Week 81: March 26, 2012

From Cape Town this week!

Happy Birthday Uncle Kirt, and congratulations on the promotion! 

This morning I flew into Cape Town with some other Elders from PE to receive some training and also new companions, I will be staying here until Wednesday. I will catch a plane back to PE with my new companion and begin working with him that night. It feels good to be back in Cape Town, and the view from the plane of Table Mountain and some of my old areas was fantastic. Right now I am with some Elders from Cape Town and I will be with them until this evening, that is when the training begins. Pretty exciting.

I don't have my camera with me or anything so I cannot send you guys photos this week. Next week I have some pretty sweet pictures that I want to send you though so look forward to that.

Yesterday we had the confirmations of the four people who were baptized the previous week, I did three of the four confirmations which was very cool. Some other investigators that we have were able to make it to church and be able to witness that so it was a very productive Sunday. I think in total we had 7 investigators at church, we are really cranking it out right now, it's too bad that Elder Vernon and I will not be companions anymore, but whoever my new one is I will make sure that we keep it up and make things happen. One family we are really excited about is a family that has been investigating the church for a very long time, they have recently showed a lot of commitment and have been able to come to church for three weeks in a row. They have a baptismal date for April 22. Hopefully they will keep that commitment they have and go through with it, that will be awesome! 

 With this new companion of mine we are really going to have to prepare ourselves for these upcoming baptism's, which means we will be doing a lot of finding. We basically need to pad our teaching pool with some promising investigators to make sure that we keep busy and productive and more baptism's will follow. Right now it seems that Elders Bangerter and Martin will stay together, they are in my district, which means that Elder Martin will be Elder Bangerter's final companion. It will be a sad day when he goes home, but each of us are out for two years and those older than us have to go home in order for us to some day. Those two are really fun to be around and serve with.

The time has really flown and what is interesting is I am sitting with my MTC companion Elder Barlow right now and this E-mail shop and we are talking about where the time has gone, we have decided that we woke up one day and became 18 months on mission. I think for both of us we can say that what we have experienced and learned so far has been more than we could ever have imagined.

Ariel- Ava looks gorgeous, cannot wait to meet her! I'm and uncle, what they heck? hah I just realized that!

Mom and Dad the house looks awesome! thank you for sending those photos. It sounds like you have things all planned out and the end of May is coming faster than the blink of an eye. 

Hey our branch is going to watch General Conference live this weekend! I am so excited, this is the first time that I have heard of it in South Africa. We might stay up really late but at least we will see it when the rest of the world does, I can't wait for it. Weird to think that this is my last General Conference on Mission.

Well I hope you all have a fantastic week,

Elder Nielsen

Week 80: March 19, 2012

Awesome weekend!

Hello family! wow it's awesome to hear the great news about the house and the acceptance letter from BYU-I. Things are really starting to click back home and even out here!

We had four baptism's as a branch yesterday, three of them were investigators that Elder Vernon and I have been teaching and the other baptism is an investigator that Elders Bangerter and Martin have been teaching. It was probably one of the most spiritual Baptismal ceremonies I have had on mission so far, it really was a great
experience.
Things are looking up with possible baptism's in the near future. We are super excited about a couple of our investigators who are now starting to show some real promise, they have been keeping their
commitments and been doing really well with coming to church. Our next baptism's are scheduled to be on April the 21st or the 22nd we will see though. Can't wait to see what will be the outcome of that. All we do is continue to work work work.

To build on top of that Elder Vernon and I have started running each morning, usually we run about 2.4k's which is a really nice brisk jog. It really helps us get our blood flowing and helps us focus throughout the day; I think that since we have been doing it we have been able to perform better as missionaries, and it helps us lose some fat. I have been trying to eat healthier and smarter recently but I can't run away from the dinner appointments haha.

I can't wait to see what you will be doing to the new house once you move into it at the end of may, I don't think the pictures on the listing show much of the property or the other bedrooms besides the master, it would be cool to see those as well. It does sound more like an estate than a house ha.

Well I have got to go now, but I hope all of you have a wonderful week and continue to have success.

Dad, good luck with your travels this week!

Love you all,
Elder Nielsen

Week 79: March 12, 2012

This week's letter

Sorry about that last week, I will make sure this one is sent off today.

First I will give an explanation of the pictures, the first one is last p-day when we went golfing at a low-budget golf course nearby, and the second is on Wednesday Elder Vernon and I found a teeter totter while tracting. To give you an idea of what we might be doing today for p-day, well we are going back to the golf course to play another nine holes of 'best ball' we had a blast last week so were going to do it again.

