I'll be honest, I couldn't even begin to answer those daunting Missionary Pro Bowl questions without my tiny little head popping like dad's heart last Sunday.
My little corner of the world is fine. This week was a little tough because we had good days planned but when we would go to see people, they weren't at their houses and so we spent a lot of time trying to find people to visit. It is annoying when people don't answer their doors or phones, and it leaves you with very little to do. We found some good investigators though. One day this week we had an appointment fall through, so we went around trying to see less-actives when all of the sudden I got this impression to go to this house that Gallegos and I went to once. So we went there, and found a really solid new investigator named Claudia. She was a former investigator and hasn't seen missionaries since like May. I think it was because some missionaries got transferred and the new ones never went to see her, but now we are seeing her. Thank you Holy Ghost. He is helping me out big time.
We should be busy this upcoming week, which I enjoy. We found a good new investigator. He is a street contact named Chui. He is probably like 18-21ish range and we taught him about the lovely Libro de Mormon.
Other than that, the work is going fairly well. Some of the inactive and less active families are reactivating, which is awesome. The week ahead should be good. Hopefully we can keep busy. We have some solid appointments, so good things should come from those. All of our recent converts are being retained in the church which is really good. Sometimes people will get dunked and within a few months don't go to church anymore, but our ward is doing a good job of trying to keep them here for good. Jesus Natividad should be getting the priesthood soon.
I learned that outside of the Utah missions, our mission is the highest baptizing in the states. That is a neat factoid for you. Most of our investigators work in industrial type jobs, like at factories or doing building cleaning, or building buildings.
My companion is good. He talks a lot. And is kinda loud. He never seems to run out of things to talk about; it is almost impressive. This week he spent a fun-ish amount of time telling me what a magic card is. Apparently, it is some sort of card game with land and goblins and nerds. Ha. His language is getting pretty good. It is cool to see it improve.
Tres:
1. The biggest surprise this week was we almost got in a car crash because another car swerved to avoid hitting a possum. Stupid possum.
2.Yep. Sometimes on pdays I'll toss around a lacrosse ball against a wall somewhere.
3. So many Spanish speaking missionaries here. Too many. There are only like 5-6 wards/branches that are Spanish, and way too many Spanish speaking missionaries to have them all speaking their called language.
Ok madre: te amo.
Big Guy: I know of things that you can start giving me info on: lacrosse. How is guitar? When are you going to record yourself? Maybe when you get famous, you can do a tour and go to Kansas City. I'd go. There's at least one ticket sold already.
Anyways sounds like things are good at HQ, and all is well here. Have a good week!
Love, Nick
Monday, January 30, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Still Here!
Yeah I'm still here. It's good for now, even though my companion has a few more months than me, I'm the senior comp. It's pretty cool I guess. I make him clean the floors and make me breakfast. Just kidding. He is Elder Palilla from Burbank. He is a nice guy. He really likes Halo, like REALLY likes it. He is a good guy, but is loud like mom in the mornings(Editor's note: He means cheerful and helpful) and doesn't stop talking when we are walking around. He served in an English area before coming here so his Spanish is going to improve a lot. He has almost 8 months on his mission.
Guess what, I hit 5 months tomorrow. This past month has flown by.
The work is going pretty well.Flor hasn't come to church yet, and we tried to see her on Saturday but she was busy. On Saturday, we went to this inactive guy's house to invite him to church, and he and his son were there. The dad had to do something for a few minutes, so we started talking to his son. He talked for 15 minutes straight. Literally. We didn't say a word. It was funny because he was going and going about our church, talking to us like we weren't members and such. He would say "you know man...." and "yeah bro....", a lot, so we assumed that he had just recently been on the pipe. Other than that, things are going well.
It sounds like everything is fine at home. How's Chelsybear? I'm glad to hear that Daffy is still getting into shenanigans. So yep, all is well.
Three Q's:
1. Palilla's Spanish is still very MTC-esque,which is understandable. That means that it is slow, which is fine. Mine is still pretty slow. But yeah, it is easy to understand him. His pronunciation is really good.
2. I could care less about my soccer skills. This one member always tries to coach me up, but I have no intention of really trying to get better. We play inside the church so the cold doesn't affect us. My ankle is doing good, still doesn't have all of it's strength back, but it is close.
3. We are trying to do just whatever service we can. Since there isn't snow, we're not shoveling driveways, but we are always looking for opportunities. What sort of things are you doing?
Hola mamacita: I sent a box last week, so once you get that, life is good. I don't need anything really. I'm happy to hear that you are making a mockery of Richard Simmons.
