Mark your calendars!

I can't believe we're already here but Maeggy's coming home today!

Just thought I'd post the info so everyone knows.

Sunday, May 16 Maeg will be speaking in her home ward at 10am.

We are so proud of our favorite sister missionary! She has been so faithful and diligent in her service. If you get a chance, send her a quick note to her email or on her blog. I know she'd really appreciate everyone's kind words. We love you Maego!

the home stretch

This week was GREAT! I love being a missionary. It's really fun. We are getting more and more French people and Sister Seube is doing SO GREAT. At the beginning of the week we had two really classy couples from Paris come and take a tour. They asked SO many questions and Sister Seube whispered to me half way through,"They are so French, they will never say yes." My heart sunk. At the end they did say 'no' and I took Sister Seube into a room and I started crying. She looked really concerned hahaha. I told her that if she doesn't have faith in them they will NEVER say 'yes' and she will not be able to have the Spirit in her teaching strong enough to touch their cold-hard-french-hearts. She started to cry too and said that the minute she sees French people she decides they will not say yes and she didn't know how to change that. But honestly, if people make it to Temple Square, of all places, from France...no matter how stubborn they are, the Lord has obviously guided them here. So we decided to work on our faith in Jesus Christ and that anyone can change, and we saw MIRACLES. I think nearly every French person said yes this week. One French lady yesterday said that she was really searching for the truth and feeling drawn to the Mormon church but she needed to go home and listen to her feelings and think more. She is from Marseilles and has never seen missionaries before, but she said if they come to her door she knows its a sign she needs to read the Book of Mormon. I hope they find her!!! She had her husband (who was equally as interested) take a picture of us with her and said,"Who knows maybe I'll be Mormon some day!" haha, not a very French thing to say. As we said goodbye (aurevoir =) her eyes filled with tears and she said she could see in our faces that we were happy and knew it was true. It was a really special moment I can't quite describe. There was also a 20 yr old guy from Sister Seube's town who knows her little Sister! Small world. He doesn't believe in God and hasn't ever prayed before but he said he'd read the Book of Mormon and try praying. It was amazing.

Each transfer it seems like there is a certain group of people we need to teach and this transfer is French people and Navajo people from AZ. Its crazy. One of the families that came this week were from the 4 corners area and were extremely prepared. They left their phone number with one of the other missionaries and asked us to call them back. When I called her to see if everything was okay she said she had been trying to find us at the end of their trip but couldn't and wanted to say thanks. She said they left with more questions than they had when they came and were really excited to meet with the missionaries. It was fun to actually hear from someone after I met them!

This transfer President was talking about horse racing and the importance of the 'home stretch'. Of course I related to his analogy really well since I love horse racing. He said that in super close-photo finish type races it isn't the horse that speeds up that wins, its the one who doesn't slow down. That I can do =) I can't believe I come home in a week. One of the first transfers yesterday was talking to Sister Seube and she came to me and said,"Sister Olsen! You are going home in a week?! I had no idea...then she just went on and on." That was just the best compliment to me because I didn't want to slow down and for the new sisters to know I was leaving. Since my companion is a first transfer, I rarely talk about going home, but I secretly do have the strangest dreams/nightmares every night. Most recently I got to the airport and I didn't have my drivers license so I couldn't get on the plane...sounds like something that would happen to me. I hope I make it!

Well I guess I 'll talk to you on Mothers Day! Then I will still email you next Tuesday. See ya soooooon.

LOVE ALWAYS,

Sister Olsen

ps Just a little warning for when you see me at the airport. My roommate right now is from India and she is always cooking really strong smelling food. I smell so strange. No matter what I do our whole apartment and all of my clothes smell like Indian food. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

We went bowling last p-day, here are some pictures. And one of me dressing up in Sister Sunduram's Indian clothes =)

le printemps est deja la!

le printemps est deja la=the spring is already here!

it was such a great week! here are some of the highlights:

Sister Seube and I prayed for African French speakers and few minutes later we met a dad and his five daughters who recently moved here as refugees from the Congo. The dad spoke french but the little girls only know Swahili so we just played around and laughed trying to understand each other while Seube spoke to the dad. I LOVED it. They were so amazing and I am really happy that they get to start a new life with the gospel. They've seen pretty scary/sad things that I can't even imagine. I shared my testimony in English, Seube translated it to French, and the Dad translated to Swahili for the girls. It was a nice moment being able to be from totally different places but still have our love for God in common.

I really like to make phone calls in Spanish but I'm too scared to speak to people face-to-face, but Sister Seube speaks Spanish so we have been practicing together. In order to take Spanish tours you have to 'pass off' with the language coordinator which I've always been to afraid to do but Seube convinced me to do it =) And we both PASSED! haha ya i know I'm such a chicken to do it with only two weeks left in my mission =) Yesterday we took our first Spanish tour with a family from Ecuador. The grandma was just exclaiming the whole time,"estoy feliz feliz feliz" and "estoy llena del espiritu!!" I don't know why I was ever scared to speak to people in spanish; their hearts are so kind and receptive to the Spirit. It was awesome. They all accpeted to have the missionaries come teach them more.

