Yikes. Motherhood Fail.

Getting caught up again.

 June 3rd

This past week was pretty good. We are still working on the "no-tracting" thing and it is going pretty well. It will take a little bit of time to get that moving forward, but it will be worth it in the end. Once we can get the ward rolling, we will be the busiest and most fruitful missionaries in the world. Something that we are working on as a zone is harvesting. Planting seeds can be fun, but we are called to help people be baptized. 

We had a pretty good meeting about that with the District Leaders this last Friday. We are hoping to have 11 baptisms in the zone during June. It is a big goal, but we feel like we can hit it. Tom has gone MIA. We aren't really sure what is going on with him. His fellowship doesn't really know either. Hopefully he is alright. 

Sam is doing well. He is still waiting for that answer. He wants to know everything, which is kind of a set back. We are having FHE with him tonight and we are going to talk about faith and why we need it to get answers. 

Our ward got a set of sister missioanries last week. That is why we had to move. They are doing well. One of them is from Alpine and totally went to LP. Crazy how small of a world it is in the bubble. That's about all that I got. Oh, We are taking a final journey to Independence this week. It is weird that I won't go back. KWM 4 Life!

1. Yep, he gave me a workout routine, and I am on a high-healthy calorie diet. Lots of rice and chicken.

2. This week I am working on learning about baptisms for the dead. We talked to this guy who had some interesting questions about it.

3. I don't know if I believe that there are secret speed detecting devices on our cars. I wouldn't be surprised, but I don't know.

For your lesson, I would tell those girls to encourage the priesthood holders to be good people. Boys listen to girls, so they can make a huge difference by just setting the example.

Hey, I was wondering about housing this fall. I think if I can get a room about anywhere for cheap that will work. I won't be there very much anyways.

Welp, have a great week. 

Love you, Nick

June 10

Things are going well here in Derby. Summer  heat is picking up, as well as the work. 

This week has been quite the roller coaster. We headed to Independence on Tuesday in the longest drive known to man. It wasn't too bad. Our Mission Leadership council was sweet. We found out that on the 18th of this month all of the missionaries in the soon-to-be KWM are going to the temple with Pres. Keyes! Instead of having a normal zone conference, we are doing that. It is really exciting. It has also made us really busy getting clothing sizes and finding housing for overnight missionaries. I am really stoked for it. 

It seems like the closer we get to the mission split the crazier things are going to get. Leaving Independence and the mission home was weird. I am going to miss that place. We rode another roller coaster with Sam this week. On Wednesday he texted us wanting to meet but we were in Missouri so we had to wait until Thursday. Then in our appointment he told us that he got his answer and that we wants to be baptized on June 29th! Then yesterday he wasn't at church because he went to his church to presumably tell his pastor that he wasn't coming back. Then we got a bunch of texts from him saying that he isn't ready for baptism and that he is doing this for the wrong reasons. We are pretty sure that when he was talking to his pastor that the guy totally anti'd him. We were able to get an appointment with him tonight, so we are going to see what happened. It is going to be really intense. Other than that, everything is pretty normal. Just missionary work.

1. Zone Conference plans: See email above

2. That means that we go to members' houses and ask who they are sharing the gospel with and invite them to give out pamphlets or things like that and then we follow up. Or we will go and teach less-active members and part-member families.

3. Si, recuerdo espanol.

Okay family, have a safe week. Love you more than dad loves moles.

Love, Nick

June 17

That is cool that DDP is a fitness guy now. I was actually thinking about what happened to him the other day.

This past week has been pretty good. We actually had quite a few days that were pretty rough. The work is slow right now because we are trying to get more member involvement which takes some time. Do you happen to know anyone in Wichita that could use the gospel? Nobody else seems to, ha. We are still working hard though. 

