June 18, 2012

Hola Familia Mia,

Well like always I truly loved the letters and the messages this week. All of them seemed so positive and happy and exciting. I love to hear that from you guys! Congratulations on performing music camp so well little girls! I always loved watching you guys dance and sing.  As for me, things are going awesome here! I seriously am having such a great time here in Apollo Beach. We had a couple miracles this week and we just started a couple more sweet things so I will just get started. Lightning responses, Carlee this week I was able to have the delicacy known as Chicharrones. In other words pig skin. but this was not deep fried nor very delicate. Actually it is straight up soft chewy pig skin with all the fat in the world still attached to it, and I happened to be Mr Lucky that night and scored the box with the most in it. I was able to eat about 7 tacos worth of these things and I had barely dented the pile. (as a mexican you just use tortillas as your fork and spoon and knife, so you tear out a chunk of tortilla and use it to grab a chunk of meat and beans and rice so just a hint when I get back home dont judge me for manners! hahaha) so 7 tacos means 7 tortillas broken into chunks with a big ol pig skin drippin with grease and juices in the middle. Not the worst but definitley not the best. As for the pizza mom yes we finished it well and got wings for afterwards. That puts me into another thing, I am gaining weight and size again. due to the very broad intelligence of Elder Shields when it comes to workouts and supplements and such.  He is now leading me in a full on charge for 200 if not 225. We just got to start going to a gym due to the English Elders who allow us to be their "buddies" so we can get in. Its part of what they payed for. Today I did 215 on decline bench by 5 with 4 negatives! oh yea. I am beat let me tell ya. Also my comp from the mtc that went home is coming back out this next transfer and we hope to train him. So a tripleship in a house of about 20 by 20? Should be fun. Now as for spiritual things or those things that actually matter. We are having a baptism this Saturday! His name is Samuel Lopez and he is from Puerto Rico and he is about as buff and thick as dad and wears the same type of clothes and everything. He is however a little younger. The funny thing is is that we met him last Sunday and committed him to baptism after one lesson. He said yes and then bought a whole sunday getup and he does everything we tell him to. Just fell right into our hands from out of nowhere! So we are super pumped about him! Oh to go along with the whole size thing, the members here are really starting to love us and because they love us they ask us to come over and eat all the time now! Last night we had HUGE turkey legs and Mac and Cheese and mole and a bunch of other stuff! Great for the protein intake eh? hahaha But the cool thing is that the family we ate with is less active and owns a store and now they like us so we have a family night with them this week and everytime we come she lets us take anything we want from the store. pretty cool stuff. As for that other baptismal date, it hasn't been set because apparently the girl is going through a nervous breakdown and never is home now. So we hope she took her chill pills this week hahaha. No we really love her its just hard. We did a ton of service and we got to hang out with all the members as we painted a whole house in one day. Then afterwards two of the hermanos took us out to eat at a chinese restaurant which was super good. So we have been doing pretty good and we are only getting better. Even english classes are going very well. we have two returning people and one brought his two kids last time. We kinda hope to baptize him and his family. So we are doing great and I love being here!  So keep it swell and write back all the adventures. I love you guys because you are the best family!

