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!!!!!

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

a bunch of nightly phone calls and a dreaded text message

Dear Family and Friends,

Love you all!

This week was fantastic.  My first week of being the district leader has been crazy and exciting.  It is an adjustment, to be sure, but one I am loving already.  The thing that stressed me the most was giving the district meeting, but thanks to the Holy Spirit´s guide, I felt like everything just came together beautifully.  It is so amazing how the Holy Ghost will help us, even when we are lacking or somewhat unprepared . . . He knows what we need, and He knows what others need too.  My plans came together, and I taught the district on Friday!  I taught about the light of the Restoration, and the importance of teaching the Restoration to the less-active members and helping them remember the light they have received because of it.  The practices went well, too, and I think it helped the district.  I am so lucky to have such amazing missionaries in my district -- there are three other companionships other than my own.

Another thing I do as district leader is the nightly verifications.  I call each companionship (well, I talk face to face with the one that lives with me!) and hear how their day was, how the people they work with are doing, and how their plans are doing.  It is spiritual, interesting, and just fun!  It does mean that I have no free time in the nights anymore.  This morning was my first leaders meeting with the zone leaders, district leaders, and hermanas viajantes (sister trainer leaders?).  It was great!  We set some great goals and plans for the zone and talked about how we can help specific missionaries.

Anyways.  So that stuff is going pretty well!  About the dreaded text.  yep.  Luisa Fernandez sent us the ever-dreaded message before our lesson on Friday telling us not to come over and that she doesn´t want to receive the lessons anymore.  We had almost no saldo but I called her . . .and then the saldo ran out in the middle of the conversation.  It´s her darn husband!!!  Apparently he forcefully told her that he doesn´t like her going to church and having us over at the house and that he didn´t want to get married anymore either.  She told me she will continue reading the Book of Mormon and praying, which I believe she will do.  We haven´t seen her since or had other contact . . . she and her family need your prayers!  She has a testimony!!!  For now, my plan is to pray and fast and then try to set up a lesson in the church, and maybe something more . . . . . . but she wants to avoid contention in her family and it sounds to me like she is a bit unwilling to go against her husband.  If you can, pray for her and put her name on the temple prayer roll.

Yanci is doing well -- she came to church again with her mom Olga and we taught her twice during the week.  We will see her again tomorrow.  She doesn´t 100% understand all that we teach yet, but she loves going to church and she needs the gospel in her life now.  She has attempted suicide a few times and suffers from mental and emotional illness, but she is a super amazing, calm person.  We will help her be baptized in April!  She has been reading a little in the Book of Mormon and is reading out loud together with Olga.  She would also benefit from your prayers.  We were also able to bring a less-active sister Hna Correa to church, and all the sisters were super excited to see her!  She wants to return.  She has been struggling with smoking again and knows she is not keeping all the commandments, but she seems willing and eager to come back to church!

I am so excited for the general conference!  We are also promoting and attempting to use the new video Gracias a que Él vive (Because He lives?).  I am eager to bring people to listen to the prophets´ voices testifying of the Resurrected Savior!  I know He lives and I love Him.

Love you all!  thanks for everything!

--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! ;)

Las primeras 12 semanas ... otra vez :)

Dear family and friends,

Thank you for praying and fasting for me.  It means a lot to me!  I love you all so much.

This week was a challenge for me and my companion.  However, I am super excited to be working with Elder Rivera.  He`s a truly great guy!  I love him lots already.  I feel bad for him, though, because at times I don`t really know what to say when it`s just the two of us alone.  I want to socialize more, but it`s harder for me in Spanish, and y'all know how hard small talk is for me as it is.  But I feel like we`re getting along really well and able to share our thoughts and feelings sincerely with each other.  We will learn a lot together!

