LITTLE. FROG.

Hey.

 

This week has been a good week. We have started helping with an English school teaching a bunch of people English. There is another American that lives in the same house as me, so we have been helping the school 2 days a week. And we teach them about our church in English and teach them to say prayers in English.  We are finding a lot of people that want to learn more and a lot of people are wanting a Book of Mormon.

 

I'm grateful for all the opportunities that Heavenly Father gives us to find and teach people that are prepared for us. I sure am grateful to be here in Brasil and to be a member of our church.

And on Sunday everything worked out and I was able to talk to my family over Skype!! It sure was nice to talk and see my family again. I am really grateful for my family and all they do for me.

Well, that's about it for this week. I hope all the mothers had a good Mother's Day. Thanks for all.

Talk to you guys next week.

Love,
Elder Nickerson

Ha! This was a little frog we found in the street. It has been raining a lot and the streets are filled with these little frogs jumping all over. 

 

 

 

From his family.

 

It was so great to talk to Elder Nickerson on Mother's Day!  He sounds so good.  He is happy, smiling, joking and really taking in every moment and experience of his mission. He still has his sarcastic sense of humor; which we love.  We can see his testimony and growth over these few short months. 

 

He can rattle off Portuguese so fast. He bore his testimony to us in Portuguese and it is amazing the difference from last time. We can hear his companions and him talking in the background and it is such a neat experience for us to see his learning and growth. He says that he is able to understand most everything and has seen the language come full circle for him.  He does not know all words but is learning more and more every day.  It is really a surreal experience for us, as his family,  to see what can be accomplished when the Lord is on your side.  By small and simple things, great things are brought to pass. . . .

 

 

 

 

 

It sounds like the people love Elder Nickerson and can see his testimony through his humbleness and his aptitude to relate well with people.  He loves the people and loves being able to share and spread the gospel.  

 

He said he has gained about 14 pounds, which is amazing to him because he thinks he should be sweating that much away.   They are going into the winter season there and the lows are about 70 degrees, which he says feels very cold.  He was actually trying to get over a cold from the cold weather change!! :) 

 

He feels extremely fortunate to have companions and elders he gets along with so well.  He has loved his areas.  The area he is in now has a little more violence and they have streets that they call the "streets of the killings".  They stay away from those places when it is dark. He hopes to see more of the coastline before his leaves this area.

 

He has learned how to listen to the Spirit and follow the promptings.  As a family, we have gained so much from his strength and testimony and grown closer together.  We are blessed to have such a courageous brother and son.  We love him and could not be more proud of him and his willingness to serve the Lord. 

 

Nick has finally adjusted to the food.  He eats a steady diet of rice and beans. It took awhile for his body to adjust to the food change. He is not a fan of milk over there, but he loves the fruit.  He said his favorite fruit was guava, but all the fruit over there tastes a lot better than home. 

 

 

 

He says he loves Brazil and he loves the people, but he is not quite ready to live in that much heat his whole life.  He misses the cold weather of Idaho and realizes how lucky we are to live where we do and have what we have.  He says we are a blessed people us Idahoans.  :)

 

We learned that for most people you are not able to own a gun in Brazil.  It takes a lot of paperwork to be able to have a gun.  There is also no hunting allowed in Brazil, and for that fact alone, Brazil would never be the place for him! :) For those of you that know Nickolas well, know that to be a true and accurate statement.  Nick misses home and misses hunting but is beyond words to have the experience of his mission.  He believes with all his heart that he is put exactly where he needs to be.  He is loving his mission. 

 

We are proud of Nick and his desire to serve the Lord.  Elder Nickerson is on a mission for all the right reasons.  Because of his desire to serve the Lord, we can see his blessings, as well as, blessings for our family.  It is always a bitter sweet day when we get to Skype with him.  The best thing for us is to see him happy and healthy and gaining so much experience and so many neat stories.  We are able to talk with people that Nick serves and we have grown close to some of the people in Brazil.  It is so great what opportunities there are with technology. We are so grateful for those people and families that take Elder Nickerson in as their own, and report back to his family how he is doing.  We live for those moments and for Mondays!  :) 

 

We are grateful that Elder Nickerson is working on his 8 month out there, but more grateful that Nickolas is not worried about the time. He is focused on listening to the guidance of the Spirit and making the most of his time in Brazil.  He realizes that this is a once in a lifetime experience.  He says sometimes it flies by and other days it drags on, but for him and also his family, overall, we can't believe it has been 8 months.

 

He wanted you all to know that he loves you, he is so grateful for each and everyone of you; for your thoughts, your prayers, your letters, and following along with his blog.  He feels your love and support from home and is grateful for such a strong support system.   He knows this church is true, he loves the Lord with all his heart, and his hope is to help others feel of that love and know the blessings that come from this gospel. 

 

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank all of you. Thank you for everything you do for our son and brother, for everything you do for our family.  We love you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blessings From Sharing the Gospel

 

 

The greatest gift of all of the gifts given by God is eternal life. I love the words of Elder George Albert Smith: “We spend most of our time, many of us, seeking the things of this life that we will be compelled to leave when we go from here, yet there are the immortal souls all around us whom, if we would, we could teach and inspire to investigate the truth, and implant in their hearts a knowledge that God lives. What treasure in all the world could be so precious to us, for we would have their gratitude here and their everlasting and eternal appreciation in the world to come.” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1916, p. 50.)