Humility. 12/26/12

Dear Family and Friends, It’s been a great few days here in the DR. Christmas eve we had to be home at six, but 2 members brought us food, as well as the lady that lives below us. Christmas Day we had to give out 15 Books of Mormon that we had previously marked, signed, and wrapped in gift paper. However, apart from the Christmas party, zone activity, food, presents, and service, my favorite day was last Sunday. My companion and I had to speak in sacrament. I had a whole talk figured out based on why we should spread the gospel. To be perfectly honest it was kind of abrasive, and many times I felt as if it might offend more than help. My companion spoke first and set the tone with a talk on charity. After that there was no way I could give such a talk. I abandoned my original thoughts completely and spoke from my heart. I spoke the thoughts that the spirit gave me. I spoke on how we can be humble and loving in our approach in sharing the gospel. We don’t have to say I am right and you are wrong and you have to convert or you will be sorry. Also, even though it is a good start, we should not only spread the gospel out of obligation or duty alone. It is our duty as Disciples of Christ and children of our heavenly father, however, there is a stronger, more effective approach. Something close to the following and as the spirit directs. “My dearest friend, I care deeply about your happiness, your success, and your family. I have something in my possession that is the secret to everything good in my life, and I would never be able to live it down if i did not share it with you. It is sacred and special to me, and i hope that it can bless you as well. It is my relationship with the living Jesus Christ and His church. Once again he is personally guiding us through newly called and ordained Apostles and Prophets. He lives, He loves us, and he has not forgotten us. He has given us promised blessings and special authority to serve others in His name. Through this special priesthood authority we can seal families together even beyond the grave. Fathers can give heaven inspired blessings of council, comfort, and health to their loved ones. We have received more of the precious words of Christ in a sacred new book of scripture. My friend, I only wish for you to enjoy the same peace, hope, love, and quality of life that I do so enjoy. Please, open your heart and mind to more, and be a partaker in eternal bliss.” Sincerely, Elder Jared C. Nichols

Nothin much. 12/18/12

Dear Family and Friends, I hope you all are doing well in this Christmas season. I love you all very much and it was great to receive a few letters at the Christmas party yesterday. This Sunday I get to speak in sacrament and I am pretty excited. I´ve been studying the apostasy and restoration like crazy this week and I have a few ideas. Next week I will be writing on Wednesday instead of Monday. We are all having special transfers to avoid traveling on New Year’s Day. Everything is going well over here. My companion and I get along great. He is a very humble guy and teaches me not to worry so much or let dumb people get to me. Companionships are definitely inspired by the lord. These last few weeks we have been trying to make sure that we make contact with a member every day. We are trying to help improve relations between the members and missionaries. We are also talking to a lot of new people which is fun. Hope you are all doing well. Elder Nichols

Walk, walk, and walk. 12/10/12

Dear Family and Friends Well... what can I say? This week we walked a ton. They called a new ward mission leader in the ward, and his wife is the recently called Relief Society President. They expressed to us the concern that the ward is distant with the missionaries because there is hardly any relationship or trust there. So we hit the pavement this week to go visit members in their homes, and i even got permission from the Zone Leaders to leave our area to go visit members in the other area that belongs to our ward. We are planning to visit even more next week and try and get the ward more excited about missionary work, and the gospel in general. Also, ever since President Hernandez raised the bar on the number of daily contacts, we have not missed a single day. It has been a real test of diligence and patience, but we have seen the fruits. The funny thing is that most of the fruits have nothing to do with finding new investigators, or even people that are better prepared or have more interest. Mostly I just feel good for being obedient, and find it easier to resist other temptations. It has been a great week and we are all getting excited for the Mission Christmas Party on the 17th. We also have interviews tomorrow, which are always uplifting. Take care. Elder Nichols

Raising the Bar. 12/3/12

Dear Family and Friends, Hope you all are enjoying your December. It’s still just as hot as ever here. It’s been summer for 16 months, but I´m not bitter. Anyways today for pday we went to La Romana and played soccer against another zone. Our zone won. Then we played Latins Vs. Americans.... I don’t think I have to reveal how that went. We had a good time, and ate pizza afterwards. Turns out we were out there in the sun for a long time.... a really long time... So I look like a lobster, and my legs feel like Jello. On another note, my new companion finally was able to get over his dengue on Thursday, so we have been working hard the last 5 days. President raised the bar, and now we have to do 15 contacts every day. That´s 15 houses by the way, not 15 people. The first night it took us 2 hours and nobody let us in. Yesterday we had a member with us and it took 4 and a half hours. The idea is that if we contact more, we should find more people that are ready and willing to follow Christ. That is statistically speaking of course. But I am happy to raise the bar and be obedient. The new requirement has pulled me out of a rut and gotten me to work harder and be more diligent. Bueno, esto es todo por ahora. Quiero que sepan que tengo mucho amor por este evangelio, y que estoy esforzándome ser un mejor misionero, pero también mejor discípulo de Jesucristo. No queda ninguna duda en mi mente en cuanto de la veracidad de La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de Los Últimos Días. Para ellos que realmente tengan el deseo de seguir el Señor, les brindamos buenas noticias de que Él está dirigiendo su propia iglesia personalmente. Les invitamos a preguntar a Dios, y confirmar ésta verdad con Él. Translation: Well, that's all for now. Please know that I have much love for the gospel, and I'm striving to be a better missionary, but also better disciple of Jesus Christ. There is no doubt in my mind about the veracity of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For those who really have a desire to follow the Lord, we bring good news that He is personally leading his own church. We invite you to ask God, and confirm this truth with Him Elder Nichols

His Image. 11/26/12

Dear Family and Friends, Not much to write about this week. My new companion has been sick with the same tropical fever that I had before. Yerdis is still very Hindu, but likes the explanations we give to his questions. Him and his wife see us as the official Christian authority. We are their go to guys so to speak. Altagracia has kind of hit a wall in her progression, as she has not been to church in almost 2 months, despite her baptismal date and other extreme progress. In other news, we spent thanksgiving as a district at Burger King. I found the most expensive burger on the menu and wrapped my readjusted jaws around it in a triumphant celebration. It wasn`t turkey and mashed potatoes but it was still glorious. I am very uncertain of the spelling of that word. As for a spiritual thought, I included a photo of something that sparked a spiritual moment. I was just trying to organize, clean, and decorate my study space with some pictures of Christ when the arrangement I created struck me. My plaque over the first picture of Christ makes him look a little like a missionary, and I was reminded that we are literally His representatives. Would someone else see His image in my countenance? More importantly, would the Savior himself see it? Which brought me to the next photo entitled “My missionary commission.” The back of which gives an inspiring declaration and reminder of what we do as missionaries, and I don't mean walk all day under the sun and get rejected. I mean that we are sent by Him to say His words, think His thoughts, and bring souls unto Him. The words of Elder Holland still ring in my ears, in that this comission is for life, and is to change me forever. Finally, a picture given to me by Elder Hubbard upon his departure entitled, “Lost and Found.” It reminded me of where I was a few years back, and who it was that found me, didn´t reject me, and changed my life for the better. My brothers and sisters, rather than be members of the church that obey the rules out of obligation, let’s be disciples that follow out of love, and are trying to be like Him. Love, Elder Nichols

Higuey X 3. 11/19/12

Dear Family and Friends, Well, transfer calls came and I am staying here in Higuey. My companion will be Elder Ford. I have met him before but I don’t really know him. There isn’t really much on my mind right now other than I will miss Elder Hubbard. He has a great big heart and it has been a pleasure to work with him. We have had a lot of good experiences, both fun and spiritual. The mission truly is an adventure, and I love and respect every companion I have ever had. Maybe not at first, but by the end yes. Look for the good in people. Love them just because. Serve them. Be the friend you would want to have. Forgive easily. You will find more happiness in your life. Elder Nichols

