Everything is Awesome!

Monday 24.02.2020

Today was not super excited, we went to the clinic in the morning, went to internet went grocery shopping then came home to go tracting. We left like 15 minutes late to go tracting which is becoming a norm but we are trying to work on that. About a half hour later we arrived to our appointment (we have to walk everywhere). But they were about to leave to a devotional in the Stake Center so we didn't teach them but we ́ll come back tomorrow to visit them. After that we went contacting and passing by less actives and old contacts of ours to see if there is anyone with an interest in learning about Jesus Christ and his true teachings of the Gospel. But not really anyone wanted to talk so we walked and walked and walked.... but tonight we didn't have any luck sadly this last week has been pretty hard but I know it'll look up. 

I am thankful for this opportunity that I have to be a missionary of Jesus Christ and his true Church on this earth, I'm not perfect but i know and hope to grow a greater testimony of these great truths and teachings.

Wednesday 26.02.2020 

Today it rained a lot! It's still raining right now and it just dumping haha. Well we started off the day by waking up at 6:30 and doing our comp switch cause we had a split yesterday. we switched and then we were running around the center until about 8:30 or so. Then we had a meeting in the stake center at 10:00 so we hurried and showered, ate breakfast and ran out the door. We got to the church a couple minutes early and there was no one there.... so we called and the other Elders told us that it was moved to Friday but no one let us know haha so we went home and did our planning and studying then went to lunch.

In the afternoon we went to a visit that was a contact but it was just her and her friend there so we went to go look for a guy to accompany us in the visit. There's some members that live in the same block, but when we came back like 5-10 min later her kid told us that she just left and won't be back for like 2 months. Me and my comp just tried not to laugh right there haha. so we left to go talk and meet some neighbors and find some people to teach. The first house that we talked to the lady told us to come in, but we asked her if we could talk on the front patio. She began to tell us that for the first time in the ten years that she has lived there the missionaries finally talked to her she was just excited to finally know who we are or at least from what church we are from. but we are excited to teach her and her kids about the Plan of Salvation, her husband passed away 6 years ago, and help them to receive the hope and light that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her name is Camila and she has 3 kids and she's a teacher and school starts this next Monday, so when she starts work again it will be hard to meet with her. We will see what blessings the Lord brings to them for the faith that they exercise.

We then went to visit the 16 year old girl that we are teaching and we were able to help her understand the importance of Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, The Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the End. She was able to commit to a baptismal date in March and we are super excited to help her to be Progress in the Gospel of Jesus Christ by making covenants with God by his Priesthood power and by the ordinance of baptism. She has been progressing so much and we are so proud!

After we went to the church to have an interview with some of the other people that the other missionaries have been teaching. We cleaned up the Chapel while we were waiting and then me and my comp went to buy a few things for dinner and now we are home. Love you all look for the blessings that God has given you not not for the ones that belong to others.

Sunday 1.03.2020

Well we made it to march, what in the world!!

haha yah so today was just a normal day walking and teaching, but it was actually pretty cool today the weather was cloudy overcast so it was like only 80 degrees. But we went to visit the one family that we are teaching Willy and Santiago and we ended up finishing teaching God's plan for us (The Plan of Salvation) and helped him receive answers to his questions and we extended a baptismal date to him for the end of March and he told that he has to think about it but we are very excited for him to pray and receive an answer to his pray about his baptism. This has been an amazing journey I met him when he didn't want anything not even listen. But then everything changed he really prayed and had true intent to receive an answer and he was truly blessed and began to change and look for what he needs in life. He is now asking about baptism and about the ordinances in the temple )well I should say too that his wife is a member of the church and it has truly been an interesting experience listening to all of his close friends and neighbors tell us that he now doesn't want to drink and party like he did and tells them now that he is a brother now and he doesn't do that. What joy brings the true principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our lives. 

Also in these week we found a person that was our moto-taxi driver and gave us a ride twice that night and we felt like we should talk with him and ask him if he would like us to visit him in his home and he told us he would love that. As we visited him two days later he told us that he has anticipated us to visit him in his house and then we learned shortly after that his brother had passed away just shortly 3 weeks ago, and he is really happy to have us visit and help him to learn about Jesus Christ. It has been a very edifying experience to Meet Hermano Francisco and to see how he has immediately seen the blessing of the knowledge of God's Plan for us and where we go after death here on earth.

Saturday 22.02.2020

Haha I haven't written this whole week... but it's all good. This week has been a big stresser. We have been working so hard and not seen many results, but we know that the seed doesn't spring out a full grown tree full of fruit immediately. But everything seems to be going pretty well. This week has been super hot and humid-- the temp got into the 40's in Celsius. But we went and worked like normal and met some new people and work around the people we have been visiting to see who truly needs help.

