From Sin City to Church Headquarters

’You want it to be funny?’ ‘Yes, I always want my weekly email title to be funny.’ // week 67

9:02 PM

Hello family and friends. How is everyone doing? This week, well I can believe that it is already Monday, but then again it feels like monday was forever ago... so time is weird, but whats new?

Monday JESUS HEALED THE SICK (blood donating story found later in the week) umm we found out about transfers. So I will be staying in Kaysville until the end of my mission unless something crazy happens in January. But by the time I leave Kaysville I will have 10 1/2 months here. Thats pretty crazy. We had a good day, very chill and then in the evening we had a family home evening with this cute family in our ward. It was really good.

Tuesday JESUS READ THE SCRIPTURES, we shared our favorite scripture with our dinner (mine is Revelation 21:4). We went down to SLC (trip #1) for a song practice for our upcoming Christmas mission party. Somehow i was volunteered to sing, but its okay. It shall be fun. We were able to meet with a lot of less active members we havent met with for awhile. And Matty's mom, who is inactive, wants to come back to church to support her daughter for being baptized. So that was a tender mercy.

Wednesday JESUS FED THE HUNGRY, we studied about satisfying spiritual hunger. Made some arepas with Yobana and Milena and then went tracting. Always an adventure... a man told my companion that she was beautiful, then decided to text us that as well... we are referring him to the elders. We were going to donate blood today, we even drove down to Woods Cross to do so, but the line was super long, so we will next week, tbc.

Thursday JESUS PRAYED FOR OTHERS, my mom was actually a real help with this one, she sent me an email about my MTC comp, for who I should pray for. Went to SLC for counseling, (trip #2), and it was really good. We were talking about finishing my mission strong and not worrying about leadership and titles. And something she said was "the only title that will matter after your mission is RETURN MISSIONARY." So true. Had grasshoppers as a snack in the evening. Video to come to prove it, it wasn't good.

Friday JESUS VISITED THE LONELY. Man the spirit was really guiding us today for people we could visit that were lonely. In the morning we had Zone training meeting (trip #3) and we talked about loving the other missionaries in our zone. So our zone is basically from all parts of South and Central America, and some people can get pretty proud of the country they are from. We we talked about having respect for our cultural differences and seeing each missionary through the eyes of God. It was good, and very inspirational. Then we did weekly planning had a good dinner. And then we had some really good lessons with people we havent been able to see, but they really needed us at that time, and it was cool to see how we were able to help them.

Saturday JESUS HELPED PEOPLE TO WALK, watched a video of an inspirational man who built his own leg after having it amputated. We helped with a relief society breakfast. Helped Janice move a couch from upstairs to downstairs. Hermana gavito and I did it all by ourselves. There was lots of laughter involved, but we got the job done! Then as a district we end to an Old Folks Home and sang Christmas carols to them. It was so cute seeing their faces and how happy they were. It was fun. Our district is pretty funny so it was a good time. We are going to do it again so we can practice more the next time. It also rained from when we woke up to when we went to bed. It was a wet day.

Sunday JESUS MINISTERED TO CHILDREN. Today was such a good day. We had an awesome time at church and we went to primary because Matty gave a talk. She is so prepared. Got musical instruments for our district for Wednesday, and had some great lessons. Overall awesome day. Oh and as Hermanas we are trying to better our discipleship of Christ so each Sunday we are reflecting on who is our Savior to us during the sacrament and recording our thoughts in a journal. Hermana huxford is super inspired.

Funny tracting quotes:

"Habla español?" "I'm not Mexican!!" -my comp and a little girl

"What kind of Christian are you?" -my comp after leaving a door that didnt want to watch the Christmas video because she is Christian

"You're beautiful by the way" -random man to my comp

"Hello we are the sister missionaries in the area." "Okay well I'm an atheist." "...okay well merry Christmas" -me and a lady

"Can we share a Christmas video with you?" "No I'm catholic" "umm okay..."

