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

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

Park Citaaayyyyy

I am in park city now and we have a little pday to unpack and walk around town. Where I am is the Family Tree Center which is a little geneology center on the main street in park city. Basically we are surrounded by fancy boutiques and ritzy restaraunts. There is a couple here, the Taylors, who are AWESOME that are the directors of the center. Our district leaders stay up here all six weeks and have a different companionship each week staying with them. In the picture I attached, the bottom is the FS center and where the balcony is on top is our apartment. Big room, kitchen, and two bathrooms. Its REALLY nice. It seems a bit dead here at the moment, but hopefully we'll get some snow and skiiers in here soon! I included a picture of us partying it up in one of the local pubs =)
Disney Princess' on Ice was so DREAMY!! I attached a few pictures. People kept staring at us like we were aliens and a few people asked if we were allowed to be there. haha. I realized while I was there how sheltered I have been for the last year. When the little mermaid came out I was a little surprised out how immodest she was! I also had to cover my companion's eyes in a few kissing scenes =) We might have been the only girls there over the age of 10 (with the exception of their moms) but we knew the words better than anyone else. Sister Romero only knew some of them in Spanish =) I love serving on Temple Square!!!!
I don't know when you will hear from me again becuase transfers are next Wed and I don't know what my new pday will be. I love you very very very much! -Sister Olsen

********

That subject title is snow because it is snowing outside right now =)

I have had a great week! And this is going to be the best pday ever because Sister Romero and I got permission to go to Disney Princess' on Ice!!!! I can't wait! Its my Christmas present for Sister Romero because I think she is going outbound. Transfers are the day before Thanksgiving this time! I leave on Tuesday to go up to Park City for the week! Friends: if you need to do some Christmas shopping at the outlets, this week would be a good time =) The Family tree center is on Main St. The dancers from 'So you think you can dance' came to Temple Square this week. Unfortunately, I haven't watched TV in a year so it wasn't even cool.

I had a neat experience this week. There was a group of businessmen that came, I think 1/2 from Germany and 1/2 from the UK and they wanted us to show them around. Well, they were kind of all over the place so I started just talking to this one German man. He asked some questions like if we are christian and what the Book of Mormon is and so on, then I asked him "Do you believe in God?" And he said that he was a physicist and he did not believe in God. We talked for a bit about how he came to the conclusion there was no God. Then I was able to share with him that God is the literal father and creator of his Spirit and that God loves him and has a plan for him. (Until this point he looked rather skeptical but I saw a physcial change in his face as peace came over him) Then I opened my Book of Mormon and read from the intro,"Concerning this record the Prophet Joseph Smith said: “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”I told him he needed to read the Book of Mormon, study it, and pray about it. Then he would know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that there is a God and that he will know this with such power that he can not deny it. I said,"You're a scientist, test it out!" He was so excited to have the missionaries bring him the Book of Mormon in Germany and teach him more! It was a miracle. Sister Hofmann was really happy to hear about it =) I love the Book of Mormon. I know that it has brought me closer to my Heavenly Father and helped me to understand the love He and Jesus Christ have for me and I want that for EVERYONE!Lots of love, Maegan

Hola!

Hola!

Let me tell you something I am excited about right now. This week I spoke to 5 spanish speakers in the call center and all of them referred! Sister Romero puts me on the spot a lot and asks me to share my testimony in Spanish on tours and I've been reading El Libro de Mormon, so I decided I just need to stop being a chicken and just call people in Spanish. Honestly, my grammer is really bad, ha, but they get the point =) The spanish-SLC Elders brought a few investigators to temple square this week and Sis. Romero took them around and at one point I knew I had to share something, so I tapped Sister Romero on the shoulder to interrupt. Then in the best Spanish I could think of, I told them that they needed to be baptized by Gods authority which has been restored to the earth. I told them it was a big promise with big blessings. haha the Elders eyes were SO big. Fortunately,The Spirit was really strong and the elders thanked me afterwards =)

There were these 4 older gentlemen from Tennessee here this week and they really made me miss Dani. They had such strong accents! One of them said to Sis. Romero,"I'm sorry little lady. I'm just a red-neck and I can't understand that language you are speaking." haha we all spoke English but I had to do a lot of interpreting during the entire conversation. Two of them wanted the missionaries to come and teach them more about the Book of Mormon, one was scared of us and stood about 20 feet away the whole time (close enough to hear what we were saying but far enough away to run away if needed =) and the last one said that the Elders go to his house and eat ice cream with him all the time--yet he knew very little about the gospel. strange.

