Monday, June 29, 2015

Hi Mom!

I'm glad that you guys got to go to Virginia! That's so fun! Thanks for sending all those pictures! Mom your hair looks really good at
that length. Avery and Taylor look really tall.... I hope Taylor doesn't beat me up when I get home....

Right now I am getting a pedicure from Sister McEwan. Aka the coolest lady I have ever met. I seriously wish she had a son my age I could marry because she would be the coolest mother in law ever. She is doing our laundry today and she got us subway. And she's giving me a pedicure, as I mentioned. Talk about service! She's pretty much the greatest woman currently living in Southern California.

This email might be a little bit scatter brained because I'm like in a different universe as I'm getting my feet massaged while I'm writing this letter, sooo.

Well kids. This area is slow. There's really not much more to say about it. Sister Shin and I are talking to as many people as we can, but it's sooooo flipping hot so no one is outside. We can't tract. The really cool girl that we met last week, Frankie, we had an AWESOME lesson with her about the restoration.... But she dropped us the day after over a text message.

BUT. 

We went to the temple on Friday and I really learned so much. I have decided that I need to focus more on the Savior. Instead of just
freaking out, no stressing, about not having very many investigators, I'm just going to do the best that I possibly can. I am just going to
think about Jesus Christ and what he would be doing if he was in my area. I honestly just want to become more like Him. That's really all that I want. So I'm just not going to be really stressed about it, have fun with Sister Shin, and do everything that I can to help others so He will be proud of me.
Love you
all! You are awesome!

Love,
Ashlee


Loved being at the temple on Friday!

With Sister Shin



With Sister Stalder
We had a ward party after the temple trip.



These are some super cute kids in my ward! The two girls right next to
us are our ward mission leaders kids and they are adorable! I
seriously wish I could babysit them! I really miss little kids a lot!
My district: RtoL Elders Soleburg (he was in the MTC with me), Veron, Halofia, Gabe (his first name is Gabe. He is just on a trial mission so he isn't actually a missionary), Morgan, Chavez, and Nichols. Halofia and Nichols are the zone leaders, they aren't actually in the district. They are with Gabe while he is doing his temporary mission. Morgan is the District leader.Then Sisters Magleby, her trainee Lysinko (I'm pretty sure she is from Centerville) me and Shin.
Hanging out with Fergie on Pday while we get our laundry done!

Monday, June 22, 2015

Dunn dah dah dun dun dun DUNNNN!

(The subject is supposed to be exciting intro music)


Hello everyone!


This is the first email home from the iPad! How exciting and historic! Yay!
Pday is short today, so this email will be short. I hope Dad had a great Father's Day! And I hope y'all were able to pray and tell your
Father in Heaven how much you love and appreciate Him.


This week was really great! We had zone conference and talked about...well a lot of stuff. We talked about how to make our studies more effective and how to work with our wards. We trained for 8 hours! It was awesome.


Pday is short today because we are going to the temple on Friday!! I AM SERIOUSLY SO EXCITED! I can't wait to tell you all about it!
Also, I have a request. Sister Shin and I need some serious help! We are looking at another hard transfer here because we don't really have a lot to do... Our only progressing investigator was baptized last week so this week has been incredibly slow. We are just in an area that is hard to find people to teach right now. If there are some returned missionaries reading this could we get some advice? What were some finding activities or things that you did to strengthen wards in slow areas?


Something that I have learned this week is that Heavenly Father blesses us when we are accountable. In zone conference Sister Van Cott talked about prayer. She said that there are angels on the other side that are helping us. But, unlike God, they can't read our minds. It is important to plan effectively and let Heaven know where we are going
to be that day so they can help us and put the prepared people where we are going to be. We don't tract in our mission, but President said
that if we had planned to be somewhere, but our appointment fell through, it is okay to try that person's neighbors. So Sister Shin and
I put that to the test.


We planned on seeing a potential, but he didn't answer the door. So we tried his neighbors. The first neighbor answered the door. I told him who we were and asked if he was interested. He said no thanks. The
other neighbor was interested! Her name is Frankee and she is super cute! She asked a lot of questions about our church and we set up an appointment for this week! Please pray that she will be prepared and we will be able to teach her.


Well that's about it for this week. Sister shin is awesome. I think she is having a hard time though because this area is so slow and
hard. I guess I'm just used to it by now... Please pray for her, too. She goes home in October. She was actually Sister Hamblin's companion in the MTC so they go home together. But please pray for her. She is
so wonderful and I really want to help her finish her mission out strong.


