Back to Camarin? Wait.. Seriously?

Well. Well. Well. Where to start? This week has been a crazy one. But let's begin our story on Monday. It all started on Monday, during our P-day. Elder Ricafort and I were doing a little cleaning and just hanging around our house when we received a call from President Bertin. ( A little background story..   Earlier that day Elder Ricafort emailed President about our concerns with our investigators and he said he wanted to talk to President.  ) So when we received that call, we automatically assumed that he was calling to talk to us about our investigators, ( heroine, Law of Chastity problems, cigarettes, lying, literally all of the above and more. ) President talked to Elder Ricafort for a while, then he said he wanted to talk to me. And while he was talking to me he mentioned about how transfers were coming up and how Elder Goodwin was leaving the office ( then I knew..) then he said he has prayed about it and he feels like I should be the next Assistant. I was shocked. That was not something I was expecting to hear. But I said I would do it. Then two minutes later Elder Goodwin and Elder Perkins were calling yelling and congratulating me. I was not sure if I wanted to be happy or sad. I was very mixed emotions about the whole ordeal. Then the packing started.. The Assistants tole me that they would be picking me up the next morning about 7. So the rest was kind of a blur. A mix between packing everything up real fast and saying quick goodbyes to the members in Francisco Homes ward. I was not quite ready to leave all my new friends in Francisco Homes. 

Then before I knew it, the APs picked me up and then we had to go to a zone interviews. (my zone's interviews.) I was the first to be interviewed and President sat me down and said, well is there anything you want to talk to me about? or do you have any question? Then I asked him about his expectations for me and what I needed to do. He told me a little about the things that I would be doing and how I would not be in the office until the end of my mission, ect. Then he shared a very powerful story. He asked me if I remembered when he dropped off that on package at Tabang Bridge, ( little background; When I was still in my first 6 weeks in my mission, I went on exchanges with Elder Westenskow. And on that exchanged, Elder Westenskow needed a package. So President and Sister Berin drove out to Tabang and met us and gave us his package.)  And I told him I remembered that day. Then he said, with the Spirit filling the room and his eyes starting to water, "when I saw you that day on the side of the road, a clear voice and impression came to me and said, He will be one of your Assistants." He said he has not really thought much about it until now. But he said he has thought about it and he said he felt now was the right time to call me. It was a very powerful experience and it also gave me a little comfort, that this the right thing for me at this point in my mission. 

The rest has been just crazy. I love working with Elder Goodwin and Elder Perkins. They are the best. Unfortunately Elder Goodwin is leaving on Wednesday. He will go serve his last three months in another area as a ZL. It has been so much fun being a Threesome with some of the best Elders in the mission. 

So I am back in Camarin, just in a different ward. Same church building. Same apartment. BUT not the same bed. I am sleeping in the one right next to the last one ;)

I have now been here for about a week, and Elder Perkins and Elder Goodwin are still introducing me to all their investigators, active members and less active members in their area. They have been doing a great job of guiding me around and helping me learn their area. I am very excited for this opportunity to work in this area. Elder Goodwin and Elder Perkins have worked extremely hard the last few months in this area and have had great success. I have also felt and seen the ward's desire to help the missionaries. The Camarin 2nd ward is very focused on missionary work. For example, on Sunday our ward missionary leader announced a new baptism goal for the Elders Quorum and the High Priests group. He set a goal to have 13 baptisms before November 17. The brethren are very willing to help and to give us referrals in order to reach this new baptismal goal. 

Elder Perkins and Elder Goodwin are two very experienced and mature elders. I have learned many new things these last few days just by observing them and working with them. They are two of the most focused missionaries that I have ever met. They love the people and they love missionary work. I trying my best to keep up with these two phenomenal elders. 

I am still trying to learn and figure out everything inside the office and out in the field. I am learning it all slowly, but surely.

I wish I could tell you everything. But there is no time. It has been a chaotic week. But definitely one I will remember. Thank you for all your love and support. I love all of you!

ps. I will forward Elder Perkin's email to you, this will explain a little about how our week has been going. 

Nagmamahal, 

Elder Nielsen 

Forwarded message ----------
From: Benjamin Perkins <perkins.benjamin@myldsmail.net>
Date: Mon, Aug 22, 2016 at 4:34 PM
Subject: The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round?

