Week 99: July 30, 2012

Beginning of my last transfer

Elder Musangu is going home this Wednesday and my new companion is Elder Romney, and he is coming from my old area Fish Hoek. He will be my last companion on Mission. Crazy. I haven't really gotten to know him well but we have met at Zone conferences before and such. 

The pictures that are attached are from yesterday and Friday, the one with the food is yesterday's Dinner Apointment. We always get fed by members after church on Sunday. Mom the white stuff that looks like mashed potatoes in the middle of the table is Pap, it is made out of corn somehow. it is typical here in South Africa to be fed Pap so I am enjoying it while I can. If anyone was wondering, Yes I was rubbing my belly and smiling when this picture was taken. Mmm tasty.

This week is going to be a busy one, we are going to have lots of new elders coming into the zone and also many going out. As a zone we will have to take three cars down to East London and drop off three elders going elsewhere, and one (my current companion) is going home to DRC. We will have to make sure that all the Elders get to where they are supposed to on time and make sure that nobody is left alone. Once transfers are over though it's back to getting the Lord's work done.

Thank you for sending all of those pictures of the yard and also some from the basement and walk-in closet. It was good to see the old power-washer, what a beast machine. The yard looks incredibly big! Large and in Charge.

Colin congrats on the baby blessing! that is so cool, wish I could have been there, maybe for the next one!

Love you all so much, have a superb week

Elder Nielsen

Week 98: July 23, 2012

Hey everyone

This picture attached is a district lunch from this week, we had Pap and fish. Yum!

Wow I didn't expect to see my flight plans today that's pretty cool, it's getting closer and closer! Apparently since I came into the mission Elders from America fly from Cape Town to London and then from London to either Atlanta or Dallas and then they connect to get to their destination. It is much less expensive so that is why they do it. It looks like I will have a long wait in London, I think some of the other Elders in my transfer will want to go and see some of the sights there before flying to the states, we will see haha. That will be directly after the Olympics too. Unfortunately a lot of the Elders in my transfer will be going home on Aug 16 in order to go to school in the fall, so I won't be able to see them all before they go out. I am glad I decided to wait and go to school in January, it seems better that way.

Well we had another good week here in Queenstown, we were really happy with our most recent convert named Lubabalo Mahlinza, he is a stud. I was privileged enough to confirm him yesterday and he was so happy afterwards, the Spirit was so strong during the confirmation, it was an awesome experience. I love teaching him, he is like a sponge soaking up all of the things we teach him. Another cool thing happened this week, I think we found a pretty good investigator, he is a young guy about twenty one years old and he seemed really receptive to the gospel. I am hoping that we will be able to teach him a couple of times this week and get him to church this Sunday. This week will be Elder Musangu's last full week on mission, so planning on working him hard and then next week getting my last companion and finishing the mission with a bang by working hard and using all of these skills I Have obtained throughout my mission. For now I will focus on the work, I only get the opportunity to serve the Lord full time for two years of my life and I want to improve every minute of it. It is a dead sprint to the finish line for me.

Mowing the yard takes six hours dang that's a chore and a half! haha that's awesome though I bet I would love that for the first couple of times. If I remember correctly that Georgia grass turns brown for 8 or nine months of the year so that's not too big of a deal. I look forward to seeing those pictures next week.

Love you all, have an awesome week!

Elder Nielsen

Week 97: July 17, 2012

Hello again FAMILY!

While you all are enjoying the summer heat, In South Africa I am getting snowed on! I never thought I would see snow here.

The first picture is at the Mthatha house, miss that place! however it is not the same as when I was there. The Second is proof that we had snow, the picture was taken the day after and there was still a dusting on the top of that there hill. The third picture is of one of our investigators who was baptized yesterday after church.

