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