Big Blue

February 24, 2014

well, you would think that this week was better, but nah, it wasnt haha. man, i´m definitely in the ¨learning how to endure to the end¨ part of my life haha. to be honest, i´ve learned patience pretty well. i dont get upset, i handle things calmly, and try to resolve problems quietly. BUT, that doesnt mean i dont have the urge to punch people in the face sometimes haha. man. so tuesday was zone conference in caguas. it wa a pain in the butt getting a ride up there. we asked people in the branch if they could help us and no one would. one sister said ´yo no brego con aquellas cosas.¨  (i dont have anything to do with that).  awesome. thatnks for your help hermana.. finally got a ride up there from someone in the other ward in the other city over. ridiculous. anyways, in the car ride there, the member said I cant bring you back, but here is 20 dollars to help pay for the taxi ride home... cool beans. also, we got a ride from a sister, which i thought was against the rules, but i asked my zone leaders THREE different times if it was okay, and they said that yes, now it is okay. cool. so. we get in our zone conference and president smartt says alright, time for Q and A.. people start asking questions about doctrine, the scrp`tures, whther or not adam and eve had belly buttons, you know, the nornmal missionary nonsense. then my wonderful companion raises his hand.. President, the handbook says that we arent supposed to get rides with women, if there isnt another man in the car. why then, in certain districts, does the district leader say that it´s allowed?   President says Who says that it is allowed? It´s not allowed. At this point, the entire caguas zone is looking at me, because they know i´m his district leader. my comp says Oh, just certain DL´s say it´s okay...   President says who told you that that was allowed? comp says my district leader. Elder Nielson, who told you that that was allowed?  I just said No one, i made a mistake. i´m sorry. Presidert says No, it´s not allowed. Everyone clear?   So now i´m looking at my Zone leader like what the heck! i just got hammered in front of 70 missionaries by my comp. so now i thik that it´s over, but wouldnt you know, his hand goes up again.. President, it is supposed that we arent allowed to receive money from other people, other than the missionary fund that we receive each month. why then in certain districts, does the district leader receive money from other people?  President says how much money are you receiving?  my comp says it doesnt matter how much, it just matters... President cuts him off Yeah it does matter, becaus depending on the amount, i might come and work with your district leader for a day!!  haha (i love president smartt). he says No elder, missionaries arent to receive money because if youre here on visa, it´s illegal. so tell ¨whichever district leader¨ that is allowing that that it shouldnt be allowed..   WOW. i got tattled on twice in front of the whole zone. we go outside for our break (because the conference was from 10am to 830pm)  and my zone leader come up to me with some excuse saying that president said this, president said that.. thank you for not telling on me.. i was just like yeah man, it´s cool...   gosh. i´m not receiving a wage out here, i just took 20 bucks so i didnt have to walk home! it´s what they would have spent on gas anyways! and if i didnt use it, i would give it back, LIKE I DID. PLUS, i´m not here on visa, so it´s not illegal! haha joke.  but yeah. awesome.   later, my comp comes up to me and says Can i talk to you for a second?  Sure. whats up.  He says Sorry if that made you feel uncomfortable,but i took the chance i had to ask those question to resolve my doubts... i just said no worries, now we know..   man, that was one of those i wanna punch you in the face moments haha. Alright, just like with the other guy from last week, if there is a problem, TAKE CARE OF IT IN PRIVATE. my goodness. i dont understand whats so hard about that. best part about it? the next day, we´re walking home and a car stops and asks if we need a ride. it´s just a lady, no one else, and what does my comp do? hops right in! i wanted to strangle him. the rest of the night i didnt talk to him because i would have lost it. i wouldve done something really bad haha. probably just words, but still. i´ve been praying that the lord will help me love my companion, but it seems like it´s jut been getting worse. 4 more weeks and then transfers. i can almost guarantee i´ll be with him for more than one transfer, jut because i´m lucky like that..

