Dec 30th

December 30, 2013

Dear family,

I loved talking to you all on Christmas!  It was the highlight of the past few months for me.

Before I forget, if anyone is ever going to send me cash in the future beware - I've realized that someone has been making tiny slits in the bottom of all of our letters to try to get the money out of the card/whatever it's in. We're pretty sure that Edwards got robbed that way once or twice. So if you're sending something with money in it, tape up the card or something.

Second item of business: Elder Huaman has recently discovered a love for chocolate raspberry sticks that he didn't know he had, and thanks you for introducing him.

I think that free season passes are probably how they get you hooked at Park City. It's good to hear that Jess is going to start skiing.

Also, thanks for telling me about Sam's first date. I don't know if I would have heard about it otherwise.

I can't say I'm surprised that BYU is stinking it up. At this point I can really only muster a vague feeling of resignation.

This week has been fairly uneventful. We do have a new investigator now. His name is Alejandro. He's a former investigator and the father of three children. He's a really friendly guy, so we're excited to see where it goes. We invited our other family to be baptized and they said they would when they know that the gospel is true. It was a great lesson. 

We got dropped a while ago by one of our other investigators. Pretty sad. He wasn't ready to live what he was learning though. But maybe later. I like to think that even though I’m not having a ton of baptisms, what I'm doing will affect people in a good way in the future.

I spent Saturday morning preparing for my future career as a Lumberjack. We went way up into the "mountains" to cut wood at Brother Ramirez' house.  He's a member of the 4th ward from Mexico. We spent a pretty long time there splitting and stacking wood in front of his house. At one point I split a round of wood about the size of a stop sign. It took me a few good swings with the axe, but I defeated it just in time to see Brother Ramirez rolling out a pneumatic wood-splitting machine.  Now I know the pain that John Henry felt.

We're going to be having a New Year’s Eve dinner with the Mannings this Wednesday, so that will be fun.

By the way, Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!  We'd better be making a trip to Texas de Brazil soon after I get home.  I hear it’s goodJ

Love,
Jake

 

Christmas Skype Call!!!

December 23, 2013

Hey!

We'll, I'm writing this email from an iPad right now. Getting the

thing was about as interesting as watching paint dry, in case you were

wondering. We went to a 3 hour training meeting where we were informed

about all of the things that, as missionaries, we can't do with it.

Then we downloaded a few church-approved apps and went on our way. So

now I have an expensive piece of glass and metal in my backpack that I

have to worry about breaking every time I jump a fence to get away

from an angry Mexican pit bull.

But I digress.

By this time I hope the plague has passed from the household and that

you've found time to drag the bodies out to the corpse collectors and

burn everything that got contaminated. I've been dealing with a nasty

cold/sore throat that doesn't want to go away this week. Other than

that, things have been pretty good. I'll be calling from the Whiting's

house at around 10:30 A.M. On Christmas Day - which we've recently

found out is going to be a full-proselyting day. This announcement was

received with much murmuring by the California Roseville Mission. As

for me, I'm okay with it. I wasn't really sure what we were going to

do all Christmas anyways, and we might as well try to be obedient. On

the other hand, I'm not looking forward to the doors that will

inevitably be slammed in our faces that day if we try to tract, but

there you have it.

We recently started teaching a new investigator, Manuel, and

his wife. We had a great first lesson with them and will see where

things go.

 

Right now I feel good. I don't feel like I'm missing much back home,

which is good. And whatever I do miss will be fun catching up on when

I get home.  I'm excited to see you all on Wednesday! 

Love,

Jake

Guinea Pig...mmmm

December 16, 2013

Hey Family!

Thanks so much for the cookies! They were delicious. The lights were great too. I set them up next to our “Christmas tree” that we put up in our apartment.

Quick note before anything else: We're getting ipads in our mission, apparently. Training for them is going to be on the 17th. As of yet, I have no idea what we're going to be able to do with them, but I'm sure they'll be useful. We may be skyping you on them. Who knows? I guess we're just a guinea pig mission for all of these changes that the church is making.

Speaking of guinea pigs, yesterday my companion went to PetCo, bought a guinea pig, then brought it home, killed it in the backyard, and fried it on our stove with some rice and peppers. . .

It tasted like stringy chicken.  It’s not so weird.  They eat guinea pig in Peru, you know.

