learning every day

Hey y´all

I feel like I should have a lot to tell you . . . but time flies by and blurs together so much I´m not quite sure what happened this week! ;)  But I have been loving it!

I am learning so much every day.  I am so lucky to have such an amazing companion as Elder Oliver -- he is so real, so funny, and so efficient.  He helps me grow every day, and I love having companionship study with him because we always set goals and plans to improve, and then we actually do something about it!  It is a great way to live.  It´s definitely a process though. 

I had a really good wake-up call and a reminder that YES it is a process to repent, improve, and become more like Christ.  I was feeling stressed because of all that is expected of me -- as a zone leader, as a missionary . . . just everything, you know!  And I was feeling worried and inadequate.  But then a couple days ago I read this absolutely fantastic talk by Elder Gong: https://www.lds.org/liahona/2014/07/young-adults/becoming-perfect-in-christ?lang=eng

I already sent it to several of you but I must include it here again because it is so awesome!  I learned that I don´t have to stress out so much about being imperfect, and that being perfect DOES NOT mean never making mistakes.  It means coming unto Christ and being perfected in Him over a time and through a process which is all of mortal life.  We should just trust in His love, His Atonement, His mercy and grace, freely given to all those who live the gospel.  Then we can free ourselves of fears and just be happy.  I still have a lot more to learn and apply, but it´s coming along!  I am working to overcome my perfectionist nature, keeping the good part of those desires and throwing out the unrealistic expectations.

So, the coolest stuff that happened this week were:

1. Intercambios.  I had a couple of lovely exchanges with our district leader Elder Morales in his area and then yesterday one with Elder Delgado the financer in my area.  It was great!  I learned from each missionary wonderful things, as always.  Mostly, I learned to be a more confident leader, and to be more natural and calm in all my interactions with people.  Well, I learned that I should do that -- actually doing it will take time. :)

2. Tomas!  We started teaching this amazing menos activo named Tomas who has lived all over the world, speaks several languages, and is just a really interesting and nice guy.  He lives alone in his apartment on a major street.  But the craziest part: when we showed up to teach him, he immediately started speaking ENGLISH to us!!  We taught the whole lesson in English, and he wants to practice his english with us always.  He speaks very well.  The Spirit was different and so powerful teaching in my native language, which I had never really done before.  I love teaching him.  We have had two lessons.  After the lesson yesterday, he gave us a gift!  He gave us two old ties that used to be his dad´s (who died quite a few years ago).  He also . . . . . . . . gave us underwear.  I was surprised and tried not to laugh.  He doesn´t know anything about the endowment and wearing temple garments, but whatever!  The thought was nice! HAHAHA.

Anyways.  My time is over.  But know that I love you.  Don´t expect to be perfect now!  Trust in the merits of Christ, not your own!  

I love you all so much!

--Elder Max Olivier

a week of wandering

Dearest family and friends,

You are awesome, more than you know.  Never forget it! :)

Skype was wonderful last sunday!  Happy Mothers´ Day to all! :)  It was so cool to be able to talk to my family -- they are a fount of support and blessings and love.  It was also amazing to speak Spanish with Grandpa Fred!!! :)

So.  this week´s title comes from . . . our difficulties in our area!  We have not had much to do and we have been kinda wandering around trying to find random people (members, former investigators, less-active members).  We are both VERY excited for church tomorrow so we can finally get to know the ward for real and see all the members together.

Sunday we had lunch at the mission home with the Cooks!!  OH my gosh what a treat and surprise.  But we had to go to another church building because our meetinghouse was used for voting.  Quack.

Monday was super fun!  We went shopping in the morning to buy food for the zone conference on Tuesday.  Elder Burnett (the Burnetts are the incredible senior couple of our mission) took us in his car to Tienda Inglesa and from there we went to the mission home to cook with Hermana Burnett.  Sadly I didn´t get a picture with her, but I did get one with Hermana Cook who was kind enough to let us use the mission home´s dream kitchen -- she also helped us cook a bit and later made guacamole for us.  We made burritos -- they were SO good -- that´s something you don´t get to have in Uruguay!  YUM.  See the two photos. :) After the cooking, we went and had lunch with the Burnetts in their lovely apartment!  They are some of the most generous and loving people ever.  Then we went with Elder Burnett to look at a house for us to move in to -- it was kinda good, but dark and dank and a bit sad.  But thankfully he decided not to buy that one.  We have been looking for other houses in our area.

Tuesday -- the conference was lovely.  Interviews with President just always make me feel better and make me realize that I don´t have to be perfect and that my best try is all that is expected of me.  God´s grace is amazing.  Pte Cook told me that I can measure my progress as a missionary by my development of Christlike attributes and my desires to serve others and the love that I feel for others.  I loved that measure of progression!  I translated for Hna Cook when she talked one-on-one with several latino missionaries -- it was fun!  But I had to miss the workshop of one of the assistants.  

The rest of the week was kinda lame . . . but whatever!  We´re just doing the best we can and I´m sure we will be blessed by the Lord to see fruits over time.

