May 25, 2015 Carnet Stuff

Hey family! I only have time to get on super fast and let you know that I cannot write to you this week about my experiences thus far in the Patagonia world of things because I have to go to the police investigations place to get my carnet thing, like identity card for Chile, today because my certification only lasts for so long and I had to wait until I got to Patagonia and I have to do it TODAY! before the thingy expires and it's really important.

So I thought it was awesome that I had a back up thing, because I wrote out what I wanted to say on paper to take a picture of it! But I took a few pictures over by the coast and my camera died! AND I HAD YET TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THE LETTER and my companion doesn't have her camera with her. And I have to hurry over to the P.D.I. right now because it's like the DMV supposedly. But I love you and I'll just have to send the letter from this week next week! I'm sorry.

Love, 

Hermana Olson

p.s. yeah it is suuuuuuuuper cold here.

May 11, 2015 You Guys are Real!

You guys have no idea how refreshing ....and strange...it was to see you all yesterday! I really don't know how to describe it, but YOU GUYS ARE REAL! It's a weird thing, this mission life. You really feel like everything from before is just kind of this foggy distant life that you know happened because you have pictures and e-mails and memories but you kind of are just wondering if it really happened.. Hahaha that probably sounds so weird, but it's true! It was nice to have a good confirmation that yes, you guys are living your lives and that you all know I'm in Chile and loving it. It was crazy to actually talk to you all! 

Right when I heard Jacob's voice my heart just started beating like crazy and it just didn't stop the entire time because then another sibling popped on and then my future sister popped on (which I was not expecting at all) and then the rest of my family popped on including my freshly returned missionary brother! It was so exciting to see you all and just hang out for a little. 

I don't know what to say. I feel like I told you guys hardly anything! ...even though I'm sure I did. But it was really special to be able to talk to you guys and see you all. 

I love you all so much. And Happy Mother's Day Mom. 

This week lots of things happened, but I can't pick out very much because everything is just swirling around because my mind is drawing a blank as I'm trying to send an e'mail to my family that I talked to yesterday! Ah! I had so many plans to send you pictures and everything, but I guess that will just have to wait until next week. 

I think my favorite lessons that happened this week were with Trinidad, an 8-year-old. She is really sweet and really interested. It's really neat to witness so clearly the light of Christ that is in children. They really do have an innate desire to learn of Christ and follow him. I love Trini's mom and little sister too. I don't know if her mom, Joanna, really is interested though. She loves our company, but we are wondering if she really has interest in what we teach rather than just listening because she likes us. They assisted church last week because Trinidad begged her mom. And Trinidad LOVED it. Joanna liked it too, but not enough to have the ganas to come this week... We have a cita with them tomorrow and I think it will be great. All we have to do is find a way for Joanna to connect this gospel to her life in the manner that she realizes the value and opportunity she has with learning about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Trinidad has been reading the Book of Mormon to Joanna and Trinidad told us she loves it. Oh wow well there are just so many silly details and I don't really have time to type it out because today I actually am short on time. 

This morning the Hermana Lideres called us to let us now that we will be doing intercambios tomorrow 

with them and that I am staying here in Valdivia. So I guess tomorrow we will see how well I know the area and how to be a missionary without my Momma gringa missionary there by my side. hahaha I'm kind of excited though. I really like Hermana Palma. She's from Santiago and is just an awesome misionera. I think it might be a bit of a challenge, but I'm really excited. I also can't wait for her to meet my fantastic investigator buddies! I wish all of you could meet them. 

Maybe after my mission when I don't come home because I am just going to live here for the rest of my life, you can come visit me and meet my friends here in Chile. 

Yesterday, when I was saying bye, I couldn't believe it was already time to say bye and I realized that the next time I see you will be when I am FURTHER in my mission which means closer to not being on my mission anymore.... and that's what really hit me hard. I don't want to come home. I love you guys so much and I miss you all a lot, but I really think that there is no better thing than being called to serve in the service of God. After getting home last night, really sweaty because we had to run the whole way, I had to talk myself through the process that yes, I will probably have to go home after my mission and that it's okay. I thought about Seth being home and I REALIZED I FORGOT TO ASK SETH WHAT HE IS EVEN DOING WITH HIS LIFE. But then I realized that life goes on... Weird. And it's okay. 

I just have to make my eensy teensy time I have here in Chile the best it can be. I don't want to have any regrets of not using my time here as a missionary the best I could. 

