Miracle Week

I was wondering why everybody was flipping out that I didn't send a good email to you last week.  I was all like, "give me a break, seriously!" And as I looked through the "sent mail" I realized that last week's email never got sent. 

So, don't blame me. The computer I was using last week was flippin' stupid, and it was acting up all weird. I wasn't able to upload pictures, connect any sd cards or anything, so, sorry. 

The good news is, that that week there was really nothing exciting that happened. So, there is nothing to fill you in on that I haven't already sent to you.

Okay, I have some good news, and some bad news. Let's start with the good news. This week is Miracle week. As a mission we are going to find lots of people. As we have prayed together, fasted together, and worked together, we have seen miracles begin to take shape. We have references from the members just pouring in, and there are many people that we feel are those people that have been prepared by the Lord to hear his gospel.

A little bit about that- The Lord wants all of us to return, and all of us to hear his word. However, every person is different. The people that we find and teach are those that the Lord has prepared because they are ready to listen to us, and nobody else. However, those that turn us down haven't yet been prepared, because the Lord knows that our style of teaching won't help them feel the Holy Spirit. Some missionary in the future will be the one to touch their heart. 

There are good things happening in Torrevieja. Church attendance was back up last Sunday, and there are good relations between the English speaking and Spanish speaking members of the ward. There are a couple of people that haven't come to church in the longest time, and came last Sunday. I was so happy to see them there.

One thing that we talk about with every investigator and less active member is the Sacrament, and how important it is.  To explain, the Sacrament is a time to renew sacred covenants that you have made with the Lord. By partaking of the bread and water, we REMEMBER the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ (It doesn't actually turn into his flesh and blood, as some people believe. That is called transubstantiation. That is a corrupt doctrine that perverts the sacredness of the Sacrament-- a direct result of the Great Apostasy) and we can better ourselves.

We, ourselves and our investigators do 3 things every Sunday during the sacrament.

1. Think of our baptism, whether it be past or future

2. Think of one question that we have

3. Leave one sin at the alter of the Sacrament, and never do it again.

When we do these things we will receive revelation, strength, and peace. Because the Lord loves us. Even if you haven't made those covenants, you can feel the power of the Sacrament if you go and participate reverently.

This has really helped us and our investigators become better people.

I invite you to try it!

Bad news this week, the package didn't arrive in time for Bro. Airforce guy to pick it up.  (Meaning that he won't get his Christmas package before Christmas.)  :(

And, finally, Hermana Nath has left to the MTC in Provo! She will be serving in the Temple square mission in Salt Lake City.

I hope you all have a good week!

Os quiero mucho,

Elder Oliver

P.S.  Guess what! We played some music, and we jammed! It was sweet. At Sarihá's farewell on Friday night, Jesús and I, the one who we rescued, jammed. We played a bunch of music and were the life of the fiesta. It was awesome.

If a Picture is Worth 1000 Words....

Then I got a 17,000 word email this week.  I don't know too much about these pictures, but the few words that he labeled them with, so use your imagination.

Don't Cross Mission Boundaries!  (He said in an earlier email that the mission ends where the sand begins!)

 From his chocolate advent calendar.  All of my kids had the little shoe on the morning of December 6th, which was the morning that they found treats in their shoes from St Niklaus.  Looks like his calendar did, too!

 Not sure if this is a member family or an investigator family.

 His golden investigators, L and F.

 Hma Brown y Rodriguez

 He said, "My Ecuadorian Cousins."  

 With his new companion, Elder Larios.

 The Rod

 Yay Christmas!

 ZL Tenny Farewell

 Hma Stark Farewell

 

 Niklaustag Cookies!

Niklaustag Step 1

 Niklaustag Result

  Rodriguez Adios

2 Diciembre 2013, Semana 19

This was Cooper's email to Hayden:
I wish you a merry Christmas, I wish you a Merry Christmas, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I love you Hayden!!  I love you, I love you, I love you.  We sent you a package!  And did you know we got new chicks?  And we put them outside?  All of our pets are okay.  When you get back, I know you will be the biggest brother I ever had!  

