? Elder Dietz is also being transferred! Which i was actually not too happy about. I've repented of that but I'm really concerned now that all of the people
we are teaching are just going to fall through the cracks. But i know that it's the Lords work and not mine and He cares about those people more then i do and will take care of them.

Sacrament meeting was ridiculous. So we were telling people here and there before the meeting that we were getting transferred. I told Elder Dietz that if i tell to many people that i was just gonna start
crying. So then of course it's announced that we're leaving over the pulpit which is like telling everyone! Luckily i was sitting in the back, I'm really gonna miss Hartsville.

We had a fantastic week though! Right before i got released as a District Leader we had found a new investigator and put her on date for baptism for Sep. 22. Which is cool because her birthday is on the
23. But anyway she just agreed with everything we taught, as we taught it she knew it was true because of how she felt. She already had a close connection with the Holy Ghost it seemed so it wasn't hard for
her to know it is true. She just started crying when we quoted the first vision. It was a great experience. Her daughter sat in for the last half of when we taught so hopefully she will get baptized as well. Along with the other 3 daughters that she has.

So when i realized i was getting transferred i realized how much stuff i had acquired while i was here. Wow, i gotta send a lot of stuff home there is no way i can pack that all. It was actually pretty cool, yesterday we were at the Laffidy's and their son who is about 14 gave me a leather jacket. He got it for free and i always joked about taking it from him. So it was funny because we walked out to the car and when i sat down he threw the jacket at my face then ran into his house. Good thing it was dark because i got all teary eyed again. I'm tellin y'all i haven't cried this much in my life. Just to let y'all know i've promised practically everyone in Hartsville that i would come back to visit.

So i can't believe that i didn't wish dad a happy birthday! So HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I will say that i've told almost every companion that i involintaringly look at the clock at 8:18 because dad used to always
point it out while we were driving. I even said that it was his birthday a few times to some people back on the 18. But anyways happy birthday again and don't think i forgot because yours is about the only birthday i can actually remember! Besides yours mom 3/3 (nice and easy)

I love y'all!
Elder K. Olsen

P.S. We're getting our picture taken with a lot of families so when thats all done I'll be sending home over 1000 pictures and about 50 videos.... have fun!!!

Guess who got the Priesthood?!?

Monday Monday Monday!

This week was so fantastic! We actually were able to find a whole bunch of new investigators! One of them will be hard to catch because he coaches the football team here in Hartsville. Which by the way the Hartsville football team might as well be a NFL team, because that's how they are treated out here. Oh, and guess what? The captain of the football team blesses the sacrament every Sunday. So that's pretty cool.

Also we finally got back in contact with Makayla yesterday! We called her and she said that she's been super busy and that she promised that she continue coming back to church and take the lessons. It was funny as i was on the phone with her we were in the Laffidys home and sister laffidy told me to tell Makayla that her son would be coming with us. Well i told Makayla and then after the phone call Sister Laffidy told me that Makayla has a crush on her son so it makes our chances of teaching her better. I laughed pretty hard.

Someone else we actually found at church. This guy was visiting with a couple of his kids and i guess he was visiting a girl that lived in Hartsville and she came to church with him. Well he is back in Utah now and we have the information of Andrea who we will be teaching this week. She seemed really excited to hear more about it.

Do y'all want to know something really exciting!? So guess who got the priesthood on Sunday? David! That was probably one of the coolest moments on my mission. It's amazing to watch people grow in the gospel. To start by knowing nothing about the Restoration to going to receiving the power of God given to man on earth. Now i truly understand the joy that the scriptures talk about when you bring a soul unto Christ. 

So I've been getting pretty good on my bike. Because of all the major road trips which we had to make this month we only have 100 miles left. If you do the math that gives us about 7 miles a day. Which gets us pretty much no where haha. But the great part is that we have unlimited miles on our bikes. Have i mentioned that i absolutely love my new bike? Because if i haven't i just want to let y'all know that i do. 

Our District this week has made it an effort to knock every day. It was getting to a point that knocking really wasn't happening that much. It was really starting to effect the work. So on Tuesday during our district meeting we had a lot of discussion on how we can improve. After we came up with all of the things that would help us i told them that i would be calling them a couple times a day to see how it's all going. Which helps me as well, because if i don't do it then it won't drive them to do it. I'm starting to understand how to be a truly effective district leader... it only took me six months haha. 

So I've been here six months and it's really sad because i really don't want to go. But we find out about transfers this Saturday and unfortunately there's a good chance that I'm leaving. There's so much that's about to happen here, now that school has started all of the people we are teaching aren't on vacation and we can actually teach them. But nevertheless I know if i stay or if i get transferred it's what needs to happen.

I'm so extremely grateful that i can be a missionary. That the Lord would send me here and help me learn so much and grow so close to Him. I've grown more in the past year than i probably have the rest of my life. I can see how different i am from looking at my desires and my dreams. I look to the future now thinking of how much more i can succeed in. I just love the gospel, I love my Savior, i love being a missionary.

And i love y'all!!!

 

Elder K. Olsen

Good morning back

Good morning back

Uh oh, my mind is drawing a blank and i forgot my planner with my
notes... I'll do my best!

