Aloha from the 'Zou (9/10/12)

Aloha from the 'Zou,

NNNIIIIIIIINNNNNEEERRRRRRRRSSSSS!

Man, that is sweet. Superbowl here we come. Man, that completely made my day. I wear a red tie on Sundays to support my boys. I guess it's working.

I was thinking about Daffy the other day. She is a funny dog. Lots of people here have mean dogs, like pit bulls and big mutts.

Billy's baptism was really great. We had some great speakers and it all went smoothly. President and Sister Keyes came to the baptism because Billy met with him at one point to talk for a little bit. It is nice to have them there.

The Riverview ward is going well. All of the speakers bailed on the bishop so my comp and I had to speak. We also had to set up the sacrament and I translated for a little bit before the regular translator got there. It was pretty hectic.

All in all, we had a good week. We were able to get a lot done.We found a new family to teach last week.  They're a young couple with a few kids. He really likes the church because nobody gets paid for their service. He has a hard time listening to preachers who drive nice cars and have their million dollar houses. The more that we talk with them, the more prepared they seem. I think that they will join the church, hopefully soon. I think that we can do a lot of good work with them. Mariana is doing really well. Still just waiting for her grandma to get here so that we can baptize her. The work here is booming.

There is not much new with me personally. Just kickin' it in the hood. Yesterday was really slow during the Chiefs game. Everybody here loves their Chiefs. I don't really understand why. I guess some just aren't lucky enough to be 49er fans.

  1. Yes, I wake up at 6:30 and go to bed at 10:30. I'm a good lil missionary, Mama. Don't you fret.

2. If last fall was any indication, we get great fall leaves here. Right now everything is still green, really green actually. The rain from Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac really helped the plants here. It is getting cooler now, so the leaves should be changing soon.

3. P-Days in the Independence Zone are fun. We wake up early and go to Independence to play frisbee in the mornings because not all of the sisters have the same pdays, so we let them have a little fun too. Then we get ready and study a little, email, eat lunch and shop, and then we either play basketball or just chill.

 

I'm glad to hear that work is going well. Are you going to have to travel at all for this job? If you ever go to North Carolina get some barbeque.

Welp, have a great week.

 Love you more than High Priests love not matching their pants and their jackets.

Love, Nick

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What's New

Yep. My new job just means that I hold the missionaries accountable for what they do during the week and give little lessons once a week. I guess President Keyes thinks that I am able to do so.  I really hope he's right. The district that I'm over is pretty interesting; it is my comp and I, and 4 sets of sisters. That is just because the Visitors' Center is in my zone/stake, so there are a ton of sisters here.

Today is your first day of your new job so that is good. I had a dream the other night that Duke's lax coach was recruiting me and that I had to be in NC the next day for a visit to the campus but we couldn't find a car that worked to drive there (why we would drive to NC, I don't know), and then when we found a flight in was in a half hour, and I didn't have enough socks for the trip so I was searching like crazy for some socks. Then I woke up. Weird huh?

All is going well here. We had a pretty good week last week. Billy is getting baptized on Saturday and things are going smoothly. The ward here is really good at coming out with us and helping us teach. That has been a big blessing. It is nice to have members with us because they have different experiences than us with certain topics and also to build friendships among the investigators. Right now we have  just a few solid investigators other than Billy. One is Mariana. Her mom is a member, and we are just waiting for her grandma to come for us to baptize her. The other is Todd, he is a tough cookie. He has a ton of really deep, kind of unanswerable questions. We are working hard with him to just get a basic testimony of the church.

 Let's see, I think that is about it. I am doing well. It rained a ton this weekend because of Isaac, and now the humidity is here. It isn't too bad if you don't move a muscle. Well, that's all I got.

1.DL jobs: see above.

2. It just depends. There are a lot of unemployed people in this city. We are lucky to have people to teach during the day, in my last area it seemed like everyone worked during the day so it was really hard to be productive during the afternoon.

3. When we don't have anything set during the day, we usually try tracting, finding past investigators, contacting referrals, and visiting less active members.

Have a great week, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!  to Dad and Chels.

Love you, Nick

We Have s Spy!

Hey there,

Sister Bennett told us that she always calls our mommies after we eat there. She made some good stuff. The brownies were great.