We are slowly losing one of our really solid investigators named Sam. He was totally anit'ed last week and now we can't really connect with him anymore. It sucks. I feel like Obi Wan in Star Wars 3 when Anakin goes all crazy and then Obi Wan cuts off his arms and legs and is all sad and whatnot. Sad, man.  He is too deceived by the "craftiness of men". He started asking us a bunch of "anti" questions this past week and he seems to be moving further and further away.  We thought that he was solid. He is really confused, I think. We should be meeting with him again this week and hopefully we can help him out some more. It is hard because only he has felt what he has felt. We don't know exactly what happened early last week so we can't say anything about how he interpreted what he felt, you know? Out of my entire mission, Sam and Roger from Riverview have probably been my biggest letdowns. They are/were so close to grasping the fullness of the gospel. 

This work is hard. 

Other than that, the temple trip is in full swing. We are picking up some elders tonight to stay with us. I don't know any of them. Our mission is really young. Over half of the entire mission have been out for less than a year. Also, we helped the new APs move in (Elder Taylor and Elder Stratton, yeah, the one from our stake) to their new apartment. That made things real. They are really coming down and the mission is really splitting. 

It is crazy. Elder Eliason and I were talking last night and my exit interview with President Bell will be more like a "get to know you" thing. It will be weird. Welp that is really all that is going on. We are pretty busy with the temple trip.

1. My most positive camp memory has to be coming home from camp. Ha ha. No, really, I think the last High Adventure was really fun. Like the one where we got lost for hours in the canyon in Southern Utah. At the time, it sucked like a vacuum, but hindsight 20-20, I thought it was a good experience.

2. We had to find out heir height, shirt size, and shoe size because the KC Temple is providing packets for everyone.

3. See email for update on Sam.

Anyways, life is good. Have a great week! 

Love you, Nick

July 1

I am glad that you survived. I can't imagine you camping. The very thought perplexes me.

This is the first weekly email from the new Kansas Wichita Mission! How crazy is that? It is really exciting. There is quite the buzz within the local wards.

 This past week was actually pretty good. We are still working on baptism for our investigators. One of them, Liz, is doing awesome. She is reading and doing really well. She says that she gets excited when we come over because she always leaves feeling good. It is nice to make a difference in someone's life. 

Our other person preparing for baptism, Shelley, has been a little frustrating lately. She and her member fiancee won't come to church. Last week they said that they always had too much to do on the weekends, so on Friday we went over there and cleaned up their yard. They still didn't come. Some people's kids... 

We also started teaching a sweet couple who moved from Oklahoma on an Air Force assignment. Their names are Cory and Debbie. They are cool. They are looking for a church with a good church family. Voila! Here it is.

So those are some things that are going on in the field. We are reaping the benefits of the broadcast last week. The members seem more excited about the work now. That broadcast was the best thing to happen to missionary work since Preach My Gospel.

Also, The Halls are coming to Utah this week and they have one of my suitcases for you. It's just full of stuff that I don't need right now. You have to meet the Halls though, they are awesome.

1. See email about our current investigators.

2. Today we are going bowling as a zone. I don't really enjoy bowling, but I am stoked to chill with my lil homies.

3. We have a Mission Leadership Council tomorrow and we are going to establish a lot of mission standards. It will be sweet. Then on Wednesday we have a Meet and Greet with the Zone. Other than that, we are all just very excited.

Welp, thanks for everything family.  Have a great week. 

Love you, Nick

New Address for Nick

Hey Mom,

Sounds life things have been pretty wild. Speaking of pretty wild, we are moving houses and will have a new address come Wednesday:

2503 Button Bush Cir

Derby, KS 67037

Dad: That's too bad that Crabtree is out. Poor dude. 

We went to Chili's for lunch yesterday and right in front of my face was the Nat'l Champ  LAX game. Satan is good at what he does. Who ended up winning? 

Mom has told me all about your little birdies. Have you named them yet? 

Things are going well for me. Anyways, we are trying to work a lot more with members. Elder Quentin L. Cook came to the MIM last month (we didn't get to see him because we were too far away) and said that "if it sounds like it could be more effective than tracting, do it. So that is what we have been doing. We are currently going through the ward roster and seeing every person on it. It has been fairly successful. 

