Week 5

친구와 가족! Family and friends! 

 How are you guys? I'd love to hear about it. 

 Here's the link to my Google photos! https://photos.app.goo.gl/2mHSSBgq2RK6ajNR6 

 So many silly little things happened this week. 

 MONDAY was our first day of full immersion! I dreaded this day for awhile but it was so fun. Still very hard, but we had some good laughs. My district decided to sit in this spot under the trees that we've never gone to before. There's probably a good reason for that. Everyone sat down but I stayed standing because I had a white skirt on. Someone said something about an ant but I felt safe because I was standing. I was not safe. I noticed them crawling onto my skirt and I tried to shake them off. They started getting in my socks and biting my ankles. I started flicking them off and we all moved to the tables. Sisters from my district helped get the ants off that I couldn't see. Still not sure why they didn't attack anyone else. 

TUESDAY I woke up and was really missing hiking. I didn't know that would be one of the things I missed most. I got a letter from my youngest brother Hayes! He drew a turtle for me. My favorite animal is a turtle, and for the past few years as I've lived away from home my siblings have gotten in the habit of sending me little drawings of turtles, turtle stickers, tiny turtle figures, etc. I was so happy to see that the tradition continues. We had a devotional from Dale G. Renlund and his wife. She talked about how important perspective is and the center of your focus. She used a fist analogy I will try to share with you. Hold your fist in front of your face. When you are focused on your fist, that is all you see. Keep your fist there, and look past it. Your fist it still there, but it's no longer all you see. Your fist represents a trial. When you are focused on it, that is all you can see. But when you shift your focus, you see so much more. The trial is still there, but your perspective has changed. He spoke about how the mission is a metaphorical hike. There are metaphorical cairns (stacked rocks along hiking paths guiding the way) • remember your purpose • do your duty • accept that Christ uses imperfect messengers • rely on Christ • become His friend He included apostolic blessings at the end which was so special. I was genuinely almost in tears that morning missing hiking, and the fact that he related the mission to a hike was a tender mercy. I am hiking! Even though this is a hike I've never done before, on a trail I've never walked, there are cairns guiding me the whole way. And this will be the greatest hike I've ever done! 

WEDNESDAY we helped host the new missionaries! There was about 500 new missionaries that arrived Wednesday and about 200 of us helping to host. When their families drove in to drop them off we were assigned a vehicle in line and would meet them when they stopped. We would meet them when they got out of the car and take their luggage, offer to take a photo of the family all together, then guide the new missionary to the orientation room and took their luggage to the waiting area. Then we got in a different line and waited for a missionary to exit orientation. When one came through the door, you'd be assigned them, help them find their luggage, carry their luggage to their housing, up the flights of stairs and to their rooms where you'd leave them to unpack and get settled. It was a big responsibility, being the first person they'd spend time with after leaving their families. The first new missionary I helped lived on the 3rd floor of a building with no elevator. At least that's what I thought. I carried her 2 large 50lbs suitcases up 3 flights of stairs only to double check her room number and realize, her room actually is on the 2nd floor. But it's okay, I took her luggage back down a set of stairs as she followed me to her correct room. Then I proceeded to share the story with the next few new arrivals I hosted and made sure to double check their floors. After hosting a few new missionaries, I got back in line and waited in line for someone to come out of orientation. I turned around and guess who I found. Sister Young! And guess what else. Her companion, Sister Choi, is Korean! It was a miracle. I have family living on a US military base in South Korea. They messaged me saying their best friends had just dropped their daughter, Sister Young, off at the MTC. She's going to serve in Taiwan. I had been trying to find her for a few days, even asking other people going to Taiwan if they knew her with no luck. There are hundreds and hundreds of missionaries here. I thought I'd never find her and I even prayed that I'd be able to! The 4 of us ended up on a special assignment escorting a new missionary on some medical errands for the next couple hours. We've ran into each other daily since then! I know God hears and answers prayers. I know you can pray anytime, anywhere, about anything. Trust Him, and the answers will come. 

THURSDAY was our first SYL (speak your language) day. We did an English fast from 9am to 9pm. Being limited to very broken Korean for 12 hours was incredibly challenging. Half the things that came to mind to say during the day went unsaid because I lack the vocabulary to even begin to explain them in Korean. Despite it being hard, it was enjoyable. The 8 of us speaking in only broken Korean, charades, and teamwork for 12 hours really stretched us. What a blessing it was to see how far we have come just in our first month! God loves effort. Whatever your best sincere effort is, in whatever you may be working on or towards, give that effort and He will magnify it. "I've seen it happen a hundred times" as my dad would say. But this time it's true. I've seen it happen in my own life. I've seen it happen in others lives. And I know it can happen in yours. I promise you it can. 

FRIDAY we did branch prayer, well we do this every night, but our branch started with about 14 sisters, then down to 6, then we added 15 last week, then 23 more this week. We have at least 45 Sisters and about 19 elders. Every night when the 45 of us gather outside, the same question is asked every night, "how have you seen God's hand in your life today?". It is amazing to hear and share how others and myself have seen His hand. Sometimes they are simple things like the sunshine, other times it's something like finding Sister Young right behind us in line, and her companion being Korean. I encourage you to answer the same question for yourself. I wish I could hug all of you. I just love you all so much. 

What have you guys been working on lately? 

Here's my address for letters! 

Sister Lyberti Olsen

 07-08 | KOR-SEOS 

2005 N 900 East, Unit #177 

Provo UT 84602 United States

Annyeong, 올센 자매