Well first off we had a couple rough days this week. Elder Dietz was
sick for a couple days so we had to stay in the apartment. I don't
know how i could just lay around back home i was so bored! I read some
scriptures, took a nap, cleaned, ate, took a nap (i was aloud to so i
took all the chances i could get). But there's only so much you can
do. But on the bright side he is better and we were able to work
yesterday! Hallelujah!

Sunday was great as usual. It's actually become my favorite day of the
week. Because we're able to feel that spirit during church and then
everybody wants to talk to us because they have things for us to do.
So i'm formal speed walking around the church talking to this person
and that person. Then when we get outside we run to the car because we
have to go give someone a blessing and teach this person and have
dinner over at this house. All i can say is that i love being a
missionary.

I was able to give a blessing on Sunday and i love using the
priesthood. I feel so honored that Heavenly Father would reach down
and inspire me to say what he wants and use me as an instrument. I was
able to say things in the blessing that she needed that she hadn't
told anyone about. Tell me the Spirit wasn't there.

So i was able to go up to Cheraw with Elder Homer in my District for
exchanges for a day. We had a really good time. Luckily while i was up
there my hollow leg was working cause i ate a ton! Breakfast was four
waffles, four hours later i stuffed myself at chinese buffett, ten
minutes after that we go to a members house, and she's all, "Heres a
giant plate of food!" It was massive! and i was full! Somehow i ate it
all... with some help from the dog. Then just two hours after that
some members took us to dinner at Wendy's where i got two hamburgers
and some chicken nuggets. It was ridiculous. As we were riding our
bikes home we crossed a street covered in change. When we counted it
we found out that we picked up $13.82! It was awesome, there was over
300 pennies. But as we were riding home there was a huge thunderstorm
and no rain. We got home and it started to sprinkle, then i turned
around to shut the door and it downpoured! I don't know if i've ever
seen that much rain. So i thought it was cool that the Lord stopped it
from raining just for two little missionaries.

We had our Zone Conference down in Monks Corner on Wednesday. Which is
a two hour drive from Hartsville. We needed to be there at 8. Well the
rest of the District stayed the night so we all stayed up talking
until 1 am. Not our smartest idea ever. So then the alarm goes of at 4
so we could all get ready. I was so tired i have no idea how we all
stayed awake the entire time. But we had a great time and it was
basically all the same stuff from the Leadership Training Meeting.
Which i actually love all of these meetings because it gets me pumped!

Anyways I love being a missionary and i love y'all!
Elder K. Olsen

I know that my Redeemer Lives

So this Sunday service was absolutely amazing! I was able to pass the sacrament today and i love doing it so much. I'm so thankful that Adam Alviso made us pass it perfectly back when i was a deacon. It gave me so much respect for it that as time went on i learned to love the sacrament more and more even though i didn't quite have a testimony of it. Well as you know about a month ago i learned a lot about the sacrament and now it's probably one of my favorite parts of the gospel. So when i was able to pass it again imagine my excitement! When i was taking the water to everyone i held it in my right hand (at a perfect 90 degree angle, thanks again Adam) but then i couldn't help but to keep it perfectly stable with my left hand because it just seemed to precious to me. The sacrament is so wonderful.

Then the testimonies which were said were amazing! It was just heartfelt testimony after heartfelt testimony. So when we got to the closing hymn, "I know that my Redeemer lives" we were all singing as loudly as you can while still be extremely respectful. I felt as though we weren't just saying the words, we were feeling the words. The Spirit is amazing.

The only downside was that none of our investigators were able to make it to church yesterday. Which is too bad because yesterday we taught Carolyn with the member that was going to pick her up and the lesson went great! At the very end we asked Carolyn if she knew how to pray. She said yes and recited the Lords prayer. Then we taught her how to pray from her heart. She didn't quite understand and recited the Lords prayer again. But then the member was inspired and said something that just clicked with Carolyn and she got it. Then she said a true prayer, she actually spoke with Heavenly Father for the first time. I couldn't help but cry that i could actually be a tool in something so amazing. After she prayed Carolyn said that she was going to always pray like that because she felt really good. As she said that she felt really good she would point to her heart. So even though she didn't come to church i was so glad that she was able to do that.

Also this week i was in Columbia for a couple of days. We had a LTM (leadership training meeting) which lasted most of Thursday and Friday. That sure was a lot of meeting and talking. But i got so many good notes and I'm so excited that i get to share it with the District tomorrow. We learned a lot about teaching skills and how to better make teaching plans for the investigators that we have. The only part that i didn't really like about it was the sleeping arrangements. Imagine having nearly 90 missionaries and having to cram them into 5 or 6 apartments... yeah. So I slept in a double wide trailer with 12 other missionaries on the floor. We were all pretty cozy haha. It wasn't too bad, and somehow we were all able to shower and be ready in the morning by 7:30. Then i also wasn't too fond of sitting in the back middle seat for an hour and a half crammed between two other missionaries both ways. But it really wasn't that bad. But still imagine how excited i was when i slept in my own bed which is only 6 months old (I'm the only one who's slept on it) and with the memory foam mat on top of it. Yeah i may have just started laughing without meaning to because i was so comfy.

Hey! So in my stuff i have a two year missionary calendar that i forgot to bring but that i would really like if you can find it.

Anyways I love being a missionary and stuff

Elder K. Olsen