I'm excited to get that Christmas stuff. I'll save it for Christmas day if it's wrapped, but if it isn't, I can't make any promises. Unless you want me to not open the box until the 25th...? This Christmas Season has been okay so far. I'm looking forward to getting to talk to you all on Christmas. I can't believe a fourth of my mission is already gone. I've got to work harder! It's crazy to hear about how much everyone is doing. I know it hasn't been that long, but I feel like everyone has changed so much. It's great that everyone is doing so well.  

I like to hear about all of the missionary work and service that people do back home. It makes you seem closer to where I'm at right now.

This week has gone by quickly. My companion, Elder Huaman, is great. He's been helping my Spanish a lot. Dad has been relating his adventures at the Hablemos Espanol Academy to me, and it sounds like you're all continuing to learn. How cool would it be if we could speak Spanish to each other when I get home?

For us, this week has been pretty fast, as always. We were able to set up a return appointment with someone while tracting. We're going to meet with him and his wife on Wednesday. Funny thing is, I remember tracting into him before, and when it was just a couple of gueros (Edwards and I) El no queria nada que ver con nosotros...

Oh well. I'm glad we have the opportunity to teach him now.

Nothing else new happened. We had a branch Christmas Party, at which a lot of food was served. That's about all I can say about it. We have some interesting needs in our branch. They're good people though.

I'll try to send more pictures when I can.

xoxo

Jake

P.S.

I was just kidding about the guinea pig thing.

Hey Family,

So first things first: I'm staying in Chico. My new companion's name is Elder Huaman, he's a native of Peru. I'm super excited to improve my Spanish with him. I get to drive now too, since he doesn't have a U.S. license. I'll let you know how he is after I meet him. 

I got our family Christmas Card. It was sweet. Thanks! 

So I send Elder Edwards off today. He flies home tomorrow morning. It was pretty rough.  I'm excited to talk to you all for Christmas.

Haha it's great to hear that Disneyland is still a family tradition. I bet it was an absolute blast. I've been missing all of you too. Thankfully though, things are picking up here in Chico. We had a record turnout to church yesterday, and we got a less active who hasn't been in years to go. I hope we're able to reactivate her. We've started teaching a new investigator named Alejandro, and we're continuing to work with Clarisa and Manuel. They're both progressing well. 

I can't believe it's been so cold back in Utah. We saw a bit of snow on Friday, but it didn't stick at all. Pretty lame.

In order to avert a catastrophic crisis in the near future, I've decided that I need to know the dates of all of the family member's birthdays (minus Sam - already sent his letter ). Especially Mom's. So if you could email those to me, that would be great. Thanks. 

Honestly I don't really know what I want to do when I come home. I've got a while to decide though. Patent law may or may not be for me. I guess we'll find out. 

Time is continuing to fly by.  

Love,

Jake

P.S. Here are some pictures

 

 

Thanksgiving Celebration

December 1, 2013

Hello everyone,

It's great to hear from you!

Also, thanks a lot for your letters. It was exactly what I needed that day. Tell Jess I hung her turkey on my wall, and give her a hug for me.

I've been doing really well this week. Thanksgiving was fantastic. Lots of really good food. The day before we went out to the church farm with Elder Manning and spent some time filling in holes with sand in order to make a horseshoes course.  I missed out on candied yams with marshmallows. It seems that they're being given up in favor of various other yam dishes, which is a shame. But Sister Whiting did cook come with apple slices and syrup that were an acceptable substitute. Actually, Sister Whiting's cooking was delicious. she made pumpkin ice cream pie, pecan pie, and the best rolls.  She also made a dish called broccoli puff that's a mix of broccoli, mayo, and cream of mushroom soup with crumbled up cheeze-its on top that you bake in the oven. It was really good.

On Friday, we went to a flea market (fajuca) in Orland. Lots of loud mariachi music and haggling over chickens, but all in all it was fun. I bought an elote - corn on the cob with mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, and chili sauce on it.

Tuesday, we ate with the Jones family. They're some great members in our ward. Brother Jones speaks Spanish. He and his wife weren't converted until just after they had their first son, who had a priesthood blessing that restored his hearing when he was little.

On Wednesday I challenged Ghost Peppers in the form of "Ultra Death Sauce" and was severely chastened for my audacity. Fun fact: Ghost Peppers are 900 times hotter than jalapenos.

t tasted pretty good after I stopped crying.

I can't believe Sam is a 16 year old. I can hardly even wrap my mind around the thought of him driving. Time is definitely going by fast.

