Hark, all ye nations!

Dearest family and friends,

Yikes, this keyboard is a disaster, so I don´t know how much I will be able to write! Sorry! ;)

YYAAAAAYYYY for general conference!!!  It was such a fantastic experience for me. It was my first conference in the field and my second conference as a missionary.  It is way better as a missionary, because I have actively prepared and anticipated the conference and attempted to savor every word during the conference.  I hope you were all able to seek personal revelation through this great opportunity.  

A personal insight I can share that I felt at the beginning of Elder Holland´s talk comforted me greatly.  I realized and felt that I can only do so much ... I have limits.  I can always do more to improve and serve, but really the Lord is doing everything and making all the difference.  It´s Him, not me! It´s okay -- I cannot do everything by myself.  He can.  As I act in faith with real intent, He will consecrate my effort and He will refuse to let His children fall -- His arms will lovingly save us and others through us, so we never have to fall beyond hope.  Love!!! :)

During Elder Nielson´s talk, I thought a lot about Luisa.  We haven´t really had contact with her, except a text message.  We might just have to wait until she and her family are truly ready to enter in at the waters of baptism.  I am going try to set up a lesson with her in the church this week, and send her little messages with scriptures to read.  But we can only try, pray, fast, hope, and wait. 

I also thought of Yanci during the conference.  We had a very good, spiritual lesson with her.  She is doing very poorly and is back in the hospital for depression.  In that lesson, we committed her to truly pray and to take her weaknesses to the Lord.  However, I still don´t know if she did it.  She no longer has a baptismal date. :(

We found and taught Sebastian!  He is super cool.  I may have made a grave error by giving him a baptismal date as a goal, because he is living with his girlfriend.  Pray for him!  He has troubles with drugs but wants to get out, and he believes in God and would like to be baptized.

Miracle!!!  We called Beatriz, a woman we contacted in her door who miraculously accepted a Book of Mormon and said she was searching for truth.  We haven´t been able to have a lesson -- that was like two or three weeks ago.  But I called her and she went to General Conference!  She said she has been thinking about baptism and has lots of questions about the Book of Mormon. We have a lesson on Tuesday!!!

Love you all so much!  No time left here. I hope you enjoy the photos of this beautiful country.

Love,

Elder Max Olivier

Cambios!!! A full!!

Dear family and friends,

This week was a bit slow, and full of wonderful special activities.  We had a zone conference at the temple on Thursday!!!  We got to attend the temple after having some instruction with President Cook as well as personal interviews with him.  He is such an amazing, spiritual man.  It was only my third interview with him, but every time it just lifts me up and makes me feel better! :)  He surprised me in that interview by telling me that he is making me district leader for this change, which starts tomorrow!!!  I will still be finishing the training of Elder Anderson here in Minas, of course, but it will be a big change!  I can´t quite believe that starting tomorrow I am going to be doing all the nightly verifications with my district and that on Friday I will be teaching the district meeting!  Yikes!  It is a big new responsibility, but also a great opportunity to learn, love, and serve.  I am mostly excited about it.  But I also ask that you say a prayer for me so I can do it!  The zone is getting a ton of new leaders -- the other district leader is going to be my friend Elder Torres, also a new leader, who I know because he was in Florida when I arrived, and we´re getting a new zone leader and a new hermana viajante.  

Last night, all the elders traveled to La Capuera, the new area with the super nice, clean, small new house.  All ten of us slept over, and this morning, we traveled to Pan de Azúcar to climb the famous hill with the whole zone.  It was super fun!  It was like a real hike!  This is basically the only place in the country with a hill capable of being hiked, so that was a special treat.  There is a giant old sketchy stone cross at the top you can climb.  There was also a cute little zoo with some odd native animals including capybaras (here called carpinchos).

Anyways.  Church was lovely even though not that many people showed up. Luisa is still going strong and she is progressing so much!  This was her second time at church and she LOVED it!  She talked to her husband and they are planning to get married so she can be baptized!!!!  He still doesn´t have any interest in the church, but we will work on that.  I feel so privileged to see the conversion of Luisa -- I feel like in a humble way I am actually making a difference in someone´s life.  I hope we can find more firm investigators, because we still don´t have any other real investigators right now.

