Hello Family and Friends!

So...I am sitting here writing you all from Iguala, Guerrero! I know. Last week I was close to Cuernavaca, this week I am in Guerrero, my life as a missionary is crazy sometimes. But we will be heading out to Altamirano tomorrow to begin our assignment in the branch! I am having trouble adjusting to the heat here in Guerrero again. I had forgotten all about it. It has been almost a year since I have been here. But I am very excited!

Impressions of Mexico!

1) This week, while peacefully writing in my journal at the end of the day, I suddenly looked up and saw the biggest scorpion I have ever seen running down the wall in front of my face. 5 minutes, a sandal, a church dress shoe, and lots of courage were what it took to finish him off. Everyone in Mexico has been bitten at least one time by a scorpion.

2) My companion, Elder Millan, is from Argentina. He talks funny. He is really funny (he is Jack Fixa in the form of an Argentinian missionary). And he tells funny jokes. Everyone here in Mexico believes that those from Argentina are super prideful. With that in mind, listen to the joke that my companion told me this week.

Elder Millan: "Hey, Elder Nielsen, do you know which country is closest to the heavens?"

Elder Nielsen: The United States (wanting to make him mad).

Elder Millan: No.

Elder Nielsen: Argentina (thinking that this would be the answer).

Elder Millan: No.

Elder Nielsen: Okay I give up, what is it?

Elder Millan: Paraguay, because it is the country closest to Argentina.

I think the Mexicans hit the nail on the head with their description of the Argentinians.

So, I had a pretty amazing week. Made even more amazing by general conference. I do not know if I have mentioned this before but my view of general conference has changed so dramatically since being in the mission field. I remember being here in Iguala, a year ago, listening to the messages of our Prophet, the Twelve Apostles, and other church leaders and just not wanting it to end. Like I craved it more than anything else. This general conference was so spiritually impactful for me. There were a number of talks that were pure direct revelation for me. They made me cry and feel so peaceful. The spirit was so strong. The spirit testified to me so strongly that those men and women are chosen of God and set apart to lead us in these latter-days. How wonderful it is to know that God has restored his church here on the earth again. That what they just said are words directly from the mouth of our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. Like Elder Hales said in his talk, the best part of conference is what comes after, or basically, applying what we have learned. I plan on striving my best to do that.

I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have had to be a missionary. I know that Christ lives. He is the Christ. I have reflected a lot this week on the process of repentance and the importance and vitality of the Atonement in our lives. This culminated in a number of talks given in General Conference. We all make mistakes right? We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. Satan, well, his goal is to try to shame us. Make us live in the past. Live and relive everything that we have done and said. Over and over and over again. He uses guilt and shame as a mechanism to make us weak, depressed, without energy, and without hope to improve or become better. His doctrine is a doctrine of complacency, despair, and shame.

Now let me tell you what I have learned. I have listened to that doctrine. I believed that doctrine. But I confused that doctrine with the true doctrine of repentance. Like it was said in general conference by Elder Scott, repentance is not a punishment. It is a beautiful change and transformation. It means that we turn our heart, our desires, our actions, and our will to God. We humbly kneel down and recognize our reliance on the Savior and his Atonement. We recognize that we cannot fully be healed unless we submit oursleves to him and we also recognize and believe that full and complete healing can and will occur. God is not an impartial or a changeable God and neither is the process of repentance. If we repent fully, if we come unto Christ with that sacrifice that he requires of us, a broken heart and a contrite spirit, we can be fully healed. I know that it is sometimes hard to believe. I know that sometimes we feel that we do not deserve to be forgiven or that the Atonement only covers us to a certain point. We do not want to forgive ourselves sometimes. I testify, so strongly, that repentance is real. It is liberating. It is freeing. There is so much peace and hope to be found in change. We can have an expèrience like Enos had, our sins and feelings of guilt and shame can be washed away and replaced with peace. I am a witness of these things. I know these things are true. I have seen it in my own life and in the lives of others. It is so wonderful.

I know God lives. Christ is his son. I am about to get to the point in 3 Nephi when he arrives here on the American continent. My favorite part. When I truly think about him, and as my life goes on with all of its experiences, my love and appreciation for him grows deeper. It makes me very emotional most of the time. I know he lives. I have felt it. I know that I am on the errand of the Lord. I will ever be grateful for the power and strength I receive through the Atonement and this gospel. He lives!

I love you all so much.

Elder Nielsen

Hello Family and Friends!

So there was a surprise when the changes arrived! I am not writing you from Altamirano, Guerrero but from a pueblo that is called Emiliano Zapata, in Morelos. Actually I am super close to my last area. President Kusch told me that it would be impossible for my new companion and I to arrive safely in Altamirano so we are here opening a different area in Morelos! My new companion is Elder Millan from Argentina. My first non-Mexican companion in the mission field! He seems like a great missionary and I am excited to get to know him more in the coming weeks!