Can't wait to talk to you all for Christmas!

love,

Elder Nichols

 

 

Dear family,

 

Life has been rough this week. There have been a lot of people talking about the holidays and their families, etc. plus Elder Edwards is going home in two weeks. It's been really hard to avoid feeling homesick.

 

My week went as follows: 

It was cold and rainy, we had all of three lessons, and nobody wanted to open their doors for us. But we worked through it and picked up a new investigator. Her name is Dianna. She lives in Hamilton City. 

 

It's unlikely that our strongest investigator is going to be baptized on December 7th. We've discovered a few problems with him that he's going to need to take care of before baptism. But I still have high hopes for him, and I feel like he was prepared to receive the gospel. 

 

Transfers are in a few weeks. Apparently we're getting four Spanish sisters but no elders. So it seems likely that either Chico or Orland will be taken over by a sister companionship and we'll be shipping out for another area (if it's Chico at least). I'll let you know about that when I find out. 

 

We're going to be eating with the Whitings and the Mannings (two senior couples in our branch) for thanksgiving. I'm sure it'll be great. 

 

Love you all too.

Jake

 

suspicious Krispy Kream sales

November 18, 2013

Dear Family,

This week was really slow. First off, we got two calls last Sunday. One from Alonso's mom saying he couldn't meet with us for two weeks, and the other from Maria and Miguel saying they were going to be in Mexico for two weeks. So with our teaching pool drastically reduced, we went ahead and tried to find some new investigators. No dice. We had an experience with a kid whose dad wanted us to teach him. He's into gangs and had his jaw broken by a baseball bat at one point. His dad was understandably worried about his future. But when we showed up, it turned out that his dad was basically trying to force him into talking to us. He didn't want anything to do with it. It just goes to show you that agency is a huge part of the plan of salvation.

In other news, we found a weed farm  in Chapman Town - little house surrounded on all sides by nopales (cactus), fences with plywood nailed to them to make them higher, and to top it all off, barbed wire on the tops. The smell was overpowering. I don't know how they manage to do business if a couple of missionaries can spot their hideout, but whatever. I guess the police force here is too busy investigating krispy kream sales to bother themselves with drug pushers. We saw a meth house too. It had a gang symbol spray painted by the door. You know when you're in drug territory when you see tennis shoes strung up on electric wires too. Lots of secret signs, etc.

Exactly like the robbers of Gadianton. That's why I really like the story in the BoM where it talks about the Lamanites preaching the gospel among the robbers in their part of the land - and that the entire group of robbers was disbanded as a result. Pretty cool.

We had a great lesson with Manuel. He's been so prepared, it's incredible. He actually understands what we leave with him to read in between lessons, and constantly says that what we teach makes a lot of sense to him. He told us that he knows he needs to be baptized into the "restored church" which was great first of all because he has that conviction and second of all because I've never actually heard an investigator use those words before. He just understands. So we feel blessed to be teaching him.

Thanks a ton for writing. I love hearing about how everyone back home is doing and how your weeks are. Time is still racing by. I can hardly believe it's been another week already. I want to make the most of every day I get.

Love you,

Jake

November 4, 2013

November 4, 2013

Dear Family,

Great to hear from you this week!

I have a miracle to share: 

We went to visit Manuel for the second time on Saturday, and started off our meeting after the prayer by asking him if he had any questions. He said: "Yes, where's your church?" (This is all in Spanish). We explained to him that the branch meets in Orland - about 20 miles away. He paused for a minute, and then said: "Well, I've ridden my bike to Hamilton before (about halfway to Orland), so I think I could make it there. It would take me a few hours, and I might get there a little bit late. I don't have a car. But I want to be at church." His faith is incredible. He's already prayed about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, and he knows that the gospel is true. He accepted a commitment to be baptized on December 7th!

Right now we're trying to coordinate some way to find him a ride to church next Sunday since we don't want him to have to ride his bike. So now we have three investigators with baptismal dates: Alonso, Clarisa, and Manuel. We're really excited. Right now Clarisa's Mom is unwilling to give her permission to let her daughter be baptized. We're still not sure exactly why, but we're going to meet with them this week. Hopefully her mom comes around. 

This week was great. Other than all of that, I blessed the sacrament for the first time in Spanish, which was kind of cool. 

In other news, we got a new car! The mission replaced our Malibu (which I had grown to hate because it turned about as well as an aircraft carrier and bottomed out all of the time) with a 2014 Toyota Corolla. It's amazing how well the church is able to take care of missionaries, and I know it's because of our faithfulness in keeping the Law of Tithing. 