Lost in Translation. 11/12/12

Dear Family and Friends, This week was really slow since we were recovering from Dengue, so we weren´t able to teach very many people. However, Tuesday and Wednesday we got to go do some humanitarian work with some American dentists and doctors. All I did was translate, but it was pretty fun. I also had to help hold down a some incredibly strong little kids that were freaking out. I took a few pictures but I’ll have to send those next week. We just did a bunch of dental work for children, a.k.a. pulling rotten teeth. We also gave out a bunch of hygiene kits and did check ups for a bunch of pregnant ladies and their kids to make sure everything was ok. It was fun and the people we were translating for were all really nice and mostly LDS. I really enjoyed it and they said that we helped a lot. I was really grateful to get some service in. We just haven´t come across many opportunities to give service, so it felt nice to finally be able to help out. Other than that the mission has been pretty normal. Just trying to encourage people to keep the commandments so they can receive the blessings and feel closer to Christ. We are still trying to help Yerdis receive a personal witness the Christ is his Savior as well. I imagine that our Heavenly Father wants Yerdis to have that testimony, so if it hasn´t yet been revealed to him I am sure there is a good reason. I was thinking in church this week about the things that really matter in this life. We deal with many people inside and outside of the church that have just fallen into a routine in life and are going day by day. Many people put so much emphasis on money, prominence, material objects, or daily chores and have no idea what really matters. We all have to move on from this world. The only things we can take with us are what remain in our head and heart. I would also add our relationships. Our intelligence rises with us in the resurrection, and the prophet Alma says that our state will be awful if the Word of God is not found in us. Judgment is an assessment of the type of person we have become, not a tally of good acts vs bad acts and the hope that we are not in too much debt. Who we are matters. Christ like attributes are keys to the celestial kingdom. How could we live in that kingdom if we do not possess those attributes? How would heaven be complete without our family and friends? We need to study the Word and make it a part of us. We need to submit to the will of God and be more like Christ. We need to do temple work for our families and missionary work for our friends. These are the things of eternal significance that will bring lasting happiness. Elder Nichols

The Dengue. 11/5/12

Dear Family and Friends, Greetings from Higuey. The temple trip was great on tuesday, even with our fevers. President Hernandez took one look at us and sent us to the mission doctor across the street. He told us we likely had a fun disease that one gets from mosquitoes called Dengue Fever. So we did some blood tests and sure enough, it was Dengue. They can tell because it lowers the platelets in the blood. They say the desired number is between 150,000 and 400,000. I was at 51,000. President made us stay with him and his wife that night, and then they told us we could not go back until we were better. The next day the Dengue hit us pretty hard. Fever, body aches, migraines, vomiting, rashes, loss of appetite, and no energy for a grand total of 7 days made quite an adventure. I lived this week off of lots of gatorade, a couple bananas, crackers, and an almost comatose amount of sleeping. President Hernandez, Sister Hernandez, and Dr. Shaver all had close eyes on us. We did lots of blood tests and took a ridiculous amount of acetomenophen. I am feeling much better now, but still dont have much energy. We still have direct orders to take it easy. However, I learned something fun. Even when we arent happy we can still have peace. I did my best to maintain my good attitude, prayers, and study, and I was still able to feel the companionship of the Holy Ghost. I also got a letter from a recent convert saying that her husband wants to come to church! Also that her son Jose, also a recent convert of mine, went to the temple to do baptisms. That made me happy. Take care my friends. Elder Nichols

The Fever 10/29/12

Dear Family and Friends, Greetings from the D.R. Today is my compañions birthday and we both have a 101 degree fever. Awsome.But our spirits are still pretty high. i got a blessing and tomorrow we get to go to the temple. Thursday we met up with Yerdis and his wife Cecilia. It was an interesting lesson. They believe that Christ was a great moral teacher, but not the savior of the entire world. They say that there are many reincarnated forms of God that have come down to reset karma and save distinct societies. So we read The Living Christ with them. The spirit was so strong. Through tears I testified that Jesus is our Savior. He has always guided us throughout the ages of history, even on two seperate continents. He guides us today through living prophets and apostles, and will soon return to reign personally on the earth. He conquered sin, death, and every trial, affliction, or heartache we could possibly experience. They told us that if they were Christians, they would be LDS. They want to keep reading the Book of Mormon and meet with us to understand it. They always pray with us and are willing to keep visiting the Church. They say its hard for them to convert because they have had their own spiritual experiences in their religion that makes it hard to abandon. I have hope for them, and know that God will reveal to them Jesus is the Christ. Saturday Elder Craig Zwick from the 70 came to speak to our two zones. It was a special treat. He made us promise not to take motorcycles anymore. I am terrified of them so it was an easy promise. He also talked about the importance of mission correlacion meeting, working hard, obediently, and inteligently. No idea if i spelt that right. He also talked about keeping our covenants. The spirit was super strong and it was a great meeting. We all came out so edified. He also told us that since the age has been reduced for missionary service, the mission department in Salt Lake has received almost 12,000 applications. The weekly record used to be 800. These are exciting times. President Hernandez said that the missionwill receive 250 more missionaries, which means most of us will be training very soon. Elder Zwick also told us that when he was on his mission, President Richard G. Scott sent him to bolivia with 3 other elders on horseback to open a new area. Crazy huh? Thats like giving me a rowboat and sending me to cuba. I talked yesterday in church. I was so excited. How funny is that? I seriously wanna be a CES teacher someday, or some other job where i can still live the law of consecration. Anyways I talked about missionary work of course, but with a twist. I started with how we started a war in heaven that has continued here on the earth. Our weapon was and is our testimony. There are casualties in this war, and that is being seperated from the presence of our heavenly father. I talked about how its ok to feel weak or inadequate in sharing the gospel, and that the grace of Christ is an enabling power that helps us accomplish otherwise impossible tasks. Christ has promised to give us the very words we need in the moment we need them. He is our biggest ally in the war. Not to mention that the members don´t have to wrry about teaching gospel principles since that is our job as missionaries. What we need from the members is their testimonies and friendship for the investigators. Finally I talked about the charity that we need to do the work. Charity is the pure love of Christ, and does not seek out her own. The true disciples of Christ have charity, and without it we are nothing. At which point I asked if I love their neighbors and family members more than they do. Is it possible to say you love them so much and be willing to let suffer seperation from God? It was very bold, but I felt the spirit. I prepared so much and could have talked for 30 minutes at least. I got 10 hahaha. So I had to go with the spirit. It was great. I love you all. I hope you are doing well. Elder Nichols

No electricity but the Spirit still energizes. 10/22/12.

Dear Family and Friends, This week has been nuts. We haven´t had electricity for 10 days now. I even washed my clothes by hand. That was exciting. The biggest news, and the only thing really on my mind, is that our Hindu investigator Yerdis came to church with his wife and 2 kids. They read scriptures in class, made comments, and even sang the hymns better than some of the members. It was an honor to sit with them in sacrament and enjoy the primary program with them. We have an appointment with them later in the week, but it appears to me that everything is on track. They always have good questions, they read in between visits, we him and his wife together, and it is just amazing. I felt the spirit pretty strong with them in church, in fact stronger than in any other meeting. I hope they were able to feel that too. We also got a reference from a member that lives in Bavaro. His name is Wellington and he lives here in Higuey. we were finally able to make contact with him and set up an appointment. We visited him last night and he told us that he used to belong to another church, but it just didn´t make the impact on his life that he had been hoping for. So we taught him the first lesson and he was just floored. Had no idea anything like this existed. It was great to see such a response from someone who understands the gravity of our message. Well I´m off to write a few letters by hand. Our temple trip got moved to next week, and we are all super excited. With Love, Elder Nichols

