This week was FREAKING THE BOMB!

The Book of Mormon in Quechua!

Quechua, The official language of Peru.

My new invisible scripture cases. Just kidding, they are coming tomorrow.

The Inside. The book is incomplete. the books: Jacob, Jarom, Omni, Words of Mormon, and Ether are not even in it.  The books: enos, mormon (I think), and Moroni are complete. The rest are only selections.

 May 18, 2015
This week was FREAKING THE BOMB.  I have a LOT of pictures, and I am sending them as I write this.

So... where to start...?  I will answer Dad's questions first.

1 "How is your new companion?"

     Awesome. He is super funny, and super dedicated to the work. He doesn't have a thumb on his left hand, and we always flip a coin. For example, yesterday, we flipped a coin to see who is the most handsome this week. I won. So, yeah. And it's great.

2 "Are you getting along?" 

     YES

3 "Are you having fun?"

     YES. Except for when all of our fechas fall...

4 "How's the Spanish?"

    Dumb. I don't feel like I am improving much. I know I am, but I don't really feel the improvement. I can get by, but I can't express myself very well most of the time. But it's alright.

5 "When will you find out for certain the mission you will be in after the split?"

      In 4 weeks, on the day of the transfers. If I am transferred to Huaraz, then I am in Trujillo South. If I am not sent to Huaraz, I am in Peru Lima West.

6 "Who do I need to tell to write you?"

      Everyone. Xander hasn't written for a while, maybe the young men, Bro. Sergant, etc. My cousins, yeah everyone.

So now, day by day. :)

Lunes:  we did Family Night with a family of investigators. We Played a game called Castigo, or Punishment in English. Basically it is like telephone, but everyone has there hands closed flat, and you pass a coin from one side to the other. someone is watching, and has to guess who in the line has the coin. (you don't have to pass it, just have to pretend to.) If the person guesses wrong, the get punished, or they have to do something dumb and simple, like dance, sing, or tell a joke.  It is super fun. That was it for Monday.

Martes:   There was a big fire in one of our areas, Carrizales. It burnt down a house and almost a whole block. People were calling the fire department, but they apparently weren't answering. When we arrived to the site (on the other side of the block than the fire was) we discovered that, already, the ENTIRE neighborhood was there helping. Bringing their buckets of water that they use daily for drinking and stuff, and everyone was either moving furniture to protect the neighbors' things, or filling buckets with water and throwing it on the fire. It touched my heart to see everyone working together to accomplish their purpose. I want at least my companionship to work that way, if not the district, zone, or even the mission. The most interesting part, though, was that in the chaos of it all, it was strangely organized. Everyone had their job, evryone in their place, a path in, a path out for both "firefighters" and the people moving their stuff. It was effective, and the HUGE fire was just about put out before the real firefighters even came. It was a quick response, and an effective one, too. It was really kool. Also, I had this food called Causa, or Cause in English. I don't know why it's called that, but it is GOOD! That is it.

My District

Miercoles:  District meeting today. Names: Elders: Olsen, Mendoza, Verdugo (DL), Hernandez, Calderon, Fernandez, Borja, and Knowlton.  It was pretty good. Role plays were about burning people, kindly and lovingly. Haha Interesting.  There was Noche Misional del Barrio. It was super kool. There was a game, a race with a companionship holding a balloon up with their backs, then shoulders, then legs. It was fun to watch. Then there was a sketch. A guy was walking, and he was tempted by a demon to sit in a chair that said "Pecado" or Sin. He sat down, and couldn't get up. He tried to get help from everyone, and nobody could pull him out of the chair. Until, the missionaries (The other companionship in our ward) came down the aisle slowly and like angels to the song of "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" holding their GIGANTIC book of mormon, that they said (as a joke) was for the Testigos (de Jehová) (Jehova's Witnesses). Haha. They went to the guy in the chair, and slowly showed him the book, and dramatically opened it, pretending to be teaching him. It was SOOO funny. Then, they took his hand slowly pulling him out of the chair. He got up, and walked away. it was AWESOME.