On Sunday we were standing outside of the Tabernacle waiting for Music and the Spoken Word to get out and we said a little prayer to know who we should speak to when the people came flooding out. We said hi to a few people, then we were drawn to a 'young, cute mom in jeans' standing by herself. We went and said hi to her and asked how the choir was. She said she left her family at the hotel and came by herself, got a little lost, and ran into a 'really nice family' who showed her where to go. She said,"It turns out their Grandpa was one of your..uhhhh....what do you call it? Twelve Apostles?" haha, Elder Oaks was there so she got a really great seat with the family, front and center. We got into a wonderful conversation and she told us she had been to lots of different churches and couldn't find anything that she connected with, but she was jealous of people who had that spiritual connection. She said she wanted to believe something that she could pass onto her children who are 10 and 12. We bore our testimonies and when we invited her to meat with the missionaries she said she a had a good friend who was LDS she would just talk to. I was so sad but we talked a bit longer and resolved some of her concerns. Then I just said,"You are obviously searching for something, what do you have to lose by meeting with missionaries? Maybe this is it." and she just said,"Nothing I guess, but don't send me those young guys with ties k? I want girls like you." haha. She had to leave because they were flying home, but it was just a special experience for me to find one really searching soul standing in the crowd of so many people. I love her and I was only with her a few moments. Oh Temple Square.

You have two weeks to all write me one last hand written letter, make it good. =) jk, love you, Sister Olsen

je t'aime

je t'aime=i love you

I'm really terrible at French, but Sister Seube and I discovered my French accent is much better with a Lion House roll in my mouth. seriously. =) On Sunday I attempted making 'crepes' for her for dinner. I didn't have a receipe though. She took one bite and said,"MMMM.. its so delicious! It tastes so American!" haha, oh well, at least she liked them. She convinced me to let her wax my armpits this week and it was the most painful thing of my life...still burns. We have a lot of fun together.

So this member gave us like 30 people to call in the UK and they all seemed to be Godless-Euro-businessmen. They were so rude. So I gave the remaining Brits away to Sister Terry from Scotland. I'm lame I know, but she said she'd like to try and call. So the next day we had group after group of people from the UK! And they were all pretty cold and tough on us...I think it was a punishment for giving away referrals. Then FINALLY this lady walks in the gate and says,"'I've got something to show you!" (With a Scottish accent) and I thought 'aw man not again" but she pulled a really old fancy spoon out of her fanny pack. It had the Salt Lake Temple engraved on it and it had a date...something over 100 years ago. I asked her where she got it and she said she found it 'cleaning her mums house after she died'. She had no idea where it came from. She said none of her family she knows of have every been to the US and she definitely doesn't know any Mormons. haha! So she came to return it! We were able to teach her more about the restored gospel and the Book of Mormon and she was really touched. She accepted to have the missionaries come and teach her more but promised her friends she wouldn't come home a Mormon =) I loved it.

I had a funny call this week. This guy called in for a Finding Faith in Christ DVD and he was really cool. I asked him how he got the pass along card and he said he got it from Sister Missionaries at the Cubs game =) haha. He said he hadn't been to the stadium since he was 8 so he came in and sat down and took the Lords name in vain...so the Sisters turned around and started telling him a bit more about Jesus Christ and gave him the card to call. He said he was really struggling and looking for more in his life right now and he needed to involve God, and this was an answer to his prayers. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

The work really is going really well-so many miracels every day. The sun is out and the flowers look BEATIFUL. I'm so happy! I love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu -Maegan

bonjour!

Its been a great week with my little Frenchie companion. Did you get the pictures of us? We are having such a good time and meeting the BEST people. The most memorable people this week were from France, Belgium, Columbia, Switzerland, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and AZ. We met an awesome family from the Navajo reservation by Page, AZ who want to learn more...I can't really picture missionaries out there but I'm sure they'll find a way =)

I love being with Sister Seube. Her English is really good but she says funny things sometimes like, "If I weren't a missionary right now I would go and lay in the herbs." ... "you mean the grass??" hahaha I like to tease her because she always calls me her "crazy American cheerleader companion". She finds the whole 'cheerleader' thing really great so I do cheers for her sometimes to make her laugh. Yesterday I got a package from Sister OBrien with a scarf (I gave her one of mine she really like when she left) some cookies, and a referral she got during her layover in ATL. Thats my girl. She said her flight was overbooked and they offered a $600 flight voucher and she figured after 1.5 years...whats 5 extra hours?? so she took it haha...and met a cool girl who wants to meet the missionaries ...so it was meant to be. It made me laugh so I thought I'd share. I like that you've met her.

Its funny the people we meet and how they end up on Temple Square. One couple whose motor home broke down, a pilot who was staying in town longer than he thought, and a military guy checking on Hill AFB for the day. Such random reasons but we can always see the Lord's hand in guiding them here. The military guy was really awesome. He had an LDS friend in HS and had lots of questions about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He was so happy to finally have his own BOM and meet with the missionaries. He said,"There is just a different feeling here.... and an air about you guys...I dunno" Its just really fun to be a part of and see him try to describe what he was feeling. I told him he needs to find his friend from HS and tell him he is meeting with missionaries because I'd like to know if he were my friend and he said he'd try. =) I have met some really special people this week and I get this feeling in my heart like,"Finally you came!" I can tell this last month is going to be miraculous.

What else....oh, I discovered a mexican market with really cheap/good produce last week and we are going again this week. Then we are going to wander around SLC if the sun will stay out. Sister Seube makes me lots of fruits/veggies/etc and I make her lots of chocolate chip cookies. Its a great relationship.

Well thats about all that is coming to my mind at the moment. I LOVEEEEE YOU!!!!

MEEE

Hi!!!!!

I have so much to tell you about! Things add up when you haven't had a pday for 10 days =)

So my new companion is a dream come true. I'm training a new sister named Sister Seube from Bayonne, France. Its on the coast near Spain. She is the BEST! Actually she is SO much like Sister Hofmann its funny sometimes. Really intense missionary, obedient, diligent, funny, and a friend. Okay its only been a week but really she is great. President told me I should be happy the Lord trusts me to train in my last transfer and that he knows I won't slow down or quit early and that made me happy. After a couple of days together Sister Seube looked at me so seriously and said,"How do you do it? It is not natural. You have SO much energy!"

