February 23, 2015

Well this week was about the second hardest week in my mission. haha no but it was a little dificult but all you have to say to yourself is be patient in all things and the rest will come. Well I feel really great for the oppurtunity to serve so many people and for the many people that I will teach. This week we didnt teach as much as we wanted but holy crap did we contact so many people. Honestly I love contacting and meeting new people. At the beginning of my mission I hated contacting but it is so much fun to get to know a person. I love talking in spanish to them and just teaching little lessons on the street. Haha but that most fun part of contacting is when you dont notice the person is drunk and you go and approach them. haha It is pretty funny sometimes cause they talk so crazy and just are too funny. This week we found so many people to teach and I have a pretty cool expirence from contacting. Ok so in my area there are a bunch of stairs and they are so steep and very horrible for my legs to climb. It is like the stairs from the emperors new groove. haha but as we start up the stairs we see all these men dropping off a big house. And by that I mean a house that is only made out of 4 big boards and are very dificult to carry. Well we pass them and we go to one of our appointments and when we were done we start going down the stairs. At the bottom we see the huge boards and the men are all gone and there are only 3 women. Haha I know it is bad to think this but my companion said oh lets go another way cause they are going to ask us to help them. haha I know my companion was joking but I just said no lets just go down. So when we pass the women of course they ask us to carry these huge boards or their house all the way up the stairs. ahhhhhhhhh My body literally felt so numb. haha but we accepted and we picked them up and oh boy were they heavy. Well we start going up and we place the boards where they want us to put them. It was so hard and it was kind of like a football workout in my shirt and tie. haha Well after that we start saying we are missionaries of the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints and we have a message very important about Jesus Christ and his gospel. They start saying oh yeah we have heard from the missionaries before and we really like your church. haha That was kind of a miracle cause normally people just say oh I am busy right now. But we start to teach them and wow they are really amazing people. They said the missionaries stopped coming because sometimes when missionaries transfer some of the investigators get lost because they leave and new missionaries come. Well I feel really good about that and I am super excited to start teaching them again and I know pretty soon they will come to know the truth. It is super awesome to because if we would have said no to them then they wouldnt have heard the message. I am so grateful for the holy ghost and so happy that it told me to keep on going down the stairs and do service for those women. The mission is freaking awesome. haha Well that is all that really happend this week and really me and my companion are best buds right now. Even though we dont know the area that well we are working hard and doing work with a smile on our faces. It is an amazing work and I love it. And to answer your questions I am living with Elder Cardenas from Columbia Bogata and Elder Sands from Florida. My companion has 11 months in the mission and he is from Cahmarca Peru. And also here in Chosica is super hot all the time and sometimes it rains. That is why I was wearing a sweater in one of my pictures. oh and it is really cool too cause when it rains hard here they have these things called huaycos. They are like flash floods and it is really cool to see.... But dont worry I am safe. haha Well I love you all and I really want you all to know the love I have for everyone. The church is trueeeeee.
Love ya a ton
les quiero mucho
Elder Nieman

 Emperor's New Groove stairs...I don't think this shows how steep the stairs really were!

I really love my area!

February 16, 2015

Wow I am going to start off with talking about Grandma Kathy. It is so crazy how life hits you like that and I am so sad to hear that she passed away. So many memories that I can remember are just so sweet and make me laugh a lot of times. Her kisses that I would always try to avoid. haha and just her friendly and loving personality. I am so shocked right now but I am so happy for her. She is in heaven with so many loved ones. Grandma Lowe and Jeff and our Heavenly Father. I really cant describe the feeling I have right now cause I am so happy but also really sad. Times like this make me feel so grateful to be a missionary and I am so happy that I get to teach others about the plan of salvation. So many of my letters are about the plan of salvation but I just really love talking about this subject. Wow it is a little overwhelming but I know where she is and I know the plan. I feel a peace right now. I really love all you guys and I hope everyone is doing really good. I want you all to know that there is a life after this life on the earth. We can live with our Heavenly Father and our families forever. The greatest peace we can expirence in this world is through the gospel. I am so grateful for this life and for the struggles we have. The struggles make us stronger and our faith in God will help us overcome anything. I know this is going to help me become a better teacher and have the spirit with me. Ohh man I am going to be so strong when I come back. I love you Grandma Kathy.

