Fountainebleau (Miami) area 2-24-2014

FAMILIA!
As always so good to hear from you! This upcoming week sounds like it could be a little nutty with Mom and Dad heading off to Hawaii and my sissys are gonna be all home alone! I'm sure everybody will be chill though. First off momma no se preocupe sobre mi package. Lo recibi este semana con todos mi chiquitos Libros de Mormon, y el aceite tambien! Fue perfecto muchisimas gracias! Lo siento oir que la familia estuvo un poquito enfermo este semana pero se que pueden recuperarse. sorry I just love spanish so much I wanted to write a little!

Our week here in Fountainbleau was amazing. It seriously is the promised land here. I'm not gonna lie it really does feel like home here. I know almost all of the ward members and it seriously does just feel like our ward at home. We supposedly have the best functioning ward in the whole mission so it's amazing to be here! We had a lot of good powerful lessons this week, as well as we found some really solid people! One of the cool lessons we had was with this guy Victor. I'm pretty sure I already told you about him but his family is all members and he supposedly was baptized when he was 10 in ecuador but we think he's just full of it. But we met with him and just started talking with him, we reallized we didn't know a lot about him and what he already knew (because he comes to church every week) so we start talking to him, and he's really starting to open up and tell us how he really feels then his wife just jumps in out of nowhere and starts throwing down on him in super crazy fast spanish about how he needs to make covenants with God, and how much they'll be blessed if he gets the priesthood, and is basically just ragging on him. We're just sitting there like what just happened we only understood about half of what she just said but it was pretty brutal. He just sits there then fires right back at her! It was insane, but luckily Elder Ward jumped in real quick and we were able to handle it. But one of the things that he said was that he doesn't know for himself that it's true. We jump in right away and start talking about how we can receive revelation. Then we ask him if he has ever sincerely prayed and asked God if the church is true. Of course he said no, because if he had he would be baptized no problem! Sorry kind of a long story but end of it all comes down to he committed to pray, and truly ask and it actually turned out to be really spiritual because we were all just bearing pure testimony about how we received our answers and how he can receive his. He came to church on sunday and it was pretty chaotic but I asked him how his prayer went as he was walking out and he just said, "muy muy bueno" then I asked him, "entonces, podemos pasar este semana para hablar mas sobre su oracion" and he just said, "por seguro!" whoop whoop! I was pumped! So hopefully that means he's received his answer!

We're working with a lot of cool people right now which is really exciting! A, this like 50 year old guy who just loves us made it to church this sunday after bailing the last 2 weeks, as well as our sweet little grandma investigator Terre! They both have dates for this sunday so hopefully they will be baptized! As well as Mark, our homie middle aged dad who is legitamitely searching for the truth! It's awesome here I'm just nervous about transfers! They're next week and I really don't want to leave but I very well could. Hopefully we will be able to get someone in the water this weekend though before one of us leaves!

Familia you guys seriously are the bomb. I love you all so much, and truly know with all my heart that this is Christ's church here on the earth today. I studied a lot about the apostasy this week and our homie member paul got us this amazing MTC talk all about the apostasy. Studying that really strengthened my testimony that Christ's original church was lost, and that it truly did take until 1820 for the world to be prepared to receive it! How lucky we all are to have been born in this dispensation with the knowledge that we know have of Christ's Gospel! Keep up the good work, and enjoy Maui! Sissies, be safe ok!? love ya!
Elder Nielsen

Fountainebleau (Miami) area 2-18-2014

We found a coconut on the streets so we broke it open on a fence and ate it of course!

Familia!
Thanks as usual for all the stellar letters! Alright yes momma I got the valentines day package. Haha really good! The one with the BofM's must be in Narnia or something cause it's still not here. No worries though. I think what might have happened is that there is another Elder Nielsen in the mission so if you didn't specify Tanner Nielsen it might have gone to him. No worries though just make sure on everything it's got the T-Niels! haha

I was pumped to hear Maddie gave her first talk! Crazy! Pops sounds like your still doing work! Solid as a rock as usual! Glad to hear you're keeping an eye on the boys around kyle! I can't wait til I get back and she will be in college and I can just brawl with any guy that looks at her! haha you know i'm kidding kylie!

Anyways this week was an amazing week in the promised land of Fountainebleau North. Started out the week with zone conference and we had an area 70 come and talk with us. It was really good but my attention span was gone for the last hour. everyone thinks I'm such a nino because I hate meetings and most missionaries love them because it's just like a time to chill. Nonetheless, I learned a ton from Him and all it was really good!