Love all of you so much!
Love, Ashlee

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D I AM HAPPY!!!!!!

Hi Family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So many good things happened this week! SO MANY!!!!!

Alright so we will start with transfers. I dropped off Sister Hamblin at her new apartment. Sister Baker is her new companion. She goes home in September. 

Then Sister Lewis was my companion for 30 minutes while we drove to the mission office. We got to the mission office and I passed Sister Lewis off to her new companion AND THEN SISTER MAGLEBY WAS MY COMPANION FOR A FEW MINUTES!!!! Sister Shin arrived after me and Sister Magleby is training this transfer and the greenies don't get in until after everyone else leaves. Sister Magleby is in Fontana!!!! She is in my district!!!! YAY!!!!!! 

Then Sister Shin and I drove back to our apartment. Let me tell you something. Heavenly Father answers prayers! I prayed for a trial and then I got one. But, the whole last two weeks of the transfer I prayed for my companion. I didn't know who that was going to be...I honestly thought I was going to be with Sister Hamblin for another transfer so I really thought I was praying for her. I just prayed that whoever it was His will would be my companion would be prepared. I prayed that she would be knowledgeable and experienced so she could help me and help the area. I prayed that I would have a companion that would push me and help me be the best missionary that I could possibly be. And that is exactly what I got! Sister Shin is a really hard worker and we are going to see miracles this transfer! She is already helping me SO MUCH! She is super super smart and our companionship studies rock! AND she is just super cute and hilarious! We really balance each other out and it's awesome. 
I am seriously so excited for this transfer. We get IPads on Thursday, interviews with President are soon and I have soooo many questions for him, we get to do a temple trip on the 26th, and we are going to baptize 13 wonderful souls! It's going to be awesome!

Hermana Wright is still my roommate. I mentioned that we are cousins right??? She is also a descendant of the Bingham that has a cabin in Lagoon; right by the ice cream place. She is wonderful and has really helped me this past transfer. Her new companion is Hermana Ipson and she is also awesome! I HAVE CLEAN ROOMMATES! Last transfer the two senior companions in our apartment didn't want to clean and it was nasty....we cleaned today and threw away a ton of crap! I'm tellin' ya it's the little things in life.

I also got my STL assignments. Sister Shin and I are over my two roommates, Sister Hamblin, Sister Baker, and two other sisters I haven't met yet. 

JUAN'S BAPTISM WAS AMAZING!!!!! Oh man. Two people from the ward gave wonderful talks. I seriously can't even describe how happy I was when President Sears baptized him. D&C 18:15-16 is REAL! Right after he was baptized Sister Shin and I got up to teach the Message of the Restoration to everyone that came. I wasn't even nervous! I thought about crying...I think my body actually wanted to cry.... But I didn't because I thought to myself Holy cow I am so happy right now!!! I was seriously beaming!!!! Juan's roommate who isn't a member came and while I was teaching I could literally feel the Holy Ghost testifying through me to him. I can't even describe it! All I can say was I have never been so happy in my entire life! 

So. Lesson time. Everything that I went through those 6 weeks was TOTALLY WORTH IT. It was so worth it even for that 7 minutes of indescribable joy. I LOVE this work because it is TRUE. I am learning and growing more than I ever thought I could and it's all because of HIM. The best part about Juan's baptism wasn't even that I got a baptism. It was that JUAN got BAPTIZED. I can only imagine how happy he must have felt and I am so so so grateful that Heavenly Father let me feel a little bit of that happiness.
I think what I am really learning and seeing the most is just that the gospel is pure joy. There is nothing in life that can make us happier. I know how happy I have felt and right now all I want is for other people to feel that and understand it. 

There is something else I am learning, too. Missionary work is a commandment for everyone- not just the full-time missionaries. Do everything you can to help the missionaries. Invite friends and neighbors over for dinner or FHE and have the missionaries meet them. The worst thing that can happen is they will say no and continue being your friend.The BEST thing that could happen is that person can know what their purpose in life is and someday been sealed to their family for ETERNITY. Let people know what you believe! Share the gospel with others! I really hope you get to experience working with the missionaries like I have been working with the Sears' family. I hope you get to experience the joy that I did!!!!
I love you Mom! I love you Dad! I love you Taylor! I love you Tara! I love you Dannon! Is Bailey even alive still? Poor guy.
Keep reading the scriptures everyday! Thank you for everything you do for me!