We have been working super hard since he arrived, talking to everyone and trying to find people to teach.  There`s an exciting new initiative in the Sudamerica Sur area of the church to focus entirely on the progress of people.  Now we only account for 4 key indicators: total attendance at church, baptisms & confirmations, investigators with baptismal dates, and progressing investigators.  We also choose, working with the branch president and leaders, five less-active members to work with for the month in our area.  We need to have discussions with them and with members, and we need to help them progress and come back to church.  If they don`t progress in the month, we choose new people for the next month.  We also need to talk to everyone, members and nonmembers, about the gathering of Israel and the hastening of the work.  I will need to study the gathering of Israel a bit more, but I think that`s very interesting and exciting!

Despite our grand efforts, we haven`t really found anybody new to teach.  There`s a few potentials though, so that`s good.  But our hard work paid off -- Marisol came to church!!!!!!!  She came from La Cruz with the family of Hna. Cabrera and Alejandro.  She liked it, too!  We had an amazing, brief lesson with her on Saturday about the Sabbath day, and Hna. Cabrera gave an amazing, sincere, gritty, simple, honest testimony of how coming back to church has helped her and her family.  Marisol then decided firmly to stand up against her boss and go to church despite her difficult work schedule.  So awesome!  She needs your prayers so she can continue to progress.  The next step is a baptismal date and she needs to stop smoking.

Well, yeah!  My time left, yet again!  (ps, Dad, I realized that it really is Spanish syntax!)  Love you all so much!

--Elder Max Olivier

Summer has arrived!!! :)

Dear family and friends,

Yes, it is summer here.  However, Uruguay is strange and indecisive.  This morning was a blanket of fog, yesterday was a mishmash of sun and rain, Saturday was overwhelmingly hot and humid.  Yep.  Bring it on, Uruguay! :)  Mom, you would die for how humid it has been recently.  Also, you would appreciate the amount of ceiling fans in the chapel here.  I will try to get a picture of it.

This week was crazy!  On Tuesday, we were able to go to the temple again!  The first two baptisms of Elder Aviña received their endowments.  It was such a special, powerful spiritual experience, and these two women (mother and daughter) are so special and full of light.  We even got to do some initiatories before the endowment session in the temple!  I love going to the house of the Lord to participate in these sacred ordinances.  I feel God´s love and presence there so strongly.  I felt comforted in a big way, and like I should stop worrying so much. :) (duh, I always worry too much.)  

When we were there, I took the advice of my family members and splurged on treats at Tienda Inglesa.  Yum.  If you still don´t know what an alfajor is, you have yet to discover a devilishly delicious treat . . . hmmmmmmmmm, that sounds terrible.  Oh well, it kinda is. :)  On a semi-related note, the food here is too high in fat!  Lots of stuff unabashedly has trans fat!  Can Nicole and Mom, the nutrition experts, or Elder Persson, explain to me what trans fat is? :)

Anyways.  That day was basically perfect.  On wednesday morning, we went to La Cruz, a tiny town that pertains to our branch.  The sisters serving in our branch with us also came, and we did some good proselyting there.  Woo!  The people are so welcoming and open to listen and learn.  On thursday, we visited the houses of most of our present investigators, basically to no avail.  Our people are really falling through, which is why we´re going to La Cruz now.  Often, people will receive us well the first time, commit to another visit, and then never receive us again.  It´s sad and frustrating, because I know that they are missing out on the Gospel of Jesus Christ -- they´re missing out on joy, peace, and a changed life.

On Friday we had zone conference, and I got to go to Sarandi for an intercambio with Elder Vasquez.  He is awesome!  We basically just did lots of contacting and had a wonderful lesson on prayer with some less-active members.

Saturday, we had a volleyball activity in the gym!  Although we publicized like mad with our branch and our investigators, not many people showed up.  It was still a success!

My time leaves me.  Yesterday we had another very spiritual lesson with Alejandro.  He gave the closing prayer, and touched my heart forever.  He thanked God for sending him two angels, two marvelous people, to teach him and show him the way.  He will become a STRONG member of the church in due time!  If only Uruguay were faster with marriage dates and legal stuff . . . . . . but he will get married and then baptized. :)

I learned this week to keep my attitude in the highest level, to follow after Christ by being merciful, patient, and long-suffering.  I am learning to be patient and meek, especially in my companion relationship.  I think things are going well now.  I am eager to work hard this week!

