October 12, 2015

Clay's favorite Seminary teacher with his ponytail he cut off!!

Dear Mom and family,

First off, you guys are awesome!!! I miss you so much! Glad Cassie is ok!  You guys are the best and everyday I am grateful for you guys! Cassie is just having the worst luck I’ve ever even heard of hahahahaha! I’m so sorry!  I’m glad to hear you guys made it to Utah ok! (And yes mom that drive is nuts) I hope this week is great and everybody stays safe! 

So as for this week! IT’S BAPTISM WEEK!!!! Brother M is awesome!! I love him so much! I’m so grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to see him completely change. The first few times we went over there he just kept to himself and  said it would be good for his kids but that he didn’t really want it.  Now, he is getting baptized!!! It’s incredible and God is just too good to me! I love him so much! Brother M is on day 14 now of no chew and just going strong! He has awesome goals and wants to get sealed in the temple! I’m going to have to come back often for these sealing’s! Other than that, the YSA is doing great! W (one of the new guys) came to church and loved it! He is on date for November! Also all the college kids are bringing their friends so we had like 10 non-members at church! hahaha It was nuts but super fun! My comp tells everyone about my long hair so my insta just gets passed around the whole ysa... goood gooood goood goood good hahahaha!! 

So transfers are coming up and I literally have no idea! So here are the thoughts-- I could leave and Elder B could stay but that would mean he is taking over the area in 3 weeks which would be nuts. Or I could stay but then it would be Elder B’s last transfer, which would mean I would stay for another transfer, putting me here for 7.5 months! hahaha Sooo I have no idea! hahaha We'll find out this week! 

This week has been incredible guys! I seriously love every day out here! Nothing is better than the mission I promise! Something I really learned this week is the power of prayer! I’ve learned it time and time again but this week I’ve really been praying out loud and talking with my Father in Heaven! He has changed me! I love the atonement and the power that comes with it! I am a totally new person and I know who I want to be! I love this gospel and progression! 

I miss you guys and love you! 

Elder Oliver

October 5, 2015

Dear Mom and family!!

Thank you so much for everything!!! Seriously you guys are the best family ever! I love you so much! 

General Conference was incredible! I loved it so much! Seriously I told Dad I wish it was a whole week! But yes-- you know me being a big momma’s boy, I loooved Elder Holland’s talk!  I love you so much Mom!  Just like 10 more weeks until skyping!!! hahaha  I cannot believe that Chloe is 11!! blows my mind! Chloe you’re so old!! Thank you so much for your testimony and everything! I love hearing and reading your letters!! 

So as for some answers-- the tri- pan is doing great! It’s a party! We will probably be in it for 3 more weeks till transfers! General Conference was awesome! We were able to watch Sunday afternoon with the M fam and had food so obviously it was the best thing ever!!! hahaha They are incredible! Brother M is doing great! He is on day 8 of no tobacco! He’s awesome! He has so much faith and is so willing to do anything! The son, C Jr is stoked to get the priesthood and pass the sacrament! He’s super awesome too! That family is just great! As for the ysa investigators, they are awesome! They weren't able to come to General Conference so their date will be pushed back, but we are still working with them! 

This week was incredible, the Lord has blessed us with so many blessings! Miracles are just happening over and over again! Yesterday we were tracting and two super solid ysa aged guys let us in and were super solid!! We’re super excited to see where that goes! I love being on a mission so much! I love every day out here! Seriously-- I want it to never end!! hahaha I know that’s probably not what you guys want to hear! But I just love my Savior so much and I can’t imagine going back to any degree. This gospel is incredible! Just to say we have a living prophet called by God is amazing! To watch him and the Lord's apostles speak to us, is something no one else has! This is God's church. This is the physical proof of His love for us! I know He cares so much about us and hears our cries every night as we pray to Him! I have felt His love time and time again-- I cannot deny it!! I love my Heavenly Father more than anything! I want my life to be a demonstration of that love! 

i love you guys so much and miss you a ton! I hope you have a great week!  Chloe I hope  you have an amazing birthday! 

Love Elder Oliver

ps Mom-- We also had a lot of meetings this week! They were super good! I have learned for myself what manner of man I ought to be!  

September 28, 2015

Dear Mom and family,

Anyways, so we live with members who are awesome but they don’t necessarily cook us meals but they are still amazing! I love them! My comp is doing good! This is his 8th week and we just found out we are going to be in a tri-pan again because a missionary is going home which is super sad. So starting later today I will be in another tripan! haha  They're parties!! The weather here is amazing now it’s perfect 60-70 during the day! I love it and its almost sweater weather! hahaha  Thank you so much for the update!! I love it!! Sounds like you guys are having an amazing week! I did not get to see the blood moon because I was making some calls! haha  That was J  who sent that video and it was L who kinda did it with me! haha  I’m rusty but they think it’s like the funniest thing ever! hahaha I’m glad you laughed though! hahahah They like to embarrass me!  They're awesome! 