"Prójimo? Oh so you are all my property." -Matty

Well this week has been great. This month is going to be crazy packed full of awesome things for us to do. Including Matty's baptism on saturday!! I AM SO PUMPED. I have been loving doing the #LIGHTtheWORLD 25 days of service challenge. Sometimes we have to be a little creative. But it's going great! I know that each one of us can be a light to those around us. It amazes me and makes me happy that even though not everyone celebrates Christmas, everyone just seems to be happier and more charitable this time of year. It should always be like that.

Have a great week. Love you all.

My companion: ‘Look, a snowball is made up of lots of snowflakes.’ Me: ‘NO! REALLY?!?!’ // week 66

9:01 PM

Hello family and friends, can you all believe that it is December already? I know I cant, I feel like I was just in December.... This week was good for me and I hope it was good for all of you!

Monday we had a zone pday (trip to SLC #1) and we just played volleyball and werewolf. It was alright. It did decide to snow on Monday so going home was a little eventful. Man some drivers just dont know what they are doing... Had a few lessons in the evening, and we had our investigator teach us. She has been taking the lessons for years, so she knows them just as well as I do.

Tuesday was a pretty successful day! In the morning Hermana Gavito and I were talking about how the Restoration is usually referred to as the lesson about Gods love, but in reality all the lessons we teach are about God's love. If we really wanted to we could just put the first three pamphlets together and publish it as a book called "God's Love." Haha, maybe that wont be funny to you, but it was to us. In the evening we had dinner with the Vujich family and we shared the video "Flecks of Gold" and Hermana Vujich said that her gold is her family. I thought that was sweet and so true.

Wednesday we got a referral for a Colombian family. And that was all the information we had. So we went to go visit the family. Turns out it was for two girls, Yobana and Milena, they are 13 and 15 and are staying here in the US for 6 weeks then going back to Colombia. The lady that is housing them doesnt speak spanish, and the two girls don't speak English, we can all see how that would be a problem huh? Well thats were we come in. The girls are the absolute sweetest and have such a strong spirit about them. We are going to keep visiting them lots :)

Thursday, JESUS LIFTED OTHERS BURDENS. Today we studied in Matthew about the yoke of our Savior and how we can lift other's burdens. We made cookies with Yobana and Milena and tried to translate the recipe to spanish... my vocabulary is going to increase with these girls. i just know it. We had another lesson with Matty. I just adore that girl so much.

Friday, JESUS HONORED HIS PARENTS. President gave us permission to email our awesome parents to thank them for all that they do. I hope you were able to honor your parents as well :) OH in the morning we were in SLC (trip #2) and we were driving and this guy all of a sudden gets mad at my driving, i wasn't doing anything wrong dad, and he cusses at me and flips me off... people people. Other than that we had a good day. We had a good district meeting, I love our district, they are great. In the evening we went to a Christmas dinner with one of our investigators, Sandra (she also went to church on sunday!). It was a good time.

Saturday, JESUS HELPED OTHERS TO SEE. Studied about when Jesus healed the blind. We went to a Christmas breakfast with Yobana and Milena for their English ward. Man english wards go all out. It was fun though. In the evening we were able to go to temple square (trip to SLC #3) with Matty and see the lights. It was beautiful. Side story, we were in front of the temple and this guy and his girlfriend are looking for someone to take their picture for them. I see the distress in the guys face and offer my services. When he comes to give me his phone he looks me straight in the eye and says "make sure its a good one" and then glances down to the LITTLE BOX IN HIS HAND. You guys, I was in charge of taking a photo for a PROPOSAL. I did a pretty good job if I do say so myself. But talk about pressure. Anyways, we talked to Matty about going in the temple once she is 12 and she is super excited to do that.

Sunday, JESUS WORSHIPED HIS FATHER. We did that by going to church and cleaning up the chairs afterwards. We watched the Christmas Devotional with our investigator, so I will be watching that today in English so I can get more out of it. And in the evening we had a lesson with Matty but we were talking to Hermana Ortiz beforehand just talking about missions, and missionaries, she has a son out in LA. And Matty raises her hand and asks "can we start my lesson now? I am just really excited." HAHA I love her!

