Building Social Skills and Companionship

Wow not much time today sorry I'll have to cut it short!

 

I'm getting along very well with my companion now! It's almost sad to go on exchanges now. lol Hey, I have a question to ask you guys. How's Parker Krebs doing? Have you done what I asked as well? Anyway, the spiders here are big, I caught a lizard the other day, and I finally got to see some cool bugs here called Ant Lions. If you don't know what they are look them up they're pretty amazing critters! Also, there's alot of squirrels and turtles here. They're pretty huge too! And I love the people they're great! Even though some are more.......interesting.....than others. Learn good social skills now so that later you can become a good missionary! We had one lady threaten to prosecute us the other day and so we left. During the whole time tracting me and my companion were talking about how she couldn't because of the laws set in place in Florida. A member told me though that the best way to respond to that situation though is 'Act Dumb' (boys and girls I wasn't too fond of this idea until he explained why). He said "instead of combating her or just giving up say, 'I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't know, we just want to talk about Christ, we'll leave right away! (in a please don't hurt us tone)" and there's not going to be much contention after that, because of the fact that you gave her the benefit of the doubt. And she will look more kindly to the next missionaries that stop by. You're still planting seeds" And it makes sense in a way. Knowing how to socialize is extremely effective in missionary work!

 

Mission advice: Get a lot of canned or dried food!

 

Canned food stays good for virtually forever, so long as there aren't any acidic juices in there. Canned Tuna is cheap and so are Vienna sausages, they can also be eaten out of the can!

 

A huge reason behind this is because, Our fridge died last week when we got home from P-Day. Yuup, bought all that fridge food for the week, just to eat it in a few hours. Not fun. But had a lot of Vienna Sausages so we're still alive! I tell ya, nothing builds companionship unity like starvation.  =D  Also, don't plan on having meals at members houses everyday. Here in Florida we are forbidden to, unless we bring an investigator, and since we can't drive an investigator, our odds are pretty much shot. So learn how to budget and get enough food to last you at least a week in a half (you can fast the rest of the time).

 

Okay I'm out of time for today so I'll see you all later!

 

Love,  Elder Nessen

 

P.S.Happy Birthday to Brad Blackham and Jordyn Suckoll!!!

380 Miles of Tropical Terrain...and Ninja Spiders

Hello everyone, how are you?

It's amazing here! Although there are no mountains, Florida isn't flat. There are so many steep hills here. It's a wonder to me way the houses don't topple over! We're located about a mile east of Lake Wikee Wachee (i think i spelled that wrong) and around a mile in a half SW from Lake Theresa. I live at the cross streets of Spring Hill and Deltona. It mainly country territory riddled with neighborhoods and marsh land. People say it's a swamp, but it looks more and more like a marsh everyday. The people here are very nice; we (my comp and I) cover an area of over 380 miles, ranging from Hernando County East to Tampa Bay (i think it's called Tampa, it might be Tampico), and from South Royal Highlands to just above Odessa. Yes, It's huge we cover about 3 towns in our area and the closest church/stake center in an hours drive away. We have about 100 members in our congregation.

The humidity is still nice and the members have amazing stories! If any of you meet a man in Henderson named brother Evans (Polynesian) I suggest you meet him. He's got some amazing stories. From being the Luxor's head of security to being head Bouncer, he's done it all. Now onto friends! Yes Houston! I have gotten your emails! I'm sorry about not telling you before, but I had a time limit and they wouldn't let me type longer.  :(  Anyway, It's great to hear from all of you! I'm grateful to have such an awesome family and friends such as you! Oh and do that "Creeper Caroling" thing for Halloween! I wanna know how that goes! Forgive my short letter, but I gotta keep it short today...

I wish I could tell you all of the stories and people I've met and things I've seen here! But there isn't much time, so I will tell you that there are spiders bigger than you hand down here, many are very amazing and exotic and some look like (i kidd you not) ninjas when viewed up close [they even have their alertness and reflexes too]. I've got many pictures to send, but I'll have to find a way to do it later. Right now I don't have the right cord for it. But I will leave you all with some mission advice and my sister with a picture I think she will like. My companion took this picture while we tracted this street (he blew out his ACL too).

Mission Advice: Most healthy things to eat (and cheapest):

1.Fish
2.Whole Grain
3.Eggs

I'll let you know if I find out more!

