February 11, 2013



Mi super chevre familia,

Well I am super sorry but this is one of those not so much time to write and get out everything I would like to weeks but I will try my best. The reason is we are getting two new sister missionaries in our zone and they are opening an area that was previously run by elders. We as zone leaders have to make sure that everything goes smoothly because its not transfer week but these sisters left the MTC early. (One of the sisters will be older who is opening the area) So we are doing that and we have to give our car up and we have to pick up Elders from South Tampa so they can come up to pday. So a bunch of little things and I just hope we are able to enjoy pday enough to be satisfied and ready for the week. I find that a pday enjoyed is super important, because if Elders cant get it out on pday sometimes they will find other times during the week to play games or something. So we try to make pdays great. hahaha Also I have no idea about transfers because I really could leave but if I don’t-- most likely I will finish my mission here... Yes tracting has been going on a lot lately mostly because a bunch of our positive people have been slowing down due to new jobs or illness or something but hopefully this week picks right back up. Plus all the members and stuff are starting to set appts with us so I think its mostly just because I am taking this area after one transfer so there is a little de-bumping to do. But it's getting better. Plus I love tracting. We found a new guy named Flavio who was learning with the missionaries for a year and a half in Puerto Rico and now wants to start learning again. Hopefully we can really help him out. We also found a pretty cool new family called the Montez family from Cuba and they have yet to listen to us but have invited us over this week. So there is some good things coming from it. The districts are doing good and getting a lot better. We have been doing a lot of accountability and
holding people responsible for the goals they set and its awesome to see their improvements. They get excited to report when they see success so they strive for it. Plus I feel so much love and excitement too when I hear and see their happiness. The work is going forth.As for meeting with the missionaries-- we have district meeting on Wed and we alternate which district we go to, We also have zone conference once every other month and we as zone leaders have zone leader council and then with our zone-- zone leader training (its like a district meeting but we give the training) also we usually have zone leader district leader council where all the district leaders and zone leaders go. So as zone leaders we see other people pretty often. As for talking with President Summerhayes, yes we talk quite a bit, especially as of lately considering his excitement for us extending--the areas in our zone opening-- questions that come from our zone-- presidents breakfast (every 5th week of the transfer)-- planning for our extension-- giving trainings, and all the councils and meetings. So yes we do. hahaha With members we do eat a lot but like I said it is just taking time for me to get a hold on this area and to know everyone’s time and such but we now have about 5-6 set meals every week--whether they are lunch or dinner. Also about Bryant that is so exciting!! I am super happy to hear that he finally gets to hit the field. I know he is going to be an awesome missionary and that he will see much success! I feel like Ammon hahaha My brethren going out to preach the restored and most wonderful gospel. There is no better thing.
As for this week I truly appreciate all the fill ins you always give me. They are super appreciated and I am glad to hear that everything is going so well. Keep it up! As for what’s going on here its getting good. We finally had some people come to church and IT was awesome. Since I have been in Tampa soo long the ward knows me and trusts me a lot. Like if I ask for some friend-shipping with certain people-- they are all on it! We were taught about the 15 names list and I set up all the appts and meetings and now they are just really trying to go for it. The bishopric just got changed so things are catching fire and things are being done right. Its the first