Monday, June 8, 2015

April 13, 2015

Dear Family!! 
CASSIE'S HOMMMMEEEEE!!! That’s so crazy!  That is so cool that Cassie is home! Man you all look so good though!! Seriously! Just killin it! Tell Chantz I love the flow!! haha 
So for some answers. The ward is struggling-- it should be like a group in all honesty.   Elder Cataldo and I are getting to work and we are going to make it thrive. With the help of the Lord of course! hahaha  Elder Cataldo is one of the best missionaries ever! He’s seriously like my best friend! I love him! haha  We have so much fun together and we are really starting to see miracles! We just work hard and laugh a ton haha!  Every time we have to go on exchanges we're bummed because we don’t get to be with each other hahah it’s a party! He’s really helping my Spanish too! He talks so fast sometimes but it just makes it more fun!! haha I love him! 

This week was kinda crazy to be honest.  So some funny things first-- so you always hear about people running from the missionaries and its always an exaggeration until this week hahaha!!  We were walking down the street and this guy literally sprinted across the street and kept going for the next 2 blocks hahahah we just started laughing.  I don’t know if that was the best thing to do but it was too funny  not to  laugh. Like how can someone be that scared of a super white red head and a Chilean who are just cheesily smiling all the time hahaha!!  It was so funny! Oh also something that was super funny was-- its been a little warmer over here this week and we were out one afternoon and it was a longer afternoon and we were fasting.  Nobody was really outside but then we are walking back to our car and a bird poops on Elder Cataldo hahaha!! He was so mad but we just started laughing for like 30 min because out of all things a bird comes and poops on his shoulder hahaha!! It was good! This week was just super fun! 

On a more spiritual note we found this family (the Silva’s) and they are so prepared! It’s so cool! They have a baptism date for the 2nd of May and they are all so stoked!! The kids are all reading in the Book of Mormon and just loving it! They’re awesome and so nice and just such a blessing and miracle from the Lord! We love it! 
 Being a missionary is the best thing ever! I love it so much! The amount of happiness I have is crazy hahaha!! I’m just always smiling.   I know this church is true and it’s a church of joy and happiness.  We need to find the joy and happiness in all things! 

I love you guys and miss you a ton! Give Cassie a really long hug for me! 
Love Elder Oliver 

Friday, June 5, 2015

April 6, 2015

Dear Mom and family,
First-- yes that’s the right address, they just always make us go to the Post Office to pick it up.  Oh my gosh seriously--I love you guys so much and you really know how to make a missionaries life haha!! Those ties-- Ohhh sooo cool! Thank you so much! Seriously it means so much and you are really the best family in the whole world.  I was so excited, you have no idea hahaha!! I love you guys!!
Wow! Sounds like an awesome Easter!! hahaha  The strings... not going to lie I might have looked for a string Sunday morning and it lead right to the Post Office but the Post Office was closed so the Easter bunny had some pretty good tricks!! haha  But man-- was Conference amazing!!! Seriously for the first time, I was awake for it all and sad that it went by wayyyyy too fast hahaha!! I loved it!!  That was the first time though at the beginning of the Sat. afternoon session I heard people say they were opposed. I got like a sick feeling in my stomach. So sad but then they get up and say that our church has never been stronger! That was so cool!! Something that I really liked from Conference was when they were talking about Peter’s gaze on Christ when he was walking on the water and it wasn’t until his gaze left Christ and fear set  in that he started to sink... that hit me super hard!! How if we ever take our focus off of Christ we will surely sink! I don’t know-- just something that I thought was really cool! 
That’s crazy!!! Cassie is already coming home!! hahah I can’t wait to see her (through Skype) haha!! It’s been a whole year! That’s so crazy though! hahaha

So as for this week! Well with the Spanish—it’s getting better poco a poco haha Not going to lie sometimes it is tough haha but with the help of the Lord all things are possible! For the food I haven’t really eaten anything weird haha!! I ate habaneros haha like a ton! I love them haha!!  The G’s were waiting for me to be dying but it wasn’t that bad hahah umm so about the G’s-- this week was really hard with them.  We went over to have a dinner and basically tell them if they aren’t willing to keep commitments and stuff we weren’t going to come by as much... but we ended up talking and it got super spiritual and Brother Garcia just broke. It was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.  He’s a tough guy and always really happy but he started crying and was just so confused and lost and didn’t know what to believe and it was so sad to see someone you love just look completely lost.   The worst part is, we have the answer but they have their agency and we have to wait until they are willing to find it.  So that was a really hard lesson but I have so much faith for him! He knows and wants it so that’s good! 
Apart from the G’s-- the week was crazy hahaha! On Monday we had a member come out with us and there was this guy on the road and said,  “Hey Elders” so of course I stopped and wanted to talk but it turned out to be a guy who really didn’t like Mormons hahaha!  So for us it was nothing, I just felt super bad for the member hahaha!  Also I got told I look like I’m 35 a few days ago.  That was weird-- I didn't think I looked that old haha!!  When I told him I was 18 he didn’t believe me for like 20 minutes hahah!!  It was rough!! I think I’ve already got to many wrinkles or something hahaha!! But something that is really cool about the work is that if you are looking for it,  there are spiritual experiences everyday! For example we were tracting these apartments and ran into a girl who didn’t really like us hahaha and  she went up the stairs and into an apartment.  We had no idea which one, so we said a little prayer to have some help.   As we walked down the hallway she opened her door, walked out and back in for literally nothing. Elder Cataldo and I just started laughing and both thanked our Heavenly Father for that direct answer hahaha, it was so cool! I love it out here!  Also one day we had a really long afternoon and me and my companion set a goal to talk to 10 people in the afternoon when its super hard.   At 4 o’clock we had nine people and nobody who was interested but then the last one-- the tenth person was the most golden person ever!! Her name is V and she has been reading the Book of Mormon and already knows it’s true!! It was the coolest thing ever! There really is nothing better than this work!! I love it so much and Conference was just the cherry on top! I know this church is true and that we have a prophet of God on the earth today and that Christ leads this church! I love it so much haha and it just makes me so happy!! hahaha I love this gospel! 