I've heard that BYU has changed a lot since the mission age-change. I hope it's back to normal when I get back. I feel bad for all of the RMs who are coming home right now and not really meeting anyone. 

For Halloween we had to be in by 6:00 because of all of the stuff that happens in Chico that night, so we just sat around and played board games. It was pretty fun, I guess. We got In-N-Out to eat for dinner too, so it wasn't all bad. 

  

Tell Kate congratulations on her basketball win for me! 

Mom, how's being the Primary President going? I can't imagine that. I don't remember if I told you, but we've had to teach the primary class in our branch a few times because of lack of teachers, and it's AWFUL. I know that's probably bad, but teaching in Spanish is hard, and teaching kids is even worse. I'm not well cut out for it. And doing both at the same time? Bleh. 

 

I know you do a fantastic job using your mom-skills though. You're great :)  Thanks for being my mom. You put up with a lot while you were raising me, and I'm where I am today because of that

Good on you, Dad, for talking with Pedro. A lot of people undervalue the connection that speaking someone's native language can make - especially when they don't speak English. Even when it's not perfect, I know that they tend to appreciate someone communicating with them. That's a great missionary opportunity too.

Love you, 

Jake

Miracles...in Spanish...at 90 miles an hour

October 21, 3013

 Hey family!

It's been another week as usual - except for that we experienced a miracle. A while ago, a guy named Manuel approached us and asked us for a copy of a bible in Spanish. We gave him a Book of Mormon instead, since we didn't have any copies of the Reina Valera (Spanish Bible) with us, and told him we'd come back. We did, but he wasn't home, so I jumped the fence (since his trailer is surrounded by a fence made out of various gates and we couldn't figure out which one actually opens to get onto his property and which ones are just bolted to the others) and left a copy on his porch.

Then, we went back a few days ago and he was there! He invited us in (turns out you have to take a hidden board out of the gate-fence to open it) and had us sit down. He wanted to know how to use the Book of Mormon and the Bible together, so we explained the origin of the Book of Mormon to him and why they support each other. He then told us that he had read the pamphlet about the Restoration that we left, and that he had followed the suggestion in the back to pray to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet or not. He said he received an answer in the form of a comforting, peaceful feeling. It was awesome! And then, as if that wasn't enough, he asked us if he could bring some other people to listen to our next lesson because he knows a lot of other Spanish speakers who want to learn more about God. It was awesome! We're excited to see how he progresses from here. He seems very humble and hard-working - and he speaks Spanish about 90 mph. But yeah.

Also, this week we tracted into a lady who looked hispanic, but was actually from eastern Africa. After some confusion with language, we figured out that she spoke decent English. We ended up referring her to the Sisters, but it just goes to show - the gospel is for everyone.

I'm glad that you've had a great week. I'm doing well. It still seems like time is flying by, and I'm trying to keep it that way by working hard. I'm glad to hear that the primary program went well - we've had to teach a few primary-age classes in our branch, and it's torturous. I've come to respect people who can work with kids. I guess that's something I'll have to learn.

We had dinner with the Whitings yesterday (like we do most Sundays). It was delicious. Elder and Sister Whiting are a senior couple in our branch, and they're awesome. Neither of them speaks any Spanish, but Sister Whiting is an excellent cook. I'm being taken care of.
I have yet to eat anything as different as squirrel gravy (like Dad did on his mission) , but I'm sure I will. I've heard much talk of stomach and lengua (tongue) since I got here. Even things like kidney. I can't say I'm looking forward to that with any measure of excitement, but hey, it'll be an adventure if that ever comes along in the dinner calendar.

Thanks for sending me a package. Getting mail is always great.
Also, will you send me a soccer jersey for Christmas? That would be super cool. Preferably Chelsea (Frank Lampard).

- Jake

P.S.
It's awesome that you got so much cider this year! We'll have to do that again when I get home. The BYU game sounds like it was awesome. Another thing we'll have to do when I get home.  I've been thinking about what I want to do when I get back. Patent Law might be something I look into. BYU will be awesome as well - and I'd love to go do stuff with you while I'm there. The way I see it, the harder I work through my mission, the more enjoyable everything else will be.  

 

Hey Mom & Dad!

I'm doing great right now. Time is flying by.

It's really great to hear about how much everyone is changing/progressing. I miss you all a lot.