It was a fantastic week, but very busy. On Wednesday we had a really good training session with all of the Zone, we presented to two groups while our mission President was taking Elders out individually for interviews. Every three months Zone Leaders provide training on effective teaching and missionary skills, including fundamentals of Preach My Gospel, to all of their Zone. We also received a piece of training from President Wood in between our sessions. it was good for us to refocus and remind ourselves of important principles. The next day we drove to Mthatha to go on exchanges there. It was awesome to be back in the old area and have the opportunity to see some of the people I worked with before. Some of the brothers we took fellow shipping a lot have put in their mission papers and will get their calls very soon, that was really good news to hear. I think there are a total of three who either have their calls, or are waiting for their call to arrive, and another one is still working on his papers.

Since we were very busy this week with the training and exchanges we have to do a little catch up in the area, we are going to have to re-connect with our investigators and get back on schedule as soon as possible. We will also have to do a fair bit of finding in order to keep our schedule busy, since I have a soon to be home companion we have got to sprint him through the finish line and then the same for me in a couple of months. No slouching hah. We do have some pretty solid investigators right now who have great potential to progress but only time will tell. Hopefully Next month we can have some more baptism's.

Thank you all for the letters you all sent!

Hey could you please send me a picture of this large lawn? I have only seen glimpses of it through the pictures of Dad and Ava on the new mower (oh and by the way Dad good call on the John Deere from Lowes, I love that place!) Also If I may request photos of the basement? that would be interesting to see as well. Thank you!

Have a Great week!
Elder Nielsen

Week 96: July 9, 2012

Hello family!

Wow it looks like you guys had a whole lot of fun this week! Jam packed with activities and what looked like a lekker Braii (BBQ). I am sure the fireworks were phenom as they usually are in PTC. I too had a good week.

We had a sweet experience in our area this week! While we were spot tracting houses with cars we found a man named Sanda, who told us that it was a miracle that we knocked on his door. He said that he is going through a transition in his life right now that is a bit challenging and he is looking for some direction. After talking with him for a couple of minutes we came to find out that he was leaving for work soon, so we were able to schedule an appointment with him the next morning . We had an awesome first lesson and he said that he enjoyed our visit and really wanted us to come back to see him again. What I thought was cool was that he recognized that we were messengers from God because we came to him in a challenging time in his life and we were able to comfort him with our message. He has observed that many churches that he has associated with in his lifetime are very corrupt which is why he does not attend a church currently, if that's not a perfect opportunity to teach the Restoration I don't know what is. We look forward to following up with him, however we can already see that there are some things in his life that will have to change before he is baptized, like he has to Repent and get married or Repent and separate from his girlfriend. In any case That was one of the coolest part of my week. We also had a great investigator at church who is the father in a father led family, however the mother is not very interested in taking lessons from us at this time which is preventing the father from progressing a little bit. Also we had a 21 year old male pass a baptismal interview this weekend and we are super excited for his baptism this next Sunday, it would be awesome if in a years time he could go on a mission of his own!

This week is going to be another awesome one. We will give the zone some training on Wednesday with President and Sister Wood. Then on Thursday we are going on exchanges with Mthatha, which is about 2.5 to 3 hours drive through beef cattle territory, it's a nice African drive up through there. We will stay two nights there and drive back to Queenstown Saturday morning. I look forward to seeing a lot of the people I was working with again. I have a feeling this week is going to seem really quick.

Thank you for sending the pictures of your week! haha I know you all had a fun time. Have a super week!

Love,
Elder Nielsen

 chasing cows, Don't get hit by a bull! 

My companion, Brother Makanda (RM Fellowshipper), Tata Libazi (he and his wife gave us the most exquisite dinner appointment last night) and myself. 

Treasuring up his word, Personal study time.

Week 95: July 2, 2012

Congratulations Colin and Whitney, Welcome Oaklyn!

Wow you are parents now! that is awesome, Another June baby in the family haha, the best month to have a birthday! She's a cute little one :)

Mom I understand you had a lot of things going on this week and weren't able to write me but reading e-mails was too short without one from you! hah

The picture attached was taken before district meeting Friday morning with all of the elders that live in Queenstown, however only two Elders proselyte in town and the rest of us drive out to our areas.

