This week has already flown by out here in Oakville. I am in the furthest west area and south in the mission. It is a very interesting and prepared area. The Oakville area covers some of the richest places in the mission and quite a few poor areas as well. On my first day in the area we saw 4-5 cars that would have cost well over 150,000 just within a few hours. The area has been very well prepared - we have already committed 4 people for baptism and have a goal of baptizing 5 people this transfer.
It was a strange feeling coming back into the field after about 5 months of work in the office. We still worked our area in the office but not as regularly as we would have liked. The first day being back felt like a breath of fresh air. I miss the work I was doing a lot and I learned so much from it, I especially miss working with all of the missionaries, with my companions and with Pres. and Sis. Eyre. However this is what I've learned how to do for the past few years and what I have really learned to love. Going on travels and working in our area had just seemed like little disconnected pieces of missionary work. Being back has been a blessing. I get to have a full hour of personal study every morning and I I finally get to have companionship study again! It will also help me to be able to finish my two years with one basic focus and to be able to concentrate all of my energy on that focus.
My two companions are E. Tapp and E. Stidham from Rigby, Idaho and Salt Lake City. E. Tapp and I have a very similar sense of humor and it is going to be very fun working with him. E. Stidham as well is a little bit harder to get to know but can also be fun to be around. The best part is that they want to work really hard and are pretty much right there with me on everything. Even though they are very young, they are also very capable. We have started teaching a part- member family with three people that we have preparing for baptism as well as another family from Ghana that we just taught the wife yesterday who is now preparing for baptism. We still need to find more though and we are expecting a few good member referrals this weekend as well as many others that the Lord will lace in our path. I also have a good District out here and am excited to work as a District Leader again because I never felt like I did as much for my District as I wanted to. They are all very young most only about six months with one out for about a year. In our first district meeting we set a goal for 21 baptisms as a district which is the biggest one I’ve seen and most of it came from them they have a lot of faith.
It is weird to be doing everything for the last time but it is also encouraging. Every time I get tired or hesitant I just think that I only have a few opportunities to do any of this again and so I need to take them now. I want to make this the most faithful and hard working transfer of my mission. I love you all and hope to hear from you again next week!
Love,
Elder Joshua Olson
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Begining....
This week has already flown by out here in Oakville. I am in the furthest west area and south in the mission. It is a very interesting and prepared area. The Oakville area covers some of the richest places in the mission and quite a few poor areas as well. On my first day in the area we saw 4-5 cars that would have cost well over 150,000 just within a few hours. The area has been very well prepared - we have already committed 4 people for baptism and have a goal of baptizing 5 people this transfer.
It was a strange feeling coming back into the field after about 5 months of work in the office. We still worked our area in the office but not as regularly as we would have liked. The first day being back felt like a breath of fresh air. I miss the work I was doing a lot and I learned so much from it, I especially miss working with all of the missionaries, with my companions and with Pres. and Sis. Eyre. However this is what I've learned how to do for the past few years and what I have really learned to love. Going on travels and working in our area had just seemed like little disconnected pieces of missionary work. Being back has been a blessing. I get to have a full hour of personal study every morning and I I finally get to have companionship study again! It will also help me to be able to finish my two years with one basic focus and to be able to concentrate all of my energy on that focus.
My two companions are E. Tapp and E. Stidham from Rigby, Idaho and Salt Lake City. E. Tapp and I have a very similar sense of humor and it is going to be very fun working with him. E. Stidham as well is a little bit harder to get to know but can also be fun to be around. The best part is that they want to work really hard and are pretty much right there with me on everything. Even though they are very young, they are also very capable. We have started teaching a part- member family with three people that we have preparing for baptism as well as another family from Ghana that we just taught the wife yesterday who is now preparing for baptism. We still need to find more though and we are expecting a few good member referrals this weekend as well as many others that the Lord will lace in our path. I also have a good District out here and am excited to work as a District Leader again because I never felt like I did as much for my District as I wanted to. They are all very young most only about six months with one out for about a year. In our first district meeting we set a goal for 21 baptisms as a district which is the biggest one I’ve seen and most of it came from them they have a lot of faith.
It is weird to be doing everything for the last time but it is also encouraging. Every time I get tired or hesitant I just think that I only have a few opportunities to do any of this again and so I need to take them now. I want to make this the most faithful and hard working transfer of my mission. I love you all and hope to hear from you again next week!
Love,
Elder Joshua Olson
It was a strange feeling coming back into the field after about 5 months of work in the office. We still worked our area in the office but not as regularly as we would have liked. The first day being back felt like a breath of fresh air. I miss the work I was doing a lot and I learned so much from it, I especially miss working with all of the missionaries, with my companions and with Pres. and Sis. Eyre. However this is what I've learned how to do for the past few years and what I have really learned to love. Going on travels and working in our area had just seemed like little disconnected pieces of missionary work. Being back has been a blessing. I get to have a full hour of personal study every morning and I I finally get to have companionship study again! It will also help me to be able to finish my two years with one basic focus and to be able to concentrate all of my energy on that focus.