The Right Place. 10/15/12

Dear Friends and Family, So in first place thanks to Ryan, Sandy, Briana, Sheldon, Janine, Annaliese, and Natalie for the letters. I was shocked to receive so many. It was well worth the 3 hour bus ride to the capital. My companion is now a district leader and had to go for a training meeting. The assistants told me to go with him because it was too far to go alone. Your letters mean the world to me. Think of this, letters are so important that Moroni included letters from his father in the Book of Mormon. Most of the new testament is letters from Paul. My favorite letter was from Natalie. She reminded me that our Patriarchal Blessing is the best protection we have against Satan. So I went back to my own blessing and decided to really study and mark it up like my scriptures. I learned a ton. I see my blessing in an entirely different light now. I have been reminded of who I am, why I am here, advice for trials, my future blessings and how to obtain them. Thank you Natalie. I needed that reminder. Never underestimate the power of your own testimony. The photos are of district meeting last transfer where Elder Baker snuck in some water guns and hosed us. Then afterwards we did a human pyramid. There is also a cool sunrise and my ugly mug to prove it was real and that I was there. Then a motivational yet confusing poster in our house, and finally some pictures of the Catholic Basilica. In other news, the Lord led me to some pretty cool people this week. On our way back from a zone meeting in La Romana we sat next to this kid named Alex. He tried talking to us in english but we were pretty tired so we kinda blew him off. I felt a little bad about it. A few minutes later he asked a simple question and the spirit told me to talk to him, so I did. Naturally I eventually turned the conversation to the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. We exchanged phone numbers and he called us two days later. Come to find out he has had a lot of similar trials that I have had and we talked a lot about family and finding a relationship with our Heavenly Father. We have a return appointment. Lesson learned, its good to listen to promptings of the spirit. We were also visiting a recent convert this week, and I heard someone playing an electric guitar. Anyone who knows me can rightly assume that we contacted the man. We found out that he is Hindu. Not sure if I said that right. But its a religion from India. He was born Catholic and converted. I played a little guitar for him, we talked a bit and put a return appointment. He was there again and we talked for about an hour and a half about the similarities in our religions. He is a very humble guy and wants to learn more. Who knew that all those years of loud rock music would pay off? Final thoughts. I have learned that the Bible is not common ground, it´s a battle ground. I have had very little success trying to prove that we are right with the Bible. As Joseph Smith once said, paraphrasing, that every pastor interpereted the same passage of scripture so differently that finding the truth with an appeal to the Bible was impossible. I have seen this problem first hand. Instead of trying to prove that we are right, I have left my Bible at home and have been fearlessly testifying of the truth with Book of Mormon in hand. The mission manual Preach My Gospel says that Every man is eventually backed up to the wall of faith, and there he must make his stand. I believe John Taylor once said that when people come up to us and say that we are not like them, we should say ¨We know it. We don´t want to be. We want to be like Jesus¨ So my friends, don´t be afraid to stand up and stand out. Nobody can disprove your testimony. No earthly knowledge can fight against a spiritual confirmation from the Lord as to the truthfulness of the Restored Gospel. Love, Elder Nichols

More pictures. 10/15/12

More pictures, cont. 10/15/12

Deja vu 10/8/12

Dear Family and Friends, This week was Elder Thornocks birthday. So at midnight we put a bunch of balloons in his room, lit some heavy duty man sparklers, and shot glitter through a couple different fans aimed right at him. It was great. He said that he was so confused, and he thought the room was on fire. When the glitter hit him he thought it was sparks. We got the whole thing on film and pictures. After scaring him to death we through him a snickers bar and cleaned up the mess. In other news, I hoped you all enjoyed conference. I sure did. We posted up in the secretary´s office with the sofa from the foyer and tons of snacks so we could watch comfortably in english. It was great. Saturday was great and I took lots of notes, but the magic happened for me on Sunday. In order to fully explain I include a quote from my blog in August 2011 entitled ¨Going to work in Santo Domingo¨: ¨I've had quite a few interesting spiritual experiences as well. For instance, we watched a video of Elder Holland speaking to the Provo missionaries about a year ago. At the end he talked about the last chapter of John, in which the Savior has died, and the apostles (I literally just typed apóstales and had to delete) went back to the only thing they really new how to do, which was fish. The whole night they don't catch a single thing, and then the Savior comes on the shore (but they don't know its him) and tells them to cast their net on the other side of the boat. They catch so many fish that they can't haul in the net, and John immediately says "it's him" and Peter just jumps overboard. Eventually after they eat and what not Jesus asks Peter 3 times if he loves Him, and if so, then to feed His sheep. Elder Holland put it this way "I've already asked you to cast down your nets and follow me once, and now I'm doing it again. Don't make me do it a third time. If you TRULY love me then feed my sheep. You can't turn around and go back to life the way it was before" When I heard these words I swear it felt like Elder Holland was right there in the room speaking as if it was just a Personal Priesthood Interview with him and I. Those words went straight to my heart and I was flooded with the spirit. I have been praying every night as hard and intent as I can, telling the Lord I love him right before I close. So when he said that I just knew it was meant for me. Not to mention that my bishop had in a sense already told me to "cast down my nets" a few months ago, and I kind of gave up, a bit like Peter and the apostles. Hearing Elder Holland was a bit like a chastisement from the Lord, and reminded me of my duty. My nets are gone forever. I can't turn back.¨ So if you were paying attention in conference you will know that sunday morning Elder Holland gave almost the exact same talk. Why is that such a big deal to me? Because that talk changed my life. The spirit was electrifying. The Lord Jesus Christ is ever aware of me, my needs, and my prayers. He inspired Elder Holland to give that same talk again because he knew that it would mean something to me. How do I know? Because of the way I felt. I wasn´t thinking ¨Hey! I´ve heard this talk before. Guess I can take a break from my notes and get a snack¨ Nope. Not at all. I was locked in. It was like the spirit had me in a vice grip. Especially when he said ¨Why are we having this discussion again?¨ That hit me hard. Now I realize that this might not mean much to many of you, but I want you to know that it meant something to me. The Lord knows how much I love Elder Holland and his passionate speaking. He knew I would be watching closely and listening to the spirit. He knew how much that talk meant to me the first time I heard it. He knew I needed it again. I testify to you my beloved friends and family that Jesus Christ lives, and He knows us. He goes after the one lost sheep, wherever it may be, to the rescue. For all I know the Lord could have inspired that talk simply for me and nobody else. It wouldn´t surprise me. I prayed in faith for the guidance I would need this conference, and I received a miracle. I don´t know what the Lord has planned for me after the mission, but He has seen fit to powerfully remind me that this mission is just the training ground for the rest of my life. That the missionary commission is for life, and is supposed to change my very being. I am supposed to BE a missionary, not just serve a mission. The Lord expects me to show my love through my loyalty to Him at all stages that follow in my life. I declare just as boldy as Elder Holland, that I love the Lord, and I know He loves me. With my hand to the plow, I will not look back. Elder Jared C. Nichols