Oh ya funny story. I went to the mission Doctor this week =/ I heard he was a bit of a wack and didn't want to go to him but Nicki told me about a perscription for acne scars so I wanted to go and get it from him. Here is our conversation.Dr.: So what is the problem?

Me:I was wondering if I could get a perscription for my acne scars...

Dr: No next question.

Me: But I...

Dr.:No

Me: Well...

Dr. No! We are not having this conversation right now. Not as a missionary. Stop being so vain! And if your still haven't gotten over it by the time you get home, go see a plastic surgeon! Next.

I just stared at him for a few long seconds and got up and left the room. hahhahahhahaha. So I'm trying to stop being so vain. My scars should keep me humble in the mean time =)Today two sisters in the Chat district came up to me and gave me a big hug from Nicki and Nathan. (there is a district that teaches online all the way to baptism through mormon.org) Nathan is the bishop of one of their investigators and they called him to let him know she'd be going to church this Sunday. Small world! Oh ya, one of my espanol referrals was in the Bronx, that made me happy.Gotta run! I am going to get my hair cut. Funny thing is, I'm getting it done by the same person that did it before my mission while I was going to BYU.

LOVE LOVE LOVE you ALL!!!!

-Sister Olsen

ps Landon-I read the Hobbit in 6th grade and didn't like it so I didn't bother with the other books or movies. ha, maybe things have changed since 6th grade. Sorry to disapoint you!

BOO!

Hi!! I'm emailing a bit late today because we had zone conference this morning. We went to Heritage Park and did service. I was in a group that was organizing all of the costumes from The Work and the Glory--it was fun. I couldn't resist trying on a few of the hats =) There were a few groups shoveling poop so I definately lucked out. Tonight the square closes at 6 and we haven't been told what we are doing to celebrate. We are not allowed to dress up but I bought fake eye lashes so I could at least feel a little halloweenish!

Some of my favorite people this week were four Engineering students from Bangladesh. They are muslim and I just LOVE teaching people with non-christian backgrounds. I missed that in Montana. There is nothing as powerful as simply testifying of the divinity of Jesus Christ. As we sat them down in the tabernacle to teach them more about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and our modern day prophet they were just soaking it all in and the Spirit was very strong. Its interesting--with the Joseph Smith story people will either laugh in your face or soak it in likes sponges. These people were sponges =) All four wanted the Book of Mormon and for missionaries to come and teach them more--yipppeeeeee!!!!!

Things have really slowed down around here, but there are still some really great people coming. I like being in the Beehive House and Family Search. Its pretty much the district nobody wants to be in, but I think they just don't know what they are missing. You just really have to get creative =) I met a super cute couple from Vegas this week in FS and the guy was a high school football/baseball coach and he said he wanted to stop by on his way to Park City because his 'favorite athletes are mormon' =) That made me happy. I would say nearly EVERYONE we meet has a friend/neighbor/coworker who is LDS that has given them some sort of an impression of the church...usually good. I am so grateful for the good examples of members-it makes our job a 1000 times easier. Except when they know members that don't shower, shave, etc. hah.

So remember in elementary school when people called me dumbo because of my ears? Well I haven't heard that in a while but my new nickname is RATON (mouse in spanish =) Thats what sister Romero calls me because of my ears. A couple of people outbound told me I look like an elf from Lord of the Rings--I've never seen the movie but I don't think its a compliment! This week our Zone leaders were doing a training and we had to role play. Sister Romero came up behind me to contact me and I turned around pulling a really scary rat/gopher face and she SCREAMED so loud and we were crying laughing so hard. Maybe you had to be there =/ Sister Romero and I have a lot of fun; she is a loca mexicana. We dance in our apartment every morning and at night before bed. She said she was starting to feel bored with being a missionary (she's only been out 6 months), but she has realized this transfer that you can work hard and have a lot of fun at the same time. Its good. I LOVE being a missionary!! And I love you all!!!Peace out homies!!!!! xoxo Sista Olsennnn

Me & Sister Khaliun from Mongolia

Sister Littlejohn from CA, Sister Khaliun from Mongolia, and Sis Jeung from S. Korea. Three of my favorites.

