Bye Bye Sumptee Pie??

 

The twins we have set a baptism date with!

Me, Elder Davis and Elder Thompson

The AWESOME Salem Missionaries!!

Well well...this week went by so fast!! Seriously!! It was super awesome though. We had a lot going on (mostly meetings) which included a great
Zone Conference on Tuesday. That totally lasted all day though! We got a nifty new device in our mission cars called TIWI. It basically tracks our speed just to keep us safe and stuff! But it was nice to see some of the missionaries In the surrounding zones and to get direction on how to continue working with members, converts and investigators, from President Berry!!

Honestly, there actually wasn't much else that stood out this week. It was
just a super packed week of lessons, and service and it probably only
felt fast because we had one less day to do it all in our schedule.

We have had some great lessons this week, especially the one we had yesterday during Elders Quorum. The topic was "Carrying the Gospel to The World" which just makes sense that we would assist in teaching! haha! But it was super awesome. Not many of the members in Sumterville have served missions, because they are mostly converts, but it was great to hear and share testimony of spreading the gospel. So my weekly thought will be contained in this portion of my email instead of the last part. I just picked out a few quotes from the lesson I'd like to share!- -

"Only the gospel will save the world from the calamity of its own self-destruction. Only the gospel will unite men of all races and nationalities in peace. Only the gospel will bring joy, happiness, and salvation to the human family. The world is hungry for true religion, and we have it. Not only should sharing the gospel be regarded as a Priesthood duty, but we should all look forward to this experience with great joy and anticipation. The real purpose in sharing the gospel is to bring souls unto Christ, to teach and baptize our Heavenly Father’s children so that we may rejoice with them in the kingdom of our Father. We all share this great responsibility. We cannot avoid it. Let no man or woman think that because of where we live, or because of our place in society, or because of our occupation or status, we are exempt from this responsibility." And lastly my favorite quote..."There is a difference between a convert who is built on the rock of Christ through the Book of Mormon and stays hold of the iron rod, and one who is not."-

Also Sunday was a special opportunity to attend a very unique fireside. Marvin Goldstein, and Vanessa Joy came to our mission and ALL missionaries and their investigators were invited to go. If you don't know them, they are AWESOME! Brother Goldstein is a very talented Pianist who travels the world and has composed a lot of the church music, and Vanessa is a great singer from Arizona who goes around and does firesides and such! Both are incredibly talented and super awesome!! So we were happy to attend that!

Saturday was a pretty crazy day as well... Only because we got our transfer calls!!! And I'm sad to say that the time has come for me to leave Sumterville. Elder Thompson is done with training and taking over the area! I'm excited to see the next area I will be serving in, and to have even more amazing experiences sharing the gospel! (Fingers crossed for a Coast area!! Hahaha) It's definitely going to be hard saying goodbye to my family here in the Sumterville Branch..

Just as a quick side note... We took some early Christmas pics! You know...just cause we had the stuff....we drew us a fireplace and everything! I Hope you enjoy them!! Anyways.. Thanks for everything everyone! I will be sure to email you next week and tell you all about my new area and comp!! Have a fantastic week! I Love and miss you all!

-Elder A. Olson 

Check out the backdrop!