Dear Family and Friends,
Thanks for all the birthday wishes this week and all the love. Today was a fun pday. All the missionaries in the entire mission went to east park, where they had some sort of olypics or latin games in 2003. There was basketball and football, but I decided to try my hand at soccer. It was a little embarassing, but still fun. I really enjoyed it and would like to play and learn a lot more. The funny thing about the park is it looks like it´s post apocalyptic because nobody has taken care of it in the last 9 years, other than mowing the grass occasionally on the soccer field. It´s like a scene from jurassic park or something.
In other news, Larissa, not clarissa, is getting baptized this Saturday. we were going to baptize her little brother too, but i guess his grandmother is against it because he is rowdy or something. She wants us to spend more time with him first, which is perfectly fine. I´ve got high hopes for Yeimi and Rosana this transfer. They are both so close, and our visits with each of them are are always super intense, trying to listen to the spirit and figure out the things that they aren´t always telling.
It´s been a rough week. I´m technically jr companion, but the Elder I´m with doesn´t know the area. So I have to do all the planning, make most of the decisions, and listen a lot harder to the people because I know their background better and stuff like that. It´s been very interesting, and I´m stretching a lot. That´s all for this week. Hope everyone is well.
Love
Elder Nichols
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Opening Up. 1/30/12
Dear Family and Friends,
Ok, so, transfer news. I´m staying here in La Caleta and getting a new senior companion, who I will have to teach about the area. I still haven´t met him yet, so I´ll let you know more about that next week. Last saturday we had a baptism, a little 11 year old named Edwin, and tonight we are having family night with him and his granny. A lot of our other investigators are warming up, which makes me happy. Yeimi went to a single adult activity, and also came to church. Rosanna has been to church 3 weeks in a row and also was vistited by the relief society.
in other news my ankle is still a little sore, but healed enough to walk normally in one day. I even played basketball today. It was great. I thought about Elder Morgan in bed with a swollen appendix and I couldn´t in good conscience justify staying home last Monday. I hobbled around the city in faith that night, and the next morning was walking normal.
First a spiritual thought. I was thinking about how to more effectively build Zion, and I realized that it starts with us. No I don´t just mean the Mormons. I mean that if we really want to build the kingdom of God on the earth we have to start with truly converting ourselves. Then we can be a light to other people. Remember that the family is ordained of God, and is the smallest unit in his kingdom. Focus on establishing the principles of the Gospel in your homes second. The little things like FHE, family prayer, and study really make a difference.
A great thing that happened to me was in a lesson with a part member family. Clarissa is 15 years old and her parents are members but she isn´t. She has learned all the lessons multiple times, but never commited. After talking a bit, we found that the root of the problem is that she had fear of condemnation. Being baptized, and then being accountable. The spirit told me to talk about repentance. I talked about God´s love for all of us. He is patient. He is merciful. As Isaiah 1:18 says, God invites us to come, and reason together with Him. He promises that our sins can be cleansed, and in other scriptures says that he will forget them entirely. I testified that Baptism is not a promise to be perfect, but a promise to follow the Savior, and to return to him when we make mistakes. I said that God knows our hearts, and that our hearts and desires are more important than just our outward obedience. There are people like the pharisees who obey the law with hearts of blackness, and there are weak people with hearts of gold, who love God with all they have and are truly trying. I´m one of those people. I´ve got a lot of things to change, but I´m making an honest effort, and God knows it. I´m no longer afraid of making mistakes because I know that I can always return to Christ, and that through Him, my weaknesses will be strong.
Clarissa then said she wanted to be baptized. Just like that. Commited to a date and everything. It was my first experience where I truly opened up and spoke from my heart. Most of my other lessons are calculated, trying to find holes in logic and prove that i´m right with the scriptures. This was very different, and made a huge difference. I´m still learning to be a better teacher, how to have charity, and other things. But I´m seeing progress. Focus on how far you´ve come, not how far you have to go, and take it one day at a time.
Love
Elder Nichols
Ok, so, transfer news. I´m staying here in La Caleta and getting a new senior companion, who I will have to teach about the area. I still haven´t met him yet, so I´ll let you know more about that next week. Last saturday we had a baptism, a little 11 year old named Edwin, and tonight we are having family night with him and his granny. A lot of our other investigators are warming up, which makes me happy. Yeimi went to a single adult activity, and also came to church. Rosanna has been to church 3 weeks in a row and also was vistited by the relief society.
in other news my ankle is still a little sore, but healed enough to walk normally in one day. I even played basketball today. It was great. I thought about Elder Morgan in bed with a swollen appendix and I couldn´t in good conscience justify staying home last Monday. I hobbled around the city in faith that night, and the next morning was walking normal.
First a spiritual thought. I was thinking about how to more effectively build Zion, and I realized that it starts with us. No I don´t just mean the Mormons. I mean that if we really want to build the kingdom of God on the earth we have to start with truly converting ourselves. Then we can be a light to other people. Remember that the family is ordained of God, and is the smallest unit in his kingdom. Focus on establishing the principles of the Gospel in your homes second. The little things like FHE, family prayer, and study really make a difference.