Well this week was a little crazy and really stressful. This week we had emergency transfers and that meant that Elder Hualinga left for another area and I got a new companion this week. His name is Elder Gonzales and he is super cool and he is an awesome teacher. Wow but I am back to directing an area that I have only been in for 3 weeks. I dont know my area that well and this week was really one of the hardest weeks of my mission. I really am trying my hardest and it is super hard right now. It is really good that I have this oppurtunity right now. To learn and to grow. Even though it is really hard with directing an area that doesnt mean it is the end of the world. This week I got to talk with president Boswell and I asked about why he made the change. He told me that Elder Gonzales had family in his other area and when it was time to make the change he looked at every picture of missionaries and chose me to be his next companion. He told me that something inside him told him to make the change and that he knew that I would be great for the change. He could have picked someone that had more time in their area but no he chose me. I think Heavenly Father wants me to learn something from this expirence and be better. It kind of gives me chills cause God called me to direct this area. There isnt anything that can beat me down cause I know I was called from God. I have a feeling this week is going to be a ton better and I feel like we are going to get some work done. I really love the mission though cause I am making so many new friends and just talking a lot more to everyone and being myself. That is the most important and wow I am going to freaking rock this area. haha Well that is all that really happend this week and I am so glad for this oppurtunity. oh and my drunk story for this week, a drunk guy starts to yell something in english. hahaha I almost burst out laughing because he asked for permission to pee in the streets. hahaha oh my gosh the worst part was I actually said yes. I kind of feel bad but I think he was going to do it either way. Well I love you all and always remember that Jesus Christ is our saviour and he can help us through anything.

Love you all
Elder Nieman

 Elder Gonzalez y yo

Us with some members and an investigator

Josh with his Grandma Kathy. Joshua was Grandma Kathy's first great grandson and she was so proud to be one of his biggest football fans! Joshua has very sweet memories of Grandma Kathy. She was known in our family as the "white" grandma because of her beautiful white angel hair. Grandma Kathy was a big part of our family and will be missed but we know that she is happy.  She has returned to her heavenly home and is experiencing great joy as she reunites with her eternal companion and loved ones.   

We love you Grandma Kathy!     

(1920-2015)

February 9, 2015

Wow the mission is pretty cool. haha I want to start off with telling you a story that is just really amazing and then I will answer your questions about my new area. But wow this week was a miracle and probably the coolest thing that can happen on this earth. My companion and I visited a old lady and she is super cool and just kind of a jolly grandma. Her name is Vacelia and she has so much faith in God and Jesus Christ and it is really fun to talk to her about faith and just the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well the first time I met her she told me that she had this bad finger and when she showed me her finger it was all bloody and just kind of gross. haha But she told us that her finger has been like that for a year and a half and the doctors told her that it would not ever get better and that if it got worse they would have to chop it off. When we visited her she was really worried and she felt really hopeless. It was really sad to see this woman with such joy have sadness in her life. Well we taught her a lesson about faith and after we decided to give her a blessing of health. After the blessing we left and everything was normal. Well when we returned to her house later in the week she showed us her finger. What I saw was so amazing and right there I felt the spirit of the lord tell me that he did that. Her finger was completely normal and was in the process of being healed. Wooooooow the mission is pretty cool. I felt so awesome and I think I have the right to feel pretty awesome. That was such a cool expirence and wow I just love the preisthood and the amount of faith people have. This mission is so crazy sometimes and I love it so much. I love helping people and I just love teaching the people in spanish. Somedays the spanish is a little off but wow I am teaching in spanish. That is all that matters and as long as they understand me. Well that is so crazy. Well that is all I have for miracles this week I am pretty sure I will have another next week.

Ok about my area, it is the furthest zone in the mission. So I am pretty far from Andahuaylas and the mission home. But it is not 253 miles away. haha I think if you search for andahuaylas it will bring up a different place cause andahuaylas is another big city in Peru. There are two andahaylass. My new apartment is really awesome and I am living with 2 missionaries again. Which is really awesome cause it is a party. Yeah I have a pensionista and she is really good at cooking. She feeds us pretty good and everything is awesome with that. About my companions accent... It is crap haha. But I am starting to understand him better and what I meant about jamacin was that he always calls me mahnn. Pasa me la tenador mahn. haha it is really funny sometimes but he is really cool and great. Oh and the package did arrive and thank you very much. Nutella is the most amazing thing ever and the reeses are also super amazing. It has been so long. haha well I am super happy with my area and I am super excited to work with everyone here. And once again everyone says that I am a powerful elder which is really cool to hear. I am not trying to be cocky but I just think that is pretty cool. Well griffin looks like he is just the most adorable thing living haha. He is really handsome and thank you for the pictures shellie. Well this week is valentines day and really I wish I could give you all my valentines cards personally but no whatever it is valentines day. haha but I hope you all know that I love you all and never forget that. But that is all I have for today and I will talk to you next week. Oh and my talk was postponed but probably this week I will talk in sacrament meeting.

