More 'Gators and Murals

Happy Monday! I hope y'all had a great week this week. I guess there isn't much to say about our week sadly. It was a busy week but not a lot to write about. Tuesday we had transfers, which was pretty cool. We don't do the actual transfer meeting anymore so Elder Bravo and I just chilled together for like four hours waiting for our new companions to come down. I got a new companion named Elder Creer.  He's a super cool kid from Spanish Fork!  It's been funny to think that I've had companions from Payson and now Spanish Fork when there are hundreds of missionaries in this mission. Anyway, he's awesome! He's been out for 9 months now and so far it's been a solid transfer with him. So we will continue to see how things go!

We did end up having a great week this week concerning teaching and finding. We taught like 32 lessons this week and found some new investigators. Some aren't as solid as others, but you never know the effects the gospel could have on someone, so might as well give em a shot! We have continued to work with our current investigators. Carl has been doing okay. He finished the Book of Mormon and has started rereading the Old Testament. The only problem we are having with him is getting him interested in coming to church. So we will see what we can do. We also have been working hard with a investigator of ours named Neil. He's an awesome 87 year old man that we found a few weeks ago. He has been really interested in the lessons and has never really had the influence of religion in his life. Last time we talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ and how we should follow the example of Jesus Christ. So he accepted a baptismal date for June 18th and so we will continue working with him! We also have been working with Randy who is the boyfriend to a less active member we teach.

Elder Creer and have been taking lots of pictures with the murals around town too and so I will attach some pictures with those. Overall, it was a pretty long casual week, and nothing overly exciting, however, it was successful so that was GREAT!!

Anyway, here is a talk given by Jeffery R Holland titled "None Were With Him" I suggest you look up and read/watch the full talk. It's amazing. Here's just a fragment of it. —

 "I speak of the loneliest journey ever made and the unending blessings it brought to all in the human family. I speak of the Savior’s solitary task of shouldering alone the burden of our salvation. Rightly He would say: “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me. … I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold [me].” He ventured into the Garden of Gethsemane alone. Falling on His face in prayer, “sorrowful … unto death,” the record says, His sweat came as great drops of blood as He pled with the Father to let this crushing, brutal cup pass from Him. But, of course, it could not pass. Returning from such anguished prayer, He found His three chief disciples asleep, prompting Him to ask, “Could ye not watch with me one hour?” So it happens two more times until on His third return He says compassionately, “Sleep on now, and take your rest,”  though there would be no rest for Him. Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually--that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, the support of His personal presence. It was required, indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind--us, all of us--would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone. But Jesus held on. He pressed on. The goodness in Him allowed faith to triumph even in a state of complete anguish. The trust He lived by told Him in spite of His feelings that divine compassion is never absent, that God is always faithful, that He never flees nor fails us. Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path--the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel."

Sorry that was LONG, but that is a crucial topic and an amazing talk! Thanks for everything, love and miss you all! Have a great week!:)

Chill Week

Hello Everyone, I hope you all had a great week this week!! It was a pretty average week here and nothing out of the ordinary really happened work and lesson wise! Brother Short came back from his vacation (he got to meet some of my family at the floral in Salem)so we spent a while with him this week! Also, most of our week was spent finding new people to teach. We just went around trying to find potential investigators, or former investigators basically, and along the way met quite a few new people!!

We tried to knock on a former investigator's door and a man walked out from behind the house. It wasn't the man we were looking for, but it was his father who lived in a trailer behind the home. So we had a good chat with him. His name is Randy and he's a little on the crazy side of things... But hey, he said he's always wondered what made Mormons happy so we will help him see the gospel now!! We also went and visited a less active member and her 5 kids. All of her kids are under 11 and LOVE Elder Rowley and I, so we like to go visit their mother, Mandy, and try to help get her and her kids to church. And while there, we went around back to where they were fishing in the backyard and also met another guy named Randy, who is a family friend. We invited him to church Sunday and he said he would come and that it would be his first time coming to a church in 25 years!! He did show up and brought Mandy and her 5 kids with her, so we will see how we can continue working with him!

We also had a good little fiesta with a member in the branch. She invited lots of people both members and non members to her fiesta, so that was a great opportunity for us to briefly explain what we do and just get to talk to all sorts of people. I have a few pictures of that to share and I'll have more next week because I forgot my camera today...

Also, just a quick update on Carl. He finished the Book of Mormon. So that's super awesome!!! WOOHOO!! We are still working with him  to try to get him to come to church.