General Conference was so much fun! I can't believe I didn't see anyone I know. I think the Lord really must not have wanted me to since just about everyone I know was looking for me. I guess it will just make things even more exciting when I get home. After this conference I have such a huge appreciation for the members of the church. They are amazing and so faithful to trust us to call their friends and share the gospel. I think almost everyone we asked, after sharing my testimony and some gentle persuasion, thought of someone we could call! It was a miracle. Our goal for the two days as a mission was 3,000 referrals...which we thought was a high goal, but we ended up getting 4,780. We wanted to get a referral for every mission in the world =) We met in the tabernacle at 9pm on Sunday and had a concluding meeting. I shed a few tears thinking about how many souls will get to hear the restored gospel in these next few weeks. I also thought about how far our mission has come and changed within the last 16 months. I feel very blessed to be working under the leadership of President and Sister Holmes. Did I tell you the First Presidency asked them to extend for a year? YAY!

Its always neat to see the people who are not members of the Church who come to Temple Square during General Conference. I met a man and his son from South Carolina at the Christus and he said, "I'm sorry I thought I'd see a lot more people here in their ski coats too." Haha it was the perfect opportunity to tell them about God calling another prophet in our day and how he was speaking right across the street to millions of people. He asked a few questions and I began to tell him about Joseph Smith and he stopped me....pulled out his cell phone... and called his wife who was with their two other kids in the basement and said,"You need to come up and hear this right now!" So Sister Seube and I got them together and taught them more. The Spirit was so strong and they accepted to receive a copy of the Book of Mormon and listen to the missionaries. I told them that the Lord sent the best and most prepared families to hear this message during General Conference. They were so happy and thanked us for our time.

There were so many other people like them that afterwards I just thought, "Wow, did that really just happen?" I can't think of a better way to have spent my Easter Sunday. We were assigned to be at the Christus all day which was a wonderful reminder of why I am on a mission. It is for Him. I would frequently look up at the beautiful art work of the resurrected Christ and feel so much peace knowing that HE LIVES. And that he is at the head of this church and amazing work I am involved in.

I love you all and hope you had a fabulous Easter. XOXOxoxo, Sister Olsen

Sunday night...trying to look American and French. She finds it really hilarious that she has 'an american cheerleader' as a companion. So I do cheers for her all the time.

Dead.

Saturday morning in front of the Conference Center.

Mabuhai

Hi! Oh my goodness, when mom said, "Your last companion before you get an eternal one" just cracked me up! I find out on Monday who my last companion is and OBrien leaves on Wed morning =( I'll be so sad. She is going to BYU-I so at least she'll be pretty close to me.

I got a fun letter today! Elder Thornton from my MTC district who is in Cinn, OH wrote me and said that he went to contact a Temple Square referral and asked the guy why he decided to meet with missionaries and he said, "There was Sister Olsen from PHX who was pretty persistent that this would help me." haha I love it! Small world.

This week has been so much fun! There are lots of people here for the basketball tournament and random conferences. Last night we had a group of 5 college age guys. I haven't taught very many young people lately and it reminded me how confused and lost people my age are =/ They had SO MANY questions like, "So you are telling me I can talk with God and expect something to happen in return?" Yes. "You really think you know what will happen to you after this life?" yes. "HOW CAN YOU KNOW!?" They mostly just seemed so shocked by the fact that we were so sure of all of the things we were saying...and that we don't watch TV, listen to music, etc. for 18 months =) None of them were sure if there was even a God or purpose of life. It reminded me how blessed I am to KNOW some eternal truths. They really genuinely wanted to believe the way that Sister OBrien and I do and we told them they needed to start by reading the Book of Mormon and meeting with the missionaries to answer more of their questions and they accepted our invitation. We ended in the Conference Center and I know that they felt the Spirit so strongly.

Frequently people say,"I think all churches are good and true." I've never quite understood that, but one of the guys said it and I tried to explain,"Okay so here are three different theories A. You might be reincarnated to a bug after this life B. You are going to burn in hell because you are not a member of a specific religion C. God loves and you knows your heart and actions and you will be judged accordingly. Can these all be good and true at the same time?" He just starred at me for a long time and then said, "I guess not. How do I know which one is true?" He seemed to be genuinely concerned and searching for answers and I'm grateful to know that the answers to his questions are in the scriptures and that he can ask Heavenly Father to help him know for sure what is true.

This experience pretty much sums up my entire week. I'm not sure if I've met anyone that really believes in God or knows what they believe this week. In some ways its kind of draining, but also really rewarding when they take the leap of faith to learn more. Two men from India this morning were going on and on about all of the idols and Gods they worship and reincarnation and so on and I was feeling pretty confused myself...so I think I can relate to the people better now =)

It really has been a wonderful week and my testimony of the basics has been strengthened. God is our loving Father in Heaven. He hears and answers our prayers. I can return to live with him again after this life.

some pictures too!

Sister OBrien did a great job of doing a play by play of when we said goodbye so I tried to attach a few of them. It was soooooo fun to have you all here. Seriously it made me even more motivated to talk with everyone I could because I realized how much the gospel has blessed our family. More than I had even imagined. As I heard your testimonies my heart was touched and I felt so close to you in that one hour we had together. And I still get to eat oranges and grapefruits every day and am reminded of how great you are! I left some in the Sister's lounge and Sister Pena from AZ said she ate one and commented, "Wow these are awesome. They taste like they are from AZ!" And then she found out they were from my family and was really happy =) I have so many details to write in my journal I'm still trying to catch up!

GREAT NEWS! I just screamed inside the family seach center and got in trouble because Justin Williams HAS A BAPTISIMAL DATE!!!! He is the guy I accidentally called and still invited to meet with the missionaries. All I know is he is 18 and is getting baptized some time in April. WOOHOOOO!!

