It was great to hear every ones voice over the phone and also for the pictures mom sent its always good to get a visual of what i missed out on this year. The Christmas for me was very humble and I really enjoyed noticing the hustle and bustle of Christmas from a distance and really focusing on the true meaning of the holiday. Yes we now know that Christs birth actually was in early April although the holiday is still celebrated on the 25th of December. But it was just nice to really think about the significance of the day and not having to worry about the worldly things
Anyways I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend spending it with the family as it always is a blast and I sure enjoyed talking to everyone.
Love,
E. Nielsen
Friday, December 31, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Week 15: December 20, 2010
Yes so this week was pretty interesting for me, I was transferred to Bellville and Bellville is to Cape Town as Bellevue is to Seattle. So I am really in the thick of things which is awesome. My new companion is Elder Kogo from Kenya and he is a super cool guy I am really going to enjoy serving with him. Bellville is probably the biggest areas in the mission so its a little bit of a change from the smallest area in the mission. I wasnt too sad to leave Paarl but i was kinda sad to leave a couple missionaries that are still serving there. I however love being in the car and I am the designated driver since E.Kogo doesn't have a license which most Africans don't. It is a little interesting to drive on the left hand side of the road but i have gotten used to it. Every day I get a great view of Table mountain and it's just breathtaking, one of these Pdays we are going to hike it as a district. Pdays here are going to be much more exciting than in Paarl, im so excited to be serving around Cape Town and for the chance to get to know the area.
Although the work here in Bellville is said to be very challenging because it is a white area and not many people are receptive to our message. I do look forward to knocking doors at Bellville Hill which is where all the rich people live and man they have HUGE homes, i'm just interested in finding out what those people do for a living and maybe making friends with them and maybe teaching them a little about the truth haha. But yeah i guess im bound to be a white area missionary which is fine with me because I can deal with being rejected and I think president knows that. Ahh this is going to be a transfer that I dont want to end because E Kogo is just too cool, I really took for granted my first companion so im really going to cherish this one. Also the district here is a six man with Milnerton ( 2 month Elder Zimunhu, Zimbabwe, 22 month Elder Carver, UTah) and Panorama ZL's (Elder Anderson Utah, and Elder McChargue Rocklin Idaho haha) yes but everyone in the district is nice which is a really good thing.
But yes i can tell you all about whatever you want to know on the phone saturday I will most likely call collect from a members home.
Mom I havent yet recieved my package but the Zl's have some post that they want to give to us later on in the day so maybe its in there. Oh and dont send any M&M's last time they melted and spilled on the bottom of the package but no big deal nohing was hurt.
Dad wow Walgreens is up 10 bucks from where i bought it! I dont know what that trend looks like but i am up on it a little. whatever you feel is best on that one maybe a target mark of.
I look forward to talking to all of you on the phone saturday and have a Merry Christmas!
Although the work here in Bellville is said to be very challenging because it is a white area and not many people are receptive to our message. I do look forward to knocking doors at Bellville Hill which is where all the rich people live and man they have HUGE homes, i'm just interested in finding out what those people do for a living and maybe making friends with them and maybe teaching them a little about the truth haha. But yeah i guess im bound to be a white area missionary which is fine with me because I can deal with being rejected and I think president knows that. Ahh this is going to be a transfer that I dont want to end because E Kogo is just too cool, I really took for granted my first companion so im really going to cherish this one. Also the district here is a six man with Milnerton ( 2 month Elder Zimunhu, Zimbabwe, 22 month Elder Carver, UTah) and Panorama ZL's (Elder Anderson Utah, and Elder McChargue Rocklin Idaho haha) yes but everyone in the district is nice which is a really good thing.
But yes i can tell you all about whatever you want to know on the phone saturday I will most likely call collect from a members home.
Mom I havent yet recieved my package but the Zl's have some post that they want to give to us later on in the day so maybe its in there. Oh and dont send any M&M's last time they melted and spilled on the bottom of the package but no big deal nohing was hurt.
Dad wow Walgreens is up 10 bucks from where i bought it! I dont know what that trend looks like but i am up on it a little. whatever you feel is best on that one maybe a target mark of.
I look forward to talking to all of you on the phone saturday and have a Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Week 14: December 14, 2010
Yesterday we had a zone P-day which means that we had to drive to Cape Town to attend and since we are the "banished" Elders in Paarl it takes up time with travel. So that is the reason i wasn't able to send out an email yesterday but luckily today we are able to do so. Everything is going well here and it is transfers week so its kind of exciting and yes mom i did get the thanksgiving package and I LOVE that blanket, although now its summer time so ill just have to wait to actually use it.
The zone Pday was nice and it kind of had a Christmas feel which was cool and also its sweet to see Elders in my Transfer. Congrats Ariel that is awesome thanks for sending me that ultrasound and wow close to dad's Bday thats great! wow ill be 10 months on mission when the baby is born. I am excited for both of you and Brian!
yes so this past week I printed off some of the pictures I had compiled onto my SD card and sent some photos out to you Mom and Dad, this time of year in Paarl is very beautiful and also very hot. But yes i just wanted to give you two a visual of what South Africa looks like.
The missionary work here is going well we have found some good quality people to teach who seem genuinely interested in the gospel, although they have their own church they are willing to learn more and accept our commitments that we leave them (such as reading the book of Mormon, Praying to recieve a witness of truth through the holy ghost and coming to church). But yes most of the people here are stubborn and tell us "no I already have Jesus in my life and I dont have time for you" but thats O.K. we just go on to the next door. Its hard sometimes to see such people drowning in their pride and its impossible no matter how hard you try to break down their walls and defences they built without ever knowing it. We as missionaries just want to help people find the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ that we ourselves have already found for ourselves. I must say it is an awesome experience to finally have that opportunity to sit down with people who are willing to listen and to learn, it gives me at least loads of joy. After this thursday I will no longer be a trainee and will become a Junior companion yippie!
On Christmas day I will probably call aunt Sondra's home around 11 am or 12 noon which will be about 7 or 8 pm my time. I will be able to talk for 40 minutes (which is according to the White Handbook) and yeah im excited for it, it will be nice to hear everyones voice again. Hope all of you have a wonderful time leading up to Christmas!
Love,
Elder Nielsen
The zone Pday was nice and it kind of had a Christmas feel which was cool and also its sweet to see Elders in my Transfer. Congrats Ariel that is awesome thanks for sending me that ultrasound and wow close to dad's Bday thats great! wow ill be 10 months on mission when the baby is born. I am excited for both of you and Brian!
yes so this past week I printed off some of the pictures I had compiled onto my SD card and sent some photos out to you Mom and Dad, this time of year in Paarl is very beautiful and also very hot. But yes i just wanted to give you two a visual of what South Africa looks like.
The missionary work here is going well we have found some good quality people to teach who seem genuinely interested in the gospel, although they have their own church they are willing to learn more and accept our commitments that we leave them (such as reading the book of Mormon, Praying to recieve a witness of truth through the holy ghost and coming to church). But yes most of the people here are stubborn and tell us "no I already have Jesus in my life and I dont have time for you" but thats O.K. we just go on to the next door. Its hard sometimes to see such people drowning in their pride and its impossible no matter how hard you try to break down their walls and defences they built without ever knowing it. We as missionaries just want to help people find the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ that we ourselves have already found for ourselves. I must say it is an awesome experience to finally have that opportunity to sit down with people who are willing to listen and to learn, it gives me at least loads of joy. After this thursday I will no longer be a trainee and will become a Junior companion yippie!
On Christmas day I will probably call aunt Sondra's home around 11 am or 12 noon which will be about 7 or 8 pm my time. I will be able to talk for 40 minutes (which is according to the White Handbook) and yeah im excited for it, it will be nice to hear everyones voice again. Hope all of you have a wonderful time leading up to Christmas!