I love you all so much!  Sorry for the short letter!

--Elder Max Olivier

gorgeous view from the hill

me in the slightly creepy cross

Come in, between. Drink a chair.

Dearest family and friends, hello!

This week was fantastic.  We had the oros conference with Elder Anderson´s group in Montevideo.  The hermanas viajantes taught us some awesome workshops, and we were also with Pte y Hna Cook.  We ate super well.  We learned a lot.  We had fun being with all the trainers and oros of this change.  It was a lovely experience.  Included is a picture of Tres Cruces, the giant bus terminal in Montevideo for travel throughout the country.  

Church was a miracle.  76 people showed up!!!  Usually there´s only about 52.  It is amazing to me how the Lord works.  We hardly do anything -- He directs this work, the grand work of salvation.  As full-time missionaries, we just be obedient, learn, study, and work as hard as we can to help others come unto Christ.  We are less than the dust, but in His hands, we can help others.  Often, He prepares people´s hearts without us even doing anything.  There´s a handful of less-active families who have started coming back to church -- we are going to help them return to full activity and build their faith.  But there is still LOTS of work to do.

On Saturday we had the most spiritual, beautiful, miraculous lesson of my mission so far.  We taught Louisa for the third time and we brought Hna Sanguinetti, who is less-active.  Louisa kept all her commitments.  She has been reading the Book of Mormon every day and night, and she has been offering personal prayers every night.  She told us that she never took interest in religion and never really believed in God, but then we appeared at her door and she received us.  After the first contact with her a couple weeks ago, we showed up late to our scheduled time with her because we actually found Melani and we were teaching her the first lesson.  Louisa had waited for us, but then left because we didn´t come.  We told her daughter we would come back.  Louisa has kept every single commitment.  Despite our weaknesses and our failures, and our más o menos lessons with her at times, she is feeling the Spirit.  She is being converted through the marvelous power and truth of the Book of Mormon.  Her family doesn´t want to learn anything right now, but they support her, at least.  She is SO FAITHFUL and is really a chosen person.  It was the most beautiful experience to hear her say that her life has changed already because of the Book of Mormon.  She came to church by herself on Sunday and seemed to enjoy it.  We will see her on Tuesday -- tomorrow!!  Pray for her.  She is amazing.  She has a baptismal date right now, but will need to get married to achieve it, and she doesn´t know that yet . . . . . so we still have a lot of work to do.  But yay!!!

The rest still haven´t kept commitments or we haven´t been able to find them.  Entonces . . . claro.  Así es.  Pero ta.  :)

Love you all so much!  Have to go!  Bye!

--Elder Max Olivier

ummmm did another week really just pass by? :)‏

Hello dear family and friends!

This week was interesting.  It was a bit patience-trying, to be honest, and yet it flew by insanely quickly.  I think it´s because I am often at a bit of a loss of what to do, as far as planning goes -- our few firm investigators are so hard to get a hold of that they almost never answer the phone or respond to messages or receive us in their houses, and they have canceled whatever firm lessons we had scheduled.  It is disappointing, but I am doing the best I can and seeking the Spirit´s guidance every day, and I know that I am still learning, so I feel okay.

We had an amazing first lesson with Melani, who we contacted in the street with her boyfriend.  They were super nice people who stopped to listen and were very kind with my companion´s slow spanish.  They both showed interest and accepted baptismal dates.  This was about two weeks ago, but only in this last week were we finally able to have our first lesson with Melani.  It went very well and the Spirit was very present.  She told us that she struggles with depression and bipolar disorder and that she is also entangled in drugs right now, and that she wants to find the way out and wants to feel like God is actually helping her.  We taught her the message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and gave her the Book of Mormon.  It was so wonderful to be able to teach according to her need and testify of God´s love and hand, and how we can receive His help through the Book of Mormon.  We read from Alma 7 about Jesus Christ´s Atonement -- His part, and our part, or what we need to do to apply it.  She committed to read and pray -- we left her with 2 Nephi 2 to read.  She also said that she would love to be baptized and that she would love to receive answers from God.  The frustrating part is that she canceled on us for our next lesson two days later, and we haven´t seen her since, despite calling, sending messages, and passing by her house.  I pray for her every day, because I know that she has desires to change and improve her life, and I know that learning and living the restored gospel of Jesus Christ will enable her to do that.  I ask that you pray for her also!

