January 4, 2016 New Year. . .New Me! (Not so original that one.)

Wow what a week! 

We started the year with sleeeeeeep. Or at least that was our intention! On New Year’s Eve we had to be in the house by9:30 so we got everything done for the night and got in bed by 10:30!!!! A whole half hour extra of sleep! ...until our District Leader called us at 10:42 and I let out an involuntary sort of wail. I was in-between that sleep and wake so it startled me pretty bad haha

Then right at the stroke of 12, fireworks went off. I, in this same mid sleep and wake trance, sat up and moved the curtain, half realizing they were fireworks thought, WOW! 

...Apparently I thought out loud because yesterday my comp told me I did another one of those wails and said WOOOOOOW! hahaha Anyway, I watched 20 minutes full of fireworks while IN MY BED. It was pretty neat. 

I guess my first words for year 2016 were a good start. 

I can't believe we are only 4 days into the New Year. This week I feel like have transformed drastically. Tomorrow will mark 3 weeks that Hna Gardner has been here! The other night, we were getting into bed after our personal prayers and at the same time said, '''Do you know what?'' 

After laughing and saying oh, you first. No you first (haha mom remember After you and Me first at the drinking fountain? Can't get that out of my head!) 

I told her, while I was praying I was thinking about who I was just a few weeks ago and I can't believe the difference. She was going to say the same thing! hahaha 

So apparently, when we asked, ''Do you know what?'' We did know what. Needless to say, we have learned a lot together and are truly united. 

THUS, the work continues just ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS! 

Hermana Gardner really heightens the sky of expectations and our limits are literally just our righteous bedtimes, nothing else. She has such pure faith that we can do everything the Lord expects of us. There was no coincidence in the timing of the success her first week--she has nothing to compare it to and so her goals are high and her efforts constant. She's amazing. She gets frustrated here and there with the language, but she knows how to follow the Spirit and therefore, an excellent teacher. 

We truly love each other and we LOVE this work! It's become a passion. And we are trying to contage as many members as we can! The time has passed exceedingly fast, but we feel like we've been working here together for WAY more than 3 weeks. I love it. Things are happening. 

This week we focused on listening to the Spirit, which actually guided us in everything! Most of the decisions we made weren't confirmed until after we had acted. One of the interesting ones I guess I'll share because I've never had one like it before. WE were buying salchipapas from our investigator Claudio and a man we had contacted 2 months ago showed up. Ariel. He looked super troubled. I said, “Hi Ariel! How are you?”

“...good. I'm good.” And then he turned away. We were there to teach Claudio so I was trying to finish up talking to him so we could get talking to Claudio. So I said, “that's good. How was your Christmas?” And he said, “I was alone. I have no one. I just went to bed at 10.” I felt bad but was trying to finish up... And then he began saying “I'm tired. I'm tired of it all. I just want to end all of this. Yesterday I almost killed myself, I just don't know how to do it.” Then, I felt a sudden urgency and I don't remember what it was that I said to him, but Claudio handed me a Book of Mormon and I explained it to him in a very personal applying way, it was very special. He began to cry and said, “Would you let me borrow this book?” And we said, “No it's yours to keep.”
We set a time to come teach him that same day, as he asked and he walked away with his completo in one hand, the BOM in the other. Later that day we stopped by the house and an idea popped into my head to take our banana bread loaf over to him. The hour came and he didn't answer his phone. But some miraculous way I found his house from the first time we contacted him (he lives behind a house in a shack from the owners.) He wasn't home so we asked the owners to give it to him and they thanked us. 

Later that day we found him in the street. We were already on our way home and he apologized for not being at the cita, but with tears in his eyes he said, “Do I matter to anyone?” He explained that he has no family at all. He is basically dying from stomach cancer and just right after he had talked to us, the owners gave him a month to leave. He said he read a bit of the Book of Mormon and didn't understand it but felt good. We said, “Yes, you matter to us because you matter to God.” 

Then he said, ''I had no more food and no more funds. I didn't know if I really was going to try to get around to sticking through today. But your bread showed up just in time. ...thankyou. Maybe I'm important to someone.'' 

We had to leave and we said, ''Ariel, you are important to God.'' Ariel is great. I had never felt so much love for someone I didn't know at all. Heavenly Father truly loves his children! And it's amazing to sometimes be so directly his hands that provide so much fisicamente tanto como espiritual. 

This week was great! The one that comes will be even better! The mission is better every moment! Gotta go! Love you all! 

Happy New Year's second week! 

LOVE,

Hermana Olson