February 17, 2014 "No one wants to listen"

All,

Thanks for your love and support of Jon.  He continues to do well.  He sent a series of four emails today.  I think he rushes through them and then thinks of something more to say.  Typical Jon.

Hows it guys?? I miss you guys a lot but I have great people here that take me in like family!!   I had a really good week out in the field!!  We tract probably about 2 to 3 hours a day, knocking on doors and all that! No one wants to listen to us. I had a guy just have his dogs bark at us and yell no and walk away. It is really hard to stay happy but I need to realize that I can't control how others think and it is ok.  After we tract we have appointments for the rest of the day and this is where it gets fun!!  We have about 6 people with a baptismal date and about 3 are very serious about it.  The hard part is they all live in the town and they don't have cars because they dont have a lot of money and it is a very long walk to church.  I wish that I could help them more but all we can do is encourage them to make the walk and tell them they will be blessed for it.  So we have this investigator named Themwa and she is amazing.  Her husband passed away about 2 years ago and left behind 2 young boys.  One of the boys is Raymond.  He always yells to me when I get there "my best friend!!!" and runs up to me and hugs me.  The whole lesson he is just playing with my hair because he thinks that white people's hair is so interesting.  Haha, it is hilarious.  We call apartments flats and so my flat is way nice.  It is in a gated community and we have two bedrooms and a full kitchen.  Me and my companion keep the room really clean.  I always make my bed in the morning (mom would be proud) haha.  The days are going so quick.  We had a thing that is called a blitz where all the missionaries go to one area and tract.  It was my area that we did this and in 2 hours we had 14 people that wanted to here more.  This was truely a miracle because normally we dont get anyone in 5 hours or so!! I am learning how to budget my money haha.  I only have 200 rand left for the month which is 20 dollars but they only give us 1,200 rand a month which is nothing for what we need, but i am trying not to use my home card and money as much as possible.  Did you get that song for lily?? It is my favorite song.  Miss you guys and love you!! Elder Olson

Mom i miss you!!  Sounds like you are doing great with me gone. haha Guess I will never come home!! Just kidding, but I dont need any recipes because I can only afford cheap food. haha What I send to dad is for you too so just have him send that to you! love you!

So go and look at mosiah 14.  That is the most powerful chapter in all of the BoM.  It is all about what Christ went through for us.  How he didnt just die for us but he lived for us also.

Oh, also there is this guy in my ward. He is the first councillor and an amazing guy.  He is a inspirational speaker and is looking to do something in the states.  He fed me last night and we talked for hours about what he has gone through. He was an addict for 23 years and then the gospel changed his life. He would love you to email him.  He said he isn't looking for you to give him business but maybe you could refer him to some people.  He would love it if you emailed him. His email is allan@allanharvey.me and his name is Allan Harvey.  Great guy