On Tuesday evening, my companion and I drove 2 1/2 hours to East London and stayed with Elder Naylor (one of my old companions) and his companion Elder Giles. The reason we went down to East London was for a Zone council which usually happens every other transfer but this one was a skype with President Wood and other missionaries around the mission. It was cool to catch up with Elder Naylor and talk about the people we taught and baptized in Bellville over a year ago. That was probably the last time I will see him on mission because he goes home in 5 weeks. I am so glad to be on mission and create these wonderful memories.

There are a couple of investigators that we have who are really progressing. One is named Lubabalo, he is a young man who has been coming to church a lot. He is really receptive to the lessons and we are working hard to get him ready for baptism, he was first introduced to the church through his relatives who are members. Another Progressing investigator we have is named Nangamso, she is also very receptive to the truth and has enjoyed the lessons very much. She is a bit busier than Lubabalo with work so it is more difficult to have many appointments to teach her but when we schedule appointments with here she won't drop them. There are some other people that we are teaching who could really make some progress but many of them have not yet read the Book of Mormon and received an answer that it is true so we are working with all of them to get them going. I loved this week, we were able to keep busy and stay focused on the work. I fasted and prayed that such will be the case for the rest of my mission.

I look forward to the updates on the house, the new member to the family and how the fourth of July goes!

Love you all,

Elder Nielsen

Week 94: June 25, 2012

Hello Family

Ahoy!

I have been transferred to a place called Queenstown, and it is awesome! It is very cold here in the winter, last year July they had a bunch of snow. I am not sure what the elevation is here but it must be pretty high for how cold it is. In this area I will be working with the Xhosa people. I am really excited to be here! Also my companion is awesome, He is in his last transfer and after that he will go back home to The DRC. It is going to be an awesome six weeks.

I have just been trying to figure out this area the last couple of days, I have been lost and it's a good thing E. Musangu served here last transfer so he knows the area fairly well. We work in a place called Ezibelene which is a little township located right in between large hill-like landscapes that people here call mountains hah. That is where we work all day and we actually stay in the actual town of Queenstown.

Some of the investigators that we have are doing very well and it appears as if they are progressing very well, so there could be some baptism's coming up very soon. There are many recent converts in this area so we are kept pretty busy with them. I am glad that this area is well set up and is doing very well, I know it will keep me busy and focused.

Mom I like the look of those new leather couches! very nice. Sounds like you two have been keeping yourselves very busy with this move! good luck with the rest of it! I look forward to seeing the finished product.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Elder Nielsen

Week 93: June 18, 2012

Transfer to Queenstown

Yes this week I am being transferred to Queenstown, it is a little town far out in the eastern cape. I have been there once already, and I am excited to finish my mission there. I was told that this would be my last assignment and area for my mission. I am determined to finish out strong and do all I can to bless the people of Queenstown with the gospel. What is cool is that Mthatha is part of that Zone so I will be able to go on exchanges there which will be great. My new companion will be Elder Musangu from the Democratic Republic of Congo, I have heard that he is a super nice guy and is great to be around, this will be his last transfer so in another six weeks I will get another companion.

I am glad that you were able to close on the house and that you have been able to move some things in, good luck with the rest of the move!

So far I have been able to baptize in each of my area's so hopefully that will continue. I am really trying hard not to think too much about home, I just try and concentrate all my energy into missionary work. I feel a whole lot of urgency to get as much work done as I possibly can in these next two transfers, it's crazy how fast mission fly's by. 

Some members had us over saturday night to celebrate my 21st birthday, they fed us super well and had an awesome cake! They also gave me a key on a plaque which is symbolic of unlocking the future, that is tradition around these parts. I thought that was really cool, I Love this area and I am going to miss it badly. 

To all you young'uns have a great summer break!

Love you all,

Elder Nielsen 

Week 92: June 12, 2012

Happy birthday to all in June

Colin and Mom Happy Birthday, AVA Happy Birthday. Isn't june an awesome month? Oh yeah Happy Birthday to me too. Thank you all for your wishes. And momma thank you for the package it was sweet. Some members are going to have us over for dinner Saturday night so that will be a little birthday treat for me, and that will be the first night in the new house, awesome. Ariel you did an awesome job with that birthday party! You know what those pictures remind me of? a home video. and to answer your question, yes. and for the diamonds maybe, I still haven't looked into it that much.

