Last week in the MTC!

Thursday, June 13, 2013
Week 5 at MTC!

Dear Family!

Before I forget! I got my travel plans on Friday and I am going to Seattle this Tuesday! I love the MTC but this week has been hard. I just really want to go to Seattle. 6 weeks is too long! So yay! Finally! Anyways! I'm excited to call!

Every week for sacrament we all have to prepare talks in spanish and then the bishop calls 2 people up to give their talk just on the spot. It's really scary. Anyways, I got called on this past sunday. So I gave a 3-5 minute talk about enduring to the end in spanish! It was terrifying and I'm pretty sure I just keept repeating myself. Es importante que perseveren hasta al fin para que puedan obtener vida eternal....did you catch my use of subjunctive? haha I love spanish but I dislike subjunctive a lot.

Gym is so much fun here! Lately my district has been getting really into four square haha. We get so into it it's so funny. Spanards vs. the finish/albanians. Every day! Then yesterday we got into volleyball, it's super fun. I love gym time. We just study all day so it's nice to get to have some fun with the district.

So for the first time ever, we had our devotional this past Tuesday at the Marriott center at BYU. So we all got to walk over there! It was really fun! I was sore then next day, either from 4 square or the walk, either way it's pretty pathetic haha. Mervyn Arnold was the speaker. He was the man that gave the "stupid cow" talk a couple of conferences ago. Remember that talk? How can you not. It was a really good talk, buth the cow talk and the talk he gave on Tuesday.

Anyways, I can't wait to get to Seattle!! I worry I won't be able to teach at all because my spanish is just....not good haha but esta mejorando! Can't wait! Love you all!

Hermana Olson

Week 4 at MTC!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Week 4 at MTC!

I hit my one month mark! Where is time going! I feel like I've been here for 2 or 3 weeks tops! I never have anything to write once I finally get the chance to email. It's a little frustrating haha. Tad R. Callister spoke to us for Devotional on Tuesday. It was such a great talk on the "blueprint" of the church. It was about how our church is set up exactly how Christ's church was set up when He was on the Earth. He went through all the ordinances, beliefs and so forth and how we have the exact same church. I always knew that but it was so cool because his talk was just packed with scriptures from the New Testament. It just proves to me the Book of Mormon and Bible really do complement each other and this is Christ's church. It was really cool.

A new district came this week. 4 new sisters and 6 new elders! and 5 of them are going to the Texas Houston Mission, and my companion's parents are the mission presidents of that mission! So that was really cool! What are the odds. Did I ever mention that Hermana Pingree's parents are mission presidents? Because of that, she actually got to serve a little "mini mission" for 6 weeks with the name tag and everything. So she just has so much more experience with teaching and everything. So I'm pretty lucky she's my companion, she knows a lot about missionary work.

Mom! Thanks for the cookies! You are the sweetest!! My district and I really enjoyed them! Oh, I have 2 new investigators. I guess for the last 2 weeks each of is an investigator for the other missionaries in the district. So we have the opportunity to know what it feels like to be an investigator. It's fun being the investigator and you learn a lot from it.

Well I'm doing super well! I love you all! Write me!!

Hermana Olson

Also, I remembered a funny story I wanted to add to my email. So now that I am living at the west campus every time we want to come to the main one we have to catch the bus. And we still haven't mastered this bus schedule yet. Anyways, the other day we came up to the main campus to practice for this musical number and Hra Pingree wanted to use a violin. So we get up there, we finish practicing and then we quickly sprint to the bus stop. We are always running to the bus stop! Anyways we get there and we look at the time and were like, "dang it! We missed by 2 minutes!" But no worries, we'll be late but there’s another bus coming in a half hour. So we wait at the bus stop and the bus just never comes! And then finally we look at the schedule and realize that that bus we missed was the last bus for the day! So then we run back to the main campus and go to the front desk and they are like, "oh it's okay, we have people driving to and from the campuses all day! No worries!" and then they realize...the transportation was done for the day! So they had to call in somebody to drive us back haha it was such an adventure. But the shuttle driver was from Bolivia so we had a good time talking to her in Spanish. And every time we go on real bus we always find people that speak Spanish and practice with them! It’s so fun. Or the other day we went to the creamery and the guy working there spoke Spanish and some customers who were in the store were from Chile so we got to talk to them. Ah it was so cool! We are learning the BEST language!