But the ultimate best part of the week was of course the Skype home we were able to do on Mothers Day! It was AWESOME! I'm grateful for the support system I have back home and for all they do for me! It was nice being able to have a great conversation with my family again. I'm so grateful for them and their constant support and love! Honestly that was the highlight of the week, seeing those I love and miss so dang much! I love you all!  Through the whole Skype it was just running through my head that it was my final Skype home on my mission, and in a short 11 weeks or so I'll be home! It's just so surreal to think that it's almost over... But I do hope everyone had a great Mother's Day. I'm continually grateful for the special roles you women play in our lives. God bless you! Thanks for all you do for all the rest of us! I hope you truly feel of the love and special divine calling given by your Heavenly Father!

Just a quick quote for a little spiritual uplift- As we walk the path of discipleship, it refines us, it improves us, it helps us to become more like Him, and it leads us back to His presence. Living the gospel faithfully is not a burden. It is a joyful rehearsal--a preparation for inheriting the grand glory of the eternities. Enlightenment and understanding come to us when we do the will of the Father. Jesus Christ has cleared the way for us so that we too, must never feel unloved or alone. So that we too can progress to unimaginable heights!

Sorry this is a short one this week. It wasn't all that exciting other than the Skype home on Sunday!! And well... I talked to the majority of who I email anymore then hahah!! I love and miss y'all! Have a great week this week! Thanks for all you do!


—Elder A. Olson 

Great Baptism Week!

Hey everyone! I hope you guys had yet another fantastic week!! Ours here in Lake Placid was quite a good week. I mean.. There wasn't anything exciting like racing in a Corvette or anything, but it was still pretty good!

Overall, we had a good week of lessons and service again plus it's also the last week of the transfer:( We were able to go on exchanges and have a great time. I stayed in Lake Placid and Elder Bravo came down here with me and it was a great time! He replaced me in Melbourne, plus he served in DeLand, so we had a good ole time talking about the area and the people in it. And we actually had the opportunity to utilize his Spanish speaking capabilities and go knock some former investigators doors who only speak Spanish. Sadly none were interested, which might also be a good thing cause well...Neither Elder Rowley or myself would be able to teach them! But we were wracked on miles so we ended up walking most of the day and luckily a member came out with us!

We did get to experience a few awesome things this week though. We had a lesson with one of our investigators named Carl. Now Carl can be hot and cold at times, meaning he is interested one visit and the next it's the complete opposite. He was raised in and has always attended another denomination, and he is HUGE into history, and has a overall great knowledge. After meeting with the missionaries for months this week he decided that since he finished the other books he planned to read, he might as well read the Book of Mormon. As we talked about it, and after he expressed how he liked the stories inside and where he was (he read half of the Book of Mormon in a few days) as we walked away from that lesson to our car he said, "Hey boys, thank you for this book. It's truly helped me feel that God truly does care about all of his children. I appreciate the feelings I get and none of this knowledge would be made possible if it wasn't for you bringing it to me."  He expressed a very sincere love for the gospel, the Book of Mormon and how it's helped change him, and a love for Jesus Christ. One of the most humble things I've had thus far on my  mission!

I was also blessed with an amazing answer this week. Lately I've been praying to know how to best help the relationship we have with one of our investigators who is struggling, and we can't quite tell how interested she is. Well... Every Tuesday we do service for a local Food Bank, and on Tuesday morning she called in panic because her job basically fell apart, and she doesn't have resources to help her and her handicapped son. So she asked if we knew a local food pantry. I pointed out it was interesting that she called, because we help do service for them, and that we could help get her set up for that needed help! I believe that truly helped strengthen that trust!

We had our baptism Saturday for Troy and Sidasia!! It went very well! The water heater is now working, so it was warm this time. But anyways, we are excited to see the progression of the girls. They have made a huge change in their lives and we are excited to continue working with them! Overall a great baptism day.

I finished the Book of Mormon again this week, and although I've had the
opportunity to read it multiple times since I've been in FL I felt like I learned and am actually applying more this time than ever before. So I'll share a thought about a few verses that stood out to me this go around. 3 Nephi 17:5-7...."5 And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, He cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon Him as if they would ask Him to tarry a little longer with them. 6 And He said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you. 7 Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy." It's interesting to see that the love of our Savior, and His ultimate and unlimited grace and mercy is sufficient for all. No matter what you face. my favorite part is where it states he is here to heal any manner of affliction. We all face affliction, but our Savior cares for us individually. He knows and has felt our struggles, and knowing that any manner of affliction can be healed through Jesus Christ, we can be healed no matter who we are, what we do, what we look like, or who we were.. I extend to you all, as you come across trials in your life, call out, cry out, and reach out to the love, peace, and mercy your Savior Jesus Christ offers to all! And specifically to you.