So last Monday was pretty wild. After emailing we had to drive to Emporia, KS which is in between the middle of nowhere and Dorothy's house to pick up my new companion. That has to be one of the most boring drives ever. My new comp, Elder Eliason, is a total cowboy. He is from Holbrook, ID, a town with literally more cows than people. His family owns a beef ranch with over 1700 cows!!! He eats out of chuckwagons and shaves with a knife and sleeps under a horse. Not really, but that would be sweet. He did rodeo in high school and can do cool rope tricks.  He was actually a DL in this zone before getting bumped up to ZL with me.  He is really awesome and we get along really well.

We are trying to lift the zone a lot with the new mission coming up. We want them to be really excited. It is going to be sweet. 

Do you guys have any trips planned for this summer, or anything fun going on? 

These kids in front of me are playing some game called minecraft. It is all pixelated and stupid looking. Not nearly as cool as Pokemon back in the day.  

I would like to let you know that I finished the Book of Mormon yesterday in English. All those in favor to "neener-neener" please show by the uplifted sign. Blasphemy? Yep. 

This past week was pretty awesome. We had interviews on Tuesday and President Keyes told me himself, that I am the first person to be shipped home from the soon-to-be Kansas Wichita Mission! Weird. I am also the only person going home on July 30 barring some sort of disobedience coup. Crazy. I'll get to be by myself. Weird. 

We are still working with Sam, and he is doing awesome. We taught him the plan of salvation on Saturday and it went really well. This week should be good. We have transfers this week, but it won't mean much for me. We also have a tornado warning for tomorrow. Maybe I'll get to see one of those whirling dervishes from a distance safe enough for pictures.

1. See email,. Yeas I really am the only one coming home then.

2. Training a new Zone Leader isn't really a huge deal. I just have to get him caught up on the procedures like setting up miles for cars and some reporting that we have to do.

3. That tornado in Moore is crazy. It is really sad to see. It looked a lot like Joplin from 2011.

Okay , have a good week. Love you lots.

Love, Nick

Nick sees a Tornado

Hey, mi familia, we had a pretty eventful week.

On Monday night after Pday, we were invited to go eat with President Keyes who was in town. This never happens. So we ate some mediocre Italian food at the Olive Garden and then Pres. Keyes took Elder Taylor away to talk with him and when they came back he took me with him for a minute. Elder Taylor has been called to be the first AP in the Kansas Wichita mission. He is pretty nervous. He is actually leaving today after we are done emailing. 

Pres. Keyes told me that I would be training a new Zone Leader here in Ridgepoint. He also told me that I would be ending my mission here, in Derby. I will be flying home from the Wichita airport and everything. Instead of having a little group to go with, I will most likely be going home alone. Weird. So that was crazy. 

Then last night we had a monster storm come in. A town about 17 miles south of us got hit with a tornado and where we were the sky was all green and tornado looking. It was awesome. It was probably the most entertaining storm ever. We actually had to cancel the last hour of church because the sirens started going off. Luckily the family that we were with is really into cool storms, so instead of shrinking in the basement we all went outside and watched the tempest. 

Also, I went on exchanges with Elder Johnson, one of the DL's in the zone. We had a good time together. He was a body builder before the mission and he is going to help me hit 180 before I come home so I can be ripped. He says it is all in the nutrition. 

Besides these things, our week was pretty good. We found 5 new people to teach which is going to help a lot. Sam got into a motorcycle accident last week, so he has been in a lot of pain. He is still doing well though. Tom is alright. We have an appointment with him this week, so we'll see what is going on with him.

An investigator in my 2nd area gave me those tan shoes. He said that they were too big or something. They are pretty nice looking.

1. If you really feel like sending me something, maybe those cookies that Dad likes to make with the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.

2. To keep in contact later, we mostly give each other our names to look up on Facebook because we all gave up our phones when we left so we don't know what our numbers will be.

3. I have gotten some addresses from some of the members that I really liked, but  mostly  I will just have to look them up on Facebook when I get home.

Okay,have a great week. 

Love, Nick

Editor's Note: This is the ubiquitous picture that all Elders seems to send, trying to show they still have their cool. However, the thing that their mom might notice is that the room is terribly messy, beyond belief. one might be horrified.

