Monday, February 28, 2011

Sweet Mission

Hola,

Sounds like you guys are doing pretty good. Those are some good pictures and nice goggles Sarah. But yes that would be awesome if you could look into school registration and that stuff for me. Just get the basic stuff for me and then I can look up classes or other things from Utah State that I need. But I also have one other request, I need the Home town of Dave Detwiler here in PA, maybe his parents names and address, also Dave's phone number. We have an investigator that is awesome and he is from out there by where Dave is and He knows a lot of Detwilers. So maybe Dave could talk to this guy about how he converted and help him see why this is so important.

This was a great past week. We trained the Zone on Thursday and it was a great meeting. We got a lot of participation and also did an activity at the end so it was good. Things here in our area went really well. We had a lot of success in helping our investigators come to church and also prepare for baptism. I was on an exchange with the Assistants and I realized how much I love this mission and Philadelphia. I went down into Southwest Philly with one Elder and Elder Winter stayed up here with the other. But down there we drove by the city and saw all the lights and the buildings and I was so glad to have lived there for a year. This really is a sweet mission and I have had a great time here and done a lot of good things.

But let me tell you about this investigator who might know Dave's family. Hes awesome and came to church yesterday for the first time. Hes a fly fisherman, football fan, hunts, and just got a part time job at Cabelas. We get along really well if you couldnt tell, but we found him back in January and we have only taught him about five times. We have really pushed the Book of Mormon on him and he now is reading daily. He told us last week that it just kind of attracts his attention and so every morning before he goes to work he picks it up and reads some. He came to Church yesterday though and really loved it. He is a less active Greek Orthodox. But I realized yesterday that I really enjoy being an english Elder and that its not so bad after all. The ward is a little weird but I really like em now. So this is a testimony along with yours mom, of consistently doing things when we get discouraged or dont enjoy it, leads to true joy.

So dont get down you guys and keep up the good work. Have a good week and dont get stuck in Walker Brooks if you go out driving in the mud. el amor de fily.

Normandy

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Hasta La Pasta

Hola,

Thats too bad that Mack died, maybe you should talk about the details of the Plan of Salvation as a family. But thats good you had a busy week because we had one too. It was a good start to the week because we had zone conference and Elder Winter and I were the stars of the training. We trained on Investigators attending church and did this fun example of being at a Phillies game and then watching it from home. It went well. But then I was on an exchange with an Elder from Preston ID and we were in his area of Bethlehem. It was a good exchange but it was really hard to see how this Elder's companion was dragging down the area because of his laziness and also because of his day dreaming of home. I told this Elder that even though he was young he needed to whip this Elder into shape and get this area going. It was also a great exchange because the weather was awesome. We were cruising around with the windows down in the 71 degree weather. It was really nice and everyone was outside and enjoying the sun.

But the highlight of the week was to be able to go back home to north philly and see all my buddies in the Spanish world. They had a spanish training meeting and I was invited to go down with all the spanish elders in the mission. I was so happy to see how old companions and other elders were doing and also to see the city. The best part was seeing some of the members and youth from the ward there where I served. One of them ran up to me and gave me a big hug and we had a good time together. I am really grateful for the chance that I had to serve there and to help them out. It was the best feeling though to know that people care about you even when you're gone and you dont have any contact with them. The meeting was good though and we learned about spanish and others things in the cultures.

Things are going good though and we are doing work here in Reading. We finally got this one family that we've been teaching to come to church and they enjoyed it. We have seen the benefits from working with the members and getting them involved in the teaching process. You guys are great and have a good week.

Hasta la pasta.

norman

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Crazy Life of a Missionary

Hola Familia Nielson,

You guys are looking pretty white in those pictures, looks like you haven't been skiing enough to get a goggle tan. Five Guys is really popular out here and everyone always tells me about how their fries are from Idaho when I tell them that Im from there. But sounds like you guys are doing good and keeping busy. Here we are doing a lot and have made a lot of progress with the people we are teaching and also finding new investigators. We were able to have a lot of experiences this past week and last night

Elder Winter and I were talking about how crazy the life of a missionary is. For example yesterday we had a meeting with the ward council and we were discussing a less active lady that we teach and how her son was scared away from primary by some little girl. The Primary President in the meeting then ripped into us about how they are all nice children. We then had our Church meetings and Elder Winter was falling asleep the whole time because he was throwing up all night last night, also a less active came to church that we visited out in a mental hospital. Then we had a meeting with President Schaefermeyer and the Reading Stake Presidency and talked about how missionary work is going in the zone. Then had dinner at a great family's house and they argued with one another about camping and then sleeping in a hotel. Then we taught a young couple from Dominican Republic and had a great lesson. Then we had to go home early because Elder Winter was going feeling like he was going to throw up again so we went home and started preparing for weekly numbers. Things we do as missionarys are so different and we are always on our toes doing something. Its pretty cool.

