Tuesday, December 31, 2013

I want to tell you about some very special people...

Hey, she answered my questions!!!  Yeah!!  My questions are in green, her email is in red! Please ask an extra prayer for her --- it is for her non-surgery leg.  You will read below, it is giving her problems and she isn't sure why or what to do about it!

Thanks for you support!
Lisa

Hello,
I have questions - unanswered questions.

1) do you use your bug mesh tent
no. We dont need it in this area. The bugs here are very minimal. such a blessing.

2) is your bed posts in water cups to keep the bugs off?
no. the nights are too cold for bugs. I even get a bit chilly here at nights!

3) can you get mail at your living address? If so, what is that address?  Or is it only every 6 weeks at transfer time really??  You should get two packages if that is the case, in three weeks.  Let me know if you get them. 
Don't have an address. the mission home is all! I got one package. The one with the toffee! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Please give Sister Vanderlinden a BIG hug from me too. I have to admit, I didnt even tell my companion that i have the toffee...cause Im selfish like that and wanted to keep it for me. It is almost gone..hahaha dang!!

4) what was the Christmas party like.
I think I told you about the Christmas party. Tomales, ponche, and fireworks!
(Wrong Christmas party --- I was asking about the Christmas transfers at the mission home two weeks ago - oh well! This is what happened on the 24th in their area where she is.)

5) what's your mission pres like?
My mission president is good. He just likes hard work. The first day he said..Yo quiero sufrir. I like to suffer...in other words, he like us to suffer...hahaha -- in reality he just wants us to work hard...and push ourselves!

IT WAS AMAZING TO TALK TO YOU! sorry I cried the whole time...it was just amazing to even hear your voices. I have to admit the goodbye was SO hard for me. Way harder than I ever thought.But I have a couple women here in the ward who said they will be my mom for a bit, so dont worry, we are well taken care of.  

One thing I am struggling with is my leg...its my other leg..not my surgery leg. I don't know if its stemming from bad arches, cause my arch is hurting and it is in my ankle and up my whole leg..like I cant move it super well after a lot of walking..but then it goes away..but it happens every day...i am being careful, and i don't want o push it too hard...but i am just a little worried about what it might be..but all is well. I will just watch it and make sure nothing else happens. Its just hard for me cause I am trying to work hard, but I cant do everything, such as run, or walk as fast as we would like because of the pain. All is well however. (Aaahhhhhh! worry-mom moment!)

I want to tell you about some very special people. (I wanted to send pictures today but we are in a computer place that if i plugged my camera in, im not sure if my camera would work again! So pictures next week hopefully.) Anyways, first, Enrique. He came to church 2 weeks ago, for his first time. HE LOVED IT! Literally loved it. He switched jobs like without us really even asking, he is great. So we gave him a Book of Mormon. He LOVES IT! reads it at work all the time, and he just cant wait until he can serve his own mission. He is so great. He is very special, and we are planning a baptism for him in 2 weeks hopefully! 

Then there's Hermana Serina and her family. Mama Serina. She is the most giving, amazing woman. Her kids are baptized. She is more than excited and ready to be baptized, however she cant get her papers to get married. Anyways, there will be a miracle. I know it. Her husband came to church the other day...so we shall see. Things will work out in time. I know they will. Her two kids that live with her are amazing. They are just the best family. I love them so much! 

Funny story...I now have 3 dictionaries. People keep offering me their dictionaries...obviously its cause my Spanish is awful! hahaha Such kind people!

We found these kids this week we really want to teach but their parents left 11 years ago to work in the states...the oldest is 17...in other words these parents left when the oldest was 6, the other 4 and the other 1. We don't know what to do about it. We don't know how comfortable we feel teaching them alone in their house...so we will see. What amazing kids they are though. So cute! IT just amazes me how amazing the people here are. So humble and so giving. and SO HAPPY! But we are able to see already changes in peoples lives that only come from the blessings of the gospel. What a blessing we have to have the gospel. To have grown up in the gospel.

Well, I love you guys to death! I hope you know. Thanks for your love and support. Thanks for your prayers and your examples!!!
Hermana Oliphant

Thursday, December 26, 2013

"I get to talk to you tomorrow..."

