Hola,
what up what up. so guess what? im not in south philly anymore. can you say "ya tu sabe papi" haha im in north philly now with Elder Bunker from Camas, Washington and all the Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. Im still in the same district and still district leader but just changed areas. my new address is 1302-12 W Cumberland St Apt 2B Philadelphia, PA 19132.
man i wish you guys could see what i have seen the past few days. it has been an incredible week. Sunday was my last sunday in South philly so we went around and said good bye to everyone and had to say goodbye to everyone at church. it was a good experience though talking to people and learning that i had actually helped them in their lives.
but so then i get here in North philly on monday and things have just been good ever since. my companion is a stud and we get along great. he played soccer in high school and went to Byu Idado but is a great missionary. i actually have a companion that i dont really have to baby sit or be the decider in everything we do. it has been great to improve my spanish skills by talking with him everywhere and then letting him lead me around the area.
oh and also things are good too because we have bikes now and i have a trek 4300 mountain bike that is all black and so ive been getting good practice bunny hopping all the trash in the streets. but the bikes are awesome and its like old times in reading again of flying down the streets and racing my companion.
but the area up here is the ghetto. its pretty rough and full of trash and people who just look lost and dirty. lots of people have chicken coups in their backyards and also its the capital of the world for cars with big rims. ive never seen so many vans with 22 inch rims on em. but also its hard because the women here are very open and dont like to wear much clothing so its hard keeping your eyes from wandering into stuff you dont want to see. but also people are crazy with motorcycles, four wheelers, and anything that has a motor. they cruise around the streets on those things like its sand mountain. theyre always wheeling down the block and flying through stop signs almost hitting people. its pretty crazy.
but the people we have to teach and the members are awesome. we dont really have a teaching pool so thats kind of my job of being here is to start this area back up. the elders in the past taught people just because they were friends with em but they never kept commitments. so we've had to drop some people and are starting from about 3 people. This area and the area above us is together in the only spanish ward in the mission so this is going to be great working with members and people that actually do stuff. The members are great though and we dont have too many proactive members in our area so its rough but weve been contacting members from up north to come down with us. our area goes from Allegheny street all the way down to Market Street in Center City. so after the next six weeks im going to know philadelphia all around, north and south. i just need to try out west, but its basically outer darkness over there from what ive heard. some missionaries in west philly area got a gun pulled on em about 2 weeks ago and got their phone stolen but they're good to go now.
the heat isnt that bad though, its the sweating that kills me. after working out in the mornings, oh we run every morning down through Temple University campus every morning, i am drenched in sweat from the humidity. we are drinking a lot of water and feeling good. last night we raced home from an appointment on our bikes and i was sweating like crazy so i had to take a cold shower. then when i was changing i started sweating again just from putting my clothes on, and no thats not because im fat or its hard for me to put my pants on. but things are good and we have a baptismal date so this is going to be a crazy summer. sounds like you guys are doing good though. keep up the good work and have a good week.
con el amor de fily.
norman
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Birthday Activities
hola,
sarah what were you thinking? (Sarah crashed into dad's red car, Roxanne) patience is a virtue and cowards crumble in the clutch. President Uchtdorf's talk on patience might be useful. but sounds like you guys are having a good time and doing lots of stuff.
i actually got your letters today before we left to go write so i had a chance to read them. but that'll be fun going camping, we have a balcony on our apartment and sometimes i look at the stars and the big buildings and think about what it would be like to be in the mountains, but then an ambulance flies by and i lose the thought. but this past week was great except for sunday.
we had two investigators who came to church before any members showed up so it was a little frustrating sitting in the english side and no spanish members responsible enough to get there on time. but we had a good experience and those investigators are doing pretty good.
for my birthday we (the english elders who are basically our companions and us spaniards) went to our buddy's taco place and i had the best sandwich. its called a cemita and you would love it mom with all the avocado. but it was cool because that taqueria is on 9th street where the italian market is, and it was italian market festival so there were tons of people there and lots of food so it was almost like a party setting, except we ate inside. but thanks for the packages and i really appreciated all the meat and that was a great card blake, good job. but we had a good time and then went back out teaching. that night though my companion told the less actives we went and visited that it was my birthday and so they made us come back later because they left and bought me a big tres leches cake. it was pretty good and i felt really grateful for their love.
things are going good though, i wont be getting transfered this next week so ill be here until President Murray leaves. we had interviews on friday and that was really good. President is the man and we have a personal relationship now so its fun. but Sister Murray is great too and she told me that they saw us in south philly walking across the street while they were on their way to a phillies game. oh by the way everyone is crazy for the phlyers right now. the other night when they won game 7 people were honkin their horns everywhere and lighting off fireworks. philly is a great sports town.