I love you guys and miss you so much!! Give Cassie a big hug for me!! 
Love Elder Oliver 

Thursday, June 4, 2015

March 30, 2015

Dear Mom and family! 
Ok... I know last week was a hard week, some things happened and I didn’t have too much time... I’m sorry! I’ll be better-- I promise! 
So first about the companion! He is seriously awesome! He got here on Wednesday and he seriously is an amazing missionary! He loves to work and is super funny and really nice! He is learning English but is already really good.   We are going to try to speak solo Spanish so I might have a accent after this transfer! hahaha He is seriously such a blessing to me  I love him!  Being district leader has been kinda crazy but I’ll talk more about that later! So that is really sad to hear that Dad is released!! haha It’s crazy-- I was just 13 and now I’m on a mission haha!! Time just flies haha!!   Everyone out here says that being a District Leader is like being a Bishop.  I already have so much love for all the people in my district I can only imagine dad and five years! That’s so awesome and I look and think about his example every day! 
So it's  kinda weird but our Easter isn’t until the week after General Conference here haha!!   You guys should watch the new Mormon message called “Because He Lives!”  It’s awesome!  This time of year really is special and I want all of you to know how grateful that I am that my Savior lives! It means we can all be together forever, which is the best thing in the world! You really are an amazing family and I do love you so much! 

So as for this week,  it’s been kinda crazy! So my companion went home on Monday and I was with the Zone Leaders for two days until I got my next companion.   We had some crazy stuff happen! First it's super sad but the G’s aren’t anywhere close... I guess they were just saying the stuff that they knew Elder Ribeiro wanted to hear.   When we went over there without him booooom so much stuff came up!  Super sad but its ok-- it’ll still come just not super soon! Later that night though we were driving home and I saw a little 2 year old girl just walking down a sketchy road at 9:10 at night! haha So we pull over and as we are calling the cops this guy comes up and calls her by her name-- not even running or anything.   He just says  “Thanks”  takes her and walks away!! Like your baby almost died and he does nothing! haha It was crazy! But I forgot-- while we were at the Garcia’s I was able to bear my testimony about the Book of Mormon and it was one of the coolest things ever. Seriously,  I don’t know why but the Spirit was so strong and I just know it’s true and it really is the physical evidence that our church is true. So then once Elder Cataldo got here,  we have just been working--really trying to find new people to teach and just getting to work! We ran into a guy that started talking about all this crazy stuff and its kinda cool but sketchy at the same time... but literally before people even start talking about sketchy stuff we can feel the Spirit leave and then it is just trying to get out of there and make them stop talking. hahaha It’s like a game sometimes!! haha!   Umm-- I gave my first baptism interview this week before I even got trained on it--so it was just totally by the Spirit! hahah I loved it! The guy was awesome! Really cool experience! I love this work so much!! There is nothing better! 

I love you guys so much! Hope you have an awesome week!! 
Love Elder Oliver 

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

March 23, 2015

Dear Mom and Fam, 
Soooo first off--HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!  I love you so much mom and  I hope you had an awesome birthday! You still seem like your 34 haha!!  Sounds like you guys had an awesome week--with an amazing spiritual experience which makes the week so much better! Seriously,  the more spiritual-- the better the week is! That’s so awesome that the ward is getting super missionary minded, that’s so good! 

Soo some pretty crazy things happened! Ok, well first-- Elder Ribeiro left which was super sad!  I’m getting a companion from Chile!!! He’s super cool!  He’s really new but I’m super excited because it’s always the best with newer missionaries! He’s from Chile!!! I’m so excited!! Also they asked me to be a district leader so I am going to learn a ton haha!!  Little scared but it will be a really good experience! This week was kinda different because we just were kinda saying goodbye to everyone because Elder Ribeiro has been here 8 months, which is a long time! But I’m so stoked for Elder Cataldo!! It’s going to be an awesome transfer! So something else that’s really cool was Sister T's  Mom haha!  It was crazy because it was on some random street and she said she had been praying to find me and was on her way to the hospital so I was in tears haha!!  Something just so little but so cool! I love this mission so much! I love this church so much and I know it is true! It just makes sense! I really have come to love the Book of Mormon and the Bible!

Love you guys!! Sorry this is kinda short-- today’s weird since Elder Ribeiro left haha!! 
Love Elder Oliver