We have another investigator with a baptismal date! Her name is Clarissa. She's planning on being baptized on the 9th of November. So that's cool. We're just hoping that everything goes well, and that it works out. We have a new investigator named Aureliano as well, and we've been trying to contact a guy who wanted a Spanish bible from us and who agreed to take a first lesson, but he hasn't been at his trailer. I jumped his fence to leave his bible there though - since we couldn't find a way in through the apparently locked gate.

 

On Saturday I was asked to give a 15 minute talk in our branch on Sunday. I feel like I did all right considering I didn't have an excess of time. I talked about President Uchtdorf's conference talk "Come, Join With Us". My Spanish is coming along pretty well.

My companion's name is Elder Edwards (I don't know if I already told you that). He's from Alpine. He's only one transfer away from going home. I don't know how I'm going to feel about sending him home, as I most likely will. It'll probably be pretty hard to see someone else leaving.
He's a great guy, and an experienced missionary.

Halloween is coming up next transfer. We have to be in by 6pm that night, Chico being a college town and all.

I feel like I'm learning a lot - especially how to be responsible and live in a world that's becoming increasingly more wicked.

I need a new oil vial - I lost my old one. Other than that I'm doing well.

Love you all,
Jake

General Conference Weekend

Dear family,

I heard about the BYU/Aggies game. I'm glad to hear they managed to win. It's hard to be a Cougars fan sometimes.   I've definitely learned that over the time I've been out here. A part of that has been me learning to be more outgoing and talkative around people.   I've made a few pretty good friends here in the mission field already.

I'm going to miss the snow and skiing a lot - and cider making too. I'll miss grandparents too. But it'll all be there when I get back, and I think I'll be able to enjoy it all the more having served a mission.

I loved General Conference!  I have to say I really enjoyed Elder Uchtdorf's talk from the priesthood session, possibly the most out of any of them. I also liked President Holland's. I spent most of Conference taking notes on all of the talks. It's surprising how much faster that weekend goes by in the mission field!

We haven't been eating dinner with members much lately, which stinks. Since we're a branch we get juggled around between the English speaking wards every month. This month the ward has been pretty lazy about getting us signed up for anything, so we've been eating at home a lot.  Usually we play basketball on p days, but I like soccer a LOT better. I'd forgotten how much I used to like playing.  

Interviews with President Weston are next week. It won't be anything unusual, just a few minutes of talking and then back to work.

Foreordination is actually something that I had been wondering about. Sometimes I wonder why I've always had things so easy. I don't feel like I've ever experienced a really hard trial, and I've always had everything I needed thanks to you guys. So I guess that's just something I need to figure out. I know that I've been greatly blessed though, and I want to live up to that.

I've recently started reading the Bible all the way through for the first time because I feel like I don't know it well enough - especially when investigators talk about it. I want to be able to connect it to the Book of Mormon because, like Dad shared in his mission experience, there are times when you need scriptural knowledge there and then in order to teach.

I'm doing pretty well. There are good days and bad days, but I know that time will keep going by fast.

Love,

Elder Nichols

Hey everyone!

Thanks for writing.  Thanks so much for the pictures and candy. They were great :)

I'm really glad to hear about everything going on back home. The mission is going great. We're currently teaching our latest convert's mom, who is very catholic, but seems to be progressing.

 

Most of our time is spent looking up potentials/formers in certain areas. We do very little tracting except in high-density spanish speaking areas such as Hamilton City, which is basically like Little Mexico. Chico actually reminds me a lot of home. There's a ton of trees here like in Heber City, and it's pretty nice. Thankfully we get to stay out of the college area since Chico State is a really big party school.

 

We have two other investigators now. They used to be 7th Day Adventists, so their biggest challenge was having the Sabbath on Sunday instead of Saturday, but they've been progressing a lot. I feel like it might be a challenge getting them to commit to baptism though, even though I think they're ready right now. They just seem set on studying the Book of Mormon. I'm worried that they might just become "intern"-agators instead of investigators. So yeah. But whatever happens will.

 

So far I've only had two doors slammed in my face, and they were both white people. Spanish speakers are super friendly even if you're bugging them so much they can hardly stand it. They just act really disinterested. White people on the other hand like to yell and swear. So that's fun.

Spanish is coming along well enough. I can essentially say anything I want now. My problem is when people start talking really fast. But I'm learning!

One more transfer and I'm an entire 1/4 of the way done. How crazy is that? I've realized how fast time is going to go by, and how much I need to focus on working, because it'll be over before I know it.

xoxo

Jake

A Baptism!