The mission can also be truly frustrating at times. The people that you teach don't always follow through will the commitments that we leave them and they don't feel bad for not following through with it either. As a missionary the big question we ask ourselves is "is it me or is it them? Am I the one not allowing them to have success or is it possibly their circumstances that don't allow them in this moment to progress?  And we continue to learn and grow to love God and his son Jesus Christ as missionaries or I should say as Disciples of Jesus Christ we enable the blessings to flood into our lives. This is exactly what we invite others to come unto Jesus Christ and receive his redemption but they just need to act even just a little to be able to receive these things and this is why it is hard for me and us as missionaries of the Jesus Christ whens those we teach the true and everlasting principles of the gospel don{t follow through they are missing out on the essential blessings of life here on earth. I{m not a perfect teacher and i don't think i ever will be but if i do one thing about the Savior Jesus Christ, it is that he best taught through testimony and example and he continues to do so through his modern day living prophets. 

We have been teaching a man named Willy and his son Santiago, but I have truly seen how the gospel of Jesus Christ has quickly changed this man's life and all he did was look at himself and realize the blessings that he is truly missing out on in his life. He began to pray everyday which has allowed God's spirit to be with him throughout his day. Then he began to read and gained a desire to learn more of the mysteries of God through The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.  He has become fascinated with Gods hand in our lives. Imagine how Gods power can change a man's life that didn't want to hear a word we had to say and now he literally cannot wait for our visits to teach him the true and Restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Wow I am so proud to see and be a part of this wonderful process that is conversion unto Christ. To be honest I never thought I would be so excited to write or that I would ever write about someone and how they came unto Christ and his true Church here on earth. 

Sunday 23.02.2020

Today is pretty crazy they celebrate something called Carnival, Which i don't entirely understand what it is or why they do it. But they cut down palm trees and then decorate it with ribbons and weave the branches then they attach like prizes or gifts to the branches and then they stand it up. the tradition is that they have a person that chops down the tree but while they chop the other people there get to throw paint, mud, water, or whatever they can find and yah they drink and dance and yah.

What?! I thought Elder Nieman stopped writing!!!

Monday 10.02.20

Wow what a blast it has been this last year haha, I can and cannot believe how fast the time has flown by. Today was p-day with my companion Elder Pedraza and we didn{t do a whole lot but we did do minimal shopping and we also watch a little bit of a movie [astro boy[. As well the FHE that we had planned with a recent convert fell through and so we were left no plans. When you have no plans for the night in the mission the day USUALLY GOES REALLY SLOW, but we passed by for 2 of our investigators, first Daniel who is 14 years old and then Willy and his kid Santiago. Turns out that Daniel wasn{t around and didn{t care too much so then we made our way to Willy{s house, Luckily he was there!!! And we came in and had no idea what we were going to talk about but we chatted for a minute then said the prayer. This is when it is really important to listen to the investigator, your companion, and the spirit. We ended up having a great lesson Brother Willy told us that he wants to learn more he made the decision to go to church to see what it is like but he told us that if he didn{t like it he would never come back haha. Well it turns out he liked but he didn{t understand half of it though we talked about priesthood keys so that was kind of difficult topic to walk into for the first time lol. But it has been so great this week and I hope to be able to write more now that I have my AlphaSmart back. 

Tuesday 11.02.20

Well I am here in Secadas area on a ministering visit and it has been a great day actually my companion is the district leader so i will probably be in other area pretty frequently. Today i am with Elder Taype chanchamayo Peru which is like the northern Peruvian jungle but he{s cool though we get along pretty well. He really likes the missionary work and is pretty dedicated though he does have some downfalls like we all do he is an awesome missionary and helps a lot of people come unto Christ which is our purpose. I actually learned a lot on how to listen to the people and teach according to their needs and I think that I was able to be guided by the spirit as I taught, It has started to be a great week and I look forward to the days that come to just help others learn about Christ and his teaching that others may desire to come unto him. I am getting scared because I feel like I am getting close to having an assignment in the mission i already have a year in the mission and I still haven{t received any responsibilities but i know that the assignments help us to receive blessings, to learn, grow to love those around us, and to become as a disciple of Jesus Christ. The mission has been a great experience for I have grown in many ways i have recognized the countless weaknesses that I have, if you want to learn about yourself serve others because we come to see the real light that Christ needs us to be and always forget ourselves in the service of others. 

Friday 14.02.20

Well happy Saint Valentine's day!!! Today was a little calm but super hot the whole day i was just sweating and it was awful haha. This morning we went proceliting and visited a few people, but we had like 45 min. until lunch so we started knocking doors and nobody really wanted to talk to us haha. But we knocked the very last door and a young guy answered the [door[ )haha they always answer through the window= and we talked to him and it turned out that he{s a member that just moved in there like a week ago from another part of Iquitos and he's really cool and said that he would love to help us visit people while he is on vacation. So that really turned my day around and his mom and sisters are not members so we will also be able to hopefully teach and help his family!Other than that is was just a really sweaty hot day, so yeah sorry I don't have anything else to say lol.

Sunday 16.02.2020

So today we had the sacrament meeting and it starts at 8 in the morning, but not everyone arrives at 8. This is something we are trying to help resolve and help the ward better in, but it will take time to help them. 

Woohoo!!!