A great thing that happened to me was in a lesson with a part member family. Clarissa is 15 years old and her parents are members but she isn´t. She has learned all the lessons multiple times, but never commited. After talking a bit, we found that the root of the problem is that she had fear of condemnation. Being baptized, and then being accountable. The spirit told me to talk about repentance. I talked about God´s love for all of us. He is patient. He is merciful. As Isaiah 1:18 says, God invites us to come, and reason together with Him. He promises that our sins can be cleansed, and in other scriptures says that he will forget them entirely. I testified that Baptism is not a promise to be perfect, but a promise to follow the Savior, and to return to him when we make mistakes. I said that God knows our hearts, and that our hearts and desires are more important than just our outward obedience. There are people like the pharisees who obey the law with hearts of blackness, and there are weak people with hearts of gold, who love God with all they have and are truly trying. I´m one of those people. I´ve got a lot of things to change, but I´m making an honest effort, and God knows it. I´m no longer afraid of making mistakes because I know that I can always return to Christ, and that through Him, my weaknesses will be strong.
Clarissa then said she wanted to be baptized. Just like that. Commited to a date and everything. It was my first experience where I truly opened up and spoke from my heart. Most of my other lessons are calculated, trying to find holes in logic and prove that i´m right with the scriptures. This was very different, and made a huge difference. I´m still learning to be a better teacher, how to have charity, and other things. But I´m seeing progress. Focus on how far you´ve come, not how far you have to go, and take it one day at a time.
Love
Elder Nichols
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Ow. 1/23/12
Dear family and friends,
As you can guess by the title of today´s email, I hurt my ankle playing basketball. That´s about all the news I got. Or maybe it´s the only thing I can think about because it hurts a lot still. Oh and thanks to Sister James/Bredeson/Solomon for the Christmas card. Ryan looks super classy holding that koala. I hope you, Shannon, Kelly and Trapper are having fun. In other news, Elder Allen and I decided that we want to make a movie about the Book of Mormon after we complete the mission. Like an epic, better than Lord of the Rings, type of movie. I´ve spent my free time this week scanning chapter headings and taking notes on the narrative, as well as making an outline. It looks like it would have to be about 7 movies. I have no idea where we will get the money, or if we have to have permission from the Church, since the Book of Mormon is copyrighted, but I believe that anything is possible. I´m not trying to get rich doing it, I just love the Book of Mormon and want to see an awesome movie based on it. There are so many cool stories, and a movie would get a lot more people interested in it.
As for the work, we will have a baptism this Saturday. A little boy named Edwín, whose grandmother works in the temple. We also had a good turn out yesterday for church. I was super happy. The best part of my week was when we did a companionship exchange. The zone leaders asked my companion, the district leader, to go on splits with the other elders in our ward to see how the work is going on their half of the city. So I got to work with elder Allen´s trainee, which meant I was senior companion for the day. I loved it. I had to put so much more work in. I had to listen harder to the people and to the spirit. I had to decide where we were going to contact and who we were going to visit. It was such an uplifting day. I´m just one of those guys who rises to the occasion. I work every day, but when there is a higher demand, something in me always pushes me to meet that demand. It was a great day, and I even was able to set a baptismal date with a lady named Rosana. She has been investigating for 6 months. We fasted for her in my first transfer, and it finally paid off. It´s a testimony to me that God really does hear our prayers and see our fasts. We just have to be patient and put it in God´s hands, and he will take care of it in his own time, in his own way, according to his wisdom.
This is the last week of this transfer. I hope I get to stay here to baptize Rosana, but only the Lord knows where he will send me.
Elder Nichols
As you can guess by the title of today´s email, I hurt my ankle playing basketball. That´s about all the news I got. Or maybe it´s the only thing I can think about because it hurts a lot still. Oh and thanks to Sister James/Bredeson/Solomon for the Christmas card. Ryan looks super classy holding that koala. I hope you, Shannon, Kelly and Trapper are having fun. In other news, Elder Allen and I decided that we want to make a movie about the Book of Mormon after we complete the mission. Like an epic, better than Lord of the Rings, type of movie. I´ve spent my free time this week scanning chapter headings and taking notes on the narrative, as well as making an outline. It looks like it would have to be about 7 movies. I have no idea where we will get the money, or if we have to have permission from the Church, since the Book of Mormon is copyrighted, but I believe that anything is possible. I´m not trying to get rich doing it, I just love the Book of Mormon and want to see an awesome movie based on it. There are so many cool stories, and a movie would get a lot more people interested in it.