My zone!

i love the fall.

I love the fall! The leaves are beautiful, the weather is nice, and my birthday is in the fall =). Its my favorite time of year. Another thing I like about the fall is college football. Only this weekend I have liked it for different reasons than usual. There have been so many Airforce and TCU fans on the square the last couple of days. I was so surprised! Good fans. I was in Brigham Young's home most of the day and a lot came through there. Now those TCU fans know more about Brigham than most of the people in the stadium do I'm sure =)

So my birthday was great! Thank you so much for the presents and cards and everything. I felt so special. In the morning, my roomies made me breakfast and then we went to the temple. No better way to start your birthday. Heavenly Father gave me lost of presents (a.k.a. blessings) as well. I met some great people who were ready to hear the gospel for the missionaries in their various parts of the world-yippeee. When I got home my APT was covered in streamers and some sisters were over for brownies. They put on the wildest EFY/Instrumental music they could find, ha, and we had a little dance party which was SO FUN. I general don't stop dancing, but it was fun to see some of the other sisters let loose!Temple Square is the same as I remembered it. A place of miracles. Every day I meet the most amazing people who at first just want to see some cool buildings and seem annoyed by us, but usually within a few minutes they have softened and want to have, know, and feel more. Its so cool. Oh ya, one of my favorite families from Montana, the Woodwards, came to temple square on their way to AZ and brought me a b-day cake and poster from their kids!!

Random, but ya know that workout thing where you are in a push up position but down on your forearms? Well president bet me that I couldn't do it for 6 minutes straight by Jan. 15th this morning. He is going to compete against me =/ pray for me! haha

Family, please know how much I love you all and pray for you. I talked to President Holmes this week about how much I love my grandpa hansen and worry about him, and he had some comforting words for me; I wish I could convey what he said to you. But what I felt was that Heavenly Father's plans are frequently different than ours, but I trust in Him and pray that grandpa will have the comfort and peace that he needs. As well as all of you. This life is so short, but we have eternity. I love you all so much. Have a great week.

Love, Maeg

Happy birthday MAEGO!

Normally I would do a birthday post on my own blog, but I want to do it on Maeg's so everyone can see what an awesome girl she is!!

10. Maegan is fun to be around & she's always up for a good time. Even when she's feeling down, she won't sit around and sulk, she'll go out & "party."

9. Maegan speaks her mind. We still laugh about the time in Relief Society freshman year when someone said, "Girls, if you don't stop texting in church we're gonna have a basket and you're going to have to put your cell phones in it on the way in the door." Maeg shouted out, "We're in college!" Everyone just looked at her. Gotta love it.

8. She's also honest with her friends. If I tell everyone about a problem I'm having, most of my friends will just take my side to make me feel better. Maeg will tell me how I can do better. I always appreciated that so much.

7. She always has a listening ear. Anything you want to talk about she's there for you & she doesn't make you feel like you're wasting her time.

6. She is SO funny. Maegan can always make anyone laugh with her outrageous comments. Some of the things that have come out of that girls mouth just make me die laughing!

5. She loves her family. You can see really see this. She is so good to them & always speaks highly of her parents and siblings.4. Maegan has a million things she wants to do with her life. She's a go-getter! 3. Maegan is outgoing & always gives everyone a chance. It doesn't matter who you are, she's friends with you. She is definately a people person & I have seen over and over again how happy she can make people and also how special she can make someone feel. 2. Maegan knows who she is. She is sweet as can be, but she also doesn't take crap from people. She stands up for herself and her friends. 1. Maegan is devoted to the gospel. She loves her Savior and it's evident through her actions. She's serving a faithful mission right now & I couldn't be more proud of her!
She's a wonderful, wonderful example & a wonderful friend!