And more great news. Sister OBrien spoke with Blake a few days ago and he accepted to have the missionaries bring him a DVD called finding happiness from me! He was SO confused about me serving a mission..in SLC of all places, and why I couldn't be the one to call him. Fortunately he still said yes. I can't wait to talk to him after my mish. haha. I wrote him a letter aleady explaining a bit more about what I'm doing and why I thought of him. I love that kid. He needs the gospel. Rodney also said yes to missionaries and I hope he has time to hear the message they share. I think the missionaries will be calling dad first.

Sister Lyon, President Homes' secretary paged me today and I was avoiding her at first because I knew she had my travel itenerary. BOO. I'll forward it on to you at some point so you know what time to pick me up from the airport but at this point I don't think its really relevant. =)

I LOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE YOU!!!!!!!!!!! -Sister Maegan

pictures

Pictures are worth a thousand words right? =)
Some that I included are me at the Beehive House with lemon drops. I'm sure I've eaten over 1,000 in the last year. no joke.
Spoon Me last pday. mmmmmmmmm
I did a before and after of Sister OBriens hair. I had a really fun time cutting it off. I don't have a good picture of the after yet. but we'll take some today.
I can't remember what else is on there. Hope you enjoy!!!!!!

hi.

Another fabulous week for me!!! Sister O'Brien and I have been having a really good time. Its crazy having lots of new people in our zone and trying to make some changes for the better so its nice to at least have the same companion as last transfer. I don't want her to leave me ;( A few weeks ago I died her hair really dark and cut bangs and this week I cut off like 4 inches. I told her she needs her outside to be new and improved like her inside when she goes home, haha. She looks so adorable. We are going to spoon me today. mmmmmmmmm

Last night was really fun. Sister O'Brien and I went to a bishopric training meeting in South Jordan and had some time at the beginning to tell them about the programs and opportunites they have to strengthen their wards by using temple square more. There were 12 wards and the stake presidency all at a big table staring up at us and i really enjoyed it--thats my kind of thing. We shared some experiences and brought a few grown men to tears and scheduled them to come with their youth groups and investigators. I'm looking forward to a few more to go to this month.

Yesterday we had Elder Pace of the seventy come and talk to us. Its was nice. But it started at 6:30am so there's not too much more I can tell you about it, ha =/

This week there were a couple of sisters ending a tour in the tabernacle and we were walking towards them to see how it went and I saw a Dad with his 11 yr old daughter standing at the back. I told sister O'Brien we needed to talk to them instead so we made a little detour. They were from Iowa and he had business out here and since he is away from home a lot he decided to bring his daughter. They were so cute together. We shared about the tabernacle being used to hear the words of our prophet and ask what they thought about God calling a prophet today and the Dad just looked at his daughter and said,"I dunno Maddie, what do you think about it? We probably need one huh?" And she said, "Ya I think so." It was a lot of fun to talk to them more about it and they were so open and happy to receive the missionaries. He also has 6 yr old and 18 mon. old children back at home and they are going to be an eternal family soon!! He seriously looks like a bishop. I love it!

In the morning for exercise I've been learning a traditional japanese dance that tells some story about fishermen. My legs feel like they are going to fall off! I don't have any muscles at the moment but I'm working on it so I can teach you when I get home. Family home evening? =)

Have a grrrrrreat week. LOVE ALWAYS, Maegan

meeeeeeee

Sorry to stress you out with no email last week! You know when you feel really tired and it hurts to swollow so you know a cold is coming on? Thats how I was last week and somehow I stared at my computer for 30 minutes without writing a thing. I had been up coughing all night before I took Whit and her friends around so I didn't quite feel like myself on Sunday either but I'm feeling much better now!

We had transfers and IM WITH SISTER OBRIEN AGAIN!!!! This is Sister O'Briens last transfer and so I promised her I would work her to death =) Its going to be amazing. I love her!

We had a lot of really good experiences this week. One that was really memorable were two families that came together for a tour. They were visiting from California and the kids were three boys ages 9, 10, and 12 and they were SUPER smart kids. At the end of the tour both of the dad's referred to learn more from the missionaries and we gave the little kids mormon.org cards. On the back the cards say -What is the true nature of God? Can families be together forever? Where do we go after this life? The ten year old shouted,"How do I find the answers to these questions!?!" (His face looked so concerned) I asked him, "Have you ever asked any of these questions?" and the older one said, "Oh ya DEFINATELY the last one!" I was able to share with them that God put all of those answers in the scriptures and that they'd have to read, study, and ask God for help to find the answers. I promised them that they would find the answers and they were SO EXCITED! I had never seen kids like this before. They said they love reading the Bible and they can't wait to read the Book of Mormon. They reminded me of all the cute stories Nicki tells me about her primary kids =) No wonder Christ invites us to become like little children, they rock. Unfortunately the conversation was cut short becuase they were flying out of Park City on a private plane and their pilot called and said the weather was getting bad and they had to leave ASAP. It was the most meaningful 15 minute contact of my mission!

Another cool thing is that Sister OBrien and I have never served at Welfare Square or the Humanitarian Center and we have always dreamed of it. This week we got asked to cover both of them and we said yes!....no one bothered to ask if we'd ever done it before or been trained on it, haha, they probably assumed we had since we've been out a while =) It actually went really well. Miracle for sure.

Oh ya, remember how I told you about the awesome guy that I accidentally called that lives in Sis. OBriens area? Justin. Well her parents wrote and said the missionaries in the area contacted him and he is meeting with them this week. PRAY FOR HIM!! Yay!

Our zone this transfer is pretty different so Im trying to get to know all of the Sisters better. There are only 10 new sisters and 2 of them from out of the country. They are from Italy and Switzerland and I prayed they'd both be in my zone and they are! God answers prayers...and I pray for some weird things haha.