On Saturday we had three people interviewed for baptism and they all passed so they will be baptized on the 18th, the other missionaries also had a person interviewed for baptism that I conducted, so in total we will have four baptisms this next Sunday. We are very excited about that because we get to see a bit of evidence of our hard work. Elders Bangerter and Martin possibly will have some more people ready for baptism a little sooner than we will so we have got some catching up to do, but it's nothing more than we can handle. We have been doing a lot of finding and teaching of new and other people we have met, we are just trying to find those ones who are really serious about learning and acting upon our message and then really working hard with them. Since there are so many people that will at least talk with us (don't forget though we still get our fair share of rejections) we have to gauge their level of interest and then work with the ones with the most interest, it has taught us a lot about prioritizing and planning effectively.

Elder Vernon and I are still doing great, I know it's going to be a bummer when we are separated but for now we are living like there is no tomorrow, taking no hostages :) but we really are enjoying each other and recently we have been running in the morning. We have begun a program that he calls six months to sexy ha ha. Apparently I will be doing it until my time runs up.

We have got some really good news, this last week we asked the mission if we could get a washing machine in our boarding so we could save some money on laundry each week since we have been going to a Laundromat. Well the scripture is true ask and ye shall receive, this morning we did our first load of washing that was much less expensive than paying someone else to do it, our wish came true.

I am glad to hear that those who went down to Georgia had a good time, I am super excited that Colin and Whitney will be there by the time I get home, and that they will be staying in the new house! That would be perfect. I can't wait to find out where that new house will be.. hah

Oh I bought some pretty cool curios for you Mom and also Ariel when we had to pick up the other Elders from our district at the airport here, I thought of you two once I saw them. However, you will have to wait and see what they are.

Love you all so Much, Have a great week

Elder Nielsen

Week 78: March 5, 2012

Hello's. Sorry last week's letter did not send properly :( but here it is

Also a common greeting to many people, don't question South African English

Looks by the photos that everybody is having a pretty good weekend! looks like a whole lot of fun.

Colin and Whitney that is so cool you are having a little girl soon! Oh and also congratulations on the job! that's lekker. That will be awesome to have you right there when I get home, and no talking about home doesn't really trunk me out at all. I think I am keeping pretty good focus, I still have a good amount of work left to do. You two have a wonderful week in the South.

Ariel, is Ava still really shy? She looks like she is growing pretty fast, and she is still looking super cute. Hopefully you got to reconnect with a bunch of people and friends there in Georgia.

Mom and Dad, Love you lots.

So this week was pretty good, we had Zone Conference and then stake conference so for a lot of the week we were in meetings. When we were in the area we were teaching our investigators and trying to find new ones, but the latter was a bit difficult, we got rejected a lot this week. Nothing that will humble you and strengthen your testimony more than that. However, the lessons we did have with our current investigators were awesome, like the bodybuilder, he is golden but he works 3 days 3 nights and 3 off so it will be hard for him to come to church with that schedule. We are really excited about some other progressing investigators as well.

I hope the house hunting is still going well for you guys, is Ariel sitting at the staircase of one of the houses because that one does look pretty sweet.

The picture I have attached is Elder Vernon and I in our boarding.

Enjoy the week! Love you

Elder Nielsen

Week 77: February 27, 2012

Ahoy

A common greeting in South Africa, at least in areas that are near to the sea.

Well I am super excited to hear about the family gathering that is going to happen this week, I am sure there will be loads of food and fun activities.

Last week our district went to a nearby driving range and had a good time, it was a pretty nice deal as well because they allow you to borrow clubs and the only thing you pay for are the balls. Elder Vernon and I were hitting the balls pretty well, but the other guys were a bit awkward haha, so we did some coaching and by the end of the day they were doink O.K.

For P-day today we will most likely go to the Walmer chapel and play some Volleyball, and then practise a hymn that we will be singing at Zone Conference this week. After Shopping for food of Course.

The past week was a bit interesting if I can say so, just because some of our investigators dumped us, but we took it well and have spent more time finding or fishing and hunting as Jer 16:16 says. It is pretty rewarding when you get a couple of people to teach, and that's what we are after. On the 18th of March we will have two or three baptisms, so we are excited about that and continue to make sure that it happens. For the most part though we will be trying to find our next batch of baptisms.

That golf cart looks like a whole lot of fun, so dad are you still planning on trading in the truck for one of those car-like golf carts? that would be a good idea.

Sorry for the short letter, but I hope it is sweet no sugar needed hah.

Love you all,

Elder Nielsen

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