Week 76: February 20, 2012

Staying in PE

This past week was transfers, and Elder Vernon and I are staying together for another six weeks! I am excited about that because together we work hard and also have some fun together. On P-day last week we went to a lion park, where we got to see some full grown lions male and female and also we got to pet some baby lions. Pictures are attached.

Besides transfers we kept really busy, our days were full of appointments and some good finding activities. On Friday we met a natural bodybuilder who was very interested in The Restoration, and especially in the Book of Mormon. It was nice to meet someone so humble, yet he was massive! an absolutely huge individual. This week we hope to have a good follow up lesson with him, and we will see if he enjoyed his reading, and also see if he prayed about it. We have another Investigator who is quite a character, and he is very intelligent, when we taught him the Restoration and about the Book of Mormon we invited him to be baptized something like this "Bro. E. After you know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and therefore Joseph Smith to be the Lords prophet called in these last days to restore the Church of Jesus Christ will you prepare yourself to be baptized?". His answer was one that I will never forget, he said in a voice similar to one that I know well "Yes, yes of course" I couldn't help but have the biggest smile on my face when he said that! He truly is a remarkable man and really interested in what we are teaching him. 

Today for P-day I am thinking of going to hit some golf balls at a nearby driving range, it's quite a good deal because you can get a big ol bucket of balls, three clubs to use, for about 45 Rands. I don't know though it depends upon all the other guys who are in the district. P-day is fun and everything but honestly the best part of my weeks is the proselyting, I have really found to love it.

Oh how can I forget, there is a new missionary in the District, His name is Elder Martin and he is from Moscow, Idaho. Elder Bangerter who is 12 weeks from going home is his trainer. So the dynamics of the District have changed a bit but it's going to be a fun one I can tell. Having a greenie around is always good.

Colin and Whitney, I look forward to hearing if you are having a boy or girl! 

Mom and Dad keep up the good work, love you so much, and thank you so much for all your support.

Have a great week everybody,

Elder Nielsen

Week 75: February 13, 2012

Goode Dag

Good day in Afrikaans

If any of you are wondering what is the general mode of transportation here in South Africa I would be tempted to tell you horse and buggy, and in some cases that is quite common, but not in this area and that is why I took a photo of it haha. The second photo is of Elder Vernon and I on top of on of the flat complexes that we have been tracting lately. The third photo is what happens when you have a Samoan Elder in your district, no we did not proselyte in those things, but they are actually quite comfy.

We had another successful week, we had a drop off from last week in our sacrament attendance of two. So we had four investigators come which is still quite good. Other than that we might be losing a few baptism dates of ours for a little while, but we picked two up which is filling our bucket again. Someone once said in the MTC that missionary work is like trying to carry a bucket full of water with holes at the bottom, I guess I have found that a bit true. I really am enjoying this time out here, it has been such a cool experience.

Most of the people we are teaching are younger, probably from 20-35 years of age, a couple people actually are a bit older than that, but we are willing to teach anyone. That's what a lot of the time goes towards is finding people to teach, and if we aren't finding then we are probably teaching. Keeping busy that way is the most rewarding, and it is really cool to see an area's teaching pool be built up to be HUGE.

Love you all and I hope you all have a fantastic week,

Elder Nielsen

Week 74: February 6, 2012

Had a marvelous week, or something

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Yes it was lekker week, although all of this missionary work is really exhausting me, 12 hours of proselyting a day is no joke, but sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven and we have really noticed that this week.

There were 6 of our investigators at church yesterday, and all of them will most likely get baptized in the coming months. One of them even bore thier testimony of the Book of Mormon at fast and testimony meeting yesterday! That was awesome. Another cool part about the week was on Friday. It was raining so we decided to go tracting in an indoor flat complex, where we found two people who listened to and understood the Restoration of the gospel and were interested enough to come to church. They accepted a baptism invitation and the next time we see them we are going to give them a date! Also on Saturday I went on an exchange with Elder Bangerter (pocatello, Idaho) from my District and we met with a man who we had previously street contacted a few weeks back, we had a sweet lesson and he seemed very interested as well. So it seems that all of the hard work has payed off and we are beginning to reap what we have sown, and the Lord is really blessing us with people to teach, they are coming our of nowhere.

This week we will probably be moving flats, because our lease on our current flat is up soon. We will probably do that all of tomorrow. I am not really looking forward to that but it's what we have to do I suppose.

Presently my diet consists of granny smith apples, peanut butter and jelly, what you got stew, brown rice and yoghurt. In this area it is hard to eat a very healthy diet because our area is so far away from the boarding but we are alive. I look forward to having a well balanced diet once back in the states. Also we do not have a washer in our boarding, So we take it to a laundromat each week and its not so bad, I love having a washing machine though. Each monday we go shopping at Pick 'n' Pay where we can get fresh fruit and veg and all of our other needs .

