ONE. MONTH. DOWN.

Hey Everybody!!

I have been at the CTM for a month now. It's crazy how the time has flown by. This week a district that our district was really close to left. So that was kinda sad. There were a lot of cool guys in it.  I leave here on November 11th.  I only have like a week and half.  I'm ready to leave. Sick of my companion. He has talked to president a couple times from other people complaining about him. He won't listen to anybody.

This week we got 88 new Brazilians here at the CTM and 50 new Americans that have been waiting for their visas for over a year. All the Brazilians are really straight forward. We got to go to the federal police station and get our license so we can proselyte on the street legally.

I overheard a Brazilian saying that on average here 3 people die here a week on the motorbikes. The bikes are crazy. They fly all over honking their horns weaving in and out of traffic.  We are careful on the street. We walk in a big group so nothing to worry about now.  I wasn't able to mail those letters last week.  The post office was closed.  And no, nothing fun for Halloween. They don't trick or treat or anything here. 

Today we went to the Sao Paulo temple and I got to watch the movie with my aunt and uncle in it again and it was even in English.

Sao Paulo

It's cool to see them playing in it. The langauge is coming along. I learn more and more everyday and can am starting to understand them better.

My hair is growing good, and will need cut before I leave by the barber here in town, and my finger is doing okay.

Mom and Dad, I love you guys! Thanks for all the things and letters. I will mail my pictures today!! Love you. I will keep up on my pills and quit biting my nails! Just remember, I'm on the Lord's team. He will watch out for me!! I love you guys and I know the gospel is true! Love you all!!

They are kicking me off, bye, love you guys!!

Thanks for all the support and letters and emails.

Talk to you guys later!!! Love, Elder Nickerson

HALFWAY. MARK. AT. MTC.

Hey everybody!!

Sorry, I'm on so late! The traffic was really slow and we went to the Campinas temple. It was really cool, I finally got to see Marilee and Jon, my aunt and uncle, in the temple video. It was awesome!! It made me feel closer to home. The temple video was in Portuguese, but I had a headset for English. It was so cool to see them in the video.

This week has been a pretty good week. We got to go out and go proselyting.  I helped give away 6 or 7 Book of Mormons. It was cool! One guy didn't want to talk at all and we can hardly speak any Portuguese.  He looked irritated at first. But I bore my testimony in the best Portuguese I could, and at the end I said presente para voce (present for you) and gave him a Book of Mormon.  And when I said thanks and shook his hand, I felt the spirit so strong. It looked like he was about to cry, it was sooooo cool!!

The language is really hard and I think I just have to be patient.  It is going to take some time to get use to it. I'm noticing I understand a little more! The language is just really hard.  I also gave my first blessing to my companion this week, I think that it went really good.  My companion is so hard.  My district tells me they feel bad for me. He has no respect for anybody and thinks he knows it all. I can't wait to see what a different companion is like. They talked to the President about him. We don't know what to do. He blames his problems on us, but oh well, the teachers and everybody are starting to see it. I don't have much longer with him anyways. It's hard to believe I have been here for 24 days or close to that.  We are still at 5% water supply. There is not much rain at all.  It is very hot and humid during the day and kinda chilly at night. I don't think I will ever get use to waking up not in my bed. Mornings are hard, get up by six or six-thirty, and just the thought of class and being with my companion all day is enough to drive a person crazy. But it's ok, I'm alomst out of here!

The water here is filtered so they have drinking fountains and yes, I have used some money on the street.   I don't know if there is a spot to exchange my American money though. I don't know when to stop sending letters to me here because I'm not sure when I leave yet. Tell Betty and Norman and Kinslee thanks for the letters.  I love hearing from people at home. We get to go to the street after this! Hopefully I have time to mail my letters. I have three more envelopes ready to mail to you guys. Tanessa, forward my long message to Cory and Chris. I love you guys! Thanks for all the letters! I want to keep them all. What should I do if I get too many that I cant keep them all? Cause I really want to keep them. Tanessa, I am getting all the pictures. I like them a lot. Have you guys gotten my letters yet?  Dad, I heard the mail takes longer to get to you guys. 

