Cow Stomach

1. and 2. Pictures from church yesterday. 

3. This is the ole E. Nielsen trumpo 

First Things First. HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPPA SCOTT! You are getting quite old! I was wondering if you were starting to slow down, old bones, aches and pains ect. But then I read your email about how you were playing basketball at mutual with all the young pups and was, and I quote, "schooling them". And you were completely drenched in sweat after. Then I thought, nope. He has not change a bit. His age keeps increasing, but in his head he is still 22. "You can't teach an old dog to quit." But hey take it easy over there! I don't want you to hurt yourself so I wouldn't be able to school you in basketball ( like I always do) when i get home ;) Happy Birthday! :D 

We had another very successful week this week. Our investigators are still progressing and doing very well. Sister Rosita attended church again last Sunday. She feels a lot more comfortable and has many friends now at church. Her baptismal interview is this Saturday. She was a little nervous about the interview and was not sure what she needed to do in order to prepare, but we explained the purpose of the interview, and told her that we would practice the interview and prepare her for her interview. She was very relieved after we explained this to her. We are very happy for her and this big and life changing step she is about to make. We have no worries or concerns for her, we feel that she is ready. Sister Joselyn, our other progressing investigator, also attended church last Sunday, and she brought one of her friends, that we have recently started teaching, with her. Sister Joselyn loves when we teach her and loves attending church. She has two wonderful fellowshippers that are present at all of our teaching appointments with her. They have invited her to Relief Society activities and have texted her just to check up on her. Joselyn's baptism is on the 9th of April. The last few weeks, we have been looking and trying to find an investigator family to teach. We have found a lot of new investigators, but we have not been able to find any families yet. Our goal for this transfer is to find two investigator families every week. We are still searching for those families that are prepared to hear our message. 

WE ate some cow stomach this week at a dinner appointment. It wasn't too bad. But let just say I wouldn't order it at restaurant. It was just really chewy and fatty. It didn't have a whole lot of flavor. I will tell you a little more about food next week.

Overall Another great week. The weeks move by so quickly! Every week I ask my companion, "Did anything interesting happen last week?" All the days just run together.  But it is a great time! I love his work. Everyday I learn something new about this never ending gospel. I love you all. have a great week! :) 

Pagmamahal,

Elder Nielsen

Ps. Sorry mom, I ran out of time, I will answer your questions next week! :) 

Get your Trumpo

We had another busy but also successful week this week. Everyday we had something we had to do or attend. Tuesday we had our district meeting, Wednesday we had to do transfers, so we had to make sure everyone knew how to get to their new area and ect., Thursday we had a Leadership Meeting. Friday we had weekly planning and had to do some baptismal interviews, and Saturday we had a ward FHE. It was a crazy week! It literally blew by! 

 Our investigators are really progressing and working toward their baptismal date. Sister Rosita visited her brother, who lives out of town, this weekend, so she was unable to attend church last Sunday. However, we had many really powerful lessons with her last week, all with her fellowshippers present in all the lessons. She continues to read the Book of Mormon everyday and is preparing for her baptism. We also had a really successful week teaching Sister Joseline, our other progressing investigator. Last week, we really focused on finding her more fellowshippers in ward. She attended our ward's Family Home Evening on Saturday and we introduced her to all the Relief Society sisters and they all took her under their wings and helped her feel comfortable. She attended church last Sunday and brought her teenage daughter and all her friends to church with her. She is really progressing and her testimony is getting stronger and firmer everyday. 

Our mission is focusing on increasing our number of convert baptisms that we have. Last year we had over 900 convert baptisms and this year we want to raise or even double that number. For the meeting on Thursday we had to come up with a goal for the number convert baptisms we wanted to have in our zone this transfer and the next. Last transfer we only had 4 baptisms in the Camarin Zone, we average around 7 a transfer. So we really wanted to increase that number. We looked at some number and statistics and we made a goal of 23 baptisms for this transfer. President thought that was a little high, but we told him we think we can really do it. And as of now we already have 8 baptisms in our zone. And we have lots more baptisms lined up. We think it should be a very exciting transfer. 