 Yeah, the ward had to replace the Second Counselor in the Bishopric because he has cancer and needs to devote all of his time and energy to that. They just called a new 2nd counselor yesterday, so all is move forward. Please pray for the Chacon family.

 The area here is pretty fun. The work is going really well. We have one on date right now for the 8th of September. His name is Billy Reed and he is ready to make the plunge. We are working on re-vamping our list of investigators and working towards getting some solid investigators. That is what we have been up to this week. A lot of talking to people on the streets and such. Also, the mission has some "visa-waiters" and we had to have one tag a long for a few days before he went to Argentina. He's leaving today. My comp is doing pretty good. His mom is taking the discussions, so he's happy about that. He converted in 2009 and decided to come serve. Can't complain - life is good.

That is great that Aaron is going back out! That made me really happy to read.

It also rained here as well, which means that it has been super humid the past few days. I don't mind it too much.

So yeah not a ton going on right now. Just work, work, work.

Dang, Dad. That is too bad about the defense. At least it was only the preseason.Man, moving to the 1:00 church. That's tough. Guess what. I'll be home before it changes to 9:00. Crazy.

Yes, we do encounter some discussion from the born agains and baptists . But in the bible it says by grace are we saved through faith. Then in James it says that faith is by works. So in order to get grace, we have to have faith, and to have faith we have to act. So there.

 

Friday was a surreal day. Like it didn't hit me until I was writing in my journal that night. Like wow, I have been a missionary for an entire year. Where did the time go? I have heard that the second year is even faster than the first. That kinda freaks me out. By Christmas I'll be 2/3 done. That is scary. Man, I gotta stop thinking about it.

1. Elder Hanson has been here in Riverview for a while now. He is going on his 4th transfer here. He started his time here, so he is coming up on the 6 month mark pretty soon.

2. Our dinner calendar is full here. It is great. The ward has to feed us and a pair of sisters, but they get the job done.

3. Zone Conference was really good. We learned about the Book of Mormon, and that even as members, we should be praying about it daily. We talked a lot about converting ourselves first, and then helping others convert.

So yeah, that is all that I got. Oh yeah, as far as packages go, it is probably best just to send them to the mission office because we go by there at least 2x a week. Plus, our neighborhood is sketchy, so it is probably safer to do that anyways.

Welp, gotta fly, but have a good week. I love you.

Love, Nick

One Down, One To Go

Yep the 24th is my year mark. It is pretty crazy. I am excited to be on the last half of it all. While I am loving this experience, knowing that it won't last forever is kinda nice sometimes. Yeah, it honestly still feels like I'm new to the mission. I can remember my first day in the MTC like is was yesterday. It is crazy how fast time flies.

So I got switched to the Riverview ward in downtown KCMO. It is innercity here. The pizza guy doesn't deliver to where we live. Haha. It has a lot of the same aspects like Kaw River did. Lots of Spanish people and interpreting everywhere. My companion is Elder Hanson from Jamaica by way of LA. I like him so far. He's cool, mon. I am also in the Independence Stake, so I am near the mission offices and such quite a bit. It is really fun.It is pretty weird when you think about it, the way my mission has gone so far, this may be my 2nd to last area. that is weird.

Too bad that the Niners lost. but that is good that the D played well.

Yeah so the Glass of Milkduds things didn't work. That is okay. You don't really have to worry about any other treats. I got a cake from the Walkers on Wednesday during my last dinner in Platte Woods. Thank you for the birthday stuff. I gobbled the poptarts pretty freakin fast. I liked the football cards, but I didn't get a single 49er. A few Browns, no Niners.

I am pretty sad to leave that area, but also super pumped to be in Riverview. There is a ton of work to be done here. There are a lot of poorer people here, so they are very humble and willing to hear the message. I guess this area is pretty rough, because a few times we have been asked "What are you two nice, handsome, amazing young men doing out here on these streets?" (I may have exaggerated a little). So yeah, life is going great.

Man, this Friday is the day. 1 year in the mission. It has flown by. Now I'm on the down and down. Pretty wild. I'll be spending my yearrrgh(pirate) mark sitting in a chair at Zone Conference. Not too shabby. So yeah that is what is going on with me.