what else. alright, so saturday night and sunday was stake conference. in cauguas. we didnt get a ride for saturday, so as you can guess, we didnt go. awesome. we had a ride, our branch president, but he called us saturday morning and said that he and his family wasnt goin to go to the conference. so we asked all day long, but no one could take us. miraculously, we got a ride up on sunday morning.  Elder Zivic, one of the seventy, was there. the stake president was conducting and said alright, we will now hear from the stake family choir. the choir stands up, and what do you know, the whole family of the branch president is there!!!  my gosh. i was just like seriously? if you´re gunna lie to me, at least think it through first. sheesh. but better than lying, jut look me in the face like a man and say Look, i dont want to spend gas money on you, and thats it! so yeah. then, president alvarado walks in, because he lives in humacao, part of the caguas stake. i went and said hi to him and he gave me a big hug, like 20 seconds long. it was cool to see him again. 

but yeah, long week. but it wasnt all bad. had some good moments, but couldve been better. maybe they´ll demote me to normal missionary again. that would be fine with me. im sick of seeing how people try really hard to be in leadership, and once theyre there, act like theyre hot stuff. it´s stupid. to get up there in leadership they turn into a lambon (snitch) to prove that they are so much more righteous than everyone else. everyone has their weaknesses and makes mistakes. we should help them to overcome them and be supportive, not be a snitch and act like a hypocrite all the time.. 

anyways, thanks for the box! everyone was happy to get their treats. and the bars are working great. the only problem is that they are gunna run out on friday hah. so if you could send more, that would be great! my favorite are the normal chocolate crunch ones. so more of thoe then the rest, but i like them all. thanks!

oh, im gunna send you the letter from Jim morgan today in the mail. DONT LOSE IT. trust me. you´ll understand when you open it. make sure dad opens it too.. it´s for him.

 i hope that greg can feel better soon. just so you know bud, i´ve got a headache too. he´s 4 ft tall and live with me (hahah).. but for real, you´re in my prayers!

anyways, gunna get off antes de que me chotean. love you!

Elder Nielson

February 10, 2014

nah i havent gotten the boxes yet, any of them... i'm a little worried now haha. did it have a tracking number?

to be honest, i cant stand my new companion.. hah. but for real. these six weeks are gunna be really long..

nah, president didnt say anything to us. but i found out yesterday that Hno Alexis, the guy who accused us, went to Humacao and talked to PRESIDENT ALVARADO about us and told the other missionaries there that we are doing bad things. awesome, now all of puerto rico thinks we're chuecos. it's stupid. makes me really mad. its like, alright, if we have a problem, cool, we'll fix it. but dont go tell the whole world! .

but anyways, sorry for complaining! we're doing pretty good here. it's still super hot, still walking. we have zone conference tomorrow in Caguas, and we dont have anyone to take us! ahh! we need a freakin miracle. good think we're on the Lord's team out here..

in my studies i am now in the book of judges in the old testament, and i'm in Enos in the book of mormon. i wish i could just sit at home and read the book of mormon all day haha. it's a good one. 2 ne 29 is epic. 

how was valentines day? hope it was love-ly. ;)   i remembered the valentine greg made me last year in spanish.. "te amo, tu eres mi vida. puedo ver las estrellas in tus ojos. tu me completas" hahaha classic.

yesterday i had to play the hymns in sacrament meeting. woooh. didnt like that.. haha. i'm mad that i didnt listen to you and learn how to play the piano!

our air conditioner broke the other day. that sucked.. we live in a concrete oven. dad knows..

Yesterday in church i had to play the hymns. I didnt really want to, because i'm not that good at the piano, but i was able to do it alright. I played the first hymn fine, but the sacrament one i didnt know how to play. we just sang the song a capella. i felt kinda dumb for that, because i was sitting in front of everyone at the piano, but not playing. after the sacrament, i went and sat in the congregation, and thought to myself, "yeah, im not gunna play the final hymn, a capella sounded fine. I dont even play that well anyways." The second talk was given by hna Laboy. She got up and said "today i'm gunna talk about the importance of developing our talents. When we are given an opportunity to use our talents to serve others, we must do it, or our talents will be taken from us and given to someone else. It is crucial that we develop our talents the the Lord has given to us." Man, in my face hah. i thought, "Ahh alright, i might not be super good, but if i can serve the members here in the branch by playing the hymns, i'll do it." So i played the final hymn. Not a huge deal, but that had an impact on me this week. I had the opportunity to develop my talent before i came on the mission, but i didnt take advantage of my time. but now, when given the opportunity, i should take advantage of it and just give my best. That's all the lord asks of us, is to just do our best. Give it our all. Don't give up. 