Phone Call Follow Up

Hey there.

Something I forgot to ask/tell you yesterday was that I want to do like 18 or so credit hours this first semester because I will have more time in the fall to do all of that work. Also, I would love to have all of my classes in the morning so that I can have my afternoons and nights open. Hopefully you can work some momma magic.

The call yesterday was great. It was weird to know that the next time I'll talk to you is face to face.

1. I think that Brittany has changed a lot for the better. She looks like she is doing really well. I was happy to see that.

2. We called from the Halls' house. They are a sweet family. You would love them. They remind me a lot of the Wilsons.

3. The first Christmas call made me pretty sad, but the last few calls have been okay. Like I said earlier, this call was weird to be over with.

As far as your lessons goes, I think that talking about the difference between reading the scriptures and studying the scriptures would be something good to focus on.

Have a great week! 

Love you,Nick

Yo, fam.

Now that we have my date all figured out, I feel like I don't have any big news. Just another boring email this week. This past week was pretty good. On Monday night, we had a missionary come in who is waiting for his visa to go to Brazil and he got to Wichita at about 11 pm. 11 is late. I feel like such a baby. So that was cool. Yep, feel like I'm 4.

Then on Tuesday we went to Independence. The meeting on Wednesday was sweet. The new sisters council was at the meeting in the meeting but other than that, it was pretty much the same.  We learned a lot about faith. Sister Keyes said that missionary work isn't for wimps. That was sweet. 

The work went pretty well. We are teaching this guy named Scott who is a stud. He goes to some Non-Denominational church but is really seeking the truth. He has been reading the Book of Mormon and has been to church the past 2 weeks! He is sweet. He is pretty much a member already, all he needs is that confirmation of his testimony. The members have been great with him. We are actually going to eat dinner with him and some members after I talk to you on Sunday. It should be sweet. 

The work is getting better out here. We are working on growing our teaching pool and looking for those who are prepared for the gospel. I was thinking the other day that it would be cool to know the story of my ancestors' conversions. Obviously on Dad's side, it is just his conversion. But I think it would be cool to know how our ancestors on your side of the family initially joined the church. Perfect timing, seeing as you are going to California this week, right? 

Also, we were talking to some members in the ward last night and there are these 5k races called Zombie Runs. I have to do one. You run a 5k obstacle race and have three flags attached to your waist, and there are zombies that try to chase you and get your flags. It has to be the coolest thing I have ever heard of. Anyways, if there are any in Utah in the fall, sign me up. Welp, life is good.

1. I am in 3 Nephi in my English scriptures and in Helaman in my Spanish scriptures. My goal is to read the Book of Mormon in 2 languages before I come home.

2. The new Mission Leadership Council wasn't really any different. Just with a little more estrogen.

3. I may have grown like a 1/2 inch in height, maybe. My waist is a little bigger, but not too much.

Okay mi familia, have a great week. We will talk on Sunday!!!

Love, Nick

Slacker Mom Repents

I kept forgetting to post these. I'm pretty sure it's unnecessary because all of you can read my thoughts, but in case that isn't so, here is what has been happening in Nick's life, starting with April 1st and moving forward.

April 1st: 

Guess what? We're going to the zoo today. Not only are we going to the zoo, we are going to a top 5 national Zoo. ZOO!

Easter was great yesterday. Church was really good. Natalie was baptized on Saturday and confirmed yesterday. She is a full blown member now. It is awesome. Natalie's baptism on Saturday started our superweek. Saturday was a baptism, yesterday was Easter, today is the zoo, tomorrow and Wednesday we will be in Inde for Zone Leader Council, and then we have GenCon this weekend. I feel like it is the last week of senior year all over again. There is a ton going on. On Saturday for dinner we ate with a member family and they invited their friend, Tom, over for dinner too. We were able to teach him a really great lesson. He is sweet. He committed to being baptized on the 27th of April. We are being ridiculously blessed right now. It is great. Last week we did some overnight exchanges with some other missionaries and I worked with an Elder Brown whom I really like. He is super funny, we actually talked about zombie for a good amount of time. Before his mission his hair was 18.5 inches long! When you ask him why he says, "I really like metal music". So that was fun.  