Our other firm investigator Iris and her niece Karen have also been nearly impossible to get a hold of, and although we fixed a lesson with her and a member yesterday, when we came by they were in a birthday party and told us to come back later.  Ugh!  Iris told us that her daughters talked her out of going to church last week, and she didn´t want contention so she didn´t go. But she still seems  interested, and said that she read a few things in the Book of Mormon but didn´t remember anything, although she did like it and felt good about it.  She´s such a funny old grandma -- I wish her large loud family were more open to being taught as well.

Once again, no one committed to go to church during the week.  We also had a good first lesson with Louisa -- she was a contact from knocking doors.  She actually keeps her commitments to have lessons!  That lesson was . . . hard.  My poor companion broke down into frustrated tears when I gave him room to speak because he didn´t know what to say nor how to say it.  I felt so bad.  Louisa was so kind and understanding.  I didn´t really know what to do . . . but I finished teaching the lesson (which went poorly) and we set up a time to come back this week.  I felt responsible at first for my companion´s suffering.  Now, I think it´s not my fault.  I wish I could be a better trainer and teach him better, but all I can do is continue to give my very best effort and constantly seek and follow the Holy Spirit.  It did feel good to comfort him and teach him afterwards about how I have learned to be more patient and charitable with myself in the mission.  He is a bit of a perfectionist as well.  Pray for Elder Anderson!

We had a very interesting experience this week with recent convert Angela.  She was baptized by Elder Oliver at the end of December.  She is the most faithful person I know, I´m pretty sure.  The way she 100% accepted and immediately lived the restored gospel is astounding.  She is a single mom and grandma right now and has many health problems and basically no support from her family, but her faith in Jesus Christ is basically unshakable.  When we were in a lesson, she sent a message canceling our appointment with her and saying that she wasn´t going to go to church anymore.  This shocked me, coming from the woman who, despite her physical pains and difficulties, bikes to church by herself every sunday.  It was alarming!  Then she called a bit later to make sure we knew that she was still going to read her scriptures and everything, but that she wasn´t going to church and she didn´t want us to come over.  I explained that we would still love to come over even if she didn´t go to church, and that our priority is to make sure that she is well, spiritually.  She accepted.  In her house that day, she ended up letting us know that she learned in church through a class that she, without previously realizing or understanding it, was breaking a commandment, and for that could not take the sacrament last week.  She talked to the branch president and everything.  She felt so horrible and remorseful for her sins -- she is really a converted person.  She demands a lot of herself.  We were able to read the scriptures together.  I had recently studied 3 Nephi 18, and we studied the Savior´s own words about the sacrament and repentance.  It was a very spiritual experience -- I felt like an instrument in God´s hands.  She committed to keep going to church every week -- her repentance was strong and immediate, and will continue with time.

There´s a lot more I want to relate .  . . .  but I have already gone into depth on a few of the highlights of this week.  Now I shall read your lovely letters!  I have talked too much!  That´s something I have to work on -- sometimes when people actually listen to us, I get overexcited and talk and teach too much.  I just love teaching the gospel -- but then I get tangled in too many words and talking too much.  This is a dispensation of preaching repentance, and not many words, as the Lord said in the Doctrine and Covenants.  I am working to be more efficient with time and words, more simple, more clear, and more focused on the Spirit.  I ask for your continued support in prayer.

I love you all so much and give you many thanks!!!

A large hug,

Elder Olivier

pictures: the house!

and . . . me, always ready to study! ;)

Another good week of work!

