3 Months Strong + Last week - The Miracle of Avoiding the Rain

Hi!

It is crazy to me that I have now been out on the mission for 3 months now. It has gone by so fast. So much happened this week!

This week we had another really great lesson with "Nate".We taught him once way back in the beginning of July.  He has been really busy starting his own business so we haven't been able to meet until last Monday night.  He is really interested in learning more about the Book of Mormon. Hopefully, we can continue work with him and help him find the time to meet. The gospel has so much to offer and can be a tremendous blessing in our lives, we just have to make time for it. 

This week we were also able to teach "Marie" she is a Chinese woman who I have been teaching while I have been here. When we first started teaching her she had no religious background.  It has been so amazing to see her progress in the gospel. She has learned so much in such a short amount of time and is now praying with her son!

Also this week I got to go on exchanges again. On Friday I was in the Balcones Heights area of Texas. Sister Dickson and I were able to teach a woman who was recently baptized. She thanked us at the end of the lesson and told us that it always brightens her day when the Sisters come and visit. Really it was our pleasure to come. I love brightening people's day. :) 

My favorite scripture this week is Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me"

Have a great week!

Sister Olsen

Picture 1/2 We exchanged back in Boerne which is a cute little old town. We were able to grab some lunch at a hamburger shack. 

pictures 3/4 were from last Monday when we got lunch 

Picture 5 we saw two different hairless cats this week. This is one of them. 

Picture 6 Texas has pretty clouds and sunsets :)

Hi!!!
We received a lot of rain this week, but miraculously we were able to
avoid getting wet this week. On Saturday we had a full day planned. We
had four lessons planned and a meeting that we had to get to. So, we
had to bike in order to get everywhere. The problem was that that
morning it was raining ( and the Forecast was for rain all day) and so
I was thought for sure we were going to get soaked. Luckily, the
rained stopped in the afternoon and we were able to get to all of our
appointments and stay dry. Once we went in for the evening it started
raining again. We were really happy and knew that we were blessed to
not get wet.

This week we had zone training meeting. The zone leaders and some of
the other missionaries gave trainings on how we can improve as
missionaries. One of my favorite part from the meeting was when the
zone leader turn to the sisters and said' "why are you here?  For the
elders it is our duty, but sisters you didn't have to come. So why are
you are here?" I could go on and on about why I am on a mission and
why I love it so much. I think it is best explained by one of my
favorite quotes from preach my gospel ( a guide to missionary service)
which says, "As your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ
grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase". I know that
this statement is so true. As I continue to learn and understand more
about Christ's sacrifice my desire to share the gospel increases. I
want everyone to be able to learn more about their Savior.

This week we continue to work with our investigator  "Joe". He has
made a lot of mistakes in his past that has brought him a lot of
sorrow and pain. What has been amazing to watch is he Atonement work
in him. As he been meeting with, us coming to church, reading, and
praying, it has helped him receive more peace and happiness in his
life. He told us that he prayed really hard and long one night and
that he felt better afterwards. He also said that he isn't as angry
anymore. I know that as we turn our focus more on the Savior and rely
on him that he will lift us through our trials and difficulties.

Love,

Sister Olsen

San Antonio North Zone :)

Rain or Shine the Work Moves Forth - updates from the last two weeks.

Hi y'all! 

 It was another great week!
I was able to spend the night with some other sisters this week
because Sister Martin had a meeting in Austin. It is always a lot of
fun to see the different mission apartments and to meet more Sisters.
We were able to meet with "Joe" again and answer a lot of the
questions he had. He came to church again on Sunday and expressed that
he was ready to work towards baptism. So we are excited to continue
meeting and working with him.

We were able to go to the mission home again this Sunday evening. It
is always such a privilege and a blessing to go to the mission home
and meet with President and Sister Polley. President Polley always
talks with so much love and excitement. He talked to us a lot about
working hard and having the faith to find. I know that as I continue
to work hard that we will find more people that are prepared to accept
the gospel.

It is still hot here and we still bike a lot. However, there is
nothing I would rather be doing right now. Nothing is more rewarding
then helping people come closer to Christ. :) 

Love,
Sister Olsen

It is such a blessing to live by the temple :)

Hi y'all! 

I have been here in Texas for two months now and am starting to really
speak the language. In other words "y'all" has been added to my
vocabulary. I haven't quite reached the point of saying "all y'all",
but time will tell...

The first part of the week was super hot. We were out biking and no
one was really home so we were really hot. Sister Martin found Oreos
in her bag, so we took a short break to eat them (picture 1).

Yesterday after church it started raining. We started biking and it
was lightly sprinkling, which was a nice change of weather. As we
continued biking, it started to rain harder. By the time we made it to
the person's house we were going to visit, we were very wet. (Picture
2). The rain definitely cooled us off and we actually got a little
cold. It has been so hot here that I was beginning to forget what it
felt like to be cold.

This week we had some cool experiences. One night we were walking in a
neighborhood and we were able to stop and talk with this woman on the
side of the street for 45 minutes. We were able to share our beliefs
about Christ and what his sacrifice means for everyone. She isn't too
interested in joining the church, but did really enjoy talking to us.
I know that it wasn't by chance that we were able to meet and that God
really does guide people into our path.

We also were able to go over to an older couple's house. They haven't
been able to come to church as often because of health problems.
Sister Martin has an amazing voice and was able to sing them a hymn.
They loved it and it always amazes me how much music can invite the
spirit. 

Have a great week! 

Sister Olsen

Oreo Break

Sister Dickson is my second companion this transfer because our companions are the lead sister training leaders. We are together when they are in meetings and go on exchanges with other sisters.

Transfer week.

Hi y'all!

