Week 73: Cat Poop, Changes, And a New week

Buenos Dias Todos!

This week was a interesting week with very little mission work.

Monday we had P-day and then had a FHE with the bishop, some recent converts, and with some new members that moved here. It was fun and our converts are doing well.

On Tuesday we had to clean a house all day because the sister missionaries are moving out, and it is the zone leaders job to prepare it to be turned in to the Owner (And I thought cleaning my room was tough!)

On Wednesday we had changes and went to Viña in the bus. We got there just in time for the meeting and went and sat down. I am staying in Coquimbo with my new awesome companion Elder N. He is American but his parents are from Tonga so he is huge, funny, happy, and doesn't look like a gringo. We work very well together and it is going to be a great change :)

After changes we had to stay in Viña because my companion had a meeting on Thursday. While my companion was in his meeting on Thursday I went with some other zone leaders to go to Valparaiso to go visit my converts!!! It was the best and I was so happy to see them! They are pretty good. They had stopped participating so much in the church because the missionaries arent visiting them. It was hard to hear that, but we had a good lesson about enduring to the end and doing the little things. It was just what they needed. If you could pray for them that would be great.

Friday we had Counsel of Mission Leaders with president and it was good. All the numbers in the mission are dropping and it was a good presenation on the need to be good leaders to help the missionaries be focussed on finding people to teach always. I learned alot and had some good spiritual promptings.

Friday night we were going to take the bus from 6 at night until 2 in the morning, but somehow we missed the bus and the next one didnt leave until 11:30 at night. So we traveled from 11:30 until 5:30 in the morning, got to the appartment at about 6 and opened the door to a surprise. As I walked in I almost stepped in... Yeah thats right... Cat Poop!. Inside the appartment there was cat poop meaning only 1 thing... There was a cat in the appartment. We went looking at all the windows and they were all shut. After looking for a half hour we found a cat hiding under one of the beds and chased it out of the appartment. It had been inside for 3 days!! It  must have got in during the day and when we shut the windows in the nighttime it couldnt leave. 

After chasing the cat out of the appartment we took a good half hour nap until 7 and then we woke up and worked.

My comp is awesome, we dont have any investigators yet, but we will find some soon :)

Stay Golden! love you tons!

Love,

Elder Nielson :)

Week 72: Through the Fire and Flames

Buenos Dias Todos!

This week was definitely a tough week full of trials, not much to report, but lots of walking, contacting, praying, contacting, and a couple of shocking letdowns.

This week, as we only had 1 progressing investigator (J) we spent almost everyday walking in the street contacting people and houses. It was really rough because no one was home and everyone was at the beach or really mean (seems like the fun people go to the beach and the mean people stay home). It was really tough. We had some days where we contacted all day and didn't have one person who said that we could pass by another day. It was really hot and really tough. But at least we had Jorge to teach every once and awhile.

J passed his interview for the baptism and everything was perfect... Until Sunday morning...

15 Minutes before church we got a call and J said that he wasn't going to be able to make it to church and that he wasn't going to get baptised. His family said that they were going to kick him out of the house if he got baptized. (He is 41 years old and takes care of his family). It was sad, but it showed that his testimony wasn't strong enough to break past the trials. Needless to say, he didn't get baptized and he wont be sharing with us anymore. It was sad to hear that, because that is the second investigator that was about to get baptized and then bailed on us this change.

Well this week we have changes and meetings so we will see how things go in order to baptize this month. Your prayers to find new people to teach would be very appreciated :)

I love you all!

Stay Golden!

Love,

Elder Nielson :)

 

 

Week 71: I didnt choose the Fleite life... The fliete life chose me.

Buenos Dias Todos!

This week was a fantastic week of baptisms, New Year, and Progress :)

This week we prepared everything for the Baptism of M and M and they got baptized on Wednesday!! They were so happy and are such faithful members already! It is such a pleasure to have worked with them :) It was a great service and then on Sunday they got Confirmed! Work, prayers, and faith has shown its fruit once again :)

Sunday was a great day because P another one of my converts fasted for the first time and payed her fast offerings. She is progressing well and is going to become a strong member :)

J our other investigator came to church so he will be baptized this Sunday. He is super awesome and is living the Word of Wisdom. He stopped drinking tea and is now drinking coca cola instead ha ha :) At least we have  some progress there :)

We also had a great New year. We ate a huge dinner with a member and the Elders From Andacollo because there were no buses to make it to the activity the next day so they had to come early :) It was a blast and it was super delicious :) In the night we got to see some fireworks for about 5 minutes. They were cool while it lasted :)

On new years day we watched a movie in a zone activity. It is called the Cokesville Miracle. It is super good. It is by the same group that made 17 Miracles and Efraims Rescue. It is pretty intense but has a great spiritual ending :)

Other than that we didn't do much more this week. We are teaching, looking for more people to teach. 

