Back to this E-mail!

I had switched from the LDS e-mail because it broke on me for a week or two and i was fed up with messing with it- but in our last zone conference President asked us to go back to using it- so we get to deal with it again. So i'll keep checking both for a few weeks and then switch permanently to this one.

Its incredibly warm up here in canada, in about a week we went from using our winter coats to shirt sleeves. Well I would have gone back to using short sleeves except it turns out that all of mine are too small in the neck and shoulders.- To answer the question, I have gained a little weight- when I left home I was about 145 and then I lost a little to about 140- but I've put on about 10 pounds of muscle in the last few months.

Our zone conference was pretty amazing last week. Although Doug L. Callister (the president's brother) ended up coming to a seperate fireside and no to the zone conference, it was still amazing. President and Sister Callister did a presentation on external and internal evidences of the book of mormon- and then at the very end they told us all about how he had been called to the seventy- a bunch of different stories about being trained by the Apostles and about being set apart and then he opened it up to questions. They are going to be in the presidency overseaing the pacific islands- everywhere from australia to new zealand to fiji and the marshall islands. He told us a story about his actual setting apart as a general authority. Because President Callister had already been an area seventy he only needed to be set apart as a general authority and given the sealing power. There were 15 general authorities being set apart that day, a large number. 5 were set apart by pres. Eyering, 5 by pres. Uchtdorf, and Pres. Callister and 4 others by Pres. Monson. When he was getting set apart it came down to the end of the blessing and he hadn't heard the prophet give him the sealing power but he didn't want to say anything because it was the prophet- kind of a nerve wracking experience. But then he heard Elder Tingey nudge pres. Monson and say,"The sealing power!". So he quickly corrected. That story makes me feel better about the times that I forget or stumble over words in blessings.

We found an amazing new family this week, a couple named Ivan and Karen with 2 young children. He is from Cuba and practices an African tribal religion that apparently has alot of rituals and spirit worship in it. He wants our help to teach him about Christ and to help him get rid of his shrine in his bedroom because he is nervous about taking it down himself. It sounds wierd but they are a really nice family that we are really excited to teach. Transfers are coming up again at the beginning of may, I think I'll be getting a new companion or get moved. After being in my first area for so long, I don't really want to stay in one place, I feel like getting moved around a bit more before really making my nest (hahaha) in an area again.

Sounds like everyone is getting into the spring mood quickly with vacations and golf lessons and all other kinds of nonsense. Keep me posted on everythings thats going on especially with summer coming!

Love Elder Olson.