January 12 (January 5) May Your Rock Bottoms be Mountain Tops

May your Rock Bottoms be Mountaintops                                                    January 12, 2019

Fun Fact: I looked in my drafts box on Tuesday, and somehow this email from last week (the second attempt that got deleted) was no longer deleted. So here's what I wrote last week, completely untouched.

Simple:

       Lots of crazy things happened this week. First, I just spent over 30 minutes, almost an hour, writing my letter, then it all deleted, so I'll summarize quite a bit more, lucky for those of you with short attention spans. On Wednesday the last of everyone in the two older districts left, but we weren't lonely for too long, because we got to host incoming missionaries. I hosted 3 elders, and see them around and ask them how they're doing. I am no longer the district leader, cause my 3 weeks are up. The new zone leaders got the opportunity on Wednesday night to meet the new missionaries and introduce them to the MTC, then to have a mini testimony meeting on Thursday. Oh that's another thing, Elder Silva and I are the new zone leaders. It was awesome meeting the 2 new districts (10 elders and 6 Hermanas). It's humbling to have the responsibility to set an example for them, because they're all awesome, and even more humble. It's not every day you meet someone like that. I was just lucky enough to meet 16. They're all so cool, and I have a lot to learn from them already.

Divertido:

     The MTC cat, Hermana Mittens, hangs out in our room all the time, cause the other elders feed her. Elder Silva doesn't like cats, and it definitely didn't help when she ate his donut this morning. 

     Since I don't have enough rec clothes to last the week, I get to wear Elder Silva's tiny clothes again. His pants from last week fit me better now cause I did a pretty good job of stretching me out. He also gave me a hoodie he said was 'HUGE' even enough that he never wears it. It's 4 inches too short on my sleeves and tight everywhere. It's okay, he's got a big heart.

     (Before you read on, let me make something clear. Elder Silva is a great missionary, and we're a good, hardworking, companionship. I don't want you getting the impression that he's only here for one reason. It's just that you get to hear all the goofy stuff)

     We had personal study time and then exercises right after that on Tuesday, but we weren't sure if the gym would be open cause that's devotional night. We were both really tired (I fell asleep during our study time (I'll probably attach a picture)) and Elder Silva really wanted to skip exercises, especially if the gym wasn't open. (Important to note: in conversation with Elder Silva, the word 'Hermanas' is often replaced with tentacion, cause we don't need none)  We walked to check if the gym was open, the whole time he was sort of dragging his feet saying we should go to our residences and use that time for sleep. I found out the Gym was open, he let out a big "Aaauugghhh", then had a change of heart. Coincidentally, that was at the same time he saw three Hermanas we had talked to earlier walk up to the gym. He asked if it was their gym time, they said us, and he yelled "Us too!" After they went inside, Elder Silva, no longer one bit tired, started running and screamed, "Tentacion!" We sprinted all the way back to our rooms and changed out of our missionary clothes. That was probably the fastest I had ever seen him change (or run, honestly) during all of my time here in the MTC. The best part is we didn't even talk to them the entire gym time.

Importante:

     I wrote a really long paragraph here before it was all deleted, but instead of replicating it, I'll just say something else that's been on my mind.

     There have been a lot of low points here on the mission, and many, many high points. The MTC is hard, but so is football practice, and working out, and practicing violin. Everything I do here is for my good. Most of my lower points are because I didn't prepare well, or I just have a hard time remembering that this isn't all about me, and that will only get more true once I get in the mission field. On Thursday, one of the Hermanas (with some stomach problems) was throwing up all night, and eventually went to the ER. Since we were zone leaders, we stayed with her by the front desk that night to help how we could, including giving her a blessing. She was physically miserable. She couldn't keep any food or water down, lost color in her face, and barely could move. But she was positive. For whatever reason I never felt she was discouraged or amazingly disheartened at her situation. She lost a lot of her strength and strengths that night, but there are some things that you can't take away, so long as you make sure you're doing your part to grow every day. Every day I look out the window at the giant mountains of Utah, and every day I find a point that might represent my rock bottom, if I was to hit it right now. Every day that point gets higher, and some day, I hope to make it a mountaintop. The mission is awesome, and an amazing place for growth. This is where I'm supposed to be.

-Elder Olson

P.S. When I go out to the mission field in a couple weeks, I won't have a device, so if you don't want me to forget what you look like, mail me some pictures of your face (just in case).