Also, if you haven't heard of it already, I suggest you find him. There's a local Utah rapper named "Jamesthemormon" he released a couple of EPs this week and they have made their way to the top of ITunes music.. I haven't listened to them, but I've heard lots about it! Check them out!

I Love you all! Have a great week! Happy (early) Mother's Day to all the women out there who actually read my updates!! Haha! I hope you understand and know of my appreciation and everyone elses.. You all play a very huge and significant role in this life!!:) love y'all!

-Elder A. Olson

Fast Week and Fast Cars!!

 

At the Race Track!!

Hello everyone! I Hope you had an awesome week this week!! Ours was quite the adventure, really. We had quite a bit of lessons and service this week!! Tuesday we went over and helped Dreama pack,because she prayed about it and decided moving to Tampa would be the best thing for her and her kids. She told us that she is going to go and try to get on her feet and save enough to move back to Lake Placid and buy a house. So, sadly we lost one of our top investigators, but we are happy she is doing what's best for her.

We are continuing to work with our three recent baptisms, and we also had the baptism interview for their cousins Troy and Sidasia. They passed! So tonight we are going to meet with them to set up their baptism program, figure out who is going to be performing the baptism, who will be giving the talks, doing the confirmation, and getting them baptismal clothes!!

We have been working with a new investigator. Her names Amy and she initially got interested in learning more and strengthening her faith because her 5 year old daughter came up to her and asked, "if I die, am I going to heaven?" She didn't know the answer, she didn't feel comfortable and so she decided she had to have that knowledge and assurance too! She is in a hard living situation, but she has really shown a lot more interest recently. So we are pretty excited to continue to be working with her!

There wasn't too much new or exciting this week. I guess the craziest thing that happened was on Saturday. One of our members asked if we would like to meet with his friends. His friends have been to Temple Square and to church before and decided they need stability in their lives, and the gospel would bring that! So anyways, there was a catch to it. That specific member's hobby, and his friends hobby are racing. So they were having test runs, and his friend was coming down to do trials as well! We got permission to go to the raceway and talk with them, and while there might as well see some test runs right? Well.. After we arrived we found out the friend wasn't going to be able to make it... So... To make the trip to the Raceway worth it, the member offered a ride in his 2010 ZR1 Corvette. And if y'all know me, there is NO way I'm turning THAT offer down! So we each gotta do a few laps with him,and it was AMAZING!!! That was literally like one of the coolest things ever and we got to about 142mph...phew... So insane! It was a blast.

Just another quick thought from General Conference by President Uchtdorf's talk titled "He Will Place You on His Shoulders and Carry You Home." "It matters not how completely ruined our lives may seem. It matters not how scarlet our sins, how deep our bitterness, how lonely, abandoned, or broken our hearts may be. Even those who are without hope, who live in despair, who have betrayed trust, surrendered their integrity, or turned away from God can be rebuilt. There is no life so shattered that it cannot be restored. The joyous news of the gospel is this: because of the eternal plan of happiness provided by our loving Heavenly Father and through the infinite sacrifice of Jesus the Christ, we can not only be redeemed from our fallen state and restored to purity, but we can also  transcend mortal imagination and become heirs of eternal life and partakers of God’s indescribable glory."

Thanks for all you guys do! Love and miss you all!! Have a great week this week.

-Elder A. Olson

Changing Lives....One Step At A Time!

 

Me and Elder Rowley!

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a swell week this week! Ours was pretty much average, and not much changed from last week sadly. We have just been working close with Quay, Ashanti and TJ since their baptism was last week! They have been doing well! It has already been really cool to see the progress the three have made since I met them at their first lesson when doing exchanges in Lake Placid a while back.

