XOXOXOXOXO

Hiiiii!!!!

This has been a crazy week for me. I am so tired right now this email may not even make any sense =/ I am so excited for this transfer because I am training a new sister!!@#$@# YAY! Her name is Sister Hofmann from Zuerich, Switzerland. (Today at walmart I found out my favorite snack 'swiss cake rolls' are not even really swiss...so disappointing). She is from the German part so German is her first language and she says she needs a lot of help on her English, but really she is doing so well. We have only been together 3 days and I can tell we are going to have a great transfer. I have never prayed so much in my entire life as the past week when I found out I would be training: I want Sister Hofmann to really love this mission and see many miracles this transfer. She is a very hard worker and obedient so I know it will not be a problem, I love her so much. I will send you some pictures today. My roommates are way fun too! They are Sister Nobre from Brazil and Sister Hezekiah from Nigeria. I am really excited for the next six weeks! Yesterday Sister Hofmann and I met a man who started a tour with other sisters but left because he said he wanted to know "less about the buildings and more about the faith"--we don't hear that very often. He had so many great questions about Joseph Smith, The Book of Mormon, and Temples. In the end we talked a lot about how families are such an important part of God's plan for us and told him that his family could be bound together for all eternity. He said he was very touched by the things we shared with him and said,"I can tell that your families mean so much to you, so how can you leave them for 18 months?" I teared up as I shared with him that I have seen how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ has blessed my family, and I want more than anything for other families to have the same joy and hope that I have. We also shared that since we have been on our missions, we have only gotten closer to our families and realized even more how much we love them. Another man this week, as I started to talk to him said,"Oh no you aren't going to try and recruit me are you?" And I got a little serious and stated,"Trust me, I would not leave my family for 18 months to 'recruit' more members of the church or just to 'share a nice message'. I am hear to share with you how you and your family can return to live with God again." haha he seemed totally surprised but he actually listened after that =) I just feel so blessed to be a missionary and to share the message of the restored gospel and how it blesses families. Thank you all so much for you love, you are all amazing! You are always in my prayers!

Love,Sister M. Olsen

P.S. I think a couple people asked when I could go outbound to another mission; probably next transfer...if not, the one after that. AHHHHHH!!!! The Sisters that get called to Vegas,NV are frequently assigned to Kingman, AZ. Thats probably where I'll be sent....