Coral Reef North Area 10-14-2014

FAMILIA!

Wow, I have the best family on earth. Straight up no arguments end of story. I have no idea why God blessed me so much, but He has. You all are seriously the best! I really do miss you guys! Don't think that I'm getting "trunky" or anything, trust me my mind is still focused on the work, but for some reason reading todays emails just made me even more grateful for all of you! I loved hearing all of your stories about your fall activities! Happy Birthday too Maddie!! Whoop whoop! You're getting so old I can't believe it! In those pictures all the little sisters look different and it's blowing my mind! Anyway to let you know Dad, yes, I am so down to go mountain biking after the mish! haha I feel like I've gotten pretty good at biking here, since I've been on one for the past 11 months. ;) Also Mom, take it easy! No more wrecks!

Alright, so a little bit about our week. Our week was super good. My nino is such a boss. He doesn't even act like a normal greenie at all. Pretty sure he came pre-trained. haha the only time he sounds new is when he speaks spanish. . . Kinda hard to work on that here since there's not a whole lot of spanish, but we find a few people! :) This week we were working really hard to find new investigators! We knocked a lot of doors, and met a lot of interesting people, and a lot of cool people as well! I'll share a miracle from the week as well like always:

A miracle from this week came on Sunday at church. The miracle actually starts on Saturday though. We had planned to go see a less active recent convert during the day, and we called her to confirm that we were still good to stop by. She began crying through the phone as we were talking to her, and told us this crazy experience of how her fiance had dropped her and her kids off the night before. Then as he was pulling away from their house, another car came out of nowhere driving at like 80 mph and t boned his car. She said that it had rolled 4 times, and her fiance was taken to the hospital and that at that moment she was at the hospital with him. Pretty unexpected. But we continued on with our day praying for their family. Then on Sunday morning our round up was rough. All of the people who we had committed the day before bailed. We were pretty disappointed when we saw none of them show up for sacrament. But that family that I just talked about did! And her fiance came as well! The guy who had been t boned and rolled 4 times in his truck came to church 2 days afterwards! Miraculously he survived the accident only with a few scrapes and a mild concussion. I literally have no idea how he made it. She showed us pics from the wreck, and his truck was destroyed! It's probably because he's this 6'4 black man who is built like a tank! He normally works on sundays, but because of the accident he couldn't go, so he came to church! It was his first time at church as well, and he really enjoyed it, and was able to receive a blessing from the bishop. We went yesterday and followed up with how they were doing, and invited him to be baptized. He accepted solidly and is now preparing to be baptized this upcoming sunday! Huge miracle!

Haha another kinda random story from this week came yesterday. I'm sure you already figured but were emailing today since yesterday was columbus day, so we had a pros monday yesterday. But we were just biking down the street and this guy driving his car towards us starts honking at us and pulls over. So we go over and start talking to him, and this is literally the first thing he says to us, "Hey! Are you guys those Jesus Church people who talk about God?" We're both just like, "Umm, yeah I guess!" haha he then proceeds to tell us of how lately he's felt like he needs to make a donation to God, and tried to give us like 10 bucks to give to the church. Sadly, we told him that we couldn't take it, but that if he came to church on sunday that he could give it there. He commited to come and we got all his info, so we should be seeing him sometime this week.

Like I said at the beginning, I love you all so much! I love the mission! I love Miami and I love the people here! I know this is the Lord's work. Keep doing work back in Utah, and go see meet the mormons this week!
Elder Nielsen

Coral Reef North Area 10-6-14- Training Elder Marsden

FAMILIA!
Wow to start off I just want to say congrats to the old man for qualifying for Boston! Looking at those pictures I thought, "Good night! When did Dad get jacked out of his mind!?" haha holy cow good work dad! It sounded like you guys had an awesome week and weekend down in St. George enjoying the sun! Don't worry, there's still plenty of sun here in Florida! ;)

So just to answer all of your questions. My new "son" is Elder Marsden. He is from Bountiful, Utah, and he is a boss missionary! We have had an incredible first week together, and I know that God has put us together for a reason! Transfer meeting was super exciting this week as well. I did actually see Elder Dunford there, and him and Elder Marsden were actually in the same district in the MTC in Mexico. Elder Marsden and I were so excited to go out and work this week, and it was so fun to see some "greenie fire" come alive in him as we went out and worked! We worked as hard as we could this week and it was amazing because we saw some super sick miracles! One miracle we saw was on Sunday at Conference. We had been trying to contact a recent convert who's son is not a member, and who had come to church before. We had several appointments that had somehow all fallen through so it came down to the end of the week on Sunday. We called them before conference to make sure they were going to come, but for some reason they never answered. She finally called us back halfway through the session and said that they were coming right then. We finally got to meet her son after the conference, and had a lesson with him right there, and he accepted to be baptized on the 19th! We will be following up with them tonight but we are so excited to start working with him!

