Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Last Email from the Mission





My dear family members, friends, relatives, and anyone else who may be reading,

This is my last Pday. In one week I will no longer be a set apart missionary. These past two years have gone by way to fast. They've been full of successes, failures, happiness, sorrow, peace, and everything in between. Some weeks felt like an eternity, and others passed by in a blink of an eye. It hasn't been easy, it's been the hardest thing I've ever done, but it's also been the most rewarding thing I've ever been a part of. It was rewarding because it gave me the chance to help people leave a life filled with sorrow, guilt, and pain, and come into a life filled with joy, peace, and love. This change only comes through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The power of the infinite atonement is strong enough to change people, heal broken hearts, do everything!

Seeing people who I love become happier through Christ's Atonement has definitely been the best, but the people I've met aren't the only ones who have been changed. This mission has changed me as well. Through my work I have come to know my God, and Jesus Christ whom He sent. The trials and doubts that come with the work pushed me to my God, and as I drew nearer to him, He drew nearer to me. He lifted me up, supported me, and made my burden light. The trials then turned into testimonies with the joys. All of these experiences combined with the Gospel of Jesus Christ have changed me, and are still changing me. I know the gospel is true and that it changes lives because it changed mine. I am a living testimony that it works!

I wish I had more time to serve, but just because I'm headed back to Utah doesn't mean I'm done with my mission, I'm just getting transferred ;) Every member needs to be a missionary, not just the ones with name tags. I can't wait to continue on in the work of salvation!

I love you all! 





Monday, September 5, 2016

Very Little Information but A LOT of Pictures!



September 3, 2016

Hello!!

Just a quick update this week, everything's good, I'm good, my leg is
getting better, I still haven't started physical therapy though, the
insurance made out an appointment for me, but the appointment was in
Hamburg! Haha, and I can't travel 250+ kilometers two to three times a
week just for that, so I have to wait a little longer until I can get
an appointment in Berlin. It's a little annoying, but I can wait a
little longer.

In bigger, better news, the Freiberg Temple is going to be
re-dedicated tomorrow! Woohoo!! We're all SOOO EXCITED!! The
dedication will be broadcast to all of the chapels in Germany, so
we'll all get to see it and participate! It's gonna be a good one!

Well, sorry for the super short email this week. Keep being awesome! Love you!

LG Elder Oliphant






August 27, 2016

Hey hey hey! How are you on this beautiful, hot, August day? Man, I don't know how it is in the rest of the world, but it is roasting up in here! 

Anyway, I wanted to start with a shout out to a true hero from this last week: my mom, the one and only Julie Oliphant. Last week she got my flight plans, and noticed that they were for the 29th of September instead of the 30th. She wrote me and asked if that was correct. Well, that wasn't correct, they had made a mistake in Salt lake and booked the wrong tickets! The tickets were booked while the whole office staff was gone helping the new missionaries in Freiberg, so we didn't notice it, and if my dear mother hadn't pointed that out, we would've been in big trouble.  So, thanks mom! You rock!

Anyway, this week was more of the normal stuff. Life as an office elder can be fun at sometimes, but also really boring at others. A big part of our job is trying to fix problems in the mission, but sometimes these problems are just way over us. For example, one thing that we do a lot is buy train tickets for traveling missionaries online through the train company, DeutscheBahn. Well, we don't know why, but we are somehow being blocked from buying tickets. It's really, really annoying. We've called DeutscheBahn, they said it was a problem with the bank. We called the bank, they said it was a problem with DeutscheBahn. We would just use another method of transportation, but DB has a total monopoly on the train system, so there's no other option. It's really dumb, I hope we can get it sorted out quickly!

Well, what else is new... Oh, this week I got a package! There was no return address, only a postage mark from England. I opened it up, and what was inside? A potato! with a message from my mom. Haha, I was so confused, but it was really funny, the whole office staff got a good laugh out of that one.



Well, that's all from me. Bis später, Alligator!



A little free time...

They needed a new toilet seat 


The District on July 4th