Sunday, July 12, 2020

My name is Elder Olivier and I park my bike in the garage

We received this email from Elder Olivier on June 29.

Hey guys it's been a while,

So I'm back out on the mission in Salt Lake City. It's pretty weird to be on a mission right now during quarantine and it's pretty weird to be in the church's capital trying to find missionary work to do when almost everyone here is already a member haha. I was in a Spanish speaking area for a good three weeks and it was great while it lasted. It's pretty cool how much latin American culture is here in there U.S. and it was fun getting to know a lot of other cultures besides just Mexican. I found a lot of food that I was convinced I'd never find in the U.S. and got to speak a ton of Spanish.

Now I'm in an English area and it's kinda like I switched missions a second time. Teaching in English is pretty weird and something I'll have to get used to and the culture is pretty different as well. But it's cool.

Since there's so many missionaries that got reassigned to the U.S. because of Covid 19 they now have us living in a hotel while look for new apartments for us. It's pretty interesting and we're eating a lot of microwave food.

There's a lot of pretty ugly stuff going on in the world right now and I don't think anyone is really immune to it. A scripture I thought I'd share with you guys is found in the Book of Mormon in the Book of Alma and says:

24 He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.

I thought that scripture was pretty cool because God really does have a plan for each of us and despite how hard it is right now, we can always learn from what's happening and keep moving forward and bettering ourselves. God loves each of us and he's always there to help us when we need him.

I hope you guys are doing great and keep moving forward!

Elder Olivier





Back to the Mission Field

On June 1, Elder Olivier was once again set apart as a missionary and left the following day early for Salt Lake City.

 Setting Apart



Safely arrived in Salt Lake City! 

Home Transfer

Elder Olivier transferred to home between April 5 and June 2. He was temporarily released on April 5, entered a 2-week quarantine and we enjoyed having Zach in at home for this time.

Visit with Oma and Opa

Easter COVID-19 Zoom with Family
 
Easter

Cheslen Preserve Hike

Tacos in Kennett Square from Puebla!

White Clay State Park Hike

Mexican Style Eggs
  
Mexican Style Corn on the Cob

Cameron's COVID-19 Graduation Party

 Quarantine Beard

Last Day Before Reassignment - Lunch

Last Day Before Reassignment - Golf

Reassignment to Salt Lake City

Elder Olivier posted this to Facebook on May 4.

Due to Covid-19 I have been temporarily reassigned to the Utah Salt Lake City mission! I report the first week of June. The expectation is that I will return to Puebla when the borders open.
To my friends in Puebla I miss you so much!!

¡Debido a Covid-19 he sido reasignado temporalmente a la misión Utah Salt Lake City! Empiezo la primera semana de junio. La expectativa es que volveré a Puebla cuándo abren las fronteras.
A mis amigos en Puebla les extraño muchísimo!!

Transfer Home to Quarantine

We received the following email from the mission secretary on March 29.

Dear Parents and Stake President of Elder Olivier

Here we have the itinerary for Elder Olivier´s flight home attached to this email. We also ask that you revise it and make the necessary preparations to receive him. We also ask to make sure that the 2-week quarantine is held as instructed.

Ultimately, his flight was canceled and the church chartered a flight from Mexico City to Salt Lake with only missionaries on board. After a night in a hotel in Salt Lake, Elder Olivier arrived home to begin the quarantine on April 5.