Impressions of Mexico!

1) I literally saw a grandfather lifting and lowering three of his grandkids in the mouth of a John Deere tractor. Those little guys were having so much fun.

2) Sometimes members only think that coffee is bad if it is in the form of the drink. Therefore, it is not uncommon to receive coffee-flavored candy, cake, and ice-cream from strong members of the church.

This week was so fulfilling for me. And sad as well. I had to say goodbye to a lot of members and converts that I have come to love so very much. I grew to love them because I tried my best to serve them and teach them. I tried to be there for them always. I will never forget my branch in Yautepec. I will love and remember the people there always. Another very fulfilling thing that happened this week as well was the baptism of the Citalan Vazquez family. Jacob, Rachel, and Abihud! It was so touching to see them enter the waters of baptism and receive their confirmation. They were all so emotional and expressed how much this meant for them and their family. They are going to be amazing members of the church. The spirit was so strong during their confirmation that it brought me to tears. Just the thought that another family had come to a knowledge of the truth made me so emotional. Their faith and their desire to change. Beautiful. Pure joy on my part. It was a perfect last Sunday for me in the branch.

Something that I have come to know and understand very well, even before my mission, is that where there is greater light and truth being poured out from the windows of heaven, that there will also be greater darkness and opposition coming from the adversary. Because there was so much light this week, I also experienced a lot of opposition. Satan so desires to ruin or destroy completely everything that we love and appreciate. Everything that comes from God. He picks at our weaknesses and hits us where it hurts most. But I also know that the power of God and the power of the Atonement are far greater than anything that the adversary can bring against us. I know God lives. He is my father. I have grown to love him so much. I am learning to trust in him more and more. Sometimes he humbles me a lot. And I recognize the necessity of  that. But I think that he does it because he loves me and wants me to recognize him in everything. I feel very close to him now. I love feeling close to him. I love feeling the spirit. I love seeing myself and others change and become more like Christ.

I love you all so much. I promise to send pictures next week. We are in a big hurry today trying to figure out how to get around in our new area and getting the house in order. I hope that you all have an amazing week.

Elder Nielsen

Hello Family and Friends!

Well! Big announcement! President Kusch called this week and said that in a week I will be transferred to a branch that has been closed to missionary work for about 3 months in the state of Guerrero. The branch is called Altamirano and it is about 2 or 3 hours outside of my first zone Iguala! Apparently the branch has been struggling for some time now and does not have a lot of men that hold the priesthood. So, President Kusch is assigning me to serve as a counselor to the branch president and my new companion will serve as a secretary in the branch. I am nervous but excited at the same time! And I am going to enjoy my last week here in the branch!

Impressions of Mexico!

1) You just have to understand. Traffic rules do not exist in Mexico. At least not in Morelos. Something new that I saw this week was a person driving a straight-up four-wheeler down the street.

2) I know that I have already mentioned that dogs run wild here in the streets of Mexico. Something that I do not believe that I have mentioned before is that sometimes, when it is raining, they try to seek refuge inside of the chapel on Sunday. They wait patiently as the members file into the building and look for the opportunity to sneak into the door while the members are not paying attention. That happened yesterday.

We also had a baptism this week! His name is Luis Guillermo, a young man of 14 years of age. His friends invited him to EFY and he decided to go as a non-member. His mom was actually the one that wanted him to go so that he could have a "cultural experience". To her surprise, he got home and the first thing that he told her is that he wanted to be baptized and be a member of the church. So we got into contact with him and began teaching him about a month ago and his baptismal service was on Saturday! It was the most spiritual baptismal service that I have had as a missionary. The branch really took him in and loved him and about 40 members showed up to his baptismal service. I played the piano and we sang a special musical number with the sister missionaries. President Santos of the branch baptized him. It was a wonderful and peaceful experience. And if everything goes right, Jacob, Rachel, and Abiud should get baptized this Saturday, my last Saturday in the branch!

I feel very happy right now. I realize now, as my time in the branch is winding down to a close, how much I have grown in this little pueblo. How much I have learned to love these people. I love these people so much and I am going to miss them so much. There were a lot of days that were really difficult. There were a lot of problems here as well. But the beautiful and happy experiences are the ones that I am going to remember forever. God gave me a lot of gifts here. My faith grew in my Savior and in my Heavenly Father. My love for missionary work grew as well. I really came into my own in this branch. I will be forever grateful for the 8 months I was given here. And now I am ready for my next adventure!