I thought about it more, and I realized something a little funny. The mission is the perfect example of The Plan of Salvation:

I had a pre-mission life that almost doesn't feel concrete

Then I was sent to this mission-life with the purpose to follow the Savior's example by being called as a representative as him

And then I am going to 'die'

Then return to live with my family again in my California world.  

And life is just going to keep going on and I won't even be 21 yet..... and so I have AAAAAAALLLLL this life ahead of me. 

Interesting to look at that and realize that if you zoom out to the eternal perspective of things and see that this little missionary life I have that represents earth life doesn't even compare to the ETERNAL scheme of time. Life goes on after this life. 

Boy oh boy is this life a treasure here on earth. We got to come get bodies and enjoy this earth life, but guess what, this earth life isn't forever. So make the best of it. Really, be wise. 

Check your priorities and make them worth something in the eternal perspective so that when you have to return home, you won't regret how you used your little time here on earth. 

Yeah, I have no idea if that made any sense you any of you. I was wanting to write it better, but I don't have time I'm just hoping the get the gist of what I'm trying to say. 

I love you! 

-----more details later I guess. hahaha 

LOVE, 

Hermana Olson

May 4, 2015 Oh Yeah Tomatoes!

Okay, so I guess I jinxed the volcano thing last week when I said that nothing was affecting us.... because right after leaving the cyber and writing that e'mail, outside got really smoky. And later that night acid rain came down from the sky. They canceled school on Tuesday and Wednesday because there was lots of ash (which means that it traveled about a week in the atmosphere!). We got a call from our district leaders saying that we could only go to the SET appointments, which on average, we usually only have one, but on Tuesday we had FOUR! AND none of them fell. So it felt cool to have been able to work when it was a day that we couldn't really work. It also felt great to breathe in ash....haha but we are all good. Wednesday wasn't as bad, just smoky smell. 

On Wednesday, we had a cita with Noelia and Ernaldi, but this time we had to let them know that we had to pass them to the elders in the Angachilla sector because we aren't supposed to be teaching people out of our sector. And they aren't progressing (because they don't want to get married..), so our ward mission leader told us that we can’t be putting in our time anymore to go all the way over there. So we were sad. But we told them and they took it surprisingly well!!! And we told them that the elders are awesome and everything was good. I think it will be good for them to get a fresh start with elders because they have been in enseñanza for 6 months now and things are just going in circles with us... so it will be good. They were sad to say bye, but they turned it into a fun time too. Ivan, their boy the same age as John, played the violin for us and he is just as good as John. And I really liked listening to him.  It made me think about John and how awesome he is too. And we had a good lesson. And then we had to leave....but we left a little late and we had a family night with Pia that was going to be in 15 minutes! And we were in a different sector and Pia lives clear on the other side of our sector.

So we ran, with a quick pit stop at our house to bring the brownies because the brownies were NECESSARY. 

And then we ran more. And more. We finally arrived at the house ONLY 15 minutes late, yes we ran for 27 minutes straight in dresses and boots and bags.... (3 minutes to take out the 30 seconds of grabbing the brownies and the other 2 and a half minutes we spent speed walking to catch some breath). We got to the house and the only person that was there was Pia's dad, who isn't a member, and we haven't really talked to him ever. But he told us that everyone had to leave for the baby that was just born from Pia's older sister. And so we said, alright, here are the brownies and he laughed. And asked why we were sweating....(we were sweating a lot). Anyway, even though we didn't have a lesson with them, I think it was good that her dad saw our effort because they called us the next day and asked for us to come back. Which to be honest they didn't really like it when we were there. And Pia I'm sure thought we were boring... and we didn't know how to teach her very well because she's 10 and doesn't talk a lot and her mom is less active and never really talked to us much either. .

Anyway we went back and HAD A BLAST! Teaching the gospel and talking about dentures! We went with a different approach this time and had a mind game that connected with our lesson. And we finished up our lesson and somehow her sister brought up dentures and then the conversation just took off and then I told them about Hannahmarie, when she popped them out in front of me when I was all alone with her. And EVERYONE LAUGHED SO HARD! And it made Pia LAUGH! I made Pia laugh!!!! We were all laughing so hard that Pia even started laughing out tears. Oh it was just so fun! And when we had to leave, Pia asked us to stay!!! And she keeps calling us every day asking when we are coming back! Oh it was just good. We went back yesterday with another mind game lesson and she loved it. And we have a family night planned for tomorrow so we might even start teaching her dad! It's just awesome! I love Pia. It feels great for her to finally be comfortable with us! Who knew Hannahmarie's dentures would help us out? haha

We have a new investigator, Joanna and her daughters, Trinidad and Augustina,. And they came to church yesterday! And it was awesome and I think I won't say much just because I don't have much time. 