But to end it all... Today I didn't choose the Fleite Life, The fleite Life chose me. Today I had to get a haircut because my hair was super long, But what I got was not what I was expecting. I showed the hair cutting lady a picture of the hair I wanted and she explained what she was thinking and I told her that it was exactly what I wanted. I sat down and before I could take a breath she shaved the side of my head!!! So now on the sides and on the back I am basically bald, like a really really short buzz. On top it is my normal hair style. It is a super super super fleite haircut and the moment the other elders saw me they all started laughing and making fun of how fleite I look! I will send pictures next week, but maybe I will have more success with the fleites ha ha :)

That is about it for this week!

I love you all, stay golden, Don't get haircuts! ;)

Love,

Elder Nielson :)

 

 

Week 70: Tanto Tiempo! (Long Time no talk;) )

Buenos Dias Todos!

This week was a good week! We had Christmas, The Christmas Call, Lots of Lessons, and We are going to have 3 baptisms!! :)

Well this letter will be pretty short, but this week I got to Celebrate Christmas a little bit :) On the 24th we worked during the day, visiting less actives and recent converts to sing them Christmas songs (I don't know if it was a pleasure or a punishment for them ;)) and did that until the Night time. At 8 we went to the bishops house to spend the evening with them :) We ate a Christmas Dinner, Rice with a sauce and spices, Mushrooms with the same sauce, and Malenaise (A chicken breast soaked in a sauce and the breaded) :) It was really delicious and we had some good conversations about every ones favorite Christmas memory.

After dinner we cleaned up and opened presents! From the bishop we got a chocolate Santa, a knit owl key chain, and a tie pin :) It was fun to be in a house where everyone was excited. The best part was seeing the bishops sons open presents ha ha. They were so excited that it was hilarious. One of the boys got a comic book that he really wanted and almost passed out after hyperventilating and freaking out. 

After that we ran to the apartment and opened the presents from the Grandparents and my Family. Thank you for the candy, cookies, yo-yo, and teeth whitening strips. 

On the 25th we woke up and went and taught some lessons and then went and called the family! It was awesome to see my grandparents, parents, and little sis. It was a great conversation, but 40 minutes is pretty short ha ha :)

After that we went and ate with our ward mission leader and then went to teach a lesson to the M and M. They are both getting baptized this Wednesday and it is going to be awesome! They are so prepared and have progressed so much together. And in the end of the lesson she gave us a present. Each of us got a white shirt, 3 pairs of socks, and new very attractive shoes (Exactly what you told me I needed in the call). It was awesome. She is so loving and really wants to help others. It was a great gift and we thanked her like a million bazillion times.

After that the week was work, work, teach, teach, search, search. We have 2 baptisms this week, and in 2 weeks Jorge is going to get baptised. We are preparing all of them and looking for more :)

Thank you all for the Christmas wishes, prayers, and encouragement. 

Have a fantastic New year! Stay Golden in 2016 too!

I love you all!

Talk to you next year! ;)

Love,

Elder Nielson :)

Week 69: Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad... Ch ch ch ch ch... Feliz navidad... ch ch ch ch ch

Buenos Dias Todos!

Hows it going there in the good old U.S. of A? I have heard that it is pretty cold and am a little bit Jealous. In this moment I am suffering one of the worst sunburns I have received in Chile with a little bit of sweat to cool it off ;)

This last week was a very standard week with a couple miracles that added a little bit of happiness to the routine :)

A Jorge a Day (A George a Day):

Last Monday after P-day we left to go work. Not having any appointments planned we decided to go visit some less active converts and to contact on the way. On the way the spirit told me to contact a man that I saw. As I started walking towards him he started walking towards me. He took out his headphones and started talking to me. At first he began to talk about how we are gringos and I was worried that he was going to start ranting about how the Mormon church is a church of the gringos. But to our surprise he started talking to us about Joseph Smith and The book of Mormon. In his own words he said "La historia de Jose Smith es Bakan, y el Libro de Mormon, tambien es Bakan" Translated that would be "The history of Joseph Smith is Fetching awesome, and the book of Mormon, is fetching awesome as well!" 