I HAVE NO TIME TODAY! Literally 13 minutes. But good thing I get to talk to you tomorrow so its not a super big deal. I just want you to know how much I love you all. So, so much!! I think of you everyday which is kind of a bad thing for me...stop being so awesome so I can focus more! For real though. I hope you guys take some time to remember what Christmas is all about. Its an incredible opportunity to share about our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ this time of the year. I am so grateful and feel so much responsibility to share the joy of our Savior with everyone. I just wish I could speak Spanish a bit better. But really, this is the hardest, but best thing that I've ever done. There are days I wish I was home, not going to lie, but then we go out and are amongst the people and I remember how great this is!! I am so grateful for the hard and the good. It is just a one of a kind experience. I hope you know how much I love you and how excited I am to talk to you tomorrow. Remember, 800 am Guatemala time. ________ is the phone number. with whatever code. Sorry I'm not much help, no one here really knows!! But I love you guys SO much!! MERRY CHRISTMAS! Talk to you soon!!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Their trip to the market for food! A success!


OK wow I have so much to say and so little time!!! I can't believe I've been in the mission field for a week and at the same i can't believe its only been a week!! Its the weirdest feeling. First of all I am going to try to send pics, I don't really know how it is going to work out, but I hope it does!! I don't have tons, but I want to send some. Also, I am just praying everything works out with calling on Christmas. I will die if it doesn't.

So we got here last Tuesday, they had a bus come pick us up. We went to the mission home and had some Power Point thing and had a delicious dinner. Then we went to work. They send us 3 new girls to go out with a trio. HOLY COW. I didn't know how hard this was. It was hard mostly cause the sister I went with spoke no English, so I just had to testify when I felt like I understood what was going on. The next day we went to changes. SEEING AMY WAS AMAZING!! She is so happy and it makes me so excited because she just loves it. I cant wait til I get to the point she is at so I can love every part. Don't get me wrong, I do love it, but its hard and frustrating a lot of the time. I think I have too high of expectations for myself. I want to be able to speak fluently after a week in the field...IMPOSSIBLE. but so frustrating. I have a thing I want to share, but I don't know how, or else I contact someone and I don't know how to respond to them after I ask them for their address, because I don't know what they said!! hahaha so its really entertaining probably for them to watch me struggle. But everyday I feel like I can do more!! its definitely been a hard week, but every time we have a lesson, and I testify or share something in my really awful Spanish, and I know the spirit is testifying to them, It makes it all worth it.  Anyways, so at changes they just say who's companions and where you're headed. My companion is Hermana Coleman. She is awesome. She has like 4 months left in the field I think. She's the nurse, so she spends a lot of time on the phone with missionaries, which is kind of weird sometimes cause then I'm left with investigators and I don't have much to say. hahaha but its ok.

Our house is way nice for our area. We have a shower, with a water heater hooked on to it...not much pressure, but its a shower!! It's also a 2 story house. Our bedroom is upstairs and the kitchen is on the lower level.  So anyways it is very nice compared to some of the other houses we teach in. These people here amaze me with their humble circumstances. They are all SO amazing though. We don't have a cook. We make all our own food. Which I enjoy, we went to the market yesterday and bought all our fruits and veggies and other food. I'm in heaven with the fruits and veggies. 

Here is a typical day. Wake up at 530...because I am training we have an extra hour of comp study so we wake up an hour earlier so we can get more done. Exercise...aka jump rope, do sit ups, strength stuff, kick a soccer ball in front of our house...then we eat/shower. We just take turns with that. Then we have personal study, then 2 hours of comp study, which includes language study. Then we go out for a bit and come back for lunch. Then we are out all day contacting and teaching. It is a mission rule that we don't eat dinner until 930 because we don't want to take anytime out of our day to eat. So we eat after we are home for the night. The mission rule here is URGENCY. We speed walk/run everywhere. Usually only run when we are late for things, but when you're in a good lesson you can't just get up and leave. So I have a ton of blisters and my body is tired all the time but I am so blessed. My knee has been getting stronger everyday, I am able to run! SUCH A MIRACLE!!! and I haven't had much pain. Nothing is going to stop this work. NOTHING!! 