actual Hispanic bishop in the Hispanic ward I believe in forever. So they, the Hispanics, are just pumped to show their stuff. But to return to the people at church it was the Berrios (who sadly we actually have to hand over to the sisters coming in) and I was sooo happy to see them there at church. All the leaders came over to me asked their names and then I really didn’t have to do anything else. They were seated near the front, I think the whole ward shook their hand and gave them the Hispanic kiss. They were taught how to read the hymns, told about how the meetings will go, showed and explained the symbolism and sacredness of everything and then the mother actually got up and sang with the whole Relief Society!! She was crying and I just know the Spirit was burning inside them. I can not describe how happy I was to see the members taking such good care of these people who we have tried so hard to work with. It was really a tender mercy of the Lord and now the sisters are pretty much guaranteed two to 4 (they have two daughters who didn’t come) baptisms. Fellowshipping is a responsibility we have as members in the church, You never know the effect you will have on someone’s life just by introducing yourself. Remember Brother Bailey and dad?? Also I really wanted to share an experience I had just last night. We were trying to go to see a family but we were stuck outside the gate of the complex. We called the member (Omar Betancourt) who is our ward missionary and recent convert (he is on fire! gospel wise) and he ends up having to come and get us at the gate. So you have to understand that Omar is an older guy, Very active and very talkative and personable, but he is kinda lonely because he has his wife who works and his dog who almost eats us and then he is retired and has diabetes. So he studies and comes out with us whenever we need him. The only thing is that when we go to his house it’s at least an hour before we leave due to him loving to have us over. So--he signals us to come over to his house and thinking about that family I really wanted to say no but something just relaxed inside and we headed over to his house. We get there and have a great conversation but somehow as we are talking it comes out, It being his greatest regret. I have never seen Omar cry but last night he did as I felt something I have never felt before or at least so strongly. He is talking to us and with diabetes he knows he probably doesn’t have much more time to live. So as he’s talking he says "my biggest regret is that I didn’t get to know the church sooner, for if I had known I could have done so much more for my Lord." Those words really kinda hit me in the core. I had been thinking about how my mission is just like a mini life cycle. We get pre-trained, we come to "the field", we learn and grow through experiences and trials, we teach two years and then we "die" and return to our family our mothers and fathers. I realized that our lives are the same. I realized when Omar said that-- how blessed I have been to be born under the covenant, to have been born into the true church, the only one on the face of the earth, to have been raised by wonderful parents who taught me about the scriptures and doctrines.  It put into my heart a new fire as I realized just how little time is left and how much I have to do. I felt the spirit so strong witness once again the importance of what I am doing and the blessing it is to be out here. I am so glad that I have been blessed and allowed to serve a mission to my Heavenly Father and to have been able to give Him everything I have and to still be able to do that today and tomorrow for a little more time. I just know this church is true and that the work I am doing will leave everlasting effects upon so many people. I feel like Omar and hope with all my might that I am able to do as much good as I can.  We have the greatest treasure in all the world!! I can’t tell you the joy I feel sharing this treasure with anyone who will listen. I know this gospel will change our lives and I am really starting to understand who is my Father in Heaven and what He has in store for me. I love you guys and hope that everything goes great this week. Happy Valentines day! You guys truly are my greatest blessing.
LOVE ELDER OLIVER

