Pluto

Pluto the neighbor dog - "I want to bring him home with me."

10/31/16 - My Patience and Charity Have Never Been Better

Hola!

We had a pretty sweet week. Holy cow, though, time flies. It feels like just yesterday I was having P-day.   Nothing really crazy happened like it did last week, but all in all it was probably my best week here. As I’m learning more Spanish it just keeps getting better. Honestly, the hardest part about Peru for me is not being able to talk and teach how I want to. Little by little though it’s coming along and people keep saying they are impressed by how much I’ve learned already. I can keep track of most conversations now and that is a real blessing. Speaking is a whole different story, but I have faith I can do it.

The Liahona (Ensign) magazine is so amazing!  We are so lucky to have it. I have rediscovered my love for reading here and I am reading everything I can get my hands on. Thank you for sending me “Jesus the Christ”- all I can say is WOW. I can’t wait to meet Elder Talmage in person and talk to him - it is seriously one of the most amazing books I’ve ever read. I find I need to read the same page 2 or 3 times because I don’t want to miss anything.

We went to this member’s house and it was something out of a movie. It was in the middle of nowhere, so I’m talking like the boondocks of the boondocks. It was right next to the water run off system (think L.A. -  those giant concrete drainage walls) but it’s made of rocks. People just throw their garbage there and holy cow it smells. There are dogs everywhere. It’s unreal. Anyway, we finally get to the house and the member who is taking us there stops us and starts yelling for the guy to come out. Out of the trees come, I’m not even kidding, 25 dogs. I counted them. This man had 25 dogs. We were talking to him and I guess robbery is a huge huge problem there because it’s so far off the beaten path so he just takes in strays and feeds and cares for them and they, in turn have his back. He is like the Peruvian dog whisperer!! I am going to bring my camera the next time we go- it was insane. Peru really is the craziest place I’ve ever been to – so many dogs!  From playing monkey in the middle with a soccer ball and a 140 pound German Shepard to being chased by dogs. It’s fun though. The trick is to pick up a rock and the dogs all run away because everyone here is like an MLB pitcher!

We taught Abel 2 more times and he is all ready for his baptism next Saturday. Words cannot describe how strong I feel the spirit when Abel prays. I can’t understand him very well but his love of the gospel is an inspiration to me. He is legit the funniest guy I’ve ever met. We teach him at the park behind his house because he is letting his goat eat the grass there. We were in the middle of the lesson and he jumps up and straight up punches his goat because it was killing the baby tree! He’s 72 and has 2 teeth but holy cow can he move. The goat’s back foot is tied to the ground and he let it go and the goat started dancing!!!!

On Wednesday I woke up with a horrible, horrible case of pink eye. It was huge and red and I could barely open it. I prayed soooo hard because I really can’t have pink eye here. By dinner it was completely gone. It was such a tender mercy. Prayer is so real.

We went to get our new money and it took wayyyy longer than it should have so I didn’t have time to back up my pictures so here are some pictures that I didn’t send last week. This (picture) is Pluto - he’s the dog that lives next door and he’s so sweet. I want to bring him home. He’s crazy smart and he protects us from all the other bad dogs.

I can’t wait to be able to talk to people. One of the less actives we go teach is named Russell. He’s a musician and he really, really struggles with drugs. His English is pretty much perfect though and I really have forgotten how much I love talking to people. I really just want to help people and as my vocab grows so does my ability to do that! My comp and I are getting along a lot better. It’s been a real learning experience for me but my patience and charity have never been better. I’ve noticed that if I pray for him out loud in our comp prayers we get along a lot better. He is a huge League of Legends player and he loves video games so we have gotten closer through that.

Thank you for all of your prayers and I really encourage all of you to read Alma 5 and Helaman 5. Two short chapters, but they are two of my favorites in the  Book of Mormon. I’ve learned so much from reading. I love this Gospel. I hope you all are doing so well!!! Thank you for your prayers!!

Love,

Elder Nielsen

Baptism!

Elder Nielsen, Elder Vaca, Nestor and his girls - Baptisms!

Pictures!

Abel's house, complete with a goat (and pig - not shown)

Baptism day! (No wonder he feels like a giant there! hahaha)

10/24/16 - It's True and I Love It

This week has been pretty good!! Even though it took over an hour for my email to load  - all is well. I cant believe its already been 2 months!!! It feels like I just left but it also feels like I've always been a missionary. Time is really weird. 