Love, Cooper that loves Elder Oliver

This is the reply that Hayden sent to Cooper today.  I thought it was so sweet.

¡Feliz Navidad!  I love you, I love you, I looovvvee youuu!

Yay! New chicks! Have you picked them up yet?

You are probably right Coopy. I will be the biggest brother, because all the flippin people here are feeding us mountains of food!

Love,

Elder Oliver that loves Cooper

Cooper, Turner and Regan each cry at least once or twice a week because they miss their brother so much.  It is heart wrenching.  What a blessing to have a big brother that they love so deeply.  We are blessed.

On to his regular email:

First, answers to your questions.

I already bought a chocolate advent Calendar. Those things are the best.

Yes, I do check dropbox every week, thank you for all the hard work that you put into that for me, mom! (He is allowed to post pictures onto Dropbox, and also we are allowed to put pictures onto it for him to view, plus short videos.)

As for skyping, I have no idea where we will, but it will probably be at a member's house, and I don't know for how long we get to skype.

Elder R and I DID do a musical number! We played with the primary in the primary program. We played "I'm trying to be like Jesus" It went great!   And guess what! My new comp plays the piano very well too! So, we will be doing a musical number at S's farewell. 

New companion is great! He is a hard worker, and we both want to make T the best little ward in the world (it's almost there already!)  However, he has his quirks.  Hay que tener paciencia.

He is from California, his mom is Mexican and his Dad is El Salvadorian. He speaks Spanish nearly perfectly, and his English is Californian English, so it is fairly good, haha.

It was really difficult to say goodbye to Elder R. He was awesome, and I feel like he is one of my closest friends now. He taught me so much.

And on to the investigators.

L and F are doing just great. Same perfect investigators as usual. I love them. C and Y are having difficulties getting married as well, but as soon as the marriage problem is resolved, there will be 3 baptisms here in T. The A family has finally started reading the Book of Mormon. Next step, pray, and then they will receive their answers. The rest of the investigators are not progressing very much. But, everybody has their own time.

Something happened this week that is too sacred to me to share in detail. Just know that because I chose to serve a mission, there is one fewer suicide victim today than there would have been.

And that is because I was able to share the message of the atonement with him. 

We already have appointments for Christmas! With M and D, the German couple. Do you think I am excited? You underestimate my excitement. Haha, this is going to be the best flippin' December ever! 

Anyways, my camera records video in a weird format, and this computer that I use doesn't even allow me to upload. I need to use a different computer... Para que pueda subir los videos.  And the reason I look awkward in that video, is because I am awkward. And I am not used to speaking english anymore. It is really weird, I have forgotten how to spell certain words, and use certain grammatical... things, so I just rephrase whatever it is that I need to say. BUT.... I really think that in three more weeks I will be nearly fluent. All of a sudden it is easy to speak and understand Spanish.  I had my first Spanish dream the other day, but it was flippin stupid, because I studied Spanish grammar throughout my whole dream. How lame is that???

Anyways, I love all the updates, and I love hearing how you all are doing.

Os quiero mucho,

Elder Oliver

Transfer week!

New week. New life in Torrevieja. And 4 months out! Woah!

Yep, I am still in Torrevieja. However, on Wednesday, I will meet my new companion, because Elder Rodríguez has been reassigned. My new companion is Elder Larios, and he comes in on Wednesday as well.  It will be interesting. There are a lot of things that can happen in the next few weeks. We will be coming up on Christmas time, and that is a great time of reflection and new goals. Why not a time to give up sins and start again, always trying to improve, striving everyday to become more like our Saviour.

We aren't perfect, and never will quite make it, but if we do our BEST, if we have faith, repent, be baptized by someone holding the proper authority, and continue to the end, we will be able to live with our Heavenly Father again. That is what I am most thankful for right now. How merciful and loving our Father is. Anybody can come back to him, and he will accept them. I love that. I have seen people re-center their lives on Christ, and they have been blessed with strength, and comfort, among other things.

