March 20, 2017 Don't worry, be happy now. Barberena, Cuilapa 6

Dear Family,

First off, if you know where the subject title is from, you'll know all the memories that were passing through my head this week. 

Well Barberena has changes !!!!!! I am going to a faraway land of Barbie-Queen.  . . . Barberena. I'm staying. Elder Alegria is leaving though. I thought I would be able to stay with him until he died. (He is finishing his mission this next change). Anyway, He has been my very best friend in the mission for this 

... a guy just came up to us and contacted us saying that one time his friend invited the elders but they never came. . . .awesome!!

A seventy visited us a couple months ago and said if we were exactly obedient and worked diligently, they would find us.  . . . neat.

Anyway, Elder Alegria is going to be the new assistant to the President. I will be receiving two companions. Elder Monson, from my same district and Elder Beltran, my tech master buddy from Mexico. It is going to be so much fun!!!!! 

My buddy elder Hansen is leaving the zone. =( He is awesome. We are going to go farm it up later in Idaho. 

We did divisions every single day this week. Basically it was just a high five to my comp and off to another area every morning. It was super fun, but we are both dead tired. The Lord is showing His hand. Satan is attacking like never before, but he only has the power we allow him to. I will not back down from his petty shows of his miniscule power. 

There is not worry. Only be happy now. Worrying doesn't help anyone. It never makes a situation better. Just smile and live as though watching the movie of your own grand success story. Already knowing that you will win in the end. 

In this life we generally get what we want.  . . . that comes entailed with the question: How much do you want it?

Meditate over that before shutting the thinking box. Think about what you want. How much have you shown how much you want it. What more would someone do that wants it more than you. If you REALLY want something, you will get it. 

I love the mission. I love the Book of Mormon. If any of you are wondering whether you ought to go on the mission. stop wondering. just say yes and ponder over all of your wonderful experiences and the eternal innumerable blessings afterwards. If I had not gone on the mission. I would be NOTHING. Compared to who I am and what I have obtained already, there wouldn't be sense to go on living on such a low level. God has better plans for us. 

Read Isaiah 55.

Love you all.

-Elder Olson

Oh!!! I worked in Nueva Santa Rosa on Wednesday and I visited Ofelia. WOOHOOO!!!!!

Picture:  This is Elder Hansen from Idaho.  Divisions were awesome.

March 6, 2017 Wait, what? x 5000 Barberena, Cuilapa 4

Okay, I'm going to be an Uncle?!!!!!!!   "Uncle Elder" I like the sound of that.  . . . nope "Uncle Ammon" much better. Keep him in there til I get back!!!!!

This week has probably been the craziest week of my whole life, however, I have experienced calmness and tranquility (no stress). The Holy Ghost or the Spirit guides my life. I am obedient to the commandments of God with all my heart to the fullest and so I live in His hands. He organizes the parts of my life that I don't understand and allows me to attempt to do what I do understand first before He intervienes to organize that too! We are having so much success and great accomplishments like you cannot imagine. Is it because I am here? No. The Lord loves me enough to permit me to witness the works of His hand. 

My precious mommy Olson shared with me that Christ taught our relation and works to His doings in the earth; Think of an apple tree (Christ shared it with a grape vine). The wonderful fruit comes from the branches, but the branches do not grow them. The tree or the trunk is what grows them. The branch on it's own cannot grow them, but neither can the trunk without branches. Think and ponder about it before reading on and make your own relations. 

...

Christ is the trunk the fruits are good works, miracles, baptisms, happiness, marvellous acts, etc.

I see these fruits all the time related with my being here, but I do not dare take credit for them. I am the branch, you are the branch. The Lord needs us to "do" the things because His work and glory lies in our success and progress as royal children of a God. However, all that I do is a privlege that God make this fruit through me. Ponder that more.