February 4, 2013

FAMILIA MIA,

Well might I say that this has been yet again a great and marvelous week in the work of the Lord. I am sorry to say but I have not much time once again and I think I might even set the habit of talking a little more about what’s going on here in the work than following up on how everything is going. I love you and I love hearing about you and I am so thankful for all the letters and updates you guys always make sure to give me. They still mean a lot to me and I hope you know how much I miss you guys. But wow I am so close to done! I have to just kill this last part and then rejoice with you all at the end. I love this work and I hope you all know how much it means to me. There is a joy and peace and excitement that comes from serving our Heavenly Father one that I have never before experienced or even thought of. I love the Savior and my personal relationship grows and is still growing everyday with Him. I hope and pray that you are all doing something everyday to get closer to your Father in Heaven and to get to know who is your Savior in a very personal way! I would exhort you all to read the scriptures.

Well this week for us here in Tampa was somewhat of a rough one. We had a lot of success but also many many fall throughs. We found some new and pretty positive families and hope to be able to start the life changing process of conversion. We also, with our new bishop (who is finally a Hispanic because before there has always been a white bishop) are really starting to take fire with the ward. A bunch of very inspired callings were made and we are getting ready to function like a ward should. 33 baptisms this year is the goal and I know we can do it. We already have 2 dates set in my area alone and they are pretty set in stone-- given they are for the 9th of March with the Garrido family but it is only due to the fact that the Hermano just had his prostate removed. They wanted to get baptized the 16th of Feb but after the operation they very humbly asked to change it to the 9th of March. I just really hope I am here to see that through. I love that family and they somehow have just been very prepared. Every prayer they ask that we be their family and that we always come back! haha Also after quite a bit of boldness we got them truly reading the Book of Mormon. The father loves it and the wife has even found him up late at night like 3 in the morning just reading. Its awesome because at the same time they are really opening up to us. We came to find out just how much prayer (not recited) helps him with the stress he has being the father and provider and not being able to work. It is so bad that he can’t sleep. So he reads and he explained that in a very real way he is coming to the knowledge of who is his Savior and Lord as he pleads constantly for the help and means to provide. I love hearing what they tell us for it always reminds me who is my Savior and what He does for me every day. We also came to get the wife to open up as she shared so tenderly her fear for her daughter. I realized probably more than ever before the love that a mother has for her children. Of all the things she has to worry about, of all the hardships and struggles she is going through the thing that worries her the most is her daughter. She shared how much she cries unto the Lord pleading for her that she might be softened of heart and that she has success in this life. And at this point I just realized how much I love my mother. I felt a deep gratitude that the Lord in all His mercy and love saw fit to give me the best mother in the world. And not only that, but the fact that He even gave His wonderful tender daughters to us men that we might have joy and experience the Saviors love through them. How grateful I am to my wonderful Savior. Asides from them we are working with the Berrios who are also an awesome family. We have kinda been having a really hard time getting with them because recently the father received some bad news from the doctors. He had received a diagnosis a year ago that said he only had 6 months to live yet here he is still living. What a blessing it has been to the family and now in the moment when they were striving to become even better he received news that he has two tumors in his body. We have been praying for them and asking to know what we can do to help and as we went to zone leader meeting this week we knelt down in mighty prayer and a beautiful revelation came to me. It was small and simple but the answer is to do just as the Savior would. We will show them our love and encourage them to go on. I have full faith that my Father in Heaven is leading this work and in a very real sense leading me by the hand. I can’t explain the joy that comes from living as a missionary. I feel my love growing and my heart becoming more tender, I feel greater understanding and a undying hope for everyone I come in contact with. I feel more patience to endure my trials and a humility that has brought me to my knees to plead before my loving Father in Heaven for people that I have barely come to know and for myself personally. I feel a fire and hunger for the truths of the gospel and a strong desire to live the very best I can. I feel sad for those who are sad and happy for they who are happy. And for just small little instances I have begun and continue to see people and myself as our Heavenly Father sees us. The potential in every one of us is unlimited and the mercy for each of us is eternal. We have been so blessed in our lives to be in the true church and to feel the comfort and surety that comes as the spirit whispers these things are true. I hope and pray that all of you are doing everything you can to build your relationship with Him and to establish a firm foundation so when the whirlwinds and storms come you will not fall. Otherwise I will go to the ends of the earth to ensure that we ALL make it back together. This is it, This is His church, These are the last days. It is coming quickly to an end. Prepare personally and privately. I love you and hope you know again the love I feel when I think about you all. The day is coming quickly when I will come home and a whole new adventure will start. I cannot wait for that day and I look forward to it.

 

PS (lightning round, I like dogs now, My favorite personal item I have received on my mission from members is a box of dominos that came directly from Cuba handcrafted, I love my companion, he lives on Higley and Southern, YEP two miles from our house, He understands about QT and how much it dominates Maverick and any other gas station, He is also a red head so we are just two peas in a Hispanic pod, I am thinking about playing a lot of soccer when I get home)

