2/27/17-Pics of the week

"These chips are honestly so gross. Silly Peru, never change."

"Two of the most important people in the world to me. If you know them, I'm sorry, but I love them."

2/27/17-I Love Lima

This week was a very interesting one to say the least. We were working really hard and everything was gong great. We were knocking out the commandments with family Saccsa and it was looking so good. Then came tithing. The father wants nothing, absolutely nothing to do with it and now he won't answer our calls or the door. The ironic thing is that he is by far the best off of all of my investigators. He has a 3 story house and a car and is a lawyer. Please pray for them. 

Our pension, the sister in our ward that is our cook for lunch, called Wednesday and said she didn't want to cook that day so we ate at a restaurant. The food was good but I started feeling really weird. I had hands down the worst food poisoning I have ever had in my entire life. It was miserable. We had to come home the following 2 nights early because I literally couldn't walk I was so weak. I am feeling a lot better now thankfully!

Maybe it's just me but I'm starting to feel the weather cool down which is so nice. Lima is hot, but thankfully not unbearable - I just wish I could wear shorts hahaha. My Spanish has come a long way but I still have so much farther to go.  I want to be really good so i just gotta keep working. 

Happy birthday to my little brother Michael!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow time flies and he's looking older and wiser too. I'm so proud of you buddy!!!

We have this recent convert that has 4 months as a member. His name is Domingo, which means "Sunday" and he's just the funniest guy. We take him to lessons like every day because he is 75 and works like 3 hours a day. We always get talking about funny questions like "what weighs more? 100 pounds of really heavy rocks or 100 pounds of really light feathers?"  He thinks for a second and then says they are the same and we laugh, classic. Anyway, yesterday we got into really hard questions and I asked him this, "if a tiger is 24 minutes what color is June?" We walked in silence for probably 3 minutes and my comp and I were walking behind him just dying of laughter - it was so funny. He turned around and said, "I don't know, you win" and I couldn't breath I was laughing so hard. I love Domingo so much. We call him our "secret weapon" because whenever we need anything just one call and bam! he's there. He's such a wonderful soul.

I love Lima for many, many reasons - the food, the dogs lol, the language, the weather and the craziness but honestly what makes Peru wonderful for me is the people. There are so many people here who are just such wonderful people and I have a testimony that if you pray to feel the love the Savior has for someone you will love them in a new way, a new light and that light is the GREATEST THING ON EARTH!!!! Alma 28:14! The work is the best and just because you don't have a name tag on doesn't mean you aren't a missionary. My Nana wrote me a letter and it had this quote, "always preach the gospel and when necessary use words."  A simple smile or "how are you" can change the course of someone's day, and for all you know their week or life. By small and simple things great things come to pass. 

I love you all! Thank you for all you do for me and please pray for Jessica, family Saccsa. 

Love,

Elder Nielsen

2/20/17-Pictures

Elder Nielsen's apartment

View from Elder Nielsen's window

P-day soccer

Elder Nielsen and another missionary

Elder Nielsen and Elder Limachi

2/20/17-Giant Gringo Problems I Guess

This week was really really solid. We had 8 investigators come to church and it was so amazing. The work here is good and my comp Elder Limachi and I get along really well. We laugh a lot. 

We were walking about 9 at night and ran into this old couple. He was wearing a cowboy hat and we were all laughing and asking where we could buy a hat like that and how nice he looked and honestly it was amazing. He invited us to his house but it was getting late so we taught him the next day. His name is Pedro but he says it Peter because it's English. The ONLY English he knows is "cash money" and he says it for stuff that makes no sense - it's soo funny. He loves to sing and he gave us a dvd of him singing - it might just be the greatest thing in the whole world. 

I was finally able to pet a real llama and alpaca!! This man was just standing on the side of the road with them and he let us pet them but no pictures. He wanted a lot of money for pictures and I don't have a lot of money. I asked if I could ride it and he said I would hurt it ;((( giant gringo problems i guess. Oh well, it was still fun tho! 

I played soccer again and I am getting better - it's really nice. It's still frustrating because I can't use my hands but it's coming!! Our zone is honestly so sick - I have so many friends and our zone leader is the best. His name is Elder Sanchez and he is from northern Peru. He has about 3 years as a member and honestly he is one of the best missionaries I know. I started calling him "President Sanchez" because I'm sure he is going to be a mission president or a stake president one day and now legit everyone calls him that - it's so funny. I am really blessed to have such a great area and zone and I am so excited for the next little while here. 

We have been working with this family that was taught by missionaries before us. They are the family Saccsa and they are really good people. Please pray for them. They have a date for the 4th of March and I'm really really excited. Jessica is really sick but her 2 boys came to church - it was great!! It's just so hard because you want everyone to just get it so badly and come to the light but everyone has their agency. 

This weeks scripture is the 36th chapter in Alma. It's his testimony to his son about his conversion and it's honestly beautiful. The power of the atonement is never ending and it's real!! Christ lives!!! I love you all and thank you for all you do!!

Love,

Elder Nielsen

2/13/17- Pictures

Elder Nielsen and Elder Garcia - "I love these people"

P-day fun with Elder Nielsen, his new companion and other missionaries

2/13/17-A Walk Out Balcony And A Walk In Closet

WOWOWOW WHAT A WEEK!!!!

First and foremost HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone who knows her send her wishes of happiness and for all of you that haven't had the grand opportunity of meeting her yet you're missing out! 