Based on the pictures below, guess what happened?

In case you couldn't guess, the story goes a something little like this.

Beginning: We were coming from transfer announcements (where everyone finds out where they are going to be assigned to, most frequently likened to game shows) in the more provincial part of our area, taking new short cuts, when we find out we have a flat tire. This is a first in my life. And especially the first time I have experienced a car problem without access to Siri (see: How to restart your battery on WikiHow). 

Middle: I forgot to mention we were in a rush to eat at the Feliciano's home, a member of the mission presidency that invited us over to eat before Elder Goodwin is transferred. Speaking of Elder Goodwin, the next best thing to Siri when it comes to car problems is having a companion from a small town that used to drive a truck full of potatoes for a job (plus Elder Nielsen- you sometimes need brute strength). They started taking metal out, shooting our car up and down (Groundhog Day?), and doing who knows what to replace the tire with our spare when we find out the spare is just as flat... 

Continued Narration: After getting the spare tire that was placed on the car again off, we realize we are nowhere close to a 'vulcanizing shop' (I don't know if they have those in America). We swallow our pride and call President and our senior missionary in charge of vehicles for help- no one can help us. So the next thing we decide to do is push the two tires (while running) to the closest store. It helps that it is really humid right now so there was just a little bit of sweat. Anyways, I thought I had received a lot of looks up to this point in my service as a missionary, but this topped it all. Everyone looked at three white guys running around pushing tires... I will admit I did not help in the pushing of tires, they assigned me to take pictures. I wanted to help... Really.. 

Ending: After getting sweating and dirty to various extents (see picture below), we made it to the place. And paid the equivalent to $1 USD to get the two tires fixed. I can't say the price suggests poor quality... Pray for us. And good stories always have good endings of course- we OYMed a couple of people along the way and have return appointments for the missionaries in that area for the next couple of days. God surely does work in mysterious ways... Including having three 'Joes' push around tires.

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The baptism service went great. It was probably the best one since I have been here. The special musical number including violin was great, the speakers did a great job, and a ton of members showed up to support Froilan and Christine. The baptism was really special and of course, my favorite part, their bearing of testimonies was really special. 

Both of them focused on the theme of change and how they in their various ways decided for themselves to enter the waters of baptism, despite starting off with support from members. They are incredibly special and we are excited for the start of their new lives, hopefully with missions and temple marriages just around the corner.

President and Sister Bertin also showed up which was cool. And so did quite a few of our investigators (the Espiritu family and Melva and JR). 

And to top it all off, there were a lot of meriendas (refreshments) prepared for us! 

I love missionary work and I love change. That is what the gospel is all about.

Elder Nielsen and Elder Goodwin are both incredible (dope as I would have said in my youth...).

AP Baby!!!

PHILIPPINES QUEZON CITY NORTH MISSION
Zabarte Rd. cor. Ilang-Ilang St., Almar Subd.
Camarin, Caloocan City

19 August 2016

Brother and Sister Scott Nielsen

1295 Dotta Dr

Elko, NV 89801

United States

Dear Brother and Sister Nielsen:

I am so happy to inform you that your son, Elder Nielsen, has been called to serve as an Assistant to the President in the Philippines Quezon City North Mission.

My two Assistants are invaluable in helping me in my administrative duties.  They counsel with me to set goals and formulate ideas to inspire the missionaries.  They supervise Zone Leaders; collect data; orient new missionaries as they arrive in the mission field; and train missionaries in Zone Conferences, Zone Councils, and other Leadership Training Councils.  Their spirit and inspiration are crucial and they are truly the hardest working missionaries in the field.

Elder Nielsen is a wonderful missionary and has great desire and faith.  His work and testimony are exemplary and he shows a remarkable love for each of the missionaries.  These Christ-like attributes have helped prepare him for this key leadership assignment.

Thank you for the opportunity of serving with your son.  It is a privilege to witness his growth as he continues to serve the Lord.

Sincerely yours,

Kim C. Bertin

Mission President

"And the Rain came a Tumbling Down.."