Love,
Elder Nielsen
Monday, December 6, 2010
Week 13: December 6, 2010
Wow thats cool! haha my companion has never seen snow so i showed him the pictures you sent me mom, thank you so much. The new house looks really nice, man i wish i could have shoveled that drive twould have been fun. I can tell that i have really put on some weight here in Paarl, but whats cool is that its not fat but rather muscle. My butt is getting bigger cuz its filling out my pants. I actually enjoy this new found weight ive been looking for it a long time.
Uncle Kirk I am praying for you and I hope you are doing well at this time.
Anyways this week was nice we had district exchanges and zone leader exchanges aswell. At our zone conference on wednesday we learned that transfers are going to be one week early because of Christmas (if transfers were a week later it would be on the 23rd) so that is exciting. Im not sure if i will be moved or not im just going to wait and see what happens come what may i suppose. We have found some potential investigators this week so it will be interesting to follow up with them. Instead of riding bikes this transfer we have decided to walk which is good because walking is a much more effective way of doing missionary work as far as i am concerned. Everything is going well with Elder Maja we get along alright.
Mom I have not yet recieved the package you sent me but im expecting it this week or the next. It sounds like you are really looking to find something to do haha hopefully you find a career that you will enjoy ill keep that in mind as i pray this week. I like that new ornament yes finally done with high school! All those ornaments are packed full of wonderful memories.
Dad, that vandal game would have been awesome to be at! Im sure that dome was booming haha, oh man i can recall all those close games we attended in that place what fun those are! It sounds like you are well on your way to getting some good clients, that is so cool.
Ariel and Brian wow how awesome that is you are gonna be parents! Im excited for you. When is that baby due?
Colin and Whitney yo that is sweet that snowmobile day that would have been awesome! Whitney are you going to be like a student teacher for a certain period of time or is it a full time gig in Idaho falls?
It sounds like everyone is doing well and i hope everyone has a wonderful week leading up to Christmas.
Elder Chase Nielsen
Uncle Kirk I am praying for you and I hope you are doing well at this time.
Anyways this week was nice we had district exchanges and zone leader exchanges aswell. At our zone conference on wednesday we learned that transfers are going to be one week early because of Christmas (if transfers were a week later it would be on the 23rd) so that is exciting. Im not sure if i will be moved or not im just going to wait and see what happens come what may i suppose. We have found some potential investigators this week so it will be interesting to follow up with them. Instead of riding bikes this transfer we have decided to walk which is good because walking is a much more effective way of doing missionary work as far as i am concerned. Everything is going well with Elder Maja we get along alright.
Mom I have not yet recieved the package you sent me but im expecting it this week or the next. It sounds like you are really looking to find something to do haha hopefully you find a career that you will enjoy ill keep that in mind as i pray this week. I like that new ornament yes finally done with high school! All those ornaments are packed full of wonderful memories.
Dad, that vandal game would have been awesome to be at! Im sure that dome was booming haha, oh man i can recall all those close games we attended in that place what fun those are! It sounds like you are well on your way to getting some good clients, that is so cool.
Ariel and Brian wow how awesome that is you are gonna be parents! Im excited for you. When is that baby due?
Colin and Whitney yo that is sweet that snowmobile day that would have been awesome! Whitney are you going to be like a student teacher for a certain period of time or is it a full time gig in Idaho falls?
It sounds like everyone is doing well and i hope everyone has a wonderful week leading up to Christmas.
Elder Chase Nielsen
Monday, November 29, 2010
Week 12: Novemeber 29, 2010
Aah the e-mail after Thanksgiving! I had to prepare and know that I was bound to hear about the feast that took place without my presence, oh well i had a great feast of my own. Some corn flakes with an added amount of raisins and oats, it was nice nonetheless. In all honesty i didn't even realize that it was Thanksgiving until another elder in my district pointed it out, and then i tried not to think about it so much. It seems like everyone had a good holiday, i have really done some thinking as to the importance of holidays, gathering of family and how they can be such great times for development of memories but I could only have learned that by not being present at one shame..
You know I Chris Vance is totally correct on that one, i mean you can learn two different ways off someones example, either you want to be like them or.. you don't. Its so true how living with someone and being around them for 24 hours at a time is quite challenging but you learn so much from it, and again you see how others behave and you decide if you want to be like that or not. But that's pretty cool that those guys came over and stayed at your new home Mom and Dad they are all good guys who were really good examples and friends to me.
Wow so i was telling my African companion about the day after Thanksgiving and how it is known for the busiest shopping day of the year, yo uncle Kirt bought a new gun that's awesome hahaha! but yeah i had to tell my comp almost everything about Thank giving because he didn't know anything about it. Surprisingly i was able to remember the history of how the colonists didn't know how to plant in the sandy Virginia soil so the natives showed them how to fertilize with fish meat in order for the seed to get nourishment and all that mumbo, then i told him harvest time came around and the colonists had a big feast with all the natives. Thus we have Thanksgiving still today.
That's too bad BSU was beaten by Nevada, there pistol offence must be pretty potent this year, oh well there is always next year for a shot at the title. What do i care I'm in SA where football is played with a soccer ball and rugby is popular. You know dad most businesses don't have positive numbers within their first five years but luckily your line of business doesn't have many fixed costs associated with it, just as long as you can retain all the information that is in your brain, most people write a book for those purposes though. Anyways that is something to be grateful for, and I'm sure that as you continue to get your name out there the gigs will start coming in like butter.
Anyways this last week was hard, we barely have any investigators worth mentioning and we go door after door with not much success but we continue on unhindered. To me it doesn't seem too bad because this is just the missionary life that i know. But other missionaries in other areas are just packed full with investigators and are really having success. It was great to hear from all of you this week and I am glad that everyone had a good Thanksgiving.
Mom yes i plan on calling around 8 Pm my time which correct me if i am wrong will be 12 noon your time in Twin Falls?
Toodlu,
Elder Nielsen
You know I Chris Vance is totally correct on that one, i mean you can learn two different ways off someones example, either you want to be like them or.. you don't. Its so true how living with someone and being around them for 24 hours at a time is quite challenging but you learn so much from it, and again you see how others behave and you decide if you want to be like that or not. But that's pretty cool that those guys came over and stayed at your new home Mom and Dad they are all good guys who were really good examples and friends to me.
Wow so i was telling my African companion about the day after Thanksgiving and how it is known for the busiest shopping day of the year, yo uncle Kirt bought a new gun that's awesome hahaha! but yeah i had to tell my comp almost everything about Thank giving because he didn't know anything about it. Surprisingly i was able to remember the history of how the colonists didn't know how to plant in the sandy Virginia soil so the natives showed them how to fertilize with fish meat in order for the seed to get nourishment and all that mumbo, then i told him harvest time came around and the colonists had a big feast with all the natives. Thus we have Thanksgiving still today.
That's too bad BSU was beaten by Nevada, there pistol offence must be pretty potent this year, oh well there is always next year for a shot at the title. What do i care I'm in SA where football is played with a soccer ball and rugby is popular. You know dad most businesses don't have positive numbers within their first five years but luckily your line of business doesn't have many fixed costs associated with it, just as long as you can retain all the information that is in your brain, most people write a book for those purposes though. Anyways that is something to be grateful for, and I'm sure that as you continue to get your name out there the gigs will start coming in like butter.
Anyways this last week was hard, we barely have any investigators worth mentioning and we go door after door with not much success but we continue on unhindered. To me it doesn't seem too bad because this is just the missionary life that i know. But other missionaries in other areas are just packed full with investigators and are really having success. It was great to hear from all of you this week and I am glad that everyone had a good Thanksgiving.
Mom yes i plan on calling around 8 Pm my time which correct me if i am wrong will be 12 noon your time in Twin Falls?
Toodlu,
Elder Nielsen
Monday, November 22, 2010
Week 11: November 22, 2010
Hello once again!
This past week has been pretty good, early on the transition to a new companion was a little rough and there were some things adjusted that allows us both to live in harmony. It is interesting to go from an American companions perspective to a natives perspective, i can't quite explain it but nonetheless it is cool to see. WOW i cant even comprehend how it is nearly thanksgiving, the weather sure doesnt give me any hints towards the holiday season. I am really glad we have out holiday season in the winter, people in the southern hemisphere have it all wrong haha.. the time out here goes by so much quicker, day's pass in the blink of an eye.
