January 28, 2019 Alright, Who Prayed for Humility?

Alright, Who Prayed for Humility?                                                                   January 28, 2019

All the letters on the Spanish keyboard are in weird places, so bear with me. I also made a new revised list of contacts before I left the MTC and saved it as a draft, so if anyone didn't receive a letter that was expecting one, just let me know and I'll add them. Lastly, if I don't respond to a personal email you sent me, I didn't forget you, I'm just preparing to respond to you next week. 

Mas o Menos Sencillo:

Well, who woulda thought that the El Salvador is nothing like the MTC? It was almost snowing when I left Provo. It's not snowing here. I'm pretty sure I sweat more in one hour here than I did in all of my exercise time at the MTC. I polished my shoes to look all nice, but I'm pretty sure my shoes got more dirty here in 10 minutes than they did in my 6 weeks at the MTC. At least I know it's safe here, cause there are always people walking around with shotguns or machetes. I've seen my fair share of stray dogs, cats, chickens, and the occasional cow, and it's like living in a jungle here. (All the dogs bark at me and sometimes try to bite me. I'm pretty sure they're Catholics) The bus drivers drive like they're race car drivers, and I'm pretty sure traffic lights are a myth. My legs were suuuper sore yesterday, and walking hurt like crazy. Today, my stomach started hurting, especially when I walk, so that's double fun. A lot of people that see me on the street yell out 'Gringo', but my companion, Elder Velasquez (from Peru) was really nice and explained that that's another word for missionary. In the MTC I thought I was pretty top notch with my Spanish, but now that I'm here, I realize that's like of like saying I can skydive cause I tripped and fell off a cliff once. My first day, the most common word in my vocabulary was '¿Que?' My companion is doesn't speak English, and I'm still in the MTC habit of reverting to English when I exhaust my vocabulary, but then I remember Spanish is actually a language, not just a secret code I've been learning. Weird. (One good thing is a lot of people say I already have the accent down, and don't sound like a gringo) We've visited a lot of people, and we sometimes make appointments, but usually just show up, cause the culture is different here. My MTC companion, Elder Silva, would like it here, cause no one knows how to give handshakes. We have a lot of people that know the gospel is true, but commitment is a lot more difficult here, so a lot of them don't find the energy of will to come to church, but it's so rewarding when you see people commit to changing their lives for the better and follow through. We have a lot of lessons with people investigating the church, and Elder Velasquez and I even have a cool system down where he talks, and I pretend I know what's going on. We make a great team.

Gracioso: 

     My companion wanted to learn how to say 'Todos de los mujeres le encantan yo', so I told him my translation, and he had a good time going around telling all the elders that all the ladies hate him. I felt bad after a while though and corrected the translation.

     I had a pretty interesting first door experience. Elder Velasquez wanted to throw me right into the rhythm, so he walked up and told me I had to do all the talking. After about 30 seconds, this young man, probably drunk, opened the door slightly, still drinking out of his cup. Once I started talking, he vomited all his drink all over the ground in front of me. I said we were representatives of Jesus Christ and had a message about Jesus Christ to share with him. Kind of surprisingly, he said I could come in. As he opened the door all the way, I saw he had a big knife in one of his hands. My companion said it was probably fine, so I walked in. Turns out that guy's name was Elder Perez and that was my house. They said they learned it in The Best 2 Years. Nice.

Importante:

     I learned a ton this week, but one question I've been asking myself a lot is 'How can these people possibly be happy?' I've probably made more money in a day than they've made in months, but they all seem so much happier than us Americans. Well, the more time I spend with the members here, the more I learn. There's a lot to learn here. They don't have many riches, but all those things will pass away. We're here to give them something that won't. I've learned a lot about the importance of staying 'anxiously engaged in a good cause' and in not having self-pity. 

     Elder Velasquez is a good example. He's a convert of less than 4 years. He was the first one in his family to accept the gospel, and his mom still isn't supportive of it. He's 26, was in the marines of Peru, and messed up his leg pretty bad, to a point where he couldn't walk without a crutch. He couldn't walk for 6 months, after receiving a priesthood blessing and putting in his mission papers, his leg was back to normal in less than 3 weeks, right before he left on his mission. He's been through a lot to be on his mission. His father even passed away while he was out in the field. He's a constant reminder to ask myself, 'What more can I give?'. The moments I sincerely ask myself that and act on it have been my happiest and finest moments out here as a missionary. 

Love you all,

Elder Olson

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