Greetings from Uruguay!

Greetings from Uruguay! We are so happy that all of the new missionaries arrived safe and sound today.  They are such an impressive group!!  We have been anxiously awaiting their arrival and look forward to spending the next day or so together.  The remainder of today will be spent in interviews with President Olsen and in some training.  Tomorrow morning they will meet their trainers and head out to their new areas.  

As a family, we are excited to get to know your missionary better.  Each will become a member of our family.  We will love them and take care of them as if they were our own.  Having served here myself, I can promise that your missionary will develop a deep love for the wonderful people of Uruguay.  They will each find their own “waters of Mormon” here in Uruguay.  In a beautiful way, their lives will be changed forever.

We anticipate greatness from these missionaries and will do all we can to love and support them in this incredible work.  If you ever have any questions or need anything, feel free to shoot me a message.  The fastest way to get a response is to message me through Facebook (Julie Darrington Olsen).  We also have a mission Facebook page "President and Sister Olsen, Uruguay Montevideo West Mission”. 

We feel so blessed to serve here along side you missionary.  We have an obedient, dedicated mission and we find joy in serving.  Most of all, we love you for all you do to support your missionary!  May the Lord bless your family as your missionary serves here in the Uruguay Montevideo West Mission.  We join with all of our missionaries in working to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We love Him and testify of Him!

With much love,

Sister Olsen

If God knows you can do it, why can't you baby girl?!

Priemera! Feliz Dia de Accion de Gracias a todos mis amigos y mi familia!! Estoy agradecido por ustedes!!<3

The love and gratitude I have for my Savior is beyond words to describe. God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son so that we could have access to godly power. Power sufficient to deal with our burdens, obstacles, and temptations of our days. Nothing comes easy or automatic about trying to become powerful desciples of Christ. It is mentally rigorous to look unto him in every thought, but when we do, our doubts and fears flee. 

I will be honest, I've been dealing a bit with anxiety since ive been here.. Both my therapist and my doctor here even mentioned to me that they don't think I could survive in the field. I know right now I am stretching beyond anything I have ever done before, but that in no way means that I cannot do this. I was called to this work because I have the desire to serve God. I was not called to this work because I was capable. But first to desire and then the Lord will increase my capability. Thanks to my amazing MTC President, and his wife, I was able to fast with them, attend the temple with Hermana Bennett, and recieve a blessing from Presidente Bennett. All which were amazing and much needed:) President reminded me to not let the world take away my hope. He told me that he, his wife, and Heavenly Father knows I can do this. I know I can do this with the Lords help. We are the favored people that god has made choice, to bring about in the latter-days, we are the hope! And I refuse to let anyone take mine away! I am determined to make this a life changing experience every day, every week, and every month. But as any other blessing, I have to work for this. And at the end of the day, this work is not about me. It's about the people of Uruguay and the missionaries that I cross paths with. "If ye love me, then feed my sheep" I have already left my net. I cannot go back, I cannot turn my back, and i cannot unless I first, love Him. I know I will come out with so much more if I believe I have the power to do this work. Joseph Smith had to. Because of the fall, we are out of the presence of our father, so we all have weaknesses, and anxiety is just one, of many of mine!!

If we reach up for the Lord's power in our lives with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be ours. When the Savior knows we truly want to reach up to him, when he can feel that the greatest desire of our hearts is to draw his power into our lives- He will lead us. He will never forsake us! But it must be done in his way. Not my will, but Thy will be done.

Being a missionary is the absolute least I can do for my Savior. We as ward members, missionaries, and leaders are as one. Every member in this chruch has a role to play in this world for salvation. Now is the time to come together and labor in the vineyard, the harvest is great! And what a wonderful church this is!

Next time you hear from me, i will be coming at you live from the vineyard of Uruguay and i could not be more excited!!!

"Look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not.”

-Hermana McEwan<3

Uno meta down, diecisiete to go!

Buenos dias familia! 