Love, ELDER OLIVER 

June 11, 2012

Hola familia!
Well this week was yet again another great one with many adventures and some great growing experiences. But first I thought I would deal with some business.  I have been using a little card money because some of the companions I have had as of late don’t know how to use money and their families are not so well off so I try to help them out a little here and there and I have bought myself a couple things. I had to buy new running/sport shoes because my others were destroyed and luckily at a Ross I found some sweet Nikes that were 100 but I got them for 35. Like these are like top of the line running shoes! So the Lord definitely provided. Then I had to kinda restock when I got here because they really had nothing so I bought some soap and a couple necessities and I got Elder Shields a birthday gift because no one has ever really celebrated his birthday. So I got him a little something.
Also I had to pay to go to a walk-in clinic so that was like another 25 bucks because I had an infection on my face for the first 2 weeks I was here and all the doctor told me was it was Herpes and that I needed Bwister hoff (Chinese doctor) ((blister off is what he meant to say)) he wouldn’t even give me anything! Blister off is pretty much neosporin. At least it wasn’t staff or impetigo again though but it did make getting to know everyone fun as little kids said things like "I think there is a bug in your skin" or "what’s that big red thing on your face" or even the members "what happened to your face?" hahaha its all been pretty humbling and I have grown much hahaha. Also I don’t mean to be so demanding but I might need a new frame for the glasses if possible. I will send my hard-drive in soon so you guys can go through it and see all the other pictures I have. I will try to send it sometime this week because that has all the good stuff on it. Thanks for everything you guys do to keep me up. I truly appreciate it.
As for you guys it sounds like the fun begins. Awesome to hear that music camp is still going on and that you little girls get to do it. Enjoy every minute of it! Also Clay live up efy to as much as you can! In dads words it’s a microburst of wonder in every way. Use it wisely and don’t pass a minute because of fear! Cassie great to hear you have an awesome job.
As for this week. We actually ended up have really low numbers. We had a funeral and a viewing all Monday night and half of Tuesday so that cut into our time and then we had a special training in Tampa so all of Thursday was gone but that meant weekly planning on Friday so there goes most of Friday and then we had a couple of service opportunities. I got to ride the minny horse once again! hahahaha We did pretty good though and we even had a very less active but once very positive member show back up at church and he really participated and even helped fellowship a new guy that just showed up at church and asked us to teach him. He’s pretty cool and I think he just really wants to get baptized. He’s like a Puerto Rican guido, ripped an slicked back black hair with an Italian face. haha so the Lord is providing pretty well for us. Not to mention we had a serious talk with an investigator who we were going to drop but then she told us she wants to get baptized. SO yea things are looking up and we are excited to start going to town. Also luckily for us today we get to go to a restaurant owned by a member and eat a 28 inch 16 pound pizza for free because he wants to see if we can do it. Oh yea he is straight Italian so it should be delicious! I will tell you next week how it goes. Hhahaha We have a lot and the Lord is definitely watching over us. I love this work and Yes I love my companion Elder Sields we are like best friends, and there is only good things to come. I Love you and miss you all so much and hope the best for you this week!
LOVE,  ELDER OLIVER

June 5, 2012

Slumber Party -- Missionary style

Hola Familia,
Well Well Well I always knew my family was made of steel eh? hahaha Congratulations on conquering that which is known as the trek. What a feat and it sounds like you came out of it with more than just aches and pains. How awesome it is to struggle and grow not only physically but also spiritually and mentally. I am just so glad to hear it was so good!   Also sounds like we have some soon to be Broadway dancers huh? I can’t wait to get to see them when I get home. Trust me I believe you when you say they are the best! Well In all honesty this may not be another great letter because I am with about 12 other elders in a library and we are all going to play some sports and have tons of fun this pday but I don’t think they write as much as I do or read as many letters as I do hahaha! Let me tell you it is so great to be back into the midst of many an elder. I was kinda losing it there in Wauchula because we are away from everyone but now I have got 12 new guys who are tons of fun and happy to be around me. I really couldn’t ask for more. This morning we cooked about 4 dozen eggs 6 pds of sausage and 2 packs of bacon soo now we are content and juiced up for a great day hahahaahaha. Being an elder is awesome. To answer a few quick questions yes this is suppose to be a strong season for hurricanes because the heat is different and they are predicting at least one if not two as far as I can tell. ON the upside our shack of a house is located in the red zone or the most likely to be destroyed if a hurricane came. hahaha so we may have a couple of adventures coming our way. Also the Chicken turned out great! We marinated it for 24 hours and then we stuffed it with onions and ham and such and then we tossed it in tin foil and cooked it in a fire. Turned out great except for it stank of fecie. It tasted great it was just an overwhelming aroma. We think elder shields stabbed the fecal bag. hahaha yea but don’t worry we had cleaned it well and we are fine after like 4 days of eating it. As for the area things are going great. I think there is a ton of potential for this area we just are trying to figure it out and pinpoint where we need to strike. For ex we hold a sports night every week and this week there were more investigators than members there at the church playing ball. Not to mention we had a guy come to
English class and then another guy just called us but the one who actually came said he was interested in our message. So we will see how all this goes. Also my Spanish is coming back like lightning! Muscle memory or something haha because it is really getting pretty good not to be prideful or anything. Just self measurement and there is always room for improvement. Also this week we got 5 member presents which hasn’t been done in this area in a long time and we ended the week with 16 lessons. Before it was like 12 or 13 so we are on our way up and things are going great. However we did just have a man in the branch die this week. His name was Alfonzo (fonsi) and everyone loved him a lot. I met him once and I already loved him. He was very funny and just had a light about him that made you really happy hence why he got the nickname fonsi, just a goof who although his health was terrible was full of life and never complained not once. So when we heard he died we were kinda down and worried about how his less active family would take it. (They just had their grandfather die like 2 months ago also) Well All we can do is be there to support them and try to cheer them up and hope the best for them. There is just a lot going on and we are really trying our hardest to do it all. You have got to tell walker that his call is awesome! He will come back speaking BEAUTIFUL Spanish and correctly.
As for you guys might I say that these letters for some reason really kinda touched me spiritually. I just kept getting those chills as I read each and every one. It was just like a tingle of excitement and the best hope for you guys. Yes we are all getting older but I can’t wait to become like every Mexican family out here and have like 40 kids each! Hahahaha I know the lord is taking care of you guys and I am just very glad I don’t really have to worry about it. That is something that hurts many missionaries out here as they try to serve but keep getting freaky letters from back home. Some of which they have shown me that truly made me grow up and see life for what it really is.  They are all the greatest of people but they each come from such hard backgrounds. Just trust me when I say we have it easy. Anyways I love you guys and I am so happy to always hear from you. It makes the wonderful day of pday that much better and helps the week go by with a lot less worry. Sorry I also don’t have much time but I will write back next week hopefully a little bit longer of a letter.
LOVE,  ELDER OLIVER