Love you Maego Butt!

Also, check out Allison's blog for Maeg here.

back in SLC!!!

I'mmmm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Before I talk about being back at Temple Square, I must first tell you about my last night in Montana. Tuesday, this really cool couple from Stevi drove us 6 hours over to Billings. We went to the temple together and Sister Gardner (Presidents Wife) and Sister Carter (The Sr. sister in the office) met us there. It was so beautiful and I really missed going to the temple every week. I cried as I was in there thinking about leaving all of the families I love so much in Montana who I would love to see in the temple some day, and eventually in the Celestial Kingdom. I love the temple. Then we all drove back to the mission home and had a big dinner with President and Sis. Holmes, the Assistants, the Carters, and the Wiltons. Then we moved to the living room and had a little goodbye testimony meeting. One of the Assistants is going home too so it was pretty emotional/spiritual. Its was such a treat to have such personal time with President Gardner; I love him and will really miss him. The next morning we were doing out studies and at 10:45 I looked at my ticket and it said I was leaving at 11:30! I thought that was what it was but Sister Carter told me it was 12:20 so I was just kinda hanging out. So I screamed (like I always do) and ran and grabbed President and the Assistants and we sped away to the airport, which luckily is very close. I made it to my flight on time and it was nice to have such a quick goodbye--no time for tears. I really am going to miss Sister Smith though =(

When I got to temple square I was just so happy..totally bouncing off the walls. It felt like home. It was sad not to recognize ANY of the sisters but Ill get to know them. It was SO FUN to see all of the Sisters that came out with me and to hear about their outbound experiences too. Thursday we actually got to spend the day at President and Sister Holmes home in Sandy. (they stay in an apt by temple square but they wanted us to go out to their home). There home is super gorgeous and we had a fancy lunch and testimony meeting there. It was a nice way to adjust back to Temple Square =)

My Companion is Sister Romero from Mexico. AY! AY! AY! She has been out for 6 months and is so wonderful. She will help me to remember how to be a Temple Square missionary. I walk around and just want to teach people all about the restored gospel and nothing else and I forget that I have to mention some things about pioneers, buildings, etc. hahaha I'm learning to chill out a bit so I don't scare the guests away and maintain the 'image of the church'. yuck. Oh well I'll get use to it again! Sister Romero and I are in the 'Family Search District' so we'll be spending a lot of time helping people with Geneology. The good thing is, we get to spend a week up in Park City at the Family Tree--which is a geneology center up there that Sisters love to serve at.

Oh I'm so excited! Sister Rogers, my roomie in the MTC from England, is my roommate! We have SO much fun together. I love her. She just got back from outbound in Georgia and has some great gospel music we dance around to in the mornings for workout.

Oh ya, we went to the temple yesterday morning and our session was PACKED. It turns out we were with all of the new Temple Presidents and Matrons from around the world. So cool. In the chapel I sat next to Elder Sitati from Kenya. Elder Garn who did our mission tour is now the Mesa Temple President and I talked to Sister Garn after and she said to be sure I come and visit her after my mission. Ya the whole room was General Authorities galor. Needless to say, the Spirit was very strong in their presence.Well times up! Life is good. LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!

-xoxo-Sister Olsen (I'm the only olsen here now and only a few remaining sisters know 'Molsen'. phew.)

Birthday LOVE

Our friends are all about making birthdays way too big of a deal. Since Maeg's gonna be working her booty off on her 22nd birthday, let's show her we're still thinking of her! Her birthday's next week so take 2 minutes & send her some love.

2006- 19 years old 2007- 20 years old 2008- 21 years old This will be Maeg's only birthday on the mission so let's make it ROCKIN, shall we?