As for the work, we will have a baptism this Saturday. A little boy named Edwín, whose grandmother works in the temple. We also had a good turn out yesterday for church. I was super happy. The best part of my week was when we did a companionship exchange. The zone leaders asked my companion, the district leader, to go on splits with the other elders in our ward to see how the work is going on their half of the city. So I got to work with elder Allen´s trainee, which meant I was senior companion for the day. I loved it. I had to put so much more work in. I had to listen harder to the people and to the spirit. I had to decide where we were going to contact and who we were going to visit. It was such an uplifting day. I´m just one of those guys who rises to the occasion. I work every day, but when there is a higher demand, something in me always pushes me to meet that demand. It was a great day, and I even was able to set a baptismal date with a lady named Rosana. She has been investigating for 6 months. We fasted for her in my first transfer, and it finally paid off. It´s a testimony to me that God really does hear our prayers and see our fasts. We just have to be patient and put it in God´s hands, and he will take care of it in his own time, in his own way, according to his wisdom.
This is the last week of this transfer. I hope I get to stay here to baptize Rosana, but only the Lord knows where he will send me.
Elder Nichols
Yup... I'm still here. 1/16/12
Dear Family and Friends,
Another week of fun in the sun. Things are starting to heat up again. Great. Thanks to Matt Read for the dried Tecca Sauce, I’ve been using it like a dried herb on all sorts of stuff. It’s great! Thanks to Bishop and Jason for the Christmas cards. Jason, I heard that you have to live here for 6 months first if you wanna adopt, I’m assuming that’s what those business cards were trying to tell me. Let me know if there is some sort of secret code I’m missing.
This week the four of us elders gave talks in sacrament meeting. Yours truly spoke on the importance of members helping in the work. I even mentioned how San Diego is a pilot stake for this kind of thing. It was great. The other elders spoke on covenants, doing the will of God, and the importance of the priesthood. They all tied into missionary work, and it was interesting to see how our talks complimented one another.
As for the work itself, things are a little rough. Nobody wants to come to church. They all tell us yes, but then don´t come. It´s frustrating. In brighter news, we should have at least one baptism, the grandson of a member. Also, one investigator this week not only read the entire pamphlet we left her, but also took the time to fill out the additional study questions in the back. After we picked our jaws up off the floor she asked us about the Book of Mormon. So we gave her one. We don´t normally give those out until the second or third lesson because people here don´t commit to much. We test the waters with committing them to pray about the truth of the Church, Joseph Smith, and coming to church.
Hope all else is going well. I´m still here. Letters are still worth more to me than my weight in gold.
Love Elder Nichols.
P.S. Since I normally write in English, I wanted to take a little opportunity to remind you all that I am serving in a foreign language. If there is a Google translate button, hit it now.
Mis hermanos amados, yo quiero aprovechar este momento para dar mi sentamientos y testimonio de nuestro salvador, Jesucristo. El nos ama más que nosotros podemos entender, y quiere que vengamos a Él. Nuestro Padre Celestial lo mandó a la tierra para vencer la muerte y el pecado, para que todo puedan regresar y vida eterna. Jesucristo dirige esta iglesia personalmente. Sé que Él vive. Sé que José Smith fue escogido por nuestro salvador para restaurar la autoridad, y la verdad de todos cosas. Sé esto seguramente, sin duda. Alguna persona que quiere seguir Cristo verdaderamente vendrá a este conocimiento, no creencia, por medio de oración y un estudio del Libro de Mormón, lo que José Smith tradujo por el poder de Dios. Nadie puede quitar este conocimiento, porque es escrito en mi alma, y quema dentro mi corazón. Tengo seguridad para eternidad, y testificaré en qualquier momento o lugar que Jesús es el Cristo, y esta iglesia es su reino en la tierra hoy en día. En el sagrado nombre de Jesucristo, amén.
GOOGLE TRANSLATE:
My dear brothers, I want to take this moment to give my resettlement and testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He loves us more than we can understand, and wants us to come to Him our Heavenly Father sent to earth to conquer death and sin, so that everyone can return and eternal life. Jesus Christ leads the church personally. I know He lives. I know that Joseph Smith was chosen by our Savior to restore the authority and truth of all things. I know this certainly, certainly. Someone who wants to follow Christ truly come to this knowledge, not faith, through prayer and study of the Book of Mormon, which Joseph Smith translated by the power of God. No one can take this knowledge, because it's written in my soul and my heart burns within. I have eternal security, and testify at any time or place that Jesus is the Christ and the church is his kingdom on earth today. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Another week of fun in the sun. Things are starting to heat up again. Great. Thanks to Matt Read for the dried Tecca Sauce, I’ve been using it like a dried herb on all sorts of stuff. It’s great! Thanks to Bishop and Jason for the Christmas cards. Jason, I heard that you have to live here for 6 months first if you wanna adopt, I’m assuming that’s what those business cards were trying to tell me. Let me know if there is some sort of secret code I’m missing.
This week the four of us elders gave talks in sacrament meeting. Yours truly spoke on the importance of members helping in the work. I even mentioned how San Diego is a pilot stake for this kind of thing. It was great. The other elders spoke on covenants, doing the will of God, and the importance of the priesthood. They all tied into missionary work, and it was interesting to see how our talks complimented one another.