We have some awesome investigators. One was supposed to get baptized on Sunday, but she didn't come to her interview, so we are hoping this week. We are trying to figure out why she is avoiding it. Its hard for me because I don't know them all yet very well, so its hard to keep them straight at this point. But anyways, I love them all. The members here are awesome as well.  My first Sunday here I was able to play the piano for sacrament meeting which was great to meet people.  Also, the best thing ever is seeing your investigators walk through the door. We had some miracles when it  came to that. A man came with his family...he has been doing drugs for like 40 years, his "wife"..they are just living together wants to be baptized really bad but cant unless they separate or get married. She cant get married cause she doesn't have her papers from El Salvador...so he came to church this past week, and I believe its because they want to be together so he is willing to do whatever it takes. Also, this other hermano...who is the boyfriend of an investigator came..ALONE! Ahhh he LOVED IT!!! That was probably my favorite part of this week was seeing him later Sunday night and seeing how happy he was and how excited he was to continue to feel what he felt at church!! That is the joy of being here. Seeing the change in their lives. Seeing the joy that the gospel brings, seeing them smile when you haven't seen that before!! 

What else...I have so much to say. ONE THING!! Please STUDY, not just ready, but STUDY the scriptures as a family.  It will bless us so much. not only that but it is going to help Jeremy prepare for his mission so much better. Also, FAMILY HOME EVENING!! I regret having that awful attitude toward those things before. Its such a blessing. "Salvation is an individual matter, but exaltation is a family matter." AH I cant wait to be home and study with you guys!! It's such a blessing and will bring us so much closer and we will learn so much!! This week you should read about the life of the Savior...after all it is that time of year. I promise, and I can promise you this as a representative of Christ, that it will bless our family immensely. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do these two things. Its so important. The BOM is KEY!! if there's nothing else I am able to do, if i cant even speak the language, I want to KNOW the scriptures. I want to know them like the back of my hand. I Love learning from them!! I LOVE YOU ALL!! 

We get to go to the temple tomorrow...yay for waking up at 3 am! but other than that we go once every 6 months. We are going tomorrow for our Christmas activity!! I am excited.  
I don't know what else to tell you. This is such hard work. I sleep like a baby every night. Oh, to answer one of your questions, we walk every where in our area. Some places ride buses...hahaha contacting the whole bus is fun... :) but ya we walk. Which is nice. It's a beautiful area!!

LOVE YOU GUYS! HOPE THE PICS WORK!!!

P.S. be careful with what you put on my blog. No specifics and maybe no pictures...just for safety reasons!

Friday, December 13, 2013

"I am in Amatitlan, Guatemala"

So i have literally 2 minutes to tell you whats up!! But here I am in Amatitlan, Guatemala. I think thats how you spell it. My companion is Hermana Coleman, guess what, she is the mission nurse! The one Hermana Newman will replace! She is great. She is a norte so she speaks english so she can help me. Anyways I just want you to know i am here. I am very confused hahaha cause I dont know spanish very well, but I love it here already. I love the people!! They are amazing! We have like a million investigators and lots with baptism dates so i am so excited. We are going to see so many miracles.  Anyways, this place is beautiful. Very humble circumstances. At least we have a shower! hahaha but the people are just beautiful and so kind. I literally love the people. The hardest part for me is not knowing how to say what I want to say. I sound like an idiot everytime I try to talk, but we contact all day! It is great. We talk to everyone we see, and I make a fool of myself everytime but I love it. I have felt the spirit testify in every lesson. 

I SAW AMY FUNK!! Best thing ever. I just wanted to cry when I saw her cause I love her so much. Anyways, I gotta go! Love you tons!!! I literally pray for you all the time, but Im not going to lie, i havent been homesick yet. I love it here. I want to be here. It is so hard, but I love it!!! Anyways, My p day is Monday, So i will send more then!! LOVE YOU!!!!

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Have I told you how much I love it here?

HAVE I TOLD YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE IT HERE!? WELL I DO.  So much.  I don't know where to start. Its been so long.  DAD-I am praying for you all the time.  I hope you recover way quicker than ever expected.  I'm sorry everything went a little crazy with the surgery, but i know you will be fine. Heavenly Father is watching out for you, and for our whole family. Lets see...Yes I did get your letters. I've gotten 3 I believe. They forwarded me the one that was sent to the mission home and I did get the thankful tree. Thanks!! We did a big one here at the MTC also. 