Also, we have been working with another investigator, Dreama. She is awesome, and has made a total 180 with her life. Again I met her at her first lesson in Lake Placid while on exchanges.  The change from then to now has been amazing! She has completely handed over to us all the word of wisdom problems she faces, she has stopped smoking and has truly engulfed herself into the gospel and its teachings. It's been so cool to see her attitude change.  She was facing a really tough time Saturday night and to find comfort she said she ended up praying a lot and turning to the Book of Mormon and started reading from it! We met up with her Sunday for a lesson and she told us that she noticed a difference, a totally turnaround from the previous night. She felt the love that God has for her, and it helped change her. She said by that next morning she felt like a completely new person! It's always amazing to witness the blessings the gospel has for the people here.. How we have seen the blessings in our lives and that is our purpose for being out on missions; is to help others witness those blessings as well! Sadly, Dreama might be moving to Tampa soon, but luckily wherever she ends up, missionaries will be there. The church family will be there and she can continue in her spiritual journey. We had an exchange this week and it was super fun because it was Elder Davis and I in Sebring! hahaha! I was back again with my old companion together in our old area! So that was a blast being able to see all the familiar faces that we used to teach! It confuses the heck out of everyone though! :)

Nothing else too exciting has been happening though. We do have 2 more
baptismal interviews tonight for Troy and Sadasia, who are cousins of the
three we just baptized! So that will be pretty fun. Their baptism isn't set until the 30th so let's hope all goes well!

I have just a quick thought for today and I apologize my email is short. This was taken from President Thomas S. Monson's talk this last General Conference. "May we ever choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong. As we contemplate the decisions we make in our lives each day--whether to make this choice or that choice--if we choose Christ, we will have made the correct choice." One of my favorite quotes is "What is right will always be right, even when no one is doing it. What is wrong will always be wrong even when everyone is doing it." As we carefully make those decisions in our lives we can find the comfort of the Holy Ghost more evident in our lives. We can truly be guided by our Father in Heaven so that we can ultimately live with Him again. Choices determine our Destiny.   

Thanks everyone, love and miss you all! Have a fantastic week this week!

-Elder A. Olson

Wild Baptism Week!!

 

Baptism day for Quay, Ashanti and TJ!

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you guys are having a swell day!:) Our week was pretty epic and as usual it started off pretty average, with the same old stuff like teaching appointments and such. Wednesday we actually had interviews with our mission president- President Berry. It was great!!! I was super excited to be able to have an interview with him, mainly because I think that it was my final interview with President Berry. We might have one more before he leaves In June, but I'm not sure.  Either way it was great. We just talked about future plans after mission, current standings on Lake Placid, etc.. It was great! He's such a great guy! They even took us 8 out to dinner because the interviews took up our dinner time!   

Tuesday we spent hours doing service at a food bank, which was awesome. We just helped them stock their new shipment of canned goods in. But their storage room was all out of shambles so we spent extra time sorting their old stuff, putting them in proper places, reorganizing and stocking the new! It was surprisingly really fun!...plus they have us peaches and orange juice, so it was a win-win.

Thursday we had yet another meeting, this time it was our fun 2 1/2 hour trek to the meeting in Vero Beach! It was just a normal monthly meeting.. So it was pretty good as it usually is! We just talked about setting goals in our personal lives and areas so that we can continue to see success!

Friday was a typical weekly planning day, with nothing too special. Elder
Rowley is signing up for college classes and registering for that so we spent a little while Friday working on tests and stuff as well! He goes home like 3 or 4 weeks after I do, so we are both heading to the end soon. It's weird though, because the branch members keep bringing that up. hahah!

Saturday was hectic but AWESOME!!! Sebring ward had a "Fish Fry" activity so we went to that one, which was good. Then right after that, Elder Rowley and I were preparing for the baptisms. There is a fun little story that goes along with that one..We had everything set up, and we started filling the font and realized, the water was FREEZING!! So we worked on it, worked on it some more, then called our branch president who said the water heater had been busted for a few weeks!... I decided that as Elder Rowley prepared the room and got the program printed off I would go boil big pots of water so we could dump those in to warm it up a little...well... That was a good thought, except the kitchen didn't have a stove top. So I switched to Plan-B which consisted of putting water in the microwaves they had, and dumping them into a 5 gallon cooler (for insulation) and running it down to the font and pouring it in! So I did that for a good hour, it worked, not well...but it warmed it up a few degrees! Hahaha!

But overall the baptism went great! I'm so proud of Quay, Ashanti, and TJ for the steps they are taking towards their Heavenly Father! It was definitely a special day for them and for us. Seeing people change their lives around to follow Jesus Christ is always a huge blessing to witness. It was a great program and the confirmations Sunday were fantastic. Quay even cried during the whole thing. She said she has never felt that amount of love pouring out from God before that day! I will attach some pics of the baptism for y'all!