Last week for P-day we went to the walmer chapel with the rest of the Zone and played volley-ball and also American Football, it was a lot of fun. Wow I am out of shape though haha, getting a bit chubby too.

Mom and Dad good luck with your challenge of being diet pepsi and coffee free. YOU CAN DO IT! Also good luck with the house hunt! and Dad keep up the good work at Pitney Bowes.

Sorry for the short letter last week and the quasi short one this week.

Everybody have a good week!

Elder Nielsen

Week 73: January 30, 2012

Report for the week

Well we had 5 investigators at church yesterday that was awesome. We continue to help people towards their baptismal dates and things are going well with that. We did a whole lot of tracting this past week with some success but very little compared to weeks past. I have just been super tired all the time, day after day, but keeping up with the pace of the hectic schedule. That is the most rewarding, especially studies in the morning, that's my favorite.

Congrats on the move Mom and Dad, hopefully you don't need to stay there long.

Colin, good luck with that new opportunity, I'll keep you in my prayers, may the lord bless you in all that you do.

Sorry for the really short letter, we have got some sweet plans for p-day

Love you all,

Elder Nielsen

Week 72: January 23, 2012

Another good week

Hello everybody, this was a pretty fantastic week. We have really been doing well lately, with some baptismal dates coming up in February, and some great progressing investigators. Really excited about that and loving every minute of being out here.

Some of the best parts of the week was really finding new people to teach, on saturday night we were on a role. It seemed like everyone we spoke to was interesting in what we were saying and willing to let us share with them and come back another day. It was probably one of the best days I have ever had on mission, afterwards it felt great to be able to share with so many people in a pretty decent area.

Overall we have been keeping very busy and pushing the work along, each week we are making goals that will really stretch our abilities, hopefully as we continue to do so we will be able to reach new heights. Elder Vernon and I have been getting along really well, so far he has been one of my most favorite companions, we would be good friends back home as well.

We had Zone Training and interviews this past week, and we were fortunate enough to hear a presentation from Elder Hartman (Dr. Taylor Hartman) who wrote the book "The Color Code" which is now known as "The People Code". Dad you may have heard about it before, but what it is all about is that all human beings have different personalities but each of us are motivated by different things which determines our color. Me for example, I am motivated by power so my color is red, my secondary is yellow which means I am also motivated by fun. In total there are 4 colors any human being can be classified under. It was probably one of the coolest presentations I had ever seen, overall I think it helped all of us understand that everyone is the same and we all have our strengths and weeknessed that we need to overcome, and knowing peoples strengths and weeknesses helps us get along with each other better. I was able to get a photo with Elder Hartman which is attached.

Colin that dutch over lid lifted looks pretty ingenious, nicely done! Also Whitney way to hold down the plasma business, that is pretty cool they sent you down to clean up some problems.

Addison thank you for your e-mail, keep up the good work with school and practising your talent with music!

Grandma and Grandpa thank you so much for the christmas card! hope all is well with you two!

Mom and Dad, love you so much, good luck with the house hunt and work! oh and also figuring out which golf cart you would like haha! About a vehicle, I honestly haven't thought too much about it. It is going to be a surprise enough to come home to a new house and all.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! love you,

Elder Nielsen

Week 71: January 16, 2012

Hey Everybody!

Well this week was incredible, we are just booming with success. My companion and I are over what's called the honeymoon stage with each other, which is basically the time when you figure each other out. Elder Vernon is a really sweet guy, a wee bit new on mission but really wants to get out there and work hard and wont complain about it which I love about him. This week we just started working each other really hard and we are thrilled with the success that we had, together we are really going to do some miraculous things. We would get along really well with each other back home and be pretty good buds, so not only are we going to work super hard but we are going to have a sweet time doing it. We are really really gonna get serious about working out in the mornings, like running, push-ups, sit-ups, everything. I have noticed that if you do some physical exercise in the morning you are more awake and focused throughout the day.

There are a couple families that we are teaching that have been taught for a while now and have a testimony of the Book of Mormon and want to be baptized, but with each of them we have some challenges with some of the commandments, hopefully with time we will be able to see them get Baptized. We also have some other new investigators that we have found that really want to change their lives for the better, and they recognized after our first lesson with them that the lord could help them through our message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is really cool when you have an investigator who really wants you to be there because they know it will help them become a better person. There are also a couple other families that we have contacted and even taught, but we will see if we can make any progress with them throughout this next week. I have really been enjoying myself in this new area, it is awesome! I am going to make this area one of the most memorable areas ever for me. The last 16 months of my mission have really built me up to being the missionary I am today, the best that I have ever been, and the last third of my mission will be that much more incredible! I look forward to it all.