Either send her a good ole snail mail letter or you can send her a nice, encouraging note at maegan.olsen@myldsmail.net

Thanks for loving my friend :)

Dani

bye bye montana =(

Oh my goodness, I leave Stevi tomorrow. SAD! Church yesterday was so hard to say bye to people; I didn't realize how attached I was to some of the members in the ward. The Wiltons-a super cool couple in our ward-are going to pick us up at 9am tomorrow and drive us to Billings. Its about a 6 hour drive. I'm excited I'll get to see a lot of Montana. We are going to the temple at night and spending the night in the mission home. YAY! Then I fly out of Billings at 11:30am on Wed. I'm excited to find out who my new comp is and when my pday is. I bought a calling card so I'll try my best to give you a quick call from the airport before I fly out..maybe around like 10:30. Can I call gramps too?

This week we went over to the Holmers and used an apple press and made lots of cider and it was sooo good. I think I'll have apple trees and an apple press some day. I'm sad to leave Bro. Holmer but I know that he will join the church some day and he said he'd come and visit me this Christmas at Temple Square.

Terry's baptism yesterday was AMAZING. Of course. I gave the talk on baptism and Sister Smith did the Holy Ghost talk. There were about 70 people there for her, so once again we all had to be moved to the chapel. Terry got up and shared her testimony at the end and said that it was the best decision she had ever made and she had never felt so good and secure with who she was in her entire life. In her confirmation blessing, Wade's grandpa talked about her and Wade going to the temple and I look forward to hearing about that event, this is just a baby step in the great things that Terry has in front of her. I love Terry!

Oh ya, best thing ever yesterday. So the Rykers are a less-active family who I LOVE LOVE LOVE. They have an 8 year old and 6 year old who have never been to church but we started to teach their family so Lizzie could get baptized. We have been going over their all summer and they never came to church. Each Sunday I would look around and feel so heart broken when they weren't there because I love them so much. Well this Sunday I got up to share my testimony and I looked out and saw the Rykers! Bro. Ryker winked @ me and I started to cry. We said a tearful goodbye after sacrament meeting, but they were happy tears, because they were right where they needed to be and it felt so good.

Amanda came into town for a concert and I got to see her; she is doing great at BYUI. Her intro to mormonism teacher checked her membership records because he didn't believe she was a recent convert. He asked her to sit in the back and try not to answer all of the questions so the other kids could learn =) love her.

Gotta run. LOVE YOUUUUU!!! -Maeg

Dad, thanks so much for the referral. We got a ride out there to see him tonight. I'm excited!!!This week was young women in excel

hi!

Family!

Wasn't General Conference great!? I have fond memories of our family all struggling to stay awake just during the Sunday Afternoon session and mom yelling down the stairs "President Hinckley is on!!" after we all slipped out of the living room one by one. I didn't even know what I was missing out on! We watched 3 of the sessions at members houses with Terry and one session at the church. I just had the feeling of being really uplifted and happy but at the same time seeing SO many things I need to improve in my life. It is interesting and extra rewarding listening to conference not only for me but also for the people we are teaching and searching for what would help them. I really enjoyed it.

Today we are going bowling as a district! If I don't die of hypothermia first.President arranged it so that I'll be flying out of Billings so that I can come and stay at the mission home and have dinner with him and Sis. Gardner and he said he wants to go to the temple with me too! I hope it all works out. I think I'll be heading over to billings next tues and flying out wed. So weird!Brandy and Tyler set a baptisimal date for Ocotber 25th!!! WOOHOOOO Terry is going to get baptized on the 11th now =) Life is great. I love being a missionary.

peace. sister o.

burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Hi! I'm just doing to put a disclaimer on the email. My grammer had gotten SO BAD since I've been in Montana, it's rediculousl. I say things like, "Thems right over there" and "The books is right there". so sad.

Oh man it is getting so cold here! Highs in the 40s yesterday and there is snow on the mountains. Other than having a cold and coughing up lots of green flem, I'm doing great =) Ha, too much info?? My brain feels a bit foggy with this cold, so this email is going to be lame, sorry!Last night we had a really good lesson with Terry, and Wade actually came to church on Sunday; that made me happy. Then we asked Terry to come and help us teach a lesson to a guy named Ron and it was amazing. It was so neat to hear her teach and her testimony. She was pretty nervous but when she said,"I know in my heart that Joseph Smith did not lie, he really had that vision." It was beautiful. Arthur is going to be on parole until Aug. 25, 2010 but we committed him to be baptized on that day and he was really excited. Sure its almost a year away, but he has a strong testimony and he'll make it.