So there is some snow in Idaho, let the snow sports begin? and yes mom i do miss it hah but I wont be seeing any of that while im here. It has been one long summer time for me, its nice though i have a super sweet farmers tan! Its good to hear that all of you are doing well and gearing up for the holidays, This Guy is for sure going to miss turkey, stuffing, ham, rolls, pie, egg nog, and all those nice foods that just make you feel Good. People down here dont know what Thanksgiving is, and if they even celebrated such a thing it wouldnt be in Spring/Summer but rather Fall/Winter or harvest time. Anyways I am excited for you guys to have such a wonderful holiday even though i will not be present.
yeah so everything has been worked out with the new companion and things seem to be going well with he and I. We dont have much of a teaching pool but we are working on getting a lot of new investigators. This past week we tracted a whole bunch and didn't really find all that much success but we continue on with no worries. I don't find it hard to live with another person for 24 hours a day, I just try and be as non intrusive as possible. Not like im walking on eggshells but just aware of things I do that might be annoying or offensive to my companion. Although Elder White and I basically could not offend each other, Elder Maja and I will most likely do so but it seems that we are aware of each others standings on how things should go.
Mom, I am such a lucky son to recieve a package every month from you what a treat! About my clothing i think it would be wise if I had maybe one or two more pairs of pants, and maybe it would be easier if i were to just purcase them here. But other than that everything is going well in that front. Yes the other Elders in the district have a washer, so we take our laundry over there and then hang our clothes up in our flat. Oh and before Elder White left he and I made a Laundry bag for me, it is neon yellow mesh fabric and we just sewed it on up, that way i have a laundry bag and something to remember my first companion by. So i hope everything is going well in the US im keeping all of you in my prayers
Until next week,
Elder Nielsen
This past week has been pretty good, early on the transition to a new companion was a little rough and there were some things adjusted that allows us both to live in harmony. It is interesting to go from an American companions perspective to a natives perspective, i can't quite explain it but nonetheless it is cool to see. WOW i cant even comprehend how it is nearly thanksgiving, the weather sure doesnt give me any hints towards the holiday season. I am really glad we have out holiday season in the winter, people in the southern hemisphere have it all wrong haha.. the time out here goes by so much quicker, day's pass in the blink of an eye.
So there is some snow in Idaho, let the snow sports begin? and yes mom i do miss it hah but I wont be seeing any of that while im here. It has been one long summer time for me, its nice though i have a super sweet farmers tan! Its good to hear that all of you are doing well and gearing up for the holidays, This Guy is for sure going to miss turkey, stuffing, ham, rolls, pie, egg nog, and all those nice foods that just make you feel Good. People down here dont know what Thanksgiving is, and if they even celebrated such a thing it wouldnt be in Spring/Summer but rather Fall/Winter or harvest time. Anyways I am excited for you guys to have such a wonderful holiday even though i will not be present.
yeah so everything has been worked out with the new companion and things seem to be going well with he and I. We dont have much of a teaching pool but we are working on getting a lot of new investigators. This past week we tracted a whole bunch and didn't really find all that much success but we continue on with no worries. I don't find it hard to live with another person for 24 hours a day, I just try and be as non intrusive as possible. Not like im walking on eggshells but just aware of things I do that might be annoying or offensive to my companion. Although Elder White and I basically could not offend each other, Elder Maja and I will most likely do so but it seems that we are aware of each others standings on how things should go.
Mom, I am such a lucky son to recieve a package every month from you what a treat! About my clothing i think it would be wise if I had maybe one or two more pairs of pants, and maybe it would be easier if i were to just purcase them here. But other than that everything is going well in that front. Yes the other Elders in the district have a washer, so we take our laundry over there and then hang our clothes up in our flat. Oh and before Elder White left he and I made a Laundry bag for me, it is neon yellow mesh fabric and we just sewed it on up, that way i have a laundry bag and something to remember my first companion by. So i hope everything is going well in the US im keeping all of you in my prayers
Until next week,
Elder Nielsen
Monday, November 15, 2010
Week 10: November 15, 2010
Hello!
So you guys are all starting to get cold up there in North America, i can just see all the fall colors and beautiful scenery but those are just imaginations for me. Its generally around 93 degrees just about every day here and the members say it gets much hotter, man i have no idea what I'm going to do then just yesterday it was almost unbearable. oh well such is live with the black name tag, yea so i have a new companion and his name is Elder Maja and he is from Limpopo SA and he has been out on mission for about 18 months. I am still in Paarl which is alright with me because i really like it here, there are some spectacular views at sunset and sunrise. As for the people though.. ahh i guess they are alright ha most of them are really confused. Since transfer day all Elder Maja and i have done practically is tracting, and 99% of the people just say "ohh it doesn't matter what religion you are just as long as you believe in god and go to church", man what a lackadaisical statement that is wow satan works in very cunning and wise ways to distract the children of men. Sometimes i just want to tell them to read Matt 7 and then tell me all religions work.. they dont there can only be one, and if you call yourself a god fearing person and you truly are.. you Will listen to our message and you will read the book of Mormon and pray to know the truthfulness of it. just like Bruce R McConkie said "We need to cast away the philosophies of man, the wisdom of the wise, and harken unto that great spirit that teaches man all things". Im sure anyone who has ever served a mission experienced people who have hard hearts and think they know they have the truth, "when they are learned they think they are wise".
Anyways that has been my week in a nutshell, walking from door to door in the scorching African sun trying to find people ready to receive our message. Oh and Mom i did recieve those pictures in the email, the new house looks nice and cozy, i like it its nice. i like the picture of uncle Kirt and Dad standing in front of that empty truck haha i bet that was a relief to finally be done moving all that furniture. It sounds like everything is going well back home, that's good to hear man do i love reading all the emails you guys send me you have no idea how much it means to have news from home. Wow mom that's really neat how driving through those old neighborhoods gives you and myself all those memories of Idaho. Im excited for both of you and all the things that are ahead. Christmas list ok.. keep the ornament, USB drive, pictures of family, and anything else you may think i would want for Christmas as a missionary.
Oh man those Hamilton boys are oh so creative they definitely had the best costume, beasts. keep well and inform me on when Phillip and Jordan send in their papers. A whole lot of Elders from Washington are being called to Cape Town.
well its about time for me to wrap up this email but first i would like to have a list of all the addresses of family members so i can start writing letters for Christmas.
Have a great week everybody,
Elder Nielsen
So you guys are all starting to get cold up there in North America, i can just see all the fall colors and beautiful scenery but those are just imaginations for me. Its generally around 93 degrees just about every day here and the members say it gets much hotter, man i have no idea what I'm going to do then just yesterday it was almost unbearable. oh well such is live with the black name tag, yea so i have a new companion and his name is Elder Maja and he is from Limpopo SA and he has been out on mission for about 18 months. I am still in Paarl which is alright with me because i really like it here, there are some spectacular views at sunset and sunrise. As for the people though.. ahh i guess they are alright ha most of them are really confused. Since transfer day all Elder Maja and i have done practically is tracting, and 99% of the people just say "ohh it doesn't matter what religion you are just as long as you believe in god and go to church", man what a lackadaisical statement that is wow satan works in very cunning and wise ways to distract the children of men. Sometimes i just want to tell them to read Matt 7 and then tell me all religions work.. they dont there can only be one, and if you call yourself a god fearing person and you truly are.. you Will listen to our message and you will read the book of Mormon and pray to know the truthfulness of it. just like Bruce R McConkie said "We need to cast away the philosophies of man, the wisdom of the wise, and harken unto that great spirit that teaches man all things". Im sure anyone who has ever served a mission experienced people who have hard hearts and think they know they have the truth, "when they are learned they think they are wise".