Love,

Ashlee


California Sunset

LOOK WHO IT IS!!!!!! Sister Magleby is in my district now! We live in the same apartment complex so I see her almost everyday!!!! We matched on transfer day...she was my companion for 10 minutes while I was looking for Sister Shin. Yay we are best friends!
This is my new companion, Sister Shin! She is SO AWESOME I AM SO BLESSED

JUAN GOT BAPTIZED!!! YAYAYAYAY!!!!
This is Juan, Hilary Sears, and President Sears. I love this family :)

Yupp. We passed 100...

Monday, June 8, 2015

New Beginnings!!!

BEFORE I FORGET! I have forgotten this the past two weeks! My STL's last transfers were in the Tongan ward. They get to speak Tongan and have Tongan name tags and everything! When I went on exchanges, Sister Peterson helped me write my testimony in Tongan. Here it is:

Fakatonga Fakamo'oni
Fakamo'oni oku ou ilo kow hoku tamai hevani ofa kia kitautolu kotoa pe. Oku ou ilo na'e teuteu'i e he otua ha palani ke tau toe foki kiate la pea ke tau ke ma'u ha nonga moe fiemalie. Oku mo'oni ae Tohi a Molamona. Pea moe kapau te tau lau eni i he aho kotoa pe oku e lava ke tau mo'ui fiefia. Oku ou ilo ko ha palofita'a Tomasi S. Monsoni. Oku kitautolu kapau fanonga ki hono lea ke lava ke tau mo'ui ke ma'u ha fiefia. Oku ou ilo koe famili koe uho e he ae palani oe otua pea ke lava ketau nofo aki etau ngaahi famili ke he taengata. Oku'ou fai eni i'he huafa o'sisu Kalaisi, emen.

Isn't that a mouthful!

Alright. So the transfer has ended! I am staying in the Summit ward. Sister Hamblin is getting transferred to Rialto. My new companion will be Sister Shin. Sister Hamblin and Sister Shin were companions in the MTC. I have met Sister Shin before AND SHE IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are going to be Sister Training Leaders this transfer. Sooooo STL round 2 for me...

For the past two weeks I have been praying for my new companion even though I had no idea who she was. For all I knew, I could have been praying for Sister Hamblin because we could have both just stayed. But I prayed and prayed and PRAYED that my companion for the next transfer would be prepared. I prayed that I would have a wonderful companion that would help me and push me to become a better missionary. I prayed that I would have a companion that I could just work my butt off with. I am SO grateful that I know Sister Shin and that Heavenly Father has answered my prayer with a wonderful companion!

This week was crazy! We have been seeing Juan a LOT to prepare him for baptism. We have officially set his baptism date for Saturday June 13th at 3:30 p.m. I swear he is going to be a bishop someday...maybe even a stake president. Sister Hamblin and I learn so much from him. 

We also met Rose this week. Rose and Toni are two older sisters that the Sister Missionaries before I was here street contacted. Sister Hamblin said that last time she saw them they were nice, but not really interested. For the past few weeks Sister Hamblin has felt like we needed to visit them. Our less-active appointment fell through on Saturday night so we decided to just walk over to see Rose and Toni. Rose answered the door, let us in (WHICH NEVER HAPPENS IN THIS AREA!), and started to weep. She told us that Toni had died the last week of April. We sat there with her and hugged her and listened to her and just let her cry. After a while, I showed her the Mormon Message "Mountains to Climb" (WATCH IT!) and she just bawled through the whole thing. I bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and how it has helped me in my life go through trials. We read Helaman 5:12. She said she would read the Book of Mormon. She didn't want to start taking the lessons, but she said she would let us help her go through some of Toni's things and help her get the house in order (which I don't really know what she wants us to do because her house is spotless...). She said that she knew God sent us to comfort her, but she doesn't want to give up her Catholic believes. 

We have another new investigator named Paul that we met while he was fixing his truck in his driveway. His wife is deaf and very ill and wants a priesthood blessing.

I cannot express to you how grateful I am that Heavenly Father is blessing me. I have been trying so hard to work hard. I keep reading President Ritchie's letters about the Miracle Workers- stories of missionaries that had 20+ nonmembers at church and 11+ baptisms in 6 weeks. I want to do that. I just want to work until I physically can't work- and then work some more. Even though our numbers have been sooooo low, Heavenly Father is still blessing us with people to teach. And Juan is getting baptized this week. This transfer has been so hard, but I have learned so much! I have learned that I can do hard things. I have learned (or at least improved) how to be patient. I have prayed with all my heart that I can just love people and see how Heavenly Father sees them. There is a HUGE difference when I am not praying for that. I have been blessed with an AMAZING ward mission leader that has really helped me. It's not just that I can do hard things- because of HIM I can do hard things. And we all can. He won't give us anything that we can't handle.

