Thursday, October 29, 2009

Halloween Plans

bueno,

familia i just wrote you an email and i accidentally erased it and tryed to get it back but its gone. but hey thanks for the socks. im glad you only bought me 5-6 pairs instead of 12 cuz id get mad if you did. but sounds like you guys are still livin and doin well.

for halloween we might go to a trunk or treat that the branch is going to have because we'll have investigators there but im not sure yet. we do have to be in early though that day. thanks for the pictures. you guys looked good. dad you look like youve dropped some tacos in the last few months, looked skinnier. and mom you too. but ya you guys looked good. brooks you look like a stud but the only thing i would say is work on your upper body strenght and do squats so you can get quicker and do better in basketball. sarah nice dress. and blake you look good man keep doing what youre doin.

but this past week was great. we had a baptism this past sunday and it was a really great time. he's a great guy and is really going to be the next branch pres. but also we had the end of the transfer and changes. me and elder bateman are still together but on the other side of reading we got elder munson still and his new companion elder allred. so things are looking good so far this week and we have taught a lot of lessons already.

we have been walking a lot though because it has been raining the past two days and everything is soaked. the leaves are pretty cool and i tried to take a few pictures for ya mom. but ya things are going good. the only downer this week was we learned that probably we wont have a car at all this winter because the goal was for us to get one by december but since some other missionaries totalled a car the other week, we are one less on cars so the chances arent in our favor. but its cool, the members and some investigators have been offering us their cars to drive so we've been driving those. haha not really but they've been offering.

so thats all i got for you guys. keep it up and have a good week. love you guys

norman

Friday, October 23, 2009

Staying Put For Another Transfer

hey hijos mios,

como les va? well this next week is transfer week and ill be staying here. the trees are starting to turn colors and its really pretty up on the hill sides. i got a new bike and its a trek 3700 mountain bike so its pretty good. also im not going to buy boots, theyre not worth it and the majority of missionaries dont have em. my shoes are warm anyways. the only thing i would like for you to buy are some good socks like the REI ones or warm hiking socks that are colored so i can wear them. i couldnt find any socks that would be good at the outlet place when we went.

But let me tell you about that store, they had so much stuff for cheap it was unbelievable. if you guys need(or Johnsons) any jerseys or phillies or eagles or penn state or Red Sox jerseys of anykind that are really nice and cheap instead of paying 120 they're 20-40 bucks and t shirts are really cheap too. so just a heads up for christmas.

but ya this past week was really good. it was crazy cuz we had a winter storm last thursday and it was freezing, then today its like 70 degrees outside and we're sweating. but we had a lot of success and were able to help out a lot this week. we found some really cool people and yes we're still teaching the guy who fell off the roof, he has a baptismal date.

but we had our first experience with an anti-mormon guy this week. he was a nut and was too smart for his own good. he told us we were from the fake mormon church and all this other stuff that he understood from the bible. then he asked us if we'd ever met a demon before, and we said no but i asked him if he was one, to bad he said no but he was really attacking after that. we talked for a little bit and then finally we bore our testimonies to him and left. it was a cool experience though cuz we both grew a little bit stronger from that experience and we got a taste of how weird some other churches are.

also yesterday we had interviews with President and his wife. they went really good and it was a good talk i had with President. we have some exciting stuff coming up in the future and some of our investigators are going to get married so itll be fun. but ya all is well and we are doing pretty darn good out here in PA.

the people are pretty excited about the phillies and also a lot of people are excited about the yankees too. a couple of our members have to really sacrifice to come out with us on nights when the yankees are playing. but sounds like you guys are doing good too, keep it up and remember reir-which is spanish for laugh. take care love you guys, thanks mom for the package and the candy, my companion liked the silly string and stress head.

norman

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Two emails in one day!

hey guys i still got some time left. i got a story about one guy we are teaching. we found him and he was really nice, hes from DR and has a family of a wife and two daughters. we taught him the first lesson and then had plans to come back in two days. we came back after two days and had a lesson with him. but earlier that day he had fallen off the roof of his house. he was all bandaged up and had pillows behind his back and could hardly move. haha it was quite the site, but he still wanted to talk to us, so we watched the restoration video and taught about the book of mormon. he told us that he knew that God had spared him from the fall because he was suppose to listen to us. he didnt break any bones, just a really tight back and some scrapes and bruises. but anyways he's prayed and knows that this is the true church and is progressing really well. he wanted to come to church last sunday but couldnt because he couldnt move very well. but all our lessons with him have been with members so he already has friends and is really excited for this sunday. his wife and daughters are starting to listen too, at first they just said no we're catholica and then would leave, but now they are listening and his wife is really interested.

oh also we taught a lesson yesterday to this lady while tracting and haha her house was like 40 degrees, elder bateman and i were just hunched over with our arms crossed trying to keep warm, it was so cold. when we left it was warmer outside than inside her house, and it was cold yesterday.

but ya things are crazy here in reading. also we were told the other night at a members house, theyre recent converts that the first time they saw us they thought we were papichulos, or pimps. but i got to go love you guys. keep up the good work.

