Hey all!
Man, it was
sooo good to hear from all of you and to hear what is going on back home. Tre
tre! Congrats on winning the 100 meter man! I’m so proud of you! You are the
man!! I hope you do well at the state meet so that way you can go to the
Hershey meet. That would be awesome! I was also very impressed by the neat duck
shelter you all made together. Ha-ha that will be fun and exciting to see when
I get back! Cameron! Congrats on winning your games man! You are also the man!
I just have the best brothers in the world, huh? I would have to say so! I’m
glad you all had a good time at the family reunion and scout camp and all of
the other stuff you are all up too. The cabin sounds like it's coming along! So
neat. All these wonderful adventures. We are having a lot of adventures of our
own!
Last Monday
we had a crazy thing happen. So we got news from our bishop that there is a boy
in our ward that is the only member of the church in his family. I guess
because of the conditions in his home he was taken away from his family by
social services. So our bishop got the ward council together and organized a
project to completely redo the apartment by the next time social services came
by to inspect the home. I believe they were going to take him to a foster home
or something if conditions didn’t improve. They asked us to come over and help
with the project. We started on Monday and they were going to come over on
Tuesday afternoon to inspect the home. So we got there on the scene. The
apartment blew my expectations. I went into the apartment and instantly had to
cover my mouth from the stench. The tile was so dirty and broken and falling
apart. The kitchen was covered in filth and the walls were too. There was
clutter all over the place. The worst of it was the bathroom. The shower was
stained with black stuff all over it and the room was dirty and cluttered.
There was so much hair in the sink that there was standing water. We could barely see the floor in the whole
place and when we did it was gross. I really wanted to weep when I got in
there. Knowing that people were living in conditions like this. We went to
work. Young women and the relief society began to clean; we got rid of the
toilet and a lot of clutter. We had to move a lot of heavy stuff out of the home.
We even went and took down the dry wall because there had been a leak in water
pipe for a long time. We got to repaint the rooms and clean up everything. It
was sooo neat to see the effort from the entire ward. We had, I would say,
about 50 people from the ward there helping. It was really true Christ like
service and charity. All for one boy too. It was amazing and so cool to see. It
will be something that I will never forget. What made it even neater was that
all of the ward members knew how to fix everything and got it all donated too. Our
ward is full of members that are plumbers, construction workers, cleaners, and
all that good stuff. We did some serious damage. It looks sooooo much better. I
know that this church is true and that we have the best members in this
church. That was so amazing to see that love that we all have. The boy isn't
back home yet. Currently he is staying with another family of the ward. He'll
stay with them until he goes home. It was amazing and now his family wants to
join the church and so do their neighbors. So amazing. We are seeing a lot of
great miracles.
Tuesday we
had interviews with President Bowen. It was awesome. I can say that I have the
best mission president in the world! Ha-ha We were about an hour behind schedule
so my interview was about three minutes long. He asked me how I was. How the
zone was, and then I shared my testimony. Ha-ha it was great though.
We had a good
day where we met with a new investigator named Lupe. She is really awesome. She
is a very prepared person. She was asking us about how she could find the truth
and know the true church. She was even telling us about how her husband was
asking about where we came from, why we are here on the earth, and what happens
after we die. So we really are working with them and they are very prepared.
She accepted to be baptized on the 14th of July. We hope we can get her ready
to be baptized by then.
We found
another great investigator named Liliana. She is awesome and we found her
knocking on doors. Her sister is a new member of the church in Mexico and she
wanted to learn more about the church. We taught her the restoration and she
really liked it. She really wants the best for her four kids. She told us that
she wants to come to church and was going to come. She even lives about two
blocks form church so it's really easy for her to go even without having a car.
She wasn't able to come though. She also accepted a date to be baptized on the
21st of July. So we are going to work with her as well. She is passing through
a hard time. She was telling us how she didn't grow up with a father or a
mother in Mexico. So she had a hard childhood. She got together with her
husband and now is suffering. The husband doesn't love her and doesn’t treat
her very well either. She was sobbing and telling us that she is so tired and
wants someone in her life that loves her for the way she is. It was so sad and
again, I wanted to cry. We were able to tell her that the gospel can heal and
help her overcome all the difficulties that are passing through her life as
well. I know the Lord will help her and bring her happiness as long as she
chooses to follow it. We will be there to help.
Yesterday I
had the great opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting. I spoke on "the
strength of a testimony". I only had 10 minutes and they flew by so fast.
Basically my talk was all about missionary work and the affects that one pure
testimony can have on people. I shared that one's testimony doesn't have to be
anything large or grand. It can even be pure, small, and sincere. I shared the
story of the conversion of Brigham Young. His heart changed the second he heard
"a man without eloquence. Nor talent for public speaking" he was
converted and ended up being a huge influence in the lives of millions of
latter day saints. I shared with them the story of the Ollerton's and how they
were converted by Heber C. Kimball in England. How through his testimony I'm
here today. Generations have been affected by the testimonies of these people.
I told the members of our ward how they can be the same today. Your testimony
can have an affect on generations of people. Even a small one. So I invited all
the members to share their testimony with someone. Promising them that they
will have an affect on someone. It was powerful and really fun to speak on.
Well I have
to go. I love being out here in the mission. I love you all so much! I can'
wait to hear from you all soon.
Elder Dallin
M. Ollerton
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