Faith to Find. 10/1/12

Dear family and friends, Well this week went well. I gotta tell the funny stuff first and then get to the serious testimony later. Today some guy came to our house from the power company and told us he was shutting off the power becuase we hadn´t paid the bill. Well we aren´t in charge of that because we transfer so often, but we joked around with him while the other elders called the housing office. Turns out the housing elder had the receipt on his desk and everything and there was just some mix up in the system. I´m not entirely sure. The funny part came after. The power guy came back up the stairs and said ¨um... i don´t know how to tell you guys this, but you need to call that other guy back and tell him that your landlord downstairs is stealing power from your house. The reason your power bill is so high is because her meter doesn´t even have a cable connected to it. She is plugged into the meter for your house, and I can see that she is using two air conditioners and those use a lot of energy. ¨ All four of us just started laughing. My companion called the housing elder back and told him the story and I heard ¨wait...WHAT?! HOW?!?!¨ hahahaha. It would probably be a different story if she was robbing me personally, but for now I think its pretty funny. Its just kind of a normal thing that happens here, I wasn´t the least bit surprised when he told us. Anyways we have 4 or 5 people that are progressing. One is a really humble guy named Marino. The lesson started with him saying that the Book of Mormon isn´t inspired of God. After that we had one of the best lessons I have had on my mission. It was completely guided and inspired by the spirit. I know because it was very different from my normal method of teaching. I just felt like taking a different approach. Instead of just giving him the information or trying to prove that its true, we led him to the answers. It´s hard to describe it, but we kind of helped him convince himself that it was true. At the end of the lesson he commited to read from the Book of Mormon to answer a few questions he asked us, then actually read it. Then he explained it to us. Then he came to church yesterday. Needless to say I have been trying this new approach and we have been having more success. Something very similar happened with a guy named Fierro. We helped him answer his own questions, taught frequently with the scriptures, and you could just see the wheels turning as he discovered pieces of the truth forming. I have never seen someone so excited to come to conference this weekend to see if President Monson really is a Prophet. Another large portion of my thoughts is directed towards having the faith to find people to teach. There is a lot of discouragement in my house. They aren´t finding good people to teach, and haven´t had a whole lot of success in the mission. I don´t pretend to be a better missionary, because I know that baptisms are a gift. But having faith that God has sent us here for a reason and wants us to find these people is a huge source of motivation and success. Joseph Smith received an answer to his prayer because he knew God would answer him. He wasn´t just hoping to recieve an answer or asking to see if it would work. He knew he would receive an answer, and because of his faith, he did. My finding efforts are similar. I know I am here for a reason. I know there is someone here who needs me. I know God is a lot smarter than we are and can guide people where he wants them. God is not a failure. His work and Glory is our salvation and exaltation. Trust Him. He knows what he is doing, and will never ask you to do something that would hurt you. It might hurt your pride, and maybe even kill the natural man inside you, but your spirit, character, wisdom, honor, intelligence, and virtue will grow exponentially. Love, Elder Nichols

No hay un título chistoso ‏ 9/24/12

Dear Family and Friends, Well this week we had interviews with president and everything is in tip top shape. I always go in really nervous and come out feeling great. President Hernandez is a man of few words but he is one of the nicest and I have a lot of faith that he is guided by the Lord. Its only the fourth time in 14 months that I have ever been able to talk to him face to face. Other than 3 or 4 quick phone calls from him, the majority of my guidance has been from the scriptures, the holy ghost, and prayer. It´s interesting how when we pray the way we are supposed to we end up aligning our will with his and know exactly what we should be doing. I have heard a lot of people say that their mission president changed their life and that they were so close. My experience with my mission president so far for me has been like going to the doctor for the regular check up. On the other hand, my elders quorum president, bishop, and stake president are the ones that did open heart surgery when I was in critical condition. I owe them a lot and am ever grateful for their firm examples of love and inspired counsel. Even though I only mention those who had priesthood keys and stewardship over me, there is still a long list of other faithful friends, family, and members of the church who have supported me at great cost. They know who they are and their reserved placed in my heart. There isn´t much more going on. We are focusing on finding as well as preparing for general conference. I am so excited you don´t even know. The words of living prophets and apostles for missionaries are like a Justin Bieber concert for a 12 year old girl. Very emotional and occasional tears. hehehe. Well I love you all and hope that you are doing missionary work. I will say it again. We as elders are called to teach people correct doctrine and help them through the repentance process. The members are called to bear their testimony and be faithful friends. The mission of the church is 3 fold. Perfect the saints. Preach the Gospel. Redeem the Dead. We cannot be perfected if we have not developed the charity necessary to reach out to our neighbors or ancestors. God loves all of his children very much, and we should not be so selfish as to be content with our own salvation. Be brave my friends. Be valient. Remember your baptismal covenant to be a witness of Christ in all times, in all things, and in all places. Be bold and without fear in spreading the restored gospel. There is no salvation without it. I promise that the Holy Ghost will guide you. I know, because he has guided me. Jesus Christ Lives. He is personally guiding His own church today. He speaks to His living prophets and apostles. The Holy Spirit has frequently testified to me that they are called of God. No man and copy, imitate, or falsify those feelings. I testify with all my heart, conviction, and honor that this church is true, before the presence of unseen angels as well as the all seeing eye of our Eternal Father, in the name of Jesus Christ. Elder Jared Christopher Nichols

Finding 9/17/12

Dear Family and Friends Well the last 3 weeks have gone by pretty fast. We are starting to spread the word about general conference and get people interested. This week in church we had 3 investigators. Elder Hubbard and I were pretty happy about that. There have been more and more people just falling right into our hands. Maybe the Lord is helping us out a bit because our area is so big. For now we are just focusing on being obedient and positive. This is the Lord´s work, and He is not a failure. Today I wrote a bunch of letters too, so keep your eyes peeled. Love, Elder nichols

I Spy... La Basilica 9/10/12

Dear Family and Friends This week I took a few pictures of the Catholic Basilica to show you what its like working under they eye of sauron. Just kidding, but my point is that its huge. Today we went to play basketball with another zone and the church had a KETTLER PING PONG TABLE!!! But the net was ripped to shreds and the paddles were locked in the library. I suppose God has a sense of humor. On a more spiritual note I have found my purpose, or at least one of them, here in Higuey. Since the last time I wrote, I was able to have quite a few long discussions with my good friend elder Allen, on the roof of our house. The mission and life in general have been kinda hard on him, he hasn´t had as much success as he deserves. We had a heart to heart and I was able to courageously bear my testimony to him. I felt the spirit so strong on that roof, and I know without a doubt the Lord sent me to comfort him. We´ve also had a lot of people contacting us. We just walk around and people get placed in our path. An 18 year old named Chani contacted us in the street and wants to be baptized. Less active members find us in the street and say they want to come back to church. Ward Missionaries find us in the street and take us to references. It is nuts. I have had more people flag me down to talk to me in one week than in my entire mission. So anyways, Elder Hubbard and I are working hard. We have broken the area up into subsections with colors so that we plan things that are close together. We made a sign up sheet for the members to leave with us and help us teach. I was thinking about that a lot this week, i mean the importance of member present lessons and the different roles we play. The missionaries are called to teach, and help the investigators through the repentance process, much like a bishop. But the members need to testify, and be a friend. The testimony of the native members of the ward has much more worth and effect than that of the missionaries. I was also thinking about the proper way to spread the gospel. I`ll give two examples and let you decide which feels right. 1. Hey I was talking to the missionaries of my church the other day and they gave me this pamphlet and told me to give it to someone. So I thought about you and that maybe you would be interested. Would you read it and come to church with me? 2. My friend, we have known each other for awhile now and you are really important to me. I trust you and think of you as family. There is something in my life that gives me a lot of happiness, and peace, especially in these troubled times. I just wouldn`t feel right, in fact I would feel quite selfish, if I didn`t share with my best friend the secret to my happiness. Its my church, and I would really like to invite you to sit with my family and feel the difference that I feel when I learn about the Savior Jesus Christ. People don`t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. I love you all. I`m not perfect, and am very very aware of my need for the savior. But I love all of my friends like family, down to the very fiber of my soul. I hope those that know me can see past my imperfections and see the love that I have for them, how quickly I would forgive and forget, and that I would do anything for them if they just asked. Cuídense Elder Nichols

I Spy... La Basilica. 9/10/12

Higuey 9/3/12

Dear Family and Friends, Well.... I´m in Higuey. It was a 3 hour bus ride to get out here. Its a huge area, especially compared to my last area. We get mail once a transfer hahaha. There are parts of it that are extremely rich as well. Like nicer houses than i have ever seen in the states. There is a huge catholic basilica here too that towers over all the other buildings. Sometimes I feel like my companion and I are Frodo and Sam, and the basilica is that tower with the eye of Sauron. hehehehe.... Anyways, I live with 3 other elders. Elder Hubbard, Elder Allen, and Elder Thornock. Elder Hubbard is my companion, and he is from Utah. He has 9 months in the mission, and his last companion was in my district for 3 months. I feel a little bit frustrated right now because I don´t know anyone or where they live. I can´t really make any decisions either. I just kinda follow my companion around and teach when I can. I just do my best to serve the other elders in my house by cooking, cleaning, and being an example. 2 of them have had a pretty rough mission so far, and so I think I was sent here to help them out and encourage them. It`s also been very humbling. That is really all I´ve got for now. Wish me luck. Love, Elder Nichols

