Grand Island #3

Happy (almost) new year everyone!

This week was Christmas! We got together with our zone and ate a nice Christmas dinner and played some volleyball and spikeball. It was really nice to be able to focus more on the savior and everything that he did for us! And some members surprised us with a few presents so it was a great day. 

Probably the biggest thing besides Christmas that happened this week is when we got a small snow storm and were told not to drive for the rest of the day. Which literally destroyed the rest of our plans for the rest of the day, but I felt the hand of God in that day guiding us and helping us to find some members we haven't talked to yet and in keeping us focused and not going insane. We couldn't have done that without His help so that was really cool.

I also had a cool experience where we were teaching a big english class with like 10 people in it, and it was right during interviews with president and Elder Daniels had to go, leaving me in charge of leading the class with the help of Elder Baumann. And it was the craziest thing. I was super nervous and got a question that I didn't know the answer to, but then all of a sudden I just stopped thinking about being nervous and could understand everyone and was able to say what I wanted to say, without even thinking about it! Elder Daniels came back and I realized just how much God had helped. The gift of tongues is real and it was so cool! 

There was a great talk about new years resolutions on sacrament meeting. It talked about how we all should make the goal right now to grow spiritually this year and one day return to live with God. But we need to make plans or smaller goals to reach them. The smaller goals include things like reading scriptures every day, praying with more real intent, being kinder, participating more in church, etc. And if we end up failing at some point, that is not the end. The worst thing we can do is to give up on who we want to become. Because God can help us overcome our weaknesses, but we have to put forth the effort. So let's put forth that effort! Not just in January, but in July and September and December. Because God wants us to become better as well. Have a great new year!

Grand Island #2

Merry Christmas! 

This week we were able to share about Christmas a lot and it was so great to see their reactions. Everyone loves Christmas and everyone has loved light the world! We have been able to really open doors ( not literally because covid) though Christmas and testifying about how Christ is the center of our beliefs! There was an older couple that we talked to and didn't even really teach them anything, but we invited them to church for the special Christmas meeting and they came via zoom!!! 

We also got to do a lot of service this week including 2 food drives and helping someone move, and we even were able to find some potential for teaching out of it! This lady said she grew up a member of the church and wants her kids to learn the Bible stories from us!

I've been reading in Mormon this week and it's really gotten me thinking. God had given this people so much and yet they still rejected Him, and they suffered the price for it. They didn't just not believe in God, they rejected him and were angry at him. I'm sure Mormon and Moroni were absolutely devastated at this wickedness and you can see this in their words. Mormon said, "How could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you.... But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return" And Moroni said "My father hath been slain in battle, and all my kinsfolk, and I have not friends nor whither to go." But somehow they still found hope!! They continue to talk about the goodness and mercy of God and all of his many blessings. They rejoiced because they knew that Christ was on their side and that he had conquered all things for us! That is why we sing Joy to The World, because we can have joy even in the worst circumstances, and all thanks to Christ. So I invite you all this Christmas to think about how your life would be different without Christ, and then thank God for all of the many blessings that we have because of Him! That's about all for the week. Have a great Christmas!

-Elder Olsen

Us at service!

They had this super cool thing where we put wreaths on the graves of hundreds of veterans

We put this snowman right in front of the sisters door on the second floor
so they couldn't get in😂 his name is Rodriquez in case you were wondering

Cool mural

Grand Island #1

Hello everyone! This has been kind of a crazy week adjusting to a new area and all but it has been good! My new comps are elders Baumann and Daniels and they are super great!

So I am in the third set of elders in Grand Island, and it is a pretty new area, so we are mostly trying to find people to teach. We have been offering English Classes and have had at least one every day so far! My Spanish is getting a lot better and we have found a few people who are interested in the gospel as well! It has been super good and one lady actually talked for like 10 minutes about a personal experience and how she knows that God answers prayers!

There are a couple of priest's in the ward who have their nonmembers friends and the missionaries play dodgeball together every week and this week we asked them for any questions that they have. Honestly I didn't expect much to come out of it, but when we looked at their paper slips after, some of them had some really good questions about the gospel! They're super good kids and we are going to help them with their questions and one of them is actually super interested! 

There was also a miracle in my last area! I'm not sure how much I talked about this last week, but we randomly messaged a guy named chuck who really wanted to learn more about Jesus Christ. I wasn't sure what would happen, because we had a lesson and he said he was interested, but he also expressed that he didn't feel the need to come to an organized church. So that is when I left it and kind of forgot. But they had another lesson and he opened up even more and even came to church yesterday!! The Lord's work truly is going forward.

This week I read a talk by Elder Rebound about gifts of God. It talked about how as we open our eyes to see the gifts that we have been given and thank the giver of all gifts or in other words thank God for the things he has given, our eyes will be opened and we will become different people. More Humble and patient and full of love and charity. So this Christmas I invite all of you to thank God for the things he has given you, especially his greatest gift, the gift of his Son.

Have an amazing week!

-Elder Olsen

Yankton #18

So this week is transfers! I will be headed down to Grand Island Nebraska and will be in a trio with Elder Daniels and a new missionary. It is crazy to think that in the last 4 months Yankton has turned from some random city, to my area, to my home. The people are so great and I will definitely miss it, but I'm excited to see what comes with Grand Island!

This week we had some cool experiences. We had a training Tuesday about a different strategy for messaging people, and then we tried it Wednesday. So we messaged like 70 people, and one of them responded and said he wanted to learn about Christ! So we were able to sit down and talk with him and he is so so cool! He really opened up to us about his whole life story and we were able to teach according to his needs and he wants to learn more! He told us that he really didn't know why he responded to us, but I know that it was the spirit telling him to respond!

We also got to sit down and have a meal with some people that we have been teaching English! They were so kind and everybody in the restaurant was so shocked that we could speak Spanish. The people on the table next to us were even telling all their friends to shut up so they could listen to the American's speaking Spanish! And we really became good friends with them and we will start teaching them the gospel in addition to English! 

We also had a really special lesson with Frankie and a brother in our ward. It was really cool to see how the things that the member said helped Frankie, and the things that Frankie said helped the member out. We planned this whole lesson for Frankie, but it really helped this member out as well and he said he received inspiration for his life. 

I was reading in 3 Nephi 12 this week and a verse really caught my attention. Christ says that we are the salt of the earth. And I really wanted to understand some of the symbolism, so I looked up some things about salt. I think it could mean that we are out in the world, and like salt, we might seem almost invisible. But we will stand out and people will start to notice us. And just like how salt melts ice in the winter, we can help soften the hearts of these people and prepare them to hear the word of God. So I invite you all to think about who you can help out this week! Love you all!

-Elder Olsen