Family!!

Boy oh boy was it so good to talk to you all this week. President was inspired for letting me call you, that's for sure!! Thanks so much for all the advice and scriptures and love!! I won’t lie, I feel tired, run down and like my body is 40 years old. BUT! After our call I prayed for a half hour just bawling my eyes out. I was so torn and confused about whether to come home early or not. After I prayed I felt a lot of comfort and peace and was able to sleep well. In the morning we had our personal study and I have never read so many scriptures that talk about our bodies and trials! I read in Proverbs 3:5-8, 2nd Corinthians 1:2-7 and all of chapter 4. All the verses talked about overcoming trials. After I re-read that talk Dad sent me, the Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence and these are the things that really stuck out to me:

"It isn't over until it’s over"

“The fight goes on"

“Don’t let your guard down. Don’t assume that a great revelation, some marvelous, illuminating moment, the opening of an inspired path, is the end of it. Remember it isn't over until it’s over"

 “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the promise… If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. We are not of them who draw back unto perdition"

 “We don't draw back. Don’t panic and retreat. Don’t lose your confidence. Don’t forget how you once felt. Don’t distrust the experience you had. That tenacity is what saved Moses and Joseph Smith when the adversity confronted them, and it is what will save you"

“If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don't give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. Face your doubts. Master your fears. Cast not away therefore your confidence. Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold before you"

"Fear ye not. And when the second and third and fourth blows come, fear ye not…. the Lord shall fight for you"

Sister Mosie made sure I was entertained

In the ER again....

            When I first read this talk I liked it, but at the time it didn't have much relevance but now it sure does!! Dad was really inspired!! After I read this talk I read my Patriarchal Blessing which I have it memorized inside and out. But what stuck out to me this time was "Ask you to always give your life as a loving token and sacrifice to Heavenly Father" I have never known what this has meant until now. Heavenly Father isn't asking me to die for this work (and if he did I would do it), but he is asking that I give EVERTHING. And I tend to do that so I have deiced to stay and finish my mission. I called and told President Richardson and he said okay but if I go to the ER one more time, that's it, I don't get to choose. haha But yes I will stay and finish strong! :)

            This week was great! Besides the little bump, we had a great week!! Juan has diabetes and was in the hospital all week. We went and saw him and shared a message with him and helped him feel happy! He then told us we needed to pray with the man that was next to him. So we did and it was so cute. We told the man who we were and then you could hear Juan on the other side of the curtain say "they are from my church!" It was so cute!!! It was a great experience and he is excited to continue to come to church and prepare to be baptized! 

Norberto is doing amazing! He came to church and loved it. After, we went and saw him with a member and had a great lesson about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is excited to be baptized on the 5 of Sept. He said he prayed and knows that this church is true! He is a cute little old Cuban man. He is so Christ like.

Sister Mosie thanks you so much for Olive Garden! We had a blast. We went out with our district . It was a fun time and she had a great birthday Sunday! She is so cute! I love her!

            We are continuing to knock doors and find! The members are doing better about giving us referrals which has been a big help! We are seeing lots of miracles and are having lots of fun!! :) The work is so amazing!!! I love it!!!

  

I cant believe Sam is coming home!! Will got home last week. Lauryn sent me pics. Super weird!!!! If I decided to go home, me and Sam would have been on the same flight. Crazy!!

 

Anyways I love and miss you all sooo much!! Thanks for everything!! Tell Grandma I am sorry hehehe but that I love her!!!! :) Give everyone hugs and kisses!!! :)

Briaunna

Family!! :)

Thanks so much Dad for sharing that experience with me!!! I can’t imagine how hard it was and I bet you had fun but it turned out to be a great spiritual experience and I am so glad you shared it with me!!! It reminded of the story in Ether chapter 6:5-6 about the Jaredites and how they had to go through so much just to get to the Promised Land. A quote I have to go with that scripture is "A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for." Even though the Jaredites were going through so much huge waves and storms, just like you guys were, they were still being pushed towards the Promised Land just like you were being pushed to your goal of the lighthouse. And yes just like the guide, Father never leaves our side he is always there telling us that we can do it. He is helping us be calm and patient. This experience you shared was so perfect because our mission president told me right before I came into the area that there were people prepared for me and it’s been hard because I haven’t found them. I have been starting to get tired and frustrated a bit with myself and God, but I know I need to trust in him because even though I may be going through trials and tribulation, I am being pushed towards the Promised Land (people who are prepared for me). It will all work out in the end. I have faith :))

I think for me the hardest part on my mission hasn't been the sun, my condition, hard comps, or rejection, but trusting in God’s will. That’s something for me that I have been working on a lot in my mission. A member gave a talk yesterday about how he had to build a fence for a farmer and how he first had to dig holes to put in fence posts. So he dug a hole that he thought was deep enough and put the fence post in. When he was done, the farmer came over and kicked the fence post and it fell over. The farmer said it needed to be deeper which means it would take more work and he had like 200 fence post to do but he did it. We can’t just do what we think is right we need to do God’s will even if it means much patience and work. We need to have strong, firm testimonies. We also need to be strengthening all of our fence posts. He said that it’s not just one post that makes a strong fence, but many. 