We had another good week last week. Unfortunately, our investigators took only one-step forward last week and two-steps backwards. Brother Arnold was supposed to have his baptismal interview last week, but we caught him smoking last week while we were walking down the road. He told us that he fell into temptation and smoked. He told us that he smoked only one cigarette, and that this is the first time he has smoked in the last four weeks. We felt that we should move back Brother Arnold's baptism for a few weeks, in order to make sure he is ready for his baptism. Brother Elbert our other progressing investigator was also supposed to be interviewed last week, but he confessed to us that he smoked a cigarette the night before, so we moved his baptism back another four weeks. NOO! It is a little frustrating. But it is part of missionary work. And it is teaching us patience.  Elder Ricafort and I have experienced many setbacks and trails the last few weeks in our area. But, we are doing our best to continue to press forward faithfully because we know that after all the trials and hardships, comes all the blessing and miracles. 

It also rained a lot this week! It rained pretty much all day, everyday last week. Even with an umbrella you still get soaked. So we are literally trudging around all day in the rain completely soaked. Haha you gotta love missionary work. The rain does make the temperature a lot cooler which is nice. The only problem is your feet and socks are never dry. But all is well, I love the rain. 

Everything else is going well. We are just finding, finding, finding, but nobody will go to church. But we know there is someone in this area that is prepared for the Gospel. And we are going to find them! 

But I can not really remember anything that has happened recently. But, I have been sewing up all my pants the last few weeks. Even though we bought size 36 in the waste they are still ripping in the crouch. Luckily, I mastered my sewing in my Home Ec. class in the 8th grade, so I have sewed them up and they look brand new. ( maybe even better than when I bought them ;)  ) 

Besides that, everything is just swell. Thank you for all the support and prayers! I love you all! Good Luck in School in a few weeks!

ps. I still have 50 minutes in my email time. So Pops and Mom, you still have time to write letters.

Nagmamahal,

Elder Nielsen

Calamaris

We had another good week this week. Our main investigators are still progressing and preparing for their baptisms. We are still working with our new investigators that have not been able to go to church. They are reading and praying about our message, but just have been able to go to church. Our main goal for this week is to teach them about the importance and blessings of going to church. We have been really focusing on working with members and part member families. And this resulted in many new investigators with many fellow-shippers, but many of them still have not been able to attend church. They just need to go to church! It is a big problem here!

Last week I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with Elder Howard. He is form Arizona. He is my kabahay. Elder Howard is a very new missionary. He likes to work hard, and he really tries his best. He is very bright. He is picking up the Tagalog language very quickly. He said he enjoys  the schedule and life of as missionary. I think he is adjusting very well to the new lifestyle. If he will continue to be diligent in his studies, I think he will be a very effective missionary. 

One thing that I have not told you yet, I am a big fan of all the street food here. I eat it all the time. My favorite is the calamaris or calamari. It is just deep fried squid. Then you dip it into this vinegar sauce. It is so good. Then they also have like popcorn chicken you dip in the vinegar sauce. They also have fish bowls, ( little fish balls with dip) quick quick ( hard boiled duck or quail eggs that are breaded that you dip in a sauce) They have a lot of lupia, which is just eggs rolls, Those are my favorite and those are generally safe. If you want to go a little more exotic. They have friend and grilled chicken intestines. Chicken feet. Chicken heads. Chicken blood. (just hardened cubes of chicken blood) and of course balut. I do not really eat these ones too much, because they are a little more dangerous and a lot easier to get the Rocky Mountain Quickstep of LBMs. But I just love the vinegar sauce with peppers. 

Oh one quick story. It started raining really hard last Saturday night. Like really hard. And we were teaching some LA's across this river. They have a little bamboo bridge you cross. ( three trees). But it was rainy so hard that it flash flooded the river. And the river filled up and was over flowing. It was almost touching the bridge. The water was just roaring. We had some class 5 rapids going. It was pretty crazy. But we had to cross the bridge again before we got stranded, so we crossed this little wiggly bridge with all this water flowing under us. It was pretty intense. But it was definitely one of my cooler experiences in my mission. 

Yes rain season is starting to heat up. It is really hot in the afternoon, but usually at night we get some pretty strong thunder storms. Oh another story I just thought of, this week while on exchanges a huge thunderstorm hit. And we were teaching this new investigator the Restoration. The rain became so strong and the lighting was SOO close. The closest I have ever been to lightening. We were teaching her outside under this little tarp. And lighting is literally cracking all around us. It was SOO loud and close. But it was so cool because I was testifying in this crazy storm and the spirit was soo strong. Then we would see a flash and duck. Then after the boom start talking again. Best experience of my mission By FAR. So cool.