Hurricane, Baptism, Transfers, and PHOTOS!!!!! 8/27/12

Dear Family and Friends, This week we had hurricane. We couldn´t leave the house for 2 days. I was extremely bored. Unfortunately the hurricane also canceled two of our baptisms. But sunday in the evening we were able to finally baptize the Sanchez Family. I have written about them a lot in my journal. They actually contacted us. Its been a long road but they are super special, and the mom is just a fireball. She is the anchor holding that family together and is so full of love. After the baptism she invited everyone over to their house and we had refreshments and talked for a while. It was a great way to integrate them into the ward. The photos are from the baptism and after party hahaha. Also a super cute little dominican kid in the ward. Last Pday we did some sightseeing. We wanted to go to some museums but they are closed on mondays. We found that out after the hour bus ride. So we walked around and found some cool stuff in the colonial zone. We didn´t buy anything though because they love to rip off tourists. Everything is like 10 times more expensive than normal. No joke. Also a photo of some barbecue chicken and mashed potatoes that I made. Not sure if i´ve already sent it, but it was delicious, and worth bragging about. As far as transfers go, I´m being relieved of leadership duty for a time. They are sending me WAY the heck out to La Romana to be companions with Elder Hunnard. I have never met him. Its about 3 hours away, and they get mail once every transfer. The super awesome thing is that I will be sharing a house with 3 other elders, including Elder Charles Drew Allen, who was in La Caleta with me. He is literally my best friend in the mission, and I know that it is an inspired call. I have felt pretty down and stressed out the last few weeks, and it seems like this is just what I need. They tell me that I still need to work really hard, and that I´ll be in the city. I´ll keep you all posted. Enjoy the photos. Love, Elder Nichols

Hurricane, Baptism, Transfers, and PHOTOS!!!!! 8/27/12

Pressing forward in faith. 8/20/12

Dear family and friends. Dad told me there are hidden blessings coming my way. i´ve been so frustrated out here with dumb people and not being able to do all the good i thought i was going to do. the mission is so different than what i thought and i am just totally worn out.this week was extremely hard. there are so many obstacles, dumb people inside and outside of the church, and i´ve been wondering if i´m wasting my time. other days i just don´t want to be here and its all i can do to roll out of bed and put a smile on. but maybe, just maybe, my call to the mission field has more to do with the people that are closer to me, such as my trainee, my district, and my parents. are family is progressing, even if some here are not.our trials make us stronger, so i will come home more resilient than ever hahaha. i know that sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven, and the miracles come after the trial of our faith. For those of us who have more faith.... God sends bigger trials. i guess i could see it as a compliment. i love you guys. its encouraging to think that i have more time in the mission than i lack. but its also scary cuz i wanted to accomplish more and time is running out. Pressing Forward in Faith, Elder Nichols

This week in the DR. 8/13/12

Dear Friends and Family, I hope all is well back in the states. Thanks to Sister Bredeson for the DearElder, and to Ryan as well. Congrats to the wave of RM`s that have completed their service, you are all an example to me. This week has been a trial of humility, patience, and endurance. I received a call saturday morning from the assistants advising me to postpone the baptism that we were going to have that day. Its ok though, in the end it will be better him, as he will have more time to come to church and prepare before actually making the covenant. Then the activity we had planned crashed and burned because there was also a stake activity for all the leaders. That was a bit frustrating, because the leaders are the only faithful members that come to activities. So we had about 4 members and 6 investigators come to the activity about 2 hours late. So it was short, but cool. Our investigator Juan Carlos is a magician, or better said, illusionist. He did some pretty cool tricks, and we are going to plan it again but jointly with the other ward that shares our building. We did have a good turn out for our english class though. It was mostly kids, but i`m not complaining. We practiced letters and numbers and then played battleship. It was great. Amidst the trials I´m doing the best I can to repent and ponder during my prayers as well as keep my head up. Not sure who said it, but a quote exists that says sometimes the only thing we can do is hold on tight and outlast the devil. I just gotta make it to the end of the month and we should be having 5 baptisms in one weekend. Elder Nichols

Out of time. 8/6/12

Dear family and friends. Its been a really rough week, but i´m alive. we are super busy and doing our best. i´m out of time because i answered some emails personally and i´m longwinded with these epistles. hahaha. i love you all. Elder Nichols

Ooops. 7/30/12

Dear Family and Friends. Well i spent a lot of time trying to send a video of me burning a tie for my one year mark. it was a really ugly tie. The highlight of my week was having 12 investigators in church. When i got here I had 2. Our baptismal goal for august is 3, but there is a high chance for 3 or 4 in addition to that goal. Keep us in your prayers, we are working hard. love elder nichols (unfortunately, video transfer was unsuccessful)

Photos!!!! 7/23/12

Dear Family and Friends, Well we had a great week and i am out of time cuz i wrote a few of you personally and I still have to write President. I hope you enjoy the photos. This week we baptized a geat lady named Olga Adames. She had spinal surgery about 8 months ago, so we had her sit on a metal chair in the font and my companion and I tilted the chair back. It was great. The sanchez family is progressing well. We hope to baptize them all at the end of the transfer. Right now 3 of them have a set baptismal date, 2 have to get married, and the dad still has to come to church hahahaha. But i´ve got faith. I know that I was called to this area for this family. God put me here and he confirmed to me that they are the reason i´m here. Spiritual Thought Alma the younger, The sons of Mosiah, and Samuel the Lamanite were all discouraged at one point, but the Lord encouraged them. With alma he sent an angel and promised him a mission companion. With the sons of mosiah he personally promised them success. The point is that the lord does not forget those who are on His errand. He knows it is tough, but qualifies those of us that He has called. He promises that he will go before our face, and send his angels on our left and right to bear us up. In his own way, at just the right moment, when we think we can go no further, he swoops in and says "my son, dont give up. you are doing so well and have great cause to rejoice. keep your head up and stay strong." I testify that we can trust in Him. We need not fear because he has overcome the world. He has overcome death. He loves us and is always with us if we have our heart inclined towards Him. Love, Elder Nichols

Photos, (Cont.) 7/23/12

Photos, (Cont.) 7/23/12

1 year... 2 areas. 7/16/12

Dear Family and Friends, Well transfers were last night and I am staying in this tiny little area for 6 more weeks to finish training my companion. My district is being put back together which makes me happy. Elder Smith returns and is training. Elder Mejias is being put with Elder Lefevre, who was my room mate the first time in the MTC, so im really excited about that. We recently found a family of 6 and they are progressing well. 3 of them have a baptismal date including the mom, maria, and 2 younger siblings jose and mayerling. The dad hasn´t come to church yet, but occasionally reads with us. We watched the restoration, a video about joseph smiths first vision, and convinced him to say the closing prayer. it was short but sweet. ¨God, i saw your video. it was nice. in the name of jesus christ amen.¨ Still i was happy that he was participating. Yesterday the oldest son finally came to church with the family, including his Girlfriend, who is expecting a baby. They are both willing to get married and baptized, but haven´t accepted a specific date. We are also getting a lot more cooperation from the ward, including the bishops wife, which is the key to working with the bishop. When he saw that we have the Sanchez family coming to church he started helping us out a lot more and was happy to see us and talk to us. Things are really looking up. I love you all. Elder Nichols De las muchas cosas que he aprendido en mi misión, y mi tiempo entre este pueblo, la cosa más importante es el poder de amor. Por lo menos una sonrisa y una saluda sincera son suficiente para cambiar una corazón. Recuerde mis amados hermanos que caridad nunca deja de ser. Y es la clave de cualquier discípulo verdadero de Cristo. Si hemos recibido todas las ordenanzas, pero no aprendido de ser amigable y amar nuestros vecinos más que nosotros mismos, testifico que no somos candidatos para el reino celestial. Translation: Of the many things I learned on my mission, and my time among these people, the most important thing is the power of love. At least a smile and a sincere greeting is enough to change a heart. Remember my beloved brethren that charity never faileth. And it is the key to any true disciple of Christ. If we have received all the ordinances, but not learned to be friendly and to love our neighbors more than ourselves, testify that we are not candidates for the celestial kingdom.

