Dear Family and Friends,

I know it has been many weeks since I wrote last.  I guess you might say life is a little hectic.  Some of you may not be aware that after a year of hoping for approval to have surgery it was finally given and Elder Olson had surgery in Durango, CO on Apr. 2  It was 3 weeks yesterday.  He had the stitches out last Friday and the incision looked really good.  It has healed nicely.  His pain level has not decreased, BUT the Dr. said that is not unusual and that he should begin to notice in another 3 weeks as the swelling and inflamation subside.  We are asking that everyone continue to keep him in your prayers for a full recovery. We still believe in miracles.

This is also the BUSY season, so we are on the go or at least "involved" with someone or some project every day.

Yesterday a package came in the mail.  It continues more than a ream of paper which has photo copies of obituaries, news articles, funeral programs and other pieces of information for Crownpoint, NM and although that is not a part of our stake it is Family History and a priceless treasure.  So my next big project is to index each article by name.  I have no idea how long it will take, but I am excited to get started.

Our fellow missionaries are wonderful.  They know how to roll up their sleeves and get things done.

Sister Harvey sent the following quotes which are wonderful.  I will try to get back into the routine of positng a blog each week for those of you who read them ;O]

Elder James M. Paremore of the Presidency of the Seventy: "The Church helps us to overcome selfishness and uncertainty by serving others in dozens of ways over a lifetime.  Some of our fondest memories go back to those associations we have had in service together. May 1988 Ensign.

President Marion G. Romney of the First Presidency:   “The Lord has said,   “‘He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it’ ( Matthew 10:39 ).

“We lose our life by serving and lifting others. By so doing we experience the only true and lasting happiness. Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made.

“Knowing that service is what gives our Father in Heaven fulfillment, and knowing that we want to be where He is and as He is, why must we be commanded to serve one another? Oh, for the glorious day when these things all come naturally because of the purity of our hearts. In that day there will be no need for a commandment because we will have experienced for ourselves that we are truly happy only when we are engaged in unselfish service. Let us use the freedom which comes from self-reliance in giving and serving.

“Can we see how critical self-reliance becomes when looked upon as the prerequisite to service, when we also know service is what Godhood is all about? Without self-reliance one cannot exercise these innate desires to serve. How can we give if there is nothing there? Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves. Money to assist the needy cannot come from an empty purse. Support and understanding cannot come from the emotionally starved. Teaching cannot come from the unlearned. And most important of all, spiritual guidance cannot come from the spiritually weak.

“There is an interdependence between those who have and those who have not. . . . Once a person has been made whole or self-reliant, he reaches out to aid others, and the cycle repeats itself.

“We are all self-reliant in some areas and dependent in others. Therefore, each of us should strive to help others in areas where we have strengths. At the same time, pride should not prevent us from graciously accepting the helping hand of another when we have a real need. To do so denies another person the opportunity to participate in a sanctifying experience” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1982, 135–36; or Ensign, Nov. 1982, 93 ).

Elder & Sister Olson