Dearest friends and family,

To start, I forgot to mention last week that we were about to have a conference with Elder Viñas of the seventy, a counselor in the area Sudamerica Sur!!!!  It was so awesome!!!!!!  Last week on lunes (monday, p-day), we had to go set up chairs and tables in our chapel in the morning.  We also had to walk to the other chapel in Minas and CARRY three tables to our chapel, which is probably a distance of about 20 city blocks.  I carried the heaviest table with Elder Johnson and just about died -- I have literally never sweat so much in my life.  Totally worth it.  The conference was fantastic and we felt the Spirit so strongly.  Elder Viñas encouraged us to focus on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He also taught us to seek out the chosen people and help them become disciples of Jesus Christ and then be baptized.  He said that the overall quality of baptisms, at least in this area of the church, is somewhat poor, because so many people become less-active or inactive.  I loved his perspective of finding chosen people, then helping them become converted, then baptizing them.  He said something that really helped me put things in perspective: "Don´t worry about your personal success!!!"

There is kind of a lot of pressure to baptize, which is good, because in that way we help people come unto Christ and enter in at the strait gate towards eternal life.  However, I had previously worried about the small quantity of baptisms in my mission so far.  I feel like I have been doing the absolute best I can, which of course includes many flaws, but I haven´t seen a whole lot of fruits in baptisms.  When Elder Viñas said not to worry about your personal success, I realized that the most important thing is having our eye completely single to the glory of God and forgetting ourselves.  Also in a fabulous district meeting after the conference, we talked about Abinadi and how he didn´t live to see even ONE fruit of his incredibly faithful service!!!  And yet he had such a huge hope, faith, and assurance that he was in the right path and that he could be an instrument in God´s hands for the blessing of His children.  I am a HUGE fan of Abinadi and I want to become more life him -- more faithful, more hopeful, and more consecrated.  This perspective both gives me comfort and challenges me to be better.

In spite of my weaknesses and faults, I know that if I do my very best and devote myself to my Heavenly Father, the Atonement applies immediately and fully.  The Atonement is so infinite, so eternal, and so perfect that it even applies to people who have already died and are in the spirit world!  How much more, then, does it apply to us in this life, here and now!!!!  I am so grateful for God´s perfect plan and for the Savior´s atoning sacrifice.

Our investigator Iris, despite committing super well to come to church, making a plan, and complying with her other commitments, did not show up to church, but instead had her husband call us at 8:30 the morning of to cancel. :(  It was disappointing, but I know that we did everything we could, so I wasn´t disappointed in myself.  Other promising people failed to keep their commitments to have lessons with us, but we did all we can.  the good news is that the phone credit arrived, so after a week without phone credit, we can work much more effectively now!  Anyways.  The search for chosen people continues!  Gladys is doing well, although her mom didn´t bring her to church this sunday.  She will do it next sunday.  Pray to help us find and help the chosen people!

I love you all so very much and I thank you for keeping me in your prayers.

--Elder Max Olivier

¡Gladys se bautizó!

Dearest family and friends,

Hooray for Gladys Tomé!  She is so wonderful.  And stubborn. She didn´t want to be baptized in front of so many people and didn´t want to go under the water.  I knew she would do that -- she´s quite the character!  She cracks me up.  It was awesome!  And Elder Anderson got to baptize her -- the first time  he has ever baptized!!!!  yaaaayyyy!!!  The service was good, but also mas o menos -- some of the members can be so difficult!  They were complaining about the use of both the children´s songbook and the hymnal, and some were making negative comments when Gladys was resisting a bit in her typical rebellious way.  But there was also invaluable support from some truly amazing members!!!  On sunday, Gladys and her mom were VERY welcomed into the church.  I got to confirm Gladys!

The last time I had baptized was Nov 8 -- it had been faaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr too long.  But I know that as we continue with faith, patience, and animation, the Lord blesses us.  We have a lot of really good posibilities for serious investigators this week and this month -- it is exciting!  We continue to find wonderful little miracles every day.

Hmmmmmmmmmm my time has already left me.  Sorry everyone!!!  I will try to write some physical letters to relay the incredible things that happened this week.

Love you all TONS.