Man i miss you guys.. But i do know that i can help you guys (my family) more here than if i was at home. As long as i am doing his work, my family will be taken care of. Presidente Bennet told me this week that whenever i am missing my family or i am down on myself, to read D&C Section 31. It is amazing! All you missionaries out there, or even my friends away from your families at college, read it!! The main idea in this chapter is to be patient, pray always, and follow the comforter:)

If i am being completely honest, it has not been an easy week. Spanish is really gettin me down!! I can teach lessons, pray, and testify in Spanish but when its all said and done, i always felt like i could´ve done better. Regardless of how hard learning a new language can be, i have come to realize that hard can be good for those who will move forward with faith and trust in the lord and his plan! Hard makes us stronger, humbles us, and gives us a chance to prove ourselves. Hard things in our lives should come as no surprise. One of the earliest covenants we make with the lord is to live the law of sacrifice. Leaving my family, friends, and home is a small price to pay in relation to the blessings that follow. Hard is part of the gospel plan! During the terrible days in liberty jail, the lord taught josephsmith to "endure it well" and promised that if he did, "all things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." We all choose our reaction to hard. We can have the faith to trust in him! He wants what is best for us, he WILL answer our prayers and he WILL keep his promises. He knows everything, and most important he knows whats best. As a missionary, we are trying new things constantly. There is no growth in the comfort zone, and no comfort in the growth zone! Because of this it is easy to develop fear. But god has not given us the spirit of fear. Discouragement and fear are tools of the adversary. The lords answer to hard times is to go forward with faith, so that is what i plan to do:)

We focused alot on the Atonement this week. We have been saved by the atonement, but have we been changed by it? We need to make the habit of repenting daily. Repentance is a change of mind and heart. We need to come unto Christ and have real intent to be better. Repentance does not end in this life! Satan is working so hard on us during these days, so we must double our fight! We need to continue to learn and progress every single day. We cannot survive using yesterdays work ethic and we cannot solve today´s problems with yesterdays thinking. We need to be the answer to today and tomorrows problems! Usually with meetings in the church and even missionary devotionals, there is alot more said than done. So lets put our hands in gods and become the people of Zion that we were born to become! We as latter day saints are the light of the world that the lord sent here to awaken others from their deep sleep. 

Yes, this work has gotten harder, but that doesn't mean it hasn't gotten better!! I know as i continue, the lord will bless me in more ways than i know right now. I know the lord has a purpose for me in Uruguay and i hope and desire to meet his expectations. By the end of this I want my father in heaven to say to me "well done, thou good and faithful servant!!!"

Dios les ama, y les amo!<3<3<3<3

-Hermana McEwan

Let it Rage

Fue un semana phenomenal! This week flew by!! Y dos semanas left!

I felt the spirit more than ever before on Sunday. We had testimony meeting and everyone bore their simple testimonies in spanish. Weve been taught not to pray for our mouth to be filled with words, but rather we need to open our mouths and act and they will be filled. The MTC president (Bennett) and his wife came to my relief society class this week and we talked about charity and self worth. The right lessons always seem to come when i need them most! I shared my favorite scripture, Moroni 7:45 "And charity suffereth long, and is kind and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, edureth all things." I love this scripture because it refers to charity as a "she" I feel like charity is a quality that all mothers have, and i am here to become the best person i can be for my future familly and my future life as a mother. I shared a few personal experiences and the president had some personal experiences that were very similar to mine. He was testifying to me for at least 20 minutes and never in my life have i felt heavenly fathers love so strongly for me, which i had been praying for. Me and president Bennett are homies now and he never hesitates to hunt me down and see how im doing:) Hes like my dad here, and its comforting haha (Miss my real dad doe)

Me and my sweet companion were called to serve as sister training leaders:) I am so grateful for this opportunity we have to serve others, develop a greater love for eachother and those around us and most importantly, to learn!

This week we had companion exchanges with the Latinos! I got paired with the cutest latina, Hermana Mamani. It amazed me that even though we spoke different languages, we were able to plan and teach with the spirit, but still laugh and have fun in the process of doing it!

