Sorry in advance...

Hola. Buenas Tardes!

I can't believe how fast/slow the weeks pass here. The days last forever and yet I feel like I was just sitting at this computer writing you. However, the fastest hour of the week is the hour we spend here at the internet cafe.

This is gonna be a short letter. Sorry in advance.

 

I want to say that it was a normal week of working. But that doesn't exist. So it was an abnormal week where we worked almost without interruption of other things. We had a baptism scheduled for Saturday but it didn't work out. And we can't baptize this week because it's General conference and she can't be confirmed this week. So now her baptism is April 12. We spent a lot of time working with her, helping her prepare.

Thursday we had an activity with our ward. It was the actividad misional so we were in charge and the members were supposed to bring investigators or at least menos activos...yeah...

Anyways, the activity was great. We had a Noche de Cine and we watched 17 milagros..17 Miracles. I had never seen it, so I really enjoyed it. We do have 2 new investigators thanks to this activity, so thats good. Not as good as we wanted or expected, but its alright.

Saturday we went to the General Relief Society broadcast. It was in Spanish and I was exhausted so I may have slept a little bit. haha no es cierto. I stayed awake, just wasn't super focused. But I did like the first talk...shoot I can't remember her name. Dalton? Anyways. It was good. 

Sunday we only had 1 investigator in church, so that was disappointing. But it was our Ward Conference and the Relief Society asked me to play the piano. They gave me the music 2 weeks ago and I was able to practice all of 2 times with them. The first time (10 minutes after they gave me the music) they were asking all kinds of things. It doesn't have an introduccion so they asked me to make one up. The accompaniment doesnt have the melody, so they asked me if I could play both.. It turned out really good (the piano part...there's no hope in teaching the people here to sing. Love them but they cant sing). So its all good. 

I made it a whole week without going to the hospital. Pray for me so that this luck can continue. That's about all I can think of..

Love you all! 

Hermana Nielsen

Doing the Impossible in Pueblo Nuevo!!

Hola hola!

This week was pretty normal. Up until Sunday that is. 

Monday after writing we just went shopping and had a normal Pday. We had a really awesome Noche de Hogar with our new convert and a member family. 

I felt pretty good. Still a little tired, trying to recover from losing so much sleep.

Tuesday was normal. We had our district meeting. I successfully made it to the stake center on the bus without getting sick. So that was good. One of our investigators that moved away moved back so we taught her again. 

Wednesday we spent a lot of time contacting menos activos. We even had 2 or three of them in the capilla this week!

Thursday was normal.

Friday we recontacted an investigator and set a baptism date with him. Which is good because we've lost quite a few the last little while. Friday in the night we did intercambios again. Hermana B had to work with both Hermanas in Villa Verde, so I went with Benito juarez again. One of these days, they are gonna get sick of me.

Splits with Hermana Eye

Saturday was long. and Hot. Except for the morning. The hermanas dont have hot water, so I took the fastest coldest shower in existence. We worked with their investigators and contacted a bunch of new people.

Sunday. We went to church. I didnt make it all the way through. I got sick again and had to go home. We called the mission doctor and she told us to go to the hospital again (its acutally not that big of a deal. The hospital is where they do everything; checkups, analysis, blood tests). So we went. He told me it was colitis, gave me some meds and told me to be careful what i ate. We rested a bit in the house and then went out to have one lesson before the day finished. I got sick in the members house. so that was awesome. I was still in pain and having symptoms, so the mission doctor told us to go back to the hospital and have blood tests done. So at 9:30 we went to the hospital. I had a doctor that would speak english with me, so i told her EVERYTHING and she put me on an iv with meds and had some blood tests done. Good news: we know what it is now. Salmonella! Woohoo. Haha. Got the right meds and I am feeling really good. I finally have energy again and want to go out and work! Thank you to everyone who wrote me telling me that they hope i feel better. I do finally!