Love all of you!

Have a great week!  ps. Free hunting and Job right? Can we get hooked up with that guide service? 

Elder Nielsen 

Everything else is pretty much the same

Overall, it was another great week as a missionary. Thank you for all you do President.

Elder Nielsen 

Early Huntin' Season

First off, I just want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUMMER! Woooowee! The big 14. You are officially church dance legal. That is exciting. Enjoy your Birthday and enjoy High School! It will be a great experience. Just work hard and enjoy every moment! You are truly a blessing in our Family!

We had another good week this week. Brother Arnold is still doing well. He has gone to church over eight times, and is now living the Word of Wisdom. He baptismal date is on the twentieth of August. Brother Elbirt is also still progressing. He has not smoked since the time we taught him about the Word of Wisdom. The ward and members have really fellow shipped him. He has many friends in the ward that are helping him along on his path to baptism. His baptism date is on the twenty-seventh of August. Brother Mark is another investigator that we have been working with for a few months. He also is addictive to cigarettes. We have been setting goals with him and working with him on his addiction. He has improved a little, but we are still trying to help him overcome his addiction to cigarettes. His baptism will be in a few months. We have had a lot of setbacks and trails this last week with our investigators. Many of our progressing investigators have been going on trips for their work, funerals, and going back to their provinces, therefore we have not been able to teach them the past few weeks. We are doing our best to stay in contact with them and keep their fires of faith burning until they get back. 

But everything is going well. Earlier this morning the Assistants came down and played basketball. Elder Goodwin  will leave the office after this transfer. He goes home in November. And Elder Perkins goes home in December. So we wanted to play one last basketball game before they left. It was a lot of fun. I missed them. It will be weird to see them leave. We woke up earlier and We played for 4 hours. The legs were a little weak after all the games. 

Then another fun story. Friday night, when we got home, Elder Rickafort went into our kitchen and said, " There is a rat" ( this has happened quite a few times.) ( and our kitchen is practically outside, so all the animals just come in and out. They last time we had a rat in the house he escaped, so we were determined to get this one. He ran out side and we kind of cornered him in a corner. We built a little barricade to block him from leaving. We were trying to catch him, but he was getting frantic and him made a run for it and slipped past our barricade. Luckily, I was standing right outside the barricade, so when he ran out, I just kind of reacted and kicked him. ( luckily, we all know I have a golden foot, and all my years of punting footballs really helped. )  so I made a solid contact. He flew about four feet back. But he got up and started running again. This time I use my baseball experience,I was holding an umbrella in my hand, so I loaded and swung. and hit a line drive. He flew right back into the wall. Knock out. Then I put a few more blows to his head and he was out cold. So the rat hunting season has began! Thank you for joining us on "Ruffin it Outdoors Missionary Edition". Tune in next week, to see the pictures ;) 

Everything is going great! I love my mission and the Gospel. Enjoy your last few weeks of summer!

Sumasaiyo,

Elder Nielsen 

Temple Runnin'

Sorry. I have slagged off a little bit on my pictures. But I will send some today.

Here are some pretty parts in my area. 

Another week already? Time just flies. We had another great week last week. Michael was finally baptized last Saturday. Baptism has been his goal for a long time, but there were many situations and concerns that had to be resolved before he could be baptized. He was very thrilled to finally enter the waters of baptism after so much anticipation. We are very proud of him and his desire to follow the example of Jesus Christ through baptism. We know his decision to be baptize will effect his kids and family for many generations to come. Brother Arnold is no longer smoking cigarettes. He was finally able to stop smoking last week. When he first started, he was smoking twenty cigarettes everyday. He slowly cut down on the amount of cigarettes he was smoking, until he finally stopped. We are so proud of him and his willingness to give up such an addictive behavior in order to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. While we were helping him smoking, we showed him a little math problem. We showed him how much money he was spending on cigarettes everyday, every week, every month, and every year. After one year of not buying cigarettes, he would save over 16,000 pesos. We explained to him that he could save so much money if he would quit smoking. He agreed with us, and was really excited to save this large amount of money. We explained to him that he must live the Word of Wisdom for four weeks before he can be baptized. He said he is willing to wait and live the Word of Wisdom the rest of his life in order to be baptized. Brother Elbert attended church again for third time. We taught him yesterday about the Word of Wisdom and he confessed to us that he had a problem with smoking. He said he was smoking one or two sticks everyday. However, he committed to live the Word of Wisdom. He told that he will not smoke anymore. We re-extended his baptism to August 27. All our other investigators are still slowly progressing, but we are stilling building up their testimonies of the Gospel and solving their concerns. 