Dad: Dang man, fumbled punt. Oh well. They should be in place to have a good year next year too. As far as needs, there aren't many that they have, just staying healthy really, right? I am glad that you had some good experiences teaching and preaching and missionarying.
I'm glad you like the socks, and I will probably send you a belt that this guy from Argentina gave me. It is made out of Capibara, which is pretty much a giant rat. But it doesn't fit me, and looks fairly nice. So consider it yours. Hope you have a good week. Tell the team good job for me.
Miss you too, and love you more than Kansas loves changing climates every other day.
Love, Nick
Guess what, I hit 5 months tomorrow. This past month has flown by.
The work is going pretty well.Flor hasn't come to church yet, and we tried to see her on Saturday but she was busy. On Saturday, we went to this inactive guy's house to invite him to church, and he and his son were there. The dad had to do something for a few minutes, so we started talking to his son. He talked for 15 minutes straight. Literally. We didn't say a word. It was funny because he was going and going about our church, talking to us like we weren't members and such. He would say "you know man...." and "yeah bro....", a lot, so we assumed that he had just recently been on the pipe. Other than that, things are going well.
It sounds like everything is fine at home. How's Chelsybear? I'm glad to hear that Daffy is still getting into shenanigans. So yep, all is well.
Three Q's:
1. Palilla's Spanish is still very MTC-esque,which is understandable. That means that it is slow, which is fine. Mine is still pretty slow. But yeah, it is easy to understand him. His pronunciation is really good.
2. I could care less about my soccer skills. This one member always tries to coach me up, but I have no intention of really trying to get better. We play inside the church so the cold doesn't affect us. My ankle is doing good, still doesn't have all of it's strength back, but it is close.
3. We are trying to do just whatever service we can. Since there isn't snow, we're not shoveling driveways, but we are always looking for opportunities. What sort of things are you doing?
Hola mamacita: I sent a box last week, so once you get that, life is good. I don't need anything really. I'm happy to hear that you are making a mockery of Richard Simmons.
Dad: Dang man, fumbled punt. Oh well. They should be in place to have a good year next year too. As far as needs, there aren't many that they have, just staying healthy really, right? I am glad that you had some good experiences teaching and preaching and missionarying.
I'm glad you like the socks, and I will probably send you a belt that this guy from Argentina gave me. It is made out of Capibara, which is pretty much a giant rat. But it doesn't fit me, and looks fairly nice. So consider it yours. Hope you have a good week. Tell the team good job for me.
Miss you too, and love you more than Kansas loves changing climates every other day.
Love, Nick
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Winter Finally Came, Briefly
Well hello.
It snowed last week and was very bitter cold. Then it was 60 degrees yesterday. Now it is snowing. Apparently, this is what weather in Kansas is like.
To pay respect to a great man yesterday, we shot lasers at each other. Was it fun? Yes. Did I feel the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? Absolutely.
We baptized Rogelio on Sunday and it was good.I had to confirm him. It was nerve racking.But now it is done, and he is a member.
Flor is committed to baptism in February, but she just got a job and so we haven't seen her since 2 Fridays ago. She is like 22ish and has 3 kids. She is from Honduras and her husband works roofing.
Ruben is alright. His health isn't improving so he is kind of discouraged. Ruben is in his 40's, and has one leg. He lost the other in a chemical accident at work, and now is losing his eyesight to diabetes. It is tough to watch.
The ward is going well. Little by little the unity cup is getting fuller and fuller. We find a lot of our investigators we find on our way from appointment to appointment. I have learned that talking to everyone is key. So yes, the week has been good.
No, the people here don't really acknowledge what has happened here regarding church history or, more importantly, what will happen here. But whatever.
3 Q's:
1. We find out about transfers tonight at like 10. They just kinda call you and tell you what's up. Then on Wednesday you pack, and by noon on Thursday you are in your new area.I am very interested to see what happens with transfers tonight. I will be sure to let you know what goes down. I kinda have a feeling that I might be getting the boot.
2. I asked some people on Sunday what happened with the game. This member who I have became good friends with told what went down. Sounds like a wild experience. Too bad I missed it.
3. I have only eaten barbecue once since I have gotten here. Let me tell you, it was gooooood.
Mom: Sounds like all is well in the life of my fine mother.I am sending some stuff home today, so be on the look out for that.
Dad: Wowwy wow wow. That is crazy. Sunday will be an awesome game, seeing as the Giants are playing like the 2007 version. One of the most enduring playoff rivalries ever is back again, sweet. Yeah homie, all is well, I hope you have a good week. Say hi to Bruce for me. love ya.
Love, Nick
It snowed last week and was very bitter cold. Then it was 60 degrees yesterday. Now it is snowing. Apparently, this is what weather in Kansas is like.