 i feel like this year has gone by pretty fast, but at the same time it's gone by SO slow. i definitely miss you guys, a lot. i know that this is where the lord wants me to be. sometimes i feel bad because there are days when i have almost no desire whatsoever to be here. i start thinking about home, you guys, byu, my shoulder, friends, or other stuff like that. but there are also days when i'm really happy to be here too. i dont know what the purpose of all of my trials are, but i know that one day i will realize what i needed to learn from all of them. sometimes it seems like the lord needs me to learn a whole lot because he keeps throwin all these curveballs at me, but i'm really trying to trust him. its funny, i teach the importance of having faith and trusting in the lord, and sometimes it's hard for even me to do that. i'm really trying though.  i'm learning a lot here and hope i'm making more good than i am making mistakes, because i'm making a whole load of them. sometimes i feel like i dont know whats going on, or sometimes i feel totally lost, but what always helps keep me going is when i remember that i am a child of god, and he has sent me here, has given me an earthly home, with parents kind and dear. He's helping me, guiding me, walking beside me, helping me to find the way, teaching me all that i must do to live with Him someday. i know i'm blessed and know that he loves me. He loves you too. always remember. 

I love you guys more than you think. i'm motivated by you guys. the harder i work, the faster time goes, and the faster i come home. Keep being the great examples you are to me and to the rest of the world. You will see the blessing from it, whether its now or later...

Con mucho carino y amor,

Jeff 

Patillas

Welcome To Puerto Rico

February 10, 2014

haha the jesus statue! that's what i'm talking about. i love the half mormon/half catholic religion here in PR..

well, i didnt get transferred, i'll still be kickin it here in Arroyo/patillas for at least 6 more weeks! so send me all of the things! but, easter will be in the Nextransfer after this one, so dont get too excited with the easter stuff just yet.. haha :)  but, my comp is leaving though, he'll be going to Levittown, and i'll get my new comp, elder colmenares. he's from aregentina too. so i'll still be living with 4 latinos. yayyy spanish.. haha it's cool though. i basically can't speak english anymore. they ask me to speak english to help them learn, but i literally can't. i just think in spanish. it's dumb. writing emails is hard sometimes! like when i had my interview with president smartt, he probably thought i was half retarded because i couldnt speak english very well haha.. but yeah, total boricua over here.

so what else. only one day of school, huh? lazy bums... 

so i was thinking, march madness comes up pretty soon.. be sure to send me a bracket! but, make sure it's not a link or anything, just a picture of the bracket so i can beat you guys..  Go Lopers!

you guys are in 2 nephi 15? not bad! i'm in 2 nephi 27. just got passed all of the isaiah. i'm also reading the bible at the same time. i'm in Deuteronomy 25, i think.. mas o menos por alli.  and jesus the christ, chapter 26.. and the book of mormon in spanish.. and preach my gospel.. ahh! too much to study, not enough time haha

oh, i finished the book of mormon in spanish for the first time on tuesday! in just under a year. watch out for speed racer.. haha.. nah, in dominica i didnt read AT ALL in spanish. so i did it in, lets see, april 24-june 5, then oct 4-feb 4.. so in about 5 1/2 - 6 months.. it's true! if you read the book of mormon in another language, you'll be fluent by the time you finish! i'm gunna start in mandarin..

so garret wrote me today and told me that i'm famous in Chile haha. he said that he told his comp about me, like some of the shenanigans we pulled, and showed him a picture, and now he is pumped to meet me. his comp is from mexico, but is gunna go to byu. he also said that some other argentino in his district is the same way haha. so your boy isn't just the big boss in the Northern Hemisphere, he's world wide!

As you can see, i'm still working on humility..