Addison, your mom has been telling me so much about your talent in music, that is awesome! Thank you for your letter, it really sounds like you have grown up to be an incredible young lady : ) keep it up!

Mom and Dad, I like how you decided not to go with a rental house, that could have made things a bit more complicated. You chose the right path by finding a month to month apartment to temporarily reside in as you look for a home. I will continue to pray for you that you will be able to find the right home at the right price, in the right place. Dad I can tell through your letter that this new job really makes you happy, and that makes me happy. You two keep busy now ya hear ha!

My whole universe is just shattered! I can't believe it is playoffs, playoffs? you are talking about playoffs. Wow time has really flown by, I must still think we are in October still. Seriously this is unreal

Next week I will be able to attach some photos, so sorry to not be able to do it this week.

Have a good one love you all,

Elder Nielsen

Week 70: January 9, 2012

Transferred

Hey Family!

Sorry this letter will have to be a short one..

I am no longer in Mthatha, I have been transferred to serve in a branch called Cleary Estate, which is in Port Elizabeth. It is a sweet area, and Port Elizabeth really reminds me of Seattle, just warmer weather constantly. My new companion is Elder Vernon from Utah, he is a really sweet guy and so far we have been getting along fantastically, so it will be a really great transfer and I am looking forward to it.

Mom and Dad I wish you luck with everything that has to do with getting into a house, I will keep you in my prayers. I am sure everything will work out just fine, some things just take time is all.

Colin and Whitney I look forward to the big news next week, thats exciting! and Colin good luck with your trip to ATL!

To everyone else thank you so much for your letters,

Elder Nielsen

Week 69: January 2, 2012

Hello Family

Yes mom, we did bring in the new year asleep, but we were up on the roof watching fireworks until ten haha.

This week I received your Christmas package Ariel, and thank you so much for the calendar and shirt, as you can see in the picture I was wearing that shirt. Also I received the post you sent me Emily, thank you so much for that! and also for your e-mail this week. Also to the Lyman Family, thank you so much for your continued support, it is so much appreciated!

Everything is going super well here, this week is transfers so we will see what happens with all of that. I am not too nervous, I am o.k with whatever happens, either I will stay or go. We had some pretty good success teaching people throughout the last couple of days, and we are really building up our teaching pool quite well, soon though it will explode as university starts up again. I am really enjoying the work and everything that goes with it, especially in my studies as I have been memorizing scripture references for teaching principles found in PMG, and that has really helped out in teaching.

Today for P-day I think we are just going to relax, but it would be really cool if we went to the Nelson Mandela museum nearby. He was born not too far from Mthatha.

Have an awesome week!

Elder Chase Nielsen

Week 68: December 26, 2011

Quick note

Hey everyone,

It really was great to hear all of your voices this weekend, I really enjoyed the call home. I know that you all had a wonderful Christmas, and I sure did as well.

Ariel and Brian have safe travels home to Texas and Mom, Dad and Kirt you do the same back to Georgia and Wyoming.

Colin thank you for the letter, that sounds like a great Christmas tradition that you and Whitney will be able to carry on down the future Generations.

Love you all have a great Week and new year!

Write to you then,

Elder Nielsen

Week 67: December 19, 2011

Merry Christmas

I cannot wait to talk to you guys on either Christmas Eve or Christmas day, if I am correct it will be Dad, Mom, and Uncle Kirt. On Christmas Eve I will call from here maybe around 4 o'clock, which means it will be about 9 Ante-Meridian your time in Destin, Florida. I will call your cell phone Dad 425 358 1184, if you would like me to call your other phone we will sort that out then. Mother's day does seem a bit far away come to think of it, but at the same time Christmas has really come fast, faster than any other year.

Sounds like you are experiencing some warm weather there in Georgia, well it sure has been heating up here a bit as well, wow and we have some Gnarly thunderstorms our here, it's pretty cool. The humidity in the eastern cape is much much more than in Cape Town, which has it's up's and down's.

This week Elder Simpson and I were able to make some good progress in the area, we finally got a solid baptismal date with an investigator and have been working hard on finding good people to teach, each day it gets more enjoyable knocking on doors and proselyting in general. At times though it is hard because right now people are going to different places for the holiday's, only to come back sometime in January, some streets of our area is like a ghost town. The holiday season is a season of it's own for missionary work though, it's probably one of my favorite times of the year to do the work.

Ariel thank you for the information, I bet it is a wonder for you two to look at Ava and just imagine where her spirit was residing not too long ago. Knowing the doctrine behind the plan of salvation creates a lot of time to ponder and think about His plan for us. I too cannot wait to meet her. Continue to do well in all your efforts there, and Brian keep working hard, it really sounds like you are doing well.

I think I will leave you with that for now, until we get to talk on Saturday :)

Merry Christmas, Love you all

Elder Nielsen