SANDRA HAS A DATE! And that is another awesome story.... That I don't have time for.

I have pulga bites out the wazooo!!!! It seriously looks like I have chicken pox. So that's fun. 

Well, I feel weird that I will be seeing all of you on Sunday! I guess it will be really nice to just talk to you because I honestly feel so weird with this e'mail communicating thing that’s been going on since I've been here in Chile because I just don't feel like I'm actually communicating with you guys because I send emails that don’t really get sent so when I send them they are old and stuff. And then I don't really reply to you very well...... Well, yes, it will just be good. 

I was going to send pictures this week, but I guess next Monday will be better because I'll have more time to not have to worry about telling you crazy looooooooooooooooooong detailed emails that may or may not actually get to you. 

Hermana Olson

April 20, 2015 The Lord Knows the Desires of Our Hearts

This week I studied a lot about desire. And then our district meeting was AWESOME! It was about desires and I learned a lot and just got a huge push of desires! 

Deseo is a motivated conviction, al terminar cada dìa debe sentir como no puede tomar 1 paso màs. (Upon ending each day, you should feel like you can’t take one more step.) I decided my desire is to labor so that there WILL be fruits.

I left that meeting feeling desires to work my hardest. We had an awesome member, Steffany, who leaves on a mission in May to Peru, with us for 4 hours.  And we were so excited to have a member come with us to FOUR appointments that were set! 

All of our citas fell. Every single one! 8 pm rolled around and Steffany had to leave. We decided to go back to Marden's house, being two hours after the time that his wife should be there. We climbed the stairs and decided to say a prayer before we knocked. (OH YEAH we went at least 4 times these past two weeks and found a different woman behind the door all four times and we thought all of them were his wife, but they were all just friends that were watching her kids for her because I think maybe she is a teacher or something... anyway all of those friends were not interested at all in our message, before we figured out they weren't Marden's wife, and so it was a bit of a relief every time when we found out that she wasn't actually his wife.... hahaha and the fifth time we went today, we found yet another babysitter and she finally told us the time that Marden's wife would be back!) 

We prayed that she would be able to be behind that door. So we knocked, and ...nadie (no one). My companion was very disillusioned, but I decided to knock the next door because contacts always, always brighten our spirits. Well, I knocked the next door and then when someone opened it, a man walked right in past us to deliver some firewood. And the person at the door said, I'd much rather have wood than you guys at my door. So we went to the next floor and knocked four more doors, all of which answered with just BRUTAL rejections. I kept knocking and knocking hoping we would have some measure of èxito, but instead we just had a solid 30 minutes of pure terrible rejections! Some people were nice at first saying, Oh I don't have time to talk, and we'd offer just to give them a tarjeta of Jesus Christ or something and one lady just yelled at us from her window saying, 'whatever you give me I'm just going to rip it up and throw it in the trash.' It was quite a different experience than EVERY single other time we've knocked doors, or even gotten rejected, for that matter. People are usually much more courteous when they are mean. My poor companion was completely desanimada. And then our last cita for the night called us and canceled. I thought on it for a little. Heavenly Father knows the desires of our hearts. He knew we were putting in our best to keep pressing forward. I knew we met Marden because we needed to meet him. I knew it, and I was just kind of trying to figure out why it has been 2 weeks and we just couldn't find them. Then dingalingalingaling! 

If Marden's wife wasn't in the apartment when we asked Heavenly Father for her to be there, she just simply wasn't going to magically appear behind that door. When we are asking just seconds before we knock on that door. So I figured, Heavenly Father wants to help us because he knows how much we just wanted to meet Marden's wife, but we just didn't give Him a little more time to work it out. I turned to my companion and said let's go back. I explained it and we went. As we turned the corner to the stretch of Marden's apartment, there was a light. 

We looked at each other and climbed the stairs. As I walked toward the door I had the greatest of hope that this would be her, that she would be like Marden, and that we could be able to just meet her! We stood in front of that door with the greatest of hope. It's a feeling I really have never experienced. To be about to knock a door to meet someone you have been waiting for so long to meet that you haven't met. That's what a felt. I knocked and just knew that we were going to meet someone great. Someone that has been waiting. 

And who opens the door? Ruth. 

