Transfer News!!

Oi pessoal, como vai?

We got some good news and some bad news this week. The good news is that I have been transferred to Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania to be a district leader! The bad news is I have to leave Harpers Ferry. Also, we have more quarantine rules. No more church for us. Or district council. Or district activities. But, luckily my new district is just 4 of us and we will all be living in the same house, so those rules don't really apply to us.

Other than transfers, not too much has happened. We met up with the dudes at Panera Bread again, and this time they brought their pastor. They were pretty hard hearted and they wouldn't really listen to all the evidence I showed them. But, they are nice dudes. One of them told me if I ever needed work in computer programming after the mission to reach out to him. Oh, also we had a nice Thanksgiving. We got to play games with our district, and then had a wonderful dinner some members brought.

Spiritual thought: 3 Nephi 18:24 "Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do. Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have witnessed."

I invite you all to light the world this Christmas season!

Things I like: Thanksgiving day was 67 degrees and sunny. It was the perfect day, and we got a lot of food.

Things I hate: rainy p-days. They are really boring because we can't do anything

Photos:

1 Service at the food pantry

2 just a companion photo

3 Thanksgiving District activity

4 Thanksgiving Dinner

Week 17: Happy Thanksgiving

week 5 of transfer 2

Hey everyone, I forgot to do an audio recording so, sorry! I'm just gonna write this one.

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a great dinner. My companion and I had pizza for Thanksgiving dinner! I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission and for all of you that support me in my service.

Anyways, This week started out with splits. I was with Elder Burt, the other American. He's more green than me, so I was the senior companion for a day. That was interesting. I realized how much I rely on my fluent native Brazilian companion to help people understand what I am saying. Most people here have never talked with an American so my accent is hard for them to understand, even when what I am saying is technically correct. Sadly, all of our appointments fell through, and we spent an hour or so looking for a house that turned out to be an empty lot. We were pretty discouraged, and I didn't really know what to do. So, I pulled out the map and said a prayer. We started knocking doors, and ended up finding the house of a contact that Elder Rodrigues and I had been looking for. 

Later this week, Elder Rodrigues taught the person Elder Burt and I found. His name is Dail, he lives with his wife and 16 year old daughter. We invited them to church, and felt really good about it, but they didn't come. To add to that, our friends that seemed to be progressing have suddenly stopped. But, I still have hope for them. Sometimes we just have to be more patient. People will find the truth in their own time. This Sunday, we also taught another Family Elder Burt and I found. We shared the Restoration and It was a very spiritual lesson. It was a blessing for me, because I was feeling a bit down due to the lack of success we have had this week.   

Things I hate: It has started raining in our house too. We have to turn the lights off when It rains because the lightbulbs drip water. Also, there is only one Atm in this city that will read my card, and the line was a 40 minute wait this morning so that was fun

Things I Like: I received a package from my parents with peanut butter and maple extract, so I made pancakes with peanut butter and syrup for breakfast. My Brazilian companion loved it. I'm going to have to hide my peanut butter haha.

Spiritual Thought: This week, we had a devotional with the parents of President Piros. His dad was also a mission president, and they shared some really cool thoughts that helped me a lot this week. They talked a lot about being patient in your trials, humbling yourself before God, and having faith. I really needed that this week, there were many times this week when I felt like giving up. But, when I humbled myself and prayed, and searched for guidance, The Lord provided a way for me to complete my goals. When you have difficulties, stay patient and keep your faith in the Lord. He will help you.

Amo vocês!

-- 

Elder Olson

Elder Rodrigues and Elder Olson celebrating America's Thanksgiving with a pizza

chatting with Elder Olson today