This week I cannot even describe to you how much food we got fed. Holy cow latins are straight loco! I've started working out every morning and night know to try and burn some extra calories because I do not want to get fat! We had some really good lessons this week and found some legit people! One of our new investigators Mark, he's like this 40 year old guy but we visited him on sunday and he invited me and Elder Ward to go to Dave and Busters with him on Monday with his fam. It was hilarious because this was literally the 2nd time we'd met him and he was just acting like we were best friends!

Well I'm really sorry but the library computer is being gay today and won't let me extend time I literally have no time left. I'm sorry i'll try and write a letter but I love you and keep going hard in the paint!

Alright sorry that was stressful but the lady hooked me up with more time! So like I said this week we had a lot of good lessons. Probably our most legit investigator right now is another teenage girl named J. Her best friend is a member of our ward so that's how we got in contact with her. We met with her early in the week, and we had invited to pray and ask if it was true and she said she would. We were praying all week for her to be able to receive her answer because as well she committed to be baptized if she received her answer. She came to church on Sunday then we met with her after. We met with her at her best friends house the Barqui's. Sister Barqui the mom is probably the coolest Cuban woman i've ever met! She was atheist all her life, then her son-in-law Paul Garcia who is also a member of ward (he actually served just 5 years ago in this same mission!) married her daughter then converted her whole family! Anyways she literally calls us her hijos, and she cooked so much delicious grub for us! Holy cow she also gave us this huge cuban sandwich to go which was delicious! We were just eating at their house right after church and it was weird because I seriously felt like I was at home on any other sunday afternoon eating with my family! Obviously it was as good as home though! ;) But, as we were talking with J we asked her how her prayers went and she just gets this big smile on her face. Then she explained to us all about how she had prayed, then afterward she just had this amazing feeling. I believe she said it felt like she was just floating! She said she knows that it is what God wants for her, and is now continuing to prepare for her baptism! We're pumped for her!

We're also working hard with Dayan still as well as this guy named Victor who's whole family is members. Sorry about the mix up with the other email but I still love you all so much and miss you as well!
Elder Nielsen

We may have bought fishing poles from Walmart and now go fishing every p-day. . . Reeling in some large mouths though from a little pond right by our house! haha too legit!

Fountainebleau (Miami) Area 2-10-2014

FAMILIA!
Well I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty disappointed! Pops was the only one who wrote me! What the heck is going on!? I'm just kidding, you guys are super busy I'm sure, and you're probably already sick of me telling you all the same things every week. No worries no worries.

This week was a great week for our area. We finally flippin' baptized! About time! Whooop whoop! It was so legit! Alicia this 12 year old girl who we've been working with since day 1 who is in a part member family finally went down! It was crazy because we were waiting for her brother from the marines to get home so he could baptize her. then he finally got here, so we're like sweet she's gonna be baptized! then we start talking to her and she was just being a bum about how she didn't want to be baptized, and a bunch of lame excuses. Then me and Elder Ward just started spitting out some mad scriptures, and telling her to stop being a bum. she knew she needed to be baptized she just likes to be difficult like some other 12 year old I know. cough cough Maddie! haha I'm just kidding maddie I love you. But yes Alicia was being dificult but we just asked her to say the closing prayer and ask God if she needed to be baptized on sunday. She said it and it was awesome and we all were just feeling the spirit hard core. She ends the prayer and me Elder Ward, and her older brother who is a member all just look at her and she just kinda looks down, and then says, "alright, i'll do it." Me and Elder Ward just exploded and it was a legendary experience! haha we were so happy! Her baptism was great and we had so much member support it was incredible. so much food afterwards! Another cool thing about her baptism was that her Dad, is the only one in their member who hasn't been baptized. And everytime we've seen him he kinda just seems really uninterested, and kinda ticked at us. But after A's baptism he was really softened. Right after she was baptized he started clapping like super loud cause he was excited for her! Haha it was hilarious he just started clapping and then his wife just back hand slapped him to get him to stop! He was just happy for her which was great! then after we eat and are about to leave he comes up to us and asks if we could stop by on tuesday night! Now keep in mind this is the first time hes actually said anything to us other than when we've tried to talk to him. so he asked if we would come by and say a prayer with him because he has a test on wednesday that he says he needs help on! Whoop whooop! He's so softened and he's gonna be baptized for sure too! I love part member families!

