The Blessings We Receive Are Like a Leaky Faucet

11/24/2014

Well I hope you all have had a pretty good week this week.  Mine was pretty wild.  This week it rained a ton.  So that means that I walked around completely soaked, like water in my boots soaked. It’s really amazing to see the rain here in Honduras, because when it rains, it rains hard.  So my agenda got completely soaked through.  Thank goodness for plastic bags to protect the scriptures. 

Oh, and I have a theory…. the Mormon world is really small.  It’s funny, because this week we went on divisions and I went to an area called the Almendros.  We went to a ladie’s house and I walked in and she said she knew me and I was completely clueless.  But then she was like, the Familia Vilorio from Cerro Verde and then I remembered.  In Cerro Verde, one of my old areas, there was a family that we sometimes visited on Sundays and they had family over every time.  She was there and remembered me.  It was funny because her brother also found me in Rio Lindo one time too.  So, it really is a small world, ha ha.

Well this week, I have no idea what to write.  So it’s not much, and obviously since it’s almost Thanksgiving, I should probably write something to that subject.  I won’t be doing much different that day, since it’s non-existent here.  But I’m sure you all will enjoy your pie and turkeys.  But I just wanted to take the time to remind everyone of how blessed they really are.  I can honestly tell you all from my experiences here, that the United States is truly a blessed land.  I know I have been blessed a ton in my own life.  The opportunity that I’ve had to come to Honduras and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ has changed me and helped me learn so many things, and that is the biggest blessing I have received in my life. I know that the Lord is blessing each one of us every day because He loves us.  I always explain this concept to investigators as the blessings we receive are like a leaky faucet.  God will always give us blessings and it’s like the faucet dripping water every once in a while.  But the even more wonderful part is when we are obedient. When we are obedient, the faucet gets opened up, the blessings come more frequently and they are bigger.  We always should have an attitude of gratitude, because the Lord blesses us more than we know.  But as we are more obedient, we receive even more of these blessings that the Lord wants for us. 

Love you all and have a happy turkey day!

Elder Ollis

We Are To Be Our Own Agents and That Requires Work

11/17/2014

Well hello everyone! Just want to let you all know that there are UNDER 40 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS!  So yah, that’s awesome.   It’s actually kind of cold here in the morning and it’s probably not colder than 60 degrees.  So I’m going to die when its actually cold and there’s snow in my life again.

Anyways... this week was pretty normal again.  We did have an investigator in church this week so that was good. His name is Juan Carlos. He’s a fourteen year old kid and he’s a really good kid.  He likes our visits and everything, but unfortunately he’s got a pretty bad friend group, and that’s a real bad influence.  But we have a baptismal date with him for the 6th of December so I’m really hoping that he can get baptized.  

It’s a little frustrating right now.  We have lots of people that are nice and listen but we don’t really know if they are completely interested and will keep their commitments.  It’s always hard to decide when to stop visiting someone, or keep trying to help them keep their commitments. We quit visiting a few people the past few weeks, and that’s always a little frustrating.  So we just have to rely on the spirit to testify of our words and change people’s hearts and let him guide us to the people that have been prepared by the Lord.  

I just wanted to share another cool quote I heard in a priesthood meeting we had. ¨El que quere llegar, busca el camino, el que no quere llegar, busca excusa.¨ or in English, “he who wants to achieve finds the way, he who doesn’t want to achieve finds excuses.”  I like this quote because it’s something that my dad always taught me…the concept of work.  Work is honestly something I like to do.  I really do, and it’s something that is required of us.  We are to be our own agents and that requires work.  Every single one of us has different lives, but I know that when we work hard, we will be much better off.  We will be blessed even more when we work hard in service to God or others because it’s the same thing.  As we keep working hard, enduring to the end diligently, we will be blessed, because without working hard until the end, enduring diligently, we can’t return with God.  It’s funny because the thing the prophets and the apostles are really focusing on is the work of salvation.  This is the most important work there is and if we participate, we receive more blessings than any other work.  So let’s all participate in the work of salvation and put forth all our efforts and receive the blessings. 

Love you all, Elder Ollis 

As We Obey, We Will Be Protected and Blessed

11/10/2014

Ok, well here goes another week and its pretty normal I guess.  Unfortunately we still didn’t have an investigator come to church this week.  We had one, but it was some guy that his mom makes him come and he’s not really interested.  So I don’t really know.  

