MARCH

Nick was transferred to Burley with Elder Smith as his companion. He knew Elder Smith and they get along well, so he's excited about the transfer. Also Elder Smith is a good missionary! Burley is like Buhl because it's out in the country, but Burley is a lot bigger. Nick wanted a remote place at the end of his mission because there are a lot more humble people out in the country and it would be easier to focus on the work. He also said he wanted to see a new side of life before he goes home. They live with an older single lady, Sister Anderson. She's awesome! And she knows they don't get a lot of money, so she wants them to eat all of her food. She has a piano with the books Nick used to play from, so he started playing again. He likes to play, just not practicing.

He's really going to miss Boise North; it became like home to him. He tied the record for the longest missionary who stayed at Sister Binkley's house. And she became like a mom to him. He had so many cool people to teach there that it was sad to leave them all. Saying his good-byes was the toughest it's been since he left Boise West. Boise North became his favorite area. But he's excited to serve in Burley, is a zone leader there, and has a great group of missionaries there; some he's been wanting to serve with.

He met a lot of cool people the first week in Burley. Most importantly, they set a baptism date with Tim Jarvis. Tim is 20 with a one year old son and is going through a divorce. He's been through a lot and really wants to change.

They met a family named the Hammonds that they're going to start teaching. The funny thing is that he baptized some of their family members when he was in Buhl. It's funny how small the world is sometimes!

The met another family named the Blauers. They are super cool. One of their daughter's boyfriends is 16 and is the national champion in pogo sticking. Nick's amazed by it. He jumps 10 feet in the air and does backflips and front flips off the stick and lands on the ground. He can also flip off one stick and land on another then jump away. He's already getting paid and down out to do half time shows.

They got a media referral where a lady was referred to them by a member of the stake. He doesn't know why they didn't just call the missionaries directly, but it's all good. She said she's been studying a lot and thinks that she should be baptized. Media referrals are texted to their phone. Usually it's just somebody wanted a free bible, and don't often result in the discussions.

They also met a guy named Israel. His whole family has joined the church, but he's always been too stubborn to take the missionary lessons. He now thinks it's time, so they started teaching him.

Nick did exchanges with Elder Etherton and had a lot of fun. They had a dinner appointment with one of the coolest families ever. The mom has a beauty salon in her house, and the family pressured the elders to wax the inside of their noses (ouch!). They couldn't back down. But it didn't hurt too bad, and his nose feels great now!

They've been reading the Book of Mormon with Brother Shelton, a less active member who has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. Reading with him has been really rewarding.

They've been meeting with another less active member, Michael Jordan. He's obsessed with cats and birds, and can go on and on about them. His dream is to watch birds have babies in the birdhouse outside his window, then watch them grow up (something Nick definitely doesn't get). They had to spend about ten minutes watching his favorite cat do tricks and listen to him tell the cat how much he loves it!

They had great lessons with the Studers and the Knobbes. They see each of them every Monday. They're both part member families. The Knobbes don't come to church often, but the Studers do. Except the Studers are not actually married, so they have things to work on with both families.