For starters, we went to the mall to take out our money for the month. It was my turn, I was last and it woudn"t print me a receipt and you NEED a receipt. I went to all 3 ATM's and the last one ate my card!!!! Oh well, it was alright because I got the money the next day. Meanwhile we got burgers from this place while we waited for our zone leaders to call us back. I got my burger and it was pretty good but something was kinda off, I opened it up and it had fried bananas on it!!! It wasn't bad but I ate the bananas plain - I loved them.
We had a multi-zone conference and wow! It was amazing. It made me feel soooo great hearing the new guys speak spanish. It makes me realize how far we have all come. I'm not even close to fluent but yeah, I can speak Spanish and I understand over 90 percent of gospel Spanish which is a huge blessing. Many of our missionary leaders are leaving soon so we are going to have such a different mission here in the next two cambios aka transfers. Elder Cedeño is honestly one of the greatest missonionaries I have ever met. I want to be just like him. In the picture of the two of us he's the short one haha.
Our number 1 investigator Jonathan just moved away. Yep it stinks but I hope the missionaires there care about him too and guide him to the path of happiness. It's crazy how much I care about these people that I just met and can't even understand that well - but I can feel of their spirits.
Our logo for the mission is honestly so sick. It's an amazing scripture about who we are as a mission and what we are doing here, and then the scriptures and the tree of healing which is a really big thing here. That's what we are doing as missionaries is healing people and bringing them to the truth.
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I'm forever grateful to be a missionary and be surrounded by all these amazing people. My friends, Elder Canfield, Elder Stevens, Elder Tillman, my comp, my district leaders, Elder Miglionico - honestly all so amazing and so much more. Our ward is the best and the families we have here are second to none. I'm so excited to meet even more people.
I get asked a lot about how my spanish is coming along. People say my pronunciation is really pretty good and I can pretty much have a convo with people in the street, my gospel Spanish is getting really good and I understand pretty much everything. The only thing is I can't express myself how I want to yet and I don't understand stories or when people talk about stuff that I dont recognize the words for. I can read the Book of Mormon and understand it for the most part and I'm just starting to be able to learn from it!! That's a huge step because I understand it enough to learn and then in turn teach what I've learned, all in Spanish. Wow this is so cool. It's been extremely humbling but it really helps that my comp doesn't really know any English. I HAVE to learn it!!
My scripture thought is from the book of Jonah.
Chapter 1
The first 3 verses Jonah receives a call. We all recieve calls in our lives, such as to keep the commandmetns, be nice, serve a mission, serve in a calling in church etc.
Jonah runs away because of the trial, we all do that from time to time. Others try to help him, they try to bail the water out and make for the shore but they can't, it's his trial and he has to handle it.
He gets thrown overboard, he gives up and doesn't want to do it anymore. It's too hard, it's too scary.
Chapter 2
It's amazing to read how he gives up, he knows he is going to die and he accepts it, however God is sooooo merciful - way more than we deserve and gives him hope. It gives me such joy to compare verses 1:3 and 2:9. He is a completely different person!!! He has humbled himself and he is sorry. He has grown and is changed because of the trial and that gives me so much joy, because with God we can do all things. I know it's hard but I promise you can do it.
Chapter 3
He receives the call again and this time he goes, and he goes with all of his heart and soul, because he is changed and is converted. He ends up saving an entire city and even the king and the animals repent!!!!!
I love this story so much because if we look at our trials as too hard and impossible and give up we will never grow. We have to view them as stepping stones to saving entire cities.
I love you all! Thank you so much for all you do. Thank you all for your kind emails and all your uplifitng stories. I love you all so much. I really am the luckiest person alive.
LOVE YOU GUYS
Matthew 13:45-46
¡Gracias a Dios!
Elder Nielsen
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