September 1st, 2014

September 1, 2014

Hi famille!

I love hearing all the adventures from home.  I hope school and work is going okay for everyone.

Little and big miracles in Gatineau:

Big Miracle: Last p-day things got crazy off schedule and we didn't have any time to do our grocery shopping. Yikes.  It turned out okay because the Lord knows his missionaries need to eat.  So He made sure that we had dinner appointments (and the leftovers) every night this week.  What a huge miracle.  The people and ward here is so, so sweet but they just never think to invite us over and feed us!  It was such an unexpected tender mercy.

Little Miracle: They have Tim Horton's in Canada.  I don't know how to describe them.  They are like a mix between McDonalds and Starbucks.  We went and got what are called Tim Bits this week. They are like doughnut holes, except they are so, so good!  It brightened our week right up!

Big Miracle: Sister Wright locked the keys in the house on Wednesday night when we were stopping by home to get our whiteboard for an object lesson with Denis and Ines (Dad and daughter from Cote d'Ivoire. Sister Wright has been teaching them the lessons for a year now and they are getting baptized Sept 12th!).  We had left all of our things in the locked car.  So we were locked out of our house and car with nothing but a whiteboard, marker, and cellphone five minutes before our lesson. A stake member was coming to the lesson and we would not be there on time.  Stressful!  We walked halfway there (looking ridiculous) and then a member came and picked us up and came to the lesson with us.  It was a stellar lesson!  When she dropped us off at home we found out that the members we live with (who have the spare keys) had just left for Toronto for the rest of the week!  It was bad.  It was 10 o'clock and night and we already had our District Leader (who was on splits all the way out in Ottawa) on his way to drop off the car to the Sister Training Leaders so they could  come pick us up and take them to their apartment for the night.  The Elders were going to have to take the bus all the way back home.  The Zone Leaders were getting ready to drive down to help us break in.  So we basically had the whole zone up in riots and out of their houses past curfew until our member, Maryse, carded the door and got us in!  HUGE miracle and super funny story.  You should have been there!

Little/Huge miracle: The members we live with, the Schulka's, gave us a cutely wrapped pink present this week with a can of spider spray in it that says: KILLS ON CONTACT.  Best gift ever.  We've have been going crazy.  I'm happy to report that we haven't seen a spider in three days!  Miracle juice.  Unfortunately, our house is now ridden with every other kind of the bug that the spiders were eating but I don't mind!

Big miracle: We had a lesson with Jim and Isabelle Bour (not married) and their three kids this week.  (Jim is an excommunicated member and Isabelle is a non-member.)  Most powerful lesson and experience I have had on my mission.  Jim bore such powerful testimony and committed to coming back to Church and he is bringing his family with him.  He says he's been waiting for Isabelle and she is finally ready!  She says that she has met with plenty of missionaries before but it's different this time.  She doesn't know why, but she says that maybe it's cause she is more open.  She said she will definitely be baptized!  So powerful and soo cool!  And their kids love us. They are so cute.  I'll send you a picture of them today.  Unfortunately, they didn't come to Church this week.  I have no idea what happened; we were really bummed.  But we're going to see them tomorrow so pray for them!  They are so ready, and they need the gospel!

I have learned this week how essential it is to have a Christ-centered home.  I see all these broken families out here and it just breaks my heart.  They have no foundation, no anchor to keep them from crumbling.  I realize now that without the gospel, without a common goal to work and progress towards, marriages and families don't last.  People change, and they have nothing in common anymore; kids go off the deep end.  It's so heart breaking to see.  Every family needs the gospel and the Atonement to help them with their problems and heal them from their heartaches and addictions and unify them.  We are all so blessed!  Thanks so much mom and dad for centering and anchoring our home in Christ and the gospel!  It makes all the difference in the world.

I hope you all have a good week!  And don't forget to buy some cupcakes for my half birthday!

Love, love, love,

Soeur Olsen