As for the work itself, things are a little rough. Nobody wants to come to church. They all tell us yes, but then don´t come. It´s frustrating. In brighter news, we should have at least one baptism, the grandson of a member. Also, one investigator this week not only read the entire pamphlet we left her, but also took the time to fill out the additional study questions in the back. After we picked our jaws up off the floor she asked us about the Book of Mormon. So we gave her one. We don´t normally give those out until the second or third lesson because people here don´t commit to much. We test the waters with committing them to pray about the truth of the Church, Joseph Smith, and coming to church.
Hope all else is going well. I´m still here. Letters are still worth more to me than my weight in gold.
Love Elder Nichols.
P.S. Since I normally write in English, I wanted to take a little opportunity to remind you all that I am serving in a foreign language. If there is a Google translate button, hit it now.
Mis hermanos amados, yo quiero aprovechar este momento para dar mi sentamientos y testimonio de nuestro salvador, Jesucristo. El nos ama más que nosotros podemos entender, y quiere que vengamos a Él. Nuestro Padre Celestial lo mandó a la tierra para vencer la muerte y el pecado, para que todo puedan regresar y vida eterna. Jesucristo dirige esta iglesia personalmente. Sé que Él vive. Sé que José Smith fue escogido por nuestro salvador para restaurar la autoridad, y la verdad de todos cosas. Sé esto seguramente, sin duda. Alguna persona que quiere seguir Cristo verdaderamente vendrá a este conocimiento, no creencia, por medio de oración y un estudio del Libro de Mormón, lo que José Smith tradujo por el poder de Dios. Nadie puede quitar este conocimiento, porque es escrito en mi alma, y quema dentro mi corazón. Tengo seguridad para eternidad, y testificaré en qualquier momento o lugar que Jesús es el Cristo, y esta iglesia es su reino en la tierra hoy en día. En el sagrado nombre de Jesucristo, amén.
GOOGLE TRANSLATE:
My dear brothers, I want to take this moment to give my resettlement and testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He loves us more than we can understand, and wants us to come to Him our Heavenly Father sent to earth to conquer death and sin, so that everyone can return and eternal life. Jesus Christ leads the church personally. I know He lives. I know that Joseph Smith was chosen by our Savior to restore the authority and truth of all things. I know this certainly, certainly. Someone who wants to follow Christ truly come to this knowledge, not faith, through prayer and study of the Book of Mormon, which Joseph Smith translated by the power of God. No one can take this knowledge, because it's written in my soul and my heart burns within. I have eternal security, and testify at any time or place that Jesus is the Christ and the church is his kingdom on earth today. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Service and Cienpie 1/9/12
Dear family and friends,
This week we had 3 service projects for investigators. During the first one we found a cienpie, or centipede about 8 inches long, 2 inches wide. The Haitian next door trapped it in a bottle and told us the venom makes great alcohol...
In other news, it´s really really hard to get people to come to church. I would say that it is the next biggest problem after getting people married.
One guy told us that having an eternal family didn´t interest him. That was sad. Maybe he was having marital problems.
I had a cool experience where the Holy Ghost gave me the answer to a question before the investigator even asked it. I was talking about the first vision and Exodus 33, verse 11 came into my mind. Then the guy said that man can´t see God or he will die. So I showed him the scripture that was given to me, about God talking to Moses face to face, as one man speaketh to another, and that solved his doubt. I´ve never had to use that scripture before and it´s not in my usual arsenal. It was definitely revelation, as were 3 other answers given to me in response to some other doubts. It was a cool lesson.
Another man name Jose Manuel doesn´t believe that God answers prayers, and refuses to come to church, because he says that the church doesn´t save us, Jesus did. His mom told us the exact same thing. Shows us the importance of teaching our children the truth. But anyways later he was talking about how God is a God of love and nobody teaches that. I told him pretty firmly that it´s interesting to me that he wants to believe in a God of love, but doesn´t believe that our loving Heavenly Father would listen and answer the prayers of his children in need. Or that he would send us Prophets to help us learn how to cope in a world with more spiritual and physical dangers than ever before. Or that he would personally establish and direct a church where we can be nourished by the word of God and find comfort and aid from other members of the congregation.
He didn´t have much to say after that. So we dropped him a Book of Mormon and he said he would read it. He loves to read, so maybe that will get through to him.
We had a 2 hour discussion with one lady, the spirit was pretty strong, and it wasn´t like a debate or anything. She was just really stubborn. She doesn´t believe we need prophets, because Jesus was the last prophet and fulfilled everything. We backed up all of our doctrine with scriptures, but she conveniently ignored the points that were against her belief. Although she was willing to read the Book of Mormon.
Wish me luck, 2 weeks of holidays and people that refuse to commit to anything really put a wrench in our timeline.
Love
Elder Nichols
This week we had 3 service projects for investigators. During the first one we found a cienpie, or centipede about 8 inches long, 2 inches wide. The Haitian next door trapped it in a bottle and told us the venom makes great alcohol...
In other news, it´s really really hard to get people to come to church. I would say that it is the next biggest problem after getting people married.
One guy told us that having an eternal family didn´t interest him. That was sad. Maybe he was having marital problems.