Well this week was good. I am loving doing the 25 ways in 25 days to help light the world that I live in. I hope you are all enjoying doing small acts of service as well to those around you. Have a great week, stay warm, share your light, keep being awesome! Love you all!

stuffed, #ILUMINAelMUNDO // week 65

9:01 PM

Hello family and friends! I hope your week was as good as ours! And I hope that you were able to eat lots of good food on Thursday. I know we did!

Monday we had half a pday because Thanksgiving was kind of a pday as well. So we just emailed, and shopped quickly then after we went to the Vujich home to help get the finishing touches of their house ready for their daughter to return from her mission. Then in the evening we had a Family Home Evening with the Trejo family. That family is awesome and they are just great examples to me.

Tuesday we had a miracle in the evening. So last week during weekly planning Hermana Gavito said, "our next investigator is going to be a man." And when she said that i thought of a guy we met once or twice when I first got here named Gilberto. So we set plans to go visit him today. When we got there he said "Did Willian (a guy in our ward) send you?" "No to be completely honest, we prayed about who to visit and we got the answer of you." He then goes to tell us all of these coincidences he has had in the past month or so about meeting members and them testifying to him about the church. While we were there a lady comes and knocks on the door and invites them to a ward Christmas party. She was going to come earlier but something stopped her. So she happened to come when we were there. And Gilberto said "well this must be a sign I should listen to you." YES I WOULD SAY SO.

Wednesday we baked cookies and raked leaves. In the evening we were finally able to meet Inela Vujich who just got back from her mission in Nampa Idaho. It was weird being with a recently returned missionary and seeing her try to adjust to the life after the mission. Im just going to say sorry in advance to my family if I act weird after the mission. It will most likely happen.

Thursday. 3 words: SO. MUCH. FOOD. So we had 5 dinners planned, but we only ate at 3 of them. In the morning we went down to SLC (trip #1) to be with the Hermanas in the morning because Hermana Coca was leaving that day. It was a sad time, but I know the Lord has a plan for Hermana Coca and her life after the mission and all the people she still needs to touch. Then we headed to our "dinner," at 12:30.... It was good. There were lots of family there so we got to talk to a lot of people. Man people in Davis County are just excited to see missionaries. Then we went to the Iniguez home and ate Hispanic food there. After we went to be with Janice and her familia, luckily they let our stomachs rest and they didnt force us to eat. So we were able to just relax and enjoy their company. Then we headed over to the Vujich home and shared what we are grateful for. After we went to our last dinner with the Plasencia family (Bishop). And we ended that meal with delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cheesecake. Today I felt to much gratitude for Kaysville and all the families and love I have felt while being here. Kaysville has a piece of my heart, especially for the members here.

Friday was the release of the new Christmas Initiative, #LIGHTtheWORLD, you can all see it at mormon.org Then we had district meeting (trip to SLC #2). Our district has some funny elders in it, so it always makes for a good time. Headed home and did some planning then we went and helped Janice decorate for Christmas. It was lots of fun. Today I finally let my companion play Christmas music. I wouldn't let her until after thanksgiving, i am a firm believer in celebrating each holiday individually and not skipping Thanksgiving. She was happy she could finally listen to Christmas music. In the evening we had a lesson with an investigator, named Jesus.

Saturday, YOU GUYS. I, Hermana Kaitlynn Olivas, took a giant step for me. I had sushi at dinner. Now, you all may be thinking, what's the big deal? Well I hate fish. So why in the world would I ever eat raw fish. well we were given sushi at dinner. And I ate it. And it wasn't that bad. Granted, i did put a ton of soy sauce on it. And it was crab so it wasn't raw, but nonetheless, I ate sushi. After that experience we had a lesson with Matty and SHE IS SO PREPARED. We had to move her baptism date to a day later so her mom would be able to go. And we were talking about baptism, and she said "what do I have to do to prepare? Can you feel when you get the Holy Ghost, like can you feel the difference right then? I am so excited" I love her, she is a special daughter of God that is prepared to hear this message.