But yeah, that's my life. oh, so yesterday in church one of the counselors in the branch presidency pulled us into his office during the 2nd hour and talked to us. He told us that some of the members had told him that we have Ipods and Ipads, and that we go to people houses to listen to music and watch movies, and that we even have girlfriends. well, not have girlfriends, but that we are flirting with girls and doing un-missionary like things. Seriously? yeah right. if i were doing those things, my life would be a lot easier! hah. he said that he is going to call president smartt and tattle on us today. we havent heard anything from president yet, so.. it's not true though, so no worries. sheesh. 

so if you want something cool to check out on youtube, look up "la obra misional y la expiacion" by jeffrey R holland/henry b eyring. in english it's "missionary work and the atonement". it's like 10 minutes long, but it's GOOD. i'm halfway done, but lik ein football, after halftime, the score is always 0-0. gotta give it your all, through all 4 quarters. the party comes afterwards... 

Love you all and hope that you have a great week! here are a couple pictures. The first is the sign that has the name of my area, Patillas, with two bullet holes.. Welcome to Puerto Rico! 

Descansaos! 

Elder Nielson 

February 3, 2014

SEA-HAWKS! SEA-HAWKS! SEA-HAWKS!

ahh yeah son. the seahawks are so thug. peyton manning.. boooo haha

i thought that the super bowl was next sunday, until elder moore texted me during church and said "man, i'm more homesick for the super bowl than i was for christmas!"    and i was like "ahhh it's today!" haha. man, can't believe i missed the superbowl. sports, man. it's killin me. 

so this week went by pretty fast, but not much got done hah. for real, i dont understand how little we've got going for us here. we've been here for 5 weeks, and still NO ONE wants to listen to us. we go, contact people, set up a day to come back, come back, and they either ignore us or just straight up tell us to buzz off hah. sheesh. but nonetheless, we're doing what we can.

this week we had interviews with President smartt, in our apartments. that was a little nerve racking, but everything went well. even when you don't do anything wrong, it's still always a little nerve racking when the Big Boss comes to your house hah. my interview went well. the way that he does interviews is like this: we pray, and he says Alright, this is your interview. what do you want to talk about? if we have questions, we ask them, but if everything is cool, then we pray and that's it. my interview in november was about 30 seconds long haha. but this time, i came prepared. i had 6 deep doctrine type questions.. they were doozies. he answered all of them though. it was cool. he told me that he was impressed with me, and impressed with the types of questions i had. he said that he can see that my mind is focused on the things it needs to be focused on and that i'm switching my mind from thinking emotionally to thinking critically. he told me that this was an important attribute to develop. he said he knows that this area i'm in isnt easy, but he told me to just smile and keep doin what i'm doin. we can't fail when we're on the Lord's errand. we also talked about my patriarchal blessing, and he said that by how i described it to him, he thinks it sounds like an extraordinarily appropriate blessing and that there is no need to worry. when patriarchs get too specific in our blessings, it can rob us of agency. like if my blessing says "you will have 4 kids.."  what if i only want 1? or if i'm crazy enough to want 14? he said not to worry about it, and just trust in the lord that he gave me exactly what i need. Overall, at the end of the interview, he told me that he is proud of me and that he is impressed with my progress as a missionary. So all in all, it was a good interview!

so also, i started reading the Bible because i never have. this morning i finished numbers, and im starting Deuteronomy. i found out why Zach is the favored child in the family! Check out Leviticus 25:19. that explains it all!  but there is some weird stuff in the old testament..  check out numbers 23:22. Unicorns..

so elder mello called me again last night, and told me that Tina and Hailey are getting baptized this saturday! Ahh!  man, that means that now there were 9 people in dominica that i taught that got baptized! I miss dominica, and really hope that everything keeps going well there! it's things that that keep me going through the hard times here in Arroyo. I'm glad to see that the effort we give will make an impact at some point in time, whether it be now, or down the road. im glad that I have been able to the some of the fruits of my labors  here while i am still on my mission. 

anyways, i hope that everyone had a fun weekend, that every one has a safe week, and that you all continue to be good example to every one else!

Love you!

Elder Nielson