59th Week

Hello Family, Friends and Vremdeling,





You would not believe what happened this last week... It was quite the week. This letter will be a bit longer and will cover a bit so I apprecite your attention and interest. Hopefully, it makes sense.



So the Nickerie Branch has not always been the most stable branch in the Zone. Since its inception we've had two different branch presidents be released and take a good majority of the branch with them. To illistrate this point, we have 70 bapized members but only 7 active members. This is a great example of where the branch is. When Elder Bell and I got to Nickerie the branch was small but excited and they were ready for us. We started immediately and were met with mixed results: Some good and some bad. Saying this though a few weeks ago we discovered that our branch president was going to need to be released. Elder Bell and I were not sure what would occur but a few possibilties stuck out to us. There was Brother Emanuelson who had been the branch president at one point. There was Brother Veira that was just ordained to the higher priesthood. There were the Elders.

Well, Brother Veira has been having a hard time getting over his drinking problem and so we knew that would work and there were questions about Brother Emanuelson and his ability to serve. That left the Elders. So the District Presidency announced that they were coming to Nickerie this last week on Saturday and Sunday and that they were going to meet with us. In our meeting they then announced that the branch was going to be dissolved and the Elders moved back to Paramaribo with the remaining members becoming a group. In my defense of the Branch I suggested that it was too earlier to give up on the branch and that there were other possibilites still. We talked about that a bit and then President Nazir asked me that all to importent question: Elder Nielson if you were chosen to be Branch President are the willing to be here and work here? I replied, "I'm prepared to die here." (In my mind, I'm thinking in terms of dying as like finishing my mission).



Well things were left unresolved until that night when President Nazir came to our Apartment and extended the invitation to be appointed to be Branch President (When an Elder is set-apart as an Elder we automatically receiving the authority to do everything necessary in the mission field so Elders are never sustained, ordained, or re-set apart). I accepted and on Sunday was appointed to be the newest Branch President of the Nickerie Gemeente. That will mean that I will probably be here for at least six more month if not longer. I'm been informed that if I fail Gemeente Nickerie will be shut-down and if I don't succeed in the time-line given, Gemeente Nickerie will be shut down. So essential, I have six-months at the least/most, with the help of the Lord, to turn this branch around, train the leaders, and prepare one of them to take my place, or the Branch gets shut down.

So that is where I am now busy. Being Branch President and a missionary here in Nickerie. It is going to be a good time. One nice thing is the barriers that used to exist are removed. Unity between missionaries and the branch president is now 100% and the Branch President has already read most of the handbook. I just gotta not form a complex. There is a bit of confusion amongst the members as to whether it is President Nielson now or Elder Nielson but I really don't care. They did all seem really excited about me taking over the leader ship but we'll have to just see what exactly happens.



I guess you could say, I'll need your prayers!



I think I'll leave it there,





I love you all!



Love,



Elder Nathan John Nielson