Well I had an outstanding week, a lot of work was done and we were able to teach a bunch of new people and get many new investigators. We also saw many other investigators who have been taking little baby steps toward baptism, sometimes it's back ward though. In most cases, it's two steps forward and one step back. Progress is progress and No effort is wasted!

This could be my last full week here in Cleary Estate if so that would mean I was here for six months, if I stay another I could be here for 7 & 1/2 months. This is the longest area I have ever served in, and I have loved it! The next one I go to will be my last, probably.

for p-day we are going to have a braii and play some sport. Yeah! we will probably play american football and touch rugby.

Enjoy the week, next time I will send some pictures!

Love you all!

Elder Nielsen

Week 91: June 4, 2012

Hello's

Thank you all for writing letters this week, always great to hear from you!

We had another successful week, we have been planting a lot of seeds everywhere. Most of our work is sowing right now rather than reaping, missionary work is a whole lot of fun. It is really cool when you create a relationship with someone and they end up being an investigator, we had a couple of those recently. We taught our first lesson to an individual whom we met about 10 weeks ago and it went really well. I thought that was pretty cool. Right now we are keeping ourselves busy finding and teaching people hoping to find the areas next baptism. Planting seeds as we go, that is the best way. 

Recently in my studies I have been studying by topics found in the topical guide and I have found that to be very useful. It has been such a blessing to have an hour every day to study the gospel, I have found that there is no end to gospel learning here on this earth, there is just so much to learn. I have made a stack of notecards of scriptures that are useful in teaching situations that I study almost everyday. I haven't memorized them but I can remember key words and phrases and attach them to scripture references so that comes in handy while teaching investigators. I hope that after mission I will be able to have the same uplifting and inspiring personal studies as I have now. 

Mom and Dad I can't believe you are moving so soon, I thought it was going to be in July? wow that's quick! I am really excited for you and I look forward to the pictures you will send. Finally you gypsies can settle down for a little while haha! :) I know you will also enjoy being at Ava's first birthday party this weekend, that should be fun! What a cute little girl.

Mom I honestly don't remember how my NT seminary teacher taught the four gospels. Harmoniously sounds more interesting. I look forward to seeing those DVD's if the church ever releases them. Thank you for all your prayers!

For P-day we are playing sport with another zone so I have to keep this one short . Love you all so much and have a super week!

Oh and dad could you send me Idaho's 2012 schedule, maybe they will play a game against someone in the ACC or SEC that we could go and watch.

Elder Nielsen

Week 90: May 28, 2012

Hello Family

Thank you for the letters everybody! 

Today is a beautiful South African day; nice warm weather is just perfect for some of the great things we hope to accomplish on this wonderful P-day. We are actually thinking of going to play nine holes today, that would be fun. Last week we did not get a chance due to time but we should be O.K today. Nothing better than a little bit of recreation after a hard weeks work, we have got to make the most of it just like every other day. 

We had a fairly successful week, we were teaching a lot of people and even finding lots of new people to teach. One of which is a man named Eldrige and his family, we had a great lesson with them about the Restoration, however he was not home at our next appointment= disappointment. Oh well it happens all the time here, There have been many investigators who drop appointments in the beginning but end up progressing. We shall see. This upcoming week we hope to find even more people to teach and hopefully the people we have right now will start to progress. We have just got to load things up so that we can sift out the really interested people. 

Looks like Ava's birthday party is going to be a blast! Ariel that is really cool you are getting into photography, I am sure you will be thankful you did later on. You are creating lasting memories. In answer to your question I think that it's a yes.

Congrats to Elder Lyman for finishing his mission strong!

Dad good luck with your travels to and fro between Atlanta and Connecticut, I am glad you are enjoying your work.

Mom, I hope your weeks are kept busy and that time flies as fast for you as it is for me.

Love you all! 

Elder Nielsen