Sunday was a good average day. We taught gospel principles, and it was on the law of chastity... fun fun. But somehow it got way off topic because it was this one man and us two and he went off on how he doesnt like it that missionaries have to leave and then people that used to be taught dont get taught... long story short, we decided to share the christmas video with him and cancel our class on the law of chastity. It was better that way. Basically all of our lessons fell through for today, but it was still a good day. I just feel so much love for everyone here and all of the members have become my family. It may be my last week here because transfers are next week. We shall see.

Okay everyone, so in honor of the Christmas season that is coming up, the church has put out a new Christmas video, called "#LIGHTtheWORLD." It is a great video that i want all of you to watch. You can find it on mormon.org SO GO WATCH IT. It honestly puts into perspective how easy it is for all of us to follow the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and try to be like Him, especially during this time of year. I love my Savior and His great example to me. I know that we can all bring the light of Christ with us in all that we do. Have a great week everyone. I cannot believe that it is going to be December this week. THATS CRAZY. LOVE YOU.

and then there were two.. // week 64

9:00 PM

Hello hello friends, fam, and anyone else who gets my weekly emails! How are you all doing? You ready to stuff your face this week? We have like 4 dinners planned on thursday. So pray for our stomachs please. This week was awesome!

Monday we had the chillest pday ever. We did have to drop Hermana Rolfson off at the airport (trip to SLC #1). It was weird being in an airport... But the rest of our day was chill. We even got to nap. In the evening we had an AWESOME lesson with our investigator. Matty, pronounced Maddy. She is SO GREAT. She is 11 and we put her on date to be baptized December 17. YOU GUYS, Francis Peak Ward hasn't had a baptism in over a year #MIRACLES When we extended the baptism date she didnt even let us finish the question before she said "YES!" The spirit was so strong and I could just feel the love that Heavenly Father has for her. And His desire for her to be baptized. It was incredible.

Tuesday I guess was the super moon. Wont see that again until 2037 or something like that. We went to the temple in the morning as a zone (trip to SLC #2). It was great. I love the temple and the spirit you can feel there. I prayed for an answer about a concern I have and I got an answer. It all goes back to faith. In the afternoon we did some walking and tracting. This car rolls up to us and says "Sisters we are going to the House of the Lord right now, keep up the great work!" It was funny! Also we had a member message with a lady and she said something that really stood out to me. She said "After Heavenly Father has answered so many little prayers of mine, how can I deny the truthfulness of the gospel?" Its so true. If Heavenly Father doesn't seem to answer one of our prayers, we can look back at the numerous other times He has.

Wednesday we had the special privilege as a mission to go see the Savior of the World play down in Salt Lake City. So Wednesday evening we went down there (trip to SLC #3). It was so good. The spirit was strong and what really stood out to me was the trust that everyone had with Heavenly Father and His plan and the trust they had in each other. After the play ended we all leave and guess what? ITS SNOWING. I wasn't too happy because I had to drive home on the freeway... BUT over half our zone had never seen snow before, so it was so cute seeing all of their reactions to the snow. I have a funny video I'll send.

Thursday went down to counseling with my fav member, Janice (trip to SLC #4). Came back and had a pretty good day. Most of our lessons fell through. Its happens. But in the evening we had a great lesson with Matty. We were leaving and she said to us "This might sound weird to you but I was praying. And I decided to pray to ask God if He wants me to be baptized Mormon. And He said yes!" SHE IS SO GREAT. I love her!

Friday we had district meeting (trip to SLC #5). We focused on teaching simply and getting to the point. It was good. Hermana Coca bore her testimony and we sang "Para Siempre Dios este con Vos" (God be with you till we meet again). Because she tore her ACL and is leaving a week early to get surgery. I love Hermana Coca and her great example to me these past 14 months. We did weekly planning, and then in the evening we had our ward cultural party. It was fun. We represented America and Canada by bringing cereal and milk #classic, every one thought it was hilarious. It wasn't that funny. But we had lots of great food and so many people came, especially less actives! it was a success!