I am in transfer 11 of 12. How did that happen? I think I'm suppose to be getting tired but I feel like I'm just getting started! I feel an extra sense of urgency to share this message with all of my heart to everyone I meet. I want the other Sisters to feel the same way I do and I hope I can somehow pass the vision Sister OBrien and I have for this great work on to the sisters!!!!!!

Sister OBrien and I started going on runs around the city for p-day and its really nice. So I suppose thats what we'll do today. Its just kind of hard in the city because you want a nice breath of fresh air and it tastes like cigarettes. gross. I prefer the smell of cows and irrigation any day =) I LOOOOVEEE YOU!!!!!! -maegan

happy pday!

Hi!
Let me tell you about one of my favorite phone calls of my whole mission. So I've been working on calling all of Sister OBriends friends back in Michigan to invite them to meet with the missionaries, its really fun. Then her mom sent her a guys number and she said, "I know we are suppose to invite everyone, but I just really don't want you to call him. I don't know why! I just don't know why my mom would send me that number!" I talked her into letting me, since it can't really do any harm. I tried him a few times, left a message, and no luck. We both decided it really wasn't ment to be then I said,"Okay just one more try and I'll quit!" I called and someone else answered the phone and said that it wasn't Mikes number anymore. And then he asked,"So is Mike a missionary?" I was a bit confused but then I realized that on my message I said I was a missionary. I explained the situation to him and he was really nice about it. Then I told him I didn't believe in coincidences, especially in missionary work, and that I think God wanted me to invite him instead. He had never heard of the church before so I taught him a bit and invited him to meet with missionaries. He said yes! He pretty much had every reason in the world to say no but he said yes! And I invited him to pray about all of the things the missionaries would teach him and he was way chill and just like, "Ya definately I'll do that, thank you." When I hung up Sister O'Brien's eyes filled with tears. The address the guy gave me was in her home Branch. Her Dad had just written her two days earlier about how the Branch was fasting for missionary opportunities that Sunday. The day I called =) It strengthened my testimony that Heavenly Father know where we are and how to reach us. Our number in the call center is one number different than Direct TVs...so we get lots of their calls. Some sisters just say wrong number, but I know the people that call us were meant to, so I always get a testimony and invitation in there somehow!
This week I was on exchanges a few different times and I love exchanges because the Lord always provides the best teaching opportunites. But I always secretly miss being with Sister OBrien during them. We have such a good time together. Today we are going to the mall but she has really painful tendenitis in her leg and I told her we could only go if I could push her in a wheelchair. That will be an adventure =) Like people don't already stare at us like we are aliens when we go to the mall....ha!
peace out!!!!!!!! love, Sister Olsen

me again.

I love serving on temple square. I had the BEST experience yesterday. The temple has been closed for the last two weeks for cleanings/repairs and yesterday a couple of districts got to go and help with the cleaning. Sister O’Brien and I were assigned to help a guy repair benches in the chapel and we were basically just holding things in place while he drilled which was easy. Then after a while they said, okay we need everyone to go help move some chairs on the 5th floor. My DREAM has been to see the Solemn Assembly Room and that’s where we went! In the room there are 4 spiral staircases that are on some videos of the temple that I've always wanted to walk on =). As I touched the beautiful seats that the First Presidency sits in and took time to walk around looking at the intricate pioneer woodworking that covered the entire room I was amazed and reverenced at the time and effort that went into every inch of the building. I went up to the highest row of the balcony and sat for a minute and felt an overwhelming sense of peace as I thought about who had sat in there, and the words that have been spoken by prophets and apostles over the last century. We got to wonder around to many parts of the temple that I had never seen before and every inch was amazing. It is hard to describe, but it was one of the best experiences of my life.
In contrast to this experience, tonight we will be going to the Jazz game as a zone =) I’m not sure how we receive permission for that one but we are the last zone that is allowed to go! I can’t find my Suns shirt though =(
I feel like each day of this transfer I couldn’t possibly be more tired at the end of the day or see more miracles but they just keep happening! We met an awesome guy from Singapore Sunday morning who had never heard of the church before, but is here for business for a couple of weeks. He said he was really missing his two little sons and thought Temple Square would be a good place to find peace. He was so ready for the gospel and I just said, “God guided you here to hear this message, now you have to share it with your family and friends in Singapore.” He was more than happy to accept the missionaries. He was particularly memorable to me but there are so many more people just like him. I’m sad for the film festival to be ending because we got some pretty interesting people from it =)
Its true! Its all true! And I get to share it! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY
Love, Maeg
p.s. Nobody mentioned seeing my profile in the Church News this week hahaha

:-)

HI!!!!

First of all, Mom, I can’t believe your subject title was burrrrr. Ha! You’re killing me! 60 degrees is like a tropical paradise!

Today has started off so well because we had zone conference from 9-1 and now its p-day! For zone conference we were split into three groups and Sister Obrien and I lead a discussion on sharing the Book of Mormon as a powerful testament of Jesus Christ to resolve people’s concerns. It was an hour long and we had to do it 3 times so I was kind of stressed but it turned out WONDERFUL! Each time was a little different and the Spirit was so strong and I learned a lot; there are some amazing Sisters in the mission.

On Sunday, Sister O’Brien and I were walking back to the square from lunch and we stopped to talk to a man who was on his way out. We talked to him for a bit and found out that he was from Haiti and served his mission there, in his home country, about fifteen years ago. He had come to Temple Square to feel the Spirit and receive comfort. Sister Obrien shared with him her favorite scripture Alma 26:37-

“Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.”