Poor BlueBirds. Why didn't the Giants sign Bri-Bri? What happened with Matt Cain? Did they ever get a better contract for him? 

Yeah the people her are going crazy for the Shockers. Fun fact of the day: Shockers mean multiple shocks, or stocks, of wheat. Yep. They are a team of freakin' wheat. Stupid. 

A member last night showed us a clip of the Louisville game when some kid shattered his leg. It was disgusting. 

This week we are going to prank another set of missionaries. We have a key to their apartment and we are going to go in and get their bedsheets wet and throw them in the freezer. It is funny because their dryer doesn't work. Then next week, we will take all of their lightbulbs but one. We're not sure what we'll do to them after that. 

The work is going really well. We had a baptism on Saturday and we still have 5 people on date. We are working really hard and talking to lots of people. The ward here is sweet. They love the missionaries so we have tons of support. 

1. We still aren't sure what we are doing for conference. It all depends on what our investigators are doing.

2. We are tracting a little bit. People here are fairly receptive but the best way to find solid people is through the members here.

3. Elder Taylor and I are both exercise freaks. He is going to play college basketball in Canada after his 2 is up, so we are trying to stay in shape and get stronger.

Debate of the week: Why are people from Canada called Canadians? We aren't Americians. They should be Canadans, right?

Okay, love you like lions love eating free food at the zoo. Go Giants!

Love, Nick

April 8th: 

Hey  Fam, 

My return date will depend on my college. If I go out of state, I will probably come home August 5th. If I have to go to Utah, then I'd just come home on the transfer, August 23. 

This past week wasn't the best. I got ridiculously sick on Wednesday and was put on a 48-hour clear/low sugar liquid diet for Friday and Saturday. It was bad. I had no energy. I did lose about a 1/2 inch from my waist, so I have a flat tummy for no-suit-coat season. 

Independence was sweet as always. We talked a lot about Christlike attributes. It was sweet. President Keyes is the man. The work was pretty halted this week because of all of the craziness. We are still teaching a guy named Tom. He is doing really well. We are also teaching a lady name Sandy who is going to marry a member. She says that she is really interested. That is really all that is going on.

1. I think that the change in the council stuff is crazy.  I like our Meetings with the brethren and with the sisters, it will be different. Change is good.

2. I really liked seeing the bears, the wolves, and of course, the elephants. It was rainy and cold, so we were the only people there. It was sweet because the animals were bored and would come out and see us when we went by.

3.  Sandy was able to watch both sessions on Sunday. She really liked Sis. Wixom's talk about children. She says it makes the church a lot more interesting to her.

Okay family, have a great week. 

Love you, Nick

April 15th:

I emailed President Keyes today about my return date. I told him that I would need to be back before the 23 or 24 of August, and that if there were any other missionaries going home a bit early, to just throw on the flight with them. So we'll see what he says next Monday. 

I'm glad that you are enjoying yourself in DC. I really liked it out there when we went a few years ago. I have been thinking about trying to get out to the DC/MD/VA area after my first year of schooling is done. I feel like that would be a good place for me. I would love to work for InsideLacrosse, ESPN's affiliate lacrosse coverage. Maybe that could be my game plan? 

For now, I guess sign me up for the U. I'm going to talk to some other missionaries and see if they would want to live together. I'll keep you updated. 

You asked about cicadas. I freaking despise those things. They are very very very loud. They make this terrible screaching sound about 24/7 in the summer. It is annoying because you can hardly teach people outside in the summer because of the bugs. Ugh. 

Anyways, this past week was alright. We had an ice storm on Tuesday night. Literally everything was covered in ice. It was cool looking. It cut some trees in half. It was interesting because on Tuesday we were on tornado watch, and then Wednesday morning we woke up to ice. This place is crazy. 

We unfortunately were dropped by an investigator who was progressing on Saturday. She got really caught up on how Joseph Smith received the priesthood and she couldn't let it go. It was sad because she had a lot of promise. We think she got confused and asked her pastor. That rascal. 