Feeling super good in the hospital...again

 



Because why not take pictures at 11 at night when you're waiting for your IV to finish?

If you're wondering about the title, now I'm gonna tell you what it is thats impossible that I'm gonna do. Lose weight in the Tijuana Mexico Mission. It just doesn't happen. There is no missionary in existence that hasnt gained a million pounds here. But they've taken away all the fun foods. I cant eat anything with fat, irritants, or flavor ;) I am strictly on a diet of fruits, some vegetables, rice, grains. I cant have beans, fat, sugar, tortillas, and pretty much everything else the love to eat here. So thats gonna be awesome.

okay. the fun event of the week:

Yesterday when we were walking to the bishops house so i could lay down (after getting sick in the other members house) some guy stopped us in the street pointed at me and was like "Excuse me. What's your name" (in spanish of course) I told him "Hermana Nielsen." He was like "are you guys nuns or something?"  We told him that no, we are missionaries for the church of Jesus Christ. He was like "Oh. Well you are muy guapa." I had no idea what to say.. so I just said Thank you and started to walk away. It was really funny but I was also feeling really sick so we just left. 

And now. A list of places we have taught lessons

• In a house (of course)
• In the park
• In a taxi
• In a van (dont worry. it was a member family)
• In a public restroom.
• In the street
• In the capilla
• In an internet/laundromat place
• In a bakery
• At the tianguis
• In the hospital (well..this one was all my comp. I was a bit preoccupied)
• In a grocery store

Okay thats all I can think of now. :)

Loveyou lots!

Hermana Nielsen

 

these are the 3 meds that i am actually taking.

This is what happens when you have four hundred different doctors that all say something different

A fun monument in our area. 

The first day back to work after being sick

 

 

 

Enfermedad​es y Milagros!

Tijuana Mission

Buenas tardes familia y amigos!

Vamos a empezar con un resumen de mi semana.

Lunes after writing the familia: we had an activity with the other Hermanas. It was super fun except I was feeling a little sick. We had a lady in our ward come and teach us some exercises we can do in the morning so we stop getting fat. Afterwards we ate and then had a cita with an investigadora.

Lunes Noche/Martes Manana: got really sick. didnt sleep.

Martes: Was in bed all day sick. Had fever of 40 degrees (about 104 Fahrenheit I think). The doctor came and gave me meds. They didn't work. I couldn't keep them down.

Miercoles: The mission president was in town and knew that i was sick. So he took us to the hospital. They gave me a shot and changed my meds. Told me there should be no vomiting with these meds (liar...) and that I needed to be super strict in what I ate for a while. Then I spent the rest of the day in bed.

Thursday: Felt a little better later in the day. We had interviews with the President so we had to go to the Stake Center. We had weekly planning there. Then worked like normal.

Friday: Our first real work day of the semana. It was long and hot.

Saturday: More working. In the noche they informed us of who would have changes. Miracle of all miracles, Hermana Bautista y yo are still together. As a matter of fact, only one elder in the entire zone changed! So we are pretty excited. She's gonna die with me. :) haha

Sunday: Guess how many investigators came to church...that's right 1. :( But its okay. This week we are gonna work mucho mucho mucho and next week we are gonna have more!

Anyways. Can't really think of anything else. This week was probably one of the longest of my life. But I cant remember anything important you should all know. So I'm gonna share some fun facts about being sick in the Mexico Tijuana Mission:

1. Everyone will want to know how you are sick. What symptoms you have. What you ate. Who fed you. Don't even try to be secretive or personal about your illness because it just wont happen.

2. The inventor of "sueros" was an evil evil man. I don't know what this drink has in it, but its supposed to help keep you hydrated--if you live to finish it. Oh they are so bad!

3. Sometimes it makes you laugh when your doctor is named Dr. Barbosa because you imagine him as a pirate. (Yes I was on drugs at this point.)

4. You will want to kill your companion when she makes you take a cold shower to help with your fever. But you wont do it because you know she's just trying to help.

