Last Mission Blog Post! Thanksgiving, baptisms, and SNOW!

November 6, 2017

Hi Everyone! 

It was a great week! I celebrated my 21st birthday by receiving my new companion, Sister Jensen, who brand new to the mission.  She is amazing! She is so excited to be a missionary. She is learning the area and all of the people that we are working with really quickly. I am going to be sad to only have one transfer with her. 

Before Sister Jensen came, I had one last lesson with Sister Swarts and Pete. He is doing really well and is excited to be baptized. We talked about about how families can be together forever. He is looking forward to being able to raise his family in the gospel. It is amazing to me to think of the impact that one person can have from living the gospel. Sister Swarts bore a powerful testimony about the importance of families. I know that she is going to be great in her new area, but I/ the members will miss her! 

This week we also saw a miracle from ministering visits. This week I also went to MLC and President Polley spent a lot of his time talking about how we can increase ministering visits ( when members and missionaries go on visits together). We visited one family Sunday night and learned that their 10yr old son isn't baptized. He wants us to teach him the lessons to help him prepare for baptism. We are super excited. It will be fun because I haven't had much opportunities to teach children on my mission. President Polley has promised us that as we focus on ministering visits, that we would be able to find people to teach. It is amazing to see his promise be fulfilled in our area. 

I know that following the Savior brings happiness. I know that as we seek to serve others in small and simple ways every day that we can be filled with peace and happiness! 

Hope y'all have a great week! 

Love,

 

Sister Olsen 

Pictures 1 Last day with Sister Swarts 

Pictures2 First picture with Sister Jensen 

November 13, 2017

Hi everyone!

It was another great week! This week we were able to go to the temple
to do baptisms with Bryan. I love being in the temple. It always feels
like home. Bryan couldn't help but smile when he was doing baptisms. It
was a blessing to be able to see Bryan be baptized and then to be able
to see him do baptisms in the temple.

We were also able to go over the baptismal interview questions with
Pete. His testimony has grown so much since I first started
teaching him. Sister Jensen asked why he wanted to be baptized and he
responding by saying that he wanted to make the next step in coming
closer to Christ. He told us that he always feels the Spirit when he
comes to church.  We are going to be doing family history work with
him this next week so hopefully we will be able to go to the temple
with him before I leave.

We have another investigator that we are working with and we noticed
that she isn't progressing as much as she was in the beginning. As we
were pondering what we should teach her we kept feeling like we should
teach the Word of Wisdom. She is still working on gaining a testimony
of the Book of Mormon.  We felt that we needed to give her a new
commitment to help her increase her faith. I know that we are able to
gain a testimony of the gospel by living it. We are given commandments
to help us be happier and to come closer to Christ.

November 20, 2017

Hi everyone!

This week flew by! We have been busy preparing Preston and Josh for baptism and going on ministering visits with our ward members. This week we were able to help Preston do family history work so that he can go to the temple to be baptized for his deceased relatives. It is excited to help him with his family history because he will be able to be baptized for close family members. We are super excited for Preston's baptism next Friday.  

This week we also had a lesson with one of our investigators who we are trying to help to feel and recognize the Holy Ghost. We had invited her to read the Book of Mormon with a question that pertained to her personally. She wanted to know how she can get through the busy part of the end of the school semester. As she read the Book of Mormon, a simple verse stood out to her. She was reassured that if she worked hard and did her part she would be able to do well. I have also seen this week that as I gone into my Book of Mormon studies with a question that I have been guided and received answers to my questions. 

Last night we had the YSA face to face. ( It was a live broadcast where two Apostles answered questions that young adults have). A bunch of the YSA/ missionaries from San Antonio got together to watch it. It nice to be able to see Elder Oaks and Elder Ballard talk in a less formal setting then general conference. At one point Elder Oaks was talking about how the only label we should have is that we are a Child of God. He said we often Label ourselves saying "I'm from Texas". Everyone was laughing about it here. Texas pride sure is real. 

Overall what I took away from the Face to Face was how much Joy living the gospel brings. I have noticed this week as I have taught lessons, studied the scriptures, done service projects, and helped with family history that I felt lasting happiness. I have noticed that not only am I happy in the moment, but the happiness lasts even once the Activity is over. I know that this happiness comes from doing things that invite the Spirit into our lives. 