We met with Lee Holmer on Sunday and it went really well. The Spirit was strong and I asked him straight up why he hasn't been baptized, and he basically said it is because he is stubborn. We will continue to visit him and pray that he will have a mighty change of heart. I love him so much and see so much potential in him!!!! He needs to make a move! =)

This last Saturday we went down to Hamilton to the farmers market, which is kind of a big deal around here, and set up a booth. It was so fun. It reminded me of Temple Square, trying to get people to stop and talk. We had the usual, "oh no just baptize me when I'm dead" or "im baptist and already saved" but we also had some great conversations. More people thanked me for my smile than what I actually shared with them, but I guess that counts for something =/

Sister Smith and I sang in district meeting yesterday. It was scary but it went okay, haha. The Assistants came down for our meeting and it was switched to Wednesday so that is why Pday is today. Pday is actually changing to Monday so I'll be emailing you again in a few days!

Well I'm off to buy some groceries! I love you!!!! -Maeg

i love life!

Hey hey! Oh my goodness I love my companion Sister Smith so much! We get so much work done but we have a TON of fun and are laughing 24/7. She looks like a Disney Princess and sings like one too. I'll try to send some pictures next week.There is a really intense fire in the mountains by Stevensville right now, so itis super smokey here =/ Our district leader called to see if everything was okay and I made up a big dramatic story about fire alarms in town, evacuation plans, and so on and he totally believed me. It was amazing! hahaha but no, everything is okay, we just need some rain before I get black lung disease,cough cough.It will be good to get back to temple square because people here feed us SO MUCH. Someone offered me a candy bar the other day, which I still haven't eaten one since Dec. 31st, and Sister Smith said,"Oh no she gave up candy bars for a piece of cake with extra frosting." haha, its so true. Yesterday Sister Smith and I made up a land syncronized swimming routine to the MoTab version of Circle of Life. Such a good workout =) On a more spiritual note...Terry set a baptisimal date for October 8th. YEEEAAAYAAAAA! Sister Smith and I prayed about it and we had been waiting on her husband to get active so he could potentially baptize her and he wasn't making a move, so we just told her the time had come. She picked Oct. 8th since it is her 21st b-day. Now Wade sees that she is serious and he said. "Sister Olsen,your dream is going to come true this weekend!" haha I hope he is at church =) He probably won't be able to baptize her by Oct. 8th so I probably won't see it,but I don't really care; I'm so happy for her. I'll just be at the Temple for them in a year! I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this but on my first day here I went to the funeral of a ten-day-old baby. Its was so sad and I just cried my eyes out because of the pain I felt for their family. We have visited with the mom, Brandy, a few times but mostly she was just feeling really overwhelmed and knew we needed to teach her but was super hesitant. Well, we went back over there and we taught her the first two lessons this week. She hates being in crowds and has a hard time around lots of little kids, like church, so we had struggled all summer to get her there. This Sunday we went over to her house 30 minutes before church and she had her dress on but was crying and said she couldn't do it. I promised her that if she went the Lord would give her the strength she needed and the sacrament meeting would be just for her. She cried and said she just couldn't do it, so I just stopped and said a prayer for her right there in her living room that she would be have the strength to come. We cried. Then her 8 yr old boy said,"Mom, I know its hard. But I want to go too." I handed the keys to Sis. Smith and found Brandy's shoes and off the four of us went. The meeting was the perfect message and the Spirit was so strong. Man Satan sure is good at keeping people from good things, it was such a battle. But we won!!!!! Sister Smith went there yesterday on team ups and Brandy wants to know when shecan get baptized and asked if it would be possible to do it before I leave. Yay!Thats a bit quick, but I'm just so happy for her =) There is a man you may want to include in your prayers. Lee Holmer is not a member but has been going to church for 40 years. He has 3 sons who have served missions and gotten married in the temple. He is an amazing man and the time has come for him to be baptized. I can feel it. I love the people here so much. There are a few families here I have such high hopes for. As we sit in their living rooms I picture them in white. I tell them,"You are a great family, but you need to be an eternal family." And its true. Simple as that. I go back to Temple Square on October 14th. It is so so soon. I'm not sure where the last 4 months have gone. I will give everything I have to this area in the next three weeks; I love the people here. I know I'll be leaving the area in good hands. Sis. Smith is awesome! I love you all tons. You are constantly in my prayers.