I know ive said this before, but im going to say it again. This is the hardest thing i have ever done because i have never tried so hard to be like my savior and so the adversary is working extra time on me. We had an amazing devotional on Tuesday night by Russel M Nelson. He said "if you only have one convert on your mission, i hope it will be yourself." What we do/ what i do her is just as vital as who i am. I am working to take upon his name with full purpose of heart, and live what i learn here. I am not doing this to go back to my old life, this is my life now and there are too many people relying on me on both sides of the veil to not work as diligently as i know i can. I can only convert people to the extent of my own conversion! We are on the same road as the savior and my goal is to declare repentance unto people, not through my words, but the lords words. I am here to bring souls unto him, because this world is ripening of iniquity. But let it rage!!!! This battle is not only mine, but gods, and with god- nothing is impossible!!

Yo se que el evangelio es verdadera!! Mediante Jesucristo y su plan, nosotros podemos todos tener el don de gozo y felicidad!!

-Hermana McEwan<3<3<3<3<3

3 weeks down, 3 to go!

Every single day here just gets better and better. Unfortunately this is a time of growing and with that comes sooo many challenges. But with the challenges, always comes joy!

The temple last week was absolutely amazing and so refreshing. The spirit truly does speak all languages! Getting out of the walls of the MTC was quite the reality check, but made me all the more excited for the field!

Me and my district (6 hermanas, 6 elders) had a 24 hour fast and it was one of the most amazing experiences ever:) One thing i learned during my fast is that the spirit spaks quietly through your feelings and the thoughts in your mind. Many voices in the world compete for your attention and they can easily drown out spiritual impressions if you are not careful.

I dont know if i mentioned my roomates in my last email but i know for a fact that they will be life long friends! (Hermana Eliason & Hermana Vakapuna) They make me laugh and are so supportive when i am down on myself (because im a perfectionist) (turns out there is no such thing as a perfect day because we are all imperfect people) what needs to be perfect are our desires and our efforts!!

Everyone here calls me Hermana McQuellen hahaha Also a group of latinos came up to me yesterday and literally each of them wanted to take a picture with me and i was like ????? didnt understand anything they were saying cuz they were saying it in spanish and then this elder was like, didnt you know, youre famous here because of your skin hahaha thanks mom!! I get at least 10 questions a day about it haha

2nd week here and i was already asked to speak in church! We are asked to write a talk every saturday night incase they call on us to talk on sunday. None of my district wrote talks on saturday because usually they dont call up people that have only been here for a little while. I had thee weirdest feeling that they were gonna call on me so i wrote one (on how the gospel blesses families because i love my family im obsessed with them) and sure enough they chose me! haha I was so nervous but my branch president came up to me after and told me im going to be fluent in no time haha so im hoping he didnt just say that to be nice..

The spanish is coming day by day, slowly but surely:) This week they really focused on recognizing the spirit in our lives. We have become so used to feeling the spirit, so we need to learn to recognize it! We need to live in a way that we dont think/worry about who the impression is from, we just know. I have also come to accept that my mission is not an event of learning the language, but a journey of loving the people. I am in the process of learning to teach simply:) "it is true intelligence for a man to take a subject that is mysterious and great in itself and to unfold it and simplify it so a child can understand it" The savior taught simply, so can i!

We have to believe in miracles in this work. God, is a god of miracles and they have not ceased! The only thing that stands between my investigators and their salvation, is a missionary that believes in miracles. It is not our circumstances that determine our destiny, it is a determined faith in christ that determines our destiny. I had come to a point this week where i was really struggling, wondering if heavenly father hears my prayers. Once i remembered the importance of faith, i noticed miracle after miracle. I read an amazing chapter in the BOM (Moroni 7) that made me feel a tremendous amount of peace."I rejoice exceedingly that your lord jesus christ hath been mindful of you, and hath called you to his ministry and to his holy work" "i am mindful of you always in my prayers" "he through his infinite goodness and grace will keep you through the endurance of faith on his name to the end." Every butterfly i see, i consider a miracle. I know my butterfly-loving, sweet baby cousin sarah is with me. She is my angel and is yearning for my success! We cant have big miracles happen unless we notice the small ones:)

I am desperate to become the person that i want to be. I know that if i stay the course i will have what i yearn for! I have grown such a deep love for this gospel already. This gospel is a voice of gladness and i am so incredibly grateful for this opportunity i have to share his voice!

Until next semana;)

-Hermana McQuellen