May 29, 2012

Hola Familia Oliverio!

Well it has been quite the week and many good things are a happenen. I am super happy to hear that you guys are now finished with school for a while and that you are now able to relax and enjoy the free time! I challenge all of you to have as many crazy adventures as you can think up and then write me back about them. I personally have already started my adventures for the summer but that will come a bit later in this letter. haha Congratulations! to Cassie Mcgraduate Oliver! You have finally successfully passed through that known as High School and now the real big adventure begins. Don’t forget that death is the ultimate adventure but that this is a mighty and great one. I am so happy that Chelsey our wonderful and very wise sister was there to give her love and support as you finished the great adventure. Trust me when I say that family is where it is at when it comes to starting anew and fresh. So you are lucky to be part of a beautiful and caring family. Just keep me posted on how everything goes. I am sorry to you guys that I did not write yesterday. Of course Memorial Day means no libraries are open and therefore we the Elders of Apollo Beach have no means of communication

Now as for me over here in Florida. Apollo Beach has turned out to be great. I have an awesome companion Elder Shields who is definitely a worker and super fun to be around. He is calm and serious but knows how to love people and definitely knows how to be fun. It’s like we are already best friends. haha However this area is really slowing down lately so it’s up to us to pick it back up and keep going. It’s funny because I actually had a dream where people where telling me this and telling me that right now we are the only ones capable of doing it. It actually really impacted me a lot and kinda made my fire burn just a bit brighter than it already was. So we are pumped and ready to go and do. Also yes Elder Shields is super into working out so we go to the church every morning to do p90x and it has been going great. Not only that but he loves eggs so all we have eaten is egg after egg hahaha protein.... So things are going well and the members already seem to like us and now we are starting to get a little deeper into it. Like setting up splitz and family nights and ward activities and a couple other things so it should be great. But here is a little something interesting. We live in pretty much a shack. Like 20 by 15. so not much and we live in a very woodsy area so there are many a bug-- and big ones they are. We have already killed about 3 spiders as big as my hand one of which I paid Elder Shields five dollars to eat and we have a guardian gecko named Pedro who keeps out the roaches. We have billions of ants in our back yard, we found a grasshopper the side of half a dill pickle (the ones Grampy gave us as kids) and there are chickens everywhere. Now here’s where the cool stuff comes in. Because we are near the end of the month we do not have miles nor money for food so being p-day yesterday we thought about what we could do to satisfy miles and food problems. So we ended up having to stay at the house but to make the day interesting we decided to get us some food by hunting the neighborhood chickens. hahaha (they belong to no one so they are free game. We made two spears and proceeded to hunt. Long story short we got one and now he is cleaned out well and in a marinade waiting to be cooked over a fire either by us or an investigator who said she wanted to cook it for us. hahaha Yep we can make huge fires in our backyard because Florida is wet and it’s not against the laws so we sometimes just whip up a fire for like a half hour before we go to bed. Yep so we have been having quite the bit of fun. Oh yea we also got to do service and while we were there the lady has a mini horse and she said we could go play with it so after using my horse whispering skill I mounted and rode into the wind! hahaha It was actually pretty cool. We also have had a couple of very spiritual experiences where I happened to say something that apparently meant a lot to Elder Shields about things that he has been thinking of and we almost set a baptismal date. The spirit was so strong that the lady was actually crying probably because she knew she needs to do it but something is holding her back that must be pretty hard so we will continue working and testifying. I just really already like this area and I am super excited to get even more into it. I love this work and I can’t believe I have already hit a year! HOLY SMOKE! haha its going by too quick! I have nightmares that I am back home and I don’t feel like I completed my mission and you guys keep asking me what did I learn like 5000 times and then it resounds in my head all day! hahaha So apparently as much as I would love to be home my heart is here in the work for right now and I am loving every minute of it. I feel like I have already learned a ton but there must be more for me to learn otherwise this dream would cease to repeat itself haha. Well I love you all very much and I really do miss you. It makes a guy happy to know that everything is well back home. You guys are the best family!