As for this week, It was amazing!!! Brother M is on date for the 17th of OCTOBER!!!! He’s incredible and we are going over there tonight! They are seriously the coolest family! C Jr will be getting the priesthood next time we have church-- so in two weeks and he is sooo excited! haha He's awesome! So I did have a question though-- we had zone conference this week and Sister L talked a lot about that family packet. Did you get that email? Also have you checked out the blog or Facebook? She told me I’m all over it hahahaha probably just because of my super red hair hahaha Oh—one thing funny about my hair though... I killed a fly with it hahahahahahahaha I was looking in the bathroom and I saw something a little black so I looked and it was a pierced fly!! hahahaha but anyways back to the miracles! This week was so awesome! Something that I learned a lot about this week was our potential as children of God! We have so much potential! God has such a big plan and we just have to be trusted by the Lord! That’s the hard part-- to gain the Lord's trust, but little by little we get there! I love this gospel so much! We found this new ysa investigator who is on date for the 17th as well who is doing so good!! I’ll keep you posted on him! 

Dad you look so good and that is awesome!  It is seriously the best thing ever--front row seats to a baptism! haha The spirit is always so strong! I love it!

I love you guys so much and miss you a ton! You mean the world to me! 

Keep having a great week! And killin’ it of course haha 

Love Elder Oliver 

September 21, 2015

Dear Mom and family! 

So before I forget to answer some of the questions--yes it is weird being the oldest! haha  They all talk about how I’m almost home... which is false! haha  I think I’m just in there to learn from them. They’re pretty awesome! Elder L is way cool, I’ll have to send a pic soon! So it’s hard with Elder K gone but he got to come back for the baptism so it was awesome! I’ll gets to see him often though so it won’t be too bad. My comp is Elder C and he was in the tripan with Elder K. He’s a good guy! The person we live with can help with sewing stuff so she's incredible! They’re good people to live with!   It’s good to hear you made it to Utah ok-- a little slower then with me ;) but still ok hahaha! Sounds like a crazy week with  parties, ultra sounds and all sorts of stuff!! haha You guys are incredible especially that fire side, it sounds way cool! Listening to the Spirit is so important! It’s everything in this life! I love you guys and thanks for always updating me. I seriously love it, and look forward to it! 

So this week was the best thing ever! C Jr got baptized!!!! He is incredible!! Literally right after the baptism he was talking about a mission! haha He's great! Then L blessed the sacrament this Sunday, which was awesome as well! Too many good things are happening this week! hahaha God is just too good! So something cool that happened this week! I have been praying and really looking hard for some new investigators and all week there was nothing until Sunday night when God lead us to 2 new people who both said they want to get baptized on the 17th!!! It was incredible and it wasn’t until the end of the week! It’s like that verse, not until after the trial of your faith. God is amazing and all we have to do is have faith, and God will provide every time. One of the hardest things for me is having faith in His timing but this week has really taught me that He has timing for everything! Ohh  another blessing  this week, was that Brother M moved backed and wants to take us out!! He tackled me at church hahaha-- it was awesome! 

So about Brother M... he is incredible, but this week was harder. He felt the Spirit super strong but then rejected it. He said that he thought it was just a coincidence, which is always tough! But God has a better timing then me and I just need to be humble and except it! 

I love this gospel so much! It’s the best thing in the entire world! Mission is life hahaha I love it! No matter what happens I know Christ is with me in this work! 

Love you guys! 

Elder Oliver 

September 14, 2015

Dear Mom and fam! 

Sounds just like an amazing week! Mondays off are always a good start! hahaha That’s so cool to hear about everyone and how they are doing! Does Chantz still have his bike? Man I know what you mean mom—it’s crazy, right when things start to settle down all heck breaks lose hahaha!!  We  have an amazing family that I thank my Heavenly Father for each day! Seriously I wouldn’t be out here if it wasn’t for every one of you and I am eternally grateful for that. I would never be who I am. I would never have come this close to my Savior and have a personal relationship with Him to the point where I am a completely different person if it wasn’t for my family.  So I love you guys with all my heart.

As for this week, boy has it been crazy!! hahahah So we moved out of the T's and now are in a home with four missionaries.  My companion and I and 2 others. It’s just a little different because they have all only been out 6 weeks... so I’m kinda like the dad hahahaha!  It’s really weird but it’s going to be fun! They are all amazing missionaries and I’m going to learn so much from them! Elder C is my comp and he was in a tri pan with me and Elder K for awhile.  He is from Las Vegas.   He's pretty awesome though and is really trying hard to do his best so it makes it a lot easier! The other zone leader is split with another new missionary living at the T's. So we just talk on the phone every night and it’s like he's my second comp! hahah   I know it sounds cheesy or whatever but this whole experience has really reminded me of Nephi and when he has to build a ship. You know the Lord asked him to do this huge seemingly hard thing and Nephi just didn’t even question. He just asked—“where can I make tools”?? That’s incredible! I just think of that not because this is anything like building a ship but his confidence that the Lord will provide is crazy! I love it so much and strive to have that same confidence! 

As for the M family  C  Jr is getting baptized!!!!! We are so excited, he is just awesome!! haha He would jump off a cliff if we told him to! haha The dad is getting there, he has really felt the spirit and even committed to live the Word of Wisdom which is so cool! They really are just the best family! The ward is just super excited! It’s amazing how often the Lord blesses us and we don’t even realize it! I love this gospel!  I know  I say that everyday and it doesn’t ever get old! It truly is the best thing ever and being a missionary... nothing even compares! 

I love you guys so much! Hope everything this week goes well especially with the drives and moves! 

Love Elder Oliver