Photos of Elise

Here a bunch of pictures that should be fun to look at if you love Elise!

I Love You Forever

A constant pattern that i've been recognizing in Sister Osorio's letters and emails are her words of love! Love for the gospel, family, letters, investigators, opportunities, and friends. Thank you everyone who supports and prays for Elise and just know that you are very much appreciated by us and especially her!

"Oh man, i am trying to choose what to report about... i shall do my best to respond to your questions! oh and i love you a lot.

OKAY so congrats to all of your accomplishments! Ganae getting to sing and scoring awesome and developing faith, JESHUA EATING A WHOLE PIZZA! jonny boy and natnat and the job and dad too, and the house is coming. Sounds good. I know that things can be really stressful but ive been praying for you.

So to answer your questions! Temple Square is a great mission. It's a lot to take in. This week was kind of touch but i have made it a goal of mine to never complain...soooo the highlight would probably be talking to the youth! There was a youth group that came and i got to talk to them, and just be with them, and share a message with them, and every time i walk away from talking with the youth, i walk away so impressed and uplifted. Jeshua and Ganae, that's you! My favorite age group to talk to.

So on temple square, this is how it works: you pray for where to go, make a plan, and walk and contact people and take them on tours if they would like, where you give a combination of history and testimony. Since i don't know too much history yet, i do a lot of testifying. We don't get fed by members unfortunately, Jonathan, we make it all. Last pday, i made enchiladas (thank you beloved mother for that recipe) and that lasted me the week -- on rotation with salads, and peanut butter sandwiches. I haven't gone hungry yet! It's good experience, learning how to budget and plan in such a way. I officially passed off taking tours in english so now when big tour buses come, i can be assigned to them! We call them motorcoaches. I took my first one yesterday and it was crazy great. Question were flying all of there place, we couldn't talk enough. "Mormons don't take medicine, right? Do you believe in Jesus Christ? What's the difference between Christians, Catholics and Mormons?" We had 30 minutes to try and straighten it all out. My pday is work in the teaching center where we call our investigators and less actives who are all over the world -- we are hoping to teach a guy in London and one in Russia, just so ya know how international it can get :) and then the afternoon is full of errands and emailing and hopefully refocusing a bit. Church is on Sunday at 7:30 am and its all the sister missionaries in a beautiful chapel, because the square doesn't open until 9:30 am so it works great. I am LOVING this whole getting to bed by 10:30 pm every night...I love that. My apartment isn't that small, i really like it!!! and i am in love with my bunkbed... baha its kinda funny, but going up there is soo nice because it is like my private comfy space with my perfect blanket. My favorite part of missionary work is when i truly get lost in it, and get to focus on what people really need! It's wonderful.

So i've given you some details, but not too much about me! So here it is:
I am doing well. I can see myself learning and growing. I am learning how to be patience, (trying) and trying to be charitable, and really: learning how to learn. you have to GO through learning to become something, so thats what i'm doing right now. Going though it. I also learned something this week that helped me. In 1 Nephi 2:12, Nephi talks about how his brothers murmured "BECAUSE they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them." So I thought, when I feel like something is difficult, perhaps something good to go would be to see what dealing God has in store fore me. I need to seek revelation to "know the dealings of that God who created me." So what are His dealings? He wants me to live with Him again, He wants me to learn and grow. If He wants these things for me, it will help me better understand the dealings i have right now in life. Does that make sense? Missions are good, and I have to remember, I've only been on temple square for like a week and a half...so it's okay. I just don't want to settle! Right now, i am working on patience and charity, and if i can really develop that now, it will help me for the rest of my mission i am sure! Again, i'm learning, i realized that i put a lot of pressure on myself too...I look at it, don't waste one minute of the Lord's time, don't you let Him down -- and sometimes i go too far with that, though there is a balance, so i'll find it.

I am doing well. And so are the investigators! We pray for them always and that is good. 

We are already preparing for general conference! Apparently it is just 2 days of missionary heaven and busyness like no other...oh boy im excited! I like people in general.

i miss you guys, and i love hearing from you. Grandma and Grandpa Wortham send letters every week and I am SOO grateful for that. They inspire me.

ALRIGHT i love you and dote on you and really look forward to hearing more.
Love, your sister missionary,
Sister Osorio

TODAY I GET TO BE A MISSIONARY

Elise hasn't slowed down one bit since the day she entered the MTC. If anything, she's gained more energy and desire to share her growing testimony. Her last letter is full of excitement and pure joy!

"Thanks for the emails and letters from everyone, i just am so excited to report to you guys.

"There is a movie here in the visitors center called God's Plan for Families and it makes me cry every time because i am SO GRATEFUL that i get to be [with my family] for forever. OH AND ALL THE SISTERS said that they saw you when you visited and one of them even gave me a picture of you with them on the temple steps. Thank you for coming, i hope the sisters uplifted you because that is our job, to invite all to come unto Christ and taste of the fruits of his doctrine. I love my Savior. I love Him, i love Him.

