Second Chance to Email

Hey ya'll :)

Just so you know that I'm alive and doing fine I wanted to attach the picture of our FHE we literally just had. I haven't been able to shower or brush my teeth yet for today and I'm wearing the same clothes that I gave my sacrament talk in yesterday morning and it's 9 o'clock PM here. It's been really, really hard work here. We've obviously been busy with a lot of things in our zone the last few weeks. The training we gave went great but after I got admitted to the hospital for check-ups and I had bad bacteria in my body fropm food and water here that put me in there from Monday-Thursday. Then we had another Elder come back from Laoag who had Dengue in our zone so we needed to make sure he had companions in Aparri hospital that's 45 minutes away from our apartment. So we were literally racing around the entire zone this week from Gattaran to Aparri which is about 2 hours just one way. So needless to say we were busy. Very, very busy. I'm happy to say that it's all over and that Elder Cuyog was able to get out of the hospital earlier today :)

So despite of the illnesses and all of the things we need to do in the zone and not being able to bathe and what not for a couple of days, we are having great success ion our area right now. Elder Gozon and I are having a blast (during the times we can FINALLY be companions) and we have 4 progressing investigators right now. 2 of them will be baptized on August 29 which is my 6 year anniversary in being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints :). What a way to celebrate huh?! But it just goes to show that the Lord qualifies you for this work. We haven't been able to work as much as what we should be doing just trying to attend to all the assignements we have and now we are p[reparing the chapel for a tri-zone meeting with President on Tuesday. So it's been just hectic. Very very, very busy. It's nice to unwind right now and write home :) But again, despite the business, we still find time and manage to care for our area and investigators here. Again, there is no place greater in the ENTIRE world than in Lal-lo :) I experienced that first hand tonight at our FHE. :) I'm spoiled to be doing this work right now. I've had some of the feelings of the greatest joy, peace and happiness while doing all of these things this week, why? Because it's HIS work. He qualifies those He calls and He sends the Comforter to those who stand in need. There is not a way or a chance in the world I could have gotten through these last few weeks with out the Holy Ghost by my side. Guys, trust me, I felt your prayers this week, and THANK YOU! They were MUCH needed. Keep them coming because it's not like it will get any easier from here on out haha trust me :) But just know I'm doing great here. The mission is great, we're obviously busy, but everything is great. I love this work!!!! :) Love you guys!! I love being able to serve here in Lal-lo Aparri zone. I love the Philippines, and I love my mission!!!! I hope you all have a great one this week :) I love you all so much! Have a good one :) 

Love,

Elder Oslund

What a wild week!

Hey guys! 

So this won't be long because we have A LOT of things we still need to do for tomorrow but I just want to let you know that I'm doing okay now! I had a pretty rough time in Laoag these past two days with having a really high fever that almost put me in the hospital but I'm okay now thankfully :) I'm really grateful for a loving companion to take care of me and for him giving me a priesthood blessing so I can return to my calling as a missionary because let me tell you, it was not a fun time in Laoag haha. But after the priesthood blessing Elder Gozon said "I bless you with a speedy recovery." After that I fell asleep for about 8 hours and my 105 degree fever was gone by the time I woke up at 5 in the afternoon. It was a miracle indeed :) It's as if nothing happened in the first place. :) I'm so grateful for the priesthood! It saved me from having a very bad week for sure.

But right now we're just preparing all of our trainings for tomorrow's Zone Training Meeting at the Lal-lo chapel which will be my first training on my mission. I'm excited for it. I prepared myself very well for it despite being sick so it'll be good I think :) I love being in Aparri zone. It's one of the hardest zones to be a zone leader in because it's so far away from the mission home and it;s one of the missions biggest zone so if something goes wrong, it's only us that can fix it immediately, because there will be no back up for at least 9 hours. So yeah, we're a pretty long way out from the mission home. I'm grateful for the Lord's trust in putting me here though. It's a big responsibility for sure but I love it. There's a reason why I'm called here with out a doubt :)

As for everything else, Lal-lo is the best! The members are awesome as you probably saw from my picture this week haha but I'm just really blessed being able to be here in Lal-lo. It's like an extended family of Magapit :) It's so much fun! I love it!

Elder Gozon is the best. When I was sick he didn't even leave my side, he made sure that my body temperature would cool down and he took every precaution in helping me gain strength again. It was one of the hardest two days of my mission because of that fever which was suspicion of Dengue but he helped me through it all. He's a great example to me of Christ-like service and loving to his companions. And it wasn't just him either, all the Elders in Laoag stayed by my side the entire night to make sure I was doing alright. I'm just very very grateful for them and just reflecting on that makes me realize just how special the Elders in this mission really are. I'm so grateful to be around such amazing people! 

As for everything else, it's the same old same old, just planning and coordinating with our leaders about missionary work now which is kind of new but very exciting. It's very exciting to be able to do this work right now :) I love it! But we have to go now to get ready for our training tomorrow! I wish I could update you all more but time is short. I love you all! I hope you have a great week :) I'll talk to you again shortly :)

Love,

Elder Oslund