Chau, see you soon!

--Elder Olivier

Yay for training!

Dearest family and friends,

Yay for training again!  This time I feel so much better-prepared.  I know I am VERY imperfect, but I know I can do my best, and the Lord will make all the difference.  My companion is Elder Anderson of West Valley, UT!  He is absolutely wonderful.  He is 19 years old.  The group of gringos that arrived all went to the Provo MTC because Argentina was full!  Poor souls. :)  

It is great to be training -- I learn a lot from a different perspective.  I am trying to help him adjust, get out of his comfort zone, teach, contact, study, everything!  My companion´s spanish is just developing, so there´s an added burden on me to take the reins in pretty much everything.  But I am learning to give him more opportunities to take the initiative from the beginning, so he can learn.  I hope he feels like he is fully contributing! I seek balance between letting him learn by faith, by experience, by my help, and I also seek balance so that I can still effectively direct the area.  He is great!  I have already seen much learning and improvement!

My time is already escaping me, but good news! Gladys will be baptized this saturday!!!  Her family members still didn´t go to church, but her mom committed to bring the family to the baptism and to bring Gladys to church on Sunday -- she even said she could take Gladys to church every sunday.  They need your prayers so they can open their hearts, their desires, and their schedules to help this little girl come unto Christ.  She really loves church and loves learning about God and His Son.  She will be the key to bring her family into the church.  It was a very hard decision for me to make, because I would hate to baptize a child and have them go inactive because there´s no one to take them to church.  However, my companion and I prayed together and made the decision together to announce her baptism yesterday, and I feel that it is what God wants.  The work is only just beginning, though -- we have a TON to do with her family so they can all arrive on Saturday and Sunday, and so they can commit to bringing Gladys to church!!!  It will be a challenge.

Ah, so many wonderful experiences to share and so little time.  Every day is so incredible in the mission.  I have learned the following about daily life:  If we search for miracles, we find them.  If we search for revelation, we find it.  If we pray for energy, happiness, and the attitude to do God´s will, we find it.

I love you all so much.  Pray for familia Tomé and also a new investigator Eduardo!

--Elder Max Olivier

"Listen to the touch of the bell" ;)

Dearest family and friends,

I decided to write before reading all the letters this week, because I have really been falling down on relating all the wonderful spiritual experiences I´m having out here!!!

The incredible thing about the mission is that every day brings wonderful new spiritual experiences.  Every day is a blessing and an opportunity to give ourselves to the Lord; each day gives us a chance to learn and to be better; every day we can find the Lord´s hand in our life and rejoice.  I couldn´t possible relay everything that the mission is, nor everything that happens every day, but know that I am LOVING it!!! :)  The mission is the best.

SO, first off, I need to relate an experience that was super cool.  We have had a large handful of odd contacting experiences, Elder Oliver and I.  Now I refer to something that happened about 2ish weeks ago -- I should´ve written it last week.  My testimony of "hablar con todos" or "talk to everyone" has been growing so much here!  I love stopping (or trying to stop) everyone in our path to share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, because I know that the message we bring is true, life-changing, and joyful!  Anyways.  There was a young guy walking in front of us, towards us, slightly rushed, but he was about to turn onto another street.  As always, rationalizations popped into the mind trying to persuade me not to talk to him.  I quickly moved to salute him with my companion, and he stopped a moment.  After hearing that we were missionaries and we are hear to share a message about God that changes lives, he said, "Okay, I don´t have time right now.  I have to get to work right now.  But walk with me!"

WOW!  That NEVER happens.  So we walked rapidly with him about 12 blocks, speaking and teaching as we went.  He told us that he is living house to house right now and has lots of family and personal problems but did not elaborate.  He asked VERY intelligent questions like "How long have you been talking to God? If I get baptized but my family doesn´t, what happens?"  We set a lesson with him for that same night in the chapel, but he cancelled because he just wanted to sleep after working all day.  His name is Maximiliano.  We have had some phone contact with him, but we haven´t been able to see him since.  He still shows lots of interest, but we haven´t been able to find a free moment when he´s not working. :( Pray for him!  He is so interesting and wonderful!