I had a cool experience where the Holy Ghost gave me the answer to a question before the investigator even asked it. I was talking about the first vision and Exodus 33, verse 11 came into my mind. Then the guy said that man can´t see God or he will die. So I showed him the scripture that was given to me, about God talking to Moses face to face, as one man speaketh to another, and that solved his doubt. I´ve never had to use that scripture before and it´s not in my usual arsenal. It was definitely revelation, as were 3 other answers given to me in response to some other doubts. It was a cool lesson.
Another man name Jose Manuel doesn´t believe that God answers prayers, and refuses to come to church, because he says that the church doesn´t save us, Jesus did. His mom told us the exact same thing. Shows us the importance of teaching our children the truth. But anyways later he was talking about how God is a God of love and nobody teaches that. I told him pretty firmly that it´s interesting to me that he wants to believe in a God of love, but doesn´t believe that our loving Heavenly Father would listen and answer the prayers of his children in need. Or that he would send us Prophets to help us learn how to cope in a world with more spiritual and physical dangers than ever before. Or that he would personally establish and direct a church where we can be nourished by the word of God and find comfort and aid from other members of the congregation.
He didn´t have much to say after that. So we dropped him a Book of Mormon and he said he would read it. He loves to read, so maybe that will get through to him.
We had a 2 hour discussion with one lady, the spirit was pretty strong, and it wasn´t like a debate or anything. She was just really stubborn. She doesn´t believe we need prophets, because Jesus was the last prophet and fulfilled everything. We backed up all of our doctrine with scriptures, but she conveniently ignored the points that were against her belief. Although she was willing to read the Book of Mormon.
Wish me luck, 2 weeks of holidays and people that refuse to commit to anything really put a wrench in our timeline.
Love
Elder Nichols
Happy New Year 1/2/2012
Dear Family and Friends,
Happy New Year! We had to be home a little early on the Eve, but we brought some other missionaries over and played Risk. It was great.
I got letters from Chula Vista, the Olivers, and Grandma Cherry, and I am sending responses.
The work has been pretty slow the last 2 weeks due to the holidays, so I’m excited to start off a new year. There is a lot of great advice in the Ensign that really hit home. We have really high goals and expectations of ourselves, and good plans on how to strengthen the members and investigators. I´ll let you all know how it goes. Remember that missionaries love letters and dearelder.com is free for my mission. hehe... hint... oh and don´t use the CCM address or the pouch mail address if you want to send handwritten letters. The Miami address is correct.
That´s all for now!
Elder Nichols
Happy New Year! We had to be home a little early on the Eve, but we brought some other missionaries over and played Risk. It was great.
I got letters from Chula Vista, the Olivers, and Grandma Cherry, and I am sending responses.
The work has been pretty slow the last 2 weeks due to the holidays, so I’m excited to start off a new year. There is a lot of great advice in the Ensign that really hit home. We have really high goals and expectations of ourselves, and good plans on how to strengthen the members and investigators. I´ll let you all know how it goes. Remember that missionaries love letters and dearelder.com is free for my mission. hehe... hint... oh and don´t use the CCM address or the pouch mail address if you want to send handwritten letters. The Miami address is correct.
That´s all for now!
Elder Nichols
Monday, December 26, 2011
Feliz Navidad. 12/26/11
Hello again,
This new card reader I bought works great, so I still have 15 minutes. I heard that some of you are calling my emails home ¨epistles¨. Hahaha. Not sure if it´s a good thing or a bad thing. Just wanted to say that I know there are many people outside the church, members I have never met, and all other types of people that do, can, or will read these letters. I am determined to be a witness of Christ always, in all ways. My call to be a missionary does not stop at the borders of this island, and will not end in July of 2013.
Something interesting that I read this week in the Book of Mormon is found in Moroni 7. I have read it before, but it now has more powerful meaning for me. Moroni is teaching us how to judge between good and evil in our lives. He counsels us to no confuse the two, mistaking that which is good for evil, and vice versa. We met a lady who told us that God does not answer prayers, because Satan is in the air spreading lies. I testify that God loves his children, and that Jesus commanded us to pray. He said he would send us the comforter to teach us and bring things to our remembrance in John 14, verse 26. We read in Galatians that the fruits of the spirit are love and peace. I give a firm witness that God is listening to our prayers, and will answer them through the power of the Holy Ghost, as long as we have real intent and faith in Jesus Christ. Moroni 7 explains repeatedly that everything that is good comes from God, and all that is evil comes from Satan. Satan will not testify to you of the divinity of Jesus Christ, tell you to pray, love one another, give service, or anything like it. When we do these things we strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ. That is exactly what Satan does not want. Remember that the Pharisees accused Jesus of using satanic power to cast out demons, to which Jesus responded ¨a house that is divided against itself cannot stand.¨ Furthermore, Moroni says ¨ For behold, a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he follow Christ he cannot be a servant of the devil.¨
You will know the servants of Christ by their words and deeds. The Holy Ghost will confirm it if you are seeking with a sincere heart.