Yes mother, it is getting hot. Very hot. April to May is the hottest time of the year here. The highs this week are all in the 100s. Plus the humidity. But you can't the weather I've learned. You just have to keep going. I think my body has adapted to the heat quite a bit, but I still am constantly sweating. I think I have just adapted to being constantly sweating and hot. But it is great! You gotta love the heat! 

And yes mother, we just walk around all day. But we have a really good area, so we can get 6-10 lessons in a day. So thankfully we can do more teaching than walking. And yes I think my body has stayed the exact same. I walk a lot, but I eat a lot, so in the end it evens out. 

And to answer your question from last week. Yes I do know Victoria, her last name is Deguizman. She is a very nice little girl. She was in my graduating class.

We have taken up playing with trumpo's these past few weeks. They are a little top thingy and string that all the kids play with here. They are actually pretty tricky to get the hang of, but I have officially mastered the skill, now I am learning tricks. All Filipinos are surprised that this big American knows how to do it, I think I earn a little more respect from them ;) Sorry I don't have any pictures, just look it up on google or youtube.. haha

It is a great time to be a missionary. The weeks just fly by. I am trying to follow Dad's council and enjoy every single moment. It is going by way too fast.  It truly is a special time in my life. And I love it. Have a Great Week! 

ps. Mom, I memorized all the amendments in high school. You could do that next? ;) 

LOVE, 

Elder Nielsen 

I have never Killed a man before..

Sorry! I forgot to tell transfers were this week so I would email today instead of yesterday! Wow this transfer has absolutely flown by! By far my fastest transfer yet. We had transfers yesterday and I am... staying in Camarin! :) This will make it 6 months here. But I don't mind, I will serve wherever the Lord wants me to serve. Elder Alejandro is still my companion so no changes here. And this is his very last transfer in the mission! So in missionary terms, I am going to "kill him"! I will have officially killed an Elder! 

We had another very successful week this week. Sister Rosita attended church again this week. She has now attended three times, with two consecutive Sundays.. She is she really progressing and her testimony is growing everyday. We decided Sister Rosita needed a few more fellow shippers at church, so yesterday we asked Sister Abrasado, a recent convert, to come with us and help us in Sister Rosita's lesson. It was a wonderful lesson and the spirit was very strong. We are excited for her upcoming baptism on the 2nd of April. One of our investigator families we are teaching really wanted to attend church, but they were a little nervous to go by themselves, so we arranged to go to their house on Sunday morning and go with them to church. Unfortunately, on Sunday morning something had come up, and the parents were unable to attend, but their teenage children still able to come to church with us. The parents promised they would go next week, we are praying they will be able to attend next week. We are continuing to search for those elect  children of God, who are prepared for our message. 

Some fun little stories, so I don't think I have told you but spider fighting is really big here in the Philippines. So in the Philippines only 20% of spiders are poisonous, compared to in America where 80% are poisonous. So most the spiders are usually always safe. People go into the mountains and jungle and bring back these big cool looking spider and sell them to the Little kids for like 5 to 10 pesos. The kids keep them in these little matchboxes with a bunch of little compartments. Then when they want to fight them, they take them out and put both of the spider on a little stick. Then the  spiders start attacking each other and trying to wrapped the other one with his webs. Eventually one of them will wrapped the other one up and kill it. It is really exciting to watch. And when adults spider fight, they usually put money on it, so it is a bit of a bigger event. 

And NOTE: Next week we have temple P-day, so I will email on Wednesday next week! 

I am excited for the upcoming transfer in this area. Elder Alejandro really wants to finish strong, and I am excited to work along side him on his last transfer. This is a lot of work that needs to be down in this part of the Lord's vineyard, and we are honored to work here. I am constantly trying to improve myself and become a better missionary and son of God. Thanks for all you do! Ingat! 