Another miraculous contact from the last week was Luis.  He called us over from the street offering soda to us -- it was a VERY hot day.  We were in the most "complicado" barrio (um, the most difficult neighborhood), so once again rationalizations almost prevented us from talking to him.  But, the Spirit whispered again -- GO!!!  So we went and talked to him.  He is about 24 years old and a very nice guy.  He recently came out of jail and has been in jail many times.  He told us rather quickly that he wanted to be baptized because he had never been baptized!!!  A missionary´s dream!  He came to half of church but missed sacrament for work, and yesterday he got called into work super early. :(  But he has a very sincere desire to be baptized and also to repent.  He wants a better life.  He still doesn´t understand the doctrine, but he is learning, and he loved the bit of church he went to.  His parents are inactive members, and one of his many siblings is baptized.  His sister-in-law, 2 of his sisters, and him all want to be baptized!!!  We have taught the whole family -- familia Tomé -- a couple times now.  It is great to sit down and teach an entire family -- I have basically never gotten to do that.  

Luis´s sister Gladys came to church with us yesterday!!!!  Yay!!!  She is 9 years old and an awesome little girl.  We were waiting for 5 people -- Luis and family plus our investigator Norma.  We were very excited because they had all committed very firmly to show up.  Luis had to work. Sandra (his sister in law) had her sister visiting from Montevideo.  Leticia (sister) slept because Sandra didn´t go.  Norma called, saying she was "sick".  But Gladys kept her commitment!  We went to their house and her parents quickly gave permission.  She loved church!  It felt like playing with Eva or some of my mathnasium students -- I just love kids!!!  In sacrament Hna Perez and her daughters gave us stuff to draw, and the other girls wrote the cutest little notes for Gladys!  She felt very welcomed and was eagerly asking us if we were coming back next Sunday to take her to church!  What a beautiful experience!

Random thought -- I keep forgetting to tell you guys bajillions of things, for example: my camera has been malfunctioning for the past . . . 10 weeks or so.  Probably more.  That´s why I haven´t been sending pictures.  It stopped reading the memory card, which is frustrating.  I had some pictures from Elder Aviña´s camera on a flash drive I bought, but it has stopped functioning as well, which may mean that all of my photos have been lost. :(  Oh well!  At least my journal is detalied and up to date!  :)

Anyways.  Another super wonderful spiritual experience to follow.

But in general, the Lord is working all kinds of miracles in Minas 1A every day.  We´re not really doing anything -- just being obedient, working as hard as we can, and striving for real improvement every day.  It´s going great! :)

On Friday, Elder Oliver and I listened at lunch to a cool talk by President Eyring about making covenants.  As we listened, we thought a lot about a long-time investigator we have, Hno. Machado.  We received a lot of inspiration and revelation from the Holy Ghost.  We had already talked about how he perhaps doesn´t understand the doctrine of covenants.  His sons and wife are fantastic, active members, and he is also super active in the church and reads the Book of Mormon every day and has a wonderful testimony.  He´s basically more active than most of the members.  But he refuses to be baptized.  As we listened to President Eyring, we felt prompted to go teach Hno Machado that day and invite him to be baptized the very next day.  We went immediately after lunch and study, but they were just leaving for the beach. . . . so we fixed a charla for that next day which was saturday.  It was one of the most powerful lessons -- or no, definitely the most powerful lesson -- I have been present in.  We had previously had a wonderful family home evening with their family about temples and family history.  In this lesson, we asked him how he felt about the temple -- his wife is endowed and attends regularly, and his sons have gone for baptisms.  One of his daughters is sealed in the temple.  We felt the Spirit guiding us so sweetly and powerfully, and he even opened up and shared a very personal experience he had in the hospital with us -- his wife was also with us.  Sadly, he thinks that he doesn´t need to be baptized at this time -- he feels like he has already made a covenant with God -- he seems to feel like God doesn´t want him to be baptized right now, which I know is not the case.  It was an incredible feeling to testify to him that God sent us there as His called servants to invite him to be baptized the very next day.  However, he chose not to accept.  Perhaps this was just another step closer to him making the decision.  Pray for Hno. Machado!  