Come to find out he was an old Investigator who didn't get baptised because his family is Very Catholic but now that doesn't matter to him because he wants to continue with his life and do what he knows is right (He is 41). It really was a miracle and was amazing. It was a great testimony that God blesses us, because after 2 weeks of contacting like crazy, working hard, and not finding anything, he gave us someone who is more than prepared. He already knew everything. Teaching him is just paperwork basically. He is going to get baptised the 10th of January. 

M is also going to get baptised with her son the 30th of December! She received an answer to the book of Mormon and her prayers and has overcome many important trials to prove her testimony. Please pray for her so that everything turns out okay :)

This week we worked hard and took out the trash, teaching, contacting, and planning like crazy. I hope that the miracles keep coming.

A shout out to everyone who sent me a letter wishing me Merry Christmas. Thank you for your love, support, and testimonies! I hope that you have a fantastic new year! :)

I am stoked to talk this Friday! Woohoo! I have 40 minutes (short, but we will make the most of it) I will be calling at about 4 Chilean time. Please have questions, comments, and everything ready so we don't spend any of the call in awkward silence ha ha :)

Well only 3 days until Friday, But Smile, remember who you are, stay golden, and remember the reason that This season is important and choose the present that we are going to give to our salvador to consagrate our heart and mind :)

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Nielson :)

Week 68: Teaching in the Muslim Mosque

Buenos Dias Todos!!

This week was a good week. Lots of work and talking to people, but lots of personal progress going on. 

Bueno, this week we didn't get to teach many lessons. We had lots of appointments with new investigators but none of them were home so we spent a lot of time in the street talking to people and looking for some good investigators. But it has been good because our work ethic has increased, our intensity to find people has increased, and our desire to help others has increased as well :) We are hoping that this next week is a good week to find lots of good investigators. 

This week we had a replica which is where we present the meeting we had with president, to our zone. It was very good and spiritual, and teaching the things to the other missionaries helped me understand a lot as well. So if any of you need a boost in testimony, go do your home teaching visits and teach, and you will learn so much and feel the spirit. It was a very good replica and we even made everyone breakfast. French toast, muffins, and juice was our 5 star continental breakfast. Not gonna lie, we are the best zone ever :)

The biggest part/highlight of this week was the presentation that we gave in the Muslim mosque. There was a cultural/religious meeting to talk about a theme with representatives from other religions. We got there and there was a representative of the Catholic Church (Pastor and college professor of theology in the university of La Serena), a 7th day Adventist (Anciano in the church and Lawyer), A representative of the Islamic Religion from the middle east, and us (19 and 21 Year old Missionaries). All in all it was really cool. I had to sit in front of a crowd of about 40 people and then had to give the presentation. I called my comp up to help me (We practiced it together) and gave the talk. The theme was "Be solidity with who, to what point, and in change of what." It went well but the funny part was in the end we ended with "In the Name of Jesus Christ Amen" And the crowd was awkwardly silent for a couple seconds and then some people said Amen. It was really funny actually. Then we listened to the other speakers and in the end they asked a question and I had to answer alone. 

The question was "If an atheist gives his whole life doing good, will he inherit the Kingdom of God?" 

The Catholic Priest said he didn't know, but it was most likely that he would achieve the kingdom of God.

The Adventist lawyer answered the question without answering (Like a good politician).

The Islamic Representative said that they would because in Islamic religious history a prostitute once gave a starving dog some water to drink and was saved in the kingdom of God.

After hearing all of those answers it was kind of intimidating to prepare to answer the question with the truth. I finally understood the situation of Jacob against Sherem in the Book of Mormon, or any prophet that had to deal with and Antichrist. I answered like this.

"Luckily I'm not God, so I don't have to judge, but we do know that Jesus Christ taught us by his example and teachings that we must make certain promises with God and live according to those promises to reach the Kingdom of God. Some of those steps being, faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Living true to those promises your whole life. Be it a christian, ashiest, or whatever person, one must complete with these to inherit the Kingdom of God. Like in the Bible when it says that "Unless a man be born of water and of fire he cannot inherit the Kingdom of God." I then talked about the need for everyone to have a chance to live those steps and that anyone who lived them could be saved, and anyone who didn't couldn't.