Mahal Kita 

Elder Nielsen 

BUSY!

We had another great week this week. Sister Rosita is continuing to steadily progress. She attended church again last Sunday and is continuing to read the Book of Mormon, she has already passed 2 Nephi 10. Our main focus for her is to finish up her lessons and prepare her for her baptism on the 26th of March. We also had three investigators attend church for the first time last week, Sister Cascarro, Sister Joanne, and Sister Joselyn. Sister Cascarro and Joanne are neighbors, and we have been teaching them for the past few weeks. They show a lot of interest in our lessons but were not coming to church. We decided we would give them one more chance to attend church and if they did not attend we would drop them. Luckily they attended church and seemed to really enjoy our meeting. We hope this is a sign, that they are still interested and will start attending weekly. Sister Jocelyn is a investigator we had found many weeks ago, but we have had a hard time meeting with her. However, recently we have coordinated our schedules and we are teaching her again. Sister Joselyn has been attending the Iglesia ni Cristo Church for the last few months, but she said she is not convinced that it is the true church. She really enjoyed church and the Gospel Principle class. We have very high hopes for her. 

I also had the opportunity to go on exchanges last week with Elder Miguel. He is a very quiet and humble missionary. He is a very good teacher and teaches the doctrine very simply. I had the opportunity to get to know him better and about his life. He is overall a solid and humble missionary. 

 Sorry I had to report to President about a little problem and I had to reply to the 3rd ward Young Women so I ran out of time to write anything else! I am really sorry! Next week na lang! I'll attached the letter I wrote to the young women so you'll have a little longer of a letter.. Please make sure Sister Simons was able to receive it? thanks!

Thanks Brianna, Sophia, Penelope , Ivy, Sister Simons and all the other Young Women that helped with the package or sent letters!

I really enjoyed your package! The food and snacks were great and the letters were very sweet, I kept them and put them in my journal. You guys are Great!

The Philippines is absolutely wonderful! It is beautiful here and the people are soo nice. The food is a little different than back home, but it is just as tasty and fun to try new types of food! Like balut.. ;) Tagalog has been really fun to learn, it is a little hard sometimes and my tongue gets tied, but it is still a fun experience. 

The mission is great. It has absolutely blessed and changed my life. I have learned so much about this wonderful gospel. Sometimes it gets hard and you miss your family and friends, but it is all worth it in the end. I heard a quote I really liked one time; "A missionary is someone who leaves their family for a short time, so others can be with their families forever." My testimony has grown so much because of my mission. I encourage and invite all you young women to serve a mission when you are older! It will honestly change your life. 

Thanks for all your wonderful examples to me and to others. Continue to read the scriptures and pray every night. I know this Church is the true church. I have no doubt about that. Be an example of the believers at your schools. Don't be ashamed of this wonderful Gospel and light you have. 

Thank you so much for your support and snacks :D 

Pagmamahal (love)

Elder Nielsen 

Thanks for lahat Fam Bam! 

President Nelson

1. Mission Picture. "Where's Waldo?!" (Elder Nielsen) 

2. Choir Picture. I still have my choir face smolder ;) hahaha

We had another good week this week. We had a very successful week teaching Sister Rosita. She is currently in 2 Nephi 9, and is still reading everyday. Last week, we asked how her preparation for her baptism was going, she answered and said, "I'm ready." She loves coming to church and reading the Book of Mormon. Her granddaughter has been coming to church and primary activities with Sister Chimene, a recent convert. Sister Mago, her fellow shipper and neighbor, said that last week Sister Rosita  bought 3 dresses so she could wear them to church. We are very happy for her progress and love seeing the changes she is making in her life. Our other investigators are slowing progressing, but there is still something missing. We are trying to figure out what they need in order to help them progress and come unto the fold of our Savior. 

