Pictures!!!!

MTC

Jacob pointing to Uruguay and Cuauhti pointing to Winnipeg.

Katie Ann Zemp from our old ward.  She used to drive him to early morning
band from seminary every week.  He was her zone leader in the MTC.

"My Missionary Desk"

The four Elders from Alberta.
Not sure of the order, Elder Miller (Cardston),
Elder Kenny (Lethbridge), Elder Dola (Medicine Hat)

The missionary to his right is Ty Moeller.
They took the plane together and he is from our stake.
They used to live down the street from us

With his MTC companion
Elder Wells from Alaska

"Sassy selfy in front of the temple"

"Playing hockey at the ward Canada Breakfast"

"He took some selfies on my camera"

"Wayne - he will be baptized
at the end of the month"

"This is Jose my new black friend because
Al doesn't reply to my emails
and he never emails me."

"My greeny meal from my first week"

"I told Kenji I would send a picture"

"..."

"Yup...40 degrees celsius..."

"Oh yeah, I bought a cheap 3/4 guitar, I've been getting it signed by people I meet :) "

"Candid selfy..."
I'm not sure if it's possible to take a "candid selfy" - Mika

"Singing in the car"

"My new district all colour coordinated"

July 8, 2013

Dear Mom,

  I'm glad to hear al's been growing up a bit.  I really miss him.  He is going to do amazing, I can't believe it's less than a month till he reports!

 With some of our investigators we are constantly trying to help them and they just won't accept what we have to say to them even though we know that what we have to say can help them.  It's so hard sometimes.  But I'm not hear to convince people about anything.  I'm hear to invite them.  That's all that I can do.  A healing comes from coming unto Christ.  But until you experience that yourself you cannot convert anyone else.  Mom, when you truly experience the healing power of the Atonement you will be a testament of the truthfulness of this gospel.  When you come unto Christ the pain you feel will dissapear and it will be replaced with hope.  It's not up to you to convince others, that is the job of the spirit.  The spirit is central to conversion, but as you invite the spirit you prepare the way for others to have a spiritual experience.  I know that faith, hope and charity are so important.  But in the bible it says that one is even more important than the others: 1 Corinthians 13:13 and that one is described in the BOok of Mormon Moroni 7:45-48 and if that is true then it is the center of everything.   If Christ's atonement is Central to God's Plan of happiness then Charity, the pure love of Christ, is central to the atonement. And after all, what is God's Purpose: MOses 1:39  Everything that happens to us and is made possible for us is because God loves us.

(1 Corinthians 13:13 - And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Moroni 7:45-48 - 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, endureth all things.  Wherefore my beloved brethern, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth.  Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail - but charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.  Wherefore, my beloved brethern, pray unto the Father will all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he lath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.  Amen.

Moses 1:39 - For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.)

So in the missionfield, ties are like currency... I went to and came out of the MTC with 8 ties... I currently have 17.  And I have some incredibly nice ones! The trick is to trade for quantity then size down for some quality, ELder kenney and I are no longer considered greenies just because of our tie collections : )

This past week has been incredible, We've been working a lot with the Pettys. a Deaf family and I can bear my whole testimony in sign lanquage now! It is amazing how humble they are and they are coming to church next sunday!! The area we cover is the richest area in winnipeg and it's really hard to find people to teach because a lot of the people won't see how the message we share can help them.  We do have a lot of strong members in the ward though and many of them are excited to be engaged in the missionary work.  I'm actually in Ben Barfuss's Uncle and AUnt's Ward! It's a great ward and we have been warmly welcomed especially because we're pretty helpless as 2 7weekers who are trying to finish each others training ; P so they take pity on us : P

We've been teaching a chinese guy named Fan who is great!  We'll probably turn him over to the YSA elders though : P

THis week we're really going to work hard, Last week we spent a whole day moving into our new appartment so we're gonna work extra hard to make up for that day!

AUntie Hannah challenged me to memorize a scripture a day in her letter... I am not quite at the level of memorization as that but I have been at least memorizing a reference a day : P

I love you Mom.  

Here's some pictures : P

"I LITERALLY HUGGED HIM FOR FIVE MINUTES STRAIGHT WHEN HE CAME IN!!!
Elder B>Lyons and I!!!"

"Elder Kenney and I"

"Where we stayed until last thursday:P (basement of the Mission office :P)"
This looks more like the room he left behind at home. - Mika

"Me cooking up a storm in the kitchen"

July 2, 2013

 Dear Mom,

 I'm so sorry I didn't email you yesterday!  Yesterday all the Libraries were closed for Canada Day, but we had an amazing Day!!!