5. The bus drivers won't let you off the bus at stop lights. Even if you tell them you are feeling sick. oops. 

6. The solution to every problem and illness is an injection. No matter what. 

I think that about wraps things up. Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode of what's going on in my life. I would really like to hear from all of you, so email me!

Love you all

Hermana Nielsen

Ay Ay Ay!

Us Today - Litterally as I was sending this email.

Esta semana has been kinda weird. The first half from Monday to Thursday was super super fast. But Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were the longest four days of my life (except for the first 4 days in the CCM).

As you know, Monday after we finished shopping and all the jazz, I went to stay in Benito Juarez again because Hermana Bautista had a conference in Tijuana..again. Not that I don't love the Hermanas, but I am tired of exchanges. haha 

Tuesday, I worked with them in their sector. They are still pretty lost (they dont know their area very well), so we walked A LOT. Didn't get a ton done. I hate days like that. Where I feel like I'm working all day and I am super exhausted when we get home, but we didn't accomplish anything. It's super frustrating.

We Love our Valentine's Day Package!

Wednesday through Friday were normal work days. We only have 3 new investigators this week. So we are working really hard with them. We had 5 people committed to come to Church this week and we had 0. So that was frustrating. 3 didn't know about them time change, and when they woke up and saw our messages, they knew they were late and didnt come. One had some family issue come up. And one we still haven't been able to contact. Which is sad because she is our baptism date for this week. So that's not gonna happen. :( 

Saturday we had a good day planned out and every single appointment cancelled on us. Even our Plan Bs fell through. Saturday was super frustrating. And then no one came to Church Sunday. So..It's been a hard week. I wish I could say that I am optimistic and that I haven't been discouraged but that's not true. The good thing is, I am doing the Lord's work and I know that if we keep working hard, eventually we will see results. 

The Balloon we had from New Years finally died

Anyways.. Yesterday at the end of the day we were soooo exhausted but we weren't super sleepy. We just wanted to relax. I told Hermana B that before the mission to relax, or be lazy, I would lay on the couch and watch Netflix for a while. But that's not an option. So after planning and getting ready for bed, we watched The District. Not as exciting as Netflix, but still helped us relax. haha.

 

I don't think we have been to a house yet where they don't ask "ya comieron?" (have you eaten). That is everyone's main concern here. If we have eaten. EVERYONE offers us food and some send us with fruit or tortillas or something to fill our backpacks--even when they arent our Comida appointment.

We have Cambios next week. I don't know if I'm gonna stay or go. But we are almost 100% sure that one of us is leaving. :( So we will probably be traveling to Tijuana the next week. I may not get a chance to get on.

Spanish has killed my ability to spell in English. You have no idea how many spelling errors I have corrected in this email and I'm sure I haven't got them all. Its just that spelling here is phonetic. So when I write in english, i tend to spell things phonetically. (for example, no joke--as I wrote the word "phonetic" i typed fonetic the first time.)

New arrival (or just moved) at the zoo

We are not sure what it is - some kind of white donkey?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mom says to list my biggest culture shocks and likes. So here we go:

Culture shocks: 

 

• There aren't many. Its pretty much the same as the US. But poorer. And much more religious. The people here LOVE God. Even the people who don't have any specific religion. There are very few atheists. God is a huge part of everyones lives. So thats cool. 
• I've gotten used to the kisses on the cheeks. Its gonna be weird when I dont do that when I go home. 
• I still always forget to say "con permiso" when we enter or leave a house. My comp always says it. Ive never asked about the rule on that...I should learn.
• Everyone always wants to finish everyone elses sentences. That bugs me. But is something Im getting used to.
• Oh and the cockroaches are MUCH bigger. Thats about all that I can think of. 