The Norm 7/9/12

Dear Family and Friends, This week was kind of average. We are just trying to motivate people to do things that are good for them. Its like trying to get a little kid to take vitamins. We are preparing one nice lady for her baptismal interview this week. Her name is Holga. We had a Family Home Evening last week and she invited the entire street. And they all came. We had like 20 people crammed in her house. We started a spiritual thought about the love of God and the purpose of the Atonement, and the few members just took it from there. Then we sang a bunch of hymns, had refreshments, and played a game that i taught them called ¨grunt piggy grunt¨. Basically one person is blindfolded and hits people with a pillow and tells them to grunt. Then he guesses who grunted. Its hilarious. Then my companion taught them a game similar to hot potato, but when you get caught with the object you have to dance like an animal. It was super fun. Transfer calls are this sunday, but i will most likely stay here and finish training elder ccansaya. he is a great elder with a heart of gold. i honestly think he is more of a blessing for me than i am for him. it is rebuilding my faith in the missionaries. Lets just say that my district has lots of problems. Its been a crazy transfer, but i´m staying positive hahaha. Elder Nichols

"Why are you so persistent?" 7/2/12

Dear Family and Friends, Well this week was super tough. We found some pretty hard hearted people that just wanted to argue. I tried so hard to be patient with them but I just get so frustrated when people invent scriptures, or misinterpret them and hold firm to their distorted version. People often tell me that everyone worships in their own way and that we are all searching for the same God. It´s so hard to open peoples eyes and show them that the truth is not something that changes upon perception or convenience. The truth is eternal. The truth is a foundation that cannot be broken nor swayed. One lady asked me this week why we are so persistent on trying to convince her of our religious beliefs. The answer that came out of my mouth surprised me. Normally I say that we know its true, and that it can bless your life. Or I say that its true, and that I know that God knows its true, and I cannot deny it. But this time something new and profound came to me. I hope the spirit can help you understand the gravity of the statement that follows. I taught and testified of the apostasy. Jesus gave his 12 apostles authority to act in His name (lucas 9:1-2) When they died that authority was taken from the Earth. It didn´t exist. Without authority how can we recieve revelations? Without revelations how can we understand the true meaning of the scriptures? We cannot. It is evident today from the plethora of religious viewpoints that men in this world are confused and have different interpretations of the same bible. The authority to act in the name of Christ, to baptize and confer the Holy Ghost was lost. A man cannot choose to be a pastor. He cannot get authority by simply reading the Bible. The apostles were chosen directly by Jesus, as was every other major figure in the scriptures. Here is my point. We are persistent because if the Message of the Restoration is not true, then there is no salvation for the children of men. The authority to administer the saving ordenances of the gospel was lost with the apostles, and any glimmer of hope was shattered in the following apostasy, or rejection of the truth, and distortion of Gospel truths through generations of iniquity. Baptism is a requirement for salvation, and I´m sorry, but we cannot be baptized by the Bible. Jesus Christ was baptized by a man who had due authority, and the same is necessary today. Jesus Christ has personally restored the same church that He established in ancient times during His personal reign and ministry. He has personally chosen a prophet and apostles and speaks to them just as He did throughout the New testament, even after His death. If He has not done this, then we are like ¨ achildren, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of bdoctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive¨ efe 4:14 We as missionaries of this church stand as messengers of Jesus Christ, witnesses of eternal truths which have been lost to the world, and beacons for all who wish to follow Christ more than their pride. We have been called of God, set apart, and duely ordained to combat error and open the gates of Salvation to all who are willing to take the steps. That is why we are persistent. Elder Nichols

Shenanigans 6/25/12

Dear Family and Friends, Well... it´s been a crazy week. An Elder in my district decided to go home, so his companion, Elder Smith, has returned to my house and we are in a trio. But then the zone leaders have now decided and confirmed with president that he should be with a less than obedient companionship in my district. So it was more like a 4 day intercambio hahaha. With 3 beds in one room complete with mosquito nets it looks like a giant fort. We started an english class again. Although I´m the only teacher hahaha. It was a lot of fun though and we had about 15 people. The area is progressing, and more people are coming to church. This week the schedule shifts 2 hours, and will be earlier. This will help us have more success since most people here like to be eating and sleeping in the afternoon. I got a shotgun speaking assignment when I arrived at church on sunday. I think it went pretty well even though I had about an hour to prepare. I talked about sharing the gospel through our example, recognizing that we can show our love by sharing the priceless message of the restored gospel, and a few other things I can´t remember. I´ve started marking something new in my Book of Mormon. Every time I see a tactic of Satan I mark it in black, representing mists of darkness, like in Lehi´s Dream. I figure one of the most important parts of fighting a battle is recognizing the enemy, and this life is no different. This is war. Do you recognize the enemy? Another intereesting thought that I had is that judgement is more than just a sum total of all the good and bad deeds we´ve done and hoping that we´re not in the red. Judgement is an assessment of the type of person we have become. The desires of our hearts, the thoughts we think, our attributes, etc. I found myself asking if I, right now, am a worthy candidate for the celestial kingdom. Would Heavenly Father let me in right now? This has given me a lot of motivation this week. So why the emphasis on good deeds in the scriptures? A quote from Richard G Scott has stuck with me since he said it in conference about 3 years ago. ¨We become what we want to be, by consistantly being what we want to become¨ This life is a time to prepare to meet God. We must use this probationary state to become the type of person that God would allow to into the celestial kingdom. We do that by consistantly following the Savior through righteous decisions, and being sanctified by the fire of the Holy spirit. I hope these thoughts help some of you, my beloved friends. I love you and share my solemn testimony of the reality of Jesus Christ, and that none of us kind find our own way back home without Him. He lives. He loves us and is ever so merciful. He invites us to follow, but we must make the choice. It is the wisest decision, with the greatest consequences, that a soul could ever make. Elder Nichols

Who's training who? 6/19/12

Dear Family and Friends, Well its been an incredible week down here in the Dominican Republic. I´ve had some really sacred experiences with my companion and I truly love him. He is so much more Christlike than I am. He´s full of love, always worried or thinking about me, shares everything, and has a rock solid testimony and conviction of the gospel. I´m really the one being taught. He is a great example and the spirit is super strong with him. He is a huge blessing for me and i´m honored that the lord sent him to me We had a baptism last saturday, and we´ll be having a family home evening with them tonight. Her name is Marisol, and she has 2 kids. The younger one is only 5 and was super jealous that he couldn´t be baptized too. I´m not sure why, but it seemed to me that Marisol showed a lot more interest and desire to be baptized when I took an interest in her kids. It wasn´t hard for me because I think little kids are awesome. Especially hers, cuz they are nuts. Jenserd is super smart and Jois, the younger one, talks at the speed of light and you wouldnn´t be able to calm down if you hit him with horse tranquilizers. Antonio has been attending the pentecostal church for 10 years. His wife is a member of our church. We´ve taught him about the restoration and HOW Joseph Smith in our day, as well as every other major figure in the Bible, recieved authority personally from the Savior or one of His servants to act in His name and baptize. According to him, none of the other missionaries from our church that have tried to teach him ever bothered to give him the in depth explanation that I did. Anyone that thinks that personal study doesn´t matter can now eat it. He made the connection himself and started asking how his Pastors recieved authority. He was pretty upset when he realized that for 10 years he has decieved, and even more upset that they are decieving many others with their claims. I felt his anguish myself, but then testified that the good news is we are true messengers from Christ with due authority and power. I´ve got lots more good stories, but no time. So they are going in the journal and you can ask me in 13 months. We are working hard and the Lord is on our side. We gain knowledge by asking questions, and learn wisdom when we know which questions to ask. Elder Nichols