It has been a good last few weeks of work. Elder Ricafort is really buying in and we are working hard together. He said he is starting to enjoy missionary work. That is the key, you have to focus on the people you are teaching and make it fun. We enjoy the work and we are workin' our tails off here. 

So about the picture I just sent. I feel like I am in the game Temple Run. The area looks just like temple run. Green, mossy, old brick ruins, and TONS of stairs. There are literally so many stairs here. You are either going up stairs or down stairs. It is a really good workout for the legs. My companion is still struggling a bit in the area because it is so steep. He always says the President exiled him. And put him in this area to teach him and punish him. hahha

But everything is going great. I love my ward, my area, and companion. The work here is great. I love it. It is hard work, but sooo worth it. I hope I am still in this area when we see the fruits of our labors.

I love you all! Have a great week! Chose the Right and return with Honor! 

Pagmamahal,

Elder Nielsen

Strikin' Gold

We had another great week this week. Brother Michael passed his baptismal interview yesterday. His baptism will be held this Saturday. He has shown a lot of faith and has made many sacrifices in order to be baptized. When we first started teaching brother Michael, he was not married to his living partner, but he sacrificed his money in order to pay for his and his wife's marriage. We are very excited for him, and we are glad he made the decision to be baptized. Brother Arnold is now only smoking three cigarettes a day. We set a goal with him, that by Wednesday of this week he will be completely cigarette free. He has shown great progression and determination to quit smoking in order to be baptized. Brother Elbirt is an investigator that we found two weeks ago. He has already attended church two times. He was taught by missionaries in Novaliches, but unfortunately he moved to San Jose Del Monte and lost contact with the missionaries. We met him one walking down the street, and he said he wanted us teach him. His baptism is scheduled for the 6th of August. Our area is really starting bloom. We had 9 investigator in church yesterday. Hopefully everything will continue.  

Elder Ricafort and I experienced a miracle this week. We were miraculously able to find the house of the sibling of our recent convert. We had searched for their house on a number of occasions, but we were never able to find it. On Thursday, we were able to find their kids who led us to their house. At first, we were not going to follow their kids to their house because it was far away and we had just came from that direction, but we felt prompted that we should ask the kids to show us their house. The kids led us to their house. We taught the mother and her children, and we gave them a baptismal date. On Sunday, she and her family went to church. We are very excited to keep teaching their family and help them prepare for their baptism. They have a big family. And some of their other family live close by and they are net yet members. I feel like we have struck a little gold mine in this area. All thanks to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. 

We had a little problem with one of our investigators this last week. The investigators is in kind of a weird situation. She lives in the house of her boyfriend (20) (who is a member) and his family (members). The girl (19) does not really have a home and has just finished her schooling, so she is a little low on money. We had the approval to baptize her. But we checked with the APs on last time. They called President and the President called us. We talked about the situation and President said he did not feel comfortable with them in the same house. They said they were not yet ready for marriage. The mother got offended when we told her. It was all just a mess. But President said if we wanted he could have his counselor interview her and she is she is ready for baptism. We have been praying about it the last two days, and we feel we should just wait for her baptism. It has been kind of a mess.There are three progressing investigators at their house.  The mother and her whole family did not go yo church yesterday. So we will see what happens... Da Da da Duuuun. 

The new companion is really nice. We get along really well. We are just trying to break some of his old habits like sleeping when we are working. But it is going well. I am being a little patient patient with him, but I think everything we be great. I think we will have a very successful transfer here. 
The Ether district is doing well. We are excited to have some new missionaries in our district. I am very excited for the upcoming months with this district. The missionaries in this district are planning on having many baptisms in the next few months. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to work with the missionaries in this district. 

The mission is great. The work is really great right now. I love being a misionary. The Gospel is so simple. It saddens me when LAs and Investigators do not understand how simple the plan of God is, they are not willing to make sacrifices here on earth. I love this work and love all you!!

Pagmamahal,

Elder Nielsen