Our Recent Converts and Less Actives are continuing to show signs of progression. Last Sunday, one of our less active members attended Stake Conference, this was the first time she has been to church in many years. While she was active, something happened and she got offended and has not been back to church since. We have been working with her, trying to build her courage and faith, and finally she went to church with her neighbor who is a member. She said she would go to church again next week too. Most of our Recent Converts are really progressing. They continue to go to church and activities. Unfortunately, we have a few that have fallen by the wayside, and attend church every now and then. We are trying to help them get back on the straight and narrow path and stay on it. 

We also had Mission Conference this week and it was a wonderful experience and I really learned a lot.We rented a jeepnee for our zone and we drove to this really big chapel in Manila, ( 3 Floors). We got there and there was so many Elders and Sisters, half of them I have not even met before. Then everybody just kinda talked/had personal study. But Elder Alejandro and I were selected to be in the choir ( I forgot to mention that...) so went and did a little practicing before the meeting started. All the missionaries went into the gym and lines up for the picture and waited for President Nelson. When he came in the room just went silent. It was a special moment. We took the picture, then he stood by the entrance of the chapel and shook each of our hands as week walked backed in. Another really special moment. Then we had our meeting. President and Sister Bertin spoke. Elder and Sister Hayne spoke ( area presidency) and Sister and President Nelson spoke. It was great. All the talk were so good. My favorite was President Nelson, he talked about repentance, obedience, the blessings of serving a mission, and answered a few questions. It is hard to explain in email. But it was great. I will write more about the talks next week, sorry a little cliffhanger. But one thing I really noticed was how old and fragile President Nelson is. He is 91. He seemed so quite and reserved but when he spoke, he literally seemed 10 to 15 years younger. The spirit literally filled him and strengthened him while he was speaking. It was crazy. He is a character too, he was cracking a few jokes. It definitely strengthened my testimony of prophets and apostles. I was thinking about this throughout the week, and I was just thinking, these men have to be called of God, I have never met a smarter 91 year old in my life. God has preserved their health and their minds for their sacred calling. Most 80 to 90 year olds have lost their memory but all the quorum of the 12 are as sharp and smart as ever. That is a witness in itself. 

 One quote that I really liked by President Nelson, he said, " Repentance is not an event. It is a process." Repentance is something that we need to be continually doing in our lives. It should be a process that happens daily, not just a few times every now and then. I think that is something I can apply more in my life, to repent more often and make repentance more of a process than an event. 

Great. Great. Great. Week. I sang for and shook the hand of an apostle of God. A modern day Peter or Paul. I know this church is true and apostles and prophets are called of God. Looove you all. 

Elder Nielsen 

Sis. Abrasado is Baptized!

First off. I received your package! It got her safely, there was a little mix up, but your prayers have been answered. Thanks for the retainer! It was a little tight when I wore the first few times, meaning my teeth had moved a little, so it is great to have that. And thanks for the jerky! That's the first real beef I have had in a long time. Beef is really expensive here. Only Pork and chicken for me. I also received a package from the YW in our ward! I'll send you a picture of it next week. But it was really nice. Will you tell sister Simons I received the package and I will write a thank you letter to her and the girls next week. 

We had another good week this week. Sister Abrasado was baptized last Saturday. The baptismal service was a nice experience and went really well. Sister Abrasado had many of her friends and fellow shippers at the service, supporting her. Then yesterday she was confirmed and received the Holy Ghost. We are very confident that she will continue to progress in the church. She has a very strong testimony and desire to be an example for her kids. Our main concern now is trying to get our other investigators to progress. We have found a lot of new investigator families, who show a lot of potential for progression, but they just aren't attending church. We did a lot of finding last week, trying to find that family or person who is ready for our message and ready to make these commitments in their life. 

We are continuing to have a lot of success with our Less Active members in our ward. The last few weeks, we have been finding lots of less actives who are ready to come back to church. On Saturday night, we taught a less active for the first time, then the next day she went to church. It just goes to show, there are less actives all over who are ready to start coming back to church. They just need a little push to help them get back on the right track. 