I know that God has called me through His prophets to serve a mission here in Uruguay.  I know that I have been given power and authority to preach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, even the eternal plan of happiness that has existed since before the beginning.  Is that not an incredible privilege and honor?

Ah, there is just so much more I would love to tell you all!!!  I am getting along so well with Elder Oliver.  We are learning so much together and just having a great time too.  We have specific, achievable plans to improve this week.  I fear that he is going to leave at changes in a couple weeks and I will probably stay here, but I hope we can stay together another change!  Gladys will be able to get baptized after coming to church one more time, and the rest of her family members we are teaching will be baptized after coming to church twice.  Pray for familia Tomé!

I love you all so much and keep you in my prayers.

Major shout out to Anika, my wonderful cello student! I just got her physical letter today!!!  She is so awesome for writing me!

Much love!

--Elder Olivier

Wait on the Lord

Dear Family and Friends,

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

"Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."

--Psalm 27:1, 14

This wonderful pair of scriptures has been on my mind this week.  I have been feeling absolutely wonderful in my new area with my new companion!  Elder Oliver is the best, and we get along super easily.  We are working with all our might together in unity, and we are helping each other improve.  He is super tranquilo like me, and we just work well together.  We know we are imperfect, and we are able to set that aside to focus on the Lord and His strength, and then we can focus on tackling our weaknesses together.

this week the focus of the zone was great street contacts and placing baptismal dates in the first contact.  We achieved our goal of 14 dates placed this week, and we were able to improve our contacting skills together quite a bit!  It´s hard to come up with the portion of doctrine that shall be meted out unto every man in a heartbeat when contacting some rushed person in the street, but we´re getting better at being quick, urgent, and following the spirit.  

Yikes, se me fue mi tiempo . . . . my time has left me.  Already???  Um . . . today I had to go to Montevideo to sign a visa paper -- I got to see all my CCM friends, even those in the other mission!  how fun!  

We had a miraculous contact on Saturday -- he called us over, gave us soda, and told us he wanted to be baptized!  Luis is wonderful.  He has been in jail many times and has a sad life, but we are going to start teaching him.  He came to half of church yesterday, but had to leave before sacrament meeting sadly.  Pray for him!

I am super happy!  I hope to work even harder this week and learn even more!  I am feeling comfortable but not content!  I will give everything to the Lord.

Love you all so much!!!

Elder Max Olivier

Esteeeee .... cómo es?‏

Hello everyone! ... from MINAS!!!

I have just arrived (since Friday) in Minas!  It's a beautiful city known for its "mountains" or hills.  I love it already.\\

You'll never believe who my companion is . . . Elder Oliver!!!  Hilarious, no?  He is the district leader here.  We live in a house of 4 elders, but right now 2 others are also living with us -- Elder Contreras (who was my zone leader when I first arrived) and his new missionary Elder Johnson (from Orem!).

Yikes, as usual my time escapes me, but there's so much to tell you all!

Despite the uncertainty, my last days in Florida were wonderful -- my time spent with the zone leaders there was some of the best days of my mission, because we were able to exercise faith and work hard despite not knowing what was going to happen with my companion situation.  Elder Rivera is physically completely better now and is back in Peru now. 

I witnessed so many beautiful little miracles just before leaving Florida.  We were able to find some very promising new people to teach who accepted baptismal dates!  I wish I could be around to teach them, but I know that they will progress and change and grow. 

Ugh, there's no time left to tell you just what those wonderful experiences were.  Know that I have built my faith greatly in the power of my calling, and in the ability of the Atonement to overcome all my faults and flaws and weaknesses.  I know that I have been called by God's prophet to do His work, and I am so excited and happy about that!!!!

Church in Minas was mas o menos . . . the branch needs a lot of help here, and needs new members, too.  I am eager to work more!  I still need to get to know the streets -- I'm so lost right now!  But I am excited!

Chau!\\\\\

Love you all so much!!!