Saturday we painted with Hermana Alfaro in her backyard, yes my hands were frozen. We also helped Hermana Vujich out with her house. Her daughter comes back from her mission on Tuesday, so they are fixing up the house for her. Family, when i come home, dont worry about fixing up the house for me, its stressful. In the evening we had the adult session of stake conference. It was really good. President and Sister Spendlove spoke as well. And made us stand up...

Sunday we had stake conference. The focus was the temple. Being here in Utah I have been so blessed to be able to have two temples within my mission. THATS NOT NORMAL. So many times we take our blessings we have for granted, and dont realize that we are so privileged in our lives. Like the Las Vegas temple, yeah it may be 30 minutes away from my house, but thats a hecka a lot closer than what Hermana Huxford has to drive for her 3 hour trip to the Chicago temple. We had quite a few meetings in the afternoon. And some great lessons in the evening. It was a successful day.

As you can see this week was full of trips to SLC, good times with members, and some great lessons. We are excited for this next week. I am so grateful for each and every single one of you. Thank you for all you do. I am so grateful for my Savior and His sacrifice for each one of us. I know He lives. He loves each and everyone of us. No matter how far we have gone off the path. He is there. He will come looking for us. This Thursday please remember all of the many things you are grateful for. And make sure you let your loved ones know that you are grateful for them! Love you all. Have a great week! Enjoy the food you will eat!

I got in a fight with a flowerbed and I lost... // week 63

8:59 PM

How is everyone doing? This week was a good one. Lets begin.

Monday was a very peaceful pday. We went shopping, came home and emailed and that's about it. The evening though was a little stressful. We have 4 lessons planned and some of them were family home evenings. So we were running around all over the place. But we made it work.

Tuesday in the morning a member wanted to take photos of us for her photography company so we did that. I'll attach some of the photos below. It was way fun! In the afternoon we raked leaves. Yeah I'm not going to have trees in my future home, and if I do, the missionaries are going to come over and rake for me, and I will give them all of my friends to visit. We had a few lessons in the evening and it was great to be able to visit and see the power of the Book of Mormon in our lessons.

Wednesday was Zone conference! (Trip to SLC #1) it was a really good conference. A lot stood out to me, specifically when we talked about Christlike attributes. Lately everything has been going back to gratitude. And we watched a video that I want all of you to watch: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-09-016-flecks-of-gold?lang=eng enjoy :) we had a family home evening with our stake president and he gave us cookies! They were SO GOOD

Thursday I went with a member down to Salt Lake to see a counselor. It was a really good time. (Trip to SLC #2) she too talked to me about gratitude and the little miracles and wins every day. I have an embarrassing story for you all. It will explain the title of my email. So it was 8:45 at night. We were leaving someone's home and there are 5 stairs to walk down. It was very dark and I missed the last step. Well I fell on my butt, as expected, but on the way down my arm hit a flower bed pot thing and instead of it just falling, it fell directly on me.... I was COVERED in dirt, it was everywhere, pretty sure I was blowing dirt out of my nose for a good 3 days. Hermana Rolfson got a kick out of that and hermana Gavito was concerned for me. The difference between my companions. To make the situation even better we had a member who is preparing to go on his mission soon, and right before we were talking about how before our missions we thought missionaries were so put together and they had their lives in order, but that's not the case, and I proved that point.

Friday we had district meeting (trip to SLC #3). Before we got into the meeting we get a call from President. Hermana Rolfson got her visa and is headed to Ecuador. We all had mixed emotions. In district meeting we talked about expounding on the scriptures we use. While it's great to use scriptures, they aren't going to help much if we don't explain them and relate the scriptures to our situations. We had pizza for dinner!