Tell Grandpa I love him and he better be around when I get home.  I love what time of year you guys are going into. The late bull hunt is almost open!!  Tell Jared I said hello and get the big one!! There is an Elder here that was in a ward Luke Pancheri served in.   His name is Elder Brandon Welch. His ward was the old mill ward in the Omaha Nebraska mission. Tell Luke's parents to tell him.

Oh yeah there was a another lady here that had camped in Howe before. We were going in to teach a lesson and that's all I could talk to her about. She just said they camped in Howe.

On Wednesday we get pizza here. It's not as good as homes though.  They feed us mostly Brazilian food. Rice, beans, meat, and different types of Brazilian food. It isn't bad for how much they have to make. Mom, I think I've gained five pounds. All we do is eat, sit in a classroom, and eat some more. We get 45 mins of physical activity, but that doesn't do anything.  Some teachers are very very ornery here and act like we are three.  It sometimes gets very annoying.

I cannot wait until I come back home with you guys. Tell eveybody hello.  Tell Stephanie and Kallee I love them and miss them and thanks for all the letters. I love you guys so much! They could kick us off at any minute. Remember I'm grateful for everything you guys have done and still do. I love you all so much.  Be safe with everything.  Mom, I will take care of myself. I think I can use debit crad most anywhere but I haven't cause I still have cash.
 
Thanks for everything. I love you guys. I wish I could talk longer but they dont let us. It's dumb.  I wish you would get my letters, I explain stuff better. Thanks for all the support. Thanks for all the prayers and fasting.

I love you guys. 30 seconds left. Tell everybody I said hello. Bye! Talk next week, bye, love you.

 Talk to you guys later, Love Elder Nickerson. 

WEEK. TWO.

Hey!! So we just got back from the Campinas Brazil Temple. It is very pretty! It was cool when we went through today! 

Campinas Brazil Temple

So I guess Sao Paulo is down to like 5% water supply, so they said we have to really limit our water usage. There hasn't been enough rain fall. Tanessa thanks! Thanks for Mr. Cheney's cookies.  I got 24 cookies and a bag of Doritos and a box of Froot loops.  It was nice to have some good American food. The food here is good, but gets old fast. Some things are nasty.

On Sundays here it's just like church. Our districts are our branches and we have a bishop and everything. We have sacrament, priesthood, doctrine class, choir, then devotional. We practice teaching fake investigators and they are our teachers.  Mom, my cold is getting better! No, I haven't had any bloody noses. Sundays are still as busy as the other days. We have church and choir and devotionals and class and they call you out at random to give talks in Portuguese! I haven't been called yet, but I wouldn't be able to yet in Portuguese! I don't know enough Portuguese!

My companion is very very hard to get along with. Everybody gets in arguments with him. He thinks it's always his way and not any other way. I will have patience, but it's still hard.  Yeah Tanessa I'm getting those cards.  Thanks, they're cool. I have to get on another plane to fly to Salvador when I'm done with the MTC.  The language is very hard and is hard for me to remember it all. I get discouraged when other people in my class do better. Some know it pretty good and almost all took Spanish before.  There are three from my district going to Salvador, I'm not sure how many in the whole MTC.

I have another letter to send today. The post office is packed and they only speak Portuguese so hopefully they get sent! I love you guys. It's nice to know about home. I miss it all!! Tell everybody I said hi.  I really can't wait to get out of here!! It's like prison. They say it takes two weeks for letters to get home from here.  Make sure the last letters you guys send, I'm still in the MTC so I get all of them!

Laundry went good!  We have to mix ours with each others and they put everything on a very tight schedule. It's hard to get anything of your own done at all. I got my clothes back. It just gets annoying that we have to do everything together. They have every step of our day planned to a T. It's hard being with other people 24/7.