For my favorite scripture i dont know what to tell you but i found a great one the other day in Moroni 9, i think 28, it invites us to come unto Christ. Favorite person im not sure who but President Boyd K. Packer is the man. A good quote President Murray told us a while ago that i really like is from a Phillies player and he says, "Everyone has a reputation, it all comes down to how you run to first base." Something that gets me excited or energetic is when i think of that commercial by nike to the song I got soul but im not a soldier and then i feel like going and grrrwwwhhh like getting a big rebound or nailing someone in football.
but things are good and time is flying by. im already 20 years old and its almost getting close to memorial day. have a good week you guys and mantengan su fe para ayudar a las personas en sus vidas. estoy agradecido que tengo el privilegio de hablar espanol y aprender de los latinos. muchas gracias y espero que les gusten el paquete. con todo el amor de philly y mexico.
norman
sarah what were you thinking? (Sarah crashed into dad's red car, Roxanne) patience is a virtue and cowards crumble in the clutch. President Uchtdorf's talk on patience might be useful. but sounds like you guys are having a good time and doing lots of stuff.
i actually got your letters today before we left to go write so i had a chance to read them. but that'll be fun going camping, we have a balcony on our apartment and sometimes i look at the stars and the big buildings and think about what it would be like to be in the mountains, but then an ambulance flies by and i lose the thought. but this past week was great except for sunday.
we had two investigators who came to church before any members showed up so it was a little frustrating sitting in the english side and no spanish members responsible enough to get there on time. but we had a good experience and those investigators are doing pretty good.
for my birthday we (the english elders who are basically our companions and us spaniards) went to our buddy's taco place and i had the best sandwich. its called a cemita and you would love it mom with all the avocado. but it was cool because that taqueria is on 9th street where the italian market is, and it was italian market festival so there were tons of people there and lots of food so it was almost like a party setting, except we ate inside. but thanks for the packages and i really appreciated all the meat and that was a great card blake, good job. but we had a good time and then went back out teaching. that night though my companion told the less actives we went and visited that it was my birthday and so they made us come back later because they left and bought me a big tres leches cake. it was pretty good and i felt really grateful for their love.
things are going good though, i wont be getting transfered this next week so ill be here until President Murray leaves. we had interviews on friday and that was really good. President is the man and we have a personal relationship now so its fun. but Sister Murray is great too and she told me that they saw us in south philly walking across the street while they were on their way to a phillies game. oh by the way everyone is crazy for the phlyers right now. the other night when they won game 7 people were honkin their horns everywhere and lighting off fireworks. philly is a great sports town.
For my favorite scripture i dont know what to tell you but i found a great one the other day in Moroni 9, i think 28, it invites us to come unto Christ. Favorite person im not sure who but President Boyd K. Packer is the man. A good quote President Murray told us a while ago that i really like is from a Phillies player and he says, "Everyone has a reputation, it all comes down to how you run to first base." Something that gets me excited or energetic is when i think of that commercial by nike to the song I got soul but im not a soldier and then i feel like going and grrrwwwhhh like getting a big rebound or nailing someone in football.
but things are good and time is flying by. im already 20 years old and its almost getting close to memorial day. have a good week you guys and mantengan su fe para ayudar a las personas en sus vidas. estoy agradecido que tengo el privilegio de hablar espanol y aprender de los latinos. muchas gracias y espero que les gusten el paquete. con todo el amor de philly y mexico.
norman
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Families
Hey Nielsons,
So it seems like i was just talking to you and didnt recognize Brooks or Blakes voices, but i guess ill let you in on a little more of whats goin on. It was great talking to you guys and seeing how you all are doing. im grateful to have a family that is involved in all aspects and how we are not a boring family. also that we are a family and actually like being around one another. its really hard to teach people when you start talking about how important the family is and how blessed it is when we have the gospel in our families, but then the person tells you that they dont have a family or they dont like their family. its really pretty cool that we have this unit of a family and experience fights and negativity, but still we are able to look past them and see that the good outweighs the bad.
