Sept 22, 2014

OI FAMÍLIA!!!

Wow it seems like y'all actually have stuff to do! I kind of imagined you as just sitting in the house the whole day long, haha jk jk! Also I am super jealous of this European tour! My friend is serving a mission in Milan, maybe if you are close and have time and nothing else to do you can go out to dinner with him or something! But thats really far away.

Yes I was a little bit doentinho but its all good now, it was just a cold that I had for a few days. Oh in terms of Christmas, I would appreciate shirts more than any other clothes haha. And other than that I don't really care, just pics and letters from everyone and whatever else you want to include.

This week we had a miracle. Our thing in this mission is always invite to baptism, mesmo on the first visit, and last pday at night my leader called me and said that we were having miracles! That they marked 2 baptismal dates and another dupla too and blahblah! So my comp and I had already been to all of our marked appointments and they had fallen through, but we wanted to have a miracle too. So we said a prayer, and just started walking. And we knocked some doors, talked with some people, just walking where we were lead. And then my comp talked to this lady and she said sure I'd love to hear a message, and my comp asked if we could RIGHT NOW and she said sure! And then he looked at me, waiting. And I was like oh great, here we are in the middle of the road and my comp handed it over to me to leave a message in the street..? haha but it turned out that she lived close, and we went there and taught her and marked a date with her!!!! So it was a super cool response to a prayer said in faith.

Another cool experience but on a different level: I was talking to a dude in the neighboring ward who shares the chapel with us, and he said "where are you from? Santa Katarina? Rio Grande do Sul?" And I was like :OOOOOOOOOOO haha so idk if he was just like kind of making fun of me or serious but it looked like he was serious! So that was cool.

Other than that, we are just working really hard. Trying to do everything possible to bring others to Christ. Thank you for your love and prayers, I love you!

Love,

Elder Nicholas Olsen

at a birthday party for one of the Sisters 

                               

cake!



Dearest family,

Very cool that it is starting to cool down there. Thankfully, its starting to heat up here! There is nothing like tracting the dusty hills, climbing up and up and up in 40 degrees C! Which I think is about 100 farenheit? Yesterday we arrived at lunch literally dripping! 

Dad, thanks for the experience about the visit that you were able to do. Sometimes I don't feel very guided by the Spirit, but stories like this remind me that God is really guiding our steps - if we listen. 

This entire week was spent worrying about one of our inveestigators - Leo Duarte. He went to church last sunday, and then a baptism, and then we visited him EVERY DAY this week! He is a really spiritual guy, and he realized that there is a difference in us. We were able to teach every prerequisite for baptisms - and more - during this week. He always says - If I didn't believe, if I wasn't experiencing something different, I wouldn't continue to meet with you two. We really have been emphasizing the importance of prayer with him, and the fact that he can receive an answer from God if he ACTS to follow Him and ASKS in faith. He even stopped drinking coffee, and took us out for pizza one day! Which, by the way,  I hadnt eaten since March, so it was SUPER good.

This thursday we also did an activity in our branch that we made BROWNIES for the snack afterwards, and everybody loved them! Actually they were way different than what I usually made, it was more like a chocolate cake mixed with brownies. But still, it was a hit!

Mom, I wish I could tell you that we will have a primary program, but of our 35 members, I think only 2 are primary age... sorry! 

I wish  I had more to say, but this week was mostly just sweating and walking. Hopefully I will be able to tell you about a baptism next week! Until then, love you all!

Elder Olsen

ps transfers are next week

pps can you check my facebook and accept my friend requests?

ppps for Christmas I would like white chocolate peanut butter from byu - sorry i forgot to ask you when you went there... and just send chocolate because it might melt but you can always throw it in the fridge! And yeah shirts, but shirts that are really thin. a different kind than we have already. and letters etc. obrigado!