LOVE, ELDER OLIVER

May 21, 2012

Hola Querido Familia,
Let it be known that I have just finished one of the most successful and life changing weeks of my life and that if I am to explain any of it I cant talk so much about you guys even though I really want to! We are just getting back from Port Charlotte where we spent our last pday as a zone and district together and now we are sharing the computers so I really am going to try and fit everything in real quick like. First off I am soooo excited for all the things going on in your lives! These truly are the best of times and will help to make the everlasting memories we dream about haha. I am just super proud of all of you and my heart feels relief to know that everything is going so well and that you guys are pulling through everything. I love you and miss you very very much and I hope the best for you in everything you do this following final week!
As for me, Yes I am getting transferred. I am now going to Apollo Beach which is like the second best area in the mission and it is all Spanish speaking! Not to mention I am going to be with like one of the coolest elders in the mission! Elder Shields. haha Pretty exciting and let me tell you one of the saddest thing I have ever come to hear. I kinda knew I was going and everyone kinda knew it too so this week was full of a ton of final moments that have seriously changed my life! It was one of those times where the Lord tells you how grateful He is for you and how proud He is of the person you are becoming. I seriously was just so worried that I hadn' t done everything right and that maybe I should have been different when all of a sudden the Lord took the time to tell me otherwise. I dont think I have ever felt so much love and compassion as I have in these last couple days! To start we did some splitz this week with our boys Leo and Esteban who (for as strong in the church as they are) are having questions about things and it was one of those moments where I knew I was in the right place at the right time because they had the same questions I remember having when I was their age. It was just such a testimony to me as I answered their questions and was able to comfort them. Not to mention on our splitz they have been a little down because they haven't been seeing success already and for some reason they kinda were like why do we even do this. So of course the Lord provided two lessons one with each of them in the which the Spirit was felt very strongly and they saw the change in people taking place and it ignited the fire once more. I was just so happy to have had the opportunity to show them what missionary work is really all about. Not to mention when two boys who are 18 and 16 start to cry and tell you they are gonna miss you it really makes you feel like you did good. Then we set some time aside to go and see as many people as possible and it was just so weird because sometimes you just never realize how much of an effect you have on people until you tell them you are leaving. I had Cruz in secrecy buy me an "I love Jesus Ring" (not to strong of a member yet) even when he has absolutely no money and nothing but he went out and found me something that I can and will keep forever. Then Abuela (mama Juarez) knitted me a red and blue beanie and gave me a box of really good chocolates and I had quite a few people make me promise I would come back and that they would provide me and my parents with a place to live. One guy even told me he would take us up to Disney World and a couple other places. So lots of love was felt and I can not believe how hard it will be to leave this area. I now have come to know that I do know how to love and that the Lord is changing me. Finally for the finale I got to give a talk on the Book of Mormon as my last testimony here in this area. Well people afterwards were calling me cry baby but telling me it was great and trust me they are just as big of cry babies as I am! hahaha I just love this area and I am going to miss it so much. I took a ton of pictures so I could show you guys everyone but I might lack a little. haha I LOVE YOU and miss you all but I have to go! I hope you guys are all having as great of a time as I am and I keep you all in my prayers every day.