LOVE ELDER OLIVER

January 28, 2013

Querida Familia Mia,

Well I am so grateful for all the news I was able to catch up on! It sounds like you guys are doing awesome and that things are going super awesome. I love to hear that!! I am so proud at how much you guys can all accomplish and do in such a small amount of time! haha But this letter is going to be a little different, I am going to talk a lot more about things here and answer your questions that you always ask me. The only thing is I won’t be able to talk so much about everything over there.  As for transfers they came and Elder Vasher is leaving to Immokalee to finish training a new missionary. Also my son Elder Russell is going to St Petersburg. I am staying here and getting a red head from Arizona who knew a bunch of my friends and lived in Mesa but never knew me named Elder Durrant. He is actually more friends with Alys friends than my friends. So we are pretty excited to finally get to serve together. He is quite a spiritual giant. However this transfer is only 5 weeks rather than 6. On top of that-- they are combining my old area and the other Spanish area so that actually is causing problems because my old area is putting out about a baptism a month while the other really has nothing going on. And as the leader I am kinda in the middle of it and trying to maintain the peace hahahaaha. But I talked to President and he told me a lot of things that really helped us be able to kinda force solve the problem. We are getting two sets of sisters here in Tampa next transfer and we are losing a pair of Elders at the same time. SO they are closing an area instead of combining. Sad but sometimes it has to be done in order to keep the spirit with those Elders. They are all super good-- its just they love their people and their investigators and it’s hard to leave people you have worked hard for... As for the families they are going awesome!! They have told us they want to get baptized in February so we hope to see those through soon. Maybe a couple more also because this week we got 8 new investigators and 4 are super positive while the others are pretty positive. We are gonna work our tails! hahaha As for dad’s questions, Yes that is similar to a traveling AP, but we are not APs. We will just be like training the mission. hahaha As for my experience being a zone leader it has been awesome. The cool part is you are sure to be with an awesome Elder so like all those little miracles are a lot more present. It’s easier to become friends and form relationships with members and investigators and its way easier to teach. I also just like having to take change and make decisions when others can’t. It’s really helped me become more confident in the things I do and I feel more sure about myself. It’s been pretty humbling too. I just hope to be what everyone else needs me to be. I feel like as I get excited it’s easier to see others excited and its like all my compliments mean a whole lot more nowadays. hahaha We are really trying to teach our zones about how to work and how even good things can be distractions from better things. Just kinda focusing on what is good to do, what is better to do, and what is the best to do. I feel like sometimes we really see others thinking that they can do things their way or that they know the area and the people and how to run the place and stuff, We also see time wasted on things that are important but not the most important. For example, it took me forever to realize that just doing less actives to get a number is a complete waste of time. We are called to go and get them but if they are not willing and ready to come back we need to move on to better and best. Those willing and ready to change are the best. So even if it means knocking doors it is better than visiting a less active who has shown no interest in changing. Sometimes it’s just hard to explain to others. I feel that that is one reason why we are seeing many more baptisms lately. My last two areas have had like no less actives in them. So the work is focused on finding teaching and baptizing. We also are really trying to focus on making every process a revelatory process. Specific prayers and then massive efforts.