Conference this weekend was definitely a huge highlight from the week as well. We just went and watched it at the church in English, and it was incredible! There were so many inspired messages, and I felt the spirit so strong testifying that those men truly are called of God! Just like I said last week about coming to conference with questions and getting them answered, it happened for me! I had a lot of questions about things I can improve on, and what I need to change, and literally all of my questions were answered! I hope you all as well were able to receive your own revelation and guidance through the Lord's servants. Really quickly I just wanted to highlight one of the talks that stood out to me. It was on Saturday Morning by, Elder Lynn G. Robins. He talked about fearing God more than man. I wish I had my notes to expound on everything that he talked about, but that talk was probably what hit me the hardest! And since you all were busy in St. George and weren't able to watch it, I would invite you all to read it, or watch it cause it was incredible!

I love you all so much! I feel so blessed everyday to have been born into a family with the knowledge of the restored Gospel. My testimony has grown so much here in the mission, and it has made me realize how important this work is. We must share the "good news" with everyone because This IS The Church of Jesus Christ! You hit it right on the head mom, when you said that one thing that seemed to get repeated was strengthening our own testimonies. This world is not going to get any easier to live in. So our testimonies must be that much stronger in order to survive! I encourage you all to go out and strengthen your testimonies by sharing the gospel and through personal scripture study and prayer. This gospel has changed my life and I know it can change anyone if they will let it. Really quickly, one of our investigators right now is actually recently returned from Iraq. He suffers from PSTD (post traumatic stress disorder) and we've only taught him a couple times, but really his biggest desire right now is to be happy. He knows that the things he is doing right now are not bringing him happiness. Teaching him is definitely a wild experience, but I know that the Atonement will work miracles in his life. And that it can work miracles in our lives as well! Thanks for everything! Have a great week!
Elder Nielsen

Coral Reef North Area 9-30-14

FAMILIA!!
Wow, what a wonderful week it has been!! It sounded like you all were able to have a very productive week as well! I did get the package this week! Thank you so much! It's always great to get something, but please don't feel like you need too! I really am doing great and am loving every minute of life here in Florida! To answer some of your questions: no mom, I have never gotten sick here in Florida. Ain't nobody got time for that!! haha for real the Lord has blessed me so much on my mission. Quick shout out as well to my little sissys! I love you all, and hope Kyle wrecks some domes this week in the Region tennis tournament! Haha it was funny as well to hear that it actually rained in Utah! ;) please if it doesn't rain a day here in FL it's like the world is ending! Just kidding that's a lie, but basically it does rain for a little bit everyday.

I'm sorry I forgot to tell you all last week that it was the end of the transfer so that meant I would be emailing on Tuesday today, but no worries! It's crazy to think that another transfer has already flown by. Time is going way too fast, and it's starting to scare me! I'm starting to feel "old" in the mission and I hate it! Anyway transfer calls came last night, and it turns out my companion Elder Stafford, will be transferring and I will be staying here and training! I'm having a son! whoop whoop! When you train a new missionary it's like a father son relationship so that's where that comes from! I'm super excited to train, it will be a way fun experience to have a new missionary straight off the plane. I will find out tomorow who my son will be in transfer meeting. I'm a little nervous as well, but I know it will all work out!

Just a little bit about our area here in Coral Reef North. Gloria is still super awesome. Sadly, she did not get baptized this weekend, but I know she will! She came to church again, and loved it, and as well she will be coming tonight to a baptism. She's so funny, she calls us our mom for some reason. Whenever we go teach her she always gives us some kind of food as well. Last night she was raging that Elder Stafford is leaving, and said she was going to call President. She's gonna go down for sure though!

Sorry I don't have time to write anymore about stuff that happened this week. Just know that I love you all and I hope you have an incredible week. Prepare this week to hear the words of the prophets! I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God. What an incredible priviledge it is to hear the revelations they have received from God. One thing that I have learned is that God will answer our questions. Everyone should come to conference this weekend with some question, and I know that during the talks something that you will hear, or feel will answer your question. Have an awesome week!
Elder Nielsen

Coral Reef North Area- 9-22-14

FAMILIA!!