This past week though we were able to go up on exchange in Hometown PA and teach some spanish people. We had a great exchange and it was really humbling because both the Elders are great examples of dedication. The one missionary went to his dad's funeral about two weeks ago and then the other missionary talks to his mom on skype every Sunday because she has only a month to live. I was really nervous going into this exchange but when we got there and I forgot about their situations and just focused on the positive things, it was a great experience. We had a great lesson with this Dominican family and afterwards I wanted to give them a hug because I missed teaching these awesome people.

This is going to be a good week with a lot going on. Tomorrow we have Zone Conference and then on Saturday I get to go back home to Philly and be in a Spanish Training that my old companion Elder Morrison is putting on. So it will be great. Have a good week and enjoy the springtime weather. We went running outside this morning and it was awesome, 45 or something degrees and today is great. Hasta Luego amigos. con el amor de fily

norman

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Boise Boys

Hola,

You guys are awesome. Those are sweet pictures and good job Blake for playing baseball. If I were you I would keep playing baseball for as long as you can. Also thanks for the pictures you sent of me with longer curly hair. I dont think my hair will curl anymore since its been short for so long.

This was a great past week and a lot of things happened. We were able to have a good first week together and the Boise Boys are doing work here. We increased our teaching pool and have a good future in sight. We are also growing closer and closer with the ward members so things are good. We had a meeting down in Broomall with all the ZLs in the mission and it was pretty fun because what we've done for the past couple months is we travel down there the night before and stay with the Assistants. Then in the morning we wake up at about 545 and go play basketball. It has been a great chance for me as a missionary to meet some great friends and enjoy the work with them. But the meeting was great and we got some things done.
There's a new assistant now and he is a different kind of guy. They both are a little "funny" like you Dad and so everyone is skeptical of them and a little worried. So thats the buzz in the mission right now.

We had a lot of ice this week and it was fun walking around and seeing everything with a quarter of an inch of ice. One guy that we started teaching is from the Dominican Republic and speaks mostly english, but he is doing great right now. We found him on Wednesday and then had a return appt on Saturday. We show up on Saturday and he asks us if we have the Book of Mormon. He told us " I just need the Book of Mormon now and then I will know if it is true, right?" So he is doing really good and reading the Book right now. We also were able to help one of our investigators, who is from Africa, get ready to be baptized at the end of this month or the first of next month. Its been a good week though and I am a lot happier. When you are around people that you can connect with and you enjoy being with them all the time, then you are happier. It has been good to see the change and also to learn.

Thanks for el amor that you guys are so great at giving to me and other people. Have a great week and dont forget to be grateful for the things that you have. This morning I thought about that in my personal study and wrote a big list down of all the things I am grateful for that have helped me get to where I am now. It was cool to think of some of the spiritual experiences that I could remember and to then expound on that and see how blessed we are. So have a good one and I'll send you a package today with one of my old notebooks and also THE MEMORY CARD. Les quiero mucho, gracias por todo, esten bien.

norman

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

New Companion from Meridian

Hola Familia,

I am here in Reading still and all is well. I got my new companion this morning and he's a pretty good draw. His name is Elder Ben Winter from Meridian ID and I'm pretty sure we played against each other in basketball (he was point guard) and we know a lot of the same people. He said he dated Brooke Millward's cousin and was pretty good friends with Brooke. But hes a good guy and we are going to do work here in Reading. I'm excited to be with someone younger than I am and to learn from a different point of view. My old companion was a good guy and all but I never really connected with him at all and we had completely different points of view. I learned a lot from my old companion but it feels good to have a new companion.

This was a pretty good past week. We got a flat tire on our car, I did some nascar speed changing of the tire. We helped a lot of cars get unstuck from the snow because it snowed a bit. I was able to sing in the spanish branch with the other Elders and that was really neat. It was just a good week and we got stuff done. I had a really good exchange with an Elder from Rexburg who is serving in Quakertown PA. We were walking around teaching people in the middle of the big snow storm. People were a little mad at us for being outside at that time but it was great. We got covered in snow and met some sweet people so it was great. Then I got to use a shovel and help out people by shoveling off their drive ways and also by clearing out big piles of snow that covered their garages. Yesterday we had a good time at church and then I went to an ARP class with one of our less actives and listened to alcoholics talk about their problems and how we can change. It was a week full of activity and we had a good time.

Thanks for the package though I'll send you the card back next monday with some other stuff. Have a good week and don't scratch up those boots Brooks, you dont want them hefers to stop chasing you around. El amor de fily.

Elder Nielson