On Sunday night we had a really good fireside about the Life of Christ. The missionaries put it on and it was sweet. I'll send you the script for Mother's Day. 

We are having a hard time getting people to come to church. Sometimes agency is just so darn frustrating. These people have great weeks and then Sunday comes around and they make poor choices. It's okay though.

 Transfers are this week. I think I will stay one more in Derby, but who really knows.

1. The Midwest has some bugs, that is for sure. We have an assortment of mosquitoes and other biting bugs. We have chiggers, which are the worst things ever. We have fireflies which are sweet. And we have those stupid cicadas.

2. I think I will send my jacket and winter stuff back with my Mother's Day stuff.

3. The best meal we had this week was Taco Salad. It was pretty tasty.

 I am having a good time being a missionary though. I kind of like the challenge of it. I told somebody for the first time the other day that I have been out for 20 months. It it weird. I almost have more months on my mission than years in my life. Now everybody is like "wow, you go home soon right?" So I'm going to start lying about my age. Maybe I can say something really generic like "I've been out a minute" or "over a year".  It was pretty cool looking. On Thursday we went to the Goodwill to look for some service to do, and we had to wait for somebody to come talk to us. While waiting we started to look at the ties. I left that Goodwill serviceless and 3 ties richer. Welp, nothing else too exciting is going on. 

Have a great week. 

Love you, Nick

April 22nd: 

I am still in Wichita. Same ward, same comp. I'm happy about it. 

So I asked President Keyes about my return date, and it is pretty much up to me. I am thinking either the 10th or the 12th of August. The 10th is a Saturday, and the 12th is a Monday. Any preferences? After I know my return date, you CANNOT tell me how many days I have left, okay? 

Anyways, this past week was great. We had a correlation meeting with the Stake President on Tuesday. He is a really great person. Then on Thursday we had transfers. Because we are Zone Leaders we had to help out when the big bus came. The ward that we are in got 2 Sister Missionaries as well. One is 19! It is super weird. The 19 year old has only been out for 2 transfers and the other Sister has been out 2 seconds. They both look like they are scared of their own shadow. 

We were able to get out and work this past week and we saw a lot of success. We were able to find a family! I love teaching families. I hope things pan out for them. Also, we are teaching this guy named Tom who is going to get baptized on the 18th of May. He was able to come to church yesterday which was awesome. All of the talks were on testimony and how to get one. It was perfect for Tom. We also had another investigator come to church. It was great because that has been a weak point for us recently and to have 2 people at church yesterday was a total miracle. 

Last night we had a fireside given by S. Michael Wilcox, who was a director of Institute at BYU and now does educational tours all over the world. He is also the Bishop's father. He talked about temples and it was really sweet. He talked a lot about the symbolism within the temple and how we can apply that to ourselves. It was a good end to the week. That is really all that is happening with me. I'm doing well and working like a beast.

1. This spring has been the craziest ever. We have had multiple days when the temperature will drop 30-40 degrees from the day before, and then two days later go back up to the 70s or 80s. It is really crazy. People haven't dared to plant anything yet because of the forecasted freezes every week.

2. I'll be plenty excite4d about the draft next year, believe me.

3. We took some light bulbs and hid them from one of the companionships. It was funny. We have some other deeds in mind as well.

Okay fam! Have a great week. 
Love you, Nick

April 29:

I got some breaking news on Wednesday concerning my return. President Keyes called and said that he is putting me in a group that is coming home on either the 29th or the 30th (most likely the 30th) of JULY. I guess there are a few missionaries coming home early and I told him that I was flexible with the date.  It is kinda soon, because it puts me at double digit days, but that's life. If we come home on the 30th, that means that I'll be able to go to the temple with some other Elders and do some of the going away stuff. I also don't really care who is at the airport and who is at my talk. Chelsea and Devon can choose which one they want to do. 

So apart from that crazy news, life is good. Today has been hectic because they are doing some mid-transfer changes and so we have to help out a bit with that. 