Jueves: My scripture cases didn't come like they were supposed to. The are going to be made of Guinneapig Fur. Awesome, right! They are gonna have pictures on them, drawn onto leather by hand, and it is gonna be GREAT! But Antonio (the guy whose house I live in) did ask me what I wanted from the temple. I asked for a Book of Mormon in Quechua, the native language of Peru. So yeah.

Viernes: I got my Book of Mormon in Quechua. We watched José Smith, El Profeta de la Restauración with that family from Monday.  We are trying to gain trust and friendship with them. It is alright. I think they like us a little more now.

Sábado: We didn't have ANY success today. One lesson, that's it. Yeah, it sucked, but it was ok.

Domingo: Yeah. ALL OF OUR FECHAS FELL. ALL OF THEM.  WE HAD ZERO INSAC! So, yeah. Then we had a broadcast from the general presidency of the Southamerica Northwest Area. It lasted until 8. Then, we talked with our ward council. It took forever, and we could'nt get any missionary work done.

Lunes: So, today, was District P-Day. We were told by Elder Verdugo, that we were going to clean our rooms. As a district. Meaning that we just clean up, and then it is a regular P-Day. So, we did that, and bought our stuff. We saw Elder Verdugo and Elder Hernandez at Metro, and it was kinda funny. Then I took my laundry, and Hna. calderon, our lavandería, told me that I look like I am losing weight. Haha, you know me.  Always looking my best. And being fit and skinny. with my almost 6 pack 4 pack almost almost (in realiy it's really far away from that.) But yeah. then we played Monopoly again, and I was winning like the boss I am until we had to leave for Internet.

I am awesome.

So, tomorrow, I am studying humility as my Personal study. I am already the best at everything else ;).

Yeah. I am exited for this week. The Assistant to the President called today and said we have emergency transfers tomorrow.

Just kidding it's a joke.

I am going to the TEMPLE on Wednesday because I was Companionship of the Month. I will be gone all Wednesday, and It's just me, unless Elder Guevara is going, too, which is pretty likely, as he was my companion.

So, now the testimonio.

Yo puedo testificar que Jesucristo vive, y es mi Salvador. Él puede ayudar a todos. con cualquier problema que tenemos, por ejemplo, español. estoy bien agradecido por la oportunidad a aprender otro idioma, y poder enseñar con el espíritu. La misión es increíble. Todos ustedes deben ir. TODOS. La misión es la mejor experiencia que he tenido en toda mi vida hasta ahora, y he crecido mucho como persona, hombre, e hijo de dios.  Yo sé que el Señor está ayudándome siempre. Con el idioma, la obra, la fe, todas las cosas. Necesitamos confiar en Él.  Con Su ayuda, podemos hacer todo, y como "Predicad Mi Evangelio" dice, "Sin Jesucristo, no podemos hacer nada." NADA. Nadie puede hacer nada. Entonces, Confíen en Él. en todas sus oraciones, piden ayuda, en todos sus hechos, piensan de Él. Prometo que Él va a ayudarles, si ustedes tienen fe, y verdadera intención.  Les Amo MUCHO. Tengan una semana fantástica!

google translation:

(I can testify that Jesus Christ lives , and He is my Savior. He can help everyone. with any problems you have, for example , Spanish . I am very grateful for the opportunity to learn another language and to teach the spirit . The mission is incredible. All of you must go. ALL. The mission is the best experience I've had in my life so far, and I've grown a lot as a person, man and son of God. I know that the Lord is always helping me. With language, work , faith , all things. We need to trust in Him. With His help , we can do everything, and " Preach My Gospel " he says, " Without Jesus Christ , we can do nothing. " NOTHING. Nobody can do anything . So Trust him . In all your prayers , ask for help , in all events ,  think of Him. I promise that He will help , if you have faith , and true intention . I love you very much . Have a great week !)