To pay respect to a great man yesterday, we shot lasers at each other. Was it fun? Yes. Did I feel the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? Absolutely.
We baptized Rogelio on Sunday and it was good.I had to confirm him. It was nerve racking.But now it is done, and he is a member.
Flor is committed to baptism in February, but she just got a job and so we haven't seen her since 2 Fridays ago. She is like 22ish and has 3 kids. She is from Honduras and her husband works roofing.
Ruben is alright. His health isn't improving so he is kind of discouraged. Ruben is in his 40's, and has one leg. He lost the other in a chemical accident at work, and now is losing his eyesight to diabetes. It is tough to watch.
The ward is going well. Little by little the unity cup is getting fuller and fuller. We find a lot of our investigators we find on our way from appointment to appointment. I have learned that talking to everyone is key. So yes, the week has been good.
No, the people here don't really acknowledge what has happened here regarding church history or, more importantly, what will happen here. But whatever.
3 Q's:
1. We find out about transfers tonight at like 10. They just kinda call you and tell you what's up. Then on Wednesday you pack, and by noon on Thursday you are in your new area.I am very interested to see what happens with transfers tonight. I will be sure to let you know what goes down. I kinda have a feeling that I might be getting the boot.
2. I asked some people on Sunday what happened with the game. This member who I have became good friends with told what went down. Sounds like a wild experience. Too bad I missed it.
3. I have only eaten barbecue once since I have gotten here. Let me tell you, it was gooooood.
Mom: Sounds like all is well in the life of my fine mother.I am sending some stuff home today, so be on the look out for that.
Dad: Wowwy wow wow. That is crazy. Sunday will be an awesome game, seeing as the Giants are playing like the 2007 version. One of the most enduring playoff rivalries ever is back again, sweet. Yeah homie, all is well, I hope you have a good week. Say hi to Bruce for me. love ya.
Love, Nick
Monday, January 9, 2012
Long week for mom, not so much for Nick?
Yeah, this week has actually seemed pretty long, but the work is really taking off.
We have 2 people committed to be baptized. One, who is Rogelio, is for the 15th, and the other, who is Flor, is in February. It is nice to see that our work, and especially their work, is paying off. We have kept busy, which is super nice.
My Spanish is great this week. The gift of tongues is super real. Our ward is starting to get their act together and do their assignments and things like that. Ruben came to church yesterday, so hopefully that will help him out. The work is going well, the field is white right now.
We had to bless a member's house last night, because a few weeks ago it got broken into, and then since then they think they saw ghosts and stuff. So we blessed it and as we were doing so, I could feel the bad spirits leave, and the good spirits enter. It was neat-o.
I was sorry to hear about Sister Cook. Give her family my condolences.
We actually haven't had to deal with any of the anti-Mormon stuff yet.
Yeah the weather here is really nice. It probably won't end up snowing this year, but by me saying that, I think the clouds are forming overhead. No snow means super duper-uper hot summer though.
3 Q-U-E-S-T-I-O-N-S:
1. Yes, I have been sick a few times with a cold and such. It's not too bad, except it makes you more tired than you already are.
2. For my New Year's goal, I am in John right now. It is cool because the first few books in the New Testament are kinda repeats, but John really throws some cool stuff in there.
3.I have learned that any personal time is a luxury. It hasn't been too bad being with someone 24/7 but it is nice to be away from them every once in a while when we are in our house.
Mom: I am sorry that you are sick. It is never fun to be sick. Thanks for always writing me, I'm quite fond of it.
Dad: I actually saw the Tebow touchdown yesterday at a member's house. Right as we walked in, overtime started. So naturally, I watched as Mr. Tebow tossed a great pass to his WR who took it 80 yards for the win. Suck it Steelers. Hopefully the 49ers can pull out a win on Saturday.
Transfers are next week, so I may be here, or I may be somewhere else next Thursday. All is well, my little computer timer is ticking down so I gotta go.
Hope all is well back at HQ. Sleep lots for me. Love you lots.
Love, Nick
We have 2 people committed to be baptized. One, who is Rogelio, is for the 15th, and the other, who is Flor, is in February. It is nice to see that our work, and especially their work, is paying off. We have kept busy, which is super nice.
My Spanish is great this week. The gift of tongues is super real. Our ward is starting to get their act together and do their assignments and things like that. Ruben came to church yesterday, so hopefully that will help him out. The work is going well, the field is white right now.
We had to bless a member's house last night, because a few weeks ago it got broken into, and then since then they think they saw ghosts and stuff. So we blessed it and as we were doing so, I could feel the bad spirits leave, and the good spirits enter. It was neat-o.
