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
Monday, November 29, 2010
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
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