Elder Nichols
This new card reader I bought works great, so I still have 15 minutes. I heard that some of you are calling my emails home ¨epistles¨. Hahaha. Not sure if it´s a good thing or a bad thing. Just wanted to say that I know there are many people outside the church, members I have never met, and all other types of people that do, can, or will read these letters. I am determined to be a witness of Christ always, in all ways. My call to be a missionary does not stop at the borders of this island, and will not end in July of 2013.
Something interesting that I read this week in the Book of Mormon is found in Moroni 7. I have read it before, but it now has more powerful meaning for me. Moroni is teaching us how to judge between good and evil in our lives. He counsels us to no confuse the two, mistaking that which is good for evil, and vice versa. We met a lady who told us that God does not answer prayers, because Satan is in the air spreading lies. I testify that God loves his children, and that Jesus commanded us to pray. He said he would send us the comforter to teach us and bring things to our remembrance in John 14, verse 26. We read in Galatians that the fruits of the spirit are love and peace. I give a firm witness that God is listening to our prayers, and will answer them through the power of the Holy Ghost, as long as we have real intent and faith in Jesus Christ. Moroni 7 explains repeatedly that everything that is good comes from God, and all that is evil comes from Satan. Satan will not testify to you of the divinity of Jesus Christ, tell you to pray, love one another, give service, or anything like it. When we do these things we strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ. That is exactly what Satan does not want. Remember that the Pharisees accused Jesus of using satanic power to cast out demons, to which Jesus responded ¨a house that is divided against itself cannot stand.¨ Furthermore, Moroni says ¨ For behold, a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he follow Christ he cannot be a servant of the devil.¨
You will know the servants of Christ by their words and deeds. The Holy Ghost will confirm it if you are seeking with a sincere heart.
Elder Nichols
Monday, December 19, 2011
Christmas, I think. 12/19/11
Dear friends and family,
Last Saturday we had a baptism! A couple and 2 kids from different families. I´ll show you the pictures next week because this shop doesn´t have a card reader. It was great. The couple showed up thirty minutes late. But they showed up! I had to baptize the wife 3 times because she kept popping her feet above the water. The third time my district leader told me to step on her feet. So I did. It was tricky, but worked like a charm.
We also had a service project. The mother of one of our investigators was telling us about how she wanted to paint her house, so we said we would do it. She didn´t believe us until we showed up the next morning with 4 other elders ready to work. Took 6 hours but we got it done. One of the other elders and I placed a Book of Mormon with one of her other daughters too. So now 2 of her daughters are investigators. Score one for God´s army.
I had another interesting experience. The boyfriend of one of our investigators never wants to talk to us. He is always ¨busy¨... But we caught him chilling in the street one day sitting in his plastic chair like they all love to do here. I´m still green and naive so I said let´s go convert him and be his friend. Needless to say it didn´t turn out the way I had planned. He immediately told us he didn´t want to talk to us or waste our time, said Joseph Smith was a crazy person, and, well.... A lot of other rude things too. To be honest I left in tears and we went home.
Then during our weekly planning meeting 2 days later I had revelation. This man saw us as representatives of Joseph Smith and the church he started. I don´t really blame him, because that´s normally the first message we tell people. The Restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith. So for those of you reading this blog that are investigating or something close, members who want to share the gospel with their friends, or anyone else, let me set the record straight.
I am a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ and the church that He is directing. My purpose is to invite you to follow him, help develop your faith in Him, invite you to make changes in your life in accordance to God´s will and standards, help you to make the sacred covenant or promise of baptism by one holding the authority, help you receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and teach you how to endure to the end, standing as a witness of Christ and developing His attributes. Everything else that we preach is but an appendage to that goal.
I´m out of time, but its good to say that I have a stronger sense of purpose, and when I focused on it during my lessons, I saw and felt a huge difference.
Much love
Elder Nichols
Last Saturday we had a baptism! A couple and 2 kids from different families. I´ll show you the pictures next week because this shop doesn´t have a card reader. It was great. The couple showed up thirty minutes late. But they showed up! I had to baptize the wife 3 times because she kept popping her feet above the water. The third time my district leader told me to step on her feet. So I did. It was tricky, but worked like a charm.
We also had a service project. The mother of one of our investigators was telling us about how she wanted to paint her house, so we said we would do it. She didn´t believe us until we showed up the next morning with 4 other elders ready to work. Took 6 hours but we got it done. One of the other elders and I placed a Book of Mormon with one of her other daughters too. So now 2 of her daughters are investigators. Score one for God´s army.
I had another interesting experience. The boyfriend of one of our investigators never wants to talk to us. He is always ¨busy¨... But we caught him chilling in the street one day sitting in his plastic chair like they all love to do here. I´m still green and naive so I said let´s go convert him and be his friend. Needless to say it didn´t turn out the way I had planned. He immediately told us he didn´t want to talk to us or waste our time, said Joseph Smith was a crazy person, and, well.... A lot of other rude things too. To be honest I left in tears and we went home.