Dear Family,

 

So. We had a miracle this week! Our investigator, Luis, hasn't been able to get baptized because his mom wouldn't let him until he's 18. So we were talking about him, and I asked if anyone had just gone over to talk about this situation with his mom before, to see if she wouldn't change her mind.

 

We decided that this would be a good idea, and set up a time to meet with her, along with a member of an LDS family who are his cousins and also fellowshippers. At first she was very reluctant, being a strong Catholic.  But then we started testifying. 

 

I've never felt the spirit as strongly as I did in that home, that night. We were all speaking Spanish, and I was speaking better than I ever have before. Our lesson that day with Luis had been the same - we were all on the same wavelength the whole time.

 

We told her that baptism was going to be the first step in him living a better life, and that it would only increase his faith in Jesus Christ. Luis shared his testimony of the Book of Mormon too, and I couldn't believe how much he's changed. His mom even admitted that she'd noticed changes in him. 

Long story short - Luis got baptized last Saturday and confirmed yesterday which we were able to do because he's been attending church. His mom came to church yesterday too! 

It was awesome to see this kid who has been receiving lessons for over a year now finally get to enter the waters of baptism. He's going to make an awesome member and priesthood holder. 

 

Love,

Elder Nichols

2 September, 2013

2 September, 2013

Hey!

I'm sure Swiss Days in Midway was just as much "fun" this year as it is every year. This week has gone by like lightning for me. I'm glad that Grandma Madelyn is taking advantage of the home theatre!

I'm glad to hear that you're retiring the old red battleship (our old Weber grill) in favor of something new. Maybe you'll have to mail me some of that bbq sauce so I can use it to work on my writing skills.  (The boys in the Nichols family have a strange obsession with good BBQ sauce).

It's great to hear about how everything's going for Sam, Kate, Libby and Jess.  I'm really proud of Sam. He's going to do fantastic on his mission.

This week we picked up a new investigator!  We're going back to talk with him later. Yesterday we tried to take another investigator to what we thought was a fireside with the Arrevolo brothers (they're all great members). Turns out it was actually a rehearsal for the upcoming Stake Youth Musical.  So, after almost getting pressganged into joining a musical, we thought it best to just find an empty classroom and teach him a lesson.

Two of our investigators, a husband and wife, came to the fast sunday meeting yesterday, which was awesome. We just need to get them on date for baptism - they know the gospel is true, they're just reluctant. The husband has told us that he knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet.

Sometimes people confuse me.

Thanks for sending another one of your missionary experiences, Dad.  I definitely don't know the scriptures as well as I would like - and learning a language is tough. But it's awesome that one of the other interns in your story was baptized because you and that other RM were able to share the gospel with people. I guess that's just a trade-off.  I've come to realize that missions change everyone depending on what they need most.

I'm glad to hear that the Priest's quorum is doing well. I hope they're preparing themselves the way they should be.

Mom, I'm working on my Spanish as much as I can. I've learned quite a bit. Thanks so much for the recipe!  I'm going to try the banana muffins this week and then another one the next. I'd like to improve my cooking skills. I know you're doing a great job as the primary president. You're you.

Tell Jess thanks for the picture, I loved it!

I love and miss everyone. I'm having a great time though.

Love,

Jake

Dear Family,

This week we taught 17 lessons to various people!  We picked up a new investigator named Arturo. He's our English student. He hadn't been at all interested in the gospel before - just English lessons. But last class he came and said that he wanted to know more about the church. We taught him the whole first lesson and gave him a BoM. We agreed to teach him English every other class, and the Gospel during the ones in between. We're also teaching another investigator named Luis who want's to be baptized but can't until he's 18 because of his parents. So right now we're just trying to keep him interested. He's been fellowshipped by a great member family the Arrevolos. They always take good care of us.

 

Our problem right now is getting solid appointments with people. The problem with teaching to Mexicanos (which is 80% of the Spanish speakers here) is that they're super nice when they find out that you speak Spanish - even if they're not that interested in the gospel. So we keep getting invited back and then finding out that nobody's home, or that they won't return calls. It's frustrating. But we've planted a lot of seeds and handed out a lot of copies of the BoM, so that's good. I'm loving the work. It's not easy, but it's not impossible. This week has gone by in a blur, too.

 

Dad, I've actually thought about that time I spent working at your office a lot. It was great. I loved going out to get lunch with you every day and then sitting around and talking for awhile. For my first working experience I can't imagine a better place than at the office.