Happy Birthday to:
Sister Ray Long

Love, Elder Nessen

Florida Critters and Mission Advice

 Hello everyone!!! How are you all doing? Thank you Haley for the wonderful card you sent me I loved it! Well, I still haven't run into any alligators.....darn......but I have seen Cranes out here and even huge squirrels! It's cool to see them run along the power lines, they make them droop and sway a little! One of our investigators, Harley, stopped by the roadside one day because he saw a deer in the road. He said it was hit by a car. He told us: "Well, he was pretty busted up, but he was still twitchin so I picked 'em up an' put em in muh truck!" (If you thought Hillbillie you'd be pretty darn close.) The people here are amazing! So many come from different ways of life and have so many stories to tell! It's incredible who you will run into! Why just the other day a guy told me about how he was on Extreme Makeover and Unsolved Mysteries. The latter is pretty interesting. Billy (that was his name) told us that he believed in god, but only because of one event in his life. Billy told us a story of how his mom was divorced and moved from Redwood, Cali. to LA. Once there, she married and had 15 children. For about 40 years she and her family lived there in LA and then moved back to Redwood. All the while, telling her children of 4 missing daughters she had left behind all those years ago. 20 years later, she got sick from old age and was laying on her deathbed, when her husband came in with a woman. It was one of her lost daughters from 60 years ago. The father explained that he was bored one day, sitting in the barn when he saw an old piece of newspaper that had turned dark brown from old age, sitting under the hay and dirt. Picked it up and started reading (it was the ads section) and he came across an article about a girl looking desperately for her mom. He then proceeded to call this girl from an expired ad from years ago, remembering the story his wife had told him. She picked up and told her story of how 4 little girls, alone in the world, had to find places to stay. Three adopted, and the other still searching for her mother. Had finally been able to find the mother she was so desperately yearning to find.Years after she had abandoned the ad. Day after day of praying. And finnally being able to see her mother, 3 months before she died, had the faith that she would find her again.

I can testify to you, that the Lord works in mysterious ways. And that he loves us and protects us from the dangers of the world. Even Billy, a near homeless man, who rides his bike around trying to find work, knows in his heart that Heavenly Father loves his children and will do anything for them that ask him in good faith.

Now, for some more mission advice...

To anyone within the words of this page or the sound of the voice reading it. DON'T GOSSIP.
We have a very small ward here. probably 2 priests, deacons, and a priest here. This ward is struggling to keep it's head alfoat with people who do not fellowship, come to church, or talk with friends all because someone said a rumor about another person. I have some rules of thumb for people (yes even adults).

1. If you hear something through another person about someone. Don't speak of it.

2.Every thing you hear, that doesn't come directly from the sources' (the person who did it) mouth. It's only partially true. Rumors do start with some amount of truth to them, but everything else gets twisted. If you want to know if something is true, talk to the people involved. And once again. Don't speak of it.

3. If you must speak of it. Keep in mind the consequences. Certain things should only be said if you have a certain calling or jurisdiction attatched to you. (For instance, you wouldn't tell a really bad sin to an enemy to repent. You would go to a Bishop or someone you trust. Which brings me to my last subject.)

4. FRIENDS TRUST YOU! If you wouldn't want someone speaking the same thing of you, DONT SPEAK OF IT. If you feel you WILL speak of it, ask the people involved first if it would be alright, but again, think of the consequences.

There is no better way to destroy trust and friendships and gossip. Trust is everything. Is so important that it's given as a rule in the mission. "Don't destroy trust!"

Anyway, I'm out of time so I'll write to you all next week. Ponder these things in your hearts PLEASE! I know you are all great friends, but I know no one's perfect and some people struggle with this. But it can happen! Don't let your friendships be destroyed while im gone. I love you all and wish you the best!

Elder, Nessen

PS Happy Birthdays:
Sidney Lamb
Corey Wilson
Azilee Moore
Toni Labato
and Nicole Suarez

And yes, I did receive those 50 letters. Whatever address you sent them to, they are still making their way to me. Thank you for all that you do! And it must be pretty rough on stamps! If you need to just toss everything in a box and send it to me at the end of the month or so. I think I have enough letters now to last me that long! lol Thank you so much I miss you and love you all!!! Tell Mike May and Em hi for me!

First week in Tampa, Florida!