If I were to share something with you about teaching the gospel it would be this. It is simple. The doctrines we have are perfect. Do not fear the answer no-- rather learn to enjoy it and ask why. All we have to do is testify that we know these things are true and then you can refer them to the missionaries!! hahaha It is so easy to share the gospel. People are in desperate need! Look for each and every opportunity the Lord sees fit to give you. If we love our Savior Jesus Christ and if we truly are grateful for what He did for us we will "feed His sheep" or share His gospel. Just invite someone, befriend another, Look for those people in church who have no one to sit with or who are dressed informally, invite them to sit with our family. Tell them how happy you are to see them. Trust that the Lord will fill you with what to do what to say where to go and how to do it. Forget traditions forget yourself and give everything you have to the Lord. The happiness you will find will be everlasting as you realize those small and simple things meant everything. The Lord loves us and has promised to never leave us if we are in His work. There are so many more things but I will leave it at that for now. Some small miracles that we have seen lately are that we have been led to find so many people. We are in the right place at just the right time always. I love working. I had been praying lately to know that the Book of Mormon was true and I have never felt so strongly in my heart the power of compassionate love of my Father in Heaven. I also have been able to be living all those little stories you always hear about. Like the "so yesterday we were talking and we were saying "wow where are all the Mormons?"  next day you guys knocked on our door." or the "I don’t know if I know now that these things are true but you make me want to know" or the "I was just wishing you guys would come and talk to me because I have been praying to be able to change my life for a long time now." or recently we had a man ask us "If you could ask God anything what would you ask?" I responded "I would ask to be able to do this for the rest of my life, to testify of the Book of Mormon and the power it contains." (actually it kinda surprised me when it left my mouth) but then he said "I would ask for wisdom about the word of God" and I said to him "and if the Lord told you he was going to send two young men with white shirts and ties to give you a book that would give you that wisdom would you read it?" He pondered and accepted to read the Book of Mormon even though as a Pentecostal he thinks it is of the devil. Or each and every lesson is becoming better and better and the spirit stronger and stronger. I feel like I cry a lot more and my heart is more receptive. I am working on virtue and seeing the good in all things and finding Christ in everything. Read D&C 121 last 4 verses and focus on the promises it leaves us. Read it very slow. Virtue is beautiful. I feel my patience and love have grown a lot. I feel like I can let things go or that I don’t really need the approval of anyone else except my Father in Heaven. I just need to know that I am good to him. Revelation and Inspiration is always a huge part. We pray and pray for it every day. I feel it happen a lot more often and it always makes me feel so simple minded hahaha. It’s quite humbling. With my few more months that I have left I hope to build a desire that will never waiver. I hope to give that and teach it to other people. Just the desire to be better each and every day. I love this work and I love trying to become something I never thought I could be. I love the Savior and my Father in Heaven. I could never repay anything he has done for me. I Love you guys and hope I answered some questions.

Lightning--I ate chicken insides the other day, It is getting colder, We play soccer shoot out for pday. And a game called bang. We also wrestle and play murder in the dark. I love soccer and get about 4 to 5 goals a game even with all the Hispanics. haha I love chapter 6 of Moroni. I love the whole Book of Ether. Chapter 2 and 9 of second Nephi is awesome. Repentance is a beautiful thing.

I love you guys!!

LOVE ELDER OLIVER

January 21, 2013

This was the missionaries in Chantz's area performing a dance routine at a cultural event--all approved by the mission president of course!

Mi querido familia,

I am so happy to have heard from you and to hear that everything is going so well. It was nice to get letters from everyone! I truly appreciate it and trust me I know how hard it is to write. I just hope you all know how much I love you. We got to teach the plan of salvation to someone last night and I had the opportunity of once again testify that families can and will be together forever. I told them how much of a blessing it is to know that my family is and will be together forever, and how much comfort it has given me as I have gone throughout my life. The spirit was so strong and I was reminded once again of how much I love you all. You all mean everything to me and I hope you know that. I cannot believe how talented and awesome our family is. My companion the other day said "wow your family just looks cool." hahaha I was like you wouldn’t believe it. I try to restrain myself because if I start its hard to stop! hahaha But I am very proud of everything you guys are doing.  I had an experience this week where I had to learn to love being in the process of becoming the best and not just being the best, and that we can’t ever compare ourselves to others but we rather just need to see ourselves as our Heavenly Father sees us. I love you guys and know you always do your best.

As to answer your questions I am pretty sure I am staying but we never know! Yes it gets cold usually but it just hasn’t gotten that cold this winter, The Garrido family is awesome but we think the Colon family just sold their house we don’t really know so we have to check soon. Also yes the hair cutting sounds familiar!! hahahahaha

Yesterday our bishopric got changed and a great man named Bishop Ramirez was put in. For the first time my companion and I actually realized that the 12 actually pray over the names of those who will be the next bishop and make that decision through divine inspiration not just the Stake Presidency or one of the 70 but actually an apostle of the Lord. Que grandioso es su llamamiento!! haha I know the Lord is helping you to be the very best and to fulfill your calling to its fullest. I appreciate your example and also hope you know how much I love you.

