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Well this week was quite different. Beautiful in many ways and kinda slow at the same time. But first I must thank you guys for the wonderful and greatly detailed letters. I truly appreciate them. Mom I will try to send you my pictures but I don’t know how many more I have really taken. I will see if I can send home my hard-drive and my most recent camera card. By the way I found the other one that I thought you had lost.... Yep I admit it and I am repenting of it. So very sorry about that. Also I did get the package! It was awesome and I destroyed it! hahaha I love those cookie and creme drops!!! Also I think it did get here on Valentines Day. It may have been on the day before but hey I ain’t complainin. Thank you so much for always making my holidays more special!
So this week I had some of the most beautiful moments of my life! It was one of those pay off weeks. I just had it reconfirmed to me that my work is good and that I am doing well. In other words--there were many a tender mercies going around. To start off (not really a tender mercy) I won in racquetball and stayed as king of the court the whole entire time!! hahahaha but just barely. Aside from that we have been able to change our teaching methods a little and the results are fantastic!! We have the two families, Colon and Garrido, and they are both progressing very well but kinda not progressing because they can never come to church. So we have kinda been thinking about maybe slowing down with them, plus I am kinda the type to want to work only with those who are on fire, Ready and prepared to receive the gospel and make covenants. But--with these two families I have learned so much patience and my ability to love has grown so much more. First we had a wonderful lesson with the Colon’s on Tuesday where we went back over the plan of salvation and we invited them to say a 5 min prayer asking only one question and just waiting in prayer to see if an answer came. Well we went back on Thursday and when we asked about how the prayers had gone the father (who has always kinda been against religion but likes to listen to us and has said multiple times "I won’t get baptized till I know for sure that it’s the right one") doesn’t really answer the question but he looks at me and says "You know the other day I was talking with my wife and it’s kinda personal stuff but I feel like I am getting there. I feel like I want to do this and I will probably do it before you leave." I felt the spirit so strong in that moment. Realizing how much he had to have come to say that. It’s hard to describe what he was like before but it is a big change and he said instead of being baptized after his wife he would like to lead her there. I just know this gospel is true. I wish you could be here to see and feel what I felt when he said that. I felt so humbled and privileged to be able to hear it. In all honesty it’s not that huge but really it is. Then with the Garridos we really were able to have an awesome lesson with them about prayers and we shared experiences about when we had felt the spirit. It was the first time in a long time that someone had asked me to share my story of conversion. I like always-- felt again the same feeling I felt then. It was fantastic and they are really diving into the Book of Mormon now. Also we went on exchanges yesterday and today and I went back to my old area--Tampa 5c. Well I felt bad because I pretty much planned the day out for the elders because Jaqueline and the llanos family had asked me when I was coming down and if I would go see them. So we went to see llanos (we got to baptize their daughter Brideli) and they cooked me what I had asked them to cook me which were empanadas. But not the Mcdonalds apple pastry kind. The really good kind. It was just very fun to be over there and I felt so much love for that family. The Hermana had kinda been less active before we went over and now she just got called to be the Relief Society secretary. She was so grateful and just kept expressing how grateful she was for all the help we had been able to give her. I felt again my love increase not only for her and her family but also for my loving Heavenly Father. He truly knows me. I can’t wait to be able to see her and her parents enter the temple again someday to be sealed for all time and eternity. Then we went to Jaqueline’s house and well it was also beautiful. We had helped her move in and so I got to see it all complete and it was beautiful! Not to mention after I left she was able to get baptized due to some very serious things happening. Anyways she had bought cake and cookies to share with us and then on top of that she bought me and Elder Russell (which we are not even her elders anymore) cologne which was so nice and then she expressed her gratitude for everything we had done to help her and for having shared the gospel with her. Sometimes as missionaries we forget what we are sharing and the power it has to change lives, but last night I was reminded of how marvelous and wonderful it is. The gospel is a light unto the world. It brings peace to those who have none and offers comfort to the weary. I love it with all my heart and wish that I could do this forever! Of course you all would have to move here to Florida because I don’t know how much longer I can make it. I feel so much joy and happiness and have come to know so much more strongly than ever before. I love you guys and miss you so much.
LOVE ELDER OLIVER
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