Real quick !!!

I don't have alot of time this week, but everything is going really well up here. We are seeing so many miracles on a daily basis. We found this chinese family last week, we have been teaching them for almost a week. The parents don't speak english so we teach them through the translation of the daughter or of cantonese speaking members that we bring over. They are so nice they give us these huge chinese bottled waters every time we come over called, Ganten or something. They are shaped like a tube. It was good to hear from everybody, sounds like everyone is doing well- and to answer your question a am still district leader and training at the same time. We are still teaching Susan, she is reads and will be coming to church consistently she just need to feel a spiritual confirmation. My new companion is from a town called kelowna and he loves to cook, so thats the best kind of companion to have really , one that likes to cook! We get a new mission president this week so were pretty excited to see how things work.

love Elder Josh Olson

I'm Alive...

It seems like forever since I've done e-mail even though its only been a week, but I wasn't able to read two weeks worth of e-mail. Last week I had to do it early because of the baseball game and this week I had to do it a day late because I was called to be a trainer in the mission and had to go pick up my boy in toronto. I was excited to get the call, I had felt it coming for the last few transfers. So I went directly from killing a missionary to training a new one. A really strange contrast. My new companion is named Elder Purnell and hes from british columbia, Canada. Hes got alot of fire and he isn't shy to talk to people at all so were going to get of too a running start, its going to be a really good transfer. His first night in the mission we did everything we had a dinner apointment, had someone try to bash us, we tracted, daily contacted our investigators, and had to give an impromptu blessing. Good times.

I hope everythings going well back in the states, I talked to someone from North Carolina the other day and they said it was really hot. I love you guys. I love the gospel and I know that its true. Thanks for your letters and support.

Love Elder Olson.

Baseball Game!

I'm writing early today because all the missionaries serving in and around

toronto can go to the afternoon blue jays game. So we had to get up early so we

could catch the go-train (kind of like the metro). This week has been pretty

crazy, it coming down to the last week or two of my companions mission and this

transfer is almost over. It will be interesting to see who they give me and what

will happen to the area. We are getting 19 new missionaries this transfer but

another really large group is leaving so its completely up in the air... its

kind of wierd right now, the last group of people who I thought of as old

missionaries is going home so now its just full of young guys like me. Oh, and I

got the infinite atonement signed by president Callister!

I had a funny experience on sunday, we had one of the members of the toronto

temple presidency speak in our ward on sunday and after church I said hello to

him and he came over and said, "Elder Olson, are you a scriptorian?" and then

when i told him I wasn't he jokingly said, "thats alright you can repent and

change!" Then he gave me some of his favorite scriptures that talked about

missionary work. Later that day we saw him at a members home and when we were

leaving he told me that when I got married if it was in toronto or new zealand

[where hes from] he would seal my wife and I. That was the first time anyone had

ever offered that and it kind of scared me. Especially when it seems like I get

a wedding announcement every week- I actually have gotten more wedding

anouncements in the last few months than letters. But, anyways thats quite a few

years away yet.

We had a really good week this week, we found an awesome new lady who really wants

to come to church and was talking all about how she had always wanted to be

baptized, so she said she would be baptized in a month.

Sorry i can't respond to your e-mails this week because I got in so early! Sorry

I haven't sent pictures in awhile- I am still taking pictures. I was going to

send a letter and my camera cards- but I needed the cards back quickly. I tried

to send everything express but it turned out to be pretty expensive, so I just

ended up sending the letter, but I'll send the cards this week sometime they are

getting pretty full.

Hope your all well,

Love Elder Olson.

I got everything ...

I got everything you sent me, the short sleeve shirts came last wednesday and they fit really well. And this morning I got the leather bound infinite atonement. Thanks for sending that stuff up to me. It all came just in time, our last interview with president Callister is next week and this week i just saw the forcast and friday is going to be about 32 degrees.

The work is really picking up right now. We are still teaching susan, who may still make her baptismal date on the fifteenth, but if not it will be soon after that. The only reason her and her daughter didn't come to church this week is because they had a wedding. We had kind of a funny situation with her. We work really hard with all of our investigators to help them find what we call "real member friends" or someone that they get along with who they can ask questions when we aren't there and who can help them easy the transition into coming to church. We took Sis. Bailey, who we live with to appointments a few times and they got along really well and they both wanted to start running this summer they started to run together. We were so excited we were thinking man now she has a good friend in the ward and we have daily contact with her and shes coming to church awesome! But then something completely unexpected happened. They started running together every day so much so that we couldn't daily contact her any more and we didn't even see her for a week! Backfired! But then the way was prepared and she started taking the train home from toronto so that now everything works out and we can teach her again.

It was good to hear from everyone this week thanks for the e-mails and packages. My companion and I taught seminary this week and they invited us to their seminary breakfast on friday morning! And I haven't had time to golf either...

Love Elder Josh