Finger almost bitten off by chiwawah

whats up everyone? so today is a pretty depressing day in reading PA. its been raining all day, we arent going to be able to do anything fun today like play volibol or basketball, just eat write and eat some more so we're going to have to work out hard tomorrow morning to burn this off. but other than that all is well,

earlier today at 9 we packed up our stuff for studies and also our clothes to wash and walked down to this members house. she lets us wash our clothes there and then while our clothes were being washed we study in the basement. then at 11 we went with a different member to Giant which is just like albertsons to buy food. he has a mercedes and is a really awesome guy so its fun being with him, but after we bought cookies, doughnuts, pop tarts and candy for the week he drove us back and we dropped our stuff off at our house. then he drove us down here to the library and now we're writing you guys.

but after this we're going to these outlet stores right across the street that are suppose to be really awesome and we're gonna buy scarfs, and other winter stuff. because yesterday we had a problem because it was probably a high of 50 and was pretty cold just walkin around. my stupid bike broke so we cant ride em anymore. just walk. but my back rim was bent a little bit and then from all the bumps in the roads and sidewalks and the patch we put on the tube, we think, has caused the rim spokes to loosen and some of them break. so my back tire yesterday was wobbling all over the place so it was bad. but p days are always like this in the mornings and then from like 2- 6 is up in the air to what we're going to do depending on the circumstances. but then at six we start proselyting again and have appts with people.

but the trees are starting to change colors and its pretty bonita aqui en la area. but not all of em are turning, its still pretty green, give it a week and it'll be muy bonita. but as for meals we probably average like 2 meals a week at a members house, but most of the time we cook our own stuff.

it was cool on tuesday we went with elder merrill on splits and he wanted to go to this chinese buffet that he said was really good. so we went and it was 7 bucks a person and was an awesome idea. it was the best chinese buffet id ever been to and everything was clean, there was a sushi bar with a bunch of different rolls, and then every other chinese food you could think of was there. so after stuffing ourselves we were eating some ice cream and one of the waitresses came up to us and told us that someone paid our ticket for us. so some old guy did it and we were all excited and stuff it was pretty cool.

but ya we cook everything ourselves mostly, i eat a lot of eggs, sandwiches, and pasta. we have a branch in our area thats it. so its pretty fun and its going to be a ward soon so we'll see what happens this stake conference in a week or two. for stake conference Elder Nelson is coming to it and also coming to talk to our mission so that is going to be sweet.

Sundays we have a meeting with the leaders at 1130 so we do our studys till 11 and then leave, then church starts at 1. then from 4-6 we have break or dinners sometimes. then from 6-9 we teach and find people. we have a meeting every wednesday and sunday with our ward mission leader and we teach a couple lessons with him a week so ya we work with him a lot id say. ive only had to give one talk so far and have never given my testimony or anything else in sacrament, they do make us participate in the doctrine principles class because the past few weeks they've been talking about eternal marraige and families and stuff like that so they make fun of us and tell us to pay close attention for the future.

but ya all is well, we are teaching some really awesome investigators right now and it is awesome to see the changes in their lives and the joy they feel from it. we havent had any crazy experiences but i did almost get my finger biten off by a chiwawah yesterday so that was funny. but we are doing good and the transfer is almost over so thats crazy, hopefully we'll be getting a car in a few weeks but we'll see. we have had some great learning experiences though and are doing good, it makes you feel good when someone tells you that the way you taught them helped them to clear up a lot of stuff and they can understand it now. but all is well in reading PA. the gospel is perfect, just not the members. read the book of mormon.

love you guys. norman -----

Thursday, October 8, 2009

A little homesick after Conference-not gonna lie

hey, como estan?

sounds like you guys are doing good keeping busy. i dont get your letters until fridays usually and no it hasnt rained in a while, just really windy and hard bike riding weather, but a lot of pretty leaves and trees.