I know that this past year has been really hard for all of you. Moving and adjusting are hard. BUT YOU DID IT! I am so proud of all of you! Keep praying and reading daily because you will become stronger than you can imagine!

Watch out world! The Olsen's are moving mountains!
Love you family!


Love, Ashlee


Yay for bad selfies!! These are all the awesome Hermanas that live in our apartment complex: Wright (she is related to Erastus Bingham!), Jimenez (Wright and Jimenez are my awesome roommates that I love to death! Hermana Wright is going home the same time I am), Stubor, West, Hamblin and Killpack



Yay for mail!!!! Thank you so much for all the awesome packages!!



My roommates made my birthday great:) they made me breakfast and gave me some awesome presents!

Sister Howell sent me my very favorite!!! Thank you!!!

I really really REALLY like this necklace :)

Thanks for making my birthday amazing!
This is Hermana Stubor. She is going home today. She and Diana Jaco are pretty much the same person. I absolutely love her.
L to R- Elder Griffes (District leader) Elder Morgan, Elder vernon, Elder Jex (a fellow aggie!) Elder stafford and Elder chavez

Monday, June 1, 2015

It's hot here!!

Hi Mom! I love you. Hi Dad! Hello siblings! 

And everyone!


This week was better! My Sister Training Leaders are so flipping awesome. They have helped me so so so much.

We had a mission conference this week AND I GOT TO SEE SISTER MAGLEBY! Ugh! I just love that woman! What a wonderful daughter of God. I should have taken a picture! Rats.

Anyway the conference was about IPADS! A 

general authority who's last name I cannot 

spell (it was something like Schwarzenegger..) came and told us all about them! We will be getting them in a couple of weeks. Stay tunned :) He said a ton of great stuff. He talked about how we are not an IPad mission, just like we aren't a pen mission or a car mission. Pens and cars are tools that we use. An IPad is nothing more than a tool. We are learning how to master technology and make it our slave, not the other way around. It's so cool.

We had stake conference this week! So I got to
go to Yucaipa Stake Conference and Fontana Stake Conference! Supa cool. I talked to President Van Cott. He told me that he talked to a lot of the ward members and they all said good things about us. It has taken pretty much the whole transfer, but we have gained the trust of the ward. President thanked us for the good job we are doing. That made me feel good.


We have been teaching the Relief Society 
President the member lesson and it has gone BEAUTIFULLY. On Saturday Sister Peterson and I visited her and she got so emotional and told us how grateful she was for us. She told us how much it means to her that we are working so hard to take care of the ward. So she was crying and then I was crying and it was just great. I love Sister Stacey. It feels so good to know that what I am doing is making a difference.

We have met with Juan almost every day this week! He is doing awesome! The spirit is always so strong when we teach him it's crazy! He has told me several times that I am here for him and he's always calling me Olsen and talking about how I am his missionary. What's so cool though is that it's not about me at all. Juan is getting baptized on June 11th. I can't tell you how humbling it has been for me to just be an instrument in His hands. It's not me at all. There is no way that awkward, clumsy Shlee can bring the spirit the way I feel it when I teach. It's all 110% Him.

I am learning so much. Something was 

reiterated to me this transfer from my first 

semester at USU. Hard thing STINK. But,they

are so so temporary. At the end of them, all 

we can remember is just that it stinked, 

but the result is so great. I am a totally different person. I have learned that I actually have patience and I am kind. I really am! Weird right??? I am stretching and growing and learning to prepare myself for the next phase in life and I'm helping people along the way. It just feels GOOD. There is nothing really more to be said.

Love you all! Thank everyone for the birthday 
wishes! I didn't have time to respond to all of them! Love you all to the moon and back!

Love, Ashlee


It's hot here!!



Fist bump



Fontana should really be called "CAT-tana." It is literally infested with cats.


Thank you for the package! It was much needed :)
These are my wonderful Sister Training leaders. Sister Rivera is next to me and Sister Peterson is the blonde one. They have helped me SO MUCH. Sister Peterson and I met in the preexistance I'm pretty sure- new BFF