My cyst is gone....I think! it hasn't bothered me since like last week. One day I woke up and its gone. Guys, prayer is REAL!! Heavenly Father wants so badly for us to be happy, and he wants us to pray so he can help us. Please pray often. And be sincere, It makes all the difference
.Thanksgiving sounded like an odd thanksgiving with dads surgery and all, but the importance of the day is all that matters. I thought of you all day and how thankful i am for all of you in my life. I got so blessed to be in the family i am in. For reals tho. Thanksgiving here was a normal day until dinner. It was a very fancy dinner with turkey, cranberries, all that jazz. I LOVE THE CHEF HERE! we are like way good friends. His name is Carlos, he told me he'd come home with me to be our chef. So be prepared!! Hahaha he brings me and Newman and Feik and Breshears special desserts that he made only for us. He's the best!!

So we went to Walmart last week...I got some shampoo and stuff like that that i needed. I got this candy bar they have here called a Bueno bar....LITERALLY HEAVEN. Our whole district is obsessed. I still have a little bit of mine left, but I am saving it for a good day!! So, yes I crave chocolate here often, and so i have some tootsie rolls which is nice. But if you ever get the urge, I wouldn't mind a nice package with a little chocolate and some tights...yes mom, I regret not bringing tights. Its been a little chilly here lately, and with the mosquitos and dust i know i will want some. Just some plain black tights...not nylons...like the old lady kind, but the thicker, solid tights! If not, there's like one store here that carries them, i will maybe find some one day!!

The adviser here at the MTC told me he saw me in a video the other day. I was so confused. hahaha but apparently the people here in Guat love the Olympus Missionary video. Yes ladies and gentlemen, we are famous. haha he said it was the coolest video he's ever seen!! He loved it.

So for deportes (sports) we have been playing lightning lately, or elimination...yes I am loving it!! I love being able to do something! I cant run full on yet, but i am doing pretty good at my running. Its the changing directions I know I cant do yet, so i am still being careful!!

Have I told you how awesome my teachers are. Well my one teacher, one of the three Nephites, right...Hermano Lopez. Well we have been having these study sessions with him and we dig deeper into the doctrine, I LITERALLY LOVE IT!! I have learned SO much. Way more than I ever thought was possible. I wish he could just come along with me my whole mission (he is coming to Utah in december/january to go to BYU, I will tell him to give you a call if he ever needs anything! He is amazing! but anyways I have learned good study habits and how to study to get the most out of it, and I literally LOVE LEARNING! People sometimes say they hope missionaries don't come home different..I hope I do come home different. I know I've already grown so much, and I have full intentions of being a different person when I come home!! I wish you could all be here with me learning right alongside, but I promise as you read the scriptures and you ask for answers, you will receive them. Also, the language is definitely coming. I am not even worried about the language. I can have a pretty decent lesson with our investigators in all Spanish! It is such a miracle! I love this language, yes it is hard, but yes I love it! I am so grateful I have the opportunity to learn it!! It is amazing what the spirit can do for us when we do our part. The gift of tongues is real!! SO real!!

So you've heard about Hermana Breshears and Feik and Newman...we are the fantastic four...I literally love these girls so much!! So Breshears went to UVU...we have a plan to live together when we get home and I will go to BYU.  We will donate plasma to pay rent, that's how she did it before, we will train to qualify for the Boston marathon, and we will be so happy because we literally have so much fun together. She is from Idaho, and man I love the girls here so much!!! We also have a plan to go to Hawaii with Hermana Toa and do a 5 on 5 bball tourney....stoked for that!! :)

I don't know when we will email next week because we leave Tuesday for the Mission home. It may be 2 weeks until I get to email, but I love hearing for you. Another letter coming your way fam. And love getting all your letters!! Thank you for everyone who has sent them!! It makes my whole day!

But I really do love it here. Everyday I am more thankful. I know im supposed to be here now rather than in May. Everything that happens testifies that this is when I need to be here! I am so grateful. I know that it is important for us to understand the atonement and apply it. That is one thing we have been studying this week a lot. The atonement is incredible. The plan is PERFECT! Heavenly Father loves us so much and I cant wait to share that with the people here, even in my Spanglish!! Love you guys more than you will ever know!! Thanks for the prayers and the support!! I literally am so grateful!!!

Keep smiling, keep studying, keep learning, keep growing, keep loving each other!!  I am leaving this place in 1 week. I AM SO SAD, but SO HAPPY! I literally have never loved being somewhere like I have loved being here, it is a very special place and a very special 


AND THAT WAS HOW HER LETTER ENDED!  I don't know "the rest of the story"!  Sorry this was so late.  I hope we hear from her tomorrow-Monday!