Sorry I wasn't able to email last week I was really busy and they didn't let us write home. I have good news now in that I have finally arrived in Florida!!! It's wonderful here! It isn't as hot as Vegas, but the humidity does give you a run for your money at times. All the same, it feels pretty good. We have a lot of animals roaming around out here. Frogs, lizards, snakes, and turtles seem to love to thrive in this environment. And no, sadly I haven't seen any big lizards yet, but I'll let you know when we do! With all of the good stuff though, there has to be opposition. We now have Brown Widows and all the bugs we normally have in Vegas have increased to twice their regular size! Brown Widows are actually very interesting they are a mix of Brown Recluses and Black Widows combined, and since the weather never gets to freezing, they are everywhere. Also they're not afraid of people so it's a nightmare walking around in the dark. A rule of thumb here is to never put your hand into a dark doorway (makes tracting fun). On the bright side they all hate the rain and it's wonderful when it pours!!! Speaking of which, we taught a man by the name of Billy yesterday when it started to rain. It's 20 feet to the car and we were completely dry under the eve. By the time we reached the car I was able to ring out my clothes because I was so wet. If any of you plan on sending me ties in the future, please make sure they are water proof (polyester) LOL!

 

My first day here was an interesting one. Alex I truly wish that I had biked as long as you had. Because on my first day here I had to bike three miles to my appointment (small amount I know, but try it steep uphill with no water)  I can testify that the Lord is our savior and died so we could return again unto him and that the Holy Ghost can speak to us. Never before did these thoughts mean so much to me in my entire life! Because I thought I was going to pass on! It was so bad I could almost hear the Holy Ghost testify  to me that  I was about to be resurrected! I tried so hard to keep up with my companion, but he had been biking so regularly that by the time I realized he reminded me of Elder Proksch, he was already two blocks ahead of me. I prayed 3 times that he would notice I was gone and about 5 minutes after the last prayer he stopped and looked back.

By the time he came back to me I was heaving on the side of the road, unable to stand. He finally told me the trick to the bike. He said that the bike was being borrowed from a member and that the brakes were rubbing, the bearings were bad, and the thing was rusting from the inside out due to the humidity. It was so funny to me that by the time I was done laughing a lady came out of nowhere, holding a huge jug of water. She said that I looked pretty bad as she drove by, so she figured that I needed water and bought me the jug. We offered to give her a lesson, but she casually declined and drove off.

 

TAKE NOTES THIS IS IMPORTANT

Now, for some advice for future missionaries: When out in the mission field buy these items...

 

Save empty containers- They help you out, and (for the reason below) it's a good money saver when it comes to buying drinks, just be sure to purify the water before use.

 

Powdered Gatorade-it helps keep your electrolytes going and anytime you put it in water it turns to gatorade. And it lasts a looooong time.

 

Pasta-Great cheap and most of all, filling.

 

Tuna- VERY cheap and good.

 

Ramen-Cheap and you get a lot of it, but it'll only last a couple hours as oppossed to the 5 you need.

 

Garnola bars-Great for snacking.

 

Vienna Sausage/Spam- Parents, teach your kids how to prepare these, they are very useful for the field. (Can be eaten out of the can)

 

Bread, Cheese- Needed for a variety of foods or just a snack.

 

CapriSuns- Great for popsicles and drinks, plus they're cheap.

 

Personality traits:

 

Before coming out on your mission make sure you make yourself the best person you can be. If there is anything you think you need to work on, do it, NOW! I am so greatful that I worked on these traits when I did because I know if I hadn't before I came out here there would be more trouble with people than there is now. I generally get along with everyone, but a companion and the world is different. People outside of Vegas understand things so differently than others. People can get very easily offended, by what we see as jokes or lines from a movie comedy. Make sure you use choice words, because the people you will be speaking and interacting with come from a whole different world than you. And view things from a VERY different perspective.

 

A good way to talk and get to know people is to ask questions. I invite everyone to also study up on things that you think are boring or that you don't understand. The main principle in a mission is talking to people. You can't be shy here, you have to learn to be outgoing. A good way to talk to people is ask them a question about something they like and do it sincerely. If you can state a fun fact that you learned along the way, it'll help propel the conversation! =D I find that people have six categories they like to talk about: Families, School, Vehicles, Work, Difficulties, and Hobbies. Talk to your parents about how to interact with people I'm sure they'll show you! :) You can also pick up a CD on how to best interact with others.

 

I'm out of time so I'll have to cut it short today. Thank you all for your packages and letters! Love you all!

 

Elder,

Ian Nessen

 

P.S. I'm not allowed to go to websites :P