Monday, October 6, 2014

New companions all around

Dear family,

WOW it really was a great conference wasn't it? I had the opportunity to watch all of it too, and although it was all in Portuguese, I understood and was able to get a lot of information and revelation for myself. I especially liked Elder Packer, who talked about the Savior and the Atonement, and Elder Uchtdorf also. And Elder Godoy but primarily because he was speaking Portuguese haha so I didn't have to hear the English quietly and the translation. When the first guy spoke Cambodian(?) I said to one member of our ward  "I wonder if they'll have all of the foreigners speak their own language?" and him: "of course not, in the scriptures it says everyone has to hear by their own language so it can't be that way." So I will admit I wasn't a little smug when they started in with Spanish and Portuguese!  I think its a great addition to conference.

I'm jealous! You guys are going to Tally AND ATL? Legal!! I will be here in Flamboyant! ;) haha. I have a new comp, Elder........... ARANA!!!! Which is almost spider in Portuguese haha. He is from Ecuador and yes I'm training again, this is his first transfer. Wow its pretty tough to understand him because he says everything with an accent and sometimes he just speaks Spanish by accident, but its okay, he's willing to work!

I'm having some difficulty with the work, but the cure for that is just to work more! However, I had a cool experience this week. We went to give a lesson to this lady who hasn't been going to church for a couple weeks just to check on her and everything, and she seemed a little bit sad. But we just talked about the prophet and conference, like we had planned. And when we were gonna leave she was like "thank you so much for coming, I didn't even know that I needed this today but you two bring a spirit so strong, etc". And it was just one of those moments that I thought "wow, I'm doing my job!" 

I always like the phrase "lift up the hands that hang down, strengthen the knees that are weakened". There are so many ways to serve, and they will all bring us joy in this life and in the kingdom of our Father.

I love you guys, I know that the Prophets and Apostles are called of God, I know the Jesus of Nazareth is our Savior and Redeemer.

Love,
Elder Nicholas Olsen
Eating brownies with some members who served their missions in the U.S

At conference with my new companion
Look how blonde my hair was!




Dear family,

Wow it sounds like conference was SUPER amazing! Unfortunately I wasn't able to watch all of it :( actually, I didn't even get to watch half. We had to work on Saturday, and then Sunday morning the projector to watch wasnt working. So I will be waiting here ansiosamente to receive the conference Ensign! But from what I heard, I was really happy. I especially liked the talk in Portuguese - not because it was in Portuguese, but because I felt like it answered some of my questions!

Thought you should all know, that I found a bug in my foot this week. Kind of like a maggot? But I got it out, so no problem :) ha!

This week I started training Elder Machado, from Florianópolis! He is a rapaz with a lot of faith, and an aptitude to feel the Spirit. I honestly feel like I have learned more in these few days than him - for example, I learned how to get completely lost in a city when you are in charge! We are here in the heart of Vitória - when I say the heart, I mean part of our area is downtown. So you could say ti is pretty legit.

Most of the week was spent in fervent prayer with no idea what to do, who to talk to, how to train, and everything else. But we did have an experience bem legal yesterday - we went to the house of an ancient investigator to invite him to conference. He was super non commital, and basically told us that it doesn't matter what we do, he will not join the church. But then he asked us to say a prayer before we left, and so we did. When the prayer closed, he said "huh, weird. When you pray, I feel something different. Its something good. It is something I didn't feel when the other missionaries passed by" So that was pretty neat, to know that at least the Spirit will testify of our message always.

Also I am living in the same house as my trainer, Elder Mason! This has been such a blessing. I know that Heavenly Father put us back together - he has really provided support and advice that I have needed.

I know that God loves us, and that all that happens to us is for our benefit! Elder Bednar's last conference talk talked about this - our burdens are there so that we can grow. I love this gospel, and am very thankful for the life and love of Jesus Christ.

Elder E Olsen






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