LOVE ELDER OLIVER

April 23, 2012

HOLA FAMILIA!
Well well well is it good to finally get to write you guys! We have had an awesome week that was busy again but we are finally back on track. We had 18 lessons this week and many were very good and inspired so it was awesome to participate in some of them. But to first start off with. Business. Well Thank you so very much for getting my whole eye thing taken care of. It truly means a lot and I sincerely appreciate it. My eyes do do better out here due to the MOISSS CHURE (nammy gum gums from master of disguise for all who could not guess it.) So it makes it a lot easier. Also I am so very sorry for not having written very many people back. I definitely do need to get on that it's just we have been so busy and now we are doing the Book of Mormon read and all sorts of other stuff so really these are excuses but I promise to try and get some out not to mention birthday stuff. Plus Not to spoil it but there might be a little somethin somethin in the mail for you mom finally.... No more will I say about that. Just Enjoy. Also yes being the district leader just means being an example and having a couple more responsibilities like leading District meeting and doing switches with all the elders in our area.
I am very sorry but once again this letter has to be small again. We had a service project in the morning which is awesome because I have been praying for service opportunities and such and then we had to get much done so now I am here late today and family night is here at the church because we are going to play volleyball. So just a couple comments. Thank you soo much for the pictures! They are super good and Everyone is looking so georgeous let me tell ya. I just feel very blessed to have such a wonderful and loving family because some of my companions do not and it is actually very sad! So thank you guys for being normal and happy hahaha.  That kinda brings me to what happened this week for us. So we had a bunch of little cool experiences and we are super close on like 6 baptismal dates. We have Lucy Xavier Delilah Nancy Benjamin and Eli. Yep we are going to town with these people and hope to soon see them enter the waters of baptism! It is kinda just like a waiting game though because most of them have some kind of health problems. Also we have now found a bunch of people to take on splitz with us so we are most likely going to kick up the member presents pretty well too. Things are going great and I am doing awesome. We have had two awesome performances and are having the third one this weekend so we are all pretty excited and it should be really good. Also I have now completed the first round of p90x and it is making me lose weight! I almost fit back in my suit again! hahaha Hopefully I reach my goal of 200 by the end of the mission! I was actually pretty happy to see the Catmulls because it is really weird to see someone from home but it was pretty comforting and such hahaha. Bishop Catmull started talking in spanish with me and it really kinda surprised me! haha Hes such a good guy and their boys are huge now! Man oh Man I feel like I am gonna get back and need to wear high heels just to even be taller that Carlee!! sheesh. I also am having quite the learning experience out here. Its just funny how many things you learn when you are on your own and you realize what you had before hahaha. But I love this mission and I love the people of this area sooo much they are my family and they love me as much as a non blood person could. I seriously see so many family members in the people I work with. For instance Maria Rojas is like the Mexican form of Grammy to me! hahaha It is so weird because I totally know how to be around her and what to say because it is just like grammy. My companion is like Lincoln Liz Deleon is like Mom I haven't found dad but this lady named Mindy looks nothing like Chelsey but reminds me so much of her. Anyways its just funny how much people are alike and it just makes me love them even more. I LOVE being out here and I just enjoy every minute of it. I can learn so much in such a short time but these are things that are deep and take time to change. Let me tell ya my Heavenly Father likes to give me trials and I think He just likes to watch me grow. haha Anyways I am sorry I dont have much more time So I love you and hope you all have an awesome week!
Love, ELDER OLIVER

April 16, 2012

Hola y buenas dias mi familia!
Yes indeed it has been quite the week let me tell ya! haha First week of the transfer already down and now it’s pday again. Wow time is just going too quickly! We are doing great as a companionship. Elder Weddell is awesome and a very fun guy to be around. He actually is a little older than me by 6 weeks and I have served around him before but now we are comps and that is a little different. haha Well as for the pictures situation I am very sorry for the lack of them but do remember that many pictures were not taken because my camera broke so the only way I have them is on my hard drive. Not to mention one of the cards cannot be read by anything-- card readers, cords that connect the camera or really anything. It is just been a pain but I will try to send you it this week. Also as District Leader it really just means that I have to go to some extra training meetings, lead district meeting, be an example, get the numbers at the end of the week, and make the follow ups on the district. And things a like hahaha. Anyways I do have a little bad news. So the other day I was sittin there listening to a talk during our lunch hour when I fade out of consciousness and happen to wake up to broken glasses. Yea I have no idea how it happened and neither did Elder Berry-- not only that but I have no more contacts. SO super glue is what I have been using to survive hahaha. But asides from that everything is really good! P90X is going very well and it is actually giving me a lot more energy to use throughout the day! Haha Thank you so much for sending it out here.
Well as for me and my week a little bit. I have never been so ridiculously strained on time! We had pday then the switches on Tuesday which means waiting for everyone to get everywhere. Then zldlc in Sarasota on Wed, then singing practice in Sarasota on Thursday, and then district meeting on Friday and then service on Sat and Sunday was our first performance in Lakeland so we went out there right after church so we could be there for the last practice and for the performance later that night. Luckily for that one a member drove us and it was the Juarez family so they got to see it and they loved it! So I guess that’s pretty good news. Needless to say we had barely any lessons and now we have been left desolate for miles. Looks like we are pulling out the bikes this week maybe hahaha. Anyways we did get a decent amount of visits for how little time we had to do it but not as much as we wanted. So now we have a ton to do this week. So hopefully it all plays out well and we get to meet our goals and see some people make some changes. I don’t really have much to say this week because not very much happened besides meetings plus we have to deep clean our apartments this week so that’s gonna take some time out of the day off hahaha. Anyways I love you guys very much and I really hope you guys are all doing well and that you have an awesome week and that you make the most of what comes! I love you more than you know!
LOVE ELDER OLIVER