We had chambios! and I got hooooked up! President closed my old area so now there are only 2 missionaries in our ward, not 4, so our new area is our entire ward including my old area!!! I get to live right next to the chapel. Finally it's not 40 minutes away and my house is easily 4 times the size! I even have a walk out balcony and a walk in closet!!! I also have 2 pensions (cooks) hahaha yeah it's nice. I got my new comp and he's also from Bolivia. For those of you keeping track at home I'm 3 for 3 Bolivians here in Lima and the funny part is they are all from different parts of the country. His name is Elder Limachi and he's so funny. We have a good time. 

We have been working really hard but for 4 days we hit absolutely nothing. We contacted some old investigators and one of them told us he doesn't believe in God anymore. Great. The other day a recent convert came with us to teach an investigator because she lives alone with her daughter so we needed another man. This guy is so crazy. He's 75 and you never know what he is going to say. It's seriously like walking on broken glass because sometimes he bears the most powerful testimony and other times he talks about his work schedule or about how we shouldn't eat a lot of fruit because it says not to in the New Testament... what?. lol   Finally after a difficult few days my comp and I were walking and started talking to a man who had come to our church just because he was interested, not because he was invited. We taught him and he is excited about getting baptized the 11th day of March!!! 

We went over to Jessica's house, single mom with 5 kids that I mentioned last week, at 7 on Sunday night. When we walked in she was so happy to see us but to our surprise there were 7 ward members already there visiting and laughing with her!! I love the people here! Jessica inspires me and I love my ward.

We had a ward party and man, it was probably the funniest ward party I have ever been to. Our assistant to the ward mission leader is legit the funniest person I have ever met. He has 2 phones because he likes phones and he always always always always has headphones wrapped around his ears but never in them. He is always covered in paint and the top and bottom part of his shirt is always open.  Anyway, he brought a cuy, a hamster, and we were going to play a game with it. There is a big circle of cardboard boxes and we drew numbers. When the box with the cuy in it gets picked up the cuy runs into another box and if it's your box you get a soda.  Really great right? Yes, except it's slightly warm here in Lima and when he picked the box up nothing happened. Everyone was all excited and then... nothing. It turns out the cuy had a heat stroke and died! All the little kids were soo sad.Gotta admit it was so funny. 

We are learning about President Hinckley and wow what a man. One thing I am trying really hard at is trying to be more positive in all that I do. It's hot here but at least it's not like unbearable.  Yea Spanish is hard but it's not Finnish (shout out to my sister Jenessa who served her mission in Finland). I was praying for help and came across this scripture in Philippians. I want you all to read it and think about how it applies to you. 

Philippians 4:11 and 12

Have a fantastic week.  Everyone please pray for my grandma who had a stroke this week. Also please pray for Jessica and Reynaldo and for Segundo and Anna Lusuia and her daughter and all the people missionaries all over the world are teaching. I love you all and may my GOD be with you until we speak again.

Love,
Elder Nielsen

2/6/17 -- Mission pics

Elder Nielsen and another Elder before transfers

Elder Nielsen and Br. Sanchez

Bro. and Sis. Sanchez and Elder Nielsen

Elder Nielsen and Elder Salinas with the Sanchez family

Dahlia with her mission call to the Massachusetts Boston Mission- yay!

2/6/17-Come Unto Our Christ

WOW WHAT A WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SHOUT OUT TO DAHLIA FOR HER CALL!! BOSTON IS GOING TO BE FOREVER A BETTER PLACE BECAUSE SHE WAS THERE!!!!!!!!!!!! Words cannot express how excited I am for her and how proud I am. Mission calls take on a whole new meaning once you are on a mission or have served one, its a privilege and an honor. 

I said goodbye to my district leader Elder Miglionico and my Comp Elder Salinas, both were great missionaries and I learned so much from them. This cambio flew by and everyone just keeps saying it does nothing but speed up. I got to be comps with Elder Garcia tho for 5 days and honestly it was so amazing!! He's a great dude and we became friends so fast. It's so nice having someone understand my humor- I think I've laughed more in the last week than my entire mission combined. He's a goon. I love him.

We had a miracle!! We were working and it's getting really really hot here but we wanted to find a family so bad we refused to quit. Well this lady just straight up runs towards us and says she wants to come to our church. She's a single mother and has 5 kids, 4 are above 8 but the oldest is 14. She's a saint. Her name is Jessica and please pray for her. She said this last year has been horrible for her and she just got jumped and they took her phone, money, id's, credit cards, documents for her kid's school like birth certificates etc. Her friend who is Mormon told her to go to a Mormon church and seek out God. Long story short this was Friday night and she couldn't talk to us Saturday because of work but we made plans for church. Sunday morning and we picked her up and she came all 3 hours and loved it! And this is before even having a lesson!! We went back later that night with an amazing family in our ward who also have 5 kids and they became friends so fast. She has a baptism date for the 11th of March!!! Please please pray for her and her family. She is so amazing! It would be an honor and a privilege to help them come unto our Christ. 

Transfers are today and I really don't think I'm going anywhere but you really never know these days. I am so grateful for my time here in Puente and the people here are really second to none. I KNOW that transfers aren't random and through our President they come from God. It's an honor and a blessing to serve a mission and I really am so lucky. It is absoluletly indescribable to close your eyes in the sacrament prayer and hear the voice of someone you baptized into the church. I testify this work is true and there is nothing in the world like it. 

I've been reading a lot (surprise lol) and been thinking about what Elder Cook said when he came and talked to us. The last chapter of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the beginning of Acts is when Jesus is resurrected and comes back to the Apostles. He primarily talks about PREACH MY GOSPEL. We need to feed his sheep, bring our brothers and sisters to Christ, and we are honestly so lucky to have this. Thank you all for your love and support and one more time shout out to Dahlia - she is everything to me and I would not be here without her. Boston is beyond blessed to have her. 

Love,

Elder Nielsen