Anyways that has been my week in a nutshell, walking from door to door in the scorching African sun trying to find people ready to receive our message. Oh and Mom i did recieve those pictures in the email, the new house looks nice and cozy, i like it its nice. i like the picture of uncle Kirt and Dad standing in front of that empty truck haha i bet that was a relief to finally be done moving all that furniture. It sounds like everything is going well back home, that's good to hear man do i love reading all the emails you guys send me you have no idea how much it means to have news from home. Wow mom that's really neat how driving through those old neighborhoods gives you and myself all those memories of Idaho. Im excited for both of you and all the things that are ahead. Christmas list ok.. keep the ornament, USB drive, pictures of family, and anything else you may think i would want for Christmas as a missionary.
Oh man those Hamilton boys are oh so creative they definitely had the best costume, beasts. keep well and inform me on when Phillip and Jordan send in their papers. A whole lot of Elders from Washington are being called to Cape Town.
well its about time for me to wrap up this email but first i would like to have a list of all the addresses of family members so i can start writing letters for Christmas.
Have a great week everybody,
Elder Nielsen
Monday, November 8, 2010
Week 9: November 8, 2010
happy birthday to Grandpa 83 wow thats incredible!
well everything is going well here, its transfer week so that means ill be getting a new companion and everyone says he will be African. I dont know there is only one way to find out, so Elder White goes home on friday and we will drop him off at the mission home thursday and at the same time i will meet my new companion and also whether i stay in Paarl or not. Most likely I will because usually you will be trained for at least two transfers in your first area. Man the perks of missionaries going home is awesome, Elder white is giving me some ties power converters and also a memory stick that you can plug your cameras SD card in. Im not sure if i will get the latter because all the others are desirious of it as well.
Well yesterday the baptism went really well, it was nice to see someone through the whole teaching cycle and through baptism with my first companion. He will be confirmed next sunday and this week we will start the after baptism lessons.
Wow everything is changing back home thats Nuts :) I like how you guys live closer to family now and how you seem to be happier about that. And an extended thank you all the way from South Africa to uncle Kirt for helping my parents out with the move. haha mom, i think its good for you to get back into the workplace, although i couldnt see you working at a dentists office again. I feel like when Ariel and I were growing up to sacrificed a lot of your time and energy on spending time with us instead of worrying about your career and i really appreciate that. I can see you getting back into sales and getting competitive like i know you can be, so its good to hear that you are doing that. so that package you sent me.. sorry but i was too excited to get it open i tore that box to shreds and then i read your letter telling me to keep that box haha oh well. man i wish i was in a more African influenced town then i could find some really interesting gifts for everyone. and dad what a wonderful line of events have taken place with your employment status, it seems as though you arent as nervous thus you are probably not running as fast haha. but at any rate it is good to hear that you have many options.
thank you to everyone for writing me and telling me about their lives you have no idea how nice it is to hear from everyone. Wow Colin you are definatly going to have to take me flying it sounds so lekker (aka awesome in Afrikaans) how exciting. Oh man do i miss halloween now, i can see all those kids dressed up in their costumes happy as can be recieving candy left and right. This week im going to continue to write some letters, I'll try and do 1 or maybe 2 a week. Thank you all again for your prayers and support
Love, Elder Nielsen
well everything is going well here, its transfer week so that means ill be getting a new companion and everyone says he will be African. I dont know there is only one way to find out, so Elder White goes home on friday and we will drop him off at the mission home thursday and at the same time i will meet my new companion and also whether i stay in Paarl or not. Most likely I will because usually you will be trained for at least two transfers in your first area. Man the perks of missionaries going home is awesome, Elder white is giving me some ties power converters and also a memory stick that you can plug your cameras SD card in. Im not sure if i will get the latter because all the others are desirious of it as well.
Well yesterday the baptism went really well, it was nice to see someone through the whole teaching cycle and through baptism with my first companion. He will be confirmed next sunday and this week we will start the after baptism lessons.
Wow everything is changing back home thats Nuts :) I like how you guys live closer to family now and how you seem to be happier about that. And an extended thank you all the way from South Africa to uncle Kirt for helping my parents out with the move. haha mom, i think its good for you to get back into the workplace, although i couldnt see you working at a dentists office again. I feel like when Ariel and I were growing up to sacrificed a lot of your time and energy on spending time with us instead of worrying about your career and i really appreciate that. I can see you getting back into sales and getting competitive like i know you can be, so its good to hear that you are doing that. so that package you sent me.. sorry but i was too excited to get it open i tore that box to shreds and then i read your letter telling me to keep that box haha oh well. man i wish i was in a more African influenced town then i could find some really interesting gifts for everyone. and dad what a wonderful line of events have taken place with your employment status, it seems as though you arent as nervous thus you are probably not running as fast haha. but at any rate it is good to hear that you have many options.
thank you to everyone for writing me and telling me about their lives you have no idea how nice it is to hear from everyone. Wow Colin you are definatly going to have to take me flying it sounds so lekker (aka awesome in Afrikaans) how exciting. Oh man do i miss halloween now, i can see all those kids dressed up in their costumes happy as can be recieving candy left and right. This week im going to continue to write some letters, I'll try and do 1 or maybe 2 a week. Thank you all again for your prayers and support
Love, Elder Nielsen
Monday, November 1, 2010
Week 8: November 1, 2010
Hey again,
Thank you to everyone who has been sending me mail, its really good to read and get a little reminder of home. Thank you brother Hamilton for sending me that e-mail that means a lot to me, its nice to read another missionaries letters home with their struggles, strifes and also the excitement that comes from being on a mission. Everything is going great here, this next sunday we are lined up for 3 people to get baptized. One we know for sure is ready for baptism, we dont need to remind him to do anything and he has a wonderful testimony of the gospel. The other two might not be ready as far as the word of wisdom goes but they are trying their best and they know the gospel is true, tomorrow the zone leaders are coming down to conduct baptismal interviews for them. Its cool to see them taking a step closer to their salvation, hopefully down the road they dont fall off the path and end up less active like the 500 others here. Its so frustrating to be in an area that could possibly have two wards but because of the less actives there is only one branch. I cant believe there could be so many people that were once strong in the gospel could let satan slowly work on them and get them in a habit of not coming to church its terrible they dont understand the covenants they made. Oh well we will just go track them down one at a time.
This week we were able to watch conference wow that was pretty cool, Elder Hollands talk on the sacrifices his family made for him on his mission was awesome. The talk that really stuck to me was Dieter f. Uctdorf's talk on pride (priesthood session), wow that was powerful and while he was talking i noticed that i have a lot of pride. Its so true what he said that pride only brings an attitude of "look at all the things i have and have done, and look at how im better than you" you can see how that can be destructive to a person. Im now trying to be a humble person and have a better attitude of gratitude (Thomas S. Monson). Oh another thing that Uctdorf said, he quoted Leonardo DaVinci "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" thats a pretty cool statement.
Ariel i did get your letter and im sending you one either today or tommorrow, thank you for relaying the messages from the folks.
Colin, thanks for writing me every week its nice to read about your week and the exciting things that are happening in your life. And about the animal parks, yess last monday (pday) we went to a giraffe park, but it only had one giraffe haha man that was lame and kinda a waste of the 45 Rand per person. Seven Rand = 1 dollar so it wasnt too much. Although they did have a couple of sweet monkeys running around so that was fun oh and also a field of goats. We called one over to us and it stuck its head through the gate, while one pair of missionaries took a video my companion and i grabbed its horns so it couldnt back its head out. Surprisingly the people that worked there were laughing and of course we were too haha, that made up for the frustration of only seeing one giraffe. I hope you and Whitney continue to do well in Rexburg.
Mom and dad good luck in your new home and send me pictures if possible of the new place. I look forward to hearing from you next week.
Also it would be nice to have an address for Aunt Sondra and Uncle Kay, i would like to write them some letters.