It felt awesome to testify and say something that most people find harsh or egotistic, but Knowing that they are true made it an amazing experience. It was also interesting to find out that we are one of the only religions that claim to be the only correct religion. All of the others said that it didn't matter what church or what religion. Crazy to think  how the world is changing. I'm just glad to be apart of the Church of Jesus Christ restored again to the earth, the only true church with the power, authority, and organization necessary to obtain the salvation. Can you say that about your life and path? 

That's about it for this week. The M and her son are still good for their baptisms this week, we are hoping that everything keeps going well with them :) 

Some announcements. On Christmas we are planning to call around 4 o'clock (I'm pretty sure that is like 1:00 in Idaho). And this next week we have a Christmas activity with some of the zones on Tuesday so instead of writing on Monday I will be writing on Tuesday :)

I love you all, Stay Golden!

Love,

Elder Nielson :)

 

 

 

Week 67: My Walk with God!

Buenos Dias Todos!

This week was a good week with very few changes! I am still with my companion and in the zone of 16 missionaries only 2 missionaries got changed! It is going to be a good change because we have a great zone :) Actually one of the new missionaries is Elder M who is an elder that was in my district when I was district leader :) So I already know him and he is doing very well :)

Bueno, The funny moment of the week was during a lunch with some less active members. We were reading the scriptures about the need to pray to be strengthened, to bless our families, and to overcome temptation. The son who is 11 wasn't paying much attention so we asked him lots of questions to make him start paying attention. We asked him why it was important to pray, and after many answers we told him it was important to pray to overcome temptations and asked him "It is important to overcome the temptations of who?" and after thinking for a moment his parents started giving him clues "The arrow headed tail" "The long tail" (Both nicknames for the devil). And after hearing these clues the young man yelled out.... "MICKEY MOUSE!" HA HA HA we all started dying! His mom embarrassed asked why he would answer in such a way and he said "You said the long tail, and mickey has a long tail!" We died laughing and received new revelation. So for all of those at home, we want to invite you to pray to overcome the temptations of Mickey Mouse, because if not he will slowly lead you to everlasting misery ;)

Thank you mom for the presents! They are all sitting on the floor, waiting for us to put up a tree :) It really is amazing what presents can do to bump your happiness, even if the present is something like sticky notes ha ha :) And thank you for the music, we have been jamming out to Christmas music for the past couple days :)

We had a conference with President this week and it was very interesting. We didn't really receive that much guide on what president wanted us to do with the mission. He just taught us the similarities between Joseph in Egypt and Joseph Smith. Lots of missionaries were kind of confused on why, but it was good because even though the training didn't talk about all that much stuff I learned a lot from the Spirit. The spirit taught me the need to go out and give it everything, have no fear, and to take out the trash. I really had the desire to have more success and share with everyone. It was the beginning of a good change of heart that will definitely help me more in the mission :)

Our investigators are good! Myriam is going to get baptized with her son this month and she loves church and class and the members :) We also found a young man who is awesome and is mostly gringo so he speaks English and everything. It is pretty weird teaching in English, but it is exciting as well :) The family E is also doing well but need prayers to have a change of heart. We had a great lesson yesterday about the influence that the gospel could have on the family. The dad analyzes everything too much and the lessons become answering an onslaught of doubts instead of letting the spirit testify that the message is true. But we talked about the proclamation to the world, and he only had 1 small doubt that had nothing to do with anything, so we answered it and were able to have a spiritual lesson about the changes that could happen in his family by following the guide provided to us by a prophet of God. It was really good but your prayers would be appreciated.

But the best experience of the week by far was definitely my Saturday night. After a lesson I was kind of frustrated with my companion for some of the things that he had said. So I decided to think. We had a half hour walk to make it back to the house and it was dark with the stars out so it was a great time to think. I decided to think for a little bit, but then just talk with God. I talked to him about the day, how I felt, what I thought about the situation, what I wanted out of the situation. Then I got the impression, "But is it what I want, or what God wants?" It hurt to accept the answer, but I know that the answer is what God wants. Like it the song "Savior may I learn to love thee" In the end it says it clearly "Lord, I will follow Thee." In that moment I realised I needed to calm down and to be more humble, to change, not because I was wrong in what I was doing, but because I was wrong in being so stubborn. In that moment I Knew that God was listening, caring for me, and guiding me. That in whatever moment I can talk to him and tell him anything, and he will listen and respond. That was my walk with God that changed my week and will continue to change my experience here in the mission :) I am so grateful for the blessings that I personally receive by living the small simple principles of the Gospel every day.

I love you all! I hope everything is just the bomb diggity!

Stay Golden, I love you all!

Love,

Elder Nielson :)