His eyes filled with tears and he said, “I do not know if my family is alive. But I do know that my mom is 82 and has the gospel and has lived a good life. I don’t know if it will be in this life or the next, but I know I will see her again.” Even though he had pain in his eyes, I could still see the kind of hope and peace he carried because of the gospel and his faith in Jesus Christ. This experience really helped me to see a more eternal perspective of what is really important. I pray for his family.

This week I took my first VIP tour. VIP tours are interesting because they are with a Church Hosting couple and we have to talk a little bit more about pioneer history and not so much about the restoration and we can’t invite them to meet with missionaries at the end like usual…. as you can imagine this was very painful and difficult for me to. The man we took was a Colonel in the military about to go to Afghanistan and he brought his family to Temple Square the day before he was leaving. He was from Brooklyn and his wife was from the Bronx and I told them about how much I loved going to church with my sister in the Bronx and they were so happy to hear about it! We ended the tour at the Christus and the Colonel’s mother’s eyes filled with tears and she said, “Wow, I feel something here. I can’t explain.” She put her hands over her heart and said, “It’s like He is here with me. I feel something so peaceful” It was a wonderful moment as she so beautifully described what it feels like to feel the Holy Spirit.

Sister O'Brien and I have seen a lot of miracles in the last week but we noticed our sisters were feeling rather discouraged, so we decided we didn't want to have the miracles, we want our sisters to. So we prayed to know where to go to find people and to know which Sisters we could ask to take them on a tour instead of us. The Lord set things up PERFECTLY for us over and over again this week. For example we'd say "3pm we are going to walk to the North and find people for Sister Katterfeld and Ponsoda to take on a tour and we'll bring them inside and meet the sisters in the NVC." And it happens just that smoothly!! This happened over and over again with many different companionships. And the best thing is when the sisters come back and tell us about their wonderful experiences.

The Lord has given me so much and I want others to feel the same joy I feel. And I get to do it all day long! Its awesome! I love you all so much and feel close to you as I pray for you.

Love, Maegan

Best Week

This may have been one of the best weeks of my entire mission! I can't even recall 1/2 of the amazing experiences I had...but maybe I'll tell you a couple.

Yesterday there were 7 couples here who are the new Visitors Center Directors around the country. Sister O'Brien and I were assigned to be with one of the couples and take them around and show them how a VC works. We were pretty nervous because winter + thursday + 2pm=deathly slow temple square. But we knelt on our knees and prayed that we would have the couple we would work best with and that we would see miracles. And we did! We got Elder and Sister White who are going to the MESA AZ TEMPLE! woohooo! They were so fun and nice and they had just served as the mission President for the Florida Orlando Mission. Its kind of funny/intimidating to have 4 of us approach people but it turned out great. We first went up to two guys, maybe in there 20s, that were looking at the temple. We taught them a bit about the temple then offered to take them to the tabernacle. They were from Canada and it turns out one of them use to play basketball at the church and had a friend who served a mission in Haiti. They both excepted to have the missionaries come and teach them more! Then we headed to the North and the Whites didn't waste any time, they just walked right up to two older gentleman at the map of Jerusalem. We ran to catch up and help them along the way. We ended up showing these men all around the North Visitors Center and the Whites shared beautiful testimonies with them. One guy was a Cardio somethin somethin PHD so I showed him a clip by Elder Nelson and it turns out that Elder White has had 6 heart surgeries so they related really well. I couldn't have made up a role play as good as this tour. They accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and missionaries. So cool. I could see so perfectly how the Lord had answered our prayers and these people were prepared for the 4 of us to meet. We only had an hour and the Whites had to run back to meet their group to go and meet with Elder Holland...unfortunately we weren't invited to that =) They are going to do such a good job in Mesa and they told me I need to come and
visit them when I get home.

One of the things that Sis. Obrien and I have to do is have the 1st transfers with their trainers take us on a tour to do some training/make sure they are okay with English. Sister O'Brien and I decided we didn't want to just be 'fake guests' but really be who we might have been if we didn't have the gospel so it that it could be a spiritual experience for all of us and we prayed Heavenly Father would help us. She is kind of a Michigan hippie and said she thinks she would have been buddist/spiritual and I of course was raise in AZ, a good person with a few LDS friends =) Throughout the tour they really answered my questions and at the end we both cried because we realized how blessed we were to have the knowledge and blessings of the gospel. I think it may have scared the first transfer but she actually cried too =) With a different companionship I said "my parents are from Utah but haven't gone to church since they moved to AZ and I know nothing about the church." This experience was once again kind of emotional for me. I know it sounds so weird, I mean it was a role play =) But I could imagine how I would have been and it was scary. It just strengthened my testimony of the gospel and how bad we all need it in our lives and what a difference it can make.

Life is so good. I couldn't be happier. And now I'm going to thrift stores to
buy some new (ha) clothes which I really enjoy =)

I love love love you!
Maeg

Back to Temple Square!

Hey Hey!

I'm back on Temple Square! It is really fun to be back here with all of the Sisters. My last week at Park City was really great. I saw so many miracles which made it hard to leave because it is such a special place. Meeting one lady that came in from Tennessee while her husband and two kids were skiing was probably one of the best experiences of my life. I took her to the computer and started her out and then she turned to me and said,"Actually I just have a few questions about your church. Is that okay?" haha is that okay..such a dream come true for me. She had read a book about one of Brigham Young's wives that was a bad perspective on pologamy so she had a lot of questions. She was pretty surprised to hear that we haven't practiced it in over 100 years =) She had also heard that we have lots of kids because we get a planet for every kids
we have...she figured thats why the Osmonds had so many, haha, I loved it. But the best was that she asked my favorite question,"so what is different about you guys?" I was able to teach her about the restoration and ran to grab my Book of Mormon to read some to her. The Spirit was incredibly strong and I had a feeling of knowing her before and thought to myself,"Finally we've met!" She is going to have the missionaries bring her a Book of Mormon and teach her more, and she asked for my email so we can keep in contact...we'll see! She was definately under 5 ft. tall and as I walked her to the door she reached her arms up to me to give me a hug and it was the best feeling in the world!