Hope y'all have a great week!

Sister Olsen 

November 27, 2017

Hello Everyone! 

It was a great Thanksgiving week! On Thanksgiving we were able to volunteer and an assisted living home. We normally volunteer there and help the people play bingo. On Thanksgiving we had planned to sing hymns with one of the other volunteers that helps with Bingo. We sang How Great Thou art to many of the residents. ( How Great Thou Art was one of the only Hymns that we had in common). We also had two of the residents join us. One of them was a 93 year old man who used to be a Reverend for the Baptist Church. We would push the two residents in their wheel chairs to room to room and leave them with a prayer after we finished singing. Thanksgiving is my last holiday as a missionary. While we were singing, I couldn't help but think that serving is the best way to spend the Holidays.  I think there is an extra special sprit that comes when you Sacrifice your time with family and friends and visit those who are sick and lonely.  Sister Jensen and I are super excited to be entering the Christmas season. The church is doing the Light the World initiative this year again. Every day in the month of December leading up to Christmas there is a different way that we can serve in a simple way. I would invite you to go to Mormon.org and check it out. I know that if you seek to serve this Christmas season it will become more meaningful to you. 

On Black Friday, Pete was all dressed in white. He as baptized on Friday and it was a wonderful evening. He bore his testimony afterwards and was moved by love and support that he has felt as he has learned about the church. He bore testimony that he felt closer to his Heavenly Father and felt clean and happy. On Sunday he received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I know that Heavenly Father always rejoices when we seek to follow the Savior's example. 

Have a great week! 

Sister Olsen 

Pictures1/2 Thanksgiving 

Pictures 3 Pete's baptism 

December 4, 2017

Hi Everyone!  

It is crazy to me how fast the time has gone by! This week I had my last zone conference and MLC. I had the opportunity to share my testimony at both meetings. One of the things that we talked about was studying and pondering the Book of Mormon. In MLC, we took an hour to break apart two scriptures in the Book of Mormon.  In my scripture study this week, I have gone in with questions/ a desire to better understand how studying the scriptures in depth improves our spiritual growth. I can say that as I have studied this way that my scripture study has been more meaningful. I have been able to receive answers to my questions and have a better understanding of the blessings that comes from living the gospel.

We had our first recent convert lesson with Pete this week. He was able to share more of his thoughts from his baptism. He bore his testimony of how keeping the commitments that we extended to him has changed him and made him happier. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have had to see him progress and the impact that the gospel has made in his life. 

I look forward to be able to share more of my experiences as stories with everyone in person soon. Somethings are really hard to describe over email. 

Have a great week!

Sister Olsen

December 11, 2017

Hi everyone!

It is my last weekly email. I can't believe this day has come. I have so many mixed emotions. First off, I would like to say that it was an exciting week. It snowed! There were real fluffy snowflakes falling from the sky. We were shocked to see snow covering the ground after we came out of our dinner appointment. Also, Jacob got baptized this week. It was an amazing baptism.  It was great to see so many friends and family members supporting him. He truly was loved into the gospel. 

I have loved serving in the Alamo 1st and Encino Park ward for the past year. This area feels like home. I am grateful for all of the members and all of the people that I was able to meet. I love them so much. I wanted to leave with my testimony. I know that we have a loving Heavenly Father and that he is mindful of each of us. I know that serving others brings joy. I know that the Book of Mormon brings us closer to Christ. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that through him we can be forgiven of our sins.  As, we exercise faith in Christ that we are able to progress and become more like him. 

I look forward to seeing you all Wednesday!

Sister Olsen 

Hope y'all have a great week!

Fall in San Antonio...teaching the gospel and some fun p-day activities.

August 28, 2017

Hello Everyone!

I can't believe that i have been out for 15 months! 

We are all safe here in San Antonio. Hurricane Harvey didn't affect us too bad. Everyone was prepared for the worst, but luckily it wasn't as bad as people expected. They did cancel church and the activities for the weekend. They were planning on having a stake women's conference on Saturday. We had helped a member prepare a big pasta salad on Friday. I am not quite sure what she did with 36 hard boiled eggs. 