Only Alejandro came to church. :(  But we found an amazing woman in La Cruz who immediately accepted our invitation to church and to be baptized.

Love you all so much!!!!!

The picture is old -- it´s me in Montevideo.

A great week for service! :)

Dearest,

What a week!

Last monday: not p-day, but we don´t have scheduled lunches with members on mondays.  However, a fantastic family in our branch just randomly decided to offer us lunch!  So generous.

Tuesday we played volleyball at the branch activity!  We miraculously found a net and ball.  The local volleyball coach loaned us a net after we called like 5 different people while talking to someone at the municipal gym behind our house.  Woo!

Wednesday we set a goal to have 3 lessons per hour.  We need to find new people to teach, and we hadn´t been doing a very good job of talking to everyone.  So we truly talked to everyone on Wednesday, basically the whole day.  I don´t think we had any fixed lessons, so we just knocked doors and proselyted!  woo!  The day passed slowly, but it was a great experience.  We achieved a lot that day -- not quite 3 per hour, but with good reason -- we had some quality little lessons and found some interesting people who can progress.  We learned that an investigator we had only talked to once just died!  Oh  my.  We knew she was old and sick, and we had passed by many times to no avail.  The first time we met Laura García, she told us she was looking for the true church of God and didn´t know where to find it.  She was super open to the message of the Restoration!  I am sure she is accepting the gospel in the spirit world now.  We were able to talk with her sister a bit and testify of eternal life and comfort her.  Very interesting!

Thursday was another awesome day of talking to everyone.  Our old investigators are kinda falling through right now, but we are finding some new people.

Friday we moved a bunch of furniture from a member´s upstairs apartment down below --- it was awesome!!!  You should have seen the mad staircase we had to climb and descend with heavy stuff.  It was basically the best.

Saturday we went to Alejandro´s house in La Cruz again to help him build it!  However, this time was less useful than last time.  He has a new car that is cualquier choripan . . . I have some awesome pictures but the computer doesn´t like them.  It is slow, has a radiator that consumes water and angrily steams and explodes while driving, and it is basically awesome.  :) :).

(my reaction to his car)

Sunday was fantastic.  We had a dream charla with an investigator of gold.  He is Emanuel, 17 years old, and has an incredibly sincere desire to learn truth and be baptized.

So much more to say.  I love this church!  It is truly the Church of Jesus Christ.  He is our Savior.  Trust Him.  Love Him.  Know that God is real.  I love you all!

--Elder Max Olivier

MILAGROS

Dear family and friends,

What a week of miracles.  Saturday was the grandest miracle I have witnessed.  

Monday I felt homesick for the first time.  I don´t know why.  I just had a bad attitude.  But getting back into the joyous work made me feel lots better.

Tuesday I woke up sick . ..  I still am.  That´s been a drag.  Yep.  But I worked through it and had a fantastic day because I was eager to get back to work.

Wednesday my companion fell ill . . . he reacted badly to chorizo that members fed us.  We had to go home early.  I used the time to clean, read, and ponder.  He got better quickly, thankfully!  I was really worried for him, but all was well.

Thursday we traveled to Montevideo to have a meeting with President and all the new missionaries and their trainers!  On the bus back, I taught two kids who live in our area . . . they are so sad.  They both use drugs and smoke.  They´re only 12 and 14.  :(

Friday was zone conference and TONSSSSSSSS of walking.  I just about died.  But I was happy!

Saturday we had the opportunity to take Maria Eugenia and her young siblings who are members, along with Jaqueline (a less-active) and Alejandro (boyfriend of hermana Cabrera), to the TEMPLE!!!!  It was so special and spiritual to introduce the temple to these wonderful investigators.  There we had an incredible miraculous experience.  My companion and I were able to go into the celestial room to pray for about 15 minutes.  In there, he told me that he had the impression to invite Maru (Maria Eugenia) to be baptized that very day.  I instantly felt a powerful confirming witness.  We have been teaching her, but she told us she would not be baptized because she doesn´t think she can keep the law of chastity with her boyfriend.  She asked us not to bring up baptism again.  That was some weeks ago.  She understood the law of chastity and wanted to live it, but decided not to at that time.  However, she is reading the book of mormon, praying, and going to church!  She is super amazing.  She is the one whose father killed her mother, and she is in charge of her little siblings now like a mom.