 Our new ward is the Waverly Ward! It's incredible, I really loved the Members back in the gateway ward but it's so good to be serving with Elder Kenney, I've been assigned to take the lead, but Elder Kenney and I are so much more equal and it's incredible being able to rely wholly on the Lord as Elder Kenney and I have very little experience and knowledge.

 Since Thursday we have taught nearly 10 lessons, and we have found 3 new investigators, all of who showed up to church!! It's incredible how hard work and desire can really make things happen.  I've really been evaluating why I'm serving out here and I've come to the realization that I'm changing.   My biggest regret that I left at home was doing a poor job of explaining what I'd be doing as a Missionary to all of my friends who aren't members of the Church.  I used to think that they wouldn't understand that I wouldn't be making a "visible" difference building schools and churches in africa or south america, but I've come to realize that it does make a visible difference in the lives that I'm able to touch.

 Teaching is central to everything I do.  I spend a lot of time helping people move, helping them do yard or garden work, or work around their homes, including renovations and such, but through those opportunities I always strive to teach.  A habit that I've been falling into is: "LOVE. SERVE.TEACH" (In that Order)  It all starts with loving the people I serve and Teach.  Because I love all those that I meet, I have the desire to share with them, the message that has Changed my life.

 This area is incredible, on our second night here we taught a Less active man who is deaf and Struggles with Alcoholism,  we had a lesson with him through writing on a pen and page, he told us about his struggles to communicate with people, and I wrote down, Ether 12:27.

(Ether is a prophet in the Book of Mormon.  The scripture Elder Olguin is referring to reads: "And if men come unto me I will show them their weakness.  I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.")

 He started to cry and he accepted our offer to give him a blessing.  Afterwards he gave a prayer and his wife who has a speech impediment interpreted for us.  We went to their home again and this time we brought one of their friends from church who is a sign language teacher, she was a great blessing and we were able to communicate much more strongly with him, and she offered to teach us ASL, so I've been learning ASL!!

 Also some of our new investigators are from China and we actaully met them when they showed up to the ESL class that Some missionaries were teaching on Saturday, we offered to teach them english and about the Gospel, and they asked if we'd like to learn mandarin, so we've been learning madarin too!!

I hope I stay in this area for a while!!!

We've been staying at the mission office in the basement cause we don't have an appartment till friday but it's been amazing!! The assistants live upstairs so I've been living with ELder B. Lyons since thursday!!! It's amazing, he's grown so much, and he's been teaching me so much.

(Elder B. Lyons is Brendan Lyons who Elder Olguin mentioned when he opened his mission call that he has looked up to and called his "hero" growing up.)

 Elder Kenney and I have been making quite the racket around here, in a good way and in a not as good way....  In a good way, we had a very short week(thursday-sunday) and we had more lessons taught and more people at church than most missionaries in the mission, so we are really excited about this full week!!! and then, We have been making a lot of trip ups and mistakes where everyone kinda just shakes their head's and chuckles to themselves; "greenies.."  ;P It's amazing being out here mom.  Teaching is central to my purpose, and I've been getting so much better at it as I invite people to take the steps that I took to change my life around and Be as Happy as I am.

 Know that Christ is the Center of our Religion.  Everything else is an Apendage.  The Book of Mormon's Central purpose is to convince all People that Jesus is the Christ.  NOT that the bible is incorrect.  The Book of Mormon is the Keystone of our religion because it proves that God is the same today, yesterday, and forever.  He still inspires men and calls them to do his work.  Right now there is no more exciting or important time to be engaged in missionary work.   Lift up your voice, Lovingly invite, and Stand as a witness and as a testament of what this Gospel means and brings.  I love you mom.  Be anxiously engaged there is not greater joy than that that comes from the restored gospel.

  

 Love,

 Elder Olguin

This is his first district in Winnipeg

June 24, 2013

Dear Mom,

Out in the Missionfield we measure time by Transfers.  Transfers happen every 6 weeks as new missionaries arrive and old missionaries complete their missions and go home.  We get transfer calls the friday before transfers so we got transfers last Friday, which usually doesn't mean much to someone in training because usually the first two transfers are spent in training... so we got a call from The assistants to the president on Friday, and they asked: WHo wants their call first,  and elder moore said give elder olguin his first, so the Assistant said:"Elder Olguin, You're Taking over Our area" and I replied with: "Haha yeah okay whatevery"  and he replied with:I'm being Dead serious" and I said "Yeah Sure; P" and He said"  You and Elder Kenney will be finishing each others training and WE(the Assistants) are becoming travelling assistants and we'll be going all over the mission training everyone".     Elder Kenney is one of the GOod friends I made in the MTC!!!!!! Words can't describe how excited I am!!  President told me that He and the Zone leaders are confident in me as a missionary and that even though I haven't been out for too long he trusts me enough to train another missionary.