Then during our weekly planning meeting 2 days later I had revelation. This man saw us as representatives of Joseph Smith and the church he started. I don´t really blame him, because that´s normally the first message we tell people. The Restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith. So for those of you reading this blog that are investigating or something close, members who want to share the gospel with their friends, or anyone else, let me set the record straight.
I am a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ and the church that He is directing. My purpose is to invite you to follow him, help develop your faith in Him, invite you to make changes in your life in accordance to God´s will and standards, help you to make the sacred covenant or promise of baptism by one holding the authority, help you receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and teach you how to endure to the end, standing as a witness of Christ and developing His attributes. Everything else that we preach is but an appendage to that goal.
I´m out of time, but its good to say that I have a stronger sense of purpose, and when I focused on it during my lessons, I saw and felt a huge difference.
Much love
Elder Nichols
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Long time, no see. 12/14/11
Dear friends and family,
Well it´s only been 5 days since my last update, we are now back to the original schedule. This week we mainly just tried to get people ready for their baptisms. We should have 5 this Saturday. Here are the details
Flor and Rafael are married. She loves to sing under the stage name la pluma sutil, which means the subtle feather. She... Is... Interesting... But her husband is super excited about the gospel, and one of the nicest people I have ever met.
Jesu angel is a 9 year old whose parents are members, he just never got baptized. Kinda just fell into our laps when we went to visit his family one day.
Allen is the son of a couple that is waiting on their papers to marry. Bishop said it was a good idea to baptize him, because they are having a lot of legal trouble with their papers.
Devid is a few years older than me, and was waiting to finish school to be baptized. The problem is we can’t get a hold of him to have his interview. Wish us luck with that.
Other than that, just another week in the field. Had a guy tell me he is a prophet and had a vision concerning the United States and that I need to deliver a message to Obama. He was serious. Drunk, crazy, and crazy drunk people all love to speak English to me.... Or at least try.
Oh and I don´t know if I told you all but I’m teaching an English class every Saturday at the church. Its nuts. I teach the intermediate class... Which is just about everybody, because nobody wants to join the kids class and admit they don´t know English.
Pasan buena,
Elder Nichols
Well it´s only been 5 days since my last update, we are now back to the original schedule. This week we mainly just tried to get people ready for their baptisms. We should have 5 this Saturday. Here are the details
Flor and Rafael are married. She loves to sing under the stage name la pluma sutil, which means the subtle feather. She... Is... Interesting... But her husband is super excited about the gospel, and one of the nicest people I have ever met.
Jesu angel is a 9 year old whose parents are members, he just never got baptized. Kinda just fell into our laps when we went to visit his family one day.
Allen is the son of a couple that is waiting on their papers to marry. Bishop said it was a good idea to baptize him, because they are having a lot of legal trouble with their papers.
Devid is a few years older than me, and was waiting to finish school to be baptized. The problem is we can’t get a hold of him to have his interview. Wish us luck with that.
Other than that, just another week in the field. Had a guy tell me he is a prophet and had a vision concerning the United States and that I need to deliver a message to Obama. He was serious. Drunk, crazy, and crazy drunk people all love to speak English to me.... Or at least try.
Oh and I don´t know if I told you all but I’m teaching an English class every Saturday at the church. Its nuts. I teach the intermediate class... Which is just about everybody, because nobody wants to join the kids class and admit they don´t know English.
Pasan buena,
Elder Nichols
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
It's about time. 12/7/11
Dear Family and Friends,
Hope all is well in... well... everywhere. Today we went to the Temple and had Pizza Hut afterward. It was great. That´s why i´m doing email on a wednesday, cuz the temple is closed on mondays. This week I forgot my cable, so still no pictures. sorry. But I´ve got some good ones I´m just dying to share.
Unfortunately this week we had to drop 4 people because they just won´t come to church. It literally breaks my heart. I hate giving up on people, because the Lord didn´t give up on me. The problem is that we just don´t have the time or energy to spend with people that don´t understand how important this is and don´t want to keep commitments. There is a difference between trying hard but coming up short, and just plain not wanting to act. It´s been tough to learn again and again that my purpose is to invite, and the powers of the priesthood can only be exercised through patience and long suffering. It´s hard because the people I listen to the spirit, pray, ponder, study, and fast the hardest for are the same ones that we had to drop. The ones that are closest to being baptized are the people that have just kind of fallen into our laps.
However, I refuse to let it get me down. I studied lately in chapter 9 of Mormon, which reminds us that God is a God of miracles today, yesterday, and forever, and that his servants will be recognized as doing the same. I was called of God through a prophet and set apart to do this work. These are his children. I was endowed with power in the temple. I was given the gift of the holy ghost and promised through the scriptures that he will guide my thoughts. I am not a casual or social missionary. I will be a sacred missionary. Miracles are not out of reach if I maintain my faith and obedience.
To close, I would like to repeat more or less what I shared with Rosana the last time I saw her. Unfortunately, she didn´t come to church this week either, so we will probably have to drop her too. She has had trouble deciding which church, this or her evangelical, is true. Our blunt discussion on authority didn´t seem to get through to her, but I later found out that she has yet to ask specifically in her prayers about this church. She just says that she prays every day. I said, more or less, the following...