That the greatest privilege of serving a mission. 

I wish that I could write more today, but we have to go catch a bus. Today has been rather hectic. I am sad to have to say farewell to Elder Rodríguez, but it is time to go, and we know that when the Lord calls, we pick up our bags and we get to work.

Love you all! Keep working hard!

¡Os quiero mucho!

Elder Oliver

PS, if you haven't bought your mission clothing yet, seriously, buy cheap clothes. They get ruined just as quickly as nice clothes.

Short letter, but he uploaded several pictures.  I have no idea about most of them, so use your imagination.

 He said this about the painting, "Really old painting by de Goya that F (their investigator) owns."

And it just wouldn't be Hayden without his usual pose.

Semana 18

Regan asked Hayden a couple of questions in her email, and these were his answers:

¡Voy a comprarlo!  We normally eat rice and beans, and a lot of pasta.It is mainly good, but a few weeks ago we ate mosilla. It was awful. It is blood mixed with rice and beans. No bueno.

Fancy parties? The same as in the states, but I haven't been to any fancy parties, so I really don't know what I am saying. Kids on the street just recently started wearing clothes, because it got cold here! Normal, imagine what hipsters wear, and that is mainstream here. No, I haven't seen the pictures of the Philippines, but I heard that it was bad. I hope all my friends are all okay.

Thanks for the email Regan, you are the best sister ever!
Love,
Elder Oliver


Holy flippin' moly Batman.

I am already 12 weeks into the field. Which means I am 18 weeks into the mission. This is going by WAY too fast.

Life in Torrevieja is going well. Last week it was hot, and we were wearing short sleeves and dying of heat, and this week is freakin cold, and we are wearing our winter coats and gloves and scarves and sweaters. I kind of like wearing all those. I think I want to live somewhere where it actually gets cold in the winter. 

Anyway. First, I have to tell you a couple of things that I keep forgetting.

1. I bought a violin, like, almost a month ago. 100€ Not a bad price, and it plays really well. The bow is kind of a piece of junk, but that is alright. We are going to do a musical number this Sunday, so hopefully we'll be able to get some time in this week to practice. 
2. This week I didn't speak English. Elder Rodríguez challenged me to fast from English for the week, so I did it. It was really difficult at first, but then about on Thursday, we were talking just about the whole day. I can express what I want about 80% of the time, and I am learning more and more words every day. I still struggle with non-church vocabulary, but doing a week long fast from English really helped me. Sometimes when I couldn't figure out what to say in Spanish I would say it in German, because it isn't English:)
3. Transfers are this week. On Saturday we will know who is leaving, staying, and arriving. Almost certain that Elder Rodríguez is going to leave, but it is all up to the Lord.
4. Did you ever send that other package?

This week, we have been trying to invite more of our investigators to make and keep commitments, and to do so prayerfully, but so far, they haven't been keeping them very well. It is really sad and rather annoying to listen to people complain that they feel so far from God when they are doing nothing to come closer to him. 

I have had many of my own prayers answered and doubts settled in trying to help them understand the gospel better. It is amazing. I know the Lord knows me personally. I have had many prayers this week answered so specifically, that I almost couldn't believe it when I first noticed.

There was a cold snap here this Sunday (not much, but this is a city where there is almost constant sunshine), and I am pretty sure that it scared away our investigators. We only had one come to sacrament meeting this Sunday, compared to the seven that we had the previous Sunday, and it was really irritating because we had run out of money on our cell phone, so we couldn't call them.

Elder Rodriguez is doing great as well. Because he challenged to me fast from English,  I feel comfortable teaching, talking, and doing all sorts of missionary tasks by myself. He also has made me take the lead, as if he were a new missionary and didn't know what was going on. I have been doing most of the planning, lessons, contacting and companionship study stuff as the ''senior companion''. It has been surprisingly difficult, but I have learned a lot, and for that I am grateful. I think I may have learned as much this week as I had learned the previous 3 weeks. I am so grateful for him. He has taught me more than I could possibly have asked for.