Sorry i don't have very much time today and I wish I could tell you about all of the other hilarious things that happened this week! Mainly just watching Dayan propose to his girlfriend in the middle of a lesson! haha comedy gold! First proposal all I've ever seen in person, and it was legendary! So they're getting married so he can live the law of chastity and finally be baptized! I love you all so much, and miss seeing all your beautiful faces but there truly is no where else I would rather be! Keep studying and praying and increasing your own personal conversion! Love ya!
Elder Nielsen

Fountainebleau (Miami) area 2-3-14

FAMILIA!
Que pasa chicos? Me encanta oir que todo esta bien con ustedes! Y que todavia estan trabajando duros, y viviendo la vida! El super bowl fue tan aburrido! Mire un poquito ayer cuando estuvimos tocando puertas, y fue como 21 a 0 o algo como asi.

Sorry I gotta practice writing in spanish! But it really is always so good to hear from you! Last night it was so crazy when we're knocking doors the game was on I could not focus on what the guy was saying to us! haha so bad! But this week for us as missionaries was a real good week!

It started out with transfers on Wednesday, that's why I wrote on tuesday again, but me and trainer all still together here in Fountainebleau! Then Wednesday we had probably the longest day of my mish!  it was pretty rainy when we went out so we got pretty straight soaked.(Still don't have a raincoat, so I think i'm gonna go get one today) Then on top of that it felt like literally every single of our appointments and backups fell through. People who promised us to be there weren't there and we were just feeling a little bit frustrated, and we were tired, wet, and cold. Needless to say we weren't the most upbeat and happy we've ever been on the mission. So to finish off the night we were harvesting some apartments that we had picked out, and we're having no success. So we both tried to think of just one more person we could go visit, and both our minds went to this guy who we had harvested a few days before and he lived really close. He wasn't there when we had a return appointment set up, so we figured we should at least try and stop by again. We stop by knock his door, and his wife answers. Right away she just lights up when we tell who we are, and that we had talked to her husband. Then her husband comes out and they were both so kind, awesome, and friendly! Me and Elder Ward just couldn't stop smiling while we were talking to them because all day we were just getting shut down and then now we're talking to this awesome family who's straight from Cuba who are so excited to learn more as well as come to church! So legit!

I also have a confession to make. . . I want to go to Cuba. Like so bad. Cuban people are so boss! Our area is mostly nicaraguans and some cubans, but like every Cuban i've met so far is just so prepared to receive the gospel. It's UNREAL! I pray that while i'm on my mish here cuba opens up and then I get sent there! Because if it were to open up our mission would be the one sent there. I even had a dream that I got sent to Cuba!

This Sunday was pretty nutty as well. Our golden investigator Dayan (also Cuban) was supposed to go down on Sunday for sure. We taught him everything he committed to live the law of chastity, he was so pumped to be baptized. then he has his interview, and when him and our DL come out they both just look sad. Sadly, he has kind of had a sketchy past, so he wasn't able to be baptized this sunday. He has to get interviewed by Pres. Anderson now before he can be baptized. I was so bummed! He was too, but he can still be baptized!! It's just gonna take a little more work but we have faith it will all work out!

This week it also hit me so hard how blessed I have been in my life. We know a lot of people who have like nothing and our struggling so much in their lives. I couldn't stop thinking just how lucky I am to have been born in the gospel as well as into a functioning family. One of the recent converts in our ward, his name is R. and the elders just before us baptized him. Such a cool guy (also cuban) but he's homeless. He has literally lost everything, and we brought him a pizza this week that a member gave us and he was just the happiest guy! He also came to church this sunday as well. It's hilarious he loves it so much that he comes to our ward for 3 hours then goes to the English ward after! He stays at church for 5 hours cause he loves it so much! I'll be sure to get a picture with him this week because he's got some crazy cool tats.

Familia I love you all so much! You all are so amazing! This week I've also learned so much how every member can truly be a missionary! It helps us out as the missionaries so much when members are willing to help! We can knock doors all day, but it's much easier for a member to come and say, "Hey I know someone who lives in that complex that really needs the gospel!" Boom! Perfect, time saved as well as a soul! I encourage you all even though you live in happy valley Utah to try and find ways to share the gospel. If we really try I guarantee you will be surprised to see how many missionary opportunities there are every day! I know this Church is true and that the Atonement is real! It truly changes lives because it has changed mine as well as countless others! I love you all keep doing work!

Elder Nielsen