I was sorry to hear about Sister Cook. Give her family my condolences.
We actually haven't had to deal with any of the anti-Mormon stuff yet.
Yeah the weather here is really nice. It probably won't end up snowing this year, but by me saying that, I think the clouds are forming overhead. No snow means super duper-uper hot summer though.
3 Q-U-E-S-T-I-O-N-S:
1. Yes, I have been sick a few times with a cold and such. It's not too bad, except it makes you more tired than you already are.
2. For my New Year's goal, I am in John right now. It is cool because the first few books in the New Testament are kinda repeats, but John really throws some cool stuff in there.
3.I have learned that any personal time is a luxury. It hasn't been too bad being with someone 24/7 but it is nice to be away from them every once in a while when we are in our house.
Mom: I am sorry that you are sick. It is never fun to be sick. Thanks for always writing me, I'm quite fond of it.
Dad: I actually saw the Tebow touchdown yesterday at a member's house. Right as we walked in, overtime started. So naturally, I watched as Mr. Tebow tossed a great pass to his WR who took it 80 yards for the win. Suck it Steelers. Hopefully the 49ers can pull out a win on Saturday.
Transfers are next week, so I may be here, or I may be somewhere else next Thursday. All is well, my little computer timer is ticking down so I gotta go.
Hope all is well back at HQ. Sleep lots for me. Love you lots.
Love, Nick
Monday, January 2, 2012
Happy New Year!
Yep we get to email today, hence this email.
I am glad Brittany and Michael got to Utah. At least their move was planned, not like a transfer when you get the call 36 hours before going. Transfers are on the 18th I think. I think my companion will get transferred, and so I may stay. But who really knows.
Devon sounds like she thinks DC is her real home. Chelsea is living the life we all want, as usual. Fam-fam sounds good.
It is wild that Skyler is leaving already.
Hey Mom guess what! I have completed 1/6 of my mission. That is pretty cool. And next month I hit the 6 month mark. Wiggity-what?!
This week I ate more tamales than imaginable. So despite the lack of Christmas Day tamales, I made up for it this week.
We found 5 new investigators this past week. That is a lot. Hopefully that all do the things that they need to do to progress. We are still teaching the Bogorquez family. They are reading a ton, which is awesome. They should be baptized this month. And we have an investigator named Rogelio, who really wants to be baptized. So this month should be great. Other than that, the work is going well. We still see Juan Alvarez, and we never see Magdalina or Julian.
Yesterday the 1st counselor in our ward spoke about battling our own "Goliaths" it was a good talk about overcoming trials and other issues through faith. And looking at missionary work, that is what it is all about, faith. Three Answers:
1. New Years was pretty boring. We didn't do much, and I was woken up to an array of fireworks right at 12. Those fools, didn't they know I was sleeping?
2. This year my goals are to work hard and read all of the scriptures. I started with the New Testament because it is all about Jesus. So yeah those are my goals.
3. The lax stick still looks pretty brand new.
OK Mom, thanks for writing me every week and sending me treats. I love you and miss you.
Love, Nick
I am glad Brittany and Michael got to Utah. At least their move was planned, not like a transfer when you get the call 36 hours before going. Transfers are on the 18th I think. I think my companion will get transferred, and so I may stay. But who really knows.
Devon sounds like she thinks DC is her real home. Chelsea is living the life we all want, as usual. Fam-fam sounds good.
It is wild that Skyler is leaving already.
Hey Mom guess what! I have completed 1/6 of my mission. That is pretty cool. And next month I hit the 6 month mark. Wiggity-what?!
This week I ate more tamales than imaginable. So despite the lack of Christmas Day tamales, I made up for it this week.
We found 5 new investigators this past week. That is a lot. Hopefully that all do the things that they need to do to progress. We are still teaching the Bogorquez family. They are reading a ton, which is awesome. They should be baptized this month. And we have an investigator named Rogelio, who really wants to be baptized. So this month should be great. Other than that, the work is going well. We still see Juan Alvarez, and we never see Magdalina or Julian.
Yesterday the 1st counselor in our ward spoke about battling our own "Goliaths" it was a good talk about overcoming trials and other issues through faith. And looking at missionary work, that is what it is all about, faith. Three Answers:
1. New Years was pretty boring. We didn't do much, and I was woken up to an array of fireworks right at 12. Those fools, didn't they know I was sleeping?
2. This year my goals are to work hard and read all of the scriptures. I started with the New Testament because it is all about Jesus. So yeah those are my goals.
3. The lax stick still looks pretty brand new.
OK Mom, thanks for writing me every week and sending me treats. I love you and miss you.
Love, Nick
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