MTC #1

Hey Everyone! 

The big news this week is I just barely got my reassignment! I've been reassigned to the Nebraska Omaha mission and leave right after getting out of the MTC. It's so crazy but I'm way excited! We're not sure of many of the details yet, but hopefully I'll still be speaking Spanish. 

So Tuesday I was set apart as a missionary and then started training on Wednesday. My companion is Elder Nance from Austin Texas. He's super great and excited to share the gospel. So starting at 8 we have a three hour class with my district, then lunch, then another hour of either class or companion study. Then we have a little break before four more hours on the computers. In addition to that every day Elder Nance and I teach one of our teachers who is posing as an investigator. The days feel long and it's hard to be at a computer all day but it's so good! My teachers are Hermano Alvarado and Hermana Chacón and they do a good job of making classes more fun and my the other elders in my district also really help make it fun. 

The Español is coming along pretty well I think! It's only been a week, but we all can pray and bear testimony in Spanish so far. We've talked a lot about how we need to seek the gift of tongues by praying for it and working hard to show the Lord that we truly want to be blessed with this gift. I don't think we'd be anywhere close to where we are in Spanish without God's help. We also are working on memorizing the missionary purpose, the baptismal invitation, the first vision, Moroni 10:3-5, and a pamphlet with lots of words and phrases all in Spanish. It's a lot of work, but will definitely pay off when we leave the MTC. 

Today was p-day and it was so good to get out and be active. We went and played pickleball and hiked a little bit and it really helped me relax and feel more ready for the week to come. It was so nice!

Something I have thought about a lot this week is one of my favorite scriptures. It's Ether 12:27 and says, "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." This really stuck out to me because my weaknesses have been very apparent to me this week. I have been able to see where I fall short. But instead of getting down on myself, this scripture helped me to realize that it's okay as long as I keep trying. The Lord will help where I fall short as long as I'm being diligent on my part.

Thank you all for the emails! Love you all!

-Elder Olsen