I don't feel like I'm 18 anymore, even when we're teaching kids our age or older. Having a calling from the Lord to preach his gospel changes you.

Dad, that's an awesome mission experience.  Thanks for sending it to me.   I hope that I have some like that during my mission that I can share with my kids in the future. It just goes to show that the gospel has something to offer everyone. It's hard to hear people say that they're "good" with God and dismiss the gospel without even realizing what they're passing up.

 

My Spanish is improving. It helps that one of my trainers, Elder Correa, spoke Spanish at home in Miami because his mom is from Colombia. I've come to learn that Mexicano and Spanish are two very different languages. I'm trying to keep my Spanish clear and free of slang, which is hard at times. But I'm doing all right.  My only concern is that I'm not progressing as fast as I'd like to. But I study hard and my speaking is way better than it was when I was in the MTC.

 

 

This week has gone by in a blur.  We're working hard and doing everything we can.  Today I bought two suit jackets and a bike pump - we have suit coat season here since it cools off in the winter. They were $10 each (I got them from Goodwill because I'm trying to be really careful with my money).

Thanks for sending me the root beer barrels! Thank Jess for the picture. I love it!

 

Love you all,

Elder Nichols

 

 

 

 

 

 

19 August, 2013

Dear Family,

 

The work has been great. We've picked up two new investigators in the past few days, one of which was a really cool experience. We were tracting, and just didn't feel productive/focused. So we decided to go to another area and start again, only this time we prayed before starting. We walked into the Lincon Apt. complex and the first lady we saw we started talking to. A few minutes later her husband, Juan, showed up from work. It's the cosecha (harvest) right now, so a lot of hispanics have crazy work hours because our mission is a big farm area.

 

Anyways, we taught the whole lesson of the restoration there on the porch. We were about to leave, and I remembered that I had a Spanish Book of Mormon in my bag. I wasn't sure if I should give it to them since we hadn't said anything about it yet, and I was worried that they would just ask a ton of difficult questions about where it comes from, etc. because they're catholic (like basically every other Spanish speaker in Roseville). So I prayed. Immediately I felt an overhwhelming feeling of peace, so I pulled it out and said "We'd like to leave this with you too." in Spanish. Then we explained how it's another testament of Jesus Christ. They accepted it right away, and said they would read it! The both seemed very interested in it, especially Juan's wife, Aurora. We have a return appointment next Saturday.

 

My first area is Chico, Cali. It's a college town. It's pretty nice here. I like it, even though it's pretty hot out. We go to a Spanish branch in Orland. We have a car.

 

I'm really happy to hear that you got home all right. I'm sure Costa Rica was a blast! Thanks for sending me the pictures!

 

I love you all, and miss you. I'm having a fantastic time on my mission!

 

Love,

Jake

P.S.My address is 101 Risa Way, Apt. 114 Chico CA 95973

A Change in Assignment

Hey everyone,
 
We have recently found out that Jake's travel plans have been changed.*  Something has happened with his paperwork that has necessitated a re-assignment to another mission.  We assume that this hiccup has something to do with the huge increase in 18 year old missionaries and mission assignments.   

Elder Nichols has been handling this challenge really well, but is incredibly disappointed.  He should get news of his new assignment by Saturday, August 10th at the latest, so we'll keep you posted.

Right now, he's companions with another elder who stayed behind because of knee surgery.  They are helping one another handle these challenges and disappointments.  Keep him in your prayers. 

The Nichols family

*Looks like he's been assigned to the California, Roseville Mission, Spanish speaking.  He's excited to get out there on Tuesday!

We're Goin' to Vegas, Elder!

 

Dear family,

 

It's great to hear about all of you. I'm glad your presentation at the Utah Bar Convention went well - you probably livened up the place a little bit. Snowmass sounds like fun.

 

I'm really proud of Sam. What a great kid. It's unreal to hear about him driving. I know I've only been gone about a month, but it's awesome to hear about him driving and his 50 miler with the Teachers.  He's going to make a fantastic missionary.  ( Ha! I was wondering how long the Honda would last after I left.)

 

I can't believe you got to see Elder Holland at church! I keep hoping that we'll see an apostle here at the MTC before we leave, but I don't think that's very likely.

 

I'm flying out to Vegas tomorrow at 4:30 A.M. to appear before the consulate and get my visa. I'm really glad it came through. Apparently I'm going to be the travel leader for our group - we're going to try to place some copies of the Book of Mormon while we're going.

Only 12 days until I ship out for Torreon!

I'm excited.