Saturday was a packed day. We had a meeting with our bishop, then we had lunch and a lesson with a member. Did a member visit and some tracting, and the first door that answered let us in! He ended up being an inactive member that just completely stopped going to church one day. He said something interesting to us though, he said, "Be careful for what you pray for, it might come true. Prayer is a strong power." Had dinner with a member, tamales, they were so good. Then we went out and met with a few members spontaneously, then we went out with Isaac to do some more visits. And we had 3 lessons and they were all super powerful and spirit driven. It was a good day!

Sunday, guess what the lesson was about in gospel principles? ETERNAL MARRIAGE, and guess who everyone was using as an example, ME. I still have four months people! Marriage isn't happening for a long time.... oh my. Sunday was a really good day. We have an investigator that is really serious about being baptized, and she is only 11! Had tostadas for dinner! It was soooooo good!!

Well this week has been busy. Hermana Rolfson is headed to Ecuador right now, I'm going to miss her. But I know the Lord has a plan for her. This next week is SO PACKED FULL. So it is going to go bye fast. Tortilla count thus far: 26. Love you all! Always remember the little wins and wonderful blessings we have each and every day! Have a great week! Email me, yes I'm that missionary that asks you to email...

Im starting to use the word 'washroom' // week 62

8:58 PM

Hello fam and friends. The Canadian lingo of my companions are rubbing off on me... I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween! This week has been much better so thank you for the prayers!

Monday was a very different pday. It was an all day pday. After studies we went to Walmart and then we headed home did emailing super quick then went off to our pday activity with the zone down in SLC. One negative thing about having a Zone that covers the entire mission, we have to drive everywhere for our activities and meetings. So this was SLC trip #1 of the week. It was a good time, I don't know many people in the zone but it was fun. Came back and carved pumpkins and cleaned and started exchanges.

Tuesday we had exchanges. Hermana Coca came to be with Hermana Rolfson and I. It went really well. 4 out of our 5 lessons fell through. But we were able to have some awesome street contact opportunities where we were able to give out some Books of Mormon to people, one of them being an atheist and another was someone who was really interested about the questions of the soul. Then in the evening a lady who would never set up a lesson with me before, let us in and share a message with her. Now she wants to come back to church!

Wednesday we had a meeting with our Ward Mission Leader and talked about what we want to start doing with all of the auxiliaries of the ward and he is totally excited to help us out! Hermano Huancas is the best!

Thursday our Zone had a special meeting with President Bennett and Alba, they are in the mission presidency. Trip to SLC #2. And we talked about the uniqueness of serving in Spanish units and what we have to do differently because of it. It was a great meeting. Then I realized why I am still here, I know these members and I love them with all of my heart. Also Hermana Rolfson reminds me so much of myself when I first came into the mission field, I know I was meant to be her companion at the beginning of the mission. Especially to reassure her that her Spanish will get better and the time will go by fast. Dinner said my gringa accent is starting to go away #WEMADEITBOYS

Friday we had zone training meeting. Trio to SLC #3. I really love our Zone. I kind of feel like an outsider because everyone has served around each other while I have been up in Kaysville, but everyone is super nice. Zone training was good, we focused on the basics, it always goes back to the basics. Afterwards our companionship had a much needed comp inventory. It was kind of hard, tears were shed by me, but that's okay it was needed. And it has been much better since.

Saturday most of our lessons fell through, but we were able to meet with some other people that haven't had us in their home for awhile. Found out it was daylight savings, that was a blessing.

Sunday I had some more personal revelation. I have been out of it lately, but I found a scripture in D&C 123:17 that says "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." And I loved the part that says "let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power," we can only change ourselves and our own attitudes to become better. Other people can't change us and we can't change others. I had a good conversation with President as well and he confirmed what I had read.

This week has been a good one. Time is a weird concept, I can't believe that it's Monday already, but at the same time it feels like last pday was FOREVER ago. Oh well, what can we do? Oh I started a tortilla count for the month of November, aka I'm keeping tract of how many tortillas I eat this month to do the math of roughly how many tortillas I have had on my mission. Tortilla count thus far: 9 (and that's only from 2 days!)

