CHRISTmas

 December 8th-
Hola hola! I can't believe we're down a week in December. This week was really interesting...I learned a lot!

I was sick one day and by the time we got home, I was EXHAUSTED! Sister Aholelei jumped in the shower after planning, and I laid on the couch. Our teeny teeny apartment was dark; the only lights were our Christmas tree and counter lights. I had Scotty McCreery Christmas playing and I let my mind wander to a lot of the heartache we had seen recently. I wasn't feeling bad for us or even really sad...but I definitely had a lot on my mind.

A line in the song says "It's time to let go and let the love in. Christmas is comin' round again" and it hit me really hard! Our tree was like a symbol of Christ and His love for us. Just as our little tree was lighting up our otherwise dark house.. He is able to do that in our personal lives. Have you ever been able to feel bad while you're staring at a Christmas tree?!?!  In a world that is overflowing with hard things and bad news and trials... He is the thing that "lights us up" and helps us feel hope. He helps us to overcome things that we otherwise can't. It's hard to explain, but it was a powerful lesson for me.

I am so thankful for this Christmas season! I LOVE getting to be a missionary and especially this time of year! We had "I'll be Home for Christmas" sneak on the cd player this week and to be honest, I will be home for Christmas. I love these people and I am so excited to get to spend the holiday, bringing an extra measure of the Spirit into their homes and getting to be a part of their lives and families for the day. I have no doubt that President Monson is our prophet on the earth today and that I was sent to this area by revelation, for a specific reason. I am so grateful to be here! So don't worry about me...all is good in the Sisterhood!

On a lighter note...we got an early Christmas miracle of RAIN this week! For the first time since March. We had zone conference so we were in the church building all day, but during lunch 3 companionships of us ran out and took a quick photoshoot to commemerate it. Cause ya just do not see rain here! If you look close in the picture, there's even a puddle behind us, which is a really big deal!  It was a great great week! Thanks for all your emails and letters.. sorry I'm pretty bad at writing back! And thank you for your prayers. I feel them and neeeeed them. LOVE YOU ALL WHOLE HEAPS!

With faith in every finally wet footstep,
Sister Olsen

​and earlier that morning....Madi and I caught frogs in the bushes outside our house

Lizard lovin'
Yep...I actually quite like bearded dragons now! The guy in blue breeds them so he has A TON! I love this family!

​I GOT TO SEE SISTER HACKER THIS WEEK! We combined zone conferences so it was really fun to see her. I trained her-she trained Sister Ostler- and she trained Sister Forbush. There's a thing in our mission with "Family Lineages" of who you train. I think the lineages are creepy and weird but I love these three! ​​

​We were taking funny pictures with this family and decided to do "SIMBA" with the dog