Class is allllllllll day long, besides lunch and gym for 45 minutes. We wake up at 6 to shower, then personal study, breakfast, then class and teach, then lunch, then more class and teach, then dinner, class, gym, personal study, then at 9:45 head to room and lights out by ten thirty. Hardly anytime for personal time at all. It is very hard to remember any of the words at all.  It is very hard for me to remember them and pronounce them. Teachers all act like we should know it by now. By the end of the day we are very frustrated!!

We met an old guy on the street last pday and he couldn't figure out why all our names were Elder and we don't know enough Portuguese to explain it to him. Our two roommates left and now we have two others. One is from Brazil and I don't remember where the other one is from. It is sooooooo hot and humid here! It's like you can't breathe at all and you can't stop sweating! You can't see any sky or stars at night times! The smog is very thick and is orange from all the lights. 

I have 40 minutes on here, so email if you are around. I love and miss you guys a lot!

I got your elk poop the other day, it was really funny! Tanessa, thanks for everything, I get really excited for the day I see you guys again. I love you all, any of these emails could be my last. So if they are I love you and miss you all very very much! 

Hope all is well. Forward this message to others if you want. Tell Grandpa and Charlie I miss them!

Ok guys, I have to go! I love you guys!! Hopefully two years flies by.  Mom, thanks for everything you have done for me, and Dad tell Kallee I love her very much! Talk to you guys in a week!! Hopefully you get my letters, I explain stuff better. Love you all. Remember I'm always thinking of you guys and praying for you guys. Love you guys, I have to go now. Love you, tell everybody I say hello, bye, love you, I'm doing the best I can here, love you!

Love you guys! Elder Nick Nickerson

ONE. WEEK. DOWN.

So we finally got a free day. I miss you guys so much. I have been getting all of your letters. Thank you so much. It is really hard being away from you guys. I am going to send a bunch of letters in the mail today. The food here is good, but it is already old. They keep us very busy all day long and no down time.  Mom, thank you so much for everything u did for me. I wish I would have helped more. I love u guys so much and miss you guys.



Sao Paulo Temple

Today we got to go to temple and got to be part of baptisms and endowments. The traffic here is crazy. The cars are crazy. And the bikes and cars drive and dart all over the place. They drive every where. I watched a black car get clipped by a bus.  Mom, if you have time will you make me a list of the best way to do laundry.  I love you guys, thanks for all the letters. Tanessa, I go get my care packages across the street at that cookie place. I can only get them on pday. Mom and Dad and the family I miss you guys a lot. I cant stop thinking about you guys. This is a lot harder then I ever imagined it to be. And now they only give us 40 minutes to talk to you guys, it makes me sad. They are really strict about it all. 

At the temple today a guy took our picture and tried sending it to you guys, did anyone get it? I get letters every day but I can only send on pdays. I love you guys very much. I miss you guys a lot. I just wish I could talk more. I will email and do everything to contact you guys as much as possible.

The language is very very hard. We have to get up by 6:30 and we spend almost all day in a classroom. Then lights are out at 10:30. I have about ten papers front and back ready to send home. I write the letters to help with me missing you guys.

I'm feeling ok. Everybody here has a cold. I got it too. I don't think I need anything right now. You prepared me really good. I miss you guys. I'm just happy you guys are on right now. Tanessa, they wont let us send any pictures.  One of the boys in my room had a 100 bucks stolen from him.

Mom, you guys went up in the mountains to finish my name?   Mom, tell everybody like Grandpa and Jared and Aaron hello. I don't have much time to write and I have never missed somebody so much before as I do you guys. I can't look at those pictures you guys sent me right now, they are taking too long to load.

I did get all my luggage and found out today that I get another plane when I head to Salvador.  In that picture the guy sent you, my companion is the kid kneeling underneath me with glasses. There are six of us in the room. Another one is the guy I'm standing next to. He is really nice and the other one is the Brazilian looking guy. And then we have a guy from Mexico and one from Peru.