So here I am back at Temple Square now. I have the BEST companion ever. Sister Betsy O'Brien is from Michigan and just one transfer ahead of me. I've secretly always dreamed of being her companion =) We've only been together a few days but its been great so far. I prayed that I would have a new and challenging experience this transfer so I suppose that is why I got called to be a zone leader =/ Its kind of overwhelming at times but I like it because we have 20
great companionships in our zone and I love getting to know them and serve them. The only disadvantage so far is you have to wear a suit coat when meeting with President and thats kind of frequently. I despise suit coats--I look like a Sr. Citizen.

Oh yesterday we were in the Beehive House and an awesome guy from Colorado on a business trip came in. We had a WONDERFUL tour and found out he had received a BOM 40 years ago while he was in Medical School at Northwestern. It was from a guys who was a University of Utah student who transfered there and became friends with him. He said he had read some of it but I asked if he had prayed about it and he said no. I read Moroni 10:4-5 and he looked up and said,"I still know where my BOM is, and I think I'll read it again and pray about it." Then he asked,"Is that unusual that someone would still have a BOM after 40 years?" I just said, "Yes, but the Lord works in mysterious ways" =) I wish the member that gave him the Book of Mormon could know this story. I love being a missionary!!!

Thanks for your love and prayers! Sister Olsen
ps my pday is usually friday but sometimes it will be thursday. email early =)

Happy New Year!!!

Hi Fam! This Christmas was so wonderful. Thank you for the oranges and gifts, it was such a special Christmas! On Christmas Eve we went to the Humanitarian Center and had a nice dinner, then we worked on different service projects like quilting and putting together school kits. It was so much fun! We got stockings and a couple of books about Temple Square. On Christmas morning it was just Sister Romero and I and we opened presents together and then we went to the Taylors for breakfast. In the afternoon we went down to the square and we all had dinner together and had a musical Christmas program. Each zone sang a different song and there were some awesome solos. I loved it. Christmas away from home is different, but still wonderful. The day after Christmas we had a record number of people accept to have the missionaries to come to their homes and I think that was my very best Christmas present. Most of the people who come in are not from around here but this week there was a really sweet lady who has lived in Park City for about 20 years. We spent a lot of time together and I really got to know her and a lot about her family. We had a very sweet moment when I asked her if she believed she would see her family members who had passed on again after this life. Her eyes filled with tears and she said,"I really hope there is something after this life and I get to seem them again, but I don't know." I told her she could know, as I do, and I invited her to have the missionaries come to her home and teach her more and when she handed me the referral card, on the comment line it simply said,"hot chocolate served here." It made me smile. There was also a young Columbian guy who is here for a month to help him learn English and he said he had been to Temple Square to see the lights. He struggled to say,"I really like the temple" and he was so happy that there was a Temple in Bogota and missionaries as well that he could meet with. YAY!!!! It's just neat to see that people can be from just down the road or a few countries away and they are both looking for the same answers and recognize what they feel here. I have less than a week left here =( I love it so much and I am sad to leave. I'm not sure when my next p-day will be either because of transfers.

Today for p-day we went grocery shopping and then to walmart to develop pictures and Sister Romero and I decided we wanted to go up to the St. Regis Hotel at Deer Valley and look around. So many creepy fur coats, hats, and boots haha! We didn't really fit in but it was very beautiful and we had a good time people watching. I told Sister Romero as we were leaving that we needed to make one more quick trip to Walmart so I could get my self-esteem back =) I think we are closing early for new years because we are surrounded by bars and there will probably be some sketchy people on the street...we'll probably watch them stumble around from our balcony--i thoroughly enjoy that for some reason. Then I'll set my alarm for 12 so I can say happy new year and give my stuffed animal a kiss. parrrtaaaaayy! haha New Years is so not a missionary holiday.

Happy New year!!!!! Be safe!!! I love you!!!!! xoxoxo, Sister Maegan

Baby all i want for Christmas is YOU!

Hey hey!
Today was kind of a long p-day because we were making so many Christmas goodies and I'm really tired! We thought it would be fun to make goodies for our neighbors here on main st. (main st pizza, alaska fur company, etc.) and it took a little bit longer than we thought it would. It was really fun though and it really helped me to feel like it was Christmas.
This week we decorated the center with garland, red bows, snowflakes, and Christmas trees...its so cute! I also felt like it would be a good idea to trade out the Motab christmas and put andrea bocelli, amy grant, and david archuletta christmas CDs in =) Traffic has been REALLY slow this week, but we have a little Call Center that keeps us busy and we have extra study time so its okay. The people that do come in seem to be extra prepared and willing to listen so its worth the wait. There was a little boy this week who was 10 years old and was here from San Diego who was trying out the luge track and his mom said he had researched all there is to do in Park City and the Family Tree Center was where they HAD to go first. He had interviewed his grandpa for a school project and became very interested in genealogy. We found lots of info his mom didn't even know about and they had a great time. When I tried to share a bit more about the church she became very closed, so I had to hold back. I love that little boy and I believe that he will lead his family in a very good direction. No wonder Christ tells us we need to be more like children!
On Sunday we went to the Park City ward and it was testimony meeting. Actually it started out as a rather lame 'thanktimony' meeting which drives me nuts. Thankfully, Sister Romero shared her testimony, then Sister Cook from the Young Womens General Presidency got up, so my heart just felt so full I had to stand up =) Afterwards, Sister Cook came up to us and gave us big hugs and thanked us for serving missions and sharing our testimonies. It was awesome. Then at night we got to go down to Salt Lake with the Taylors and see the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. Wonderful. It was Sis. Romeros first time ever seeing the lights so she was running around like a kid in a candy shop! It was so cute. There I ran into a few people I knew but I could get Sis. Romero to stay by me so it was pretty brief =( I was a bit stressed because I knew it was snowing back in PC and I had to drive us and another companionship back at night. Such precious cargo! I also drove us down yesterday morning for Zone conference which was wonderful as always. There was a focus on the Savior and His life--perfect. We could just do that every zone conference and i'd be happy! Now we have our third set of Sisters up here--Sister Arnquist and Ledezma. They are so much fun! I love getting to know the Sisters; every night is like a slumber party here. A slumber party that ends at 10:30 of course =)
I love Christmas time. It is a time to focus on our Savior Jesus Christ and what is really important in life. People do seem to be more giving and kind this time of year. I love it. And I love you all. I hope you are having a wonderful time and know how much I think about you and pray you. Forever, Sister Olsen