As for me real quick, this week was pretty slow. Like there were many hours of just knocking doors. It was rough but beautiful. We found so many new people and I just got to feel like Alma and Almulek again. I love my companion he keeps going and going and helps me to be even better. Some people we found were a family of 10 who are already friends with members and who asked us to come back. Another was a man who realized he needs to die and be born again spiritually. Another was a lady who almost came to church but the member left before she arrived at his house. That was kinda hard but we understand. She was a little late and like the 5 virgins who had not oil was denied entrance for this week. We hope next week is much better. We found a couple people who are pretty rough around the edges but are humble enough to have the desire to try. I love the gospel because it works for everyone. I love my mission and I love playing my part. We are guided everyday and the Lord has been so merciful unto us. I cant describe the joy it brings to me. This is the true church and we are part of it. I love you

and hope you know you are the best family!

LOVE,  ELDER OLIVER

January 14, 2013

Buenas Familia!

Well I am glad to hear that I have your support and I hope no one takes any of this personal.  Two years is a long time but It only happens one time in a life. They weren’t really letting people extend anymore but I kept getting the feeling. Like its been coming since pretty early in the mission, I have just finally kind of taken the action for it to be made real. I had asked President Summerhayes like 3 or 4 times about it before I actually sat down with him in an interview and asked for real to extend. What is funny is that he had kinda been saying I am not too sure but we will see, until this last time when he said "yes I could really use you to do some good in this mission, Yea the revelation is coming to me right now, I wonder if there is anyone else we could get to extend with you." Next thing you know Elder Vasher also asked to extend and now the plan is to be traveling missionaries--in a sense and to go around the mission helping the Spanish leadership. I really have been asking and praying about it and trying to listen to the feelings I get about it and at first it was kinda sadness thinking it would be another 30 more days but then as I kept praying I felt peace and it really started to feel right to me.  The service I get to offer to my Father in Heaven is priceless. I love being a missionary!  As for the week it has been just awesome! We have seen many beautiful things and are hoping to see some baptisms very soon. But as for everything over there it sounds pretty fun and delightfully cold. Over here we are in the 80-85 range and it is hot! Like I just got sunburned playing soccer and I had enough salt on my face to season a steak! hahaha But sounds like the birthday party went well and that things are nice.

As for this week we are now working with two very positive families. one is Peruvian and there are 3 above 8 and 1 below. They are the Garrido family and they are just doing awesome! They love having us over and actually said they would get baptized. We haven’t set a date but it will have to be after some time because he is getting a pretty big surgery done and will have to recover. Also we are working with the Colon family and the cool thing about them is that he keeps telling us that we are the only people he has ever felt comfortable listening to. He said usually he just hides in his room but ever since we have come over he has just felt different. The coolest part is our member took action and is holding a family night tonight in the which multiple members and these two families are coming over and we are going to watch “The Testament“. So we are super excited and the Lord is just working hard and so are we. Then we went finding and we actually didn’t even knock a door before we found a lady from Puerto Rico who had been the one to clean the Elders clothes and cook them food every day. She said she missed the church (not a member) and wanted us to come over. So that was also cool to see just how prepared she had been. Then we also found another family of Puerto Ricans who told us to come back on Tuesday and they actually didn’t think we spoke English at first! hahaha Apparently I look like a native nowadays HAHAHHAHAHA. We also were able to teach another Puerto Rican who knows our recent convert Danny and is good friends with him. So we already have a connection there. OH and the wife of Hermano Garrido is friends with the wife of the member who is hosting the family night so there is another connection. OH yeah and the coolest part is that the

Garridos are totally trying to set us up with the rest of their family!! LIke they want all of them to meet us. haha The coolest part about the Garridos though is when they told us how they are from Peru and the other day they had been talking about how they hadn’t seen any "Mormons" or missionaries here in Florida. Well the next day we show up on their doorstep and ask to come in. Of course they did!! hahaha how cool is that?? Well I have to get going but know that the work is going forth and that the gospel lived is much better than just the gospel known. I love this work and I love being a missionary. I really do miss you all and hope to be home soon to talk to all of you about the many adventures that have gone on in our lives. But until then I will be the best missionary I can be and I hope you will too.