Love Elder Nieman

 Just a river and my beautiful face

 A better look at Chosica, my area

Some of the people I'm working with

Announcing Joshua's nephew (#5): Griffin Robert King

Griffin  Robert    King    January 27, 2015

 8 lbs 4 oz

21 inches

 Hello world!!!

Griffin and Nixon - best buddies!

February 2, 2015

Wow what a week and I can tell you all that I am so tired and dead. haha Well cambios or transfers were this week and I got transfered to Chosica, Pierola. I was super pumped when I found out cause I heard that this zone was awesome and really beautiful. Wow it is so cool because it is so beautiful and just a new area. I am living on a mountain and when I say mountain it is a freaking big huge mountain. haha The streets are like the streets of san fransisco and we have to hike and when I say hike I mean using our hands to get up to the huts in the mountains. It is so crazy and I actually really love it even though my first days here my butt was so sore I could hardly move. While we are walking on top of the mountain I get a nice view of all the houses and how big my area is. I found out that my area in andahuaylas wasnt big at all and this area is freaking massive and there are even bigger areas in the mission. It is super hot too and I feel like I am going to die every day but that probably wont happen. ha but I seriously love this area and it is so different than andahuaylas. With this area it gives me more of a feel of living in a different country. I mean I am living on a mountain. It kind of gave me a shock but right now I am all good with it. There are so many houses everywhere and I just think it so beautiful. The culture is so beautiful too and I love the people here. My ward is different than my old ward. My old ward was a little bigger but this ward I have right now are very strong and actually I have to give a talk next week in sacrament meeting. I am a little nervous but hey I can do it because I have the spirit of God with me which is freaking awesome. I really miss my old area, the people, and my pensionista the most. Saying goodbye to wally and sarita was really hard and honestly a balled like a baby. haha but that is pretty normal in the mission. But really what is the problem with crying it shows your love for someone. I loved everyone in my old area but now it is time to start loving even more people on this freaking mountain. Well I honestly love the mission right now and I feel the spirit of the lord in my life. Every time we proselyte and every time we climb a rock I just think I am going to change someones life today. That is what I want to do and I am living my dream right now. My companion is Elder Ghalinga. He is from Peru and he is from the jungle. People from the jungle have a very thick accent and it is so hard to understand them. It is like they are singing while they talk. He is pretty awesome and sometimes it feels like I am talking to a peruvian jamaican because he has the personality of a jamaican. It is just so great. I feel so much love in this area and I feel like we are going to do work in this area. oh and also we have a shower that has hot water. yesssssssssssssssssssssssss. It is so amazing and I have missed warm showers. haha

Well this week shellie finally popped. haha Griffin is so amazing and like I said with brooks I cant wait to hold that baby in my arms and play with him. The pictures you have sent make me feel so happy because he is just so perfect in every way. I feel all your love at home and really griffin and brooks and just every single baby in our family is growing up in a family that shows love and are going to grow up to be wonderful people. Griffin I love you even though I havent met you. Wow 5 nephews and I am so happy to be an uncle right now. Especially serving a mission so I can be an example to them and just give them the best. Shellie always tell your babies that I love them cause I really want to tell them but I have plenty of time for that in a year and a half. haha Well I am filled with joy right now and I am so happy that griffin was finally born. 5 nephews is so amazing and I am the happiest uncle in the world. but I have a request, the next person that has a baby girl I will give them 100 dollars. hahahaha no I love nephews but I think it would be cool to have a cute little niece. haha but I am so happy with everything right now and I will have to talk to you guys next week about the temple. This week we are going to the temple and it is going to be the best thing. I love everything. I love you all and if you have any questions about my new area or how I am feeling with 5 nephews go ahead and ask but I think you guys know my answer. I am proud and happy with everything right now. I love you all forever family and friends.

Elder Nieman

 My comp Elder Ghalinga

New area: Chosica, Pierola. So many houses and in the mountains!