Little by Little

Hey Everybody,

It is Elder Oliver reporting live from a small cafe in the center of atizapan. It has been a wonderful week and the weather has been gorgeous. Ok...not really it has been really hot! But that is alright more exercise! haha. Which is really good! Here they give us a lot more food and am trying really hard to make sure that it does not show. Hopefully I can win the fight haha. But I am doing fine! Healthy and strong and working hard. 

So Elder Nilsson and I are getting along really well. We have been working hard and trying to find new people to teach. We have a few investigators that are progressing towards baptism. The first one is named Iliana! We have been teaching her ever since I got here and a little before that. She is really awesome and she received her answer. She has some difficult things that are going on her life and she would not commit to baptism. It was really hard for us because she was somebody who had been doing so well in the gospel and church but was refusing the blessings that come with it. She wanted to get through the problems that she was having and get baptized in December. Well we know that the blessings are to be had now and there is no need to wait. We challenged her to say a prayer and Ask God when she should get baptized. Well this week we went and visited her and she told us that she got her answer for the 4th of November. It was a special lesson as she explained that she new she had to get baptized and that she was afraid of the change it was going to be. We know that it is a big change but it is a change for the best! We are really excited for her and we hope that she can keep reading and praying to get ready for her baptism. 

We also have another investigator and she is progressing too. She is going to get baptized the same day we hope as Iliana. Imelda loves the Church. She got her answer and ever since she has been doing great and she is really excited. Her only concern is that she wants her family to grow in the gospel with her. It has been hard for us to try and help her with her family because they are never there. As missionaries we want the whole family to be involved with the church obviously. She is really concerned about her kids and her husband. We have a lot of work to do with them so that they can all receive the blessings of the gospel. And can continue growing in the church as a family and hopefully one day get sealed. 

The area is really coming along we still have a lot of work to do. We are going to keep at and hope that we can help these families become more united. Thank you so much for all the love and support you guys give me I feel your prayers every day! LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!

Con Amor Elder Olvier

A Good Week!

Hey Everybody!!!

Elder Oliver writing in a little internet cafe here in Mexico! Just to start off I am doing very well! I am healthy and today we were able to enjoy a whopper from burger king so I cant complain. :) it has been my second fast food experience here in Mexico I think my second week I went to KFC. haha. It is nice to get a break from beans and salsa. Don't get me wrong I really enjoy them! But some good American greasy food was a nice change :)

So this week Me and Elder Nilsson enjoyed many blessings. Besides the whopper we were able to have a lot of lessons this week. The area here in Alamedas is really progressing. We were able to find some new people and they were able to come to church and feel the peace and comfort the being in the house of the Lord brings. We are hoping to have some baptisms by the end of the Month but we need to keep working hard to make sure that they can receive all the blessings that the  Lord has prepared for them. 

One thing from conference that I have been thinking a lot about is from the talk of Elder Richard G Scott. I know this was not the point of his message. But when he was reading journal entries from his wife`s journal. I thought that was such a special experience. It made me reflect here in the mission. I am having some awesome incredible experiences. And I sometimes arrive at the house so exhausted from walking up the hills all day that I don't take the time to write in my journal. It is something that I felt really bad about. Because this is a special time I have here in the mission. I don't want to forget all the things that are happening. So I am going to be more diligent in writing in my journal. That was my moment of reflection for the week haha. 

I also received some great news today. That the Arizmendi Family got baptized and confirmed this week. Along with sister Rosalia. They are the family of 5 and the other investigator I had when I was with Elder Cruz in Pensamiento. So here are the pictures from there baptisms and Elder Cruz on the left with his new companion on the right. It really was such a special moment for me to here that they got baptized. I really came to love them and I am sad that I could not be there for their baptism but I know that the Lord needed me here in my new area. But I was just so happy for them and I cannot wait for the day when they are going to be sealed in the temple. I hope that I have the opportunity to be with there when it happens! It would be really special. But that was news I received today and it was a great way to cap off a great week. 

I hope that you all had a great week. I am really hoping that everybody is doing well. I pray for you all everyday! And I am grateful for your love and your prayers and support you have no idea how much they mean to me!!!

Con MUCHO AMOR Elder Oliver

Conference

Hey Everybody!

Elder Oliver here once again reporting from Mexico!! So the big news! Missionaries can leave for the mission earlier! That is some really exciting news and I am so pumped to be seeing more missionaries all over the world! It is really exciting news! So I am not going to lie. I listened to all the of the sessions on Saturday and Spanish...And I understood what the main point of the message was and I could understand all of it the thing is that the Spanish voices are all monotone and it was a little boring. But I really liked the talk given by elder Nelson. He talked about missionaries quite a bit haha. It made me want to be a better missionary because I am going to receive a lot more questions! haha. 

