February 6, 2012

I think this picture is of the pig Chantz got to cut up--looks like he's enjoying it!

Hola Familia!
Here we are another week down and things are still awesome and wonderful and I am still having tons of fun and enjoying every minute of my mission. We had an awesome week, yes with twenty lessons again, and we got to see some small miracles happen this week. Thank you for all the comments about the pictures and videos. I have a TON more because the other card has a lot more on it now but I will send that when you send the other guy back. I will also try to send a few today. I am very glad that Cami enjoyed the present. I hope you know that I wear a hat just like that every morning as I study to keep me warm. It looks funny because I have my church clothes on and a silly hat but it kinda helps me focus and helps me think. Also I wanted to thank you guys for always caring so much. It means a lot that you wish the best for me and I understand your concern. I will love you forever for being the best parents a crazy guy like me could ask for.

Now for the week that I had and for the little miracles we got to see. This week started off awesome. We got to go on an exchange and Elder Spendlove came down here to Wauchula and Elder Berry went over to Sebring. We went from the end of pday to Wednesday morning at dm. We do this so as to save many a mile. But the exchange was way fun and everybody here in Wauchula loved Elder Spendlove. It was definitely an inspired exchange. We got five lessons on Tuesday and one on Monday night which was the family night. But because Elder Spendlove is Elder Spendlove the whole Juarez family was talking with us and tellin jokes and what not. Apparently he just had an ability to connect with them. haha Then luckily Elder Spendlove likes to work on cars because we head over to Jose Deleon’s house and there we find him locked out of his own house workin on his truck--waiting for his wife Liz to get home. hahahaha Well Elder Spendlove hits it off with him too because they both are super into auto hoopla. haha It was awesome and we just had some great lessons together. But I was definitely excited to get Elder Berry back. We are doing Super awesome! He is a ton of fun and we get along super well. Not to mention we teach very well together. Not to mention he understands and speaks Spanish extremely well so it’s like learning from the master Chifu of Spanish. haha But he doesn’t brag or nothing, he gives me my time to talk in lessons and helps me out a lot. Not to mention we could go all day talking in Spanish because he understands everything I say and I understand him. Needless to say it has been a full turn around of our first transfer. haha Heavenly father knows that I am a guy who needs a second chantz to get things right. We also this week have been sending Elena scriptures every night (Elena is an investigator who set a baptismal date but changed her mind on a number of different occasions) and now she has a super burning desire to read the book of Mormon. She has it all marked up and asked us for a highlighter and to send her more than one scripture a night! I have never seen so much change in one person. Not two Fridays ago she told us she wasn’t going to get baptized and that her baby was getting baptized in the Catholic Church. Wow miracles.... haha For another little miracle we had HERMANO JUAREZ el gran POOPAA de la Familia JUAREZ come to church this week! He came and totally enjoyed it and we hope to have him back next week. haha What a start. ON top of that we had a fantastic lesson with the Olmos family again and this time their daughter sat in and asked great questions and read along in the scriptures with us, and afterwards we left with like 5 tomales. hahaha We have to be careful otherwise a deathly experience could pass us again. haha This week we also had some sweet splits in the which I got to serve with a guy in our ward named Brother Todd. He is a returned missionary who speaks Spanish that he learned on his mission and then he got his records moved so he and his family could be in our branch. Pretty awesome, not to mention I learned a lot about being more bold and how to do it kindly. Sometimes we just get scared to ask people to make a commitment when we know they are trying to beat around the bush. We always get the "voy a tratar" "I am going to try." But hermano Todd persisted through and asked if he could either have a yes or a no. then he bore testimony and then asked again. When she said "voy a tratar" again he said then excuse us but we have to get going. haha A little bold but Powerful and hopefully that lady learns that the church isn’t just something that we kinda flow with. We either do or we do not. No wall sitters permitted. It is actually worse to be a wall sitter than on the other side. Just one more quick story. There we were walking down the street in the early morning to go to the spot where we get picked up to go to frisbee on Saturday morning, when all of a sudden a guy walks up and compliments my hat (the one that looks like cami's). He kinda came out of nowhere. But anyways it’s funny because before we can really say anything he goes off on gospel such. Like do you guys believe in God? To this we laugh on the inside thinking "you don’t even know who you are talking to." hahahaa (you must remember that we are in workout clothes with just name tags on) We casually reply Yes sir we believe in God we actually are missionaries for our church. His whole face changes in that instant, but he keeps up pretty well and continues to try and tell us we don’t know it but we are in the wrong path. One way he tries to come by it is asking "are you 100 % sure that you are in the right spot?" To this I look at him with firm but trying to look kind eyes and say "Yes sir we are a hundred percent sure" he then asks a few other questions and kinda comes back to the same question because apparently I didn’t look like I was too sure of myself when I said that. This time a little more firmly I state "Sir I am absolutely 100% sure that I am in the right church and that I have everything I need to make it back to live with god again." at this the man just kinda smirks and walks off. Kind of a weird experience but it reminded me that I need to look and appear to be 100% sure of what I am doing. We can’t just look like we are just 90% percent of the way in or even 99% We need to be and act and follow with 100% of everything we have to be a member of this church which is the only true church here on this earth. I give my testimony that I know that I am in the right path. I know where this path leads and I am a 100% sure that It will take me and you where we need to go. I love this gospel so much and I give my witness that it changes us in so many ways. The spirit enlarges our natural abilities and allows us to become what god would have us become. I give my witness of that as I get to see it happen everyday. I love you guys and I miss you lots. You will never know unless you serve a mission how much the letters and packages from home mean. What a blessing it is to have you guys. You are the BEST!

Love,

Elder Oliver