Until next week,
Elder Nielsen
Thank you to everyone who has been sending me mail, its really good to read and get a little reminder of home. Thank you brother Hamilton for sending me that e-mail that means a lot to me, its nice to read another missionaries letters home with their struggles, strifes and also the excitement that comes from being on a mission. Everything is going great here, this next sunday we are lined up for 3 people to get baptized. One we know for sure is ready for baptism, we dont need to remind him to do anything and he has a wonderful testimony of the gospel. The other two might not be ready as far as the word of wisdom goes but they are trying their best and they know the gospel is true, tomorrow the zone leaders are coming down to conduct baptismal interviews for them. Its cool to see them taking a step closer to their salvation, hopefully down the road they dont fall off the path and end up less active like the 500 others here. Its so frustrating to be in an area that could possibly have two wards but because of the less actives there is only one branch. I cant believe there could be so many people that were once strong in the gospel could let satan slowly work on them and get them in a habit of not coming to church its terrible they dont understand the covenants they made. Oh well we will just go track them down one at a time.
This week we were able to watch conference wow that was pretty cool, Elder Hollands talk on the sacrifices his family made for him on his mission was awesome. The talk that really stuck to me was Dieter f. Uctdorf's talk on pride (priesthood session), wow that was powerful and while he was talking i noticed that i have a lot of pride. Its so true what he said that pride only brings an attitude of "look at all the things i have and have done, and look at how im better than you" you can see how that can be destructive to a person. Im now trying to be a humble person and have a better attitude of gratitude (Thomas S. Monson). Oh another thing that Uctdorf said, he quoted Leonardo DaVinci "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" thats a pretty cool statement.
Ariel i did get your letter and im sending you one either today or tommorrow, thank you for relaying the messages from the folks.
Colin, thanks for writing me every week its nice to read about your week and the exciting things that are happening in your life. And about the animal parks, yess last monday (pday) we went to a giraffe park, but it only had one giraffe haha man that was lame and kinda a waste of the 45 Rand per person. Seven Rand = 1 dollar so it wasnt too much. Although they did have a couple of sweet monkeys running around so that was fun oh and also a field of goats. We called one over to us and it stuck its head through the gate, while one pair of missionaries took a video my companion and i grabbed its horns so it couldnt back its head out. Surprisingly the people that worked there were laughing and of course we were too haha, that made up for the frustration of only seeing one giraffe. I hope you and Whitney continue to do well in Rexburg.
Mom and dad good luck in your new home and send me pictures if possible of the new place. I look forward to hearing from you next week.
Also it would be nice to have an address for Aunt Sondra and Uncle Kay, i would like to write them some letters.
Until next week,
Elder Nielsen
Monday, October 25, 2010
Week 7: October 25, 2010
Excellent its another pday! Its good to hear from everybody and again it looks like a lot of changes are going on. Geez this week was awesome, we had zone training with president Probst. He is preparing all of us missionaries for may when the MTC's start teaching a new curriculum on missionary work its called the Doctrine Of Christ. Im not so sure if i am even supposed to tell you about it but it goes along with Preach My Gospel. PMG was just a stepping stone out of those old memorized discussions, Anyways The doctrine of christ is just another element to PMG which centers more fully our message around Christ, and it is really intersting to look at and see how every principle we teach ties back to our heavenly father and Jesus Christ. Its Great to see how much better and more effective the Doctrine of Christ is than just PMG, president showed us that since he has been teaching DOC we have more than tripled the number of baptism dates in our zone. Also just yesterday we were priveleged enough to have Elder Holland come and share his testimony. If any of you are not familiar with Elder Holland he is an apostle just like Peter, James, John, Bartholemew, Matthew, Nathaniel just to name a few from the New Testament. But Elder Holland is a witness of Christ and apostle in these latter days. Anyways Elder Holland shared with our stake his testimony, he started off by telling us to try and imagine what Peter the senior Apostle must have felt like when Christ was crucified. Peter had only been learning and following Christ for about 36 months to the end of Christ's ministry, he really didnt have all that much experience. Peter really didnt know what to do, he was devastated the man who he had followed ever since he was told "come follow me.. i will make you fishers of men". The apostles didnt go out and do as Christ wished them to do, they basically went back to work as fisherman I can picture them just saying well that was a great run while it lasted now thats over lest go fishing again. In John 21 Christ appears to his disciples for the third time after his ressurrection at the sea of tiberias, they were not having any success on the sea coincidence i think Not. They fished all night and in the morning Christ was standing on the shore but they knew not it was him, he said unto them do you have any meat? the reply was, No. Christ said cast your nets on the right side and we all know that they could not draw their nets into their ship. After Christ fed them he asked Simon Peter three time Lovest thou me more than these(fish) then feed my sheep! 3 times Christ asked him that and on the third reply Peter Cried and wept and finally understood what he was supposed to do. He wasnt supposed to go fishing, he was chosen to be an apostle a special witness of Jesus Christ and for the rest of his life was to go and preach His gospel or in other words feed His Sheep. Elder Holland then told us that he was too called of god to be a special witness of Christ an apostle and how special his calling was, he then told us that anyone who is baptized does the same thing they take upon themselves the name of Christ and are then disciples of him Provided they are baptised with the proper authority. Man what a special day it was to hear an aposlte of the lord speaking to a huge congregation, he then wanted to meet all of the missionaries after the meeting. We all met him, shook his hand and were able to talk to him for a little bit and then he shared with us how happy he was that we were all on missions and how important the work is. What a powerful man and so spiritual every word he spoke pierced us to the heart. It was a life changing experience it was awesome. Other than that this week was pretty normal no dog bites no injuries haha oh well there is always next week. Im still doing fine and ill probably get that package next week so im pumped for that thanks mom! At any rate I hope all of you are doing alright i keep you in my prayers. hopefully it doesnt seem like i rushed this e-mail but im excited for pday! so love you all!
Chase
Chase
Monday, October 18, 2010
Week 6: October 18, 2010
Hello everybody from Paarl!
It has been awesome here so far i know the area very well now and im getting some pretty thick thighs. Elder White wants to be really fit when he goes home and we do everything together out here on mission so i guess im getting fit too, probably just more fit than i already was haha jk. This week we had a baptism and we have a couple more baptismal dates upcoming, its great to see some of our investigators really learning about the restored gospel and seeing for themselves how important it is. I guess of all the things i learned this week its that as missionaries we dont do what people think we do, we dont try and convince people what we say is true we just show them the way to find out for themselves which i really like. I mean we could just go around quoting scriptures and bashing people but that doesnt accomplish anything and it isnt christlike. There are a lot of (white) people here in Paarl who are very prideful and it is really interesting to see their ignorance, maybe they dont see that we are messengers of Jesus Christ and that when they reject or refute the words we say they reject Christ. Im sure a they dont look at it that way but as missionaries of his church that is exactly whats happening, almost everyone goes to church here but their ignorance stands in the way of further knowledge of the true gospel. Anyways thats missionary life, and that is the constant message i am learning out here.
Sounds like everyone is doing great! a lot of things are changing back home and that is good to hear nothing new i guess, i think dad told me that since moving across the country Ariel and I have a lot more experience and ability to adapt to a new situation. I find truth in that because when i got here in Paarl Elder White and myself didnt have a place to stay, we didnt have transportation, and we didnt get those things for a couple days. Once we had a place to stay, we didnt have electricity, dirty water, and it was very dirty and grimy from the previous owners. Once we got our bikes we figured out they were junk and walking was faster anyways. Looking back on that i dont think i complained at all and just took everything one step at a time, i dont think any other missionaries in my transfer would have been able to handle that kind of stress that situation might bring. This week will be the first full week that Elder White and I will be fully functional our bikes are fixed, our flat is clean, we have clean water, we have electricty! It feels like im living large now that we have all those things because a lot of people especially in Chicago dont have them. Its neat to see how those people can be happier than those who have them.