This week we had interviews with President Polley. I always love being able to talk to him. He is always so encouraging. We have zone conference tomorrow and I am super excited. We also were able to talk to a man this week. He told us his whole background story and how he used to spend his time with a bad group of people. It was a pretty interesting conversation. We left him with a couple scriptures from the Book of Mormon to read. We had met him briefly a couple of weeks ago and had stopped by last week when he wasn't home. We left a note and he said that it meant a lot to him. He was having a bad day and he appreciated that someone cared about him. It was another one of the many example that I have had of how we can impact people for good and never realize it. 

Hope y'all have a great week! 

Sister Olsen 

September 4, 2017

Hi everyone!

It was a great week here in San Antonio. The big news for our mission
this week is that we will now be able to use Facebook and Skype in our
missionary efforts! I am looking forward to the different ways that we
will be able to use the additional technology. I know that it will
help us, especially in the young single adult ward.

This week we went on exchanges. I had the privilege of being with
Sister Wells her last full day as a missionary. I have learned so much
from her from the different exchanges that we have gone on for the
last 5 transfers. We were able to talk to a lot of people including
one lady with adorable puppy.

 We also had a less with a new investigator in the family ward.
Whenever we have a lesson, we carefully consider who would be the best
member to bring with us.  We decided to ask a member who was baptized
a couple months ago. She was so happy to be able to go with us. She
said that she was struggling because her husband just left for basic
training. She prayed for an opportunity to serve and help her get her
mind off of him being gone. That night we called her to come to the
lesson! We both we able to see how Heavenly Father was able to answer
her prayer. I know that Heavenly Father always hears and answers our
prayers. He may not always answer in the way that we expect, but it is
always the best way.

Have a great week!
Sister Olsen

Pictures: exchanges, Sister Loveridge (it has been over a year since
we have seen each other), and zone conference

September 11, 2017

Hi everyone! 

It was a great week! The weather hasn't been as hot and we have a couple new Investigators that we are working with! On Saturday we got a text about someone who has been meeting with the missionaries in New Mexico. She is going to be in town for the next couple of weeks and wants to be baptized. She wants us to teach her while she prepares for baptism. She will probably will be baptized back in New Mexico, but I am excited to teach her and help her prepare for baptism. 

Yesterday we also had a man that just showed up to church! He has a friend who is at BYU and he wanted to learn more. He enjoyed church and how friendly everyone is. We have a lesson set up tomorrow. :) I know that situations like this are a blessing from Heavenly Father. As we try our best to find people to teach and do what we can, Heavenly Father blesses us with people who were prepared by other means. 

We went and hiked Enchanted Rock which is in Fredericksburg. It is a huge pink granite rock. It was super fun! 

September 18, 2017

Hello Everyone! 

It has been a great week! Sister Swarts and I are going to be staying together for another transfer! The only difference is that I will be a Sister Training leader again.  It is a little crazy for me since I have been here since January, however I am excited because we have some great new people that we are working with.  We had a great lesson Tuesday night with one of our investigators in the YSA ward. I loved teaching the Restoration and helping people when they are just first learning about the gospel. 

This week we also had stake conference. It was super great because they spent a large part of the time talking about how members and missionaries can work more together. It was great to see the excitement from the members.  I know that the Lord's way to do missionary work is having the members and missionaries working side by side. 

This morning we also got a call that there is a YSA in another ward who is ready to be baptized! He has been attending another ward for years and now is ready. He is on date for Oct 7 and so we should be really busy the next couple of weeks teaching him all of the lessons. 

I know that Heavenly Father always is watching out for us. His way is always the right way. As we follow our Savior we will be blessed with peace and hope. 

Have a great week! 

Sister Olsen 

Picture 1 zone picture

Picture 2 Today we went to El Mercado, it reminds me a lot of old town in San Diego :)

September 25, 2017

Hi Everyone, 

It was another great week here in the TSAM! We were able to teach one of our investigators Preston about the Plan of Salvation. The funny part about his lesson is that when we went to to unlock the church building for the lesson our key didn't work. We had given our building keys for a couple of the other church buildings to another set of sisters. We thought that we must of had given them the key to our building on accident. We ended up having the lesson in the pavilion. That night a small rainstorm decided to come through. The lesson ended up being a little extra windy and rainy, but it still went really well. The best part was that a couple days later we realized that the door was broken and that we had the right key after all. 