Wow sounded like another incredible week back in O-town!! First off let me say that Kylie looked gorgeous in her homecoming dress!! Good night!! I hope every guy knows that when I get back they have to have a personal interview with me before they can go on any dates with her!! ;) No joke though. I'm sorry little sisters that I didn't get the time again to respond to your emails! Every week it's just like a mad dash to read from everyone and respond a little something, but just know I love y'all!

This week was another great week here in Coral Reef North! The work is great here, and I am loving every minute of it! Biking is great as well! This week we had a few setbacks in some peoples progression but there were still a lot of other indirect blessings that we saw from the Lord this week. Sadly, Ruben was not baptized this week. This week as we were teaching him more, and things started getting more serious we started to realize that his comprehension levels were not the highest. J his roommate was telling us as well that he is pretty sure he's not all there, so we will see what happens, right now were kind of just giving him a break. We saw an awesome miracle with an incredible lady named Gloria. Her progress has been very slow, but she is progressing. This week we decided that we needed her to commit solidly for baptism and for church or else we were going to drop her and move on. Well on Wednesday we had an incredible lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The member we brought bore an awesome testimony of her baptism and G was able to relate perfectly to her. She finally committed to a date on the 28th, and she finally came to church this past sunday! She still has some doubts about the Book of Mormon and everything but I believe miracles will happen with her!

Funny story, this week I got chased on my bike by a dog as we were riding home one night. I was sketching out cause it was pretty big dog, but I stuck out my foot, and hit it in the nose, and it decided I wasn't worth it and ran off. Haha that was a pretty good adrenaline rush! I'm trying to think of some other funny stories or things that happened during the week and not much is coming to mind! So sorry next week I'll come more prepared! I'll just end as always by saying thank you for all that you have done for me! I have learned so many important life lessons on my mission one of which is the importance of families. In the ward here, there are several recent convert families with no father figure. We're working a lot with these families youth, because without a father they need so much help! I feel so blessed to have been sent to this earth in an incredible family! Thank you so much for all that you have done for me in my life! I know that this is the Lord's work, and that our Savior Jesus Christ lives!

Elder Nielsen

Coral Reef North Area 9-15-14

FAMILIA!
Wow you guys are so awesome! It sounded like you had a great weekend chilling in St. George! It sounded like you had an amazing Regional conference as well! We had stake conference here as well, and it was awesome our mission president came down and talked a ton about member missonary work so that was super boss! Alright so to just answer some of your questions, the bed bugs are basically exterminated. I haven't found any the past 3 days and neither has my companion. Finally! I'm sick of steaming my bed every flipping day! Our ward is so boss. We have members that are always down to just show up to a lesson at the drop of a hat. The english and spanish translation isn't that big of a deal they just have translation at everything. Our ward is basically 50 50 meaning half speak english half spanish. A lot speak both languages though. Umm, about being a district leader. . . It's great I love it! Not much has changed. Basically I just have to help the sisters in our district if they struggle with anything. The best part is just getting to do baptismal interviews! Hopefully that answered all your questions!

This week we had an incredible week here in the promised land! For real Coral reef is the promised land! There is so much great work to be done here, and there are so many people prepared! We saw literally one of the biggest miracles of my mission this past week!  On Thursday, Elder Stafford and I really wanted to find a family. In planning the night before we felt inspired to go to a part of our area, that we both have never been to before. As we started harvesting we left a couple blessings but no one very elect. Then we knock on one door, and a man opens up and the first thing he says to us, "Hey guys, want to come in?" We both were very puzzled but we walked on in, and started talking with him. It turns out, that "all" of his family in Guatemala are members of the church. He told us everytime he visits there he goes to church with them. He also told us how about a year ago him, his wife, and his son, lived in Vermont and the missionaries used to stop by every week, and they had attended church in Vermont several times as well! He then went on to tell us how, that very same morning he had been praying to the Lord, for direction and then that same day we came and knocked his door. He accepted everything and he is now preparing for baptism on the 28th! We still need to meet his wife, we have not met her yet, because of her work schedule but we're excited nonetheless!

We also continued to see miracles this week with our best buds Juan and his roommate Rueben! We saw them literally everyday this week. One day we were running late, and they called us and were like, where are you? Are you coming? haha they are so legit. Everytime we meet with them Juan just soaks all we say up, and remembers a lot of things from when the missionaries taught him before. Rueben is progressing as well. He is working to give up coffee and we will be fasting with him this week as well to help him give it up before Sunday so he can be baptized!