Mom, sorry you had a tough time packing up my room, maybe unpacking them into your new home will be easier. Ok so in my old blue scripture tote i have something that is of great value and would like to have it. My Aaronic Priesthood line is in there i would hate to lose that through the move, also if you could ask Bishop Tanner for a possible Melchezedik Priesthood line that would be awesome. wow you are moving pretty soon it might be a while for you to get my next letter because ill probably just wait until you are in your new residence. I have not yet recieved that package but i expect it to be here this next week, im pretty excited to have another pair of shoes whew these ones are getting stanky haha. The food here is pretty good, South Africans love meat and so do WE (Elder White and I) they also eat a lot of rice, sweet potatoes with cinnamon and various veggies. I have only eaten one thing i didnt like which was beet root.. and my companion dished me up a lot but i got him back by licking his fork at the next dinner appointment haha. I love missionary life it is so much fun especially when you do the right things and work hard, the lord blesses us a lot and in various ways. I feel for E. White because he has to go home at the end of this transfer.
I know everything will go great with the move and you will enjoy your new ward and thats the easy part of moving anyways wards are like extended families. Know that I love you and know that you dont need to worry about me im doing fine and nobody dares to mess with white boys on bikes here in SA. Dad, wow you seem really busy with Reliantz that awesome! I cant believe how quickly you were able to do get it up and running. Thats too bad the vandals lost again. i hope that when i get back they are really good that be cool. keep me updated on how the sid gig works out or if you are leaning more towards staying with the reliantz gig. You seem to have put yourself in a good position for success thats really good to hear. i know that you and mom will be just fine back in Boise, i feel like life has gone full circle all around the US and back to Idaho haha. To me it honestly doesnt matter where i come home to just as long as all my family is there. we always said that Seattle was diverse but South Africa is drastically more diverse than any place i have ever been. I do enjoy it here and i have great experiences here every day. Love ya Dad Thank you all for sending me your addresses i will be writing some letters later tonight in response to your emails, since we have to pay for our time on the internet it will be easier for me to do so, it would be nice to do it all on the computer but stamps are cheaper than Email here. so be expecting letters from me and know that i love you all and i keep you in my prayers.
Love Elder Nielsen
It has been awesome here so far i know the area very well now and im getting some pretty thick thighs. Elder White wants to be really fit when he goes home and we do everything together out here on mission so i guess im getting fit too, probably just more fit than i already was haha jk. This week we had a baptism and we have a couple more baptismal dates upcoming, its great to see some of our investigators really learning about the restored gospel and seeing for themselves how important it is. I guess of all the things i learned this week its that as missionaries we dont do what people think we do, we dont try and convince people what we say is true we just show them the way to find out for themselves which i really like. I mean we could just go around quoting scriptures and bashing people but that doesnt accomplish anything and it isnt christlike. There are a lot of (white) people here in Paarl who are very prideful and it is really interesting to see their ignorance, maybe they dont see that we are messengers of Jesus Christ and that when they reject or refute the words we say they reject Christ. Im sure a they dont look at it that way but as missionaries of his church that is exactly whats happening, almost everyone goes to church here but their ignorance stands in the way of further knowledge of the true gospel. Anyways thats missionary life, and that is the constant message i am learning out here.
Sounds like everyone is doing great! a lot of things are changing back home and that is good to hear nothing new i guess, i think dad told me that since moving across the country Ariel and I have a lot more experience and ability to adapt to a new situation. I find truth in that because when i got here in Paarl Elder White and myself didnt have a place to stay, we didnt have transportation, and we didnt get those things for a couple days. Once we had a place to stay, we didnt have electricity, dirty water, and it was very dirty and grimy from the previous owners. Once we got our bikes we figured out they were junk and walking was faster anyways. Looking back on that i dont think i complained at all and just took everything one step at a time, i dont think any other missionaries in my transfer would have been able to handle that kind of stress that situation might bring. This week will be the first full week that Elder White and I will be fully functional our bikes are fixed, our flat is clean, we have clean water, we have electricty! It feels like im living large now that we have all those things because a lot of people especially in Chicago dont have them. Its neat to see how those people can be happier than those who have them.
Mom, sorry you had a tough time packing up my room, maybe unpacking them into your new home will be easier. Ok so in my old blue scripture tote i have something that is of great value and would like to have it. My Aaronic Priesthood line is in there i would hate to lose that through the move, also if you could ask Bishop Tanner for a possible Melchezedik Priesthood line that would be awesome. wow you are moving pretty soon it might be a while for you to get my next letter because ill probably just wait until you are in your new residence. I have not yet recieved that package but i expect it to be here this next week, im pretty excited to have another pair of shoes whew these ones are getting stanky haha. The food here is pretty good, South Africans love meat and so do WE (Elder White and I) they also eat a lot of rice, sweet potatoes with cinnamon and various veggies. I have only eaten one thing i didnt like which was beet root.. and my companion dished me up a lot but i got him back by licking his fork at the next dinner appointment haha. I love missionary life it is so much fun especially when you do the right things and work hard, the lord blesses us a lot and in various ways. I feel for E. White because he has to go home at the end of this transfer.
I know everything will go great with the move and you will enjoy your new ward and thats the easy part of moving anyways wards are like extended families. Know that I love you and know that you dont need to worry about me im doing fine and nobody dares to mess with white boys on bikes here in SA. Dad, wow you seem really busy with Reliantz that awesome! I cant believe how quickly you were able to do get it up and running. Thats too bad the vandals lost again. i hope that when i get back they are really good that be cool. keep me updated on how the sid gig works out or if you are leaning more towards staying with the reliantz gig. You seem to have put yourself in a good position for success thats really good to hear. i know that you and mom will be just fine back in Boise, i feel like life has gone full circle all around the US and back to Idaho haha. To me it honestly doesnt matter where i come home to just as long as all my family is there. we always said that Seattle was diverse but South Africa is drastically more diverse than any place i have ever been. I do enjoy it here and i have great experiences here every day. Love ya Dad Thank you all for sending me your addresses i will be writing some letters later tonight in response to your emails, since we have to pay for our time on the internet it will be easier for me to do so, it would be nice to do it all on the computer but stamps are cheaper than Email here. so be expecting letters from me and know that i love you all and i keep you in my prayers.