But to answer the question about who i would like to become, my favorite scripture, my favorite saying, and something that inspires me, ill have to wait till next week. but for now i would say the quote by President Uchtdorf which says something like , "what you think and do determines who you are and what you will become." ill have the answers for you though next thursday.
on tuesday and wednesday i was up in north philly on exchanges and it was pretty fun. we had a great exchange and i was reunited with the art of missionary bike riding. the elder who i was with is pretty cool and a good worker but he thought i was a goon for trying to do tricks on the bike. it was a trek 430 or something to answer your question brooks. but it was a good exchange and we had two great lessons with some important investigators they have. in the morning we went for a run and the elder got mad at me because we ran 2 miles down and around Temple campus. it was pretty cool and they have a nice, big campus. a lot bigger than utah state.
but things are going good here in PA. today we are going to go down to Pats and Genos and get a cheesesteak and then go across the street and play basketball with whoevers there. it should be a good day and we are going to be going on splits tonight so it will be a good day. tomorrow we have interviews with President Murray so that is always great. but all is well and thanks for your guys support. have a good week.
buenas tardes, cuidense, hasta luego, nos vemos, adios, orale, chow, pasan buenas tardes, tengan una buena semana.
with a little bit of South Philly love,
norman
you need to go camping sometime when you get the chance and get enrolled in hunters safety boys, to actually use those nice guns you got
So it seems like i was just talking to you and didnt recognize Brooks or Blakes voices, but i guess ill let you in on a little more of whats goin on. It was great talking to you guys and seeing how you all are doing. im grateful to have a family that is involved in all aspects and how we are not a boring family. also that we are a family and actually like being around one another. its really hard to teach people when you start talking about how important the family is and how blessed it is when we have the gospel in our families, but then the person tells you that they dont have a family or they dont like their family. its really pretty cool that we have this unit of a family and experience fights and negativity, but still we are able to look past them and see that the good outweighs the bad.
But to answer the question about who i would like to become, my favorite scripture, my favorite saying, and something that inspires me, ill have to wait till next week. but for now i would say the quote by President Uchtdorf which says something like , "what you think and do determines who you are and what you will become." ill have the answers for you though next thursday.
on tuesday and wednesday i was up in north philly on exchanges and it was pretty fun. we had a great exchange and i was reunited with the art of missionary bike riding. the elder who i was with is pretty cool and a good worker but he thought i was a goon for trying to do tricks on the bike. it was a trek 430 or something to answer your question brooks. but it was a good exchange and we had two great lessons with some important investigators they have. in the morning we went for a run and the elder got mad at me because we ran 2 miles down and around Temple campus. it was pretty cool and they have a nice, big campus. a lot bigger than utah state.
but things are going good here in PA. today we are going to go down to Pats and Genos and get a cheesesteak and then go across the street and play basketball with whoevers there. it should be a good day and we are going to be going on splits tonight so it will be a good day. tomorrow we have interviews with President Murray so that is always great. but all is well and thanks for your guys support. have a good week.
buenas tardes, cuidense, hasta luego, nos vemos, adios, orale, chow, pasan buenas tardes, tengan una buena semana.
with a little bit of South Philly love,
norman
you need to go camping sometime when you get the chance and get enrolled in hunters safety boys, to actually use those nice guns you got
Thursday, May 6, 2010
It's a Small World After All
hola,
So concerning this Sunday, i dont think we are going to have time to talk. i dont have any time to talk to you guys and the phones we have are running out of minutes so sorry but we'll have to wait until December ok? haha not really, chiste, ill call you guys at 8 or 9 o'clock my time so 5 or 6 your time. so dont worry about calling ill call you guys and the phone number is 267 242 7357.
but thats cool you guys are having winter weather over there. we have been burning up and sweating a lot. ill weigh myself in the morning and then at night ill weigh myself again and ill be about 4 pounds heavier with all the water we've been drinking.