I don't think I would've grown as much as I have with a (different) companion so I'm very grateful for the way the Lord has prepared me for the next part of this Journey.

Last week was incredible,  we have started teaching a lot more, and WE HAVE A BAPTISM ON SATURDAY!!!

It won't be my area anymore but I'm just being transferred to the more southern part of winnipeg, to an area called Waverly.  And I have recieved permission to attend Wayne's Baptism!!  I'm so excited for him, he has a true desire to be baptized and his life has changed so miraculously as we've taught him and invited him to keep the commandments.  He has such an amazing testimony and he said a 15 minute prayer at the end of one of our lessons and the feelings of peace and Love that entered the room were undeniable. 

another one of our investigators, Buba CAMe to church yesterday!!!  WE call her Buba cause that means grandma, she's from Yugo slaavia and she has a ridiculously long and hard name, like my name times 5 in difficulty and length... but she is incredible, she is one of the most religious people I have ever met.  She believes that the book of mormon is true, but she didn't want to be baptized because she believes that all baptism is the same.  We have been teaching her more on the significance of the book of mormon being true, as it means that the church of jesus christ of latter day saints is true, which means that God has restored his true power to this church, which means that we have the authority to baptize.  Last week she asked more about being baptized and how she didn't want to spit on everything her parents believed in, we told her that she wasn't turning her back on anything, merely adding on to what she already believes.  We invited her to pray about coming to church and later in the week she agreed and it was an amazing experience as she went to church and felt peace that she hadn't felt for a long time.

Besides that we did quite a bit of tracting, (knocking on doors), we were able to set up appointments with a few them and we'll be checking up on them throughout the week.  We tracted one young family, that we were able to teach the restoration to and they turned out to be christian, they asked about some of the things that we believe in and we explained how many of their concerns are answered not only through the Book of Mormon but the Bible as well.

We've been spending a lot of time in our service clothes as well, we helped weed the largest garden I've seen in my life one day and I was sweating buckets!! It's been above 30 degrees for the last week!!  Helped a bunch of people move, it's been amazing as we try to leave everyone that we do service for with a spiritual thought. 

This week we willl be teaching a ton of people, until thursday at least... then begins the next part of the adventure!!! 

I'm so very excited.  I have truly grown to love the ward I've been serving in, but I'm excited to meet even more people and learn and grow as I serve with Elder Kenney, who is the tall red head in some of the MTC pictures, he is from Lethbridge Alberta, and we are gonna tear it up!!

I have grown to learn how important my family is to me.  One of the things I learned last week was:  You have to know where you want to go before you choose your path.  Sometimes it seems like all we can do is just survive till the end of the Day... but there's a better way.   Focus on giving it your all until a point where you think you can't go further.  Then move on to the Next point in the near distance.   As you try to live the gospel and live in a way that you aren't looking for the blessings but acknowledging and utilizing them instead, you will learn that living is better than surviving. 

I  love you.  I miss you.  Everyday I see the things you taught me, and I see your love for me as I work my heart out and strive to honour the savior and you through all that I do.

Love,

ELder Olguin

June 11, 2013

Thank you all for the support and love you have shown for Elder Olguin. 

He must have run out of time this week to email. He is currently living in the north part of the city of Winnipeg. He is in a ward called the Gateway Ward and it has about 60 active members who regularly attend church. There are six wards in the city and they meet in four different buildings. He said it is very difficult because their numbers are so small and a lot of the work is contacting members. 

All mail is sent to the mission office in Winnipeg and he lives about 30 minutes away from the office. He receives mail every Tuesday at zone conferences. This will probably change if he is transferred to another area out of the city. He uses Internet at the library for about one hour every Monday. He sometimes doesn't even have enough time to read all his email so if you write to him on paper he will have more time to read your correspondence. They have from 10-6 on Mondays to do laundry, grocery shop, some recreational activities such as the rugby he spoke of a couple weeks ago and email. 

Elder Olguin's trainer is a missionary named Elder Moore from Duncan, Vancouver Island. He said that their personalities sometimes clash.

 

Apparently Cuauhti is a self-proclaimed excellent cook and he has also realized that, (contrary to the last 12 years of his life), he is also excellent at studying. 