This week was crazy! I said goodby to Sister Philpot early Tuesday
morning and she took the bus up with all of the other missionaries
going up to Austin. I then met my new companion Sister Martin! She is
so great! She is originally from Montana and had been serving in South
San Antonio for the past 6 months. She is also the new lead Sister
training leader so she works a lot with President Polley and the
Assistants to coordinate meetings and trainings with the other
missionaries.

Wednesday I spent the day with other Sisters who cover the Young Single Adult 
(YSA) ward because Sister Martin spent the day helping the new missionaries come
in. (No suitcases were lost this time, but we did get a thunderstorm
and a ton of rain on Wednesday). It was fun to get to know more
Sisters and to see more of San Antonio. The adventure of the day was
that our car almost got stuck in the mud.

This weekend we biked a ton. We were able to see an investigator "Joe"
this week. He has met with missionaries for a while, but I have only
met with him once. Sister Philpot and I had stopped by a lot for the
past month and were never able to see him. We saw him this weekend and
were able to have him come to church this Sunday so that was really
exciting.

We have a lot of appointments set already for next week and a new family 
is moving in and wants to meet with us so I am
excited for the upcoming week!

Love,
Sister Olsen

Picture 1&2 Sister Martin and I out and about
Picture 3 Saying goodbye to Sister Philpot
Picture 4 Deer!

Giant asparagus and pokemon that go to church;)

Hi y'all!

We we received our transfer information this morning.  Sister Philpot is going to leave early tomorrow morning and head up to Austin and I will be staying in here in San Antonio.  It will be sad to have Sister Philpot leave, but I am excited to meet my new companion tomorrow.

We have been teaching a teenage boy for a couple weeks now.  He is interested in learning more because he said that his friends that were Mormon were always so happy.  We get that a lot. Why are Mormons so happy? I know that it is because we have the fullness of Christ's gospel in our lives.  True happiness comes from God and Jesus Christ.  The more we focus on our Savior the happier we will be.  It really is that simple.  I have seen it in my own life as a missionary and in the lives of those who we are teaching. 

Love, 

Sister Olsen

Picture 1: "giant asparagus" 

Picture 2: This church is right next to ours and I thought the sign was funny. 

Picture 3: 1st district here in Texas :)

Picture 4: Me and Sister Philpot with our recent convert (they are going to really miss Sister Philpot)

From the suburbs of San Antonio

Hi y'all,

It has been another hot and great week here in Texas! 

On Wednesday I went on exchanges so I went with the Sister Training leader who is another area in San Antonio and her companion went with my companion and worked in our area. It was nice to be able to learn from her and see how I can improve as a missionary.  While I was there, we were able to meet a pizza delivery guy we just talked to him for a little bit and gave him a card with our phone number and a Book of Mormon.  Later that night we got a text from him saying how much he appreciated our genuine kindness.  I love being able to share the gospel with people and help brighten their day. 

The Pokémon thing is definitely a thing here too.  Jenna wrote about it in her email and called it the Zombie apocalypse. It definitely seems to be the new nation wide app sensation. From a missionary perspective all we see is small groups of teenage boys aimlessly walking around the neighborhood.  It is a pretty funny site.  I guess that it is good that it is getting people outside? Some people mentioned that one of our church buildings had pokemon. I joked with them that there were more inside.  There is another church that is right next to our building that has a sign that talks about Pokémon. I will try to take a picture of it soon. 

Love, 

Sister Olsen

Picture 1: Me with President and Sister Polley last week at zone conference

Picture 2: Me and Sister Jensen, the Sister Training Leader.  

Texas Week #4

Hi Everyone!

It is crazy that I have been in Texas for almost a month now.  The time has seriously flown by!

It is still hot and sunny.  I am starting to get some funny tan lines from biking around in the sun all day.  But don't worry, we drink lots of water and are wearing sunscreen. 

A couple of highlights from this week:

On Tuesday, we had lesson with a man named "Nate" we met him outside in his apartment complex and gave him a pass along card with our phone number and the church address a couple of weeks ago. We do this a lot because we try to talk with everyone.  So, it was surprising when we texted back and wanted to set up a time for us to meet. The lesson on Tuesday was great. Nate was really interested in what we had to say and was eager to learn more. He said that he was really looking for a church and that there was a reason why he recently moved to San Antonio. It showed me that the Lord will direct people who are prepared to hear the message of the restored gospel, if we are willing to go out and work.  I know that I can never tell when someone is ready, but the Lord does know. 

Wednesday was zone conference.  We were able to hear from President and Sister Polley along with the AP's and the Sister Training leaders. Much of what they taught were things that everyone has heard before. However, we were invited to try to listen with "new ears".  It amazes me that no matter how often we have read a chapter of scripture we can still learn something new if we try to look at it with a fresh perspective. 

Love, 

Sister Olsen

Happy 4th of July

Hi everyone,
I hope that everyone is having a great 4th of July. It has been a
busy, but great week here in the TSAM (Texas San Antonio Mission). We were able to meet our new
mission president, President Polley this week. He is super nice and
everyone in the mission is happy that he is here. In the big meeting
we had this week, he talked about how when we serve we are serving the
Lord. It makes me so happy to know that I am serving the Lord
everyday. We continue to bike in the heat, but I do so happily because
I know that I am serving my Savior.

This week we taught a lesson to two girls who were in the pool and we
were on the side in pool chairs. So, that was different but still
really great. We were able to give her a Book of Mormon and explain
that it is another testament of Jesus Christ.
😀
Sister Olsen

First Texas thunderstorm

We saw lots of frogs this week

We also had exchanges on Friday

 View of the temple from one of the Apartment buildings we were visiting. It is so nice to have the temple in our area. :)