With a smile that brought the sweetest light when we felt so surrounded by darkness. She said Hola! Gave us a kiss on the cheek. We told her who we were and why we were there. And she told us she had hardly put her things down when we knocked on the door. As we talked to her, it felt like we already all knew each other. I couldn't stop smiling. She is super excited for us to come back! AND SO ARE WE! 

After getting to the bottom of those stairs, my companion and I turned to each other with the biggest smiles on our faces and cried real real tears of JOY. 

Saturday it RAINED!! Constant, non-stop rain and I busted out that awesome rain coat from you, Mom. As I was wearing it and the desire thing was all in my head, I just couldn't help but think about how awesome of a coat I was wearing! I'm pleasantly entertained and amazed, Mom, that you took that HUGE coat on your mission, hardly used it once or twice, then brought it back home only to live in no rain land, California, for your whole life keeping that coat in hopes that maybe your daughter could use it for her mission. ....and also only have 1 daughter in your huge clan of offspring....(that sounds weird) therefore only having ONE chance for this daughter of yours to serve in a mission that would require a GOOD raincoat. And then BAM! Your desire was granted!!! And boy oh boy am I happy that you wanted that sooooo bad ;) haha I bet you really were only supposed to have boys, Mom, but because you saved this giant rain coat from your mission, Heavenly Father just had to help you out a bit and send you that one girl that was going to serve a mission in Chile Osorno :) haha but really, thanks for the coat. Everyone has been commenting on it these last two days saying, Wow! That's a great coat.' And I just think to myself, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW. :) 

Well, everyone has said that the sun has parted from Valdivia now and we will not be seeing the sun until October. BRING IT ON. I LOVE RAIN. Really, I'm amazed at how well Heavenly Father knows me. This place in Chile is just for me. If I could I would live here forever. Really. The rain isn't even the best part. ITS THE PEOPLE. I can't even tell you how much the people I have met mean to me. I don't want to leave this sector ever.

Okay what else... OH YEAH. Speaking of desires, guess what Sandra told us???????!!!!! She wants to get baptized!!! YEAH! She just said it so casually on Saturday. We hadn't even started the lesson yet and we were just talking about our day with her and then my companion asked, Do you believe that this is the true church, Sandra? And she said, Mira. I was thinking about it the other day, and I decided that I want to get baptized. I know it's just right. I want to make a lot of changes in my life. I want to lose weight and quit smoking. And I don't know how to explain it, but I just have this desire in my heart to just do it. I know it's what I have to do.' And she said it just like that. Plop. And I'm telling you it was just OUT OF THE BLUE! Both my companion and I kind of just stared because we were so stunned and confused because it was so just confusing. Just because she didn't want to be baptized EVER! Finally when we came to our senses we just were SO HAPPY and we smiled and told her we were so excited for her. Then she said thank you for not giving up on me. !!!!!! And she gave us big hugs and then said, 'Ah! You guys asked so much. And what did I say? NO! AhAH! But now I said yes!' hahahaha she's SO GREAT! 

We weren't able to put a date for her baptism though because she wants time to know more. She said probably not for a year..... But we had a really good lesson and she thinks she can sooner, she told us to give her a week and a half to read the book of Mormon so that she can just feel like she isn't 'lacking as much conocimiento' We'll  work with her, because I know she really has that firm desire to do this! 

Oh so Hna Oross taught me a little bit of some bagpipe playing this week while we were laying in our beds. IT'S THE GREATEST DISCOVERY since toe socks. 

So apparently you can sound like a human bagpipe when you plug your nose and chop your jugular really hard while you make noises. We do it almost daily just because it’s so awesome! SO while we were on the phone with the zone leaders we just started playing them for them. And both of them freaked out and asked us HOW we knew how to play. And then after that they said, Wait, HOW DO YOU HAVE A GAITA IN YOUR CASA?? And then we said the first thing that came to our mind and said we found it on the street (....in Chile) And then they said, 'REally??' And we said yes. And they were super excited. 

....so excited that while we were planning the next Ward FHE that is Saint Patrick's Day themed (because it's to celebrate their ancestors, thus connecting to the Family History thing we have planned) they told Jared, our ward missionary, that we could play the bagpipes! And Jared, oh boy, he got SO excited. And at first he didn't believe us, and the elders were saying NO, THEY PLAYED FOR US! ....and so Jared was OVERJOYED. Like, really really excited. .....and then we didn't know what to do so we just played our bagpipes right there, as in hitting our throats super hard and plugging our noses, and the elders were confused. And Jared was very very very disappointed.  So now he made us promise to figure out how to Irish dance and we are going to do that..... It was fun. I'll have to show you how we sound like bagpipes. The Elders were so confused! Hahahaha 

...but now we have to work on an Irish dancing routine........ Woopdidoo. I'd much rather play the bagpipes.