Love, Sister Maegan

take 2

I my lovely family!

Note: I hate myldsmail.net---it deleted my email when I tried to send it AGAIN!

Grrr

TAKE 2

Yesterday I took Sis. Morgan to Missoula and picked up my new companion Sis. Smith. Sister Morgan was so sad to be leaving and cried a lot when she left but will do great. I love Sister Smith already and I'm so sad I only have 4 weeks with her. She is from Sacramento,CA and is best friends with one of my fav sisters at Temple Square. She was actually Sis. Morgans MTC companion and just came from serving in WY with Sis. Reyes. So now we have a nice little circle of friends! When I found our Sis. Smith was my new comp Sis. Morgan said,"Oh you will love her so much. She likes to teach people, tract, workout...she is nothing like me" hahaha that cracked me up. I have a feeling that we are going to see a lot of miracles in the next four weeks, particularly with part member families; I'm excited!

Honestly, I can't remember what happened this week-it's all a blur =/Sister Morgan did hair for 2 years before her mission and so I asked her to give me a trim and one side of my hair is ridiculously shorter than the other—like two inches, ha! So sad, but I’m getting it fixed next week and buying hairpills, it’s all good.

Anna Gail is doing really well and still has her baptism glow. Tuesday night there is an awesome addiction recovery program at the church and I saw her there last night and she said,"I'm here to recover from liking bad men!" She seriously cracks me up and I hope you can meet her some day. Sam (14) said a few great things to me this week and I can really see a change in her. She said, “I really feel comfortable with who I am now. I dress more conservatively and I don’t argue with people anymore, it’s cool.” She also said, “Before I got baptized I didn’t want to have any kids and now I want to have a dozen or so.” Haha these are just a couple examples of the changes she has seen but its pretty neat. I like Anna and Sam because they were already happy, amazing people before, but now that they have embraced the gospel they have really blossomed and seen so many improvements and blessings in their lives. The gospel works. That’s all I gotta say. Most people we meet are just content with where they are and can’t imagine life any better and I just want to say, “You should probably accept it NOW before something bad happens to you that makes you turn to God!!!” But I try to hold it in =) So many people are “poor weather fans, including me. We only turn to Heavenly Father when times get rough…that’s something I’m working on. Anyways, sorry for kind of going off there….

Life is great, I couldn’t be happier.

I love love love love love you!!!!!!