This past week was pretty good. We found some really great new people to teach. We also taught Tom on Thursday night and had a really good lesson. He is still progressing towards his date in May. 

Yesterday in church we had an RM give his homecoming talk. He went to Iceland, where there are 6 missionaries. His parents also spoke about the blessings that come from having a missionary in the field. It was really sweet. 

We are going to Independence tomorrow for a Mission Leadership Council. It will be great as always. This time it will be a little different though because of the new system of Mission Leadership. There will be a few Sisters there. Hopefully it doesn't change too much, because I have learned so much from the others..

 I am sending a package home next week with some winter stuff and some Mother's Day shenanigans. It is a big box. Welp, you know what time it is.

1. Usually the Ward Mission Leader or one of the Ward missionaries teaches the Gospel Principles class.

2. Being in the Midwest, there are a lot of Christian people. A lot of the people that we teach have a foundation of who Jesus Christ is and we are able to build upon that belief.

3. I am a normal English missionary right now. I really miss being in a Spanish area.

I still feel like I have a lot to do. 

We get to talk soon!

love you, Nick

All Caught Up

Hey there,

So guess what happened in the Wichita area yesterday? They cancelled church. Yep, everybody wanted to celebrate WSU's win so they cancelled church. Ha jk, but we did not have church yesterday because we got a snowstorm on Saturday night. We only got 4 inches. People here are wimps. ha. Zone Conference was pretty sweet on Tuesday. I got to conduct it all. I felt like Dieter F. Uchtdorf. I really wanted to do it in a German accent, but I think President Keyes would've killed me, ha. We learned a lot about remembering our purpose and continuing in the work even if the mission is splitting. We found out what the new missions will look like. The KWM is going to be massive. We also got word of a new church policy concerning emails. We are now able to email whomever. I think the church is in the process of phasing out snailmail. So email away.

The work is going really well. We have 5 people with a date for baptism. The Lord is blessing us a lot. We have a baptism coming up this Saturday. We are really excited. I'm in Alma 21 for my Book of Mormon reading. It is sweet to be in this part of the Book because it is all about missionary work and cutting arms off. I hope that I am thoroughly kicking all of your backsides in the reading.

1. Re: Zone Conference-See the email above

2. It is pretty nice to live with members. We live with an older couple who are really sweet. The lady is the Relief Society Pres for the ward and the guy is the High Priest Group Leader of the ward, so we can have mini ward correlations whenever we want.

3. Funny you should ask. So I was thinking about zombies the other day and how in situations of Zombie Apocalypse rarely, if ever, do you see someone who holds on to religion. It seems like most people give up on God and lose their faith. Granted, I bet it is hard to understand divine promptings while being chased by a plethora of brain-eaters.

Okay my family, have a great week. Love you lots.

Love, Nick

Catching Up

Editor's Note: I just remembered that I have forgotten to post Nick's stuff for a while. Sorry.

Dear Family,

What's up? 

Hey so I was reading my scriptures in Spanish yesterday when some non-Spanish thoughts/potential revelation came to my head: Remember what my big decision was before the mish? It was that if I got accepted to Cal, I would go there, and then if I didn't get accepted, I'd go on a mission. Well as you know, I didn't get accepted, but I did go on a mission. Anyways, this led my train of thought. I need to have a primary, a backup and a backup backup. So I think my main choice of school would be Cal, if I get accepted. The reason being that I would like to live in the Bay Area or on the East Coast once I start my career if I am willing to and Cal is in Berkeley, another reason is that Cal is a top-notch school and would provide me the best education option out of those that I applied to. 

Oregon would be my 1st backup. The reason I have so much interest in Oregon is because it has one of the best Sports Marketing programs in the country, not to mention it is a big market school which would allow big market opportunities after school. 

My 2nd backup is Utah. Utah is indeed a good school, and it would be much cheaper than the others, plus I could live close to you. I'd say the gap between Cal and Oregon is MUCH bigger than the Gap between Oregon and Utah as far as preference goes. Alright, now you know (and knowing is half the battle!). You're probably thinking "Are you kidding me??? We just had a major headache looking for scholarships to 2 schools and now this punk is going to add in another?!" If so, sowwy :). I also added color for fun. 