A day at the temple

It's definitely a very hard thing to stay positive. I sleep well once I go to sleep. Night times I always miss you guys most. I cant wait until I can hug you guys again. Our zone and district number is 40c. And our mailbox number is six but they deliver it to us inside the MTC.

I miss you guys a lot. We wake up at six o clock and have personal study, then breakfast, and all of our teachers speak Portuguese so it's really hard to understand them.  We also teach fake investigators.  It's really hard language to learn.  The letters sound exact opposite of American words and they use the r word a lot so its really hard for me to pronounce the words. We get 45 minutes of physical activity and then we go back into a class room.  So we spend almost 99% of our time in a classroom.  Idk what happens on Sundays yet. Last week we watched general conference. It was nice to know I was watching something you guys were. Sundays we have sacrament meeting then I don't know what we do after that. I don't have time this week to email everybody back. Tell them all I want to but I have no time. Tell Jared I want to go hunting. I love you guys

I have to log off, this is the last one I can send. I love you! My letters say a lot of stuff that will explain it better. I love you guys. Talk to you later. I love you and miss you guys. Love you. Elder Nickerson

MADE IT TO THE MTC.

Well, we made it to the MTC here in Brazil. We ended up having around 14 elders and 3 or 4 sisters. It is very hot and humid and the traffic is crazy. It is going to take time to get use to this. I couldn't really sleep on the plane and sat by a brazilian guy that helped me and told me that Salvador is a whole different part of Brazil. That they are kinda more back in time I guess.  Right now there are four of us to one room but there are six beds so we might get more elders. The guys from my room names are Elder Hesselgesser from Pleasent View Utah and Elder Madsen and he is from Utah and Elder Sterling from Derby Kansas. The guy that met us at the door of the MTC said he was from Pocatello and said he knew where Howe was and that we have to talk. We just walked into the MTC about ten minutes ago and now we have lunch and then a meeting with the President. Haha, none of us could sleep on the plane it was weird being on it so long. They fed us dinner and breakfast and we went over the Amazon but it was in the dark so we couldnt even see anything. There are a lot of elders here. The guy that let me call mom was the same guy that took our picture. My seat was by him on the airplane from Idaho Falls to Salt Lake. He lives in South Carolina and finds a lot of arrowheads and things like that. Well, I guess we have to go eat lunch soon, so I'll email every chance I get. I think that it is only once a week but I'm not sure. Love you guys. Elder Nickerson

Nick at the MTC


MTC Address:
Elder Nickolas Kirk Nickerson
Brazil Salvador Mission
Brazil Missionary Training Center
Rua Padre Antonio D'Angelo, 121
Casa Verde
02516-040 Sao Paulo - SP
Brazil

Dear Parents,

Sister Swensen and I are very happy to let you know that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil Missionary Training Center.  What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they begin their missionary experiences with us. We will surely take good care of your missionary.  

The missionaries now have companions and are settled into their rooms.  They are assigned to a district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson study.  Their branch presidents and wives, will meet them this Sunday.  These wonderful couples are richly blessed as they work with, motivate, and interview the missionaries assigned to their branch.

 

The MTC has a full-time live-in physician to care for their health needs.  He is assisted by his able wife who is a nurse. We are also happy to report that the cafeteria food is plentiful, healthy and very good.

 

Your missionary will be able to email home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple.  This will be either Wednesday or Friday, depending on individual assignments.  Your missionary is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of many others. President Lorenzo Snow said: “There is no mortal man that is as interested in the success of an elder when he is preaching the Gospel as is the Lord who sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord's children".  We love these missionaries as if they were our own.  We will watch over them carefully to ensure they are ready for a wonderful missionary experience after the rewarding time they will have in the MTC.

 

We thank you for preparing such a wonderful representative of the Lord.

President Robert Swensen and Sister Julie Swensen