¨Rosana, I´m very glad that you say your prayers every day, but this is not what we have been inviting you to do. We have been inviting you to ask your father, through prayer, specifically about this church. This is the most important question that you could ever ask him. Also, prayer is not just you talking on one end. He truly is listening on the other end. Prayer is a conversation with the Lord, which means that as you pray, you have to be listening for his response. This will come through your thoughts and feelings, by the power of the Holy Ghost. Think about it for a moment. Other pastors are confident enough in their own interpretation of the scriptures to try to convince you that they are right. But we are are saying to ask God. Would I tell you to ask God about this church if it was a lie? No. In fact, I can stand here as a witness and representative of the Lord Jesus Christ and promise you that if you ask the Father he is going to tell you that everything we are teaching is true. I can do this because I know, without doubt, that this Church is led by Jesus Christ himself, is the kingdom of God on the earth today, and is inviting you to be a part of it. It´s not a copy of his Church led by a group of men. It is the kingdom of God, and as your loving Father in Heaven, he will comform it to you if you just ask him in sincere prayer.¨
My time is up this week. Thanks for your letters and thoughts. If there is anyone reading this that is not a member of the Church, please, don´t ask your pastors, families, friends, neighbors, or even the Mormons themselves if this Church is true. Are you willing to put your salvation in the hands of fallible, imperfect men? I would hope not. Ask God. He is the source of all truth and light. He will not lie. He cannot lie. He does not want to lie. He wants you to be happy in this life and the next. Ask him the most important question of your life. Eternity hangs in the balance, and blessings are in store. I leave this with you, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Hope all is well in... well... everywhere. Today we went to the Temple and had Pizza Hut afterward. It was great. That´s why i´m doing email on a wednesday, cuz the temple is closed on mondays. This week I forgot my cable, so still no pictures. sorry. But I´ve got some good ones I´m just dying to share.
Unfortunately this week we had to drop 4 people because they just won´t come to church. It literally breaks my heart. I hate giving up on people, because the Lord didn´t give up on me. The problem is that we just don´t have the time or energy to spend with people that don´t understand how important this is and don´t want to keep commitments. There is a difference between trying hard but coming up short, and just plain not wanting to act. It´s been tough to learn again and again that my purpose is to invite, and the powers of the priesthood can only be exercised through patience and long suffering. It´s hard because the people I listen to the spirit, pray, ponder, study, and fast the hardest for are the same ones that we had to drop. The ones that are closest to being baptized are the people that have just kind of fallen into our laps.
However, I refuse to let it get me down. I studied lately in chapter 9 of Mormon, which reminds us that God is a God of miracles today, yesterday, and forever, and that his servants will be recognized as doing the same. I was called of God through a prophet and set apart to do this work. These are his children. I was endowed with power in the temple. I was given the gift of the holy ghost and promised through the scriptures that he will guide my thoughts. I am not a casual or social missionary. I will be a sacred missionary. Miracles are not out of reach if I maintain my faith and obedience.
To close, I would like to repeat more or less what I shared with Rosana the last time I saw her. Unfortunately, she didn´t come to church this week either, so we will probably have to drop her too. She has had trouble deciding which church, this or her evangelical, is true. Our blunt discussion on authority didn´t seem to get through to her, but I later found out that she has yet to ask specifically in her prayers about this church. She just says that she prays every day. I said, more or less, the following...
¨Rosana, I´m very glad that you say your prayers every day, but this is not what we have been inviting you to do. We have been inviting you to ask your father, through prayer, specifically about this church. This is the most important question that you could ever ask him. Also, prayer is not just you talking on one end. He truly is listening on the other end. Prayer is a conversation with the Lord, which means that as you pray, you have to be listening for his response. This will come through your thoughts and feelings, by the power of the Holy Ghost. Think about it for a moment. Other pastors are confident enough in their own interpretation of the scriptures to try to convince you that they are right. But we are are saying to ask God. Would I tell you to ask God about this church if it was a lie? No. In fact, I can stand here as a witness and representative of the Lord Jesus Christ and promise you that if you ask the Father he is going to tell you that everything we are teaching is true. I can do this because I know, without doubt, that this Church is led by Jesus Christ himself, is the kingdom of God on the earth today, and is inviting you to be a part of it. It´s not a copy of his Church led by a group of men. It is the kingdom of God, and as your loving Father in Heaven, he will comform it to you if you just ask him in sincere prayer.¨
My time is up this week. Thanks for your letters and thoughts. If there is anyone reading this that is not a member of the Church, please, don´t ask your pastors, families, friends, neighbors, or even the Mormons themselves if this Church is true. Are you willing to put your salvation in the hands of fallible, imperfect men? I would hope not. Ask God. He is the source of all truth and light. He will not lie. He cannot lie. He does not want to lie. He wants you to be happy in this life and the next. Ask him the most important question of your life. Eternity hangs in the balance, and blessings are in store. I leave this with you, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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