Things are Good and Time is Flying

01/26/2015

Well this was a really long week, and it was a little rough.  We had a hard time having appointments. I don’t know why but I feel like I have no control of time.  We would go start working and then next thing you know its 5:00 and the day is almost finished.  So time just flew by.  Anyway, a ton of appointments fell through and we were walking a lot this week. I’m pretty beat.  

But there was a tender mercy in all of this.  On Saturday and Sunday we were able to have two members visit with us and we divided up and got double the work done. So we were able to save the week a bit there.  Sadly we also didn’t have our baptism.  Hermana Francisca told us she would be moving on Monday, day of departure... Friday, one day before her baptism.  And then she didn’t even end up leaving. So we reset the date for this week and I’m really hoping it will happen.  

We were also able to get an investigator that hadn’t gone to church for a while, go this week.   We talked about the importance of the Sabbath day, and how she can feel the spirit in church and that could help her know that this is true.  She said she would go and she did, so happy day!  We also had a family of in-actives (the family of the daughter of the Branch President’s wife from my old area) in church again. 

I don’t have much more time.  Things are good and time is flying. I know that as we continue to keep living the gospel as best we can, we become partakers of the mercy and love of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. His grace makes up for what we cannot and through it we can be made clean.  We can have peace and joy and we can return to God again.  I know Christ lives, He loves us, and this is His church. 

Love you all and have a fantastic week!

Elder Ollis

Picture of La Jutosa where Elder Ollis is currently serving.
Click on the picture to zoom in and look closely to find the two "houses" that are typical of his area.
When he says he is beat from walking all week....a picture is worth a thousand words.

Just Follow It, and We Will Know

01/19/2015

Well, this was a pretty good week.  A really long week for some reason... but a good week. This is the first full week with my new comp, Elder Ordoñez.  

The good news for this week is that finally we might have a baptism!  Whooo!!.  The Hermana Francisca was supposed to move this last week and she didn’t, and came to church on Sunday.  So we went after church to set a date, and she said yah we should just do so Saturday.  We will be planning the baptism. We are just going to go for it even though we don’t’ know if she is going to move this week or not. I’m praying she doesn’t!  She’s such a funny, little old woman.  She’s been reading the Book of Mormon, praying, going to church and everything.  She’s had some difficulties with coffee and going to church, but she’s gotten to this point and I think she’s ready. 

I just wanted to share another experience we had this week that truly testifies to me that the Lord guides us.  We were walking to an appointment and we walked past a house, and I just had a little thought to go contact there.  And I’m still a little turd, and say to myself, “We’re late to this appointment so I’ll do it later.”  The next time we passed the house I remembered.  So I told myself I just needed to do it, and we went and contacted.  They received us in the gate.  We talked about our message and left a pamphlet with them and set another appointment.  We went back and found that they were married.  That’s really rare for Honduras.  They told us they had seen a lot of other doctrines and that all of them had something that didn’t appeal to them.  Then we started teaching about the restoration.  They had read the whole pamphlet, followed along and understood everything we were teaching.  It was an awesome lesson!  I wanted to challenge them to baptism with a date, but I had no idea the dates for the next few weeks. So I was sitting there trying to think, and the number fourteen was ringing around in my head, but I didn’t know if it was for sure, so I didn’t do it.  But afterwards I looked at the calendar on the phone, and there it was the fourteenth. I know that the spirit guided us to that house. I know that the spirit was in that lesson telling me to challenge for the fourteenth, and I’m still a turd and don’t listen because I’m scared ha ha.  But I know that as we listen to the spirit, which always requires faith, we will be doing what the Lord wants.  Like it says in Preach My Gospel, if we want to know if it’s the spirit, just follow it and we will know.  I know that to be true as I’m learning more and more about following the spirit in the mission. 

Love you all and have a good week.

Elder Ollis

The Plan of Salvation....One of My Favorite Lessons to Teach

01/12/2015

Well... I have no time because I had to go to the migration office today... and the secretaries were late... so ya not much time. Anyways, so we had a lesson with the family Blas like I mentioned the other day, and we went back this week, and unfortunately she hadn’t read the Book of Mormon.  It got soaked by the rain... but we did get to meet her husband.  We had another really intense discussion about why they need to come back to church, and then the mom said that she wanted us to fast for them.   We left them with the invitation to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, and to pray and ask God if this church was where they needed to be.  So we fasted and we went back and they said they had taken the decision to go back to church.  So I was a little surprised, I’ll be honest, that’s not what I was expecting. So we will see if it’s an honest commitment and if they follow through.