December!

Hey there!

I feel like Thanksgiving was like 10 years ago but I haven't written you about it yet so I'll do my best to try and recollect...There was a surprisingly good crowd in the Family Tree on Thanksgiving, which was fun, then we left at 1:30 to go to a place called 'Noahs' in South Jordan. Its a super fancy convention/reception place that had a movie theater, pool, ping pong <3, dancing ="">

On Sunday, after church, Sister Taylor made us SO MUCH FOOD! She cooked a 23 lb. turkey just for us =) I requested some sort of jello salad and she said," div awesome.<>

Today the Taylors took us down to SLC to do some shopping and afterward treated us to cheesecake factory. mmmmmmmmm. I love that place.I just realized my whole email is about food so far. haha, I promise I've had some great spiritual experiences this week. Last night we had 11 scouts here to get their geneology merit badge. It was WILD. One particularly memorable person this week was a cute single mom with two little boys from Temecula, CA. Her boys were ADORABLE-4 and 6. She is dating a guy from here and came to visit. She was really interested in geneology and I had a lot of fun getting to know her. She accepted to have the missionaries come and teach her more about the church back in CA. I looked at her and those boys and had such a good feeling in my heart, because I know how much the message those Elders are bringing her will bless their little family. Some days are really slow here, but just knowing I could be an instrument in helping them receive the restored gospel makes it all worth it. I love what I am doing right now and I know there is no better place for me to be than here, serving the Lord and helping others to come to know Him. Its amazing.

LOVE LOVE LOVE,

Sister Olsen

my bday party. we get pretty wild to efy music =)

with my locas mexicanas (If I ever ask them what we should do gauruntee their answer will involve tequila)

in front of the family tree center on pday at the motab

thanks!

Happy thanksgiving!

Okay this has been a pretty interesting transfer...I'm still in Park City!! I'm going to be here for the whole transfer. I am still with Sister Romero and my new assignment is the District Leader of the family search district. That means that the 5 companionships in my district will take turns coming up a week at a time and we will stay here the entire six weeks. This is the BEST place in the world so I am really excited, but my heart does feel a little bit weird about being just down the street from the fam for Christmas =/ Oh well. At least you don't have to pay any postage on my oranges! The Taylors asked if we wanted to go to Heber for next p-day and that kind of freaked me out. I think I'll have to pass on that.

Today was such a fun p-day. The Taylors took us to Olympic park and we took the tour there. There were people practicing jumping and you get to go to the top of the big jump and look down. It was kind of scary! You should go and take the tour at Christmas time, its really neat. Then the Taylors took us to a fancy chinese restraunt and grocery shopping after that. They TOTALLY spoil us. Sister Taylor will just be like,"This is boring let go get a milk shake" or just say "go on a field trip and get some fresh air" and we go and wander the streets.

This is the slowest time of the year to be here but there are still some great people coming in. A husband, wife, and little girl from CA came in two days ago and they really weren't interested in family history at all. The lady just came in and asked if we could answer some of her questions. She said she loves the BYU channel and has a Book of Mormon. She asked what the differences between our church and other Christian churches are and we shared with her the message of the restoration. She asked some deep doctorine questions but every answer we gave her she said agreed with and said she had always felt that way. It was AMAZING. The Spirit was really strong and she teared up as she said she wanted her 6-year-old daughter to be like sister romero and I. She is really excited to meet with the missionaries back in her area. YAY!

Sister Romero has caught me sleep talking/walking several times back at Temple Square. She said one night I scared her to death because I jumped out of bed and started doing a cheer and was yelling so loud. haha. We have bunk beds and I'm on top and Sis. Romero said she is so afraid I'll jump out at night...yet she still wont give me the bottom =)

I have a little photo album Landon's family gave me for last christmas and the Sisters that are up here this week were looking through it and one was in Sam Nielsen's home ward (sis t. pena) and the other Sister from North Carolina recognized one of landon's mission companions (wiggins)..she dated his cousin or something. Small world.

Ya know how I forget and lose everything? I thought I had gotten a lot better but today elder taylor said he is worried about the signs of early alzheimers (sp?) I'm showing. dang.

Oh ya, the day that we got to park city my district leader went home (diabetes =) so we were in a trio up here with the remaining sister (Sister Rodriquez) for the week. Her and Sister Romero are short little mexicanas so I looked super funny with them, I'll see if I can find a pic to send. I think I have one from our "field trip" to the Mexican market.

We don't know what the plans are for Thanksgiving yet, things are always to secretive around here! I'm sure it'll beat the MTC food regardless. I have so much to be thankful for. I am especially thankful for my family, even though I won't be with you guys this year. I am grateful the Lord has given me this opportunity to share the Gospel and I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING! I really have more than I could ever possibly need. I love you.

xoxo,

Sister Maegan Olsen