They live in a small apartment and out the window there is a sign that reads "Smile you are on camera".

They have two desks, four folding chairs, and a table. The bedroom is two single beds and apparently Cuauhti does know how

to make a bed.

He is still excited and loves what he is doing. He said time goes so fast and there are not enough hours in the day to do all he needs to and wants to. 

Thanks again for all your prayers and support. And remember, if you see Mormon missionaries walking down the street, they are kids just like Cuauhti (so be nice!).

Mika

Cuauhtis district at the MTC (Missionary Training Centre) in Provo, Utah. 

Canada Winnipeg Mission
Elder Cuauhtemoc Olguin Jr. 
845 Shaftesbury Blvd
Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M5

June 6, 2013

Dear everyone,

This past week, I've really learned more about who I am, as a person.  As I've learned more about who I am I realize how much I love everyone at home, especially my mom.  It's hard being out here but I've also learned that as ME, I'm at home anywhere that I can lift a burden or make someone smile and/or laugh : )  I realize that as a person I truly do love everyone, and I want them to be as happy as I am, and that really helps me as a Missionary.  I realize that, While I love everyone here with my whole heart, I love everyone at home with my whole heart.  The heart's like a candle, when it lights another one it loses no light itself.  I've learned so much more, but the most important thing is that the road's only long if you try to see the end of it.   I only look as far as the days end and I make sure that I have absolutely nothing left to give for that day.  I love you all. And I love being a missionary.

Love,

Elder Olguin

May 27, 2013

Dear everyone,

Sorry about the short email last week : P

These past 2 weeks have been absolutely incredibnle. not because everything's been going nicely, but because I've grown so much in who I am.  As I said last week, there's so many Phillipinos!!! They are the funnest and funniest people ever!!! they all remind me f my grandpa; short, asian looking, love karaoke, kind of eccentric, and able to find a joke anywhere. we played volleyball with a bunch of them last Preparation day and they kicked our butts... they're ridiculously good... Later that day we were invited to a Phillipino potluck, fed some more crazy things and had a good time getting to know the phillipino members of the church here. 

Besides that our week has ben tough.. My purpose here as a missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ.  we accomplish that by loving, serving, teaching, and inviting everyone everybody we meet.  I love talking with everyone we see even despite some of the not so pleasant responses we get : P I love sharing the message that has brought so much peace, happiness, and love to my life. we've started working with the youth in the area and started planning activites for members to enjoy and bring their friends to like sports nights, movie nights, talent shows, and also an english class that we'll be teaching. I've made so many friends here and grown to love. One person is bipolar, has minor cerebral palsy, is epileptic, and is one of the most sincere souls I've ever met.  He loves to talk and he has incredible faith.  He loves having my companion and I over and he has such an amazing, penitent heart.

Yesterday was also incredible.  at church, they surpised me by announcing that i was giving a talk : P I'd heard that I might introduce my self... but a talk definitely wasn't planned : P
BUt I survived.  Church was definitely eventful....

anywas after church we had a dinner appointment with this older couple. the wife comes to church and loves it and  the husband not so much but he loves meeting with the missionaries and he's such a swell guy.

All new missionaries are called "greenies" so they have a tradition of feeding the new missionaries a meal that is completely green... I'll try to attach some pictures : P

We had a wonderful visit with them and we invited the husband back to church after sharing a message with him, with tears in his eyes he accepted our invitation.

This morning, we played rugby with some of the missionaries in winnipeg, our team was called "The Green Knees"

I loved it, and afterwards I was challenged to a race cause I'm speedy or something ; P

It was so much fun, they were fast... but not fast enough : )

BTW to expound on "balut" It's like a hard boiled egg until the arms or wings I guess... and legs pop out of the sac in center, Brother Dimalaluan said; "wait till you try one day old chick" : P

FOr those of you who would like to learn more about what I believe in, who I am, and what has driven me to spend 2 years completely devoted to bringing happiness and peace to others, check out mormon.org I'm Even on the site!!!!! Look me UP:  Cuauhti Olguin

I miss you and I love you, I sometimes don't have enough time to reply to all your wonderful emails and responses so if you want me to definitely reply, write to me at:

Canada Winnipeg Mission

Elder Cuauhtemoc Olguin Jr.

845 Shaftesbury Boulevard

Winnipeg Manitoba

Sometimes it might take a while to get back cause I might be living up to 14 hours away from this adress at times but this will be the most sure way to get mail to me!!!

LOL,

ELder Olguin

LOL(lots of love)