I finished the Book of Mormon!! All I can say is HOLY COW. It's true and I love it and I read it every single day. Read Moroni 10:32 thru 34. It's fantastic. I love Mormon and Moroni - they are such amazing examples.  My Spanish is really coming fast. I can pretty much teach the first lesson by myself which is a massive blessing. I really can't understand street Spanish yet but it will come. Thank you so much for all your fasting and prayers. 

Today was crazy. There was an EARTHQUAKE!!!!!!!!!! Everything started shaking and it lasted for like 6 seconds. It wasn't bad but still, it was a first for me. I also got bit by a dog!!!!!! It didn't break the skin thankfully, but it was still crazy. One moment he is just chilling there and the next moment I'm screaming at it and running away hahaha 

We are teaching Raul's dad and he is 87 years old and had a party. He has 15 kids and it was insane. His name is Melee and his entire house is painted that Tiffany blue color. He's so funny. 

Abel, the man with the pig, got a goat! It's like a little farm- it's so funny. He came to church and he was trying so hard to sing it was so cute. He couldn't follow the words, but he was doing his best. Please pray for him! If all goes well he is getting baptized on the 5th!!!!

I love you all!

Love, 

Elder Nielsen

10/17/16 - I Got to Baptize His Daughter!

This week has been crazy!!

Nestor got baptized!!!!!!!!!! and I got to baptize his daughter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so amazing! Thank you all for your prayers and your thoughts. (I'm trying to upload some pictures but it's not working.) Anyway, I think the best thing about my area is the members. They are so kind and they have helped me so much. The night before the baptism we took Nestor and his 3 little girls over to a members house. They have been members for 2 years and they are so sweet. We watched "The Restoration" and ate Peruvian fries- they are fries but they fry them like 3 times and then crack eggs into them and they are sooo good! They gave Nestor the Book of Mormon Reader, the one with the pics, and it was amazing. One of the little girls was having a hard time because she was tired and I did my Scooby Doo voice. She LOVED it. I had to do it about 100 more times. 

It seems like everyone here is named Pedro or Juan because those names are in the Bible!!! Everyone is Christian down here. It's so fantastic. It makes it easier. 

Some interesting things happened this week. We ran into a crazy cat. I didn't understand much of what the kid was saying but the cat kept falling over. It was kinda sad but funny at the same time. They feed it really well though so it has a pretty good life. Another time we were waiting for an investigator and a random drunk guy grabbed me and we had a mini photoshoot! Everyone calls me "gringo" and since I'm wearing a white shirt and tie I stick out even more. 

We taught Abel (hes about 80 and has 3 teeth and is the one with the pig). I think he's going to get baptized. He really loves the Lord he just doesn't like church. We heard this weird noise and I turned around and the pig was scratching himself on a brick!!!!!! I swear I'm not making this up. I was going to start laughing but we were in the middle of a lesson so I had to cover my mouth to stop from laughing. 

My favorite family is the Sanchez's. They are all members except their grandpa Raul and their son is on a mission. I LOVE Raul. He's the funniest guy and he has such a sweet heart. He just has a really really hard time with faith. He owns a little store and then in the back a little soccer stadium. Today we had a district soccer game and it was so sweet. For 58 years old he can really move. We also played volleyball - he is really good at volleyball. I feel like I can really help him. His family wants him to join the church more than anything in the world. They are so sweet and nice to the missionaries  - it's such a relief. It's been so hard for me to not be able to talk to people or understand them. I can kinda get some of it and I understood a lot at church but in the streets and the way people talk it's impossible. I know the words I just cant recognize them when some people say them. I'm learning like crazy though. 

My comp is a really nice guy. I'm trying so hard to get along with him and we are making progress. I'm learning more about patience then I am about Spanish! I'm really learning to let things slide. It's going to help me a lot when I get back - being able to handle stuff that's hard. That's what missions are for right? learning? 

I don't know what to do about my pictures. It's starting to really make me...nevermind I put it back into my camera and they are all gone.  It looks like my camera has just been swiped clean. I don't know what to do. I'm really sorry everyone. I don't know what's going on. I backed up my pictures before I left the MTC so I only lost the ones so far in Peru. 

My spiritual thought for the week is D & C 121 and 122. No matter how hard it gets God has you. It's hard and difficult because if it were easy you wouldn't learn anything. From losing pictures and not understanding, to missing home and people not coming to church, I'm learning more and more every day and I hope it's the same for all of you. I love you so much!!! Thank you so much for all of your emails and prayers -  words cannot express how much they have helped me. I love you all!

Love,

Elder Nielsen

10/10/16 - I'm Legit a Giant Over Here!