OOOK. There's a huge freaking chunk of your son's brain. Let's get to missionary work. 

We have 3 people on date right now. Cool, right? One of them just quit smoking on Saturday. Her date is the 30th of March and she is doing great. Another one is on date for the 13th of April. She is going through some trials but really wants to join the church. She is a great person. The last person for now has a date of the 11th of May. She is just waiting on some things to get cleared up before getting baptized. We are working hard and trying to find new people to teach as well. The ward is doing great. They are incredibly supportive of their missionaries. We are working a lot with the ward to have them find us people to teach. It really is so much easier to do missionary work when members give you referrals and are present for the lessons. Apart from that we have Zone Conference tomorrow and we are the host zone. That means that I have to conduct part of it and we have to go and set up chairs tonight. The work is going really well. We had a great week last week.

1. I did see some green yesterday. I did not wear any green. I don't have a green tie, and we're not Irish, I think.

2. My new companion is a great guy. We get along really well. He laughs at my jokes, which is always a plus.

3. We get fed really well in this area. We don't have any open dates on the calendar for March. This ward loves their missionaries.

Okay fam,  I love you like crazy. Have a great week.

Love, Nick

Snowbound

I want an update on where everybody is at in their Book of Mormon challenge. I am in Mosiah 9 and thoroughly kicking all of your backsides. 

Hey,

I'm alive!! Sorry for not emailing last week. It got pretty crazy. It was President's Day on Monday, then on Tuesday we had interviews and then Wednesday and Thursday we got stuck in our apartment from the snow. By the time Friday hit, we just figured that we'd wait until Monday. We are actually emailing early today because we have to beat the blizzard that is coming. In the afternoon we will sequester ourselves to the apartment for most likely the rest of the day and maybe tomorrow. Wednesday and Thursday were the longest days of my mission. I'm at the point of my mission where I feel like I'm reaching my potential and going full throttle and to be cooped up for a few days was killer. We got about 12-14 inches in Wichita which never happens. They cancelled a ton of school for it. Today we are supposed to get another 8-14. President Keyes sent out a message last night welcoming us to the Alaska Anchorage mission.

Speaking of missions, KANSAS WICHITA MISSION!!!!!!!!!!!!! How cool is that? I am really excited about the new mission. It is great news. I think it to be quite the compliment that a prophet of God deems our area active and successful enough to have its own mission.  It means that we are working hard and seeing lots of success. We don't know where the boundary changes will be, but my zone (Derby) and the Wichita zone will definitely be in it. At first, I was sad. I was all whiny about ending my mission without Pres. Keyes. He is an amazing person. Then, I was praying and received a lot of comfort and motivation. I have been called out to Wichita for a reason. Whether I am here in July or not, I have the duty to prepare the area for its own mission. It is awesome. I am so excited. The mission president here will be Pres. Bell. We don't know who that is, but we have somebody lined up.

 Man, 58 missions opened up. Our branch president said that two of the zones in his mission in Mexico City are now their own missions! The work is moving faster than we can imagine. That is what is going on in my world.

It's good to hear that football season is up and rolling again. Hey, will you send me the scores of the Johns Hopkins lacrosse games every week in the email. I miss those rascals. I'm sorry to hear about Dad's job. It seems like whenever you get your feet under you, something happens. 

Thanks, Dad,  for your advice. Remember, I am a missionary, I pray about everything. I am making decisions solely on prayer. If I had any doubts, I'd continue to pray. I know that what I'm doing is right because that is what Heavenly Father told me to do. 

Also, we did a church tour this past week and set some people with a baptismal date. 

I'm working on teaching with power from the Holy Ghost. I am trying to do this by testifying as I teach. It is working out well so far. 

1. About the storm : see email.

2. About the mission splitting:  again, see email.

3. About your RS lesson: If you haven't already, read "See Them As They May Become" by President Eyring. Perfect for that subject.

Alright, have a great week. I love you. I'm safe and alive, dry, and sometimes warm. 

Love, Nick