Sister Maego

999

Hi!!! Life is good in Stevi. We had a beautiful baptism for Anna last Wednesday. There were so many people there to support her and the Spirit was really strong.I was the chorister and as I looked down almost everyone there had tears intheir eyes and big smiles; it was a beautiful sight to see! Anna shared her testimony at the very end and she was just glowing.This last Sunday I walked out of sacrament and saw a lady crying and leave, so Iasked her husband if he needed me to teach Sunday School for him and he saidyes. So I cracked open the manual as I walked to the classroom and it turns out I was teaching marriage to the 16-18 year old Sunday School class. ha! It was pretty fun. This weekend is Stake Youth Conference and its like a mini EFY and Sister Morgan and I were asked to teach a class. I love teaching youth so much, I'm excited. Now that I am almost 22 I feel so old. Sister Morgan said I look 18 (probably only because I still have acne) but that made me happy. I remember when Wii fit told me I was 23 and I cried. Have I ever told you about Terry Craft? I can't remember :/ Terry is 20 and has been married to a less-active member for about 2 months. We have been teaching her for a little over a month and she is ready to be baptized...she is just waiting on her husband, Wade, to come to church with her. I'm going to kick his bootay. She was going to school in Billings last year and took a religion/philosophy class and she said she was frustrated with everyone bashing the church so she wrote her final paper on why people shouldn't be so mean to Mormons. She said that in her research she gained a testimony that Joseph Smith truely was a prophet and read the Book of Mormon and knew it was true. She comes to church every Sunday and even came to both sessions of Stake Conference by herself. I feel so impressed that she is so diligent in praying, reading thescriptures, and coming to church all by herself. And her dad is SUPER anti and has thrown pretty much everything in the book at her and she hasn't been shaken. I love her. Yesterday we had an appointment but we got stood up and were kinda sad. We got in the car and someone next door pulled up so I jumped out to talk to her instead, because she has a 'no trespassing' sign and this would be my only oppertunity to catch her while she was outside. She was the cutest mom with her little girl and even though I kind of looked like a stalker walking up to her gate, she was super nice and asked us to come back and teach her more. I realized at that moment, we weren't suppose to be at that appointment-we needed to find this lady. The Lord works in mysterious ways and I see his hand in everything we do. It's pretty cool =) Transfers are this Friday! 6 weeks keeps getting shorter and shorter.

I love you sososoosososososo much!

@#$%#$-Sister Olsen

<3 <3 <3

Hey Hey! Its been a wonderful week in Stevi! This transfer has FLOWN by. I know it was agood week because I feel happy, but I honestly can't even really remember what happened =/ This weekend Elder Andersen was here for our Stake Conference and it was AMAZING. Our whole zone came down for it and we had dinner with President and Sister Gardner before the adult session. I had a little chat with Elder Andersen then grabbed Anna, who is getting baptized tonight, so I could introduce her. The main theme that I got from the conference was "fear not, only be believing". And he talked about how with the world having more of an influence from Satan, the Lord will compensate with more of the Holy Ghost, revelations, miracles, etc. It really was a very hopeful conference. We moved into some member's basement and there are so many BIG HAIRY SPIDERS; I don't even scream anymore they come around so frequently. Ishouldn't complain, its not like I'm in Africa or something. There was an Elder Olsen that went home not too long ago so my district accidently calls me 'Elder Olsen' all the time, but I pretty much have a couple of them trained to call me Princess Olsen. =) Sister Morgan now only says she is going home about twice a week...thats improvement. We have a good time together and the work is moving forward. Sheis terrified of 'tracting' but I recently discovered I say we are going "finding" things go much more smoothly.=) Its hard, once you finally get to really know a companion and teach well with them, the transfer is almost over! Iread a quote this week that really fits how I feel. Maybe its common, I dunno:"LIFE ISN'T ABOUT WAITING OUT THE STORMS, ITS LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN" Isn't that nice? Anna Gail's baptism is TONIGHT! YIPPEEEE!!!! She is so absolutely amazingand there will be a lot of people there to support her. All of our baptisms have had to be in the chapel so far because only 50 people fit in the relief society room and there are more than that. It's cool to see the ward really love and support the recent converts. I'm not gonna lie, I kinda miss BYU back-to-school time...dumb pedestrians and all. I think I'll buy myself a new notebook and pens today just for fun; I love school supplies. Please let me know how Grandpa Hansen is doing. I pray for him constantly. Let him know how much I love him! I love you allllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!! The church is true! The cause is just!

-Sister Olsen

I am so sad. I just wrote my whole email and it disappeared =( Sorry I didn'tget to email yesterday. Some things came up trying to get ready for Samsbaptism yesterday, but our Zone Leaders gave us permission to email today. Ohman sorry this will be short, I'm so bummed!Sam's baptism was wonderful yesterday. I talked on the Holy Ghost, lots ofpeople came, there was an awesome musical #, and her parents were there. Yippee!When she got out I ran back to see her really quick and said,"How do you feel?"and she said,"LIKE I LOST A THOUSAND POUNDS!" It was the cutest thing ever!Zone Conference this week was amazing and this weekend is Stake Conference withElder Anderson. I am really excited!I LOVE YOU!!!!SISTER OLSEN