But funny story, so my last area was in Rio Lindo. We always ate dinner with the Branch President on Mondays and his wife mentioned a few times that she had a daughter that lives in La Jutosa.  It was super funny because when I was getting ready to leave Rio Lindo I went to say goodbye and as I was leaving she told me, “Who knows, maybe you’ll go to La Jutosa.”  And golly jee here I am.  So that was really weird and now I’m here and we were able to find her daughter here.  Actually we found her because the Branch President’s wife from Rio Lindo was visiting and I saw her and we stopped by and shared a message. She told me I had a mission here in La Jutosa so we kept visiting the family which is her daughter, and her husband and their two kids.  They have been sealed in the temple and everything, and now they are inactive.  They didn’t go to church the other Sunday, but we have been visiting them and we told them this Sunday that we would stop by in the morning at seven thirty to bring them to church.  It was awesome because as we were walking to go get them, the husband calls us and says, “hey, we are on our way to church.”  I was pretty happy!  That was basically the highlight of my week.  We were able to get this inactive family for two years to come to church!  They are a strong family to help the branch out.  

So I don’t really have much more to say, but that was a cool event from my week.  It always makes me sad to see people like that go inactive, people that have been sealed and everything.  It just makes me think about the importance of the small and simple things like reading the scriptures, praying and going to church. And more important than anything, obedience.  As we obey, we will be protected and blessed.  I know that as we obey we will be able to avoid many of the problems we have in this life.  

So let’s obey, okay...

Elder Ollis

These Boots are Made for Teaching

11/03/2014

Welllll, hello all you wonderful children of God! It’s been a pretty long week, because it’s been raining for three days.  So that kinda hasn’t been the best.  It’s hard to dry clothes with a ton of humidity and no sun and rain. So, ya my clothes are molding.  (ha ha.)  But it’s been a good week because I bought some new boots! And they are awesome. Steel toed, and I’m pretty sure they are going to last the rest of my mission.  

Well the work has been getting along here in La Jutosa.  Yesterday was a little frustrating because again, we didn’t have anyone in church.  And then halfway through sacrament meeting (with only 25 people again), a lady showed up.  It was a lady we contacted in the door the other day, and invited to church.  She said she would come, and I hear that a lot, so I didn’t really pay any attention.  I honestly had no idea who it was that walked in. Then I realized it was that lady and I was super surprised.  So it turns out she stayed there almost all of church.  Her son she brought, threw up in the middle of class and so she took him home and came back. So a little miracle that I was not expecting. 

I don’t really have much time or much to say this week, but I did find a good quote by President Uchtdorf in a really old Liahona. (I found one from 1998 in the house the other day. The people were so ugly back then.) Dice.. en Español ¨no parece tonto arruinar experiencias dulces y gozosos por estar constantemente previendo el momento en que terminaran,” or in English ¨doesn’t it seem silly to ruin sweet and joyful experiences by constantly looking forward to the moment when we will finish...¨  I guess this goes along the lines of my good old dad’s wise words of “joy in the journey.”  In life we all have challenges, and some of them are different then others.  But every single one of those challenges can help us to grow in some way.  Sometimes, the challenges are results of our sins, or maybe just tests from God to help us learn, but we will always grow through each one.  But if we sit and wait for the end, then it will be painful, and I’m pretty sure no one in their right mind enjoys pain.  

 

One of my joyful moments in many frustrations I’ve had, is the la pulperia by our house sells snickers bars really cheap, and that makes me happy. I know that we all have joyful moments each day. We are guaranteed at least two…our personal prayers.  I know that as we take time to see the joy in the journey or the sweet moments in each day, we will find that God really does love us more than we know, and when we understand and feel of His love, then everything is much easier. 

Love you all, Elder Ollis

And another joyful thing is…my new boots!

This is the Branch President and his family in Rio Lindo .  His wife has a daughter that lives here in La Jutosa that is inactive. We were talking before I left and she said, "who knows, you could go to La Jutosa."  And I was like, nah.... and now I'm here.  The Branch President's wife was with her daughter the other day in La Jutosa and we talked and shared a message with her daughter. Small World!

​This is Obidio.  He is the guy that rejected 10,000 lempiras (about $469 US dollars) to keep listening to the gospel.  (see Elder Ollis’ post from 09/29/14 for details).  

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Vallery Fuentes (on the right), one my baptisms from Rio Lindo.  She wants to serve a mission.  Her mom didn't get baptized but I hope it will come.