how awesome was conference? it was so cool man, i dont know why we dont ever watch more of saturday conference because it is awesome. all the sessions were great and the speakers and talks were great too, i felt like every talk was directed right to me. how sweet is that that brigham city is getting a temple? im stoked about that temple though, also the talk about the manti temple by Elder Perry was pretty good too. but really you all need to read those talks, i am, and take a big bite of it.

but ya this week was really good. we have found some awesome families and had some fun experiences. dont tell anyone but we saw a guy get tazered the other day cuz he wouldnt get out of a taxi cab. that was pretty funny. but you guys dont need to tell people about that. you can tell em about amulek and his talking with Zeezrom or something like that. but we had a great week and i was a little down and home sick after conference im not gonna lie. after them talking about brigham city, manti, and sevier county, and return missionaries, i was pretty unfocused on missionary work and had a hard time refocusing. but its all good now and thank you so much for the box and cookies, they were delicious, but you dont need to send anymore stuff im fine.

also brooks i have a trek 7100 bike and it had a light on the front, and a bell. and sorry for making it seem like my companion was a newbie and i was a trainer and if it seemed like i was trying to make myself look good. i probably was a little bit but sorry i was excited. but no im not training, we're learning together and have been out the exact same time, ive just been in reading longer than he has and know the area and members better.

but sarah i hope you dont have a boyfriend and that if you do you two can read conference talks together for a date, and run fast in soccer. brooks, i think i could probably beat you in a bike race right now, im up by lance armstrong level of strength in my legs so id be scared if i were you, but bro keep runnin hard youre a stud and dont let anyone who looks like a dork out run you. blake, i hear this weekend is your first playoff game and so all i have to say is be cool and dont focus on the hype of the game, dont get nervous just be relaxed and think about how good youre going to do and smile, youre a stud man you can do it. but thanks for everything and i love you guys and keep up the good work.

norman

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Soaked in Rainstorm

como estan familia nielson?

como fue esta semana pasada? thats awesome you guys are doing good.

for us to write you guys we have to travel about a mile and a half on bike to the wyomissing library so it aint bad. and plus they gave me a library pass today so all is well.

but since this week is conference we are just going to all the sessions saturday and sunday at the church and then inbetween the sessions we are going to be fed by the ward because they are going to have food and activities in-between the two. but the only problem is that the sessions are two hours later than for you guys so we're going to be up late saturday night for priesthood at 8-10. but ya its going to be a good weekend and its exciting telling people about conference and how they can listen to a living prophet so we've been trying to get a lot of investigators to go this week.

but this past week was good. we had a great sunday and on saturday we had a big rainstorm that we had to ride our bikes through so that was fun. we got pretty soaked and my pants were the only things that were all that wet. but my feet are fine. the shoes are really good and keep em warm so dont worry. we have a huge outlet factory by us so we're going to go buy some socks and other winter stuff before it gets too cold. because today is a little chilly outside.

but we had our first flat tire experience yesterday. my companions bike tire got a gash in it right by the mercedes benz dealership. we took off the tire and put in the extra tube we had and then took the tire over to the shop in the dealership. one of the mechanics filled it up for us and while he was filling it up this lady who was just one of those snobby rich, heart set on the things of the world, type people, kept making fun of us and telling us how if our bikes werent mercedes benz then we couldnt get it filled. i wanted to punch her in the face but thats not missionary like is it. but after we put the tire back on and were on our way.

we also had some really cool spiritual experiences in lessons and those were cool. but all is well and the spanish is growing more and more. we are doing good and have been having a good time. we were really excited the other day when we taught this one guy who was a former investigator and had been taught basically everything but just wasnt baptized. we talked with him and had a return appt. to see him and his wife who is a member. we then find out a couple days later from my old trainer elder merrill, that he was interviewed to be baptized but president murray wouldnt let him be baptized because he had killed a guy in puerto rico. haha so that was a bummer.

but ya keep up the good work and congrats on playing varsity sarah. brooks youre a stud man keep runnin and try not to throw up too much, and blake be the peacemaker like Christ was(same for you brooks) and dont let contention start. you and brooks should read 3 nephi 11 together. but blake keep being the delta flash and tearing it up in football. next week tell me what youre guys bests are so far this season? Goals? Minutes? and Touchdowns or tackles? also remember to read the book of mormon.

love you guys and enjoy conference this weekend. thanks for everything and please dont send money, im fine, i can get a flu shot for free.

hasta luego. norman