Training 6/11/12

Family and Friends, Well, first week of the new transfer has been great. My companion has a strong testimony and a heart of pure gold. He is from Peru and only has been a member for 2 years. I´m grateful for the sacred trust from the Lord to train, and I am learning a ton. We get an extra hour of study in the morning, so that is a huge blessing. I feel like i´m being retrained too, learning some of the things i´ve forgotten over time, and doing all of this in the Lord´s way. He is a lot smarter than us. Last week we baptized a Haitian named Billy that we were teaching in English. This week we will baptize Marisol and her son Yenson. We have found a lot of good people that i hope will progress, but if not we are at least planting gospel seeds. Love, Elder Nichols

Trainer 6/6/12

Attached is a photo of Elder Nichols with his newly arrived companion from Peru. Elder Nichols will be training Elder Cconsaya in missionary service in addition to helping with the English language under the companionship language study program. With joy in the service,Elder Eickbush

The Call 6/4/12

Dear Family and Friends, Well, we got transfer calls this week. I´m staying in my tiny little area as a district leader, but I´m also going to train! My dad (trainer) and step dad (first companion after the trainer) are also training again this transfer. So we will have a huge family reunion tomorrow at the mission office. I will have a younger brother and a step brother. Also means that my trainer is a grandpa, and that my son will have an uncle. Try and wrap your head around that one. Well I was going to send a bunch of pictures but this computer is being difficult. We had an awesome district meeting last thursday. We all shared a few thoughts as well as our testimonies and the spirit was incredible. I spoke about the importance of working with diligence and being obedient so that the Lord trusts us enough to give us success. I don´t believe He will lead us to His precious children that are ready for us if we are not ready for them. We all said a lot more but I´m out of time. I just want to leave these last two spiritual thoughts. First, every choice we make is a different choice in disguise. If we open our eyes and listen to the spirit, every decision is really a choice to follow Christ, or follow satan. Lehi, a prophet in the Book of Mormon, tells us that all men are free to choose, but he does not say that we are free to choose whether to lie, cheat, steal, give service, love one another, or whatever else. No, he tells us that all men are free to choose liberty and eternal life according to the Savior, or captivity and spiritual death according to satan. Every choice has a consequence, if we can but open our eyes and see far enough ahead on the road we are traveling. My second thought is the following. The Savior was chosen from the foundation of the world. In the old testament he was Jehovah, spoke to His prophets, and led the children of Israel out of bondage. Then He was born, established His gospel and his Church, and completed the atonement and resurrection. After He ascended to the Father he continued to reveal His will to the apostles until they were persecuted and killed. So, my dearest friends, there remains a powerful question. Would He who led His covenant people for 4000 years in ancient times, the Man who loves so much that He was willing to suffer extreme agony and death to save our souls, suddenly leave us without direction and sit back as we destroy ourselves and fall into darkness? I don´t think so. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He leads us today. He has chosen a prophet and apostles again. He has restored his authority and given it to man. He teaches us how to execise it upon principles of love, sacrifice, faith, and personal worthiness. He lives. Not just because He rose again on the third day, but because He loves us, walks among us, and is directing His people personally. No other foundation or establishment can or does make such a claim. But the beauty of this bold declaration is that I am just the messenger, here to assure you that you can ask Him yourself. If you truly have the desire to follow Christ, to do His will and not your own, then He will answer you through the power of the Holy Ghost, and confirm that He indeed has personally established The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I seal this solemn testimony with my honor and heart, in the Holy name of Jesus Christ, Amen. Elder Nichols

Still Alive 5/28/12

Dear Family and Friends, So we had a little hiccup down here. Tuesday night the loser of the elections was saying that the other guy cheated and it was all over the news. President made us go home early just to be safe. Other than that the whole quarantine was pretty boring. Nothing happened. Wednesday we had zone conference and Elder Cornish was the guest speaker. He focused on taking an interest in peoples lives and helping them apply the doctrines and feel the spirit, as well as helping understand that the Lord wants them to obey the commandment and not us. Most missionaries just teach the principle and then invite them to obey it, and then we wonder why it doesn´t work. Thursday through Saturday was the usual, and Sunday one investigator came to church, but forgot her 9 year old at home who we are also teaching. I´m just trying my best to keep positive, and we are all excited for transfer calls. Love, Elder Nichols

Update 5/21/12

Hey guys, The streets are tranquilo for now. President said we could use internet to update him and our families. Love you all Elder Nichols.

Elections 5/19/12

Dear Family and Friends, This week I’m writing on a Saturday because after church tomorrow we have to go straight home and not leave until Tuesday morning. This country is having it´s presidential elections, and if you learned anything from Elder Glenn´s letters, you would know that elections in 3rd world countries aren´t the safest thing hahaha. This week was pretty boring. Many of our appointments fell through, so we spent a lot of time searching for new people and setting up appointments with them. Finally, yesterday we taught an investigator named Carlos. Not only did he read the folle to we gave him, but he proceeded to teach us about the restauration and how Joseph Smith received the Aaronic priesthood from John the Baptist, and later the higher priesthood from Peter James and John. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. So of course we invited him to be baptized and he said yes. Nobody will be at church this week because everyone has to travel to other cities to vote. But hopefully he comes next week. He has a lot of animo, a wife, and 3 kids. Three other investigators we have are kind of at a standstill. They just won´t accept a fecha. They come to church and keep meeting with us and learning, but won´t commit to anything. It´s tough. I had a positive experience with an Elder in my district. President is making us bring our area book to district meeting so that the District Leaders can review them. We´re going on 3 weeks now and one Elder has still not written a single Teaching Record. According to his records, he has done nothing for 2 transfers. I´ve done intercambios with him, conducted baptismal interviews, and much more, so I know that he is working. He is a great Elder with a strong testimony, he just doesn´t like the paperwork. So I ended up having to pull him into another room to have a private interview with him. I could have been upset with him for ignoring his duties and my previous requests that he start writing in his records, but I never felt that was the right thing to do, or even necessary. We started with a prayer and then I thanked him for his love for the work and for the other missionaries. I asked if he understood what I had asked him to do, and what happened to obstruct that. I testified of the purpose of record keeping and being organized, and showing to the Lord how we take care of our part of His vineyard. I never once felt angry at him, and he admitted that he felt ashamed and apologized of his own free will. I learned a few things from this experience. First of all, it is very important that we are accountable to somebody. Thomas S Monson has said, and I’m indirectly quoting from Preach My Gospel, that when we track our progress, it improves. When we report progress, the rate of progress improves. We are all accountable for our actions and must give report to somebody, at least the Lord. I also learned the importance of our agency. Micromanaging is not an effective approach in this life. We leave invitations to do what is right, and people are 100 percent free to choose what they want to do. Third, the importance of love while exercising the priesthood, serving others, and correcting if necessary. I always had a good example of that from Bishop Oliver and Dirk Epperson. Hope everything is going well in the states, and the world at large. Love, Elder Nichols