L, our investigator de oro is doing really well. She has been reading and praying every night, knows our message is true, and the only thing keeping her out of the baptismal font is that she and F are still waiting on paperwork to get married. She has been keeping her commitments perfectly (F still sleeps on an air mattress downstairs), and has never let us down, and is doing her best not to let the Lord down.

We have a few other families that we are teaching. A few families from Ecuador, Colombia, Dominican Republic, and 2 Spanish dudes.

We have really been struggling this week with finding people. We are going to be more diligent with it this coming week, and find those people who have been prepared to hear the message of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is some difficulty here in the ward because of language barriers. The English speaking members only try to communicate with the Spanish speaking members when necessary, and don't even try to speak Spanish further than, ''¡hola! ¿Cómo estas?"    The majority of the English speakers have lived here for 5 or more years. Honestly, if you have lived in a country for 5 years or more, why have you done absolutely nothing to learn the language that they speak in said country. (Except the Air Force family, they are all fluent in Spanish and are the only link between the two groups...  'MURICA!!!)    I hope nothing develops further with the divisions.

But, despite the language barriers, they all love the missionaries. We have meal appointments almost everyday, and they work pretty well with us. There is a family from Ecuador that is awesome. They are always helping with our investigators, despite the difficulties in their own lives.  And their oldest daughter is leaving in 3 weeks to the Provo MTC to get ready to serve in the Salt Lake City, Temple Square mission! How exciting!

I hope I haven't forgotten anythings today.

¡Os quiero mucho!

Elder Oliver

The Most Profound Sorrow and Heartache

Seriously, it was the best birthday I have ever had, filled with more joy than I can express. And this week I have felt the most profound sorrow and heartache that I have ever felt.

So, first- Birthday.

  The Lord shows us little acts of kindness --tender mercies--in our lives, to help us know that he remembers us, that he loves us.

  There were a few on my birthday.

First, many of you know that Helaman 5:12 is my favorite scripture. If you haven't read it, read it, it is awesome, even if you aren't Mormon. Elder Rodríguez didn't know that it was my favorite, but that is the verse he decided to share at our lunch appointment. It was awesome!

Second, I got a birthday present! The Spanish book that I was hoping to get arrived in the mail, and given the lazy mail system here, it made me pretty happy.

Third, and most importantly.

My family knows that I love Cowboy delight. It is my favorite meal, and I ask for it every year on my birthday. In fact, they were going to eat it in remembrance of me, but they didn't have the ingredients.

Anyways, enough background. Our investigator L, and her boyfriend, (two of my favorite people in the world) had us over for a dinner appointment. They didn't even know that it was my birthday, because I wasn't very vocal about it, let alone what my favorite meal is. But, they happened to fix me the Colombian equivalent of Cowboy Delight. And holy cow, that made my day.  :D

Hayden's birthday "cake"

Now to the heartbreak.

Remember C? The Bulgarian guy. Well, he found out that his brother just committed suicide this week. He was his only family left, because his mom died when they were kids, and their dad left them. His wife's parents in Bulgaria don't like him, and don't want him to have married their daughter.

He came to Spain to find work to raise his 7 month old daughter in a better life than he had been given.

We were in a lesson at the chapel on Wednesday, and when we were leaving, we found him outside the door, looking really depressed. He told us all the things that had happened (because his Spanish has gotten much better) and also told us that he lost his job. He broke down and started crying and told us that he had made a total of 30€ in two months.  TWO MONTHS. I'm glad he lost that job, because that employer is a real d---weed. But, to make matters worse, he got kicked out of the room he was renting, and had 2 grocery bags full of all his belongings with him. We called the bishop and he came to help out. As of yesterday the situation has stabilized a bit. It is amazing to see how the members of a ward can take somebody in, and help them out in little ways. Those little ways help out a lot. 

I cried multiple times this week, just thinking about the pain he was feeling, the utter abandonment, loneliness. Please keep him in your prayers. He needs them.

