I want to share some experiences I've had....

21 Sept 2015

So today was an awesome day! 

The morning was just how it always is, which is 4 hours of studying. I love studying the scriptures and learning more and more about Our Savior, Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father's Plan of Happiness.

After our study we went off to the hospital to see a man named Mr. Shovar. He has been in the hospital for over a month. I don't know the specifics but we went and talked with him and found out that today was not only his birthday, but his son's birthday, and the day one of his other sons passed away. So it was a very rough day for him to just be stuck in the hospital and he was super grateful that we came out to see him. He said he feels very lonely there at the hospital and he doesn't get many visitors anymore. We felt very sorry for him and could feel his pain. We promised him that we will bring him the sacrament on Sunday and that we will visit him as often as possible and get in contact with his home ward. After we talked for a bit he asked if I could give him a blessing and I gladly said yes. The spirit helped me gave one of the best blessing I have ever given and I felt the spirit so strongly during it and Mr. Shovar was in tears afterwards. I think he was able to feel the love that his Heavenly Father has for him and that He is truly always watching over him. We shared a brief video about going through hardships with the help of Heavenly Father which Mr. Shovar enjoyed. He was so thankful for our visit and the message we shared with him. He is a great guy. I'm so glad we were able to meet him and spend time with this kind man.

After that we went over to another hospital and administered a blessing to another man that had been in an accident and was about to go into surgery. We could feel the sweet comfort of the Spirit as my companion, Elder Bagley gave that blessing.

After those visits we had dinner at a nice Spanish family's house where we ate some KFC while I struggled to understand what they were saying. haha. But it was very nice and I'm thankful for their sweet spirit and generosity :).

After dinner we had an appointment with the Villegas family. They are super nice people and an awesome family. The parents are inactive but their 20 year old daughter is very active and she has a 9 year old son whos name is Logan. During our time there, Logan was just playing his DS and not really listening or paying attention to what we were saying even though we tried to include him as much as we could. But then near the end of our time there, we shared the video: "He lives" and talked about what Christ has done for us. The spirit was very strong during that message and Logan came out and said that he wants to go to church this Sunday and go to scouts (Elder Bagley and I had talked about how fun and exciting scouts has been for us). It was awesome! His family was surprised and excited at Logan's reaction! How great it is when the Spirit touches the hearts of those around us. I am excited for Logan to experience all the joys of church and all the fun he will have at scouts.

So today was an awesome day!! :)

22 Sept 2015 .....Today we taught Logan lesson one, "The Restoration". And it was a super awesome lesson. Logan's father, sister and Logan were all in tears when Elder Bagley and I where bearing our testimonies and telling them how much their Heavenly Father loves them. It was such a GREAT experience. :D

These are just a few but I hope you enjoy these experiences I had. :)

There are so many it's hard to remember every detail and difficult to write them all down. But they play over and over in my mind and in my heart and I wish I could share all that I feel.

I love missionary work and I just love helping people all day, every day. I simply LOVE being a missionary.

With Love, Elder Odland