Con MUCHO, MUCHO, amor,

El Élder Riley J. Olsen  :) (AKA El Élder Guapo)

:) My Planner.

:) My Planner.

This is Causa.

"If you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay... quickly turn it upside-down, and smile that frown away"

"Si en tu cara enojo hay, lo debes quitar.... con una sonrisa tu lo puedes disipar."

"el enojo en tu faz nadie quiere ver....  Tu sonrisa a otros puede muy feliz hacer."

Trompo activated

Also, I found this picture among family pictures of some converts. I think it is perfect.

Trompo

Trompo

THIS WEEK WAS AWESOME!

Pictures of last P-Day. We had completos or whatever they are called. The ones in Kid history. (If you buy 1 it's only 1 dollar. If you buy 2, it's only 2 dollars,if you buy 3, it's only 3...)

 me in the morning, bored when I first woke up. Before getting out of bed.

Translation: How can I baptize more?

I am just too kool for school. That's why I'm here!!!!! HAAAAAAA

Mi Segundo Compañero Elder Mendoza

 Mi nuevo cuadro de Cristo.

Playing Monopoly today

THIS WEEK WAS AWESOME.

I don't even know where to start. Spencer, I know you want me to send just the spiritual experiences or experiences in general, but it is just too hard. So, I am gonna keep doing my day to day thing.

Lunes: Talked to our converts to say goodbye, because Elder Guevara is leaving. And then we had PIZZA.

Martes: Transfers. My new companion is Elder Mendoza. He is from Honduras, and he has been here for 6 months. He doesn't speak English. Also, he doesn't have a left thumb. I don't want to ask why. so yeah. We got to the area at about 2, ate lunch, and got to work. Oh, and I saw the word Mayimbe and it reminded me of dad. Also, my companion is funny, like, super funny. He is ALWAYS making jokes, but also knows when and how to be serious.

Miércoles: Taught another lesson, but I lead the whole lesson. it was hard, but i did it. I am starting to get better at the language. That was about it.

Jueves: Nothing happened. All appointments fell through, and we didn't get any news. But we are trying.

Viernes: Got new planners. And got 2 news. A mother and son.  They gave us Inca Kola as we left, which is ALWAYS a good sign. ;) We met the new Zone, and a recent convert accompany us in a lesson. It was pretty kool to hear his testimony in the lesson.

Sábado: A productive day. 2 more news. And I got all things on my checklist done. Yeah. Oh, and of course, I lead Correlation. 

Domingo: I don't know. I was distracted ALL DAY LONG. I kept thinking that I wish Mothers Day was in June, so that it would be in the middle of the year,instead of having to wait 7 months until Christmas. I was afraid to talk to my family, because I was afraid of hanging up. Freaking. But the day happened. We had 1 new, no InSac, and 4 fechas fell. So, church was eh. But at 6:10, my day was happy again. I talked to my family for the first time in almost 5 months. I got to hear their voices and see their faces. It was awesome. But, we are only allowed a half hour to talk to our families. It is a churchwide missionary rule. :( But it was ok. I was left with so many things that I wasnted to say. 1 hour a year is absolutely nothing. And I will only be able to talk to them 2 more times on my mission. Freaking. But it was awesome. I bore my testimony in Spanish, and we had a family prayer, which I offered in Spanish. 

Now, some things tht I wanted to say but couldn't. They are trying to make me fat here. Seriously they give me SO MUCH FOOD. Also... hmm... I forgot.  It's kinda funny how my family is all "Your Spanish is so good." It's just because... they think it's good, but it is really just kinda... ok. But it sounds fluent to them, because they have absolutely no idea what I am saying. Haha. I really think it's funny. OH I REMEBER WHAT I WANTED TO SAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   You all should learn Spanish so that I can speak it still when I get home. It's easy. haha. You just have to learn all-new grammar, words, and be able to think in Spanish. Seriously though, it would be kool if on Christmas you guys can all bear your testimonies to me in Spanish. I want that.