I love this work so much!! There is no greater thing than being able to bring the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the lives of the children of God! I hope you all continue to strengthen your testimonies each and every day through personal prayer and scripture study. Because this is The Church of Jesus Christ! I hope you all have an incredible week and I love you!
Elder Nielsen

Coral Reef North Area 9-8-2014

FAMILIA!
Man, you guys are so awesome!! For real! Sissys I'm sorry I don't have time to reply to your emails, but just keep up the good work! To answer some of your questions, the bed bugs are still causing problems. We steam every morning and we've done everything the mission home has told us to do. I guess it just takes time, and they actually think they might be crawling into our house through some corners or something. So we might have to re- caulk the floors as well. Haha yeah I think it would be fair to say that our house is pretty "ghetto". Oh well, as long as they don't bite me I guess I'm chill! ;)

This week was an incredible week! My companion and I felt like we worked as hard as possible this week! That's always the best feeling at the end of the week when you know you've given it your all! I'm not gonna lie the first few days of the week were not easy, we have to bike a lot in this area and it was just brutally hot, but we were able to persevere and see the Lord's promised blessings be fulfilled. One of the biggest miracles we saw was on wednesday, we had just finished a lesson and we were biking down the road and noticed a woman walking her dog. We go up and introduce ourselves and ask to share a prayer right there. She gladly accepted and right after the prayer she just kept saying how she felt "something" during the prayer. We helped her identify that what she felt was the Spirit, and then invited her to be baptized and come to church. She gladly accepted and then yesterday her and her friend both came to church! They loved it and now are preparing for baptism!

We also saw miracles with the less active guy that I talked about last week named Juan. We were visiting him and his roomates almost everyday this week! He always gets super excited about us stopping by and his roomates are super interested as well! One of his roomates is from Mexico and him and Juan actually biked to church yesterday!! It was so legit! Our chapel is a couple miles away from their house as well but they still came and loved it!

This week I also had the privilege of interviewing someone for baptism. Just a fun fact, the girl who I interviewed her Dad, is actually the branch president in Cuba! She got here like 10 months ago and her family got baptized just a few weeks after she left, and then the sisters found her like a month ago and then she was baptized yesterday! I love Cuba. 

I think that is basically it for this week, but just know that I love you all and I truly do appreciate everything that you have done and are now doing for me! I know this is the Lord's work. I'm so grateful to be here in full-time service for the Lord. There is nothing I would rather be doing! I hope you all have an incredible week and that you all make it to the temple sometime this week!
Elder Nielsen

Coral Reef North Area 9-2-2014

We went and hit up the driving range last p day, so GOLF SWAG!

FAMILIA!
Wow thank you all for the emails and pictures as always! I love pics! haha for real though it sounds like everybody had an incredible week! I wanted to say though Dad, don't worry about not emailing for one week. I'm just appreciative that I do get to  hear from you on a regular basis! It sounded like your trip down the grand canyon was incredible as well! Mom, I appreciate as well your comments on obedience! I loved that quote as well that "obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings miracles!" I have seen that quote come true so many times in my mission! So don't worry I will continue to be as exactly obedient as possible!

This week went really for us. Elder Stafford is an awesome missionary. He is still pretty green like I said, but he has the desire to serve which is all that matters! We've been working a lot this week with his spanish. It's hard here though, because I have come to realize that the majority of our area speaks English! haha it's definitely a transition going from pure Spanish my whole mission now to just "hood" black people everywhere, but it's way fun! Haha something different happens everyday that's for sure! We've been doing a lot of finding this week, because sadly our family of 6 is not progressing anymore. The Dad just wasn't interested anymore and he just pushed the rest of the family away as well. No worries though because we saw an awesome miracle last night!

We knocked into this super less active guy named Juan who was baptized in 2000. (I know it sounds latin, but he speaks English) He was way cool! He talked about how he knows he needs to come back and how he wants to bring his friends that he lives with! We will be seeing him tonight so hopefully we found some good potential there! I'm so excited to be here in this area, because it has A LOT of potential! Our ward is awesome, and our bishop is exactly like Blaine and Jen's family. He has 7 kids all under the age of 15!

I love you all and I truly appreciate everything you do for me! I love being a missionary. I can't imagine doing anything else with my life right now. The happiness that I have felt on my mission cannot be compared with anything else I've experienced in my life! I know that this is the Lord's work, and that this is His church!
Elder Nielsen