 

 

I wanted to tell you how lucky I've been to have you as a dad. You've taught me so much about responsibility and working hard without me even knowing. Thank you for being such a great example to me.

 

 

Mom, here's the moment when I tell you how lucky I've been to have you. I'll probably tell you many more times, but I'm so glad that you were always there to give me advice when I needed it and direct me. You were the perfect person for it, and it's strengthened my testimony of foreordination.

 

Anyways, I'll let you know how Vegas went! Super glad my visa wasn't held up.

I might ask you to send some copies of the BOM for me. I've been reading them and marking them with a specific question in mind for the whole book. It's been great.

 

Don't worry, I'll take lots of pictures in Mexico. Give the little girls lots of love for me!

Love,

Elder Nichols

The MTC is great...the food is less great...

Hey everyone!
The MTC has been great.  The food is less great.  But they feed us well, so it's okay.  I'm excited to get out of here and get to Mexico.  Hopefully my visa comes through.

Yesterday we taught a native Mexican brother, Hermano______ for TRC.  It was a great learning experience.  we also have two role-play investigators named Claudio and Matthias (who are also our teachers).  We teach completely in Spanish and they ask some tough questions, but the Spirit always helps us along.  It's incredible how fast you can learn here with God's help.

I've been singing in the MTC choir.  We performed "Nearer My God to Thee" for last night's devotional.  It was amazing! 

The time has flown by these past 3 weeks.  Two years will have gone by before I know it.  I'm excited to get out and teach.

Libby, the cookies were delicious!  Tu eres una panadora excelente!  To Sam and Kate: take care of each other.  School can be rough.  I love you both.  Jess, I miss you lots.  I'll make sure to send you something from Mexico for your birthday!  Mom and Dad, I love you both.  Keep the theater room in good condition for me.  Let me know about my AP scores when you get them, too.  I'll keep you posted about my visa!  Hopefully it comes in time!  Daniel has already come and gone, which is crazy.  I hope he's doing well in Jamaica.

Love you all,
Elder Nichols

p.s. I could use some Riesens or Werthers if the quartermaster can manage.  Thanks!

Merry Christmas!

MTC 10 July, 2013

Well today's my second P day, and I'm doing fantastic. We usually start off our Christmas ("P Days") by singing Christmas carols and doing laundry. I was really glad to hear all about your 4th of July. We got to watch Stadium of Fire from the CCM (Spanish acronym for MTC), which was pretty neat.

The past few days I was feeling homesick. We call it feeling "trunky" here. But I prayed and after a while received confirmation that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. It was one of the strongest spiritual experiences I've ever had in my life. I have a quote from Jesus the Christ that I really love - it's an excellent book by the way. I'd recommend that you read it. This might not be exact, but it goes something like this: "And a man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, such is not fit for the Kingdom of God."

I know that I'm exactly where my Heavenly Father wants me to be. I'm already developing a love for the people that I'm going to be teaching in Mexico.

Tell Jess and Libby that I hung up their pictures in my room! They're awesome.

Sam - The food here is pretty good. There's LOTS of it. All you can eat. They say the average weight gain for CCM missionaries here is 15 pounds. I'm trying to stay under that goal, but it's hard when they have Captain Crunch during every meal...The beds are probably a little bit short for you, too.

Right now we're 5 to a room meant for 4 people, but it's not too bad. It's awesome that there are so many missionaries who want to serve missions that the CCM is packed. Learning a language has been fairly easy. If you have the spirit with you, it becomes easy to learn and understand everything you need to. We've been told many times that we're not here in the CCM to learn Spanish, but to learn how to teach and love our investigators. The spanish will come in the field.

I hope you're doing great, Kate. Take good care of my ipod ;)

Mom - Thank you for the scriptures. I'd like it if you could maybe send me a note card with each family member's favorite scriptures on it. I'll get it laminated and carry it around with me. My spanish is coming along really well. We learned the Subjunctive form yesterday, which is pretty tough, but I can now teach my lessons in spanish without any notes at all. I've started trying to memorize a few scriptures in spanish too.

Being confined to the space of a city block for 6 weeks is the hardest part of the CCM. I'm excited to get out to the field. But I'll do fine. I can't believe it's already been 2 weeks. I attached some pictures of my new comp. He's great. His name is Elder Hardy.

Thank you for being such a supportive, loving family. I love you all!

Sincerely,

Elder Nichols

P.S.

Thanks for all of the letters! I love getting mail from you guys!