1. & 2. For transfers unless you are in like Topeka or Witchita, you go to Independence and meet up with everyone in a stake center parking lot. Then you wait around until you see your comp, and you go on your merry way. It's pretty simple, nothing too dramatic. If you are in one of those far away Kansas places, you get picked up on a bus that the mission rents out and it brings you to Independence.

3. I have some shoes that I may need to send home, that is about it.

New Address:

5624 E. 30th St.

Kansas City, MO 64128

Anyways, I hope that all is going well at home. Dad, congrats on the new job.

Okay my beloved family, thanks for the burfday fun! I love you more than mosquitoes love eating me alive.

Love, Nick

 

Changes

Hey,

So there has been a little cog in our plans, Elder Burden is going to train a new missionary, so I'm probably outta here. It was quite the shocker when we found out. Tomorrow night I'll know where I'm going. Crazy Crazy Crazy. Our little tripod is going fine. There was a lot to do last week, and it seemed like there wasn't enough time to do it all. It has been really fun with 3 people because we all get along really well, but I am excited to settle down a bit and not have to move back and forth every night. Yeah Elder Burden is getting a baby missionary, so I'm probably going to be leaving. I'm okay with that though, I think that a change of scenery will be good.

Anyways, that is sweet that the Niners won. How'd Randy Moss look? Remember when I used to love him as a Viking? Football season is the most wonderful time of the year. What's going on in the College Football world? Any interesting stuff? Any surprising preseason rankings? Is the SEC going to win another title?

Yep, I'm turning 20 this week. That's freakin weird. I will no longer be a teenager, and that is a weird thought. I sure as heck don't feel that old. I don't even feel 19 most of the time.

Anyways, things are going well here. The work is moving along pretty well. We are trying hard to find new people to teach and bring them this everlasting gospel. It's like if these people only knew what we were trying to give them, then they would be hunting us down and begging us to come by and help them. We weren't able to get in with Jorge this past week, but we should be seeing him tonight. We are trying to grow our teaching pool, but we just haven't had the time the past few weeks with all of the hustle and bustle that we've been living. A lot of the people the we are teaching now aren't keeping their commitments, and that is frustrating. We have also been working on going through the ward roster and finding those people who nobody knows. It has worked a little, and has some people with good potential on it. We did some of that in Kaw River, and that showed a lot of promise, so hopefully it works here.

1. It depends on the missionary for what they do on their birthday. I'll probably be packing and then see some of my faves like Blake and Evelyn.

2. Sometimes I imagine my homecoming talk and what I'll say. I'll somehow twist whatever topic I get into missionary stuff and then finish out by thoroughly rebuking all of the bums in the ward. Totally kidding.

3. When we have Spanish invetisgators he kinda just sits there. There's not much else he can do. It's cool though, we both are okay with it.

Other than that stuff, not much else happened. My brain has been racing since we got the call that Elder Bruden will be training. I want to know where I'm headed. That Glass of Milk place is pretty close, so we can go pick up whatever you got me. I'm sure it will be tasty. Anyways, all is well in funkytown.

Alright my favorite family and planet Earth, have a great week, I'll probably be emailing you from a whole new world next Monday!!!

Love you, Nick

Sa-weet Dreams

Sa-weet!!!

What a great dream. Yeah it would be so nice to be able to come home for one day and just relax.

 I think that I am good on contacts for a while.

To answer your question,we drive a Chevy Malibu right now. It is huge and hard to park. Our mission has 3 main cars, a Toyota Carolla, a Ford Fusion, and the Mabilus.

Thanks for writing your conversion story to me. I've had a few people ask me how you converted and I never really knew what to say, but now I do.

Things are going well here. It has been pretty crazy because we are covering 2 areas now.  So Elder Johnson from the New Mark area did what I'll do next year and go home a little bit before the transfer to get home for school, so we got paired up with his companion Elder Langston, from Centerville. So now we have to cover both areas, and go to 6 hours of church. We do one day in Platte Woods, and one day in New Mark. We also switch apartments every night. Nomads. I was in a few tripods in the MTC but those were nothing compared to this. We are constantly going, going, going. This past week was a little wild. It has been fun and a nice change of pace.We have been busy, but I am happy about that. I'd much rather be packed than have nothing to do.

It is really hard when things fall through and there is very little to do. It gets discouraging after a while. I've mentioned this before, but the mission is so mentally and emotionally difficult. You just have to keep trudging through everything that comes your way. It definitely is not easy.

