I just built a snowman
on the beach that is practically neighbors with Antarctica. And I built it with
my bare hands... which means this email is going to be a lot shorter than my
constantly over-filled mind of thoughts would prefer because I can't do
anything more than chicken plucking right now. Oh the pain! Oh well... it's a
blessing for all of you because my email won't be monstrously as long. :)
Turns out my new
companion, Hermana Maready, was an answer to my prayers. She's a sweetheart and
I love working with her. She has 4 months left in the mission. Apparently we
met 5 years ago in OCMCO! She's from San Clemente and we know a lot of the same
people from her stake. And she has music!!!!!!!!! WOW I can't believe how much
I've missed music. I LOVE MUSIC! She also can play the piano and I laughed out
loud in joy when she said that! Because I had decided literally one week before
to pray to Heavenly Father specifically to send me someone that knew how to
play piano because I was getting overwhelmed with playing in church and had
been using a lot of the eensy extra time I had to practice for Sundays. The
first Sunday after Hermana Parkinson left, we had sacrament meeting without
accompaniment, and to put it nicely, a Chilean congregation singing a capella
is the dainty sound of flats and sharps and different keys and some people
singing 2 octaves lower haha....it's a little more overpowering than the
spirit. haha Well after the meeting, Hermano Acevedo from the bishopric came up
to me with a really desperate look in his eyes and asked, ''Hermana Olson,
(sigh) do you know how to play the piano?'' And, I don't know how, but I said
yes. And he called me as the accompanist. And somehow miracles happened and I
have been playing the piano in Sacrament Meeting for the past month and a half.
Well, now I am just happy because Hna. Maready is helping me solidify the
circle of fifths and all that jazz so now it won't take me so long to read the
hymns. And this week I just had to practice one hymn and Hna Maready played the
rest. It was nice to just sit and sing in Sacrament Meeting for a few hymns
:)
Okay if you can tell,
my hands have thawed a little bit! And I don't have much time left...
I just want you all to
know that I absolutely love serving a mission. The only way for me to describe
it at this point is that it is an experience. I am learning so much.
After what feels like
years and years of work, we are not really searching for fruits because we can
really see a whole tree full of them!!! Slow and steadily we have been able to
get 13 different families in enseñanza or ...um families being taught right
now! It's amazing!!!!! And all of them are progressing! And I love being a
missionary.
Today at 7:12 a.m. our
dear Hermana Karen (a less active that after 13 years, just barely returned to
the church) called us to let us know that Javiera, her daughter, our
investigator that Hna Parkinson and I started teaching 3 months ago, received
permission from her dad to be baptized just 10 minutes before!!!! I don't have
time to really explain all the background of everything, but it was a miracle
what happened. And a tender experience to hear Karen's pure joy while she
talked to us on the phone. The mission is amazing.
Okay well... my time
is sadly running out. Wow there is just so much to say. This week was great. As
always. I love being a missionary. I love Chile and I love the people I know
here in Patagonia. And the gospel! I can't even tell you how amazing the gospel
is. Go open your scriptures, say a prayer, and smile and then you will
understand a little bit of how I am feeling! haha
I love you family! I
really love hearing about everything that is going on! I love you all so much.
You are all in my prayers.
Next week I'll make
sure my hands are moveable when I come to write.
Chauito!
Hermana Olson
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