PERUUUUUUUUUUU

Wowowowowow what a place.Peru is amazing for so many reasons! Lima is hands down the biggest city I've ever been to. Its not like the US where there are tons of tall buildings and then apartments, it's just 2-3 storied buildings for hours and hours of driving. It's insane. My comp is from Bolivia and he speaks less English than I do Spanish. Let's just say we use our dictionaries a lot.  We aren't allowed to eat off the street or in members homes which is too bad, but we have a pencanista (a cook who makes lunch every day) and the food is sooo good. Our area isn't too bad but I cant wear my nice watch or bring my camera because I will get robbed lol. I'm legit a giant over here! It's hilarious!  To put it into perspective, my comp is considered tall to the people here. Our area, Prolima, is about 4 miles long and really skinny so we take the bus down the same stretch of street every single day. The bus holds about 20 or so people and costs 15 u.s. cents. The problem is that if there aren't any seats and I have to stand my head hits the ceiling so when i get off my neck is all kinked!!! The city buses are much bigger, about the size of the ones in Salt Lake, so its all good there. 

Our apartment is about the size of my bedroom in Salt Lake. Every building here has 2 inch steel bars so we feel pretty safe. We did a deep clean today that mom would be so proud of! Our district leader and zone leaders are amazing! I'm really sad because our DL is on his last transfer and our ZLs have 2 left. 

Funny story- we were teaching a lesson and we started talking about the importance of prayer and all of a sudden we heard this horrible noise. A little baby pig ran thru the middle of us with a dog chasing it!!! I had to blink a few times because it took me so off guard. 

President Stauffer, our mission president, is an amazing man. I'm really lucky to have him. Think President Grant (Elder Nielsen's former Stake President) mixed with Kyle Eliason (Elder Nielsen's former Young Men's leader - both were huge influences in Elder Nielsen's life). We had Stake Conference and he spoke along with some other stake leaders. He talked a lot about every member a missionary and it was really cool. The work is exploding here in Peru. I'm really lucky to be a part of it. One baptism a month is low. A lot of people here aren't legally married so that is really hard. Probably the most amazing thing about Peru is the people. Everyone here is just so nice and they LOVE their Savior. Everyone is Catholic and it's really nice because we aren't introducing Christ we are just adding on and filling in the blanks.

We have an investigator named Nestor and he is an angel. He lives with his brother and his 2 little girls in a tiny little house. He doesn't have electricity so we have to teach by candle light. Nestor has one of the strongest testimony's of God that I've ever seen. He has unshakable faith and is soooo excited to be baptized. He has a meeting with the Stake President so please pray that it goes well. His little girl is getting baptized as well and I get to perform the baptism!!! When we told him that we would be able to baptize his youngest daughter he started crying. A few days ago we were teaching him and we asked him to pray. It was one of the most spiritual experiences of my entire life. There we were huddled in a tiny house around a candle with a man whose wife left him with 2 little girls, he has to work all day 6 days a week and he thanked God for all that he has blessed him with. When he thanked God for this gospel I had an overwhelming feeling that it is all true. He is so excited for the Temple and to get the Priesthood. I wrote down some of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon and through broken Spanish discussed them. He reads it for at least an hour a day during his break at work and then by candlelight at night. I gave him 1 of my 2 BoMs with the D&C and the Pearl of Great Price included in it and you would have thought I had given him a car. He was beyond grateful. People like Nestor are the reason I am here. I cannot wait to learn Spanish so i can bring my own sheep to the Good Shepherd. 

The weather here is just fantastic. It's a little hot during the heat of the day but it really is perfection. We will have to wait and see about summer though. There are more dogs here than I have seen in my entire life. I have no idea why but they are legit everywhere. There are 2 that live with the people next to us. It's so cute to come home to them because as soon as they see us they take off after us. It makes me want a dog that much more. At night people let off fireworks and it's like WWE smackdown with dogs barking all night long. We were on our way home the other day and a bunch of dogs started chasing us!!! It was kinda scary but we were laughing the whole time as we ran. It felt so good to really run - I haven't in a while. With all this noise and my comp snoring worse than my dad it's a good thing I sleep like a rock! From the 3 wheeled taxis and the wild dogs, to the mountains and the smog, Peru is truly one of a kind. My shoes are always dusty and I'm losing weight already but I'm down for both of these things. I love you all so much! Thank you for all you have done for me. 

Love,

Elder Nielsen

10/6/16 - First Pics from the Field!

Elder Nielsen and his senior companion, Elder Vaca - "I'm so lucky, he's super cool. His English is only a little better than my Spanish. I'm going to learn so much!"

The Mission President and his wife picked them up at the airport at 1:00 am. The President said they were "tired and weary but very excited."

First Day in Peru! Off to the office for training and assignments.