Love Elder Nielsen
Monday, October 11, 2010
Week 5: October 11, 2010
Hello All,
So from now on im just going to be writing one email per week directed to all who wants to read it. This week has been a lot of fun, we have been riding these old dumpy, rusty bikes that the mission has had in storage for two years. Our mission is mostly a driving mission so us bikers dont get the usual TLC. haha so this week both of us are thinking about buying bikes ones that actually get us from point A to point B. Since we have been biking i can really feel a particular muscle grouping in my legs gaining strength. I love that feeling, its as if im back in the weight room again. For nourishment Elder White and i have been eating a lot of peanuts, eggs, pbj's and any protein we can get our hands on. Since my companion is on his last transfer i really need to learn the area in a short amount of time, since he will go home and i will probably stay here for a couple more transfers (6 weeks= 1 transfer). I thought i knew the area well but since we have got bikes the area got a little bit bigger which is good but that means i have to learn the street names, what members live in there etc. oh well no worries i have 4 more weeks to learn it all, im really glad that i have a good trainer in Elder White. He is from Utah, he grew up on a farm and is the youngest of 6 siblings. Since he is at the tail end of his mission i can see what kind of person/ missionary i can become in two years, thank you for giving me that insight this week Colin i like looking at it from that "perspective" Tm haha. Im glad that your team got the full loan for school thats awesome, and it sounds like you are up in the air again haha. Man i hope when i get back we can go on some hunting trips since i have never really done so. it sounds like a lot of fun haha, yesterday my companion and i tried to hunt a ginnie hen with sticks and stones haha it flew away but it was fun, and a lot of colored people were staring at us. Its O.K though the colored and black people think we are so cool because we are white, its like we are celebrities. In my area there are a couple ghetto's one of them is called Chicago, it is all poor people and homeless people. Its basically shacks built with mud walls and a tin roof. The shacks are really small and usually families mexi pack it into them haha. in the ghettos on weekends everyone is hobbling around drunk and high, its definatly interesting to see their lifestyle and how it differs from ours. My area also has some quite expensive homes and those are located in New Orleans and Northern Paarl, NP is where all the white Boers live and NO is where the successfull colored people live. these areas are located up on a hill and and Chicago is kind of down in a valley in between both NO and NP. Our flat is located in Np and its not too bad so dont worry mom but each day E. WHite and I scrub the floors and take care of it. Dad that is awesome you are under contract with eharmony they are pretty big at least they seem big because i remember their commercials. Thats awesome how reliantz is kind of taking off haha thats so cool. Ok so the vandals are 2-2 at least to my knowledge now thats pretty good hopefully they can get to another bowl this year and really start building up a program. Im kinda sad that the truck is sold but thats one less thing in your hands, thats a good thing its sold. and you know whatever you think is best for the powerwasher is cool with me.. it could really help you keep your new home in boise nice and sparkling. I know that whatever you do with reliantz or that gig with sid the lord will bless you with whatever decision you make with faith in him. is really interesting out here to notice how much faith can really play a role in your success, i.e Elder White his whole mission has never taught a white family, but me being a brand new missionary havent really seen how difficult it is to teach white people here in SA. this past week i decided to knock on some doors in North Paarl and had all the faith in the world that they would let us in ( just like in the colored areas, they always let us in because we are from the U.S) and at first the guy seemed really stubborn and wanted us to leave but we built a relationship of trust with him and taught him haha. Elder White was astonished that we got into their door. Faith is like that parable that states " if you fail to plan, you plan to fail" so if you think you cant do it then you wont. thought of the week i guess haha. Mom, thank you for sending those shoes last friday its going to be nice to be able to switch these ones out day by day. Im glad you dont care about shipping costs because i dont really either haha. Sounds like you guys have a great plan for housing so far, i know dad would really like to live on the course thats funny. Its really annoying when i tell people where im from i say washington and then they say oh wow D.C ive been there. In annoyance i tell them NO Washington DC is not a state.. Washington is a state ahaha they dont understand. Once you guys move ill be able to say im from Idaho again because home is where the heart is. The money that MSF provides us is o.k it gets us by but every once in a while i will have to use my debit on certain items. Overall i love South Africa, JoBerg was really shady but Cape Town is Beautifull you would love it, always sunny and it seems like you are on a tropical island. Paarl is one of those towns like issaquah, used to be a farm town but is now kinda suburban. Although here in Paarl there are still a lot of vineyards its a really cool dynamic town. Ariel How are you doing? how is School going? what about you Brian? Whitney? let a missionary know haha send me a letter if you want correspondence because i have no addresses. Love you all!
Elder Nielsen
So from now on im just going to be writing one email per week directed to all who wants to read it. This week has been a lot of fun, we have been riding these old dumpy, rusty bikes that the mission has had in storage for two years. Our mission is mostly a driving mission so us bikers dont get the usual TLC. haha so this week both of us are thinking about buying bikes ones that actually get us from point A to point B. Since we have been biking i can really feel a particular muscle grouping in my legs gaining strength. I love that feeling, its as if im back in the weight room again. For nourishment Elder White and i have been eating a lot of peanuts, eggs, pbj's and any protein we can get our hands on. Since my companion is on his last transfer i really need to learn the area in a short amount of time, since he will go home and i will probably stay here for a couple more transfers (6 weeks= 1 transfer). I thought i knew the area well but since we have got bikes the area got a little bit bigger which is good but that means i have to learn the street names, what members live in there etc. oh well no worries i have 4 more weeks to learn it all, im really glad that i have a good trainer in Elder White. He is from Utah, he grew up on a farm and is the youngest of 6 siblings. Since he is at the tail end of his mission i can see what kind of person/ missionary i can become in two years, thank you for giving me that insight this week Colin i like looking at it from that "perspective" Tm haha. Im glad that your team got the full loan for school thats awesome, and it sounds like you are up in the air again haha. Man i hope when i get back we can go on some hunting trips since i have never really done so. it sounds like a lot of fun haha, yesterday my companion and i tried to hunt a ginnie hen with sticks and stones haha it flew away but it was fun, and a lot of colored people were staring at us. Its O.K though the colored and black people think we are so cool because we are white, its like we are celebrities. In my area there are a couple ghetto's one of them is called Chicago, it is all poor people and homeless people. Its basically shacks built with mud walls and a tin roof. The shacks are really small and usually families mexi pack it into them haha. in the ghettos on weekends everyone is hobbling around drunk and high, its definatly interesting to see their lifestyle and how it differs from ours. My area also has some quite expensive homes and those are located in New Orleans and Northern Paarl, NP is where all the white Boers live and NO is where the successfull colored people live. these areas are located up on a hill and and Chicago is kind of down in a valley in between both NO and NP. Our flat is located in Np and its not too bad so dont worry mom but each day E. WHite and I scrub the floors and take care of it. Dad that is awesome you are under contract with eharmony they are pretty big at least they seem big because i remember their commercials. Thats awesome how reliantz is kind of taking off haha thats so cool. Ok so the vandals are 2-2 at least to my knowledge now thats pretty good hopefully they can get to another bowl this year and really start building up a program. Im kinda sad that the truck is sold but thats one less thing in your hands, thats a good thing its sold. and you know whatever you think is best for the powerwasher is cool with me.. it could really help you keep your new home in boise nice and sparkling. I know that whatever you do with reliantz or that gig with sid the lord will bless you with whatever decision you make with faith in him. is really interesting out here to notice how much faith can really play a role in your success, i.e Elder White his whole mission has never taught a white family, but me being a brand new missionary havent really seen how difficult it is to teach white people here in SA. this past week i decided to knock on some doors in North Paarl and had all the faith in the world that they would let us in ( just like in the colored areas, they always let us in because we are from the U.S) and at first the guy seemed really stubborn and wanted us to leave but we built a relationship of trust with him and taught him haha. Elder White was astonished that we got into their door. Faith is like that parable that states " if you fail to plan, you plan to fail" so if you think you cant do it then you wont. thought of the week i guess haha. Mom, thank you for sending those shoes last friday its going to be nice to be able to switch these ones out day by day. Im glad you dont care about shipping costs because i dont really either haha. Sounds like you guys have a great plan for housing so far, i know dad would really like to live on the course thats funny. Its really annoying when i tell people where im from i say washington and then they say oh wow D.C ive been there. In annoyance i tell them NO Washington DC is not a state.. Washington is a state ahaha they dont understand. Once you guys move ill be able to say im from Idaho again because home is where the heart is. The money that MSF provides us is o.k it gets us by but every once in a while i will have to use my debit on certain items. Overall i love South Africa, JoBerg was really shady but Cape Town is Beautifull you would love it, always sunny and it seems like you are on a tropical island. Paarl is one of those towns like issaquah, used to be a farm town but is now kinda suburban. Although here in Paarl there are still a lot of vineyards its a really cool dynamic town. Ariel How are you doing? how is School going? what about you Brian? Whitney? let a missionary know haha send me a letter if you want correspondence because i have no addresses. Love you all!
Elder Nielsen
Monday, October 4, 2010
Week 4: October 4, 2010
Letter from Chase's dad - Fri. October 1, 2010
Dear Elder Nielsen:
I pray things are going well. I'm in Southern California this week with Sid generating business. Yesterday we met with Sandy Gould at abc Disney. Sandy worked with Sid and I at RealNetworks. We had a personal tour of the Walt Disney studeo and sound studios. Today we met with the eHarmony staff and did some personal coaching with some of there staff members. Tomorrow we're off to Malibo to meet with HR staff with Dunn and Bradstreet. We fly home tomorrow evening. Saturday morning your mom and I drive to Boise to look for housing. We will more than likely take off at 2am to make it to Boise by 11 for our first appointment. We're going to have pizza with Pam and Kirk Saturday evening. Kirk is doing well with his Kemo treatments, however, cannot be in crowds due to his depleted immune system. We will probably eat with them in an open park somewhere. The Vandals continue to do well. Since I wrote last, they lost to Nebraska, beat UNLV, and lost in the last second to Colorado State. This week they travel to Western Michigan.
Mom told me you received your first assignment to Namibia. This should be an incredible experience for you. Give me the details. I pray for you daily.