We also had a couple lessons with our new investigator Jacob. He isn't on date for the 7th of October, but he still wants to he still wants to be baptized. My favorite part from his lessons is that after we invited him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, he told us that he already had! He then told us more of his experience of how he received an answer. 

The Encino Park ward had their primary program ( the primary program is when the little kids are the ones singing and speaking during the main meeting at church). The little kids were super cute. A couple of the members brought their friends to watch and we were able to talk with them afterwards. This week I wanted to share part of one of my favorite primary songs. We shared part of it in Preston lesson and we could tell that he really like it too. 

1. I am a child of God,
   And he has sent me here,
   Has given me an earthly home
   With parents kind and dear.
2. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,
   Help me find the way.
   Teach me all that I must do
   To live with him someday.

I know that we are all children of our Heavenly Father. I know that as we pray, attend church, and read our scriptures that he can guide and direct us in our lives. 

Have a great week!

Sister Olsen

It is currently raining really hard/ Sister Swarts and I realized we hadn't taken any pictures this week.... 

October 2, 2017

Hi everyone! 

It was a great week! On Tuesday we had a lesson with one of our investigators and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Spirit was so strong! It really was one of my favorite lessons from my mission. The members that we had there bore powerful testimonies of the Book of Mormon and on baptism. This week we also had MLC and General Conference! It was a great weekend.

Here is a couple highlights from those conferences 

MLC 

President Polley gave a training about how Christ is the Good Shepherd. He explained how sheep know the voice of the Shepherd and follow him. They can recognize the difference between the voice of the Shepherd and someone trying to imitate the voice of the Shepherd. This analogy taught me how important it is to come to know the Savior so that we can recognize and heed his words. We then must help others to recognize the voice of the Savior. 

What a better way to come to learn the voice of the Savior then by listening to his chosen servants and Apostles! 

General Conference

There are so many things that I could share, but this was one of my favorites.  

"Lasting joy is found in focusing on our Savior, Jesus Christ, and living the gospel as demonstrated and taught by Him. The more we learn about, have faith in, and emulate Jesus Christ, the more we come to understand that He is the source of all healing, peace, and eternal progress." - Sister Bingham 

Overall I felt that one of the main messages of conference was that there is peace, happiness, and hope for all those who seek to become more like Christ. I know that serving others truly brings happiness! I love all of the opportunities my mission has allowed me to serve others. 

Have a great week!

Sister Olsen 

Pictures: 1. MLC 2. YSA that we watched conference with 3. Zone p-day 

October 9, 2017

Hello Everyone!

It was a great week here in Texas! We had another great lesson with Pete this week. He accepted a baptismal date of November 24th! The members have been super great at reaching out and fellowshipping him. They all encouraged him and bore powerful testimonies which helped him set a date. I love lessons in the YSA Ward. It is fun to be with a group of YSA and to feel the Spirit strongly as we all talk about how faith in the Savior has blessed our lives. 

This week I had the opportunity to go to Fredericksburg on exchanges! It is a cute little country town that I have been wanting to go to since I got to Texas. I was with Sister Rice and she is an amazing missionary. I enjoyed exchanging ideas about missionary work with her. 

I love the opportunity that I have to focus on helping others come closer to Christ everyday. Sometimes it seems like a sacrifice to serve a mission, but it really isn't. It is such a blessing and I am going to miss it when my mission is over. 

Hope you have a great week! 

Sister Olsen

Pictures 1-2 exchanges 

3 Halloween package

4 The river walk 

October 16, 2017

Hi everyone!

It was a great week! We were able to continue to teach Pete this week. He is doing great and is super ready to accept all of the commandments that we are teaching him. We also were able to have a Skype lesson with Ryan this week. It is nice to be able to option to Skype because it helps us work around people's busy schedules. 

This week we also had zone conference and our Mission President invited us to study and ponder the Book of Mormon everyday. They invited us to focus on the Doctrine of Christ and to highlight whenever it talks about faith, repentance, baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the end. It was great because earlier in the week I decided that I wanted to work to increase my love and testimony for the Book of Mormon. 