Love you all! Have a great week! Enjoy your day off tomorrow!

change of plans // week 61

8:58 PM

Man what a week. It has been a LONG week. So many changes and surprises, but it has been good. A little hard, but we can make it! So big news, I'm in a trio, we will get to that later.

Monday we drove through our entire mission, that probably sounds crazy for some of my missionary friends right now, but it's true! We are at the top of our mission and we drove down to the mission office, the bottom of the mission. We then went to East High with Sisters Holcomb and Cole and it was a blast.

Tuesday Elder Esparza called and said "Hermana Olivas, tomorrow you need to be at the Whittier building at 10:30 with Hermana Gavito to pick up your new companion." WAIT WHAT?! So I'm in a trio and kind of training. Hermana Huxford packed and cleaned and said goodbye to people.

Wednesday was transfers. I dropped hermana huxford off and picked up hermana Gavito, from Toronto, Canada. Then we went to get our new comp! Her name is Hermana Rolfson. She is from Alberta, Canada. She is actually going to Quito, Ecuador but is waiting for her visa. (I get 2 Canadians eh) So we get to train her while she is here! Had the trainer trainee meeting, it's the same a year later. Drove home, and OH MY we were almost in a car accident, but Heavenly Father protects His servants. There was a car accident on the freeway and everyone was slamming on brakes and luckily I was able to go into the shoulder, but I did get an aggressive driver, I consider it a defensive driver, but whatever. We were saved. Oh cool story, both of my companions know Austin Loveland and Hermana Rolfson know Kali Stoker! Small world!!

Thursday I read a talk that hermana Coca suggested to me called "Rise to your call" by president Eyring. And it was just what I needed to read, sometimes I feel in over my head as a missionary, especially right now where I have to introduce the area to two new companions and one of them is a greenie. But this talk helped calm some nerves. So if you have a calling that you don't feel qualified for READ THIS TALK. It's worth it. We had a pretty good day as well. Hermana Rolfson placed her 1st Book of Mormon! It was a proud parent moment! She's going to do great things!

Friday was kind of a hard day. We had district meeting, it was weird being in a Spanish district after being in English for 6 months. Especially with missionaries I haven't served around ever. Then we went to waffle love for lunch and did weekly planning. Had dinner and then after I kind of had a break down. Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed and kind of done with being a missionary. Being in an area for so long has hit me really hard. So I talked to Sister and President Spendlove about how I have been feeling and I got a lot of good advice from them both. Being a missionary is hard and I have had a good 14 months and I only have 4 left and I want to make them the best I can. This transfer is going to be a trial of my faith and push me to become the missionary Heavenly Father wants me to be.

Saturday we helped out with the primary program practice. Then Hermana Gavito went to a baptism in her last area and Hermana Rolfson and I finished studies and headed out to street contact. In the evening we had a lesson with Hermana Gallegos. I love her. She has such strong faith and wants to do good, but because of past situations she doesn't want to go to church.... it's so sad, but I can relate.

Sunday was the primary program! I love the primary children, I have grown to love them and care for them so much! Their testimonies are so strong and so simple. Then in the evening we had 3 unplanned lessons so that was really exciting! I am just trying to help my companions learn the area as fast as they can before I leave in 5 weeks.

Overall this week has been a long up and down roller coaster. But Heavenly Father has called and set me apart as a missionary. He didn't plan on me to fail, so I shouldn't either. I know that this next transfer might be tough, but I know that I can do anything through the help of my Heavenly Father. I truly love being a missionary and seeing the changes the gospel can create in the lives of others. I hope you all have a great week and that I can hear from you! Love you! But more importantly, God loves you!

’You want it to be funny?’ ‘Yes, I always want my weekly email title to be funny.’ // week 67

My companion: ‘Look, a snowball is made up of lots of snowflakes.’ Me: ‘NO! REALLY?!?!’ // week 66

stuffed, #ILUMINAelMUNDO // week 65

and then there were two.. // week 64

I got in a fight with a flowerbed and I lost... // week 63

Im starting to use the word 'washroom' // week 62

change of plans // week 61

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Hermana Olivas

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