 

Likes: 

• The food. Love the food! Especially tortillas de maiz. And anything made by the companies Bimbo or Mariela. I'm gonna be so fat...
• The people are super nice and super patient. 
• I love personal study. I can't believe how much my view on the scriptures has changed. I love to read the Book of Mormon every day. Its amazing how much you can learn when you are forced to read slow and in a different language.
• Baptisms are great.
• I'm sure there is more, but Im running out of time.

 

Thanks everyone for all your prayers. We can feel them. Keep them coming cuz we need them! 

Love you all! 

Hermana Nielsen

Playiing Boliche

Hola otra vez!

 

Compañeras!

 

I'm going to start with my usual "journal entry update."

Lunes after writing, we went shopping and then had an activity with our Zona. Everybody kept telling me we were gonna play boliche. But apparently the people here are really bad at explaining..and charades. Becuase until we got there, I still had no idea we were going bowling. Haha. Anyways. That was super fun. And it was super great to wear pants in public. :)

Boliche!

Martes. Normal work day.

Miercoles. We had another conferencia with other zones. That was super long... But it was good to see all the Hermanas in this area. The ones I know...haha. In the noche, the other ward had a baptism and we attended with 2 of our investigators. It was really good. 

Conference with other zones

Jueves we had planeacion and other fun meetings with our Lider Misional de Barrio.

Viernes. in the noche we had exchanges otra vez. Hna Gonzalez came here with me and Hna Bautista went with Hna Eye.

 

Sabado I worked with Hna Gonzalez. It was really great. We contacted and have 2 new investigators. We also visited the ones we have and taught them.

Yesterday was super long. "Dormingos" are hard and long. I dont know if its like this everywhere, but I think its funny that they call it Dormingo. Because "Domingo" is Sunday. and "Dormir" is to sleep. haha love it. But yeah. They are hard because theres just a lazy feeling over the whole town Sundays. But it was good, we had some good lessons anyways. 

The weather here is still freaking out. Cold and cloudy in the morning. So much heat in the afternoon. Cold in the nights. And wind all day long. The people here are freaking out too because apparently this isnt normal. haha

Okay. Now for your questions. Thanks for these by the way. I always run out of things to say:

• How are you liking the food there? I super love the food. Really. I do. Some times it is a poquito spicy, but Im learning to like that too.

• Has any of it made you sick yet? Only one time when we ate at a sketch restaurant. But I wasn't really THAT sick...
•   Do you have to cook your own food, or do you eat at ppls house very much? We cook our own breakfast, eat with a member every day at 2. And sometimes we eat dinner. But usually the members feed us so much we arent hungry in the night.
• How are your shoes holding up?  I understand you walk A LOT - are your shoes comfortable enough? My shoes are holding up fine. They are super sturdy. No they are not that comfortable. The black pair sometimes make my feet swell a bit. But hey. Its all good. haha
• Did anything funny happen to you this week? This week...Yep. When we went bowling with the elders, the last game we played, we had to do weird things like throw with both hands, or with our eyes closed, or behind our backs. When it was my turn and we threw behind our backs, I accidentally threw it in the lane next to ours...I was super super embarrassed.. oops. haha. Pulled a Janie! Janie Richardson, I hope you are reading this. 
• Have you said anything REALLY embarrassing in Spanish where you mixed up words? Nothing super super embarassing. For some reason, some words still dont stick well in my brain. I almost always say "caballo" (horse) when I want to say "cabello" (hair). 
• What did you do for fun for PDay? This week, bowling. I think soon we are going to go to the zoo that is behind my house. Im super excited for that. 
• Do American sisters ever go to Ensenada? Yeah. My comp was in Ensenada before training me. Apparently its the paradise of the mission. Im hoping i get sent there as a reward after being here in Mexcali. haha jk I really do like it here. :)
• Have more Gringa sisters come into the mission since your group? Yep One group of like 5. And I hear we are getting more this next traslado. (Grandma! to answer your question we have 2 more weeks until changes for us)

 

Love you all. Lots and Lots!!!

Hermana Nielsen