It has been a lot cooler this week. I am happy about that. The heat did not let up for the entire month of July. It STANK. So yeah I am doing well.

Yes I do remember the Highland Fling, what a festive time of year. Getting to see school friends for the first time in a while, awkward fist bumps with the kids that you don't really lknow that well, pretty boring parades, ahh the memories.

Transfers are on the 16th. President Keyes said I'll probably be here for another transfer, and I believe him, but I guess we'll see. 

 In church yesterday Blake bore his testimony. It was the cherry on top of my Shark Week. In our area we have kinda worked ourselves out of a job, so to say. We have dunked all of the solid people that we were working with, and now we are in a rebuilding stage, like the Warriors since the 90's. Right now, the work is a little slow. Luckily, the ward leaders are trying to set the example for the rest of the ward by finding us people to teach. I think that we'll see a lot of great work come from this.

Yesterday, I had a pretty cool experience with fasting and prayer. We hadn't found a new investigator all week. So, on Sunday I fasted that we would be able to find somebody new that day. Well, one thing leads to another and it is 8:30 at night and we still haven't found a new person to teach. I was thinking "we can do this, we have to". The next person we knocked was Jorge, and he wanted to learn about the church. That was an incredibly watered-down version, but fasting and prayer totally works. Anyways, that's all that is going on around here.

1. BYU Hawaii sounds good but is missing one major piece: Lacrosse. I still have every intention of playing lacrosse in college.

2. We don't really have too much interaction with the youth except for at church. One of them has some friends that he wants us to teach, but other than that, there aren't a ton of opportunities to chat with the youth here.

3. We have actually been teaching an English class since May. Only one guy shows up.

Excited for my birthday/year mark/football season. Hope all is well at HQ. Have a good week. Love you.

Love, Nick

USA! USA!

Hey Hey Hey (Fat Albert Status),

Man, I like the Olympics. I'll have to catch up later though. Kinda behind the times here.

Things are going swimmingly here. Blake's baptism was sweet. I got to baptize and confirm him. It was pretty cool. Blake is a good guy. He's gonna be a really good member. It was a good experience for all. 

Our other investigators are doing pretty well. We have some solid people to teach right now, and the ward is in full missionary mode right now. Yesterday in church, a member of the bishopric threw down on everyone and told them to be better member missionaries. I was like "YEAH!" Julio Cesar has been avoiding us recently, and it stinks. I am not sure what happened, or why he doesn't like us anymore, but I hope we can get in with him again soon. He was doing really well, then, nada. We were able to find some good new people to teach, which is always exciting.

That is good that you had a prayer answered. As a missionary, you have to put a lot of faith in the Lord. Just about everything that I do has to be faith-driven. In the words of that 80's singer, "You gotta have faith".

It has been decently humid lately, and as crazy as I sound, I love it. One day I woke up as my little heart decided that it likes the humidity. So that has been cool I guess. Also, my eyes have been really sensitive to light recently. Like if I'm outside for a while, at night my eyes feel super strained. I think I'll live though.

Sounds like everything is going well at home. I got like a ton of emails today. That was pretty sweet. Tell my fans thank you for me.

Mom, you're right about incorporating Shark Week into the Olympics. Maybe for the swimming or diving parts of the Olympics, they can put great white sharks in the pools. For diving the sharks get points if they can catch the little divers in the air before they hit the water. The intensity level would be insane, as well as the ratings.

1. For my burfday, I don't really want anything. Maybe a tie or something. Maybe an orange one, or a green one.I have a lot of stuff to carry around anyways. I think I'll be good. Maybe if you wanted, you could write up your conversion story for me. I don't think that I ever really heard it growing up. As petty as this sounds, I mostly just want money for when I get home, like dad can put it in my savings account. There are a lot of mishies that go home broke. I don't wanna be one of them.

2. Man, my area is a freaking weird shape. I don't even know where to begin. It's kinda the shape of an upside-down Vermont, just to give you a mental picture. I'll have to work the schematics of it out and hopefully remember to get it to you next week.

3. Comp study is going alright. We usually just plan for the lessons that we have each day and then read something from Preach my Gospel. For my personal studies, I am going through PMG in Spanish.

Okay, family, as always, I love you.

 Love, Nick