COKE. CAN. WITH. NICK.

Well, I got moved to another area called Feira De Santana.  The city that I am in is called Santo Amaro.  This city was an old slave town and has a lot of African American decent.  The people here are really poor. 

But . . .  there is actually a chapel here with a piano, haha, so that is really nice!!  And the ward here is quite a bit bigger, but there are less active investigators than my last area. It makes me really excited because that means there is work to be done.

Our house is bigger than our last house but we don't have any hot water to take a shower.  And it is ice cold!!!!!  Right now, an ice cold shower is one of the hardest parts.  There are four of us in the house; two Brazilians and two Americans, counting me. The one in the blue shirt is my companion and the one in the red tie is the other American in our house.   We do have a stove, a fridge, and a washer; which isn't quite as nice as my last one, but we have one. And I sleep warm and okay on my bed.  I am extremely grateful to have those commodities. 

We are about 15 minutes from the coastline but I haven't been able to take pictures yet.  It is a little more cool here then Barrieras, but not much. 

I am excited to start working here in Santo Amaro and I am blessed to continue to have wonderful companions that I get along with.

I can't believe it is time to almost call home.  I sure look forward to the times I can talk to my family.

And don't worry about me.  I am safe with everything.  I sure do love you guys.  Right now the people in this lan house are listening to oldies.   The song right now is saying, "Come Together, right now, over me!"  Oldies remind me of you, mom and dad!  :)  And the internet is a lot more expensive here than Barrieras. 

Here is a parting quote from Gordon B. Hinckley, "Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed.  The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to just be people, most successful marriages required a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise . . . . The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." 

That is all for this week.  I sure hope everyone at home is doing well.  Know I pray for all of you.

Talk to you next week and much love.
Elder Nickerson

HEADING. TO. FEIRA. DE. SANTANA.

MY. LAST. DAY. BARRIERAS.

Hey Everybody.

Well, I found out Saturday night I am leaving Barrieras and going to another city here in Bahia.

This week I had some cool experiences. My companion and I were not having any luck finding our investigators in their houses, so we decided to look for new investigators. My companion said, "Elder Nickerson, it's all up to you." It was a weird day and nobody was in the streets for us to contact. So we stopped and said a prayer. And I prayed that Heavenly Father would put somebody in our path for us to teach. After that we walked for about 30 minutes not finding anybody.

Finally, there was a street I had a feeling that we needed to walk down. As we were walking, there was this man sitting on the street with a bag of paint, and he looked at us and I could see in his eyes that he needed help. So we went and talked to him. And as we got to know him, we found out that he is hooked on drugs and beer, and that earlier that same day he had tried to kill himself.

As we talked with him he said his life had no purpose and he didn't know why he is here on the earth. When we were leaving his house, he was happy and said, "I will stop with the drugs," and will start his company again that he was building.

As we taught him through out the week, each time we went there, he was happier and happier.  He has only drank one time since we started meeting with him. I'm grateful for prayer and know that God listens and answers our prayers.

It was a bitter sweet feeling today as I was packing up to leave this area.  I will never forget this area and all the wonderful people here.  They will forever have a place in my heart. 

Today I am going to tell a few more families goodbye, finishing packing and will head for the bus station tonight.  I will spend 14 hours on the bus and arrive in Salvador tomorrow morning.  We will have a small reunion in Salvador, find out our new areas and companions. I am not sure what next week will bring, or when I will get to email.  I know that change is necessary for growth and the Lord will put me where I need to be, but along with change always comes a small amount of nervousness.  I am excited but I am also a little nervous and sad to leave here. 

 

I am so grateful for all the people and friends I have here. 

 

I am trying to remember that, "to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."  Ecclesiastes 3:1

I finally received a journal from around Christmas that everyone had wrote messages in.  I was so grateful to read everyone's kind words.  Thank you to all those you took the time to write me, it means more than you realize. Well, I hope you all have a good week.  Talk to you guys next week. Thanks for all.

Elder Nickerson

IT. HAS. BEEN. A. MARVELOUS. EXPERIENCE.

Well, once again, this week has been a good one.

 

The weather was a lot cooler and it rained more than usual. That sure helps a lot with the heat. We were blessed this week! We were able to find three families to start teaching. Everybody in the families accepted the baptismal invite and have been reading the Book of Mormon.  It was cool to see everyone all really excited about the gospel. However, when it came Sunday we only had 3 investigators show up to church. That is okay though, that means we just have to keep doing the Lord's work.

 

 

This week one of the families we were teaching told us her prayers have been answered. She said her and her husband know without a doubt that the Book Of Mormon is true. They need to get married before they can get baptized. And for the last 3 weeks we have had an English class in our church teaching people that want to learn a little English. The church here is just a house that has been made into a church and it doesn't have a piano.

 

I have really enjoyed my time here in Barreiras. This transfer ends in 1 week and I have been here for 4 transfers now, so I think my odds of leaving are high. I don't know how much time I will have next week to write. Just know I love you guys. Talk to you guys later!!

 

Eu amo voces. Eu sou muito grato pelo oppurtidade eu tinha servir aqui. Foi um experiencia maraviliosa. (I love you.  I am very grateful for my opportunity to serve here.  It has been a marvelous experience.)

Thomas S. Monson said, "We are the Lord's hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children."
 

Love Èlder Nickerson

DEFINITELY. CHALLENGING.

Hey Everybody!!

Well, this week has been hotter then usual again! We didn't recieve much rain to cool things down. We are teaching a lot of investorgators right now, but they are progressing really slow.

This week I made a contact with a lady.  After I was done talking to her she told me that her family lived in Boston, Massachusetts for 10 years and returned here 5 years ago. Her parents don't speak english very well, and the daughter tries very hard. It was cool to talk to them!! Inside their house they had things from the U.S. Haha!  Made me feel at home.  It was just a good experience. The picture of my companion and I with the family, is the family that lived in Boston.

Funny story of the week, haha! This week my companion and I were walking down the street and he said "Que Isso" haha, and  that means, what is this.  I looked over and he had more than 100 wasps flying behind him trying to sting him!!!!! Haha, we had to run to get away from them. It was the funniest thing. 

It was nice to listen to general conference. Conference was in Portuguese, but I got to listen to 1 hour in English, so that was nice. The Portuguese was so fast during some talks I had a hard time keeping up and understanding. 

I have been so grateful to be in this area and to be blessed with companions that I get along with.  I know the Lord put me where I am for a reason.  I have loved this area and the people here very much.  But I am also excited for all the people I get to meet and the new areas I get to go.  Missions are definitely challenging, but I wouldn't want to be any where than right where I am at. 

Things are going well for me. I am grateful to be here and to be a part of our church. It sure is a big blessing in our lives.

My favorite quote from conference was, "God cares a lot more about who we are and about who we are becoming than about who we once were."  Elder Dale G. Renlund

If you have some time, check these videos out. 

He Lives

Here is one we are teaching in Portuguese!  You will probably understand the pictures. 

Portuguese video

Love you with all my heart.

Èlder Nickerson