We go up to the main campus every p-day. I there right now. We go up, go to the temple, come here and email (just because there are more computers) and then we usually go to the store and pick up something, today I bought my calling card for the airport! (so excited to call!) and then we usually eat lunch here because our card works here too and it kind of feels like going out to lunch hahaha and then we go back. But we go up here for haircuts, immunizations, things like that. But in  a few months they will have the same facilities at raintree but now yet. But it's fun because we get to go on the bus and it's an adventure every time.

Week 3 at MTC!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Week 3 at MTC

Hello everybody! How is it all going! I am doing just great! This week was awesome! First of all my district has moved to the new "west campus" MTC. It's...awesome! We live in the Wyview apartments with living rooms and kitchens and everything. Everything is new and it's only the girls in my district. So two bedrooms and 1 bathroom and 4 girls! It's super fun! And then we get to walk across the street to Raintree apartments for class and to eat and everything. The freedom is just really nice! I am loving it! Plus it's nice to have a change. 3 weeks in the main MTC and 3 weeks in the new one! I'm super lucky that I get to experience both. So we were the first to move there...which was on Tuesday! They picked 8 or 9 zones to move (about 150 missionaries) and we are the only spanish zone! Pretty cool! The day was pretty historical, there were all these photographers and as we ate dinner all these people were just standing around us watching us eat. The people are all so concerned about us. It's really sweet, but we are loving it! No complaints! They took a group picture of all the missionaries who are first to go there and emailed it to us, so I'll forward that email so you can see the pictures. I'm in the front.

Sudnay was really cool. For devotional we had ...Stephen Allen (I think that's his name) come and speak to us for Devotional. He said he had been preparing his talk for the past 3 weeks and then a few mintues before he stood up to give his talk, the spirit told him not to speak about that. So he literally just talked by the Spirit. He invited us all to say a little prayer and ask questions we wanted answered and he'd try to listen to the spirit answer them. So I did just that. As he was speaking he suddenly stopped. He was silent for a few seconds...and then litterally answered my question. It was amazing! Amazing!

Another cool story, today for P-day we got to go to the temple. And after we were done and changing back into our regular clothes in the lockerroom, one of the girls in my district, Hermana Christley was like, "My clothes aren't in my locker." Her clothes were no where to be found! The temple workers kept saying over and over, "this has never happened before, I don't even know how to deal with this kind of situation." It was pretty strange and we were all opening up different lockers looking for her clothes. 20 minutes or so pass by and we were just about to give up and go back to our apartment and get her more clothes. And THEN! Who walks into the dressing room? Her mom and grandma!! It was seriously divine intervention. She was crying, her mom was crying, I was tearing up, all the other sisters in my district were too. It was so tender. I think she's been having a little bit of a hard time and seeing her mom was just sooo amazing. And if she hadn't lost her clothes we would have been gone when her mom came into the dressing room. ANd not only that, but we missed the bus to the temple, so we went to the 8:20 session instead of 7:20 and I mean, what are the chances that she runs into her mom! That isn't evne the temple her mom usually goes to! And then a minute later...we found her clothes! It was so amazing!  Then they treated us to lunch in the temple cafetria. It was really sweet!

Oh, Hermana Pingree and I got called to be the sister training leaders..it's kind of like zone leader..for the girls haha. So that's cool! We basically are there to help all the girls in the zone and make sure they are doing okay, answer questions, and yeah I'm excited. Except were not getting and new girls until next week. But I'm looking forward to some new girls!

Anyways I am loving it here. I have been "liking it" so I've been praying hard to love it. And the more I'm here, the more I love it. God answers all my prayers! I'm still surprised everytime He does. I really just can't wait to get to Seattle, that idea used to be terrifying but now i am just looking forward to it! I love everybody!!