Another Companion Injured, Four Months Down, Double Thanksgiving, I want a German Shepherd, Busy Sunday and Basketball.

Well, I've officially been on my mission 4 months!! It feels like that time just flew by!!! MAN! That's so crazy to me! Especially to think that at the end of January I will have been out 6 months! Also today is December 1^st… It is so wild to think that it is December already!! It's closing in on Christmas!! Are you ready?.. Haha!

I may be bad luck because my companions always end up on crutches. Elder Cotton has to use crutches for the next 3 days. He has a slight tear in his meniscus. So yeah, that took up a full day to go down and get that checked in Orlando. But that did not stop our work! We got out and tried our best this week!

Sadly though, most of the people we teach are going to college at Stetson...so they were all back home for the Thanksgiving break. Speaking of Thanksgiving, that was a blast! It was just a relaxing day. We had lunch with a less active member and her non member family! They were interested and shocked at the amount of time, money, and rules of being on a mission. They were impressed that we could handle it. After lunch, a member the O'Neals came and got us and we went to their place for dinner. It's crazy to think that they are in our area yet live 28 miles from the church haha! Anyway, they are AWESOME! He's an architect, so we talked a lot about that. They also have an East Coast champion German Shepherd. He's SOO big and now I want one. While there, we had some Honey Baked Turkey. What a delicious dinner!

I had the amazing opportunity to confirm Stacey a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!! It is always an awesome experience and such a privilege to be able to do that and have people asking me to do that!! Also the same Sunday, I had to speak in church about Exaltation AND teach the Gospel Principals class.. I was SOO busy!  I was Studying like all Sunday morning haha! It went VERY well though and people seemed to really like them.

We also had the opportunity to play basketball at another religions church building. (Again for respect I won't say what one) It was the craziest thing though.. Like.. I walked into the building and that's all it felt like, was just a building. I didn't have that same warm Spirit when I entered into it. And during the game, people treated it just like a warehouse. They were swearing up a storm and not cleaning up after themselves. It was just a good reassurance that I knew my church had to be right. The Spirit felt is undeniable in our buildings. It makes me want to bring those people to our Church buildings even more so they can also feel that!

This week I've had so many members turn to us missionaries for help. Mainly with afflictions they faced at that time/still face. They wanted help. There are MANY good scriptures that go along with that but with most a shared a simple message that one of my uncles shared with me. He said to me

"I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it."  Trials arise in our lives, and they always do and always will. It's part of being on earth and living this life. But when we know, truly know our Heavenly Father is watching over us, and putting us through this trial for a reason. Trials help us grow and become the best we can in this life. So even though what we face is hard if we keep our thoughts and actions directed towards Him, he will deliver us out of bondage. He will help us through anything! And that our reward in the end will be far greater then what we faced on our journey. Just imagine the end!  It's going to be worth it back home with our Father in Heaven and families!

Thanks for all the prayers and support! I love you all! I'm thankful for you all and all you do for me and my family! You are in my prayers! Love and miss you!

-Elder A. Olson