"BUT FIRST lets start with leaving the lovely little MTC. I woke up that morning so thrilled! I was having a dream about handing out Book of Mormons when the alarm started blaring so i was confused, but i stumbled out of bed and i wanted to shout at the top of my lungs (4:45am) I GET TO BE A MISSIONARY TODAY! and i will say that everyday of my mission. Today, I get to be a missionary. On the busride to Salt Lake, we got to watch the sunrise, and i just stared at the window, crying and laughing! What an honor, to be serving my Savior, to drive through these pioneer plains and i envisioned families getting married and sealed in the temple so that they could be together forever with the Father In Heaven. I was so moved, to be sitting there, literally being carried to a place where i would get to participate in this work. It was quite the feeling of anticipation, knowing that it was then, that a big part of my journey was being embarked. And i have embarked on quite the journey... give 'em heaven!

"SO, my trainer is the one and only Sister Pen from Cambodia in Asia. She is such a funny little scatter-brained chica, and i do love her. Her english has improved a lot, and she is still improving. I am much taller than her, like a head taller so we make up quite the companionship. I admire her smile, when i am low energy she just smiles and brightens my day. She makes me laugh. She is a good trainer. I love her and her Asian accent is rubbing off on me and i find myself thinking or praying in her accent sometimes. Hehe. she is so funny, she says, "Sista, yoo ahh soo pump-ed up!" (sister you are so pumped up). She says she has never seen anyone as excited as i am to work, because evertime we got on the escalator in the visitor center, i walk up or down, there are people we must find!! No time to just stand there! There are people everywhere, and we can talk to any of them. I LOVE my mission for that, we get rejected, we go and find someone who will listen, and during summer there are people EVERYWHERE. I got my hands on a spanish preach my gospel too, so i can brush up and get better, so if i get that passed off by my zone leaders i can teach in spanish (i already have taught some of them, the spanish speakers are ready for the gospel. They're amazing.) I may even be able to get and wear a Colombia flag, what do you think my papa?

"This is what we do everyday. Wake up at 6:20am, hop down from my cutsie bunk bed that i'm in love with and say, "TODAY I GET TO BE A MISSIONARY!" and then i go run around back and forth like a crazy in this little park next to the house, or i do yoga. Then we study, and i get antsy and THEN WE GET TO TALK TO PEOPLE YAY! i have found that whenever i get tired, i just need to talk to people. When I am talking to the visitors, I get energized. I feel the Spirit. From the visitors we invite them to come to Christ, and ask if there is anyone else we can share the gospel with. We eat lunch and dinner on the square, and then we get home, plan for the next day where on the square we should go to find those prepared for our message.

"One of my favorite experiences was with this young man. [His name is] Jake. Jake is 21 an has had some struggles and was struggling to know if he should go on a mission. I'll never forget his question. "You think I can go on a mission? Me? Me make a difference?" I was on splits with my zone leader Sister Iglezias from Brazil, and we were both able to share our heritage, how missionaries did indeed make a difference. The resources are amazing, we were able to show a youth clip about the priesthood, we testified, we cried, we invited him to come unto Christ. I love being a missionary. Is there a greater work? a greater thing to do than help those come unto Him? And MAN do i love testifying and promising with authority and power. I know that i am a representative of Jesus Christ, and some of the strongest times i have felt the Spirit is when i can look at members and nonmembers alike and tell them, "I am a representative of Jesus Christ. I do not hold that lightly. I promise you, as His representative that if you do _____, you will, YOU WILL receive ____." Those blessings are real, those promises are real, and i have never felt anything like it in my life. Jake is on his way, we are calling him and checking up with him, and one day i look forward to hearing where he will be going on  his mission.

"Another special experience i had was when my dear best friend Tina Childs came onto the square and i was able to take her around and also invite her to come to the Savior too (as with everyone!) I LOVE HER SO MUCH. And she taught me that i need to love everyone who comes onto the square like that, because if i love our guests like that... they will feel the spirit, because i will want the best for them. Kinda make sense? Of course it did help that Tina loves me back! HA! but its true, when we TRULY love someone, and have true charity, then we will do everything we can to bring them to their Savior. And its wonderful, because the more we begin to know and understand our Savior, the more we will want to testify of Him, the more we will want to give and give. i cherish tina! how loved she is.

"Family, I realized in my prayers at the mtc something interesting. I was trying to "forget myself and go to work". Trying to forget myself and my past life was hard, in fact it was impossible, and i realized something, with King Lamoni and the other Lamanite king: they were willing to give away all their sins to know Thee [the Lord], they were willing to give away their kingdoms to know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. So in one of my prayers i decided to not forget my life, I decided to not forget my life, i decided to give it to Him. I said, Heavenly Father, I put my family in your hands. So I didn't give you away, i never had too, i just gave you and all my concerns for you to Him, and since I'm really close to Him right now, i feel closer to you than ever before. And that, that, is the greatest gift i could ask for. Wow, do I miss you, but WOW do i love being a missionary. And I know, i know, that you are in good hands. I am so happy to give my life to the Savior. I love Him. and I love you.

"There are many amazing people in this world. And the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone, it is only through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism , receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end, that we can become the glorious beings and families we are capable of becoming.

Love, Sister Osorio