Mom asked me if I ever have a bad day. What you think is a bad day I have ALL THE TIME!!! But I have learned what the true definition of a Good and Bad day is. I don't have Bad days anymore. YOU DECIDE. Everything depends on YOU!!! we are free agents and are not subject to anything.

Anyway. I have to get off, but just so you understand, My companion, elder Alegria and I worked together for a grand total of 5 hours (all added up) in the whole week. Yep. Too many details to explain. We also didn't really sleep. 

Love ya all. 

Elder Olson

February 27, 2017 If You Believe Barberena, Cuilapa 3

WOW!!!! This week was FANTABULOUSly scrumpcious!!!!

We did a ton of a lot of divisions with missionaries that bring endless stories. The most special of the week would be the baptisms of Luis Cardona and Lucrecia (Luki) Hernandez and their precious daughter Blanca. (She was so valiant that day -- she is afraid of water). This family is something else. The have the Gospel and the very name of the Lord Jesus engraved in their hearts. I think Luis will be the next branch president within the next two years. He was smoking before and could not quit, but now he says. I have my master. He is in my heart and I have not reason to smoke more. 

I went to a place called Ixhautan on Thursday with an Elder that has two weeks in the mission. His name is Elder Cruz. This place is a town up in the mountains about two hours from Barberena and it is surrounded by little mountain villages. Have you ever walked before? I thought I had, I learned a quick lesson of what real walking .... and walking.  .. . and walking (hiking) is. Ha!!!! We tried to find a secret path to avoid walking the whole mountain range and we were going well.  .  .  . (were) we took the wrong turn and  . . . well . . . climbed an entire mountain face. (If Seth remembers climbing the avalanche site with me . . . nope. not even close). We went up and up and up and entered into corn fields and up and up and up. Then we saw an electric pole up high (WE HAD FOUND civilization!!!!!) After getting there, my entire body was SOAKED with sweat and my face was covered in salt (salt deposits from the sweat) -- I wiped my face with my hand and my hand was white with salt-- well, it was one of those long distance power lines. (one pole per mountain side). Then we looked up and saw a cross monument even higher (the peak). Having heard that the village we were looking for was on the other side of the mountain, It made most sense to go up there right?  hmmm.  When we arrived at the cross, we could see the whole world. Elder Cruz and I rejoiced and we walked "towards the village". Our relief quickly died to see it at .  .  . the bottom of the other side of the mountain. "the pioneer children sang as they walked . . . and walked . . . and walked". We arrived to Manuel. He grew up in this village. In his baptismal interview, I asked him how he planned to go to church every week (being a rented house in the town). He chuckled and said, "ha! walking of course. It's super close!! How blessed I am! it's only an hour!" He is in charge of some cattle in a place called Puerto Rojo (red port). Well, that place is 5 hours away walking and he walks down there to check on them. We also found a garter snake and grabbed that which was neat. Guatemala is so cool. Even though we got lost, these elders get to have adventures like that every day!!! Anyway, Manuel, having 64 years of experience showed us the secret path over rivers and through fences that took about 10 minutes on level ground to take us back to where we took the wrong turn. We felt pretty ridiculous, but we were able to give a Law of Chastity pamphlet to a teenage couple we found there at the cross. 

There are oh so many experiences to share with you all, but I will have to save them in my heart. The mission is the very best thing anyone could ever do for a strong basis in Christ and in being a Child of God. 

By the way, Elder Alegria just wrote to his little sister the council of mommy Olson about having a boyfriend or girlfriend: If you really want to have one, it's okay. . . .if you want to lose a friend. You will go too far in the natural progression that a relationship entails, or you will break up and hate each other forever (at least it will never be the same). He got that from one of our conversations the other night. Thanks mom for being all that you are. You have no idea how many people you are blessing world-wide. 

I love life. It couldn't get any better. I love you all. I`ll try to write down all these stories somewhere, but better, just go on a mission. Get them for yourself. WOW!!!!! The Lord couldn't have made a better invitation. 

Love you, 

Elder Olson.