My two companions are E. Tapp and E. Stidham from Rigby, Idaho and Salt Lake City. E. Tapp and I have a very similar sense of humor and it is going to be very fun working with him. E. Stidham as well is a little bit harder to get to know but can also be fun to be around. The best part is that they want to work really hard and are pretty much right there with me on everything. Even though they are very young, they are also very capable. We have started teaching a part- member family with three people that we have preparing for baptism as well as another family from Ghana that we just taught the wife yesterday who is now preparing for baptism. We still need to find more though and we are expecting a few good member referrals this weekend as well as many others that the Lord will lace in our path. I also have a good District out here and am excited to work as a District Leader again because I never felt like I did as much for my District as I wanted to. They are all very young most only about six months with one out for about a year. In our first district meeting we set a goal for 21 baptisms as a district which is the biggest one I’ve seen and most of it came from them they have a lot of faith.
It is weird to be doing everything for the last time but it is also encouraging. Every time I get tired or hesitant I just think that I only have a few opportunities to do any of this again and so I need to take them now. I want to make this the most faithful and hard working transfer of my mission. I love you all and hope to hear from you again next week!
Love,
Elder Joshua Olson
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Hey I got Transfered...
Well on the Monday after we talked on the phone President told me that I would have the opportunity to go back to the field for my last transfer. Its sad to leave, especially being able to work with and see all the missionaries but I am really excited to be able to concentrate and just work an area for my last transfer. In the office we do a lot of long-term planning and think a lot which can be unsettling when you are getting old in the mission. I'm going to an area called Oakville, which is full of rich people but it also has a good balance of other people too. I'm going to be the district leader out there which I am very excited about. It will be nice to get to know and work with a smaller group of elders and to be able to focus most of my time with my companions (I have two) and my area. My new companions will be E. Stidham and E. Tapp. They are both really young, right around 4-6 months. E. Stidham is from Salt Lake City, Utah and E. Tapp is from Rigby Idaho. They are both hard working fun companions E. Tapp has big round Ray-bon glasses. I had the chance to give my companions their transfer calls to tell them that we would be companions. When I called him I told him that we were going to buy matching glasses! We apparently have a really good investigator that we are teaching with a baptismal date, a body-builder named Reza, and a lot of potential with the members in the area. Its a really weird feeling going back to the field. I am excited to focus and to work but its feels weird - I feel like a lot of responsibility has been taken away and its kind of a hard adjustment. I've been able to talk to my last two companions that did the same thing and they have given me some good advice. I don't think that there are any questions that I need to answer or anything but if I do I will be back on the regular Wednesday e-mail schedule - old predictable. I hope everyone in Virginia has a good Camping trip and We are about to drive back to Oakville and start the transfer fresh. I've set some goals for my last transfer, and I want my last transfer to be the most hardworking transfer of my mission - I think it will be because both of my companions are really hard workers so we will all be on the same page!
Love Elder Joshua Olson
Love Elder Joshua Olson
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Here we go really quick!
We are heading out in a minute to go to district meetings and then to go on travels... So for the calls this week our church gets out at 1:00 and then we go around toronto to any baptisms that we can attend in the mission usually from about 1:00 - 4:00. Then Sunday night we are putting together a Mission President's Fireside for the members and investigators in toronto that starts at 7:00 - 9:00.
If it works out for you we can do calls at 4:00! Each of us have our own Cell Phone so it is going to be really easy for us to do our calls. We won't have to wait for each other. I can call you and then you can call me back as normal but in-case anything doesn't work out this is my number 416.464.7552.
Everything is going well we've got to go but we are doing well we are going on four travels this week so we are going to be gone for the next two days! Fun and busy as always!
Love Elder Joshua Olson
If it works out for you we can do calls at 4:00! Each of us have our own Cell Phone so it is going to be really easy for us to do our calls. We won't have to wait for each other. I can call you and then you can call me back as normal but in-case anything doesn't work out this is my number 416.464.7552.
Everything is going well we've got to go but we are doing well we are going on four travels this week so we are going to be gone for the next two days! Fun and busy as always!
Love Elder Joshua Olson
Here we go really quick!
We are heading out in a minute to go to district meetings and then to go on travels... So for the calls this week our church gets out at 1:00 and then we go around toronto to any baptisms that we can attend in the mission usually from about 1:00 - 4:00. Then Sunday night we are putting together a Mission President's Fireside for the members and investigators in toronto that starts at 7:00 - 9:00.
If it works out for you we can do calls at 4:00! Each of us have our own Cell Phone so it is going to be really easy for us to do our calls. We won't have to wait for each other. I can call you and then you can call me back as normal but in-case anything doesn't work out this is my number 416.464.7552.
Everything is going well we've got to go but we are doing well we are going on four travels this week so we are going to be gone for the next two days! Fun and busy as always!
Love Elder Joshua Olson
If it works out for you we can do calls at 4:00! Each of us have our own Cell Phone so it is going to be really easy for us to do our calls. We won't have to wait for each other. I can call you and then you can call me back as normal but in-case anything doesn't work out this is my number 416.464.7552.
Everything is going well we've got to go but we are doing well we are going on four travels this week so we are going to be gone for the next two days! Fun and busy as always!
Love Elder Joshua Olson
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