October 28, 2019

Well i am back from the dead lol. it has been a while since I have written, i know that you all have been missing out on the almost weekly letter haha. But everything is going good we are working pretty hard here in Tarapoto the work is great and it is hard but i love the people and i am able to gain a greater testimony of the Jesus Christ. 

This week i had my face blow up due to a  tooth infection and now i am going to the dentist here to get a root canal. but i don't have much time and i don't like typing haha. until the next almost weekly letter.

Mis Ovejas

Yah so sorry for not emailing these past couple weeks but I didn't know what to write. We did have a baptism last week--a young kid whose parents are members but he never was baptized because his parents were inactive for a while. We ended up finishing teaching him and I ended up baptizing him. It was an awesome experience! This kid had a true desire to be baptized and to follow the commandments. And how many blessings the Gospel holds for those that follow the commandments, we really can see miracles in our lives as we pray to seek celestial guidance. We can become completely new people thanks to the atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives. 

14 Therefore blessed are ye if ye shall keep my commandments, which the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you.

15 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him.

16 And as I have prayed among you even so shall ye pray in my church, among my people who do repent and are baptized in my name. Behold I am the light; I have set an example for you.

I have been studying a lot this week about the Lord's atonement for us and why he chose to make a sacrifice. I have learned that through his sacrifice he has the power to understand our situations, our pain and discomfort, our sicknesses--everything!  and he can help us to overcome these trials primarily through our faith in him. Secondly, through his atonement we can be healed and cleaned of all things. How great is the power of his atonement in our lives.

 Also in this week, we have been working with a kid called Wender. He's pretty amazing. He's 19 and is really trying to learn and understand our message. He actually has a baptismal date this next month so we are helping him prepare for his baptism and it is going amazing. 

We also found a lady and her family this last week. The missionaries actually taught her like over 20 years ago and it's going amazing. We are helping and teaching little by little to help them find faith and confidence in others due to some experiences that they have had. They are a little hesitant but we know that we will able to help through the message of the restored gospel.

Also this last week my USB's and memory card to my camera got a virus and wiped everything so I lost a good amount of my photos that I had so that's a little sad. But everything is good. My health is good and we are working here in my area Punchana. Until next time!!

no hay tiempo Pues July 8, 2019

Hola!!!! ¿Que tal? 

Another week another experience. One thing i have noticed is that i don't think that i have had a week that is normal or the same in the mission. I think that it helps that i am constantly learning something new. I am grateful to be able to develop christlike attributes while I'm in the mission.  I don't really know what to write about haha. I am learning a lot about myself in this change. This has been the hardest change with my companion. He is a lot like me --he thinks he knows everything and doesn't like to listen to others. But i am definitely learning a lot about holding my tongue haha. I am enjoying my time here. Sorry people not much this week.

Punchana Iquitos, Perú

This week has been good. We have been working diligently with the members as well as our district to brain storm how we can better use our time and work in our area. I think that sometimes we look for excuses to not work as hard instead of looking for the blessings to help us find and teach. Yesterday pretty much every house was drinking for fathers day. This is difficult because our area is very small so we couldn't really find an area where there was no alcohol and were there wasn't music blasting. But in reality this was an opportunity to find those who have the same values as us that don't drink or those that observe the sabbath day. But I am so grateful to gain a greater testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Its really amazing how many people we talk with they feel that are missing something in their lives but they can't really say what it is, and our message brings a peace and happiness and fulfillment into their lives. I think that as we realize our identity as children of God we are able to recognize his love for us and learn to live and love his commandments. This is truly when the blessings come to us .

My companion and I are still learning how to work together in our area but we just need to look for those who are interested in our message. We know that only through their  agency will these people accept our message and apply it to their lives. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve those around me and to represent my savior Jesus Christ, Don't get me wrong-- the mission is really difficult because we are all human. We all have our faults and these can be road blocks at times but as we allow ourselves to do the will of the lord we are able to grow and overcome these difficulties.

This week I have been studying Alma in The Book of Mormon and i thought i would share these scriptures with you because i know that we can ask for forgiveness from our Heavenly Father through his son Jesus Christ and we are able to communicate through prayer. i am so grateful for you all hopefully i will have more to write next week!!!

ALMA 34:17-19, 27, 31-35, 38

17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your ^afaith unto repentance, that ye begin to ^bcall upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;

18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is ^amighty to save.

19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in ^aprayer unto him.

27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your ^aheartsbe ^bfull, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your ^cwelfare, and also for the welfare of ^dthose who are around you. 

 31 Yea, I would that ye would come forth and ^aharden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the ^bday of your ^csalvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and ^dhardennot your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.

32 For behold, this ^alife is the time for men to ^bprepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of ^cthis life is the day for men to perform their ^dlabors.

33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many ^awitnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not ^bprocrastinate the day of your ^crepentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the ^dnight of ^edarkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful ^acrisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth ^bpossess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.

35 For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become ^asubjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth ^bseal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.

38 That ye ^acontend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the ^bname of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and ^cworship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in ^dthanksgiving daily, for the many ^emercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you.