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