But that was about our week this week. For a spiritual thought I just took another one of my favorite talks from General Conference. Talking about how at times we all become lost to the gospel, through different trials, etc.. But through the love, grace, and Atonement of Jesus Christ we can find that peace and stability again. ."My dear brothers and sisters, my dear friends, I testify that God sees us as we truly are--and He sees us worthy of rescue. You may feel that your life is in ruins. You may have sinned. You may be afraid, angry, grieving, or tortured by doubt. But just as the Good Shepherd finds His lost sheep, if you will only lift up your heart to the Savior of the world, He will find you. He will rescue you. He will lift you up and place you on His shoulders. He will carry you home." (He Will Place You on His Shoulders and Carry You Home) -Dieter F Uchtdorf

I know that as we continue to search for the Savior, and apply the most amazing thing, the Atonement, into our lives, we can receive that "rescue" we can witness the change in our lives, the increase in our faith, and feel the absolute love our Father in Heaven has for us! Thanks for all you guys do! I love and miss you guys!

-Elder A. Olson 

Steven (Sebring Investigator) and I.

Me and Ashanti

Elder Rowley and I

Just Relaxing...

Baptism Day!!

General Conference + Upcoming Baptism News!

 

Off Roading in a Jeep!!

Hello everyone! Hope the week was rest for you, cause I know we here in Lake Placid had a pretty solid week!! Tuesday we had transfers, and I took the long journey the 20 minutes south to my new area, Lake Placid! It's strange because I've been here before on many exchanges, so to actually be serving here in the Lake Placid Branch is unique! It has been a blast so far!! So yeah, Tuesday we had exchanges. Elder Rowley and I just went to town on the lessons. We met up with a couple that we actually contacted on exchanges in Sebring, Mike and Tonya. We met them a while back and got their address, so we went and visited with them. They are both super awesome! We learned a lot too, and saw some blessings for sure. They have trust issues, especially when it comes to people they don't know, so going to church has always been an issue, but they explained that the love they feel in our church from meeting us, and other members has been amazing. That they feel of our love for them and most importantly Gods love for them! So we are excited to see where that will take them!

A lot of this week was just me getting to know the people here, meeting the people they were working with and the members around. We met with this family that are all working towards baptism! The three kids are actually being baptized this Saturday too! The cool thing about it was I knew these people previously because of exchanges.Elder Goff and I were actually the ones who taught the first and second lessons with them. So they already knew who I was!  So this Saturday should be a great time! We have TJ, Quay, and Ashanti getting baptized this weekend. Our branch President will be baptizing TJ, Elder Rowley will baptize Quay, and I will be baptizing Ashanti!! So i will definitely let y'all know how it goes next week!

We also got a good taste of what Florida off-roading is like!! After our dinner lesson with a less active young adult in our branch, he took us out in his jeep in the back country off roading! It was LEGIT! They had HUGE mud puddles, and all these sand/mud paths going through all the trees. It was cool.

Also this weekend was of course General Conference which was AMAZING. The talks were perfect and it definitely helped answer all of the questions I had! It was great to hear and sustain our beloved Prophet and his counselors, and the rest of the seers and general authorities of the church. I'm grateful for them, their love, and their service to us, and to God. They gave some very good advice on a lot of important topics, such as: Family Roles, Faith during Trials, the Atonement, Repentance, the Holy Ghost and much more! If you weren't able to watch it, I highly recommend you do. I could feel the spirit so strongly, and it helped in my overall progression towards God in strengthening my faith and testimony! 

Here is a little quote/summary of one of the many wonderful talks we heard this weekend, given by Jeffery R Holland. "With the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the strength of heaven to help us, we can improve, and the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed. Please remember tomorrow, and all the days after that, that the Lord blesses those who want to improve, who accept the need for commandments and try to keep them, who cherish Christlike virtues and strive to the best of their ability to acquire them. If you stumble in that pursuit, so does everyone; the Savior is there to help you keep going. …Brothers and sisters, the first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. That’s the first great commandment. But the first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever."

Anyways, I'm having a blast! Elder Rowley and I are working super hard, and doing great! Thanks for all the support, I hope you all had an amazing General Conference weekend and also have a wonderful week ahead of you!! Love and miss you all!

-Elder A. Olson