We had an incredible spiritual experience yesterday by visiting an active member named José Luis.  He is quite old and appears to have suffered strokes or aphasia or something, because he can´t talk very well at all.  But he is an amazing man.  He is sooooooo happy and smiles a lot and he LOVES the missionaries.  He walks with a prosthetic leg.  The poor soul lives all alone in his little apartment.  We were chatting with him a bit, sang a song and said a prayer, and then he bore his testimony to us immediately and out of the blue.  It was one of the most powerful things I have ever experienced.  The Spirit hit all three of us and filled the room so sweetly.  All he could say was something like this: "Jesus Christ.  Wonderful.  Heal me paralysis.  Joseph Smith saw personages.  Thomas S Monson prophet.  Book of Mormon word of God."  I almost wept because the Spirit´s presence was so strong with his testimony!  I know that he has a perfect witness that Jesus is the Christ.  My companion and I immediately thought of the same scripture -- 3 Nephi 11.  We read the part where Jesus appears and bears testimony of who He is -- our great Redeemer.  I will never forget the incredible spiritual power and joy and peace that I felt in that little apartment with that humble man.  I too know that Jesus Christ lives and loves us.  His Atonement is real.  His grace is sufficient.  Praise the Lord!  Be of good cheer!!!

Well, my time is gone.  Here´s to another great week!

I love you all very much!

Elder Max Olivier

Hello again!

Dearest family and friends,

I am writing again because my p-day is now saturday.  yay!  We live with the office elders and the assistants who all have p-day on saturday, so we do too.  I like it already.  We are getting along fabulously as a companionship and as a house, so I am very excited for this change.  This zone seems super awesome.  We had our first zone meeting yesterday, which was simple but very sweet.  I love the missionaries in our zone and I think we will get a lot done this change.  It was strange to be directing a zone meeting for the first time, but it was honestly easier than conducting a district meeting.  

I have a lot to learn about being a zone leader.  There are a lot of missionaries to think about -- we are 20 in the zona Este.  There are also some unique challenges in the zone, for example it is different working with the office elders who often struggle to get out and work in their area.

There are definitely some sweet little perks with being here: the house is awesome, Montevideo is really cool, we live right next to the mission offices and about 15 minutes away from the temple and mission home.  We went to the temple this morning!!! That was a very special treat.  We may be able to do that frequently early saturday mornings.  

Montevideo is SO DIFFERENT!!!  It is a big city.  We are in whitewash because the assistants took over the area where my companion was and tossed us into Barrio 9.  It´s about a 25 minute walk away or something like that -- maybe more.  Street contacting is almost impossible in many parts because we have some VERY busy roads in our area.  Just look up Avenida Italia, Batlle y Ordóñez, 8 de Octubre, Comercio on Google maps and you´ll have an idea.  I love the area, though!!!  It is super cool.  We have a big red zone that we cannot enter at night because it is fairly dangerous.  There are fairly frequent robberies in Montevideo.  

The focus in the mission is changing so that we can work more effectively in the Lord´s work of salvation.  We are going to work much better and more closely with the members.  That is especially necessary here in Montevideo where street contacts just aren´t really effective, usually.  We have been going around and meeting the members, especially the leaders, in the ward.  This is a very amazing ward.  I LOVE all the members we have met so far.  They are SO COOL and so willing to magnify their callings.  We, as the full-time missionaries, are called to help the members do missionary work, not the other way around.  When that is what happens, we have success.

We haven´t really been able to work in our area much, because we had a baptismal interview yesterday (as well as the zone meeting!) and Wednesday was changes and today is p-day.  It´s kinda lame because we won´t be able to go to church in our ward tomorrow.  The city has appropriated the chapel for voting, so we will be traveling to Aeroparque for church, where my companion started his mission.  That will be fun, but it is super lame because we don´t get to meet all the members in church until next week.  On monday we will finally be able to start working full days in our area.  Yay!

I am just so darn excited to be back with Elder Oliver.  He is such a great guy and an amazing missionary.  We have a goal to be a consecrated companionship.  I am very happy to be here in zona este, although I am intimidated by my assignment as zone leader.  It will be good.  I still have so much to learn in how to do the missionary work effectively and how to be an effective leader, but I am loving it already.

I ask for your hopeful continued prayers and thank you for all your love and support and writings. :)

Love,

Elder Max Olivier

random funnies:

1. There is an investigator in this area who is generally known as "the prophetess" because she is kinda crazy and thinks she´s a prophet.  She randomly sent us two super strange text messages.  Should be interesting to eventually meet her!

2. In our zone conference, we asked each companionship to introduce each other and decide what animal their companion would be.  It was SO FUNNY.  Elder Oliver and I both said that the other would be a fox, without planning it!  Now he is making a roster of our zone with animal pictures.  So cute and so funny!!! 

:)

sorry if you didn't get this!

Dearest friends and family,

I am just sending this to Mom and Dad because I have no time!  I hope it will reach you all.

CHANGES!!!  I am going to Este, the area Barrio 9, in Montevideo!  I am going to be a zone leader with Elder Oliver, who was my previous companion!!!!!  I am super excited.  And also nervous.  But mostly excited.

Ana was baptized and confirmed!  She is an angel and was SOOOOOOO prepared by God for this.  I love her to death.  I wish I had more time to write now, but I must be going already.  Suffice it to say that she is an amazing convert and will help the branch a lot because she truly converted herself into a disciple of Jesus Christ and decided to change her life.  So awesome!

I am learning to accept God´s will in all things.  He is full of grace and truth.  If we trust Him, we will be happy.

Yikes, there really is no time left.  This week was amazing.  There are SO many amazing people in Minas and the Lord is blessing them a lot.  I wish I could give you every detail.  It is so amazing to serve His children and see what He does for them every single day.  I am a bit sad to leave Minas but I am excited and hopeful for the future.  My companion will do a great job taking over the area as I leave.

I love you all so much.

See you on Sunday, family! :)

Love,

Elder Max Olivier

foto: baptism of Ana!

foto: Hey dad, I tried head cheese too!!!!!