54th week

Hey Family!





Well well well its been another week. I don't have forever but I thought I'd share a few quick stories.



First - We saved a man's life...Maybe our own.. We pulled up to a stop-light at about 8pm and we still needed one more contact for the night. Well just happened, that there was another man there so I started to contact him. It wasn't successful in terms of numbers but we ended it with pleasantries just after the light turned green. Well just before we started to go again a man on a bromfiets (somewhere between a scooter and a motorcycle) sped through his red light. I didn't think about it but Elder Bell pointed it out that if we hadn't stopped and talked to the man and had left just as the light turned green one of the three of us probably would have gotten t-boned or that bromfietser would have crashed trying to avoid us. Funny thing there too is that we shouldn't have been on that street but a mistake lead us there. We both felt like the Lord was providing for us and keeping us safe.


Second - We had a great branch activity this last week. Elder Bell and I mostly organized it but we were just super stoked it went through. We had some fears about branch unity so we thought lets just have a good time together. So we all met up at the Sports Hall. Basically an indoor basketball arena and we played games (Basketball, Rugby) and had a lot of good food. It was a success as we had 38 people at the activity and we usually average only 10-15 people in church! I was pretty excited about it. Only bummer was when we were on the way we crossed through a field and somehow my bike locked up. So I went to the ground. As I was falling though my leg hit on my brand-new-sharp metal pedals and I got kind of cut. What a bummer! Oh well though, being the strong person I am, even with a bum leg I dominated Rugby (I'm bigger then everyone else besides Elder Bell by about 2x and faster too oddly enough) and scored all the points in our teams dominating defeat of Elder Bell's by 3.



Third - We celebrated Pioneers Day this last week by eating pizza. Recognizing that neither of us have Italian blood we though we would celebrate that too often forgotten people. So we bought frozen pizza and cooked them and "celebrated." Sadly, the "American" style pizza we bought was more like a cracker with cheese on it, but it was a change of pace none the less


As you can see things are going okay here. We lost all of our baptismal dates on Sunday because no one came to church but that's okay. We are working forward with faith. Sometimes we find ourselves in the midst of the mist of darkness in Lehi's Vision. We have but two choices. Turn around and be lost or hold fast to the iron rod(Word of God) and keep going. I've been trying really hard to when in doubt choose faith. It has been going great and I exhort you to do the same.!



Oh and we got our transfer calls. They officially kept us where we were Elder Bell and I so also made us a district. A district of two! Funny enough if you have a district then it has to be in a zone otherwise you could call yourself Zone Leaders... Either way you also have to have District Leader! You can guess where this is going. I think President just did this so I can't call myself a zone leader but it is what is is. We will petition for Zone Leaders next transfer if we are both still in Nickerie. (Just kidding about that kind of). This might mean I get to go to trainings in Trinidad this transfer and that would really cool.



Either way,



I love you all!



Love,



Elder Nathan John

53rd week

Hello ya'll!



I've gotten really bad at time management again! My bad! Either way quick family email.



1st: We had Zone Conference in the city with President Gamiette. It was amazing. We talked a lot about faith and becoming better missionaries. I think everyone learned a lot and it was just absolutely fantastic.



2nd: On Saturday when we got back we taught a lesson to a man named Fraiser. We invited him to church he accepted, we invited him to be baptized and after thinking about it for a second he said, "Yes, what do I have to do?" Greatest response ever. We are super excited about him especially because he was in church yesterday.



3rd: We followed that up yesterday with another great lesson and baptismal commitment. President really wants us to challenge people to baptism on the first lesson. It is difficult and can be slightly scary, but I choose faith over fear. It has been great challenging people. If they don't accept it then it is, "Fine thank you! Have a great day." We don't lose time with them but instead move onto those people that are prepared and willing. We are on fire.



Things are going great. I love it here and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else besides a room with an air-conditioner(we are literally on fire).



Love you all!



Elder Nathan John Nielson

52nd Week

Happy Birthday America!



Hello to the rest of you too!



So imagine this, you are sitting in a tropical country on the fourth of July and no one else seems to care that is around you besides the only other white person you've seen today, your companion. Bummer right? Well either way, because America is so awesome, Elder Bell and I sang all the patriotic hymns in the English Hymn Book this morning and we are planning on buying hamburgers and cooking them at home. Not sure what else to do because we are not allowed to handle fireworks.... Oh well it'll be fun! I need a good America tie by the way to anyone that is sending me a random package. Or just more ties. If you send one though you should write your name(s) on the back and then I can show people who sent it to me!



We are doing really great right now. The Lord has been directing the work and it has been awesome. Never before have I seen so many people stop the Elders randomly to ask us when we are coming. A less-active that had moved so we thought we couldn't find him, another Less-active that had lost contact with the branch, two past investigators that seem eager to be baptized. The Lord truely knows who he wants in the Church and it is our job not to screw it up! Luckily we are promised in the Leer and Verbonden (Doctrine and Convenants) that we can't mess it up. Makes you eager to keep working knowing you can't make too much of a messs. My favoriate example of this is Fraiser. Fraiser was a random referral from someone who just said, "Try that house but they aren't home yet." We came back to discover a man that would have been baptized but needed to get married and then got married but the Elders had already been withdrawn from the area. Hopefully we can help him progress and be baptized. I'm looking forward to it for sure.



Zone Conference is this Thrusday. That means that Elder Bell and I have to take the Taxi for three hours Wednesday night to make it to such an event. We kind of live far from everyone else. Either way though... Théy've asked us to present and I'm pretty excited about it. We are talking about extending baptismal inventations on the first contact. Should be great.



Well I better leave it there. I love you all!





Elder Nathan John Nielson

PO BOX 2932

Paramaribo Suriname

South American



ps. Just in case ya'll forgot.