Elder Rodríguez continues to be a great example to me. He doesn't talk all that much outside of what is necessary, but we have good conversations when I can figure out the words in Spanish. I learn so much from his view of the missionary work. He places it at the top of his priorities, which is where it should be, and is able to be close to the spirit and teach with authority just about all the time. He continues to push me to work harder, to be better, to learn more, to speak fluently and powerfully, and to be more observant of the world around me. I truly love this guy, and I know that because of the work he has done in the past 3 months has greatly influenced the eternal salvation of many people.

Our investigators are progressing along well. L and F are seeking diligently to find the fastest way to get married, so that she can be baptized and they can become an eternal family. We found another family this week, and they came to church this week! Speaking of church attendance, we have begun implementing what President Deere taught the zone leaders about planning, and to boost our moral, the Lord brought 7 of our investigators to sacrament meeting yesterday. What a miracle! Over 10% of the attendance was our investigators and people that hadn't attended church in 10+ years.

I am loving every minute of this. I love serving the people of Torrevieja. I love seeing the blessings that people receive as they follow the commandments of the Lord.

I love you all! Keep working hard!

Os quiero mucho,

Elder Oliver

Happy Birthday Hayden!

This week's entry will be shorter than usual, because I am sending emails to all those that wished me a happy birthday (to my email).

It feels weird to be 3.25 months into my mission as I turn 19. A year and a half ago I wouldn't have imagined that I would be in Spain. Bringing the gospel to those that are ready, and having the doors slammed on us by those who aren't. Truly, this will be the best birthday ever. I am spending the whole day in the service of the Lord, because I will be serving his children. I have found such joy in bringing the Gospel to tired souls, tried and tested people who feel their faith waning. 

Things here in Torrevieja are going great. Elder Rodríguez and I had the most lessons this week than in any other previous week. However, many of the lessons were not with our investigators. This was the first week in which we didn't find any new investigators. We are rather dissapointed in that fact, and so we have new plans to find people this week, new methods to track down those children of God who are prepared to remember the Gospel. We had a great week with strengthening members of the ward, whether it be new converts, less-actives, or part-member families.

This week we have been focusing on the power of prayer and scripture study with all those that we teach, and in our own personal study. Because of that focus, we have been able to see the difference more clearly. The contrast is striking, between those that have been praying, reading, and studying diligently. We can actually see the light of Christ shining more brilliantly in the countenances of those that are closer to the spirit, as a result of striving to live in accordance with the laws of God.

Personally, I have realized more the necessity of studying the scriptures. During my reading of the Book of Mormon, I find new things every day that help me understand the loving nature of our Father in Heaven. He gave us the scriptures, not to condemn our imperfections, but to support us and help us climb closer to him. They truly are his road map. Stoplights, short-cuts, overpasses, highways, and traffic warnings. We really need to help our investigators understand this more deeply, because--as Christ told the Nephites--study the scriptures, because they are pretty rad. (That isn't a direct quotation, haha)

Our golden investigator-- L-- is stronger than ever. She is always asking questions, and she is finding her answers through prayer and careful study of the Book of Mormon. Her testimony is where it should be, if she were to be baptized this week. Which, might just happen. She and F have been searching for all sorts of different paths to get married as quickly as possible, because she really, really wants to be baptized.

Our other investigators are doing well too, but most of them are strugging to keep the simple commitments, so there is no way we are going to invite them to take on the covenant of baptism quite yet. Hopefully we will be able to help them realize the importance of praying and reading the scriptures, and help them find the answers they didn't know they were searching for.

This week I started the Book of Alma. I have my work cut out for me if I want to finish by mid-December. 

I got homesick on Friday and Saturday. The 2nd time that has happened since I left. Do you know why? I looked at my watch, "Friday, Nov. 1, 9:00pm." And I realized that that State Championships for swimming had begun, and my friends were swimming without me. I was cheering them on though, 5500 miles away.

I love the pictures and videos you sent me! I love you all so much, and I am so proud of everything that you are doing. I truly have the best family in the world.

¡¡Os quiero muchisimo!!

Elder Oliver