We did what the Lord commanded.  We invited her to be baptized just outside the temple while the others walked to the car.  I testified, and told her that she is special daughter of God and that baptism was His will for her.  She got teary and accepted the invitation!  She said she was praying in the waiting room for many answers, and that this was the answer to all her questions, though not really the one she expected.  There was already a baptismal service that night for a girl from a part-member family.  I was able to baptize Maru that night!  It was such a powerful experience.  She is such an amazing daughter of God.  The service was incredibly spiritual ... everyone felt the spirit very strongly.  She was ready for baptism and needed it, and now she will be blessed so greatly.  She is going to tell her boyfriend this tuesday or wednesday and either leave him or live the Law with him and bring him into the church!

My time is short.  So many small miracles led to this great one . . . I wish I could tell you all of them now, but I must stop writing.  I love you all so much and I thank you for your prayers, love, support, and friendship with one so imperfect as I.  I am feeling great right now and loving the work and learning every day.  Bye!

--Elder Max Olivier

Reunión de oros.  Me with Elder Carroll, my wonderful district leader and a best friend in the CCM, and other good friend from CCM Elder Bauer.  It was so nice to see everyone from the CCM again.  They are wonderful!

¡¡¡EMANUEL FUE BAUTIZADO!!! :)‏

Dear family and friends,

This week was so fantastic.  The obvious highlight was Saturday!!!  Emanuel and Iara (daughter of Hermana Maria Jose Cabrera, a less-active member) were both baptized!!!!!!  I was able to baptize Emanuel and on Sunday I was able to confirm Iara.  

At the baptismal service, it was like a happy dream.  I felt the Spirit so strongly and peacefully in a way I have never felt it before.  Emanuel is such an amazing person, and the Lord truly prepared him for us before we arrived.  All we had to do was teach him and help him make commitments.  He truly made a lifelong covenant with God on Saturday, and the incredible gift of the Holy Ghost will help him keep that covenant his whole life.  I feel so privileged to know him, and to have had the chance to baptize him.  The whole service was very happy and peaceful.  I have never felt the Spirit in such an exuberant, constant, joyous fashion before.  I couldn´t wipe the smile off my face.  Seeing the members and families that attended the service was so special and exciting!!!

The Sunday service was also very special.  Seeing the two new members of the church was just fantastic, and the Spirit was strong during their confirmations.  I am SOOO grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost.  It is a grand blessing that we don´t fully appreciate, but we have it, and we can always learn more about how to recognize and follow the Spirit.  Indeed, He can help us in every single aspect of our lives.  I am learning to trust that guidance more and more, but it is difficult to discern at times.  However, the Spirit is always available to us as long as we are worthy and listening and seeking and acting.

Emanuel wants to get married to his girlfriend!!!  We shall help them make plans to go to the temple together.  Maria Jose Cabrera also wants to get married to her boyfriend!!!!  He sat in on our last discussion with her family, and his interest in the church is slowly growing.  These two beautiful couples need to go to the temple!!!  They will be so blessed.  We shall do all we can to help them make that a goal.

Church was also amazing because of who showed up.  Maria Eugenia came!!!  She even bore her testimony!!!  She is progressing, and it is amazing.  I was humbled when she thanked us at the pulpit for helping her to progress by reading the scriptures and praying.  I think she wants to be baptized, she just has to figure out what to do with her boyfriend.  We shall continue visiting her periodically.

So much more to write, but my time is spent.

Curiosities:

1. fireflies!  I have never seen them before.  Very beautiful.

2. Frogs!  Everywhere!  Squished flat in the street by cars!

3. I met a Mennonite from California who barely speaks Spanish!  What??!!

4. much more, but no time . . .