The Sunday morning session was my favorite! I Loved the very first talk that was given by Elder Eyring. I loved what he said about the pavilion and how God never puts a pavilion over us. Sometimes we are the ones who do it. Really that is so true. In good times and in bad times Our Heavenly Father wants to bless us but sometimes we are so angry, or upset, or hurt, or in pain, that we forget he is there to help us. When times are rough that is when we need to rely on him most. We need to pray as if everything depends on him and then act as if everything depends on us. That is where we will feel his love! 

I also LOOOOOOOOOOVED the talk given by Elder Holland. It was super powerful! The question that we are going to hear when we are in front of Jesus Christ at the pleasing bar.. Do you Love you me? I hope that I can say that and that my actions can prove that I really do love him. If we love Jesus we will do what he expects of us we will change and we become more like him, we will share his gospel so that other people can feel of his love and receive his blessings. I loved that talk and I cant wait to read it again when it comes out in the Liahona. 

I also love the talk of President Monson. Where he talked about following the spirit and not waiting. Praying for opportunities to have spiritual experiences and not keeping anything away from our father in heaven. My favorite quote from this conference "The Lord is in the details of our lives" He is in everything that we do. He wants to hear how we are doing. Even in the small things. We need to share everything with him so that he can help us and that we can have this father son or father daughter relationship. We need to rely on him in all things. It was really powerful.

I really enjoyed this last conference and I hope that all of you did too! We are so blessed to have the blessings of living day prophets and apostles to guide us and help us. I hope that we can give thanks and recognize the blessings in our lives. I am so grateful to be here in the mission and to help other people learn that there is a prophet who guides and helps us. Thank you all so much for your love and your support! I hope you all have a great week and I hope that you all enjoyed conference as much as I did!!

Con Amor Elder Oliver

Well we are not in Kansas anymore...

Hey everybody!!!

So to start things off this week...I am doing really well. I am healthy and happy! Well, sort of I heard that the US lost the Ryder´s cup this week......And I was extremely disappointed to hear that. I hope that the Utes can take care of business with USC. And ya that is all I have to say about those things! haha. 

Well I have finished my first week here in the ward of Alamedas. And to say the least...it is very different here. Remember how I told you guys that I am in a nice area? Well that was understatement. There is a lot of money in this area. In my old area there were only small buses and taxis in the street. Here there are audis bmw brand new VW´s. It is a huge difference. Some other differences are that in my old area it was really flat...here...the streets are hills. HILLS HILLS HILLS. My first day when we came back to the house at night I was dead...my legs were killing me and all I wanted to do was sleep. But fortunately now after one week my legs are healed and stronger than ever. haha. 

Now for the differences that are really important! Because there is a lot of money here....the work is a lot harder. We went around all week talking to people in the street and knocking doors to try and find new people. It is hard here. But something that I realized was that we are not going to have any success if we keep doing the same things. We need to change it up. Elder Nilsson and I talked about what we can do to find new people and help this part of the Lords vineyard progress. Well we found an answer that ever missionary knows...The Members. All missionaries want to work with members because that is how converts are made. What happens a lot in the mission is that some people get baptized and when their missionaries leave they stop going to church. Well if the members are involved they have friends and they will last! But sometimes it is hard because they dont help very much here. Well Elder Nilsson and I talked about it and we came up with a plan to have family home evening with all the members in the Ward and they can invite friends and family that are not members. The Bishop is really helping us and we had a lot of options to help them. We are really excited for the progress that is going to happen here. It might take awhile to really see a lot of progress but we are so exciting to keep working hard and help this area grow into its potential. Opposition=oppurtunities to grow. I hope that I can try and stay focused and look for what the Lord wants me to learn even when times are really hard. Depending on the Lord is the only way to stay on the path and find the success that is waiting for us!

Really quickly! I talked with Elder Cruz and remember the Family of 5 that I had been teaching for about 4 months? well they are getting baptized on the 14th of this month!!!!!!!!! I wanted to cry I was so happy! I am sad that I wont be there to see it. But I could not be any happier. Patience is the key. Everything works out in the Lords time. I am so happy for them and hopefully cruz sends me pictures so that I can show you guys! 

I Love you all so much and thank you for all the support that you give me! I feel your love and your prayers everyday! I hope that you all have a great week! aND i CANT WAIT TO TALK TO YOU ALL NEXT MONDAY!!

Con Amor Elder Oliver :)