Entonces, ahora es mi parte favorita. EL TESTIMONIO! Para empezar, voy a tratar a repetir mi testimonio de anoche. Yo sé que esta iglesia, La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días es la única iglesia en todo el mundo que es completamente verdadera, y que tiene la debida autoridad del santo sacerdocio de Dios. José Smith fue un profeta. Real y verdaderamente. Por medio de él, Jesucristo pudo restaurar Su iglesia. Sé que el Libro de Mormón es la palabra de Dios, y contiene la plenitud del evangelio eterno. Y además, estoy agradecido por la oportunidad de hablar con mi familia, y mis mejores amigos.  A ellos (mi familia y mis amigos) les amo mucho. Mi familia tiene gran importancia en mi vida. ellos me hacen feliz. La parte más difícil de anoche fue el fin. No quería terminar. Quería hablarles para siempre, decirles todo que quería,y estar en Skype por dos mil horas. Pero, quiero ser obediente, y hacer todo rectamente.  estoy emocionado para Navidad, pero tengo que enfocarme en la misión. en los almas que necesitan el Evangelio de Jesucristo. Gracias a todos por ser los mejores, y gracias a Spencer y Sarah por dar cuento en que soy guapo.  Enserio, es verdad. Yo soy lo más guapo que todos los misioneros acá en Perú, y siempre seré lo más guapo. Aun más que El Guapo de "The Three Amigos". Siempre guapo.

Les amo mucho a ustedes, y quiero lo mejor para ustedes, también.

Hasta Lunes,

Google Translation:

 

(So now it's my favorite part. THE WITNESS! To begin with, I will try to repeat my testimony last night. I know that this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only church in the world that is completely real, and has the proper authority of the holy priesthood of God. Joseph Smith was a prophet. Really and truly. Through him, Jesus could restore his church. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel. And besides, I am grateful for the opportunity to talk to my family and my best friends. They (my family and my friends) I love you very much. My family is very important in my life. they make me happy. The hardest part of last night was the end. I not want to end. Always I wanted to talk to, tell them everything I wanted, and be on Skype for two thousand hours. But I want to be obedient and do everything righteously. I'm excited for Christmas, but I have to focus on the mission. in the souls who need the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you all for being the best, thanks to Spencer and Sarah for giving story that I'm handsome. Really, it's true. I am the most handsome that all missionaries here in Peru, and always will be the most handsome. Even more than El Guapo "The Three Amigos". Always looking. I love you very much to you, and I want the best for you, too. Until Monday,)

El Élder Riley J. Olsen,

Misión Perú Lima Oeste

11 de Mayo, 2015

(Once de Mayo, Dos Mil Quince)

 May 4, 2015

Me and Huish, 2 Arizonan nerds

Yeah, it's been another 6 weeks. I can hardly believe it. I am not new anymore. My training is up.  So we got calls this morning to let us know what is happening tomorrow. So, here it is... Drumroll please....

Elder Guevara is leaving, and I am staying here.  (!!!!!)

Yeah, I'm getting my second companion tomorrow. He will probably speak only Spanish. So there are a couple things that could happen.

Facts of the transfer:

  · One person from every companionship is leaving in the whole district, including the District leader, Elder Huish.

  · Some people are going to the zone "Huaraz" which means that when the mission splits later this year, they will no longer be in this mission.

  · I have been "trained"

So, with that said, I am very exited to find out who will be going where, who the new DL will be, and especially, who my new companion will be. Because there are three things that could happen.

  · I will be a junior companion, which is most likely.

  · I will be Senior Companion, which is not very likely

  · I will be training, which is most likely NOT to happen, but still is possible.

Anyways, with that out of the way, this week was AWESOME.

So, I am ready to go day by day this week.