As for the news, I now have a new comp. He was born in Colombia but grew up in Canada, so another Latino, which is awesome!  And, he’s been skiing at Whistler, which is like a dream for me, (ha ha) so that’s awesome too, and I’m excited to keep working with him.  

Other than that nothing new to share.  Today for p-day we hiked a huge hill with a rock that has Che Guevara on it, and my camera was dead.. so I don’t have photos... sorry dad. [Note from mom:  I looked up Che Guevarra on the internet: Ernesto "Che" Guevara, commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist.]

I just want to share again.... my love for this gospel.  This is the best thing for every person here on this earth.  I just love reading about the prophets and the scriptures and the stories they have.  They inspire me to be the best that I can be.  I hope you all can have that inspiration by reading the words of the living prophets and the prophets in the scriptures. I know that through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, we can be partakers of the conditional mercy that Christ offers us through His sacrifice.  Another part of the gospel that I love so much, is the Plan of Salvation.  I have always struggled teaching that lesson in Spanish, but it has become one of my favorite lessons to teach.  To teach the people why they are here and how they can come back to God, and it’s only through Jesus Christ. As I read the examples of the prophets and apostles, and think of my purpose here in this earth, it makes me want to dedicate my life to serving the Lord.  I’m glad I have at least two years to really do it!  And after these two years it definitely won’t be ending.  I hope you all can do the same and dedicate your lives to serve the Lord, so that we can receive all that He has for us.  More than we can even imagine.

So just that. I hope you all have a great week. 

Elder Ollis

[Another note from mom:  I asked Elder Ollis to describe the area he is working in.  His answer was: "Well my area...let's just say it's about a forty year old rural town that they tried to rebuild after Hurrican Fifi destroyed it in 1974."  So I did some research.

Hurricane Fifi hit Honduras in 1974.  It reached intensity with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph just before hitting Honduras.  Although it affected much of Central America, Hurricane Fifi devastated the coast of Honduras.  It dropped 24 inches of rain in 36 hours over the northern, mountainous regions, triggering mudslides, flash floods and swelling rivers and streams.  The rain, coupled with intense winds, destroyed 182 towns and villages in just 24 hours.  In the market town of Choloma, 2,300 people were killed when a natural dam created by landslides gave way.  About half of Honduras' food crops were destroyed by the winds and flooding.  The fishing industry also suffered.  

Along it's path, Hurricane Fifi impacted nine countries, causing over 8,000 fatalities and $1.8 billion (1974 USD) in damage.  Much of the loss of life and damage occurred in Honduras.  Due to the extreme damage and loss of life, Hurricane Fifi was retired from the list of Atlantic hurricane names, making Hurricane Fifi the first Category 2 storm to have its name retired.    (Source: http://www.hurricanescience.org/history/storms/1970s/fifi/ )

I Watched it Touch Her Heart

01/05/2015

Putting in a few service hours

Well you fabulous children of God, I hope you all had a great new year’s.  Mine was pretty boring, I actually went to bed at 10.  So ya, no big deal, just have to go into the new year well rested, right?  Well this week was pretty normal. We had quite a few opportunities for service. One of which was digging a 12-foot hole for a cistern, and that was pretty killer.  It was way hot and way muddy.  

I don’t have much time just wanted to share a little experience we had.  We went to visit an inactive and I had heard some bad things about this family.  But we went, and she was really nice.  She let us in and we talked.  She told us she had doubts about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, and she said a lot of other excuses and stuff.  Normally I get a little frustrated talking with less actives and so we talked a little lively there for a minute.  Then I just shared my testimony; that it all comes down to the Book of Mormon.  She has to read it to know it’s true and then she´ll know the rest.  So I shared my testimony about that, and all out of nowhere, she asked if I had a book.  I said yes, and we gave it to her and she said she would read it.  I know that the spirit was there. I watched it touch her heart so that she would accept the book. It was really cool to see that right in front of me.  So ya, just that experience for you guys. I know the spirit helped us with that one, and that’s the only reason she accepted the book. Then after that, we helped move like, a five-hundred pound granite rock... so fun stuff ha ha

Love you all, have a good week, and enjoy the new year!  Sorry have to go.

Elder Ollis

From an email sent to his sister: 

Crazy Story!  We were walking through a really dark area in La Jutosa and had to pass a cantina.  There were five drunks out front and two of them had machetes and were yelling at each other. So we just walked on by trying to be all normal. Didn't want to stop and take a picture of that, typical Honduras stuff!

Funny story!  A crab on a leash!  A kid came running into one of our lessons dragging it behind him.  Totally made me laugh!