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to go on splits with Elder Tripole ( he is one month younger than me and my old kabahay in Malolos) while Elder Alejandro and Elder Mabala went and had their x-rays done. It was a lot of fun!  It was a great opportunity to work with him, and learn from him. He is a great missionary and has a strong desire to serve. He is great at "OYMing", he is very friendly and warm so we had a lot of success in finding. He is overall a solid missionary and teacher.

I will send Pictures next week of the Baptism. 

Sorry I am running a little low on time, so have a wonderful week and chose the right! And President Nelson comes this Friday to visit our mission. I am really excited! Thanks for everything. 

Pagmamahal,

Elder Nielsen

Ps next time send it to this address: Letters:

Zabarte Rd Cor llang-llang St
Almar Subd
Camarin, Caloocan City
1100 Quezon
Philippines

Packages:

Zabarte Rd Cor llang-llang St
Almar Subd
Camarin, Caloocan City
1100 Quezon
Philippines

Filipino License.. and I still can't drive..

We had another busy but successful week this week. First, Sister Abrasado passed her baptismal interview last Saturday and will be baptized this coming Saturday. We do not have any concerns or worries for her, she has a very strong testimony and is eager and ready to be baptized. It has been exciting to watch her life be changed by the spirit these last three months. Sister Rosita, our other investigator, also attended church last Sunday for the first time. She was a referral from her neighbor who is a member (Sister Mago, the grandma of Chimene, she is so great) . She is very determined to receive an answer to know if this church is true. We started teaching her about three weeks ago and she is already in 2 Nephi 8. She has felt the spirit in our lessons and recognizes when she is feeling the spirit, she just wants to be sure this is what she should do. She has a great desire to know, and a great fellow shipper so we have very high hopes for her. We also had two other investigator sisters attend church for the first time. Unfortunately their whole family could not attend, but we are hoping the younger sisters will be the example for their family. The area is starting to progress again, we are starting to find those who are ready to receive the Gospel. It is a very exciting time in this area. 

We also had a lot of success in our Less Actives at church this Sunday. We had 9 LA's at church.  We had a family attend for the first time in many months. They were a bit offended and it has been hard for them to swallow their pride and fear and attend church again so we are very happy with the large step the have made. The father did not attend church, and we are still working with him. He has had some hard experiences in his life and his faith has dwindled a little, but we are praying for him and will not give up on him. We also have seen many miracles in our area the last few weeks, people have been placed in our paths many times last week. We found and met two different less actives on the street who are ready to start living the Gospel standards again. 

A few fun stories, so on Tuesday pretty much all the new foreigners went to the Philippines Transportation Agency to get licenses. But Unfortunately, we aren't getting cars in the mission yet.. We did that because there is some new rule in the Philippines that you cant get a Drivers licenses if you have less than a year on your Visa, so we had to buy them now if we wanted to be able to drive our last year of our mission. So I got to see all my fellow foreigners and hangout at the DMV place all day. They aren't too strict on who can get a license in the Philippines, they don't even make you a driving test or anything. You just have to pay 600 pesos and you have a license. So I know have a Filipino license, I think it is pretty cool :) 

And the presentation on Tuesday went well to the 300 to 400 students. Everything went well, I think it could've gone a little better, but I am pretty picky when I grade myself. But we had over 30 new referrals and students that gave their information to us to have missionaries visit them. Others took Book of Mormons, and pamphlets. Overall a great learning experience and pubic speaking experience! 

It has been a great week. I'm really starting to love missionary work. It is hard work, but the reward is better than what you give. I am very thankful for this opportunity to serve a mission. It is a special privilege. I love this Gospel and Missionary work, and I love all you! 

P.s I watched the videos dad send, that so crazy! And just like I thought, dad is trying to speed skate on the ice. Leave that to Apollo pops! And are you wearing my shoes?? hahaha it looks like you are rockin the old pumas! 

Mahal Kita 

Elder Nielsen