LOVE ELDER OLIVER

 

January 7, 2013

 

Buenas!! Familia mia

Well I have some news for you!!! I have a lot to talk about and not so much time to say it all so I will try my best. First off this week has been awesome!! Second I loved the letters they just get more and more beautiful as time goes on. I seriously appreciate all the time you guys take to keep on writing me. Third I hope the ward forgives me for arming a bunch of boys with slings to kill goliaths with! Plead my case if you can!! hahahaha Ok so to start I am getting very close to the end of my mission right? and all of a sudden an idea kept coming to my head. I started pondering more and more on it but I finally came to the point of taking action and so I talked to my president about it. I am thinking of extending 30 days... so I would come home the end of June rather than the end of May. However --as it says in my blessing I feel I should listen to the wise counsel of my parents. SO I need to know soon how you guys feel about it. President Summerhayes was actually very excited when I asked him and actually started planning for it. This then of course led to Elder Vasher who started the same day I did wanting to extend which was great because President wanted someone to extend with me. So Elder Vasher went in and as soon as we know from you guys we can push the go button. However I don’t want you to feel pushed into saying yes. If you would pray about it and write me during the week to let me know that would be awesome!! He plans on us becoming traveling missionaries and going all over the mission helping all the Spanish leadership in the mission for those last thirty days. I just feel good about it and hope you will too. However I need your counsel. Please write me during the week so I can relax a little about it!! hahahaha Aside from that yes our week was full of some pretty cool miracles. To give you one to talk about dad, at the end of December we were setting monthly goals for January and we set in faith the goal of baptizing a family of three that we were going to find before January began. Needless to say everything that we have been finding has been families of three. Or at least 3 that can be baptized. We found a Peruvian family named the Garritos who are awesome the 2nd to last day of December. We revisited them this last week while on splitz with baby boy Russell and they are super positive!! They cried as we left the Saviors peace and blessing with them and then they set up the return appt for two days later. Something came up so they set up our next appt for today!! We are so excited and I have never had anyone set up our appts for us. Nor call us and reschedule for us. We are pumped. And I truly believe heavenly father has heard our cries. I feel so humbled as we just watch him perform miracles. I have kinda come to the point where I realize that the only thing I do in the mission is ask. He does all the rest. This is the promised land and the Lord is fulfilling his promises. I love the gospel. We also did some area book work this week and we were led to find a part member family that has been forgotten since my trainer began his mission almost 3 years ago! They are awesome and part of the miracle is we specifically asked for a Dominican family and they are Dominican! We are going back tonight and they are making us the Dominican special known as MANGOO. hahaha Its pretty good let me tell ya. We hope to be able to work with them a lot and see them unite as a family under the gospel. We are also working with a family known as the colon family and they are 100 percent in to everything we are teaching. The man has come a LONG way and is actually writing a book called "out of the darkness into the light" he already has about 50 pages typed up! He is so into the gospel that all we have to do is guide his thought process and he figures it out himself! They already asked us about baptism!! However they are only a family of two but still we are super excited about them. I just hope time doesn’t run out with elder vasher before we see these fruits. I love the lord and I can honestly say that we are serving the very best we can. I feel so much more tender of heart as I get to write about all these tender mercies the lord sees fit to give us. Not to mention Mario (guy who got baptized when I was in 5c in September) has finished the book of Mormon and is 40 sections into the doctrine and covenants. Not to mention he has read the manuals. To put a cherry on top he bore his simple and beautiful testimony on Sunday and it was awesome. To know that I got to play a part in his conversion is such a blessing and a testimony to me. I love my mission!! Aside from all that there is much more going on but I have no more time!!

As for you guys I am so glad to hear how great the week was. I love that we are such an awesome family and when things are chill life is good! . I enjoy everything you have to say and I also can’t wait to share all my stories with you.

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!
LOVE ELDER OLIVER
PS as a zone leader we are mostly working, we just have a lot more meetings and more responsibility to make sure things are going well in our zones and that each companionship is working hard. It’s really a blessing because our districts are awesome!