And that's all I have time for....because what the woopdidoo. I WRITE WAY TOO  MUCH:  

Hermana Olson

P.S. JACOB CONGRATUALATIONS. You have almost exactly 9 months between the time you get married and when I come home. soo... But really, I am so so so so so so so so happy for you. I also was mind blown when I saw your email because I seriously had a dream on Saturday that you proposed and I was telling my companion about it and then BAM you actually did and I was like Waaaaaaaa???!!!! Yeah. I am so excited. 

Also if Samuel has a phone. Does that mean that everyone one of my eensy tweensy baby brothers have one too? I don't think I want a phone when I come back. I like life with 50 numbers on my phone and that's it. It's a good simple life, this mission life. Simple AND AWESOME! 

April 27, 2015 I Think I'll Be on My Mission During the Second Coming

Well, this is the second volcano that erupted. Volcan Calbuco in Puerto Mont. It's not too far from us, it's a little South, but I guess we're far enough to not have any problems. Nothing has happened to us here in Valdivia. We could see the HUGE cloud in the sky though. AND everyone that we saw that day that it erupted had their news on and HOLY COW THAT WAS A HUGE ERUPTION! All that really happened was that a huge wave of lady bugs flew from there. TONS and TONS of lady bugs!! That was actually pretty cool. 

Oh! And on T.V. there was a clip of the water tower here in Valdivia with the cloud of the eruption in the sky behind it and there were two people walking next to the tower on the sidewalk and it might have been Hna Oross and I!!! Maybe.... hehehe I only saw that clip once, but we will just look it up after our missions to see if we really were or not! hahahaha So yeah, the volcano erupted. I really don't know very much about it and as far as I know, it's not affecting us here. I'm pretty sure I won't be seeing any white top volcanoes while I'm here.... I think they are all going to blow before I get to them... Which is crazy! (...and I'm not trying to be insensitive about these disasters happening.)

Every time it rains for about the whole day, everyone tells us that the sun isn't coming back until October. And then it comes back STRONG AND HOT the next day when we're all bundled up. I don't know when this whole 'Valdi-lluvia' thing is going to live up to its name. 

We made lots and lots of goodies for people this week. brownies, banana bread, and chocolate-chip cookies. And everyone LOVES them!!! Everyone is asking for the recipes and asking us to come over to their house to show them! haha it's funny because they are three of the most general goodies up in the states, but here they don't really have chewy delicious cookies. They are mostly cracker kind of things. So it's fun to share that with people. 

OKAY! DIEGO AND VICTORIA CAME TO STAKE CONFERENCE! IT WAS AWESOME! They walked in RIGHT when the choir was singing 'yo sè que vive mi Señor' and sat down and I almost cried. It was just so special to see them come in and sit down! They were all dressed up and everything. It was just really, really, really special. My comp and I are in the choir and we didn't get to sit with them, but they kept smiling at us and THEY LOVED CONFERENCE! We had the Santiago temple president and his wife there AND our mission president and his wife there and all of them spoke and everyone talked about eternal families and President Obeso and his wife gave AMAZING talks that were just perfect for Diego and Vicki to hear. It was just awesome. The spirit was so strong!

I also realized that Presidente Obeso and his wife remind me of Grandma and Grandpa Olson. A lot. I've been able to see them a lot these past two weeks because we had a zone conference last week that was AWESOME! I think I forgot to mention that in last week's letter, but it was just AWESOME! And then we saw them this weekend for stake conference too. I really like Presidente Obeso and his wife. 

I also sang a song 'Conmigo Quedate Señor' for this stake conference. It's Abide with Me, 'tis eventide. Afterward, the temple president and his wife talked to me and told me that they think they heard me sing that in the CCM. Turns out the CCM devotionals aren't just for the missionaries in the CCM, they had a live stream play all the way to Santiago too! haha so that was neat and funny. 

Well, I'm out of time... I can't remember a lot of things that happened this week. I'm so flubbered up because I have been trying to figure out what on earth is wrong with my e'mail!!!!!! But I think I sent them all now. If not. ....I don't know what to do. 

I want you to know that this is the greatest time of my life and I can't even describe it to the point that I am feeling it, but the people that I meet and work with and teach are just so precious to me and I love being here. I love being a missionary. I love you all! 

Love, 

Hermana Olson