Moms 5/14/12

Queridos Amigos y Familia, Happy late Mothers Day! Turns out that they celebrate it here at the end of the month. I almost didnt call home yesterday hahaha. But it was all ok in the end. The family is doing great. Thanks to Sandy Bredeson and my Cousin Jeanine for the dear elders that I recieved. I will write back soon through snail mail. Thanks also to my other "moms" Sandy Bredeson, Suzie Trepanier, Lydia Morgan, Kay Read, and Kasey Lupton for helping me out along the way, looking out for me,listening to me, and keeping my standards high. I miss you all very much. Andrea already recieved my thanks privately over the phone yesterday, but all the world should know that she is a very special lady with a heart bursting full of charity and service. I don't just say that because she sends me packages, emails, and letters with stalwart diligence, but because she did so much over the years out of love, without obligation. That would be my ideal missionary companion right there. Someone who serves out of love for the Lord, and not obligation to family or peers. Love, Elder Nichols

Ten Cuidado ‏ 5/7/12

Dear Family and Friends, I´ve written a few letters this week for mother´s day. turns out that the american one is sooner than the latino one. Soooo.... my letters will be late. But I promise I did write. In other news, we did this awesome thing where all the missionaries in my zone worked for 2 hours in our ward with the members, visiting less active members and contacting a little bit. Its been raining like crazy so we ended up starting an hour late. All the streets were flooded about 10 inches to a foot, but we were fearless. The natives here thought it was pretty funny to see 20 dudes in white shirts and ties stomping through all the water like a bunch of fools. But then the bishop and his wife joined in. I told her she had lots of courage and she said, this is nothing, covenants are sacred. That made my heart happy. So funny story, and the reason for this weeks subject heading, which more or less says be careful, is that this week I got electrocuted. Did I spell that right? Let me explain. We had went to visit this member a few times who has a big black gate in the front of her house. One day we saw a sign attached to the gate that said, Cuidado, tiene corriente. That means more or less be careful because this has electric current. We understood the vocabulary, but thought it was a joke or something to deter thieves because nothing had happened to us before. So we entered without a problem. Funny thing about this country is that the power goes out a lot because people are always rigging the lines to steal power for free. So one day, when there WAS power, I went to open the gate and got electrocuted up to my elbows for about a second or so. It hurt a little. My companion was laughing pretty hard. Just before I opened it we had a small debate about if we should enter or not, and he said that corriente probably just means that the gate is hot because of the sun. Turns out that somewhere there is a live power line exposed to some rebar or something that is eventually connected to the gate. When the members were trying to close it the night before with a stick there were sparks flying everywhere. I told that story to the members yesterday in fast and testimony meeting. They thought it was pretty funny. I{m sure you can already make the parallel between my story and following promptings from the spirit and other danger signs. Sometimes we get lucky and don´t get hurt. Other times we get electrocuted. In the words of my good friend Mike Neal, Don´t be stupid. It hurts. I love you all. Elder Nichols

Nephi's Bow 4/30/12

Dear Family and Friends, It´s been a rough week that is really trying my patience and such. This is a well needed preparation day. This week in district meeting we talked about the things that keep us from working with the members, and how to resolve them. That was a bad idea hahaha. The complaints just came flying and I didn´t have a good feeling about the tone of the meeting. I thought for a second and the counsel of my old elder´s quorom president came to mind. In the Book of mormon we read about nephi in the desert with his family. Nephi breaks his nice steel bow, and they can´t hunt for food. The dad, and prophet, lehi complains. The older brothers complain. It falls on Nephi, the youngest, to take some initiative and he makes a bow and arrow by hand. But then comes the most important part. Not only does he take the initiative, but then out of respect for his father he goes to the prophet and asks where he should go to find food. He doesn´t say, hey you need to man up and fulfill your responsibilities! He comes with an attitude of problem solving, and a desire to work together. We applied this example to ourselves and how we can approach the members better. I have also come to the conclusion, and bore my testimony to my district accordingly, that we are not called on the mission to fulfill our desires, goals, and dreams of the mission. A missionary or anyone else in the church who wishes to serve cannot do so by himself. No man is an island to himself. It doesn´t matter if i am one hundred percent obedient and fulfill my every responsibility if others around me are falling. We must look outward and lend a helping hand. We must sustain one another in word and in deed. The Lord called his people Zion because they were of one heart, and one mind. We are not missionaries to fulfil our desires and pride, but to serve and meet the needs of other people. This is the ultimate design of the holy priesthood, the authority to act in the name of the Savior Jesus Christ. We must forget ourselves, and serve as he serves. I say serves because I know without a doubt that the Savior was resurrected and is guiding His church personally. Let us not forget this great fact, that He lives! Let us also remember that amidst all the revelations, doctrines, scriptures, arguments, accusations, or whatever it may be, that there is one simple and beautiful promise given to us in this Church. That we may know the truth of all things, through the power of the Holy Ghost, if we will but pray and ask the truth of our Heavenly Father. This is no other declaration so simple or bold. I know this Church is true, and I know that God knows it too. That is how I can promise, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, that He will reveal this to the heart of the sincere seeker of truth. Elder Nichols

Numbers Don't Lie 4/23/12

Dear Family and Friends, Well, another transfer down. We got the call last night and my entire district is staying put. I´m grateful for that because we are all really close. So as part of my calling as District Leader, my missionaries call me every night to check in, but also once a week with their numbers. Then I report to the Zone Leaders, and they to the Assistants to the Presdent. I´ve been doing this consistently for 6 weeks now, writing it all down and what not. So yesterday after weekly reports something told me to make a graph of my districts efforts this transfer. So I added up the numbers, grabbed my colored pencils and my ruler and got to work. About an hour later I had a pretty good lookin graph.... sort of. It showed me something that I knew, but didn´t fully realize. The types of numbers that we can do by ourselves were really high. This was contacting, new investigators, and normal lessons. But the numbers that are affected by the ward, such as when they give us a referral, or accompany us in a lesson, were kinda low. You might say so what? Well, my district had 2 baptisms last transfer. I learned that it doesn´t matter how hard one individual, or one missionary companionship, is working if they are not working with the ward. The secret is.... The job of the ward is not to help the missionaries. The job of the missionaries, is to help the ward. We report to you. We teach your friends and family members. We help you spread the gospel. You stay in the area after we leave. If the ward does not want to spread the gospel, the missionaries will find little, if any success. If the investigator is friends with the missionaries, they will go inactive after they leave, unless someone in the ward has developed a friendship and love with them. Our own conversion is not enough. We should not be satisfied or content when we have done the work for ourself. That is selfish. That is like eating a giant chocolate cake all by yourself. What´s the first thing Lehi did after tasting the fruit of the tree of life? He called out to his family and friends to partake as well. Alma tells us in chapter 36 of his own conversion, and that afterwards, he labored all of his days to convert others. The salvation of God´s children through missionary and temple work is the most important and sacred duty of all of us. EVERY member a missionary! I fully realize that everyone has family, work, and callings to provide for. But the Savior has said in Mark 8 that those try to save their life will lose it, and those that lose their life for His sake, will find it. If we try to save our time to do the things that we want to do, we will be lost. But if we do the Lords will, we will find peace, and true happiness. There comes a point in everyones life where they make the decision to serve Christ, and to give Him their will and time. This is the most critical decision that one could make. I have seen, that upon making this decision, every other decision is easy. We end up obeying the commandments, not because of obligation, but because of desire to serve our Lord. So after I made the graph, I prayed for guidance on how I can help the ward better, and encourage them. 3 hours later I found myself in a Priesthood Executive Committee with all the major leaders in the ward, and one from the stake. At the end the spirit was prompting and and placing scriptures in my mind. The spirit was so strong I couldn´t deny it and couldn´t sit there and pretend like I wasn´t supposed to say something. So I got up, talked about my graph, shared the scriptures the spirit gave me, and the bishop even backed me up. Then we made appointments to visit investigators and less active members together. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord answered my prayer and gave me the opportunity and words necessary to fulfill His will. I had faith that He would. I had a sincere heart and real intent. It was a powerful experience. I love you all, Elder Nichols