Later this week we had a lesson with a less active YSA who I have taught a couple times. He has a desire to come to church, but finds it difficult to be motivated to come. In the past we have talked about the importance of Church attendance, but this time I felt that we should just focus on the Book of Mormon. I know that as we read the Book of Mormon everyday that we receive many blessings. One of them is that we have a greater power to accomplish our goals.  I told him that the Book of Mormon helps us do the things that we can't make ourselves do.  I could tell that this resonated with him. He left happy and motivated to read the Book of Mormon. He saw the Book of Mormon as a tool to help him accomplish his goal of coming to church. This Sunday he was able to come to Sacrament meeting and renew his baptismal covenants.  I know that coming to church is important because it allows us to have the Holy Ghost with us more throughout the rest of our week.  As missionaries, we can't make people do the things that will bring them closer to Christ. I love and care for all the people that we teach. However, I can't make people's choices for them. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon because I know that if people will simply read and ponder the Book of Mormon that their faith in Christ will increase. As their faith increase, they will have a desire to make the further choices in their life to bring them closer to Christ.

Hope y'all have a great week!

Sister Olsen

October 21, 2017

Hi Everyone, 

It was a great week. Last Monday night we had a lesson with one of our investigators, Jacob, on the temple grounds. The spirit was so strong. I love the temple and being able to walk around the grounds. The San Antonio Temple has really pretty stain glass windows. We have a lesson with Preston at the temple this week. I am excited to be able to go with him and go to the temple again. 

In our mission we are working on going ministering visits with the ward members . We had a meeting this week with all of the missionaries,  ward mission leaders, a couple of the other Stake leaders in our stake this week. We were able to discuss the ways that we have been successful in working together with the members. I feel that we all learned a lot and we were able to come out with new ideas. We also had the Fredericksburg sisters stay the night with us. So that was a lot of fun! 

We had a lesson with Brenda this week and taught the Plan of Salvation. As we taught, she kept saying that it makes sense. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has a plan for us. It is his work and Glory to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life (Moses 1:39). I know that he has a perfect plan for us and that it is centered on Jesus Christ. 

Have a great week!

Sister Olsen 

The temple, Zone picture, and carving pumpkins :) 

October 29, 2017

Hi Everyone!

It is crazy that I am now entering my final transfer.  I am going to be finishing out my mission in ... Alamo 1st and Encino Park ( the area that I have been in since January) !  I will be getting a brand new missionary on Thursday.  Sister Swarts is going to be the senior companion in one of the other YSA branches in San Antonio. It has been fun to be her companion and to see her learn and grow. I know that she is going to great things in her next area. I am excited to stay with the people that I have grown to love so much. 

This week we had a lesson with one of our investigators Brenda. As I studied on how we could teach her about how you can recognize the Holy Ghost, I felt the Spirit testify to me how important it is for us to learn how to recognize the Spirit. We learn from the scriptures that the way we feel the spirit is through feelings of "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance" (Galatians 5:22-23).  The opportunities that I have had to really feel the Spirit are my most cherished memories. I recognize what a privilege and a blessing it is to help other learn to recognize the Spirit as well.  In the lesson, I was able to share my testimony of the Holy Ghost and share how much we want her to be able to experience the blessings of having the Spirit. 

As I was studying I read part of one of Elder Packer's talks that was addressed to missionaries. "Now, as a missionary, you will mature, develop a confidence, learn to speak up, to organize, to set goals. You will learn about people and places, you will learn to learn, and many other things. These are lasting benefits that come as something of a reward for your dedicated service.

But these things do not compare with the most lasting reward. The choicest pearl, the one of great price, is to learn at an early age how one is guided by the Spirit of the Lord—a supernal gift. Indeed, it is a guide and a protection." (Candle of the Lord)

As I have served my mission, I have experienced the blessings that he first talks about. I add my testimony that the greatest blessing has been to learn how to be guided by the Spirit. I hope that we may all be able to seek to have the Holy Ghost more in our life so that we can all be able experience the love and peace that the Spirit brings. 

Have a great week! 

Sister Olsen 

Exchanges!