it was a great past week and we had some sweet lessons with people. we had one of our investigators teach us about eternal families and then discuss how she and her boyfriend need to get married so that she can be baptized. then another lesson we brought an old member with us and he drives around in an electric wheel chair and doesnt speak spanish. but we took him with us and had to lift him up the 5 or 6 stairs into the house to have the lesson. it was a little dramatic getting him in there because hes really skinny and was worried we might drop him, but we got him in safe and sound. then we found a new investigator last week who we saw this tuesday and he doesnt believe in God. it was an interesting conversation and good to help him see all the good things that he has in his life after a lot of bad has happened.
then this sunday we had our own little sacrament meeting where i was the presiding authority and we only had 10 people show up because there was a marathon going on outside of the church on the main street. but it was an awesome sacrament meeting. we had two visitors who were white and didnt speak spanish and the crazy thing was it is a small world. the one guy showed up to the church hoping to go to the english services but didnt know they had a special meeting in a different town with a member of the 70. but he was from beaver utah and was out here for a medical conference. we got to talking and he was a goof. but i asked him if he knew the petersons cousin, i dont know if hes our cousin, tyler schena. he said he did and that he coached wrestling with him at the high school. so that was pretty cool
then the other visitors were a family from new york who were here for a conference also. they both were from boise and one graduated from centennial and the other from meridian. so it was funny talkin to them and seeing who we knew and stuff. i dont remember their last name but i didnt know them. the one who went to centennial lived by edna and ustick and his parents still live there. but it was a great sacrament meeting and even though there were spanish and english and me translating to english in the back, it worked out great and we had a good experience.
so things are going good and nothing crazy has happened lately, just we realizing that President Murray leaves pretty soon. July 4. but we'll talk on sunday and you'll see how i dont have a mexican accent, just a philly slur. so have a good rest of the week and recuerdan sus preguntas para que utilizemos nuestro tiempo sabioso. muchas gracias por su ayuda y amor. ustedes son la mejor familia que yo conozco. cuidanse
normandy
So concerning this Sunday, i dont think we are going to have time to talk. i dont have any time to talk to you guys and the phones we have are running out of minutes so sorry but we'll have to wait until December ok? haha not really, chiste, ill call you guys at 8 or 9 o'clock my time so 5 or 6 your time. so dont worry about calling ill call you guys and the phone number is 267 242 7357.
but thats cool you guys are having winter weather over there. we have been burning up and sweating a lot. ill weigh myself in the morning and then at night ill weigh myself again and ill be about 4 pounds heavier with all the water we've been drinking.
it was a great past week and we had some sweet lessons with people. we had one of our investigators teach us about eternal families and then discuss how she and her boyfriend need to get married so that she can be baptized. then another lesson we brought an old member with us and he drives around in an electric wheel chair and doesnt speak spanish. but we took him with us and had to lift him up the 5 or 6 stairs into the house to have the lesson. it was a little dramatic getting him in there because hes really skinny and was worried we might drop him, but we got him in safe and sound. then we found a new investigator last week who we saw this tuesday and he doesnt believe in God. it was an interesting conversation and good to help him see all the good things that he has in his life after a lot of bad has happened.
then this sunday we had our own little sacrament meeting where i was the presiding authority and we only had 10 people show up because there was a marathon going on outside of the church on the main street. but it was an awesome sacrament meeting. we had two visitors who were white and didnt speak spanish and the crazy thing was it is a small world. the one guy showed up to the church hoping to go to the english services but didnt know they had a special meeting in a different town with a member of the 70. but he was from beaver utah and was out here for a medical conference. we got to talking and he was a goof. but i asked him if he knew the petersons cousin, i dont know if hes our cousin, tyler schena. he said he did and that he coached wrestling with him at the high school. so that was pretty cool
then the other visitors were a family from new york who were here for a conference also. they both were from boise and one graduated from centennial and the other from meridian. so it was funny talkin to them and seeing who we knew and stuff. i dont remember their last name but i didnt know them. the one who went to centennial lived by edna and ustick and his parents still live there. but it was a great sacrament meeting and even though there were spanish and english and me translating to english in the back, it worked out great and we had a good experience.
so things are going good and nothing crazy has happened lately, just we realizing that President Murray leaves pretty soon. July 4. but we'll talk on sunday and you'll see how i dont have a mexican accent, just a philly slur. so have a good rest of the week and recuerdan sus preguntas para que utilizemos nuestro tiempo sabioso. muchas gracias por su ayuda y amor. ustedes son la mejor familia que yo conozco. cuidanse
normandy
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