sorry, short message!

Hello dearest family and friends!

Suffice it to say that this week was crazy and busy. 

The highlight was the 2-mission conference with Elder Oaks and Sister Oaks!  The mission presidents and their wives also spoke, along with two area authorities, Elder Cabrera and Elder Viñas.  It was awesome!!!  I ended up singing, sadly, because the other mission´s pianist had already been asked first.  But I knew him -- Elder Bentley was in my BYU ward for a year!!!  

The conference was lovely.  I especially loved how Elder Oaks talked about being an instrument in the Lord´s hands.  He compared it to a pen -- we need to be full of ink, or we need to treasure up in our minds the words of eternal life.  We need to be in working order, or healthy and taking care of ourselves and our bodies.  We need to be ready to go at any time in the Lord´s service, especially as FULL-TIME missionaries.  We need to write the Lord´s message and do His will, not our own.  I thought it was an ingenious analogy!  Sister Oaks was also amazing -- she brought her famous testimony gloves for the mission, too!

I also had 2 baptismal interviews this week.  Ana Corbo will be baptized tomorrow!! yay!!!

Um, sorry, but the ciber is closing right now so I have to go.  Love you all so much!!!!!

--Elder Max Olivier

yeah, apparently my memory isn´t that good

Family and friends whom I love very much,

It was a fantastic week!  I just cannot seem to remember many details! I am already following the footsteps of my father and becoming the absent-minded professor. ;) Just kidding!  But seriously.

The highlight of this week was definitely Ana Corbo.  We knocked a door on Monday night -- it was already dark, no one was in the streets, we didn´t have firm plans, and contacting is always pretty hard at that hour.  But we spoke to her in the doorway, she was super chill and really nice, she had gone to church with the sister missionaries once 10 years ago and is very religious and has attended many churches. She accepted the invitation to be baptized, and we set a return date.

That is always the test, to see if a person is actually chosen, actually committed.  The first lesson with Ana was one of the highlights of my whole mission!!!  It was super awesome.  She read the entire folleto that we left her, said that she wants to be baptized to set a good example for her daughter so she can also be baptized, she read part of the folleto to her brother and invited him to be baptized, and she was basically just super awesome!!!  We taught her about the restoration and gave her a Book of Mormon, and I think she understood well.  She still needs to understand completely the role of the priesthood and how this is the one true church of Jesus Christ.  But she´s getting there!  She already has an awesome desire to be baptized and is open to learn more.  She came to church with us yesterday and said she can go to stake conference in Maldonado this next sunday!!!  I loved our first lesson so much because she was so chill and open and honest and sincere, and our teaching was simple and done by the Spirit.  Her mom was also present, and at the end of the lesson she got out her guitar and sang a hymn for us about Jesus Christ!!!!!  It was SOOOO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!  She doesn´t see very well anymore but has played and sang since her childhood.

It is so exciting to find such a cool person.  I am so thrilled to help her progress in the gospel until she understands and receives the ordinances of salvation!

Pero ta. Ya se me va el tiempo.

The charla with Beatriz was a bit of a mess, but I have hope!  Yanci is doing better, but she doesn´t have a baptismal date anymore, and she has a boyfriend again.  But she´s out of the hospital and came to church with Olga!  And she committed to stop smoking -- she wants to, but not quickly . . . .   Pray for her -- I think she can progress!

I am going to be playing piano for the two-mission conference this month!  One of the TWELVE APOSTLES is coming to teach us!!!!!  I am super excited.  The choir is going to sing a very beautiful arrangement (by Sally DeFord, I think) of I Stand All Amazed.  I have been practicing the piano part, which is challenging and very beautiful.  I am also going to sing in the stake choir this sunday!  I am going to Montevideo on Wednesday to practice with the mission choir for the first time.  

Oh, I also conducted my first intercambio this week, with the elders in my house!  (I think that´s called an exchange?)  It went really well!

Well, we see miracles every day, my friends.  Know that I am so happy and that I am sharing my testimony in every moment.  I am so grateful that God has given me light and truth -- I am so grateful that I have personal certainty that sustains me and lifts me and invites the Spirit.  I LOVE the mission.  

Sorry for the lack of more details.  Love you all so much!

--Elder Max Olivier

foto -- a lovely family home evening with familia Barboza and recent convert Angela -- we did it last friday -- they are so awesome!  It was very spiritual and very fun.

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

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

A busy, interesting week! :)

Dear Family and Friends,

I love you all!  I know I don´t always send this to everyone . . .so I hope everyone ends up receiving it! :)

Tuesday I had a great intercambio (exchange?) with Elder Huaira, my district leader.  It was the second intercambio in which I had to stay in the area and thus direct the work.  I was more comfortable this time, and it went pretty well!  We didn´t have any seated, fixed discussions, which is always a bummer, but we made some good contacts and felt the Spirit.  We also did the branch activity.

Thursday we had the conference of the 2 missions!!!  (Us, and the Montevideo West mission.)  Elder Craig C Christensen of the presidency of the 70 came.  It was such a fantastic experience.  We got to hear from the 2 mission presidents and their spouses, along with an area authority and his wife.  Elder and Sister Christensen both speak amazing Spanish.  I learned a ton, but the general ambience of the meeting was one of joy.  I learned to let the Spirit into my heart so I can rejoice in the work and be happy.  He talked about the nature and importance of our missionary calling.  I feel so excited and privileged to be a missionary.  It´s not the easiest calling, but it is so rewarding, and I am growing and changing so much, so positively -- especially in a spiritual way.  My testimony has become so much stronger, and I am able to recognize the Spirit more easily than before, because I am focused on doing so and on fortifying myself and others with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

On Saturday, a couple Elder Aviña taught was sealed in the temple!!!!  We were able to go to the endowment session and their sealing right after.  I have never been to a temple sealing before.  It was SO HAPPY and so special.  I didn´t have to know them to feel their love.  It was amazing to see people achieve the goal of an eternal family.  I felt the Spirit in a joyous, powerful way that was entirely new to me.  When their two little kids came in . . . let´s just say that I almost lost it.  :)  So beautiful!  I am so grateful that my parents were sealed in the temple and that my family can live together forever.  I testify of that fact often! :)

TONS more happened this week.  But . . . Sunday was great!  I always love going to church here and partaking of the sacrament.  There are so many incredible members.  We got to hear from the branch president and the district president because it was branch conference.  What powerful talks they gave!  That night, we were able to go out contacting with our good friend Frederico Ladereche.  He just returned from his mission in Brazil and is a wonderful guy and a great missionary.  He helps us out often.  

Well, chau!  Time is over.  I am loving the work, learning tons, and meeting many amazing people.  thanks for your prayers -- I feel the support from home when I need it.  Love you all!!!

--Elder Max Olivier