Lunes: Intercambios (also called work visits).  I was with Elder Huish in his area. It was pretty good, and I had this decent conversation with a ward member in Spanish. It wasn't about anything in particular, but (I was talking (!).  So yeah. That night, he got a call from my companion saying that they got 6 new investigators. On the first day of the week. Wow.

Martes: Nothing much. Elder Huish and I did some contacting with a ball. We took it around and asked if the ball was theirs. Then we asked where any families that could own it lived. It is super smart and I am gonna start using that as a 10 way.  We also set 3 fechas for his area. It was a good lesson, but it lasted a little bit longer than we had anticipated, and we were rushed to switch back at 6 to our own areas. Then it was really uneventful.

Miercoles:  District meeting. It was good. We had a lesson with the news that Elder Guevara found on Monday. Lesson 1, and then we were going to verify if they were married. As we were about to begin, another family of 4 who we hadn't met before came in, and sat down. we shared lesson 1, and asked if they were married. The original family wasn't, but the other one was!!! We got 4 more news, and even were able to get them to commit to a fecha bautismal!!!!!! The convivientes, we urged to get married, and told them that they have to to be baptized. But the best paret was Sunday. I wasn't sure if they were going to go to Church or not. I was praying very hard that they would show up, and ALL of them came. 10 people, 8 of baptismal age, went to church. It was only 4 InSac, but it was immidiately after my prayer. It was AWESOME. (This is copied from my message to president)

Jueves:  Pretty uneventful.... Sorry... Nothing to report.

Viernes: We got our monthly money. Then it was another uneventful day. (Meaning lots of contacting, and nothing happened.)

Sábado: Well today was Sarah's 18th birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Yeah. Other than that, wasn't much. We set another fecha for a single mom and her daughter. Fast Sunday, and we need InSac (Investigators in Sacrament meeting)

Domingo: Fast Sunday. We had a lesson with Familia Morales, and then did daily contact (which we had been doing, but i forgot to mention it) with our fechas. At church, We had our 4 InSac, as you read, and then we did some more contacting, ending the week with 16 new investigators. A perfect week.

Lunes: I made salsa today. Mom's salsa (more or less) There are not the peppers we need, and I didn't use enough tomatoes, but it was still good. We found out about transfers and yeah. Now it's now.

Entonces, esa fue mi semana. Muy muy buena. Le agradezco al Señor por ella.  Fue maravillosa. Entonces, con este cambio pasando mañana, tengo poco miedo. No estoy seguro como bien voy a ser con mi nuevo compañero. Pero también estoy emocionado.  Va a ser bien, sí o sí. Sólo les pido a ustedes por sus oraciones. Por favor, háganlos. Necesito mucho. No puedo esperar por domingo.  Es casi imposible a creer que tengo sólo 19 meses más en la misión. Sí, yo sé que todavía es mucho, pero significa que ha sido cuatro.  ¡Increíble!  Pero, sí. Ya ha sido tres cambios. Sólo tengo catorce más. Me acuerdo cuando Día de la Madre fue cuatro meses en el futuro. Tiempo es más rápido cada día. Bueno, tengo que acabar. Haha. ¡Tengan una semana perfecta!  ¡Hasta Lunes!

Translation from the internet: 

(So that was my week. Very very good . I thank the Lord for it. It was wonderful . So, with this change happening tomorrow , I have little fear . I'm not sure how well I'll be with my new partner. But I'm also excited. It will be good, or yes . Only I ask you for your prayers . Please Make them . I need much. I can not wait for Sunday. It is almost impossible to believe that I have only 19 months in the mission. Yes, I know it's still much , but it means that it has been four . Incredible ! But yes. It has already been three changes . I have only fourteen . I remember when Mother's Day was four months in the future. Time is faster each day. Well, I have to stop. Haha . Have a perfect week ! Until Monday!)

Con amor,

Elder Riley Olsen