     

      

Thanks so much Dad for that talk you sent last week!! It was amazing!! I loved it!! Super inspired!! And I am excited to read the one you sent this week!! Thanks so much :)

            Juan is doing awesome!! He is super excited to get baptized!! He fell yesterday and had to go to the hospital so he is now getting baptized on the 29th. He is super excited and said nothing is going to stop him! We had a great lesson with him the other day and he bore his testimony about the Book of Mormon and it was amazing. The spirit was so strong!! :) I am so excited for him! I love him! :)

            Right now we are just working on finding people to teach. Knocking lots of doors but its fun and I love it!! Love this work and this mission!!! It’s such a blessing!! I have learned so much!!! Would you be mad if I said I wish I could stay longer?!?! hahah jk I love you all so much!!! Thanks so much for all you do!! Sorry this is so short, time got cut today at the library. Love you!!!

Family!!

This week was a good week! Nice and hot!! With the random storms as usual. This week was again filled with lots and lots of knocking. But our efforts paid off this week when on Saturday we went to go see a less active. When we went there he had a friend over. His name is Juan and he is in his 60s. He is from Cuba and is super elect! We taught the restoration right there and he loved it and accepted a Book of Mormon and was excited to read it. While teaching him we had a scare because when we were talking about Jesus Christ and he said do you think Christ was perfect? And we said yes and he said nope he wasn't perfect. Right then my mouth dropped open. Sister Moise said yes Christ is perfect and he continued to say no. At that point I put my head down and was like oh no, what’s going on! Then he said "Christ was more than perfect!" Me and my comp let out the biggest sigh and nervous laugh haha. But he came to church on Sunday and loved it! And he accepted a date to be baptized on the 22nd! We are going to see him today and teach him the plan of salvation. We are super excited!! He is all we are teaching right now but that's okay! Have no fear we will find more this week!!

Area where we were knocking on doors. Almost got kidnapped but that can be a story when I get home. Don't let mom know! But don't worry all is good! :)

This week in the new Ensign there was an awesome little insert about patience. I read it because I need patience and lots of it haha. While I was reading I felt like it was meant for me. It was so closely related to me it was scary. It was like I wrote it or something! Here is a part of it! 

“Sister Olsen, we bless you with patience.” Those weren’t the words I wanted to hear. I had been praying all day to have enough faith to be healed. In the blessing, I was promised that I’d eventually get better, but I was assured that it would take time.

I sighed as the elders finished giving me a blessing. I had only three months left on my mission, and I wanted to be out with the people—not sick in bed. I wanted to accept the Lord’s will, but I honestly didn’t understand why He would make me wait.

It took me several days to come to terms with my situation. I had resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to get better right away, but in the meantime I was miserable—until one day I turned to the scriptures. Eventually, I found the peace I needed in James 1. Joseph Smith found his answer in verse 5—mine was in verses 2–4:

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations [the Joseph Smith Translation changes “divers temptations” to “many afflictions”];

“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

“But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

As I read those verses, I can’t say that I was suddenly able to “count it all joy” that I was sick, but I did learn some things that helped me feel less miserable about my situation.

The fact that I hadn’t been immediately healed didn’t mean that I didn’t have faith, and it didn’t mean the Lord didn’t care about my situation—quite the opposite, actually. The Lord cared enough to test my faith by not healing me right away so that I could develop patience.

I realized that the Lord wanted me to develop patience because it’s a vital characteristic. Patience refines us. Patience helps us become more like the Savior. I did have important responsibilities as a full-time missionary, but I realized that when it comes to serving the Lord, He cares just as much about the instrument as He does the task at hand. The Lord was teaching me patience so that I could be a better and more effective missionary in those final months of my mission.

​Knocking in apartments! Creepy yes haha fun yes just kidding they weren't that bad:)

            I loved it! I have learned that patience doesn’t mean to shrug our shoulders and give up hope. Elder Maxwell said patience is not indifference. Actually, it means caring very much, but being willing, nevertheless, submit to the Lord and do what the scriptures call the “process of time”. I had always thought of patience as a somewhat passive response to life’s experiences, a sort of relenting. But patience is not relenting. Patience is a manifestation of inner strength and devotion to the Lord. Elder Maxwell also taught;
“Patience is a willingness, in a sense, to watch the unfolding purposes of God with a sense of wonder and awe, rather than pacing up and down within the cell of our circumstance. Put another way, too much anxious opening of the oven door and the cake falls instead of rising. So it is with us. If we are always selfishly taking our temperature to see if we are happy, we will not be.”
I loved this because it’s hard as missionaries when plans fall through or things don’t go according to plan. It’s hard for the natural man to understand divine timing, but what I have come to understand is that God is a loving Heavenly Father who has a plan that is filled with happiness if we are faithful. I am definitely learning how to accept his timing with confidence and not with anxiousness. J

​We spray painted our shirts! my wonderful crazy zone :))

This week, the Head of Languages for the missions is coming this week to test us on our Spanish. Apparently we were chosen for this special thing. I don't know but that's on Tuesday. We will see how I do. Tests still scare me. Crossing my fingers! :) It will be fun. I think that's it for the week. Very short but super excited for this week and what’s to come!! Lots and lots of miracles.

​super old caskets dating back to the 1900s. all are above ground and cement. super weird but cool!! 

Love you all so much!! Thanks for everything!!! Miss you all lots! Have a good week! J

Briaunna