Love, Dad
Chase's Response - Mon. October 4, 2010
Wow it sounds like you have been pretty busy with work and all that. thats great i knew things were going to pick up sooner or later. thats awesome you were able to get a tour of the disney studios. Right now i am not in Nam (Namibia) im in a town outside of Cape Town called Paarl which in Afrikaans means pear. its a really beautiful town with greenery and mountains all around. there are some nice areas in Paarl and some Ghettos haha. my companion and I have had some interesting experiences so far with the people here. In South Africa you are only considered black if you are dark as night, everyone else who is of brown skin is considered colored. then white people are just whites haha. its really cool here and my companion and i get along pretty well. next week i can have some pictures to show you of Cape Town and ill be taking some pictures of Paarl this week to show you. sounds like the vandals are getting off to an okay start, it seems like they can make it back to a bowl game this year if they really kick themselves into high gear. i got moms package with all the green things in them, that was nice to get along with the letter from colin. So my p-days here are on mondays now not saturdays anymore. I will most likely be here in Paarl from 12-24 weeks because my companion is going home in 6 weeks so i have to get to know the area for my next companion. It has been awesome here so far and i have really enjoyed it. hopefully you find a good deal on a house down in Boise. Thank you for the prayers i will be just fine here. talk to you next Monday.
Love,
Elder C.B Nielsen
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Week 3: September 25, 2010
SO I am almost done with my stay here in the MTC, on Wednesday all of the Cape Town Missionaries are going flying in and are going to be in their new areas. So I will be somewhere in the actual mission field by next Thursday. I am really excited and I'm having a lot of fun here with all of the great guys. We have been learning a whole lot these last few weeks about all of the lessons and scriptural things. I guess I'm also quite nervous about going out into the field, mostly because I don't know what my first companion will be like. Hopefully I will have a good Elder to train me and not someone who is lazy and has no work ethic. I know that this MTC experience has really helped me learn and most importantly taught me how to study effectively. These last two weeks have been so jam packed with imformation that it was kind of like drinking out of a firehose but I have been able to retain a whole lot of information. All Elder Brady needed to say is that when Jesus was on the earth he established his church and after his death the great apostacy happend. Today we have that church on the earth again eph 4:5 one lord, one faith, one baptism. amos 3:7
This next week I will be able to e-mail you much longer but I'm not sure on what day I will have the opportunity to. Sorry these emails have been so short.
Love Elder Nielsen
This next week I will be able to e-mail you much longer but I'm not sure on what day I will have the opportunity to. Sorry these emails have been so short.
Love Elder Nielsen
Friday, September 17, 2010
Week 2: September 17, 2010
Hey so it looks like every thing is going well as far as future employment, that's good although I must say I haven't really been worrying too much about that. I know you guys will be fine. My daily life here in the MTC consists of breakfast at 7 personal study 7:30 to 8:30 and companion study until 9. At 9 we usually go into a LGM (large group meeting) until 11 then we will go to our district classrooms. My district has about 12 elders in it 6 from Africa and the others from the states. 12:30 lunch at 1:30 missionary directed time. 3:30 physical activity. 5 dinner. 6 back to district classes and at 9 we have daily planning with our companions. My companions name is Elder Barlow and he is from the motor city. He and I get along great we have done pretty well as far as teaching lessons and socializing with people. The thing I like about this MTC is that we can talk to real people here in SA, like today we got back from the mall and we were talking to a whole bunch of people it was pretty cool. I like it here and I look forward to acutally getting out into the field where hopefully I can be able to spend more time on emails but there is only a certain amount of time we have to do so and a lot of elders that need to write home. I have heard that packages take forever to get here so who knows when I will get it. Love you all so much.
Love,
Elder Nielsen
Love,
Elder Nielsen
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Cousins
Here is a short email Elder Nielsen sent to his cousin, Colin
Hey cousin im doing good and its a whole lot of work and fun here in the Joberg SA MTC. The food is also really good and im enjoying spending time with all the other cool elders here. There are about 35 of us about 20 from the states and 15 from here in Africa. There is this one Elder who speaks zulu and that language is awesome! Anyways today is Saturday which is our Pday so we are going to an African market. Sorry this is going to be a short email I dont have much time since there are a bunch of elders that want to email home. Next saturday I'll be able to email you again.
Elder Nielsen
Hey cousin im doing good and its a whole lot of work and fun here in the Joberg SA MTC. The food is also really good and im enjoying spending time with all the other cool elders here. There are about 35 of us about 20 from the states and 15 from here in Africa. There is this one Elder who speaks zulu and that language is awesome! Anyways today is Saturday which is our Pday so we are going to an African market. Sorry this is going to be a short email I dont have much time since there are a bunch of elders that want to email home. Next saturday I'll be able to email you again.
Elder Nielsen
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Week 1: September 11, 2010
The first couple of days in the MTC have been great, we have been learning alot and are all having fun at the same time. On the plane very few elders were able to get a good amount of sleep so when we arrived in SA we weren't able to sleep at night. So the first night here all of us Americans stayed up and played ping pong all night. The next night we were able to sleep and get rid of our jet lag. The days here in the MTC are packed full of learning so at the end of the day we are all so mentally tired, the food is also really good, there is no mayonnaise or whatever crap there is in America, I love it here and I'm having a whole lot of fun.
Love, Elder Nielsen
Love, Elder Nielsen
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Arriving at MTC
We got an email from Chase around 2:30 pm today letting us know that he made it to the Johannesburg MTC safely. He seems to be adjusting well and is already getting spoiled by his momma.
Here is his short email:
Hey mom, myself and 17 other Elders made it to the MTC here in Joberg and we are just getting settled into the dorms. Hey I wanted to ask you where you put my other name tag or if it is still at home. I'm pretty sure it is probably still at home and I just forgot it, but its no big deal I'll just have to wear the name tag I have. I will be allowed to e-mail you on saturday I guess that is pday but I love you and thanks so much for all those gifts you hid in my luggage.
Love Elder Nielsen
Here is his short email:
Hey mom, myself and 17 other Elders made it to the MTC here in Joberg and we are just getting settled into the dorms. Hey I wanted to ask you where you put my other name tag or if it is still at home. I'm pretty sure it is probably still at home and I just forgot it, but its no big deal I'll just have to wear the name tag I have. I will be allowed to e-mail you on saturday I guess that is pday but I love you and thanks so much for all those gifts you hid in my luggage.
Love Elder Nielsen
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Leaving The States
Chase flew out of the Seattle-Tacoma Airport this morning at 7:05 am. Chase and his companion will arrive in Atlanta at approximately 2:59pm EST, where they will meet four other missionaries who are also on their way to South Africa. They will be leaving Atlanta at 7:10pm.
Email sent from Chase's Mom:
"He [Chase] received a beautiful blessing from President Sanelli last night. Chase and President Sanelli have been home teaching companions for 6 years so it was very fitting to have him set him apart. He blessed Chase with safety and told him that he will learn much in the next two years. There is a specific work for him to do on his mission. I was able to pin his tag on him and what a experience that was!
Email sent from Chase's Mom:
"He [Chase] received a beautiful blessing from President Sanelli last night. Chase and President Sanelli have been home teaching companions for 6 years so it was very fitting to have him set him apart. He blessed Chase with safety and told him that he will learn much in the next two years. There is a specific work for him to do on his mission. I was able to pin his tag on him and what a experience that was!
While we were at the airport this morning waiting for Chase to get his bag checked, a man came up and introduced himself as Bishop Anderson and asked "Where is your son going on his mission?" I told him, and he asked if it would be okay with me and Elder Nielsen if he escorted him to his gate. He is the Bishop in the Port Angeles area and flies every week to MN for work. Whenever he sees missionaries leaving he likes to help them along so he walked with Elder Nielsen to his gate. Tender Mercies!!"
Here are some pictures of the airport goodbyes:
Chase should be arriving in South Africa at 4:45 pm on September 8th. He reports to the MTC on September 9th down in Johannesburg. South Africa is 8 hours ahead of MST.
We can't wait for our first letter!
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