I am grateful for this opportunity to serve. Every time I see one of my investigators enter the waters of baptism...when they descend those steps and walk slowly into the baptismal font, I mean, I cannot describe how I feel. I just feel like God is so present. I feel like he is so happy for the decision that this individual is making. They are his sons and daughters that have come to know the truth. And they are taking a step of faith. I know that the Doctrine of Christ is real. I know that Jesus Christ lives and is the Savior of the world. I know that God answers our prayers. That he loves us deeply and eternally. I know that obedience to the commandments sets us free and makes us happy and peaceful. I know that love really does cast out fear and that God is putting plans in place to save us, if we want to be saved. The Atonement is real. Repentance and change are real. I know and can testify of these things.

I love you all very much. I hope that you can feel the love that God has for you. He loves you all perfectly.

Elder Nielsen

P.S. I tried to upload pictures but the computer is being stupid. Until next week.

Sister Deisi who has cut my hair for
free for the last 8 months!

My Mexican flag to celebrate
Mexican Independence!  Viva Mexico!

Opening the door to my apartment!



I have lived here for 8 months!

Hello Family and Friends!

Happy Mexican Independance! I have already told you all how the Mexican people love and know how to throw a good party. Well...you can pretty much guess then how their "4th of July" would be. They hated Spain just as much as we hated Great Britain. Parades, gun shots and what sounded like cannons going off yesterday night at midnight, flags waving from every house, etc. I love Mexico so much.

Impressions of Mexico!

1) Gel is heavily overused in Mexico. Women. Men. Children. Sometimes I think people wake up in the morning, stick their hands in the gel jar and scoop out a nice big handful of gel and just plop it on their heads. They have hair of steel.

2) People have told me, and I have also seen on many occasions, the fury of a Latina. You do not mess with them. They are the funnest people to be around, but when they get mad...beware.

3) As I am writing here there are many, more or less intoxicated people running around in the street shouting "¡Viva México! ¡Viva México!". It has been a fun weekend.

I do not have a lot of time to write today, but I just wanted to share some thoughts that I had this week. A week that truly has been very important to me both on a personal level and as my service as a missionary. Someone made a comment during church this week that went something like this, "We are all trying to return to live with our Heavenly Father again. I mean, who would not like to return to live with God again right?" For the first time, I truly thought about that statement, a statement that I have heard my entire life. I think a lot of us would like to return to live with him again, but when we hear or think about the price that will have to be paid to make it there, then we turn away and refuse to think about it. There are so many people that I have talked with and taught that have said they would love to return to live with their Heavenly Father, but when they hear about the commandments, obedience, repentance, and sacrifice, they choose to take a different path. They choose a path that is easy, satisfying in the now, and that just basically pacifies themselves for the time being. They refuse to think about the eternal and would rather just live life how they have always known it to be. I know and testify that the only way to return to live with God again is through obedience to his commandments and living the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to live with God again. I realize how much still awaits me. I realize how much I will have to give if I want to make it. I love helping people realize what they need to do in order to be there. I love seeing people change. Repent. And have their faith grow in the Savior. Like this family we are teaching. I love them so much because they are accepting the commandments, repenting, and changing. Their countenances have changed. They are happier. They are more peaceful. They are feeling the Spirit and the love of their Heavenly Father.

I do not know exactly what the Celestial Kingdom will be like. I cannot comprehend what it would be like to be in the presence of God, my Savior, and my family forever. I cannot imagine also being able to see some of the people that I have taught and served while on my mission there as well. What joy that would be for me. I imagine that the celestial kingdom will be full of men and women that are pure. Tried. Proven. Full of faith, hope, and charity. That gave up everything (sins, weaknesses, appetites, passions) so that they could gain everything (eternal life with those they love). I invite you to make those sacrifices and changes. Choose today to be better and to repent. It brings so much peace. I have seen it. I am a witness of it, not just for myself, but for those that surround me as well.

I know that God and his son Jesus Christ are active in our lives. They put plans in place to save us. They love us so much that they give us trials, weaknesses, and hard times so that we can become refined, pure, and polished. We just need to trust in them as they do the polishing. I have learned that patience is key if we want to make it. We must learn to trust and be content. We must learn to serve and give of ourselves. We must learn above all, to love.

I love you all so very much. I love the Mexican people. Thank you for the love that you express towards me as well.

Elder Nielsen

P.S. This is where I have lived for eight months! My companion got a picture of me trying to shut our door. It is less-complicated than my facial-expression is telling you. Also, notice my Mexican-style backpack! I love it more than most things.

My District:  Elder Albizo, Elder